First, Hauppage has a USB2 capture device out as well and judging from past experience that card will be much more stable, compatible, and reasonably priced.
ATI's capture drivers and software are generally pretty crappy and, although they seem to use standard hardware, they jack it up enough to be slightly incompatible with generic drivers and software. Many programs had special hacks just for ATI cards and I imagine it'll be quite a while before this device integrates smoothly.
On a seperate note, what the hell took so long. The USB capture cards have been crap since they came out. You'd figure they'd have USB2 capture devices ready as soon as USB2 started shipping.
The review adequately covered the TV watching aspects but oddly enough only covered the DVD and CallerID(?) plugins. What about MythGame, MythMusic, MythWeb, MythNews, MythWeather, MythVideo, etc? Does WinMCE have something like these?
The reviewer also seemed to imply that the only way to get an MPEG4 is to record it in the default codec and then transcode it in the background to MPEG4. You can record directly from the card to Mpeg4 (if you have a software based card).
What's this mean!?!?!?
on
Animal Robots
·
· Score: 1
A bit too high in what sense? Too high for what should be expected from the most popular OS in the world? Then yes, without a doubt. Higher than the crash rate I'd expect? I'd so hell no. It actually seems a bit low to me but let me qualify that: Most people don't reboot their machine *unless* it crashes. It's not like grandma is considering the length of her uptime. Unfortunately, the damn things in Frech so we don't really know if they took that into consideration.
Does my XP machine at work crash 12% of the time... sure. It's development machine so it's much much more than that. In fact, I'd say 95% of my reboots are from OS crashes. Alternatively, my Fedora boxen, one of which is a development machine, has completely crashed once since it's been installed (thanks to nVidia). I don't do AS MUCH development on it but a 95 to 1 ratio is pretty damning.
Regardless, me nor most people I work with and talk to find it suprising the Windows desktops have poor uptime marks and I seriously doubt anyone would be surprised to find Windows desktops uptime marks lower than most alternative OSes.
A feature that opens up new gaming possibilities is crap?
Add in a kitchen sink and weed eater as well. Those open up new gaming possibilities. They may suck... but they're new.
"Gameboy crowd"
That crowd is currently larger than the Playstation crowd.
And their combined age equals about 1 1/2 PS2 owners. Seriously, just like with the Gamecube Nintendo is targeting a different demographic than both the PSP and Zodiac.
It's true that all of the console makers sell systems at a loss but they generally try to mitigate that loss by using cheaper componets, not by selling the best hardware at a tremendous loss. That's one of the reasons PC games will probably never die completely. PC gamers are in the 'upgrade often' mindset and while a console released today will look as good as a pretty decent PC, in 2 years the PC will kick it's ass and the next console will be another 2 years out.
Right now, Sony should be feeling fairly confident about their new baby. Nintendo is breaking the formula with their dual-screen-and-one of them's touch crap while still not pumping a lot of horsepower into their system. They'll still sell primarily to the usual under-aged Gameboy crowd. The only real competition Sony has in the adult portable gamer market is the Tapwave Zodiac which is really in a class by itself (and has an unimpressive lineup). There's no need for Sony to hemmorage massive cash to put in a slightly better componets.
Dude! Don't you know that "Super Top Emission" is actually an FCC approved rating for display technology. Here's the rating summary directly from FCC Document BU11-SH17:
25 cd/m2 -- Cheap Bastard Emission 50 cd/m2 -- 'Not too bad' Emission 75 cd/m2 -- Very Good Emission 100 cd/m2 -- Mega Emission 150 cd/m2 -- Super Top Emission 175 cd/m2 -- Ulta Super-dee-dooper Emission 200 cd/m2 -- Mega Ulta Super-dee-dooper Emission 300 cd/m2 -- Nocturnal Emission
Not this one specifically. It's a 3.8" display and the PSP specs seem to claim a 4.3" one. Besides, the PSP is going to be a more budget oriented device than their Clies so using the latest greatest screen technology would probably be cost-prohibitive.
That makes perfect sense. Sony's always geared their devices toward media and entertainment. They touted their Clie line's mp3 capabilities and built-in camera before most other PalmOS based handhelds had the ability. Looking at their Japanese PEG-VZ90 site it appears their device is still running PalmOS. I see the spin now "we're not selling PDAs, they're so 2001. We're selling 'personal entertainment devices'."
