I'm one of the few people who liked all 4 Alien movies. I thought they were all great in their own unique way (though each was way different from the others). I thought the 4th one was a great blend of Jeunet's visual humor and Joss Whedon's great characters (the crew of The Betty was also a prototype of his crew from Firefly). But a lot of people didn't like the 4th one. I was probably one of the few who was already a Jean-Pierre Jeunet fan going into the movie, so I got it more than most, I guess.
Aliens is hardly a dumb popcorn piece. It's just way more character-oriented than Alien. In Alien, the characters are pretty typical horror cannon-fodder (and cliched at that, right down to the one girl who survives). In Aliens, the interaction between the human characters is actually the *focus* of the movie, rather than just the setup. In the original, I never really felt anything connecting me to any of the characters. In Aliens, I felt way more invested in the fates of the humans I was watching.
That rich entrepreneurs should just do like Steve Jobs and keep it all for themsevles? Or are you arguing that no one should be allowed to be a rich entrepreneur?
People are distrustful of religion in general, and the Pope in particular. Bill Gates comes with none of that baggage. Aside from a few of us/. geeks, Bill Gates' reputation as both a philanthropist and entrepreneur is pretty much spotless among the general public. And, among much of the American public, Companies like MS and Apple are also seen as some of the few bright spots in an economy that has seen American manufacturing going into the shitter for the last 40 years. It wouldn't surprise me if Steve Jobs beat the Pope too.
Actually, it has been tried several times before. It's part of the reason that the federal workforce as a rule have traditionally been so paranoid, rule/regulation obsessed, focused heavily on protocol, reluctant to change or innovate, etc. When you're walking on eggshells, no one wants to be the one hopping. It makes for a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in CYA (Cover Your Ass) politics.
Once again, in trying to improve government, they'll only make it more ineffective--and make it even less attractive to any real talent. The vets who spend all day covering their asses will just hunker down and hide, and the innovators who are making waves will be driven out.
Software Freedom potentially provides the freest landscape ultimately, but there may be growing pains.
Is that kind of like the argument that ultimately communism will free all the workers to run the state in a workers' paradise, but to get there it's somehow necessary to go through Stalin's purges?
I think that the original editorial does have a point in one regard. The height of "openness" and freedom to me is the ability for me, as the user, to CHOOSE whatever format I want to watch or use for myself. Now, I'm sure that there will be some extension for Chrome that allows for H.264 support. But, having said that, I still never feel more "free" when someone REMOVES support for a format.
In an ideal Apple world, the iPad would have no buttons and would just display a feed directly from Steve all day of what he thinks the user needs to see.
Michael Crichton (who was kind of a flake himself, but did occasionally make a trenchant observation) once said that 90% of Hollywood was "2+2=5 stupid."
Jenny McCarthy isn't batshit insane, she's just a gullible bimbo. Please don't insult all the truly batshit insane people out there by linking them with her dumb ass.
They don't need it to be criminal for it to hurt him. They don't even need to *WIN* it to hurt him. Simply by suing him, they're already putting a significant financial burden on him (and discouraging other would-be hackers, which is their real goal).
As for everyone who pipes up in these cases and says "Don't worry, the EFF will pay for his defense," methinks you people VASTLY overestimate the financial and legal resources of the EFF. Do you really think they can provide lawyers for every case like this, or even begin to compete with the resources of Sony or other media giants (not to mention the fact that these companies almost completely own the U.S. Congress)? How many people here have ever even donated to the EFF?
It's not about stopping this crack, it's about discouraging future cracks. Sony and other media companies created the WIPO copyright treaty/DMCA not because they thought there was any hope of stopping hackers from cracking their DRM, but because they want to create a climate where hackers are too afraid to even TRY.
You obviously haven't seen them, or you would know that they did a *lot* more than just some "retouches." Entire sequences on Cloud City and Tatooine are now unwatchable because of all the distracting CGI shit in the background. And it isn't even *good* CGI (you would think they could have at least sprang for some decent work).
The last time Emperor Lucas included the theatrical version, he did a nice little underhanded (and spiteful) trick. The Special Edition versions were anamorphic DVD's. The theatrical versions were non-anamorphic widescreen (which, for those who don't understand the distinction, look like shit on widescreen TV's).
The original theatrical releases will NOT be included, only the heavily edited "Special Editions" from the 90's (no doubt with even *more* edits from Lucas piled on, as if he didn't fuck them up enough already).
Remember the poster on Fox Mulder's wall that said "I want to believe"? That pretty much sums up the mentality of the true believe--they WANT to believe.*
You can't change that mentality. If someone really wants to believe, no amount of evidence or reasoning is ever going to really get through to them. Whether you're telling a UFO nut that aliens aren't probing our rednecks, a Jesus freak that JC isn't coming back for him, or a Koran-thumper that Allah doesn't have a bunch of virgins waiting for him on the other side of his suicide bombing--you're wasting your time. You'd be no less successful arguing with a brick wall.
*Kudos, BTW, to the one X-Files writer who got this, and used it for comic fodder: the great Darin Morgan.
I hate it when someone feels the need to come up with a piece of meaningless jargon when "excessive packet buffering" would have been much more descriptive and required less explanation.
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If you try to watch it all the way through, you'll get diarrhea.
I'm one of the few people who liked all 4 Alien movies. I thought they were all great in their own unique way (though each was way different from the others). I thought the 4th one was a great blend of Jeunet's visual humor and Joss Whedon's great characters (the crew of The Betty was also a prototype of his crew from Firefly). But a lot of people didn't like the 4th one. I was probably one of the few who was already a Jean-Pierre Jeunet fan going into the movie, so I got it more than most, I guess.
