"Old, low-quality B&W TV footage wouldn't take up anywhere near the same space as a modern show shot in color and on (reasonably) high-quality film."
Actually, old low-quality footage, in many ways, would be worse. Though the imagery would be considerably softer (easier to compress), it'd also be noisier as well. The more noise to the scene, the harder of time the compressor has getting a decent pixel-per-data-rate ratio. They would undoubtedly have to use some modern technology to make the footage useful. Noise reduction, image stabilization, etc.
I don't you'd get that many more minutes of acceptable quality on the DVD. This is especially true if they're going to go through the effort to restore as much of the footage as possible. Remember, DVDs are supposed to be very clear. They'll try to adhere to that.
However, I think you'd be absolutely right if we were talking about internet downloads. I wish the BBC would consider taking the early seasons of Dr Who and allowing me to watch them for a modest subscription fee. I would whip out my cc right now to do that. Heck, I might even install RealPlayer!
" I believe activities like learning another language can impair other skills, or at least while the information is being learned."
I have anecdotal experience that supports that theory. I used to be real sharp in terms of grammar and spelling until I took the study of Spanish seriously. When my knowledge of Spanish expanded, my grammar and spelling skills suffered. I figure one of two things happened:
1.) Memory was overwritten. 2.) In order to easily switch between the two languages, my use of English was simplified.
Okay, this is way off-topic, but I can imagine that Doctor Who fans would generally find the inner workings of the brain rather interesting. I remember an old Tom Baker episode that... well my memory is a bit fuzzy (overwritten by Spanish?) where the Doc and... oh... heck I think it was Sara Jane Smith were inside a brain. He made a comment about how the computer equivalent of a human brain would be the size of all of London. Then he went on to say a Time Lord's brain would be significantly larger as it is more complex. Then, he figured out which two neurons to touch together to make the brain do something he needed... Well you gotta admit, he must have one hell of a brain if he knows how to hot-wire a human brain on the neural level, heh.
The executor gives them each $100 (except Maggie), and the rest goes to Ann Landers, as was stipulated in Hortense's will...
Marge: What are you gonna spend your money on, kids?
Bart: There's a special down at the Tacomat: a hundred tacos for a hundred dollars. I'm gonna get that....
Marge wants the kids to put their money in the bank. When they get there, Bart spots the Tacomat and wishes he could get those hundred tacos. The comic book guy comes out with a wheelbarrow full of tacos for the "Dr. Who" marathon.
I guess all this Deep Space Nine watchin I been doin has overwritten my Simpsons quote database.
Okay guys, when it was announced that Microsoft was pulling the plug on a much older and obsolete product, we all aimed our pitchforks at them. Are we going to do the same for Redhat?
"Oh no! SCO couldn't produce any evidence! Maybe that's because THERE IS NO EVIDENCE!"
Or, for all you know, it's because the evidence is difficult to produce in such a manner a judge can make sense of. A geek can look at code and say "Yep, that was copied." whereas a judge could look at code and say "programming can be a very exact process, it's possible the code just ended up being similar"
I'm not defending SCO here, I'm merely pointing out that making a bet that they don't have evidence is irresponsible. Goofy things can happen in a court room.
I have to weigh a couple of things here. On one hand, I think it's kinda cool that he's going in and fixing inconsistencies etc, and making the movies more fluid and interactive with each other. Technologically, it's pretty cool that all this can be done. But.. damn.. it's George Lucas. I'm slowly growing concerned that these ideas that seem cool on paper will feel gimmicky when they're actually released. Updating the graphics of the Death Star, for example, is a nice touch. But are they going to go nuts with it? Lots of spinny flashing things that really wouldn't make sense to show to a bunch of pilots recieving their orders?
Eh. I dunno. I'm willing to be open minded about it, but at the same time, I'm not willing to instantly throw all my money at it.
"People whine "OMG YOU KILLED _______" when it was actually one of the best things they could have done for the Star Wars universe."
Uh, I read the book I think you're referring to, and the 'OMG YOU KILLED ____' whining was a result of the death of that character not being terribly interesting. The book was poorly written and the story was plain and dull. The death of that character had more to do with getting copies of the book sold than some inspired story arc.
Of course, we could possibly be talking about two different books.
