...hopefully some kind of new wireless "ethernet" is all we should need for external connections at the consumer level. Don't expect to see this any time soon, however.
other than wifi/airport/802.11?
...how such a terrible film like The Matrix can be such a big thing to so many people? The plot is terrible (on top of cliche and overdone), the acting is sub-par, the exposition is awkward ("EMP? What's that?" - "AI? You mean Artificial Intelligence") and the whole concept just stinks.
i can't agree with you here. i'm going to try to pick apart your argument with the intention of determining whether the movie really is terrible, or whether you just didn't like it (a perfectly valid opinion, but an opinion nonetheless.)
first point, plot. you call it terrible and cliche, and i've got to tell you, *every* plot is cliche. there are only two basic story formats in the world, as far as i've seen. "a man goes on a journey" and "a stranger comes to town." think about it. citizen kane: a man goes on a (psychological) journey. star wars: a stranger (luke) comes to town (to the rescue). mary poppins is the best example of a stranger comes to town that i can think of. so in terms of originality, i'd say the concept of the whole world being a simulation is pretty good, and certainly original in the context of mainstream cinema. star wars was entirely based (deliberately) on a plethora of old world myths, many greek and roman, and many chinese and japanese. the power of a story re-told is no lesser thatn the power of a story told.
second point, acting. you're right. the acting is sub par. so is the acting in a great deal of the films we know and love. the important thing is to consider the conext. mark hamill was awful in star wars, but he was genuine and that's what mattered. none of the kids in goonies are any good as actors, but they were so much fun that it didn't matter. keanu was hired to stand there and look cool, and let's be honest, he did that pretty well.
as i've said, context. was the matrix the next casablanca? no, of course not. but everything has its place. it took a giant step forward in the realm of visual film production, and not just with the bullet time effects. the costuming style, the modern film noir references... it was a huge contributor. it also filled a niche, imho, that star wars filled in the seventies, which was a well known film with a story about truth versus lies, right versus wrong, and a good solid non-denominational look at opression of the little people by the ruling class. that is a universal set of issues which every generation needs to have a version of, and many people feel like the matrix is ours. surely, there isn't a better example in the last five years.
in the end, you might not like it, but there's no denying that the matrix was a well made film. the fact that so many people feel so passionately about it means that there's something there which speaks to people on a fairly broad level. so before trashing it, consider whether you're just having a reaction to its popularity (like me with forrest gump: never seen it, don't want to.), or whether you just don't like it yourself. but to call it a terrible film is just unfair. especially considering that there are movies out there (like ballistic) that really deserve to be alone in the terrible film category...
going with the "stash a device to read your data along with the data, because in the future, the format will be unsupported" idea... if you go far enough along, that won't even work. who's to say how electricity will work in the future? will we still be on 110v, 60hz in the us? will we still be using edison type plugs?
Slashdot Mirror
rather hard to accidentally build the new one better than the old, don't you think?
...hopefully some kind of new wireless "ethernet" is all we should need for external connections at the consumer level. Don't expect to see this any time soon, however. other than wifi/airport/802.11?
thing is, no hippos in the susq. river...
my sonyericsson t616 has a ringer called 'old phone' that sounds exactly like an analog, hardwired, honest-to-god normal phone.
...how such a terrible film like The Matrix can be such a big thing to so many people? The plot is terrible (on top of cliche and overdone), the acting is sub-par, the exposition is awkward ("EMP? What's that?" - "AI? You mean Artificial Intelligence") and the whole concept just stinks.
i can't agree with you here. i'm going to try to pick apart your argument with the intention of determining whether the movie really is terrible, or whether you just didn't like it (a perfectly valid opinion, but an opinion nonetheless.)
first point, plot. you call it terrible and cliche, and i've got to tell you, *every* plot is cliche. there are only two basic story formats in the world, as far as i've seen. "a man goes on a journey" and "a stranger comes to town." think about it. citizen kane: a man goes on a (psychological) journey. star wars: a stranger (luke) comes to town (to the rescue). mary poppins is the best example of a stranger comes to town that i can think of. so in terms of originality, i'd say the concept of the whole world being a simulation is pretty good, and certainly original in the context of mainstream cinema. star wars was entirely based (deliberately) on a plethora of old world myths, many greek and roman, and many chinese and japanese. the power of a story re-told is no lesser thatn the power of a story told.
second point, acting. you're right. the acting is sub par. so is the acting in a great deal of the films we know and love. the important thing is to consider the conext. mark hamill was awful in star wars, but he was genuine and that's what mattered. none of the kids in goonies are any good as actors, but they were so much fun that it didn't matter. keanu was hired to stand there and look cool, and let's be honest, he did that pretty well.
as i've said, context. was the matrix the next casablanca? no, of course not. but everything has its place. it took a giant step forward in the realm of visual film production, and not just with the bullet time effects. the costuming style, the modern film noir references... it was a huge contributor. it also filled a niche, imho, that star wars filled in the seventies, which was a well known film with a story about truth versus lies, right versus wrong, and a good solid non-denominational look at opression of the little people by the ruling class. that is a universal set of issues which every generation needs to have a version of, and many people feel like the matrix is ours. surely, there isn't a better example in the last five years.
in the end, you might not like it, but there's no denying that the matrix was a well made film. the fact that so many people feel so passionately about it means that there's something there which speaks to people on a fairly broad level. so before trashing it, consider whether you're just having a reaction to its popularity (like me with forrest gump: never seen it, don't want to.), or whether you just don't like it yourself. but to call it a terrible film is just unfair. especially considering that there are movies out there (like ballistic) that really deserve to be alone in the terrible film category...
oh, wait.
nevermind.
going with the "stash a device to read your data along with the data, because in the future, the format will be unsupported" idea... if you go far enough along, that won't even work. who's to say how electricity will work in the future? will we still be on 110v, 60hz in the us? will we still be using edison type plugs?