Aliens is hardly a dumb popcorn piece. It's just way more character-oriented than Alien. In Alien, the characters are pretty typical horror cannon-fodder (and cliched at that, right down to the one girl who survives). In Aliens, the interaction between the human characters is actually the *focus* of the movie, rather than just the setup. In the original, I never really felt anything connecting me to any of the characters. In Aliens, I felt way more invested in the fates of the humans I was watching.
How dare you offer such a reasonable dialogue about MS and Bill Gates on /., sir!!! Don't you realize he's Satan?!?!?
That rich entrepreneurs should just do like Steve Jobs and keep it all for themsevles? Or are you arguing that no one should be allowed to be a rich entrepreneur?
People are distrustful of religion in general, and the Pope in particular. Bill Gates comes with none of that baggage. Aside from a few of us /. geeks, Bill Gates' reputation as both a philanthropist and entrepreneur is pretty much spotless among the general public. And, among much of the American public, Companies like MS and Apple are also seen as some of the few bright spots in an economy that has seen American manufacturing going into the shitter for the last 40 years. It wouldn't surprise me if Steve Jobs beat the Pope too.
Internet will be 100x better with Glorious Leader's presence!
Actually, it has been tried several times before. It's part of the reason that the federal workforce as a rule have traditionally been so paranoid, rule/regulation obsessed, focused heavily on protocol, reluctant to change or innovate, etc. When you're walking on eggshells, no one wants to be the one hopping. It makes for a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in CYA (Cover Your Ass) politics.
Once again, in trying to improve government, they'll only make it more ineffective--and make it even less attractive to any real talent. The vets who spend all day covering their asses will just hunker down and hide, and the innovators who are making waves will be driven out.
Software Freedom potentially provides the freest landscape ultimately, but there may be growing pains.
Is that kind of like the argument that ultimately communism will free all the workers to run the state in a workers' paradise, but to get there it's somehow necessary to go through Stalin's purges?
I think that the original editorial does have a point in one regard. The height of "openness" and freedom to me is the ability for me, as the user, to CHOOSE whatever format I want to watch or use for myself. Now, I'm sure that there will be some extension for Chrome that allows for H.264 support. But, having said that, I still never feel more "free" when someone REMOVES support for a format.
In an ideal Apple world, the iPad would have no buttons and would just display a feed directly from Steve all day of what he thinks the user needs to see.
Michael Crichton (who was kind of a flake himself, but did occasionally make a trenchant observation) once said that 90% of Hollywood was "2+2=5 stupid."
Jenny McCarthy isn't batshit insane, she's just a gullible bimbo. Please don't insult all the truly batshit insane people out there by linking them with her dumb ass.
They don't need it to be criminal for it to hurt him. They don't even need to *WIN* it to hurt him. Simply by suing him, they're already putting a significant financial burden on him (and discouraging other would-be hackers, which is their real goal).
As for everyone who pipes up in these cases and says "Don't worry, the EFF will pay for his defense," methinks you people VASTLY overestimate the financial and legal resources of the EFF. Do you really think they can provide lawyers for every case like this, or even begin to compete with the resources of Sony or other media giants (not to mention the fact that these companies almost completely own the U.S. Congress)? How many people here have ever even donated to the EFF?
It's not about stopping this crack, it's about discouraging future cracks. Sony and other media companies created the WIPO copyright treaty/DMCA not because they thought there was any hope of stopping hackers from cracking their DRM, but because they want to create a climate where hackers are too afraid to even TRY.
I've got an even better solution. I just don't watch the SE's.
If you had a decent TV, you would know why. But, you're right that it won't make any difference on your 27" Sanyo.
You obviously haven't seen them, or you would know that they did a *lot* more than just some "retouches." Entire sequences on Cloud City and Tatooine are now unwatchable because of all the distracting CGI shit in the background. And it isn't even *good* CGI (you would think they could have at least sprang for some decent work).
The last time Emperor Lucas included the theatrical version, he did a nice little underhanded (and spiteful) trick. The Special Edition versions were anamorphic DVD's. The theatrical versions were non-anamorphic widescreen (which, for those who don't understand the distinction, look like shit on widescreen TV's).
He acts more like the Emperor these days. Too bad someone couldn't have tossed him down a shaft before he raped Indiana Jones with a crystal skull.
The original theatrical releases will NOT be included, only the heavily edited "Special Editions" from the 90's (no doubt with even *more* edits from Lucas piled on, as if he didn't fuck them up enough already).
Surely they're aware that they're jeopardizing their souls (and certainly their lives) by such a blatant act of Apple rebellion??
Remember the poster on Fox Mulder's wall that said "I want to believe"? That pretty much sums up the mentality of the true believe--they WANT to believe.*
You can't change that mentality. If someone really wants to believe, no amount of evidence or reasoning is ever going to really get through to them. Whether you're telling a UFO nut that aliens aren't probing our rednecks, a Jesus freak that JC isn't coming back for him, or a Koran-thumper that Allah doesn't have a bunch of virgins waiting for him on the other side of his suicide bombing--you're wasting your time. You'd be no less successful arguing with a brick wall.
*Kudos, BTW, to the one X-Files writer who got this, and used it for comic fodder: the great Darin Morgan.
I hate it when someone feels the need to come up with a piece of meaningless jargon when "excessive packet buffering" would have been much more descriptive and required less explanation.
This was how the lead character in Ghost Dog stole his cars. Great movie, BTW.