text:
Sleepy Hollow (1999)I didn't admit that I slept through parts of this movie. It was literally "Sleepy Hollow" for me. I was beginning a period of my life when I changed from loving movies — going out to the movies more than once a week — to near-complete indifference. I can barely force myself to go out to the movies 5 times a year, and I watch a movie on TV maybe once a month.
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
I hated this movie, 19 December 1999
I have in the past loved Tim Burton. I loved Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, and even Mars Attacks. But I hate this movie. The costume drama scenes in the beginning were the sort of poorly done, stodgy things that used to plague historical drama 25 years ago. Then there were all the head-cutting scenes, which just left me cold, and that's the sort of thing that ought to mean something, I would think. Yes, there were some nice bare trees and foggy evenings and the horseman jumping out of the tree was a nice special effect, but on the whole the movie was just boring and pointless.
Dogma (1999)Ha ha. I like the way 0 out of 5 people find my review useful. On IMDB, "useful" tends to mean "liked it as much as I did."
0 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
This movie is terrible!, 24 November 1999
Where are the positive reviews coming from? This movie is terrible! The acting was incredibly wooden, like an underrehearsed skit that went on for 2 hours intercut with idiotic scenes of carnage. How many times did 5 or 6 characters just sit around explaining elaborate supernatural rules to each other? That might have been funny if the script were well written and if Selma Hayek could act just a little, but it wasn't. And poor Ben Affleck, trying to act up a storm: was this supposed to be dramatic? It was just out of place and dumb. And Alanis Morrisette as God might have been funny if all the reviews hadn't revealed this plot point and if George Burns hadn't already milked the joke of an unlikely pop celebrity as God years ago. I was horribly bored at this movie and may have set a record for times I looked at my watch. Thinking a comedy should be about 90 minutes, I went nuts waiting for this ponderous two hours to end.
Being John Malkovich (1999)It's a bloggy question: Do you ever think I wish I could be inside someone else's body, so you could have sex with someone who doesn't find you physically attractive? Or have you ever wished someone you really like as a person could be inside the body of someone you find physically attractive so you would be able/willing to have sex with him/her?
Focus on Catherine Keener, 22 November 1999
Well, first of course this a very interesting and original film with lots of laughs and many memorable images. And Cameron Diaz allowed herself to look unrecognizable and homely as anything. Yay, Cameron! But let me focus on the wonderful Catherine Keener, whom I adore from "Living in Oblivion" (not to mention the Seinfeld where she paints Kramer's picture). I'm so glad she has a really popular movie to record her greatness for all posterity. The role is perfect for her: so many cutting remarks, said with a smile.
Back to the film. Interesting inquiry into sexuality: what if you love the personality but are not attracted to their body? That's the basic question, which perhaps the writer struggled with in his own life. If only I could be inside the body of someone sexually attractive (like John Malkovich!!), I could then have sex with all the people I find attractive. Actually, this may be where the story went downhill for some people and got quite dark. I can see many people had trouble with Cameron in a cage.... As well you should! If that weren't upsetting, then there'd be a problem....
Festen (1998)I used to suffer for things that people made me think were real art. Now, I protect myself. What am I missing? I blame "Festen."
3 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
The Promised Profound Experience Didn't Happen to Me, 21 November 1999
I saw this movie at a university screening room after an elaborate intro by the movie's producer, who explained all about Dogma 95, which I was quite interested in and excited about. But the film seemed to be pretty much of an exercise in following their little rules, which results in a movie that left me longing for the artistry of real cinematography. The producer described the Dogmatists [as] wanting to strip away the pretensions of big expensive films, and that is something I appreciate. But I want to see the actors faces. Take a film like Crumb, really low budget, but you see everything. Celebration didn't seem to really care about its characters or story which I found incredibly trite and unbelievable. I was told I'd be profoundly moved and that people all over the world were really moved by this film, but I just did not believe in the story at all. It was quite a crude effort at writing a family story with a big secret, which reminded me a bit of Sam Shepard plays from the 70s. Big weird family with a horrible secret to be discovered. Or to go way back, Eugene O'Neill. But those family stories are so far better written than Celebration--it is just nothing as a story. And the wearing effect of the visual quality as the movie gets literally darker and grainier as it goes along reminded me of experiences I've had in bad theaters where I've had to complain about the lighting. I like the idea of stripping away pretense and making movie making possible without enlisting the approval of big companies, but I assume in the future it can be made to look better and that the writing will really count and the acting will be good. There was one fine actor in the movie, the father, who was in Bergman's Cries and Whispers, and I started thinking about Bergman, who had very beautiful cinematography: it's not something to be scorned.
