Recent Comments:
Widescreen LCDs going widescreen by 2010 {Engadget HD}
Jul 2nd 2008 9:04PM OK. Sorry for the harshness of the post.
You have noticed however that even 1.85:1 films don;t completely fill the 16:9 screen right? (there is still slight letterboxing at the top and bottom). So we still have 4 aspect rations in common use today (4:3, 16:9, 1.85:1, and 2.35:1)
I think this is a problem that can only be solved except by changing our expectations. There is just too much visual content from too many diverse sources to ever achieve standardization (not to mention some business like movie theaters make not want standardization). I love my widescreen TV because I have so many widescreen DVD's and even the 2.35:1 ones are a lot bigger now than they were on my old 27 inch Trinitron. But many of them still have letterboxing and its a heck of a lot better than it was on the old 4:3 tube. I honestly forget about it after a while.
On the other hand widescreen aspect ratios on computers is great for movies and TV but not so great for productivity especially if you do graphic work like I do. It won't be long before I have to buy a 30" Apple or Dell monitor because dual widescreens will be so long and skinny as to be useless.
Widescreen LCDs going widescreen by 2010 {Engadget HD}
Jul 2nd 2008 1:50PM Who exactly would enforce this this new 16:9 "rule"? What about the hundreds of thousands of movies, television shows that are already in 4:3, 1.85:1, 2.35:1, 2:65 and 2.75:1 aspect ratios? What about the concerns of the theaters who have invested in huge screens for the 2.3:5 to one blockbuster summer films while smaller budget films get shown on their 1.85:1 screens? Do they all have to submit to some 16:9 Gestapo? There is after all a zoom command if filling up those unused pixels is so important to people who freak out about "black bars". I'm much more inclined to trust the creator of a movie or TV show to make the decision about the aspect ratio over some industry standards consortium.
DVD Download DL logo sparks wonder over Toshiba's super-resolution DVD player {Engadget HD}
Jul 1st 2008 7:24PM You can apply all the fancy new algorithms you want to but once resolution is gone its gone.
Anybody who's ever worked with Photoshop knows that if you start with low resolution crap you can only make it look so good. A postage stamp sized photo snagged off of a google image search can only look so good when its blown up to 4 times its original size. All the fancy software filters in the world can't add back detail that's not there to begin with.
Why people still think that technology can make it all better, as if there will be some kind of upscaling wondercure that will make SD actually look like HD, is beyond me.
Upscaling is what it is. Its as good as DVD is going to get and its fine as a placeholder but its not the future.
The Godfather Collection hitting Blu-ray on September 23rd {Engadget HD}
Jun 30th 2008 6:40PM I'm thrilled to see this release on Blu-ray but I will rent it or at least wait for the reviews before plunking down my money.
The last Godfather trilogy box set "restoration" from the early 2000's looked horrible. It was dark and extremely grainy and sounded like the audio was recorded in a can. Maybe with Coppola's name slapped across the front of the box this will finally be the real restoration the films deserve.
I'll bet Amazon will have it for 75-85 dollars.
Poll: Do you tune into OTA programming? {Engadget HD}
Jun 28th 2008 2:44PM I only watch a few shows so OTA digital gets me half way there. If I miss it when it airs, I download it on the Xbox or through iTunes or stream it on Hulu or the network's site. If I don't need to see it right away I just wait till Netflix gets the DVD's. Basically I will use any route possible to avoid paying cable and satellite companies for hundreds of channels of crap I could care less about just to see 4 or 5 shows.
With the money I save not having cable or satellite I could even buy the box sets of the shows I care about on DVD and still come out ahead.
Blu-ray Disc sales estimated to exceed DVDs in 2012 {Engadget HD}
Jun 24th 2008 8:20PM Technology only gets cheaper WITHIN a product's life cycle.
Just because you can get a 320 GB laptop drive for 180 bucks now does not mean you have some god given right to whine that 64GB flash RAM drives still cost 750 bucks. There is nothing sinister or shocking about the natural life cycle of a technology product.
Blu-ray Disc sales estimated to exceed DVDs in 2012 {Engadget HD}
Jun 24th 2008 2:08PM DVD's overtook VHS in terms of US sales in 2003... 6 years after their introduction in 1997.
2 years after the first DVD players were introduced the cheapest ones were still 350 dollars (over $450 dollars in 2008 money). Players were not full featured (no progressive scan, some had no component out, etc). We are right at 2 years into Blu-ray's rollout. Cheap players are 300-400 dollars. They are not full featured yet either.
Sounds familiar, huh?
Ask Engadget: Best backpack for traveling with gadgets? {Engadget}
Jun 19th 2008 10:18PM The Crumpler "Sinking Barge" daypack is not messenger style but a heck of a lot more secure and comfortable with all the weight of the gadgets. It got beaucoup padding and securely holds a 15 inch laptop or smaller as well as a digital SLR, a lens or two, and has an upper compartment with all sorts of zippered compartments for iPods, smaller digital cameras, cell phones, flash memory cards etc.
www.crumplerbags.com
For a fashionable and waterproof messenger bag with an integrated laptop sleeve and numerous velcro-ed compartments check out the Freitag messengers:
www.freitag.ch
They aren't cheap but they are common in Europe as they are a Swiss company and don't scream "camera bag". Best thing about them is they are all different because they are made from used rubberized truck tarp fabric.
iPhone 3G activation in store only? {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Jun 10th 2008 1:48AM Go-phones are not heavily subsidized. They are generally cheaper phones with just a slight discount. AT&T offers them but you can't get a Blackberry as a Go-phone either. Since the first iPhone was not subsidized it didn't matter to AT&T if someone left after 2 months of service.
I don't blame them one bit for refusing to sell a phone at a loss without a legal guarantee that they will make back the money over time. This is why we have contracts, early termination fees and guaranteed 2 year contracts.
How much will an iPhone cost you? {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Jun 8th 2008 5:05PM I certainly hope you're right.
All you can eat 3G data for a reasonable amount (20-30 bucks a month) would revolutionize the use of mobile devices and accelerate the adoption of all sorts of cool mobile devices. This old system of nickel and dime-ing the customer has got to stop.
But don't forget 20 bucks a month for unlimited EDGE service is not really THAT great a deal considering how far behind 3-g it is. Its better than WAP but that's about it. The only saving grace is that so many websites have optimized themselves to load in a reasonable amount of time across EDGE.
