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User: baka_vic

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Comments · 29

  1. Re:Another stupidity in the LCD display market on HDTV Has Ruined the LCD Market · · Score: 2, Informative

    Philips' Perfect Panel Warranty is exactly that - no dead pixels at all. Of course they have a lower priced version of the panel without the comprehensive warranty.

  2. Re:The Appeal of Mass Market Gaming on New Super Mario Bros. Wii Tops 10 Million Sales · · Score: 1
    Metal Slug Anthology

    Seven games in one, what more could you ask for ;)

  3. Re:Electric cars are not better for the enviornmen on Tesla Roadster Breaks Distance Record For Electric Car · · Score: 1

    The majority of electricity comes from 'dirty' sources, such as coal, oil and nuclear.

    Well, it seems like in this case, it's coming from a giant diesel gen ;)

  4. Re:What are Intel's naming department on? on Intel Lynnfield CPU Bests Nehalem In Performance/Watt · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The later Pentium 4 procs were just pushing higher and higher speeds with no regards to the incredible TDP they were now producing - basically it was the epitome of a hot and expensive processor which lost to AMD at that time. The Itanium sinking also doesn't help.

    The Core stuff is from a different architecture lineage, and I guess they want to tell people that these processors were something different from the hot P4s.

    But you're right, the Core naming is retarded - Core and Core 2, are different families, the solo, duo and quad, are the number of cores...people get confused as to what the '2' means - "is it 2 cores?" etc.

  5. Re:no, YOUR methodology is flawed on Music Listeners Test 128kbps vs. 256kbps AAC · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's it. "best" Not "like the original", which is a poor substitute for "best".

    The problem is, "best" is subjective. One's person's "best" is not the same as another. When comparing against the original, we have a baseline to compare against.

    And example of this would be that different codecs preserve certain frequencies differently. Different people are more sensitive to changes in different frequencies. If it just happens that a codec does preserve a those particular frequencies that you are sensitive to, then of course you will feel that that codec is bad.

    Of course, I'm oversimplifing things. Factors like the music, speakers/headphones, etc, all play a part in how you preceive quality of the codec.

    So, basically, the idea is, when doing testing which will be relevant to others, we need to test against the original. But if you're testing to see what codec is best for your own personal use, yes, you can use the codec that sounds "best" to you.

  6. Re:china ftw! on Ogg Vorbis Gaining Industry Support · · Score: 1

    Yup, it seems like most of these Chinese players can play ogg vorbis ok (not perfect, the volume is lower than MP3s played back on the same player, and it sometimes chokes on some files and crash). You can find out more about these players from S1MP3.org.

  7. Re:An analogy since some don't like metaphors.. :P on Jailtime For Leeching Wireless? · · Score: 1
    I would seriously blame it on all those Intel Centrino advertisements. They constantly show people using their laptops in the middle of nowhere, and stating "Wireless Mobility". Most non-techy people would assume "Woah! You mean I can go online anywhere now with this new tech? I'm gonna buy me one of these new laptops now!"

    They've put little disclaimers on the advert towards the last stretches of it's TV airtime, but I believe the damage has already been done.

  8. Re:Congratulations! on 10 Years of Neon Genesis Evangelion · · Score: 1
    It was a massive multi-story sign on the side of a 5-story music store advertising the anime "Nana."
    Nana is a bit different from the "normal" type of anime that is aired - it could be said that it is more of targeted anime. The story was written to appeal to young women, which is why it is being advertised in Shibuya.

    The producers are actually taking a huge gamble with this anime, as although the manga version of the story is very popular, the anime version might not catch on. To increase awareness, they've made a live-action movie to lure people into watching the anime last year, and the anime itself has a short live-action part for introducing the next week's preview.

    If that billboard had something like "The Melancholy Of Suzumiya Haruhi" (and anime which had sudden, immense popularity recently) on it, I would agree with you.

  9. Re:Networks had better think twice on A Bit of Bittorrent Bother · · Score: 1
    I would say Yes.

    The paid download would be in some DRM format, in not very high resolution. The free download, on the other hand, would probably be grabbed from a HDTV source, and not in DRM.