Although, I guess before getting my hopes up I should wait for them to announce a US release.
... that way we can have a mind-numbing propaganda trifecta. At least Moore tries to back his claims up with facts. He may read more into the facts than some consider reasonable but at least he just doesn't spout off the party line, right or wrong, proven or unproven, truth or lie, like those other do-do heads.
The way I see it, the Repubs rule the news channels with their pill-popping fat man (Rush) and ignorance-spouting loud mouth (O'Reilly). Not to mention the 'we can win every debate if we stage it' crap that is Hannity and Combs. The Dems rule the theaters with their whale-of-a-good-time Moore and the comedy-satire scene with folks like Jon Stewart and Al Franken.
Any documentary which is transmitted anywhere in the world in any version as a television or internet program within this period will automatically be disqualified from award eligibility.
So I guess by downloading the VCD of FH9/11 we kind of took him out of the Oscar running. Seriously... maybe they should try to narrow that rule down a bit.
If it was 'copying' that would be sufficient... but it's not. It's converting. Every conversion is a loss of quality and at moderate bitrate files the loss of quality is drastic on the reencode. It's also changing to a format which might not play on XYZ's DVD player or linux box or whatnot so what, you have to convert it back? 2 hours to convert to WMV, 2 hours to convert back and all I really wanted to do was copy my movie over to my friends house or move it to the PC with a burner in it?
Eh? I wasn't under the impression that id was supposed to release their game engines under the GPL? Just because it runs on Linux doesn't mean it must GPLed. So it's not really a hole when it didn't have to be licensed that way in the first place. This is just another example of a commercial piece of software on Linux.
I also don't really see how Mozilla is a bad GPL citizen. There are scores of derivative projects and the rendering engine can be used by anybody. How are they 'bypassing the GPL?'
I think what a lot of people are worried about are people using GPLed code in a web-services type of setting where the executable isn't distributed or run by the client but the client still recieves the benefit of the end result. Since no binary is distributed no source is distributed and GPLed code is locked up in a proprietary application.
My ass they aren't! Have you seen some of those EverCrack players. Hundreds, even thousands of hours logged. Horror stories about losing job and wife to the game. Characters trading on EBay for 100s of dollars. Just because it's not a chemical dependency doesn't mean it's not a dependency.
Re:You can hack anything.
on
Port-A-Nuke
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
"Just one" is all it takes. It's been proven time and time again that NOTHING is tamper proof. And once hundreds of these things get shipped out... well, I can think of better things our forces can be doing than policing other nation's power plants.
I followed that trend. I was a huge ATI fanboy in my Windows days, after all, you did get more bang for your buck from the ATIs, but in the agony of getting accelerated graphics from their drivers I switched all of my PCs over to nVidia. Sold off my 9600, 2x9000, and 8500 to pick up a 5600Ultra, a 5200, and 2x 440MXs. I've never looked back.
Yes, it *converts* to WMV. It does not play DivX. So when you take your stuff back off the device, you don't have a DivX. You have a WMV. And I don't know what he's transfering but converting 640x480 2mpbs DivX to WMV isn't an 'on the fly' kind of process. On average hardware it takes almost as long to encode as the duration of the video (ie: 2 hr movie, 2hr encode).
The iRiver is the PMP-120. It's linux based with a 20 gig hdd and, if memory serves, and FM tuner built in. It's an impressive little player. More stylish than the Zen or Archos' and plays almost any format you can throw at it. No video recording capabilities though:(
The Archos AV4xx series is a handheld PVR. Have it record your favorite shows directly on the device --direct to Divx-- and watch them on your commute. Hell, it even includes a remote.
Also, the Archos 3xx series supports recording video directly to the device however they don't have the fancy PVR-style features.
Slashdot Mirror
First, Hauppage has a USB2 capture device out as well and judging from past experience that card will be much more stable, compatible, and reasonably priced.
ATI's capture drivers and software are generally pretty crappy and, although they seem to use standard hardware, they jack it up enough to be slightly incompatible with generic drivers and software. Many programs had special hacks just for ATI cards and I imagine it'll be quite a while before this device integrates smoothly.