"Of course, what statistics are you basing your opinion on? The salesmen at EB who try to sell you a warranty and tell you how many are returned? Or the ranting posted on the Internet? Unless you have some hard numbers and can show that, per 1,000 machines, more are defective than the Xbox or Gamecube, you're just spreading FUD."
Hi. I worked for a game retailer when the PS1 was originally released. For every 4 PS's we sold, 1 came back defective.
"Unless you have some hard numbers and can show that, per 1,000 machines, more are defective than the Xbox or Gamecube, you're just spreading FUD."
Don't be so quick to deny that many of those machines were broken, especially when there are a lot of people bitching about defective units. It's not some bout of mass hysteria, it's based on actual accounts of people actually having actual problems with an actually defective unit.
"I always call attention to the fact that many of our greatest minds, a perfect example being Albert Einstein, would today have been diagnosed with ADD..."
I agree with your point that ADD is not a disorder. Well, I should rephrase that, the diagnosis of ADD is probably faulty. There may be a disorder or condition where the human brain just cannot stay focused on something or another. I doubt, though, that a lot of the people diagnosed with it really have a neural wiring problem. Rather, the content is just not interesting.
I find myself tuning out people at times. It's like they talk too slow. I've noticed this problem especially with the older generation. They feel they must talk in very precise terms and verbally illustrate their ideas. Problem is, I often get their point long before they've finished babbling. So I find myself drifting in and out of attentiveness with them.
Honestly, I don't think this is a neural problem. I think it's an artifact of growing up in a generation where we're expected to understand stuff faster. So yes, I agree, 'treating' it would be a bad idea. Instead, I'd rather learn at the speed my mind will allow.
"Most OSS tools don't have anything like that. There's no (to my knowledge) Apache Group liason that goes out to companies to talk about its virtues... for instance."
So the only way that you guys expect OSS to get out there is if it's state mandated?
C'mon guys, you're going to have to step up to the plate. Want Microsoft's monopoly on Office to be cracked? Pony up a few bucks, send it to Sun, ask them to air some commercials. Get the name out there.
"Interestingly, where normal humans had needs of 100 meg, 1 gig, 100 gig storage spaces, this represents the first leap beyond what the ordinary person could ever hope to use. It's got plenty applications, but not normal user applications."
I don't think this is really true. I remember when I got my first 130 meg drive, I was hard pressed to fill it up. Remember, machines only had 4-8 meg of RAM, and were distributed on floppies. When CDs for PCs came along, that's when we started filling those drives.
Today, we've got DVDs. Soon (eventually) we may start to see PC games using DVDs to come along. Suddenly you need several gigs of space to install a game. HDTV is around the corner, and it uses data rates in the mega-bits range. There's a good possibility that HD video files will be coming along for use on the PC.... and so on.
The point is, the need will be born, and history will be repeated.
We really are about to hit the terabyte age, aren't we? I remember when 100 megs was cool.. then the gig.. then 10 gigs... then 100...
Sorry, nothing terribly insightful to say here. Just amazed at how far storage has come. This particular device would have been interesting for Weta to have during production of RotK. They used many many terabytes of data. They'd probably have been quite happy to hand carry a terabyte of data. (Faster than a gigabit network in many ways...)
"This is a major reversal from their previous direction."
A major reversal would be if they said to avoid OSS altogether. Instead, they just made it fair to all involved. For all the benefits of OSS to be worth anything, the software has to do its job. If OSS is ready, you all have nothing to worry about. If it's not, then start coding.
Re:I wouldn't call it "goo"
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Universal Goo
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· Score: 1, Funny
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"Old, low-quality B&W TV footage wouldn't take up anywhere near the same space as a modern show shot in color and on (reasonably) high-quality film."
Actually, old low-quality footage, in many ways, would be worse. Though the imagery would be considerably softer (easier to compress), it'd also be noisier as well. The more noise to the scene, the harder of time the compressor has getting a decent pixel-per-data-rate ratio. They would undoubtedly have to use some modern technology to make the footage useful. Noise reduction, image stabilization, etc.
I don't you'd get that many more minutes of acceptable quality on the DVD. This is especially true if they're going to go through the effort to restore as much of the footage as possible. Remember, DVDs are supposed to be very clear. They'll try to adhere to that.