American Beauty (1999)No one admits to liking this film anymore. You're supposed to hate it. Sorry. I loved it at the time, and I'm not going to censor this. The movie got overpraised, I guess — won a lot of awards — and there was backlash. Also, it had an embarrassingly badly done gay theme.
Every performance: perfect!, 24 October 1999
Well, it looks like nearly everyone truly loves this movie, and so do I.
A lot of movies that are artistic and admirable still don't really grip you all they way through, but this one did for me. When I saw it a second time, I still felt completely involved at every moment. There was always an image on screen worth looking at, even studying, for all the details of the composition: the composed squares of windows at night and camera viewfinder and so on. There was attention to this. Every performance was just perfect.
Annette Benning was hilarious and really perfect. So funny and moving even as she played the type of character who isn't usually sympathized with. You know it really does ruin the mood if the guy attempting to have sex with you is holding a beer bottle slantwise near the upholstery that you've struggled to buy and maintain. That's why Spacey sounds trite, as one commenter commented, when he rants to her about caring about things. Hey, remember that scene begins with him playing with his new toy and pleased at having bought a new car. You aren't supposed to actually buy his throwback to the sixties mentality: he's just discovered his inner teenager there. Enough has been said about Spacey.
I just want to identify the two actors I'd nominate for their supporting roles. First, Chris Cooper. The long wet closeup is a great sustained performance that feels completely real and unbearably painful. Just to think of it now gives me chills.
Second, Mena Suvari. She is absolutely perfect in this role, funny, moving. I didn't notice how great she was the first time I saw the movie, because she was such a type until toward the end, but the second time I noticed all the perfect detail in this performance. I also saw her in a TV interview: she looked nothing like the character in the movie.
Anyway, I would have said I'd like to see these four actors sweep the acting Oscars except that I'm still trying to deal with the immense awe inspired by Ving Rhames in Bringing Out the Dead.
Lolita (1962)This is the only review of an old film in the bunch. I just get a kick out of watching this movie. So rewatchable. I love it.
0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
second only to "Dr. Strangelove", 7 August 1999
I saw this film when I was in college, and what I remember is walking home after the film, talking about it with my friends and suddenly bursting out crying and being unable to stop. What triggered this was the thought "he really loved her." I give credit to James Mason for that (James, sublime in the bathtub scene). These days, I watch the film again every few years, and though I've never gotten back that original reaction, I love it (with the exception of the business with the folding bed--it's just too tedious, however metaphorical). Peter Sellers ("right in the boxing glove") is constantly hilarious, the clown who drops in from time to time hardly dominates the movie as so many people say. Sue Lyon is also perfect in her role (too bad if she's older than in the book--the book has an entirely different tone). She is complex, not the innocent victim: what could be more boring than a film about an innocent victim? Shelley Winters (who is really quite attractive but willing to make herself ridiculous and gloriously annoying) could not be funnier. One of my favorite films of all time: second only to "Dr. Strangelove" among Kubrick's films. (PS. I hated "Eyes Wide Shut.")
I can see, reading my old reviews, how much I used to care about the actors. I was so interested in how they did their work. Today, I'm just not interested in actors. I don't want to look at them. They've gotten so fake. And it's not just all the plastic surgery. I wonder if I'm sorry I lost interest in movies. Maybe I'd like them if I didn't have other things I want to do with my time. And I'm so impatient. I can't commit 2 hours to sitting in the dark, in the grip of some director's sense of how much time to take telling me a story. I can't wait while an actor speaks slowly and pauses and grimaces to try to make me feel that the words of a script are actually being manufactured inside his cranium. I have thoughts of my own.


text:
|2009-08-29, 00:46
|Link #1
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: California desert
another question about pc build
I asked a question about pc building before and have a whole bunch of new questions.
Ive revised my budget from to 1000 - 1200$ us and am going for a pure performance pc that can watch blu ray movies, troll the net, and play WOW at the low end and Far Cry at the high end graphics games. The machine has to do this without being overclocked, so for those out there who play these can you list what you play them with.
Now for some technical questions how many gigs exactly does vista/WOW/Far CRY take up on a fresh install. this is to determine which of the raptor drives or two Corsair P128 SSD i will select for the OS and the other will be for the games.
What RAM Speed works the BEST for these games 667/800/1022etc. And how many gigs should i really run for the games alone. Also Vidcards is it better 2 in SLI / Xfire mode or a Single monster card.