On a seperate note, what the hell took so long. The USB capture cards have been crap since they came out. You'd figure they'd have USB2 capture devices ready as soon as USB2 started shipping.
The review adequately covered the TV watching aspects but oddly enough only covered the DVD and CallerID(?) plugins. What about MythGame, MythMusic, MythWeb, MythNews, MythWeather, MythVideo, etc? Does WinMCE have something like these?
The reviewer also seemed to imply that the only way to get an MPEG4 is to record it in the default codec and then transcode it in the background to MPEG4. You can record directly from the card to Mpeg4 (if you have a software based card).
... for beastiality.
A huge sector of the internet could be affected!
A bit too high in what sense? Too high for what should be expected from the most popular OS in the world? Then yes, without a doubt. Higher than the crash rate I'd expect? I'd so hell no. It actually seems a bit low to me but let me qualify that: Most people don't reboot their machine *unless* it crashes. It's not like grandma is considering the length of her uptime. Unfortunately, the damn things in Frech so we don't really know if they took that into consideration.
Does my XP machine at work crash 12% of the time... sure. It's development machine so it's much much more than that. In fact, I'd say 95% of my reboots are from OS crashes. Alternatively, my Fedora boxen, one of which is a development machine, has completely crashed once since it's been installed (thanks to nVidia). I don't do AS MUCH development on it but a 95 to 1 ratio is pretty damning.
Regardless, me nor most people I work with and talk to find it suprising the Windows desktops have poor uptime marks and I seriously doubt anyone would be surprised to find Windows desktops uptime marks lower than most alternative OSes.
I get so sick of the gits on Slashdot assuming that only drooling morons use KDE and GNOME.
In all fairness, I think the assumption is that only drooling morons read Slashdot. Some just happen to use Gnome as well.
"touch crap"?
A feature that opens up new gaming possibilities is crap?
Add in a kitchen sink and weed eater as well. Those open up new gaming possibilities. They may suck... but they're new.
"Gameboy crowd"
That crowd is currently larger than the Playstation crowd.
And their combined age equals about 1 1/2 PS2 owners. Seriously, just like with the Gamecube Nintendo is targeting a different demographic than both the PSP and Zodiac.
It's true that all of the console makers sell systems at a loss but they generally try to mitigate that loss by using cheaper componets, not by selling the best hardware at a tremendous loss. That's one of the reasons PC games will probably never die completely. PC gamers are in the 'upgrade often' mindset and while a console released today will look as good as a pretty decent PC, in 2 years the PC will kick it's ass and the next console will be another 2 years out.
Right now, Sony should be feeling fairly confident about their new baby. Nintendo is breaking the formula with their dual-screen-and-one of them's touch crap while still not pumping a lot of horsepower into their system. They'll still sell primarily to the usual under-aged Gameboy crowd. The only real competition Sony has in the adult portable gamer market is the Tapwave Zodiac which is really in a class by itself (and has an unimpressive lineup). There's no need for Sony to hemmorage massive cash to put in a slightly better componets.
Dude! Don't you know that "Super Top Emission" is actually an FCC approved rating for display technology. Here's the rating summary directly from FCC Document BU11-SH17:
25 cd/m2 -- Cheap Bastard Emission
50 cd/m2 -- 'Not too bad' Emission
75 cd/m2 -- Very Good Emission
100 cd/m2 -- Mega Emission
150 cd/m2 -- Super Top Emission
175 cd/m2 -- Ulta Super-dee-dooper Emission
200 cd/m2 -- Mega Ulta Super-dee-dooper Emission
300 cd/m2 -- Nocturnal Emission
No really...
Not this one specifically. It's a 3.8" display and the PSP specs seem to claim a 4.3" one. Besides, the PSP is going to be a more budget oriented device than their Clies so using the latest greatest screen technology would probably be cost-prohibitive.
That makes perfect sense. Sony's always geared their devices toward media and entertainment. They touted their Clie line's mp3 capabilities and built-in camera before most other PalmOS based handhelds had the ability. Looking at their Japanese PEG-VZ90 site it appears their device is still running PalmOS. I see the spin now "we're not selling PDAs, they're so 2001. We're selling 'personal entertainment devices'."
Although, I guess before getting my hopes up I should wait for them to announce a US release.