However, I think you'd be absolutely right if we were talking about internet downloads. I wish the BBC would consider taking the early seasons of Dr Who and allowing me to watch them for a modest subscription fee. I would whip out my cc right now to do that. Heck, I might even install RealPlayer!
" I believe activities like learning another language can impair other skills, or at least while the information is being learned."
... oh... heck I think it was Sara Jane Smith were inside a brain. He made a comment about how the computer equivalent of a human brain would be the size of all of London. Then he went on to say a Time Lord's brain would be significantly larger as it is more complex. Then, he figured out which two neurons to touch together to make the brain do something he needed... Well you gotta admit, he must have one hell of a brain if he knows how to hot-wire a human brain on the neural level, heh.
I have anecdotal experience that supports that theory. I used to be real sharp in terms of grammar and spelling until I took the study of Spanish seriously. When my knowledge of Spanish expanded, my grammar and spelling skills suffered. I figure one of two things happened:
1.) Memory was overwritten.
2.) In order to easily switch between the two languages, my use of English was simplified.
Okay, this is way off-topic, but I can imagine that Doctor Who fans would generally find the inner workings of the brain rather interesting. I remember an old Tom Baker episode that... well my memory is a bit fuzzy (overwritten by Spanish?) where the Doc and
Here I'll digest it for everybody:
I guess all this Deep Space Nine watchin I been doin has overwritten my Simpsons quote database.
"Sorry. It was closed source. Davros never liked the GPL"
That explains why it took a while for Daleks to traverse stairs...
"They should take all the "lost" ones and put them on a dvd collection. "
Do you realize how many episodes of Doctor Who were made? You'd need a police box to store them all!
"That's a bad pun, but it made me laugh. I just hope nobody makes a TarDOS joke."
Time And Relative Disk Operating System? Hmm yeah, I can see why they shortened it to Windows.
"Get your 100 tacos ready!...(Score:2, Funny)"
Sorry to be a square, but could somebody explain the reference?
"You do realize that they just witheld this episode so that the demand for new material would go up"
Seeing as how reruns didn't really exist when Hartnell was the Doctor, no I didn't realize that.
"Is there a mention in any publications (The Dr. Who Technical Manual, for instance) what software the Dalek's ran?"
MacOS. See that plunger on their hand? What else would run such an elegant prosthesis?
"I'm sure the "GNAA" and other trolls are very happy to read this."
Actually, no. Even though I'm feeling rather extreme about it, I still can't support somebody who uses the N-word.
Okay guys, when it was announced that Microsoft was pulling the plug on a much older and obsolete product, we all aimed our pitchforks at them. Are we going to do the same for Redhat?
"Oh no! SCO couldn't produce any evidence! Maybe that's because THERE IS NO EVIDENCE!"
Or, for all you know, it's because the evidence is difficult to produce in such a manner a judge can make sense of. A geek can look at code and say "Yep, that was copied." whereas a judge could look at code and say "programming can be a very exact process, it's possible the code just ended up being similar"
I'm not defending SCO here, I'm merely pointing out that making a bet that they don't have evidence is irresponsible. Goofy things can happen in a court room.
"What do you guys think?"
Nothing really made me grimace too hard.
Hmm.
I have to weigh a couple of things here. On one hand, I think it's kinda cool that he's going in and fixing inconsistencies etc, and making the movies more fluid and interactive with each other. Technologically, it's pretty cool that all this can be done. But.. damn.. it's George Lucas. I'm slowly growing concerned that these ideas that seem cool on paper will feel gimmicky when they're actually released. Updating the graphics of the Death Star, for example, is a nice touch. But are they going to go nuts with it? Lots of spinny flashing things that really wouldn't make sense to show to a bunch of pilots recieving their orders?
Eh. I dunno. I'm willing to be open minded about it, but at the same time, I'm not willing to instantly throw all my money at it.
"People whine "OMG YOU KILLED _______" when it was actually one of the best things they could have done for the Star Wars universe."
Uh, I read the book I think you're referring to, and the 'OMG YOU KILLED ____' whining was a result of the death of that character not being terribly interesting. The book was poorly written and the story was plain and dull. The death of that character had more to do with getting copies of the book sold than some inspired story arc.
