Tuesday, November 29, 2005

DRM Hurts Those Who Love It

Click to enlarge
I feel such a kinship with Marten! I don't know if any of you read Questionable Content, but you really should because it's starting to get juicy. Am I the only person who has been in this situation? Anyway, the most interesting article today, in my opinion, was regarding the negative effects of Digital Rights Management on copy-protected CD sales based on anecdotal evidence. I'm sure that a statistical study would reveal similar results. For those of you who don't know, any CD with DRM cannot be loaded onto your iPod without the aid of a hack because some in the music industry are complete douchebags. As the article says, why would you want to piss off your customers? It just doesn't make any sense to me. Is it really worth the money to alienate us? It'll eventually cause a lesser image for artists under such labels and a rebellion of surging illegal downloads. Or so my conspiracy theory goes.

Another good article today details the showdown between the three big browsers and really highlights their strengths in case you haven't tried them all. I was never a big fan of Opera myself, but I use IE and Firefox. In fact, there's a new version of Firefox that includes a feature I've always wanted: movable tabs. Meanwhile, a previous IE flaw has been discovered to be much more damaging than previously thought and you may even want to put a hold on IE until a patch is released. I've always found the air guitar rather comical, but some Finnish students have actually created a system to make your faux playing a reality using a pair of gloves. There's a video there that's down right now (probably too many hits), but it still sounds pretty neat to me. Lastly, I'd like to wish Pong a happy 34th birthday. It looks like the game that started it all is approaching its midlife crisis.

I'm going to start off here with the most shocking piece of movie news: Kevin Smith may actually do a sequel to Dogma! He hinted on his site's forum that he's played around with the idea since 9/11 as he's had more reflections on religion. Let's keep our fingers crossed! Another strange piece of news is that Tim Burton and Jim Carrey may team up for a movie aiming to cash in on the "Ripley's Believe it or Not" television show, and while I don't know what the plot will be if Tim Burton agrees to it I'm sure there's more to it than meets the eye. I'll keep you posted. Tony Scott's next movie is Deja Vu, which follows an FBI agent traveling back in time to save the chick he loves, and Jim Caviezel may be the villain (a terrorist). I don't know that I'll ever see him again and not think of Jesus, but they can do wonders with makeup and wardrobe these days. All I have left for you is media. SuperheroHype got a few captures from the X3 storyboards included on the Fantastic Four DVD and while they don't reveal a whole lot they still look kind of cool. A couple of pictures from the new Pirates of the Caribbean ship have sprung up and it looks rather elaborate. Those interested in King Kong will want to check out a four minute clip from the movie previously aired on NBC that seem to pretty accurately reflect the intended tone of the film. Though Aeon Flux won't be screened for critics I'm sure a few of you still have hope and may enjoy a fun clip at Yahoo Movies. Lastly, I've found the worst movie promotion ever.

Now for the glorious Ten on Tuesday meme:

10 Things You're Thankful For
10. My parents' decision to come to America 27 years ago.
9. Having my brother (life would suck for me as an only child).
8. My friends.
7. The discipline my father bestowed on my to follow through on my studies and interests.
6. Staying healthy (some of you may not know that I used to be overweight).
5. My cousin's safe return from Iraq.
4. The means to get a good education from UT.
3. Being able to eat at least 3 meals a day.
2. Every good grade I get.
1. My family.

3 comments:

Jennyfer said...

Are you kidding me?!

You were overweight?! OMG, I would have never thunk it. Things with my brother aren't terribly bad. We talk and are getting along remarkably well...but you know how it works. There were several incidents in my past where he betrayed us more then once and as the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...

:-) And yes...family is awesome.

Mathieu said...

kudos on the weight. I was too.

Hold on, you'll realize the potential you have and then well... booyah. they'll all start knocking at your door. That's the way it happened for me anyways.

Firefox rocks. Am using it right now. The IE thing really sucks. It's everywhere, web sites, in the paper everywhere. (maybe another reason to NOT buy a 360....hmmm)

I'll stick with another company this time around I think. Can't wait for the revolution)

That movie looks like shit. Shit in a can maybe. UGH.

What doesn't look like that --> Charlize Theron. Finaly those stills make sense. Looks like a fun movie. Although I hate -cut action shots. You know, one angle charlize kicks. Other shot - a white leg hurts a face. That just seems too fake. And I know that all along action scenes of the like, I'll be in great disbelief. Should have been better stunts. :-)

Anyhow.

Too bad you had to live a situation like the boy up there. It did happen to me twice. It sucks. I'll be awaiting the outcome. :)

so... later!

LizzieDaisy said...

Okay, I don't get the tab thing. What's helpful about them. Never tried them cause I didn't see the point. Please explain. All of the sudden I feel like I'm missing out on something good. :)

And for the record, I have Safari (which is what I use mostly, but you know that), IE, Firefox, NetScape, Camino and Opera. I like to cover my bases. LOL.