Usually a programmers pain is caused by creating code. Carpal Tunnel is just an excuse to take a few days from the brain racking tedium and PHBs.
Hopefully the townsfolk didn't take it to the local doctor where he opened it and the whole towns blood turned to dust! I loved that movie.
... that way we can have a mind-numbing propaganda trifecta. At least Moore tries to back his claims up with facts. He may read more into the facts than some consider reasonable but at least he just doesn't spout off the party line, right or wrong, proven or unproven, truth or lie, like those other do-do heads.
The way I see it, the Repubs rule the news channels with their pill-popping fat man (Rush) and ignorance-spouting loud mouth (O'Reilly). Not to mention the 'we can win every debate if we stage it' crap that is Hannity and Combs. The Dems rule the theaters with their whale-of-a-good-time Moore and the comedy-satire scene with folks like Jon Stewart and Al Franken.
Looks like an even playing field to me.
Any documentary which is transmitted anywhere in the world in any version as a television or internet program within this period will automatically be disqualified from award eligibility.
So I guess by downloading the VCD of FH9/11 we kind of took him out of the Oscar running. Seriously... maybe they should try to narrow that rule down a bit.
No, in Soviet Russia X.Org sees through you.
If it was 'copying' that would be sufficient... but it's not. It's converting. Every conversion is a loss of quality and at moderate bitrate files the loss of quality is drastic on the reencode. It's also changing to a format which might not play on XYZ's DVD player or linux box or whatnot so what, you have to convert it back? 2 hours to convert to WMV, 2 hours to convert back and all I really wanted to do was copy my movie over to my friends house or move it to the PC with a burner in it?
Eh? I wasn't under the impression that id was supposed to release their game engines under the GPL? Just because it runs on Linux doesn't mean it must GPLed. So it's not really a hole when it didn't have to be licensed that way in the first place. This is just another example of a commercial piece of software on Linux.
I also don't really see how Mozilla is a bad GPL citizen. There are scores of derivative projects and the rendering engine can be used by anybody. How are they 'bypassing the GPL?'
I think what a lot of people are worried about are people using GPLed code in a web-services type of setting where the executable isn't distributed or run by the client but the client still recieves the benefit of the end result. Since no binary is distributed no source is distributed and GPLed code is locked up in a proprietary application.
"Just as well computer games arent addictive"
My ass they aren't! Have you seen some of those EverCrack players. Hundreds, even thousands of hours logged. Horror stories about losing job and wife to the game. Characters trading on EBay for 100s of dollars. Just because it's not a chemical dependency doesn't mean it's not a dependency.
"Just one" is all it takes. It's been proven time and time again that NOTHING is tamper proof. And once hundreds of these things get shipped out... well, I can think of better things our forces can be doing than policing other nation's power plants.
Like, finding Osama perhaps.
I followed that trend. I was a huge ATI fanboy in my Windows days, after all, you did get more bang for your buck from the ATIs, but in the agony of getting accelerated graphics from their drivers I switched all of my PCs over to nVidia. Sold off my 9600, 2x9000, and 8500 to pick up a 5600Ultra, a 5200, and 2x 440MXs. I've never looked back.
and I think he's done some cool crap in his life but once you start a reality-tv show, I can't help but thing 'sellout.'
Yes, it *converts* to WMV. It does not play DivX. So when you take your stuff back off the device, you don't have a DivX. You have a WMV. And I don't know what he's transfering but converting 640x480 2mpbs DivX to WMV isn't an 'on the fly' kind of process. On average hardware it takes almost as long to encode as the duration of the video (ie: 2 hr movie, 2hr encode).
The PMP-120 has been release and is Linux based. The PMP-100 has not (I believe end of year is their target) and it will be Windows based.
The iRiver is the PMP-120. It's linux based with a 20 gig hdd and, if memory serves, and FM tuner built in. It's an impressive little player. More stylish than the Zen or Archos' and plays almost any format you can throw at it. No video recording capabilities though :(
The Archos AV4xx series is a handheld PVR. Have it record your favorite shows directly on the device --direct to Divx-- and watch them on your commute. Hell, it even includes a remote.
Also, the Archos 3xx series supports recording video directly to the device however they don't have the fancy PVR-style features.