The CPU can i get away with a Dual core or should i go quad core. this will determine whether i go watercooled or can get away with just air
I have so far is CM Haf 935 with CM 900w PS, wireless Keyboard/mouse, Blu Ray/DVD Drive reader only Combo, 6+2 Pci USB 2.0 Card
|2009-08-29, 01:06
|Link #2
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 28
Generally, faster speed RAM will run faster, but will cost more... but 4 GB is sufficient for all the video games out there, but you will need to install 64-bit Vista or Windows 7 in order to take avantage of the 4 GB of RAM or more. Drivers won't be a problem with 64-bit since driver support have improved since Vista... and Vista is currently the only Windows OS that supports 64-bit pretty well until 7 comes out.
|2009-08-29, 06:28
|Link #3
IT Support
Well, are you sure that you want to use 2 x 128 GB SSD for that budget? One of those corsair P128 itselft cost $ 345.99. Which I believe it's much better to spend it for better CPU (e.g. i7) and GPU (e.g. 4890 / GTX275).
For memory, if you're going i7 (or DDR3 in general), 1600 MHz DDR3 with 8 CAS Latency is quite good and I think it's the sweet spot for DDR3 nowadays. 3x2 GB for triple channel or 2x2 GB for dual channel is quite adequate.
For video cards (GPU), it's actually depend on what resolution what you're gaming at. Below 1920x1200 I think a single 4890 / GTX 275 is quite sufficient.
And for $1000+ budget, obviously you want a good quad-core processor (i7 for best performance or Phenom II X4 for best price/performance). I don't recommend going Core 2 Quad since the Phenom II delivers the same (if not better) performance at a better price. And it will be replaced soon by the new Core i5.
Anyway, you might want to wait several weeks for a brand new Intel Core i5/P55 chipset platform, which should delivers near i7 performance at cheaper price.
Oh and here's some nice system building guide from anandtech :
|2009-08-29, 11:46
|Link #4
You could say.....
Join Date: Apr 2007
900w is overkill. Xfire/Sli performance is dependant on game still. One monster card is still superior to 2 mediocre cards. You are not going to be using 667/800 for i7, these are ddr2 speeds. i7 is DDR3 exclusively and triple channel (3sticks of Ram) as well. Are you running a 64bit o/s or just 32bit? Pointless to go to high end system and run a 32bit o/s. You just can't use enough RAM to make the most of additional performance available.
Are you planning any RAID setups for the HDD's or just two separate drives? Some of the bigger 1tb+ HDD's are offering raptor performance simply because of the data density across the platters.
|2009-08-29, 12:11
|Link #5
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: California desert
The idea behind the big PSU is im not taxing it as much. especially if there are minimum requirements on power.
It will be exclusively a DDR3 Machine thats the reason behind the budget and i dont wanna have to upgrade it for at least 3-5 yrs.
The OS will be 64bit vista until retail of Window7 64bit retail comes out. As far as
HDD each game will get a dedicated HD so yes there will be some form of a raid config.
|2009-08-29, 14:14
|Link #6
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 28
Windows 7 is going to release in October and you should be able to obtain a free copy of Windows 7 if you bought a OEM copy of Windows Vista right now (but you might need to pay shipping which isn't much)
Also, SSD is still new technology and I have heard that they have higher failure rate and also SSD is too expensive and not perfected yet... It's best to stick with HDs at the time being until SSD finally mature enough, which won't be until several years later and HDs will give you better capacity at a lower cost of SSDs (which cost 200 and up depending on capacity, which is small)... and it's not that practical for desktop use since it's mostly geared for laptops since most notebooks would benefit alot more with no moving parts, so I don't recommend it currently unless you want the latest technology.
|2009-08-29, 21:31
|Link #7
IT Support
Well, I believe that the main reason of using SSD is one : speed. So everyone that want a very high I/O performance on their already high-end desktop should use a SSD instead of high-rpm harddisk. Here's some of the performance metrics comparison :
And I think that the recent version of the mainstream controllers such as the ones from Indilinx (which is used on most OCZ/SuperTalent SSD) is already quite reliable since they're already support the TRIM command which eliminating the performance drop which usually occurs after you use a SSD for some time. Altough it seems to still in beta state...
Indeed, the price/GB is still very high... And I think that 3 x 1 TB RAID 5 is quite sufficient and much cheaper for you budget.
Oh, and if DX11 is a success, you do want to upgrade to a DX11 ready card (5XXX / GTX 3XX ???) sometime around next year (or closer?)...
|2009-08-29, 22:27
|Link #8
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 28
The problem is, although SSDs loads information fast... they don't have very fast write speeds, since the blocks on SSDs are larger than of that hard drives which have higher storage density depending how big the HD is, which can make write cycles faster... Another problem is that SSDs, although don't have any moving parts, they have a limited amount of write(erase) cycles which is simular to flash drives since they practically almost use the same technology. This means you only have a limited amount of cycles until the SSD is unable to write to that sector... opposed to a HD, which can have unlimited life cycles, but it doesn't mean HDs aren't immune to any problems, but happens alot less since HD technology have matured already... Although most SSDs have wear-leveling on it, I wouldn't depend on it so much since it might not guantee how much cycles you can still write. (if you interested in write cycles on a SSD, check out this article.