    However, if the paid download is at a reasonable resolution, I believe people would be more willing to fork out cash.

  10. Re:What about current models? on Film Studios Sue Samsung Over DVD players · · Score: 1

    I don't know if upscaling dvd subtitles will improve their quality. This is because the subtitles are not generated by the player itself; but rather, they're images which are "overlayed" onto the movie. From the HD-sets I saw at an electronics store, the results are not pretty - The movie looks beautiful, but the subtitles looked jagged.

  11. Just use Rockbox! on Apple Launches 1 GB nano, Slashes shuffle · · Score: 1

    You could try using Rockbox for your nano - they've just managed to make the sound driver work. Rockbox supports FLAC, Ogg, mp3, Musepack, etc. It's still a bit rough on the edges, but it's pretty cool - plus customisable play screens rock!

  12. Lag is inherent in wireless mice on Wireless USB hubs · · Score: 1
    even the fastest wireless gaming mouses have a semi-noticable lag when you use them.

    Most wireless mice have this lag as they go into some sort of power-saving mode when the mouse isn't moving. So when you suddenly move the mouse, it takes some time for it to return to full-power mode.

  13. Re:Probably not enough DVDs/sec on Bandwidth Challenge Results · · Score: 1

    Peercast does have some live video feeds being p2p-broadcasted. On the peercast yellow pages, you can find live anime feeds running for a few hours a day.

  14. Re:Charging issues? on Sony Ericsson's P990 Smartphone Released · · Score: 1
    I think a male charging plug has a greater surface contact with the female end, as compared the Sony Ericsson's charging adaptor. So I think that's why it's less subseptible to contact problems.

    I've got a K508i, and the charging plug uses these tinny, almost pinhead-like contact pins. If I don't position the phone properly while charging, the contacts might not touch, and I'll have a dead battery the next morning.

    This idea of using these sort of contacts goes back a long way in Ericsson's history. Back in '95 or so, my father had an Ericsson phone, whose handsfree set - you guessed it - uses this stupid pin contact method. He also experienced the same problems you had with your handfree set.

  15. We eat and drink shit on Bacteria Used to Create Nanowires · · Score: 1

    Better lay off booze then - all that alcohol happens to be yeast pee. And bread? Yeast fart.

  16. Re:miniDV EP is lower quality? Bwahahahaha!!! on Cheap Tapeless DV Capture? · · Score: 1
    Finally, the real rule on the timecode problem: Always start a new record by backing up a bit from the last one. This is a problem when you record in several pieces with some video reviewing in-between, not really a problem if you're just recording from start to finish in one sitting. If you know you're going to stop recording and review, just put the lens cap on and record an extra 10 seconds trailer. Be sure to position the tape into that trailer before you start recording again. That'll keep you from having messed-up timecodes.

    If you're using a Sony camcorder, there is usually a button labelled as "End Search", which when pressed, will rewind/forward the tape to where you left off. One thing to remember though, is that opening the tape compartment will make the cam "forget" the end position of the tape. To avoid this when changing tapes, press the "End search" button before changing. I think the other brands also have a similar feature, just by a different name.

  17. Re:IRiver and XClef vs iPod on No Levy on iPods in Canada · · Score: 1
    I just bought a IFP-795 (flash-mem player) a few months back, based on all the raving and ranting I've heard about iRiver products on various forums, and here at slashdot.

    I won't say I'm completely disappointed with it, but it certainly does not live up to my expectations. The early iRiver products, like yours, were truly wonderful; and were what gave iRiver its reputation. Unfortunately, their later models do not seem to have that level of attention paid towards them.

    For starters, I have to load in a special UMS (Usb Mass Storage) firmware to enable the player to be mounted as a Mass Storage drive. If I don't, I have to get stuck with their crappy software for pushing music to the player.

    Next, I can only play ogg vorbis files from 96kbps (64kbps using a modded firmware) to 224kbps. Somehow the volume drops when I play vorbis files. And there are pops at the end of vorbis files.