Of course, we could possibly be talking about two different books.
"but... (Score:1, Interesting)"
"does it play OGG?"
I've heard of self-fulfilling prophecy, but this is the first time I have ever seen self-fulfilling satire.
Personally, I would have modded it funny.
"Windows is about choice."
Linux is ready for the desktop.
"Of course, what statistics are you basing your opinion on? The salesmen at EB who try to sell you a warranty and tell you how many are returned? Or the ranting posted on the Internet? Unless you have some hard numbers and can show that, per 1,000 machines, more are defective than the Xbox or Gamecube, you're just spreading FUD."
Hi. I worked for a game retailer when the PS1 was originally released. For every 4 PS's we sold, 1 came back defective.
"Unless you have some hard numbers and can show that, per 1,000 machines, more are defective than the Xbox or Gamecube, you're just spreading FUD."
Don't be so quick to deny that many of those machines were broken, especially when there are a lot of people bitching about defective units. It's not some bout of mass hysteria, it's based on actual accounts of people actually having actual problems with an actually defective unit.
Oh yeah, I'm totally defeated. :rolleyes:
"I always call attention to the fact that many of our greatest minds, a perfect example being Albert Einstein, would today have been diagnosed with ADD..."
I agree with your point that ADD is not a disorder. Well, I should rephrase that, the diagnosis of ADD is probably faulty. There may be a disorder or condition where the human brain just cannot stay focused on something or another. I doubt, though, that a lot of the people diagnosed with it really have a neural wiring problem. Rather, the content is just not interesting.
I find myself tuning out people at times. It's like they talk too slow. I've noticed this problem especially with the older generation. They feel they must talk in very precise terms and verbally illustrate their ideas. Problem is, I often get their point long before they've finished babbling. So I find myself drifting in and out of attentiveness with them.
Honestly, I don't think this is a neural problem. I think it's an artifact of growing up in a generation where we're expected to understand stuff faster. So yes, I agree, 'treating' it would be a bad idea. Instead, I'd rather learn at the speed my mind will allow.
"Most OSS tools don't have anything like that. There's no (to my knowledge) Apache Group liason that goes out to companies to talk about its virtues... for instance."
So the only way that you guys expect OSS to get out there is if it's state mandated?
C'mon guys, you're going to have to step up to the plate. Want Microsoft's monopoly on Office to be cracked? Pony up a few bucks, send it to Sun, ask them to air some commercials. Get the name out there.
"Interestingly, where normal humans had needs of 100 meg, 1 gig, 100 gig storage spaces, this represents the first leap beyond what the ordinary person could ever hope to use. It's got plenty applications, but not normal user applications."
... and so on.
I don't think this is really true. I remember when I got my first 130 meg drive, I was hard pressed to fill it up. Remember, machines only had 4-8 meg of RAM, and were distributed on floppies. When CDs for PCs came along, that's when we started filling those drives.
Today, we've got DVDs. Soon (eventually) we may start to see PC games using DVDs to come along. Suddenly you need several gigs of space to install a game. HDTV is around the corner, and it uses data rates in the mega-bits range. There's a good possibility that HD video files will be coming along for use on the PC.
The point is, the need will be born, and history will be repeated.
"four 250GB hard disk drives and a controller in a case for $1200... What will they think of next?"
Yes, if you measure individual components of a product, it's not very interesting. For example, humans are just organic pain collectors.
We really are about to hit the terabyte age, aren't we? I remember when 100 megs was cool.. then the gig.. then 10 gigs... then 100...
Sorry, nothing terribly insightful to say here. Just amazed at how far storage has come. This particular device would have been interesting for Weta to have during production of RotK. They used many many terabytes of data. They'd probably have been quite happy to hand carry a terabyte of data. (Faster than a gigabit network in many ways...)
"This is a major reversal from their previous direction."
A major reversal would be if they said to avoid OSS altogether. Instead, they just made it fair to all involved. For all the benefits of OSS to be worth anything, the software has to do its job. If OSS is ready, you all have nothing to worry about. If it's not, then start coding.
"It's like extremely hot fire. Extremely hot."
How hot is it in elephants?