Also, a Veloraptor with the capacity and speed will actually cost less per GB than a SSD... I wouldn't bother with any SSDs unless you use it on a laptop and store your files on a external HD to save write cycles. SSDs aren't quite ready for mainstream and will probably take years until it fully perfected and cheap enough for most consumers.
|2009-08-30, 04:45
|Link #9
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
As for which RAM speed is best, they all work equally well. RAM performance would depend on both timing (something like 4-4-4-4-12) and the RAM frequency. A small trick to compare them would be to take the first number (CAS latency) and divide it by the frequency (ie 4/800Mhz = 5 ns). The smaller number is the better performing one. This basically tells you how long (in nanoseconds) it would take for it to access a sector.
Last edited by arenine; 2009-08-30 at 05:04. Reason: Added more info.
|2009-08-30, 09:53
|Link #10
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Le Mans, France
OCZ has put the warranty of all its SSD drive to 3 years instead of 2, even for already sold one. IMHO it's a proof that SSD don't have anymore a high failing rate.
(if you interested in write cycles on a SSD, http://www.storagesearch.com/ssdmyths-endurance.html )
And when the TRIM command will be implemented (when 7 will be released) one of the last problem of the SSD will be removed.
|2009-08-30, 12:30
|Link #11
Good-Natured Asshole.
Join Date: May 2007
Age: 28
I continue to doubt the usefulness of SSDs at the moment out of price-efficiency. You'll be better off getting as good a normal hard drive as possible and spend the rest on getting a good graphics card, a good motherboard, and a good PSU. The motherboard, especially, should not be skimped on.
4GB of RAM in as high grade as your motherboard can take is sufficient. I suggest ordering them in 2GB sticks so you have some room for upgrade.
By the way, don't use wireless mice/keyboards for gaming. Lag happens, and you won't like it.
Please give us Newegg links to all your choices, so we'll have an easier time finding better matches for you.
|2009-08-30, 13:50
|Link #12
You could say.....
Join Date: Apr 2007
So how many HDD's are you planning to have if each game install will get a new HDD? I think you may need to review what your understanding of RAID is.
Unfortunately for you there's no way any build is going to hold up for 5 years. Directx 11 is yet to be fully implemented, there's rumblings of DirectX12 in the works. And whether your PC can deal with this and still be performing well is highly suspect.
|2009-08-30, 18:32
|Link #14
blinded by blood
If this is a gaming rig, you only want a small SSD for your root/OS drive. SSDs have write limits until the NAND cells go kaput, you want it to be as inexpensive as possible, and put the speed where it really matters.
Get a pair of 16gb RunCore or Intel SSDs for your OS volume, set them up for RAID 0. ^^;
|2009-08-31, 15:18
|Link #15
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: California desert
Im starting with 2 1gig video cards because i wont just be playing games but watching movies and surfing at the same time. The hard drives will be an 80 gig ssd for the core functionality, 150 gig raptor for the games, and a pair of 300 gig raptors for anime files and game mods etc.
Most of you haven't read the most important part of my post which is i dont want to overclock this computer. thats the reason for the build using faster performing components.
As for processor choices it will be either the new AMD 3.4ghz Black pro. or a 2.66ghz I7 processor. The ram will be 2 sets of Mushkin 1600DDR3 2x2. The video cards have to support HD/bluray resolutions natively with hdmi plugs built in not with an adapter.
thats why im buying the comp piece meal as the new stuff comes out, the wireless combo will be for when im surfing or watching movies i will have a wired set plugged in for gaming.
|2009-08-31, 16:47
|Link #16
You could say.....
Join Date: Apr 2007
2x1gb vid cards are not going to help you with any of that. Those are all tasks for the cpu and dependant on your connection. 2d rendering barely makes video cards work. A single 4890 will support 1080p res. No-one has mentioned overclocking. You have to understand what most people are telling you in this thread - you are going about this the wrong way and it's not going to work within your budget.
You're going crossfire/sli. so you should be looking at an ati 4890/ nvidia gtx 285. 2 cards are at least $500 currently. And if you want gaming performance these are your only real choices. You want 2x300gb raptors which is around $400 for a pair. Plus an SSD which again is $200 for 80gb, A150gb raptor =$180. That's your budget already maxxed out. No bluray, No PSU, No Cpu, No Mobo,No RAM and No case.
Put your anime/multimedia files on a normal 7200rpm HDD. The speed of the HDD isn't of any use here for playback. Why you'd want to put any sort of multimedia on a Raptor I don't understand. The speed of the raptors has a drawback - noise. Forget the SSD - at the price they go for, the speed isn't worth crippling your build for. Buy one 300gb velociraptor put your o/s, games etc for that. A Vista 64 install will take about 20gb. Most game installs are 5-6gb each at most 10gb. I doubt you play more than 20 games with multiple mods. Buy more RAM. You want speed right? This is always the cheapest and most effective way to improve application and system performance.
Also why nuy a black edition AMD if you're not overclocking?The reason they cost more is the unlocked multiplier so they can reach higher and faster overclocks. Save yourself $100 and get the regular edition if one is available
Last edited by hobbes_fan; 2009-08-31 at 16:58.
|2009-08-31, 17:52
|Link #17
Good-Natured Asshole.
Join Date: May 2007
Age: 28
I still frown at DDR3 at the moment when I suggest builds. These things aren't cheap. You really should wait.
Why would you need two state-of-the-art cards to watch BluRay and surf the web? 1080p is easily handled by most single midrange cards these days.
You don't need those Raptors. 7200rpm is good enough for storing your media. Your game performance isn't going to depend on hard drive speed, and the only thing the RPM changes is how long you're going to wait for things to load once. You're not going to lag hard by having 7200rpm drives. It doesn't happen to me. Promise. Game developers aren't that stupid. Hell, they're not even going to put games on BluRay for PC in 3-4 years, if even that.
Let's do this slowly. Find a motherboard first. I'm serious. It's the most important part of a PC, and it needs to support everything you want to put on it. One that supports everything you just said would be around $250+.
|2009-08-31, 20:35
|Link #18
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 28
The RPM only is the speed the HD spins at, but depending on the data density of the HD, the HD transfer speed can be higher even if the HD is 5400 RPM compared to 7200 RPM. Raptors are expensive and the Caviar Black can have simular performance with a cheaper price and more capacity. You can get a 1TB WD Caviar Black for $94.99 over at Newegg which costs alot less than the Vaptor, just you game will load a few seconds slower, thats all. Don't bother with the WD Caviar Blue, it's slower and have less warranty. The Caviar Black have the same warranty as Raptor, so you don't have to worry.
Don't bother with the Seagate Barracuda drives... they have quality control issues over their firmware issues... Even though it's fixed, you shouldn't really trust them unless you using a Seagate drive just to backup data.
Also, a midrange card is pointless anyways when high end ones can be bought for $20-50 bucks more (e.g. 48xx series on Radeon and 98xx or GTX 2xx series for Geforce) and won't handle demanding games like Crysis if you are planning to play games at high settings in DirectX 10. If your concern is FPS and/or overclocking, you most likely won't need two graphics cards with SLI or Crossfire. You also don't need to have to get a video card with HDMI... you can also hook up a DVI to HDMI cable to get the same benefit, except no audio.
Also, without a motherboard, like said earlier, you don't have a computer... so it's best to find the best one first and never skimp on motherboards...
Last edited by chikorita157; 2009-08-31 at 20:47.
|2009-09-01, 01:54
|Link #19
IT Support
Oh, AnandTech has just wrote a very nice new article about today's SSD. Which I believe is very worthy to read. Here's the link :
|2009-09-01, 07:38
|Link #20
You could say.....
Join Date: Apr 2007
Not quite true there's still a lot of integrated gfx out there that can't do it, you're looking at the the budget chipsets though. You'd have to rely on the CPU to do the work.
Also the guy isn't O/c ing, does not really understand RAID. There's no need to go to a high end motherboard. A good basic solid motherboard with an Intel/AMD chipset from ASUS or Gigabyte is all he'll need. You just avoid Nvidia, VIA and SiS.
|Thread Tools

subset: commoncrawl


text:
And he had no real answer to the question of how he'd be different from george w bush.
"many-stemmed woody plant," Old English bysc, from West Germanic *busk "bush, thicket" (cf. Old Saxon and Old High German busc, Dutch bosch, bos, German Busch). Influenced by or combined with cognate words from Scandinavian (cf. Old Norse buskr, Danish busk, but this might be from West Germanic) and Old French (busche "firewood," apparently of Frankish origin), and also perhaps Anglo-Latin bosca "firewood," from Medieval Latin busca (whence Italian bosco, Spanish bosque, French bois), which apparently also was borrowed from West Germanic; cf. Boise.
In British American colonies, applied from 1650s to the uncleared districts, hence "country," as opposed to town (1780); probably originally from Dutch bosch in the same sense, because it seems to appear first in English in former Dutch colonies. Meaning "pubic hair" (especially of a woman) is from 1745. To beat the bushes (mid-15c.) is a way to rouse birds so that they fly into the net which others are holding, which originally was the same thing as beating around the bush (see beat (v.)).
: Bush shot. You could see the pubic hair, but not the sex parts
To fatigue; exhaust; sap; poop: The climb bushed him/ Our dialogues always bush me (1870+)
Related Terms
noun phrase
The back country; the BOONIES: When I was working 12-hour tricks as a newspaper cub in the bushes (1670+)


text:
Skyfall (M)
Stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw; directed by Sam Mendes; 143 minutes.
For James Bond's 50th anniversary as a hero on the cinema screen, the filmmakers have gone all out. Not only is this a mega-budget spectacular with the requisite action sequences and stunts, but there's a welcome emphasis on characterisation, too, making for grand entertainment.
Daniel Craig's Bond has been intriguingly more human than most of his predecessors and that continues here. A botched mission not only puts embedded operatives - and MI6 itself - in danger but also has disturbing implications for M (Judi Dench), whose competence and judgment are called into question by the chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Mallory (Ralph Fiennes). It's up to 007 to try to stop disaster from occurring and to save his boss's career.
One of the good things about the movie is that there's a real sense of uncertainty as to whether or not he will succeed: it's hard to imagine Sean Connery's deadly Bond botching the job, and Roger Moore would have carried it out with aplomb and an arched eyebrow. But Craig's Bond, while ruthless and tough when he has to be, is far from invulnerable.
There's still the formula to contend with, of course, and director Sam Mendes and company work well within it. A Bond movie needs a strong villain, and Javier Bardem as Silva is properly fascinating and odious, his motives a little different from the usual megalomania and/or greed.
And, of course, there are the women; though there's little emphasis on sex in this outing. A good thing, too: they emerge as interesting characters rather than playthings. Berenice Marlohe is tantalising and sad as Severine and Naomie Harris as MI6 field agent Eve also makes a strong impression.
It's not all deadly serious, though. There are the usual Bond quips, though they seem a little incongruous at times, and the significance of the Bondian half-century is noted in many ways throughout, though never so much as to become irritating. We even get a bit of delving into the past of Bond himself, with a welcome appearance by Albert Finney as a faithful family servant.
Thematically speaking, there's a running tension between the old and the new way of doing things, with a new Q (Ben Whishaw) who looks like Harry Potter, for example, on the one hand, with lots of high-tech gadgetry and surveillance equipment, and the more up-close-and-personal style of Bond himself, who's never afraid of getting his hands dirty on the job.
Flaws? There are a few points where credulity is a little overstretched, even given the nature of this film, which isn't exactly hyper-realistic. But if you want spectacle with a little intelligence and humour, Skyfall is well worth seeing.
Adele's title song is good, too.


text: Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until translucent, but not brown (about 10 minutes). Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to just bubbling, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately, or set aside for further use. The sauce may be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to 6 months.


text:
Submission + - Flying Robot That Can Crash and Keep Flying (suasnews.com)
garymortimer writes: "EPFL researchers at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems have created a bio-inspired flying robot that can withstand collisions with obstacles in its environment. A unique Active Recovery System allows the robot to pick itself back up after a collision and launch itself back into the air. Such a design could prove useful in exploring hard to reach areas, such as caves or irradiated nuclear power plants."


text:
MILFORD- The Milford Music Festival has been scheduled for June 7-9., marking the start of the Music in The Park Free Summer Concert Series. A fundraiser concert is scheduled for Feb. 23.
"Venues are being planned, instruments are being tuned and music lovers are gearing up for a fantastic season," said organizers.
The first big show is the Music in the Park fundraiser event at the Water Wheel Cafe (150 Water Street Milford) on Saturday February 23 beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Music in the Park Committee invites everyone to come out to enjoy the music of They Know, Small Town Sheiks and Marc von Em, and support music.
There will be a music charge/ donation of $10, plus raffles, and CDs amidst the great intimate ambiance of the locally renowned night spot, organizers pointed out.
Sponsorship packages will be available for local businesses who wish to lend their support and sponsorship of the concert series.
About Music in the Park
Co-sponsored by Milford Borough, Music in the Park is the annual free summer concert series presented on Sunday afternoons in Ann Street Park in Milford. The series begins with Milford's Music Festival and continues through the summer.
The mission of Music in the Park is to enrich the cultural quality of Milford Borough, Pike County, PA through an outdoor community oriented summer concert series featuring a diverse musical program for the enjoyment of Milford area residents and visitors.
Milford BoroughÆs Music in the Park Summer Concert Series is an annual free community oriented summer concert series, sponsored by Milford Borough, Milford area businesses and private sponsors. The series takes place in Milford BoroughÆs Memorial Park (Anne Street Park), a daytime venue offering residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy some of the areas many talented performing musicians. Visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/gazebomusic.
About the performers
SMALL TOWN SHEIKS was formed in 2009 by long time musical collaborators and friends John Irizarry and Mike Smith. Their debut CD "Songs For Parker" was released in 2010 on Aurasonic Records and was produced by three time Grammy Winner, Steve Remote. Maverick Magazine, the UK's leading Americana Magazine, praised "Songs for Parker" saying that "It leaves you utterly enthralled".
With a solid collection of material ranging from bluesy rockers to socially conscious multi-rhythmic journeys to achingly beautiful ballads, the record showcases John Irizarry's intimate, carefully crafted songwriting that draws from the best elements of the American musical experience. Musically punctuated by Mike Smith's expressive and uniquely original harmonica playing, "Songs For Parker" provides music that Alt.Country Forum calls "Energetic, dynamic and intense" and "immediately distinct and recognizable."
The addition of World Percussionist Obi Kaye to the group in 2012 provides a polyrhythmic base that allows for instrumental explorations within the the framework of their solid collection of musical material. For more information visit the band's website at http://www.smalltownsheiks.com/ or follow them on FACEBOOK at https://www.facebook.com/SMALLTOWNSHEIKS.
They Know ¢ Grounded in the music and lyrics of Singer/Songwriters Daniel Ehart and Lee Raden, THEY KNOW is an electroacoustic duo. Lee and Daniel have a tight bond and creative chemistry that goes back to their high school years in the Philadelphia area.
Backed by a distinct yet unique "retro groove," THEY KNOWÆs real life lyrics and tight vocal harmonies are what set the band apart. Skope Magazine described their music as "enjoyable and infectious," and AMS Music Blog said their "songs appeal to both today's youth as well as children of the flower power decades." You can listen to THEY KNOW at:www.reverbnation.com/theyknow or follow them on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/theyknow1
Marc Von Em is a soulfully energized singer/songwriter whose sound flows easily between blues, folk, funk, jazz & classical. His lyrics weave tales of intimate real-life events, and do so with a depth beyond most singer/songwriters.
Driven by his fluid acoustic guitar playing, rich powerful voice, and comfortable, sometimes comical, stage presence, Marc's live shows never fail to excite audiences. Get to know more about Marc from his website at http://www.marcvonem.com/ or follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/marcvonem.


text:
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Iran's new president told world leaders Tuesday that the biggest danger in the Middle East is chemical weapons falling into the hands of "extremist terrorist groups" in Syria and he blamed the countries backing the opposition for fueling the civil war there.
Hasan Rouhani's comments to the United Nations General Assembly in New York closely mirrored language used by Iran's allies in the Syrian regime, which refers to the opposition as terrorists.
In his first speech on the world state, Rouhani also expressed an openness to negotiate with world powers on Iran's disputed nuclear program and to talk with the United States after decades of frozen relations.
Rouhani is considered a relative moderate amid the hard-line clerics who control Iran. But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei holds the real power, controlling all important matters of state including the nuclear program.
Just a few weeks ago, President Barack Obama was considering launching a military strike on Syria to retaliate for a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 that the U.S. blamed on Bashar Assad's regime. But a U.S.-Russia deal to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control averted military action, at least for now.
Rouhani called his election over the summer a "wise choice of hope, rationality and moderation" and said every issue can be resolved through mutual respect and rejection of violence and extremism.
But elements of his speech were reminiscent of the anti-American rhetoric of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was highly critical of how America projects power and called for a new world order without the U.S. as a superpower.
Clearly referring to the U.S., he said: "Coercive economic and military policies and practices geared to the maintenance and preservation of old superiorities and dominations have been pursued...."
But at the same time, he sent a few signals that there may be room for compromise. He held open the possibility of negotiations on his country's disputed nuclear program as well as talks with the United States to resolve differences.
U.S.-Iranian relations have been frozen for decades, but ahead of Tuesday's events there had been some expectation of a thaw and perhaps even a brief meeting between Rouhani and Obama.
Unlike Ahmadinejad, who denied the Holocaust and called for Israel's destruction, Rouhani never mentioned Israel by name in his speech. But he was highly critical of the "occupation" of Palestine, saying: "Apartheid as a concept can hardly describe the crimes and the institutionalized aggression against the innocent Palestinian people."
Israel's delegation walked out of Rouhani's speech in protest, as it had done in previous years when Ahmadinejad spoke at the U.N.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Rouhani of "hypocrisy." He said in a statement after the speech that Iran participates in the slaughter of civilians in Syria — a reference to its support of Bashar Assad's regime — and in carrying out terrorist attacks around the world.
At the U.N., Israeli Minister for Strategic and Intelligence Affairs Yuval Steinitz called Rouhani's rhetoric a "game of deception." He said: "Rouhani came here today in order to cheat the world and unfortunately many people are willing to be cheated."
Steinitz added that Israel has seen no real change on the ground since Rouhani was elected in June.
"Not even one centrifuge was stopped," he said, referring to Iran's uranium enrichment activities.
The United Nations has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment – a process that can be used to make fuel for both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. The U.S. and its allies have taken even more devastating measures targeting Iran's ability to conduct international bank transfers and to export oil.
"Unjust sanctions ... are intrinsically inhumane and against peace," Rouhani said. "It is not the states and the political elite that are targeted, but rather, it is the common people who are victimized by these sanctions."
The United States and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapon. But Iran insists its nuclear program is purely peaceful — a point Rouhani reiterated by saying: "This has been, and will always be, the objective of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers have been stalled for months but Iran agreed to a new meeting this Thursday on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
Rouhani reiterated Iran's right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium.
On the conditions that world powers recognize that right and insist that all nations' nuclear programs are for peace purposes only, he said Iran "is prepared to engage immediately in time-bound and result-oriented talks."
"Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran's security and defense doctrine, and contradict our fundamental religious and ethical convictions," he claimed. "Our national interests make it imperative that we remove any and all reasonable concerns about Iran's peaceful nuclear program."
Rouhani praised Syria's willingness to accept the international treaty barring the use of chemical weapons. Without naming any nations, he warned that "illegitimate and ineffective threat" to use military force in Syria "will only lead to further exacerbation of violence and crisis in the region."
Rouhani said he listened to Obama's speech to the General Assembly earlier Tuesday and is also open to talks with the United States.
"Commensurate with the political will of the leadership in the United States and hoping that they will refrain from following the short-sighted interest of warmongering pressure groups, we can arrive at a framework to manage differences," he said.
"To this end, equal footing, mutual respect, and the recognized principles of international law should govern the interactions," Rouhani said.
Saying that he has repeatedly heard that "the military option is on the table" — a phrase U.S. leaders have used in relation to Iran's nuclear program — Rouhani said "let me say loud and clear that 'peace is within reach.'"


text:
An undercover Lee County operation busted the ring leader and nine others in an EBT scam. More than $1 million dollars was defrauded from the government and taxpayers.
Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott said Michael Schnatter was the ring leader; he was arrested on Monday.
Deputies said Schnatter owned a business called Blue Ribbon Steak and Seafood. It was a business run out of the truck; it would deliver the food door-to-door.
The sheriff's office said it was all a scam; deputies said Schnatter would instead meet with EBT card holders and swipe the cards in exchange for cash.
EBT cards work just like debit cards. The state loads them with funds used for food and necessities by approved users.
Deputies have arrested seven people in connection to the scam: Thomas Johnson, Joshua Garcia, Sara Asher, Willie Williams, Jane Chapman, Ruth Carr and Michael Horne.
The sheriff's office said they were in possession of their own EBT cards or others EBT cards. They would meet with Schnatter who would swipe their EBT cards for the full amount. Deputies said Schnatter would then keep have the money and give the other half to the card owner in cash.
Deputies said Schnatter was making between $5,000 and 7,000 a day.
"So there is no food changing hands," said Sheriff Mike Scott. "There is no steak and seafood despite the truck; it's all a big scam. He would give half the money to the card holder and half to him and all he did was swipe a card. In doing this, the government has been defrauded, taxpayers have been defrauded and people are still hungry that need this stuff."
The sheriff's office is actively searching for three more people who they say were also selling EBT cards to Schnatter. Deputies are looking for Jeremey Kilburn and Joseph Sheets.
Investigators say $330 million are being stolen from the government through falsified EBT purchases each year.
3719 Central Avenue
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2018 WZVN. All Rights Reserved.
For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service, and Ad Choices.


text:
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
I've occasionally been urged to "give him a chance." This usually happens when someone who I'm not interested in is interested in me. I've had friends and family urge me to try dating him to see if anything develops.
My first question: at what point does it stop being "giving someone a chance" (or being openminded, I suppose) and start being leading someone on? Is it wrong to accept a date with someone who you aren't interested in in the first place? Is it wrong to go out with them more than twice if you're not interested? Should you just not go out with them as soon as you're absolutely sure you aren't interested?
My second question: if you are "giving someone a chance," should you tell them that you are? I don't mean directly saying, "I'm not attracted to you but I'm going out with you anyway," but should you let them know that you're unsure about your compatibility?
Page created in 0.191 seconds with 19 queries.


text:
Want to remind yourself or a friend about this program? Fill out this simple form and klru will email you a reminder on the day that it will air.
The Intervention Calculation
series: Great Decisions In Foreign Policy
air date: 9/16/13 3:30 PM
The U.S., for better or worse, is often seen as the world's policeman. But the question of when to intervene in other nations' affairs with military force has long stymied American policymakers, from Afghanistan and Iraq to Libya and Syria. Why do we intervene in some conflicts and stand on the sidelines in others?
WARNING: Email reminders