    Thirdly, the recording feature is rubbish - recording with the inbuilt mic adds a ticking noise to the recording. Did I mention that I can't record above 96kbps? (This applies to radio & line-in recording too) For some reason, the non-UMS firmware can record up to 320kbps...

    For just music listening, I would say it isn't too bad - it sounds quite good, with my tin-can ears. The battery life is pretty good as well - about a week of intensive usage per charge (it uses a single AA-size batt; I'm using 2500mAh NiMH batteries for it) Definately lives up to its claim of 40hr batt life. using AA-size batteries does make it a bit fatter (it's a bit tight in my jeans pants pocket) than those players using AAA-size batteries, but the batt life is worth it.

    If you're looking to buy a player that can play ogg vorbis, I suggest you take a look at the new Samsung players, as well as the Rio offerings - iRiver isn't the only one with Vorbis support now.

    You should also head over to Misticriver if you're thinking of buying an iRiver. The forums there have a lot of useful info on the different models, and other stuff.

  18. Re:Torrent FTW on American Anime Localization Company Tries Torrents · · Score: 1
    The company might not be making money selling their products (television shows) to Brazilian customers (TV stations), but thanks to BitTorrent they're making money selling their products (merchandise) to Brazillian customers (Brazilian anime 'pirates').

    Not quite. I believe a lot of the merchandise sold are not originals, but imitations. So the anime studios aren't making a cent from these. The quality of these imitations are about 80% of the quality of an original piece. For example, a imitation figurine would, at first glance, look pretty good, but on closer examination, be missing markings, have badly painted areas, etc. The originals have stellar quality; with shadows, minute markings, etc. Even the details on the soles!

    On the other hand, the originals can be ridiculously expensive, as compared to these "copies", often with a price difference no less than 3:1 - I wonder how much they make per piece...

  19. Re:I love Firefox but... on Firefox Gains on IE Again in June · · Score: 0

    Bill, is that you?

  20. Re:Taking things too seriously. on Old-Fashioned DRM Protects Harry Potter Book · · Score: 1
    I thought that the books will be released at exactly the same time, following GMT?

    Down here in Singapore, they're selling it at 7:01am in the morning - Link

  21. Re:BMW?? on Software Glitches Stall Toyota Prius · · Score: 1
    Taxing cars to encourage people buying new ones is insane

    Welcome to Singapore.

  22. Re:Yes, there are people that dumb on The Planet's Most Moronic Hacker · · Score: 1
    Ya, this is definately possible. I kinda did a fair ridiculous experiment at school with a few computers with removable harddrive bays. I think you can already guess what I did - I turned on the computers, started running some programs, and proceded to yank the drives out.

    Firefox ran ok for a few minutes, and I could actually surf a few sites before windows start locking up. It became stable again when I reinserted the drives. I also tried this on some linux boxes, with similar results.

  23. Re:Subbing? on Cartoon Network's 1st Original 'Toonami' Series · · Score: 1
    Since Naruto is due to run out of manga pretty soon, it could go either way.

    I suspect that we'll be in for some long-drawn out battle scene, not unlike that of the Hokage vs. Orochimaru battle at around episode 70+...I really hated that part...7+ episodes of pushing a sword around - bleh!

  24. Re:We want Linux on IBM Desktop Linux Pledge, One Year Later · · Score: 1
    Have a look at this.

    However, I warn you strongly to back up anything important - I tried using qtparted (from a knoppix disc) to resize a ntfs partition on my laptop, but when I booted to Windows, it said that the partition was not formatted, and wanted to format it. Luckily the partition was empty at that time.

    I read somewhere that early versions of ntfsresize (I was using knoppix 3.4) destroyed partitions, but I believe that the newer versions are fine. YMMV.

  25. Re:Proxy on Iran Cracks Down on Internet Sites · · Score: 1
    It's not too easy for them to do so. Seems like the Iran Telecom is implementing a "Intelligent filter" which can filter out "popular" sites automatically. So if the Iranians use only a small handful of proxies, they will soon find them blocked.

    If somehow we could setup a huge network of proxies, and have some means of letting the people know their IP addresses, we could probably hamper the telecom's effort greatly. They either turn off their filter, or face having a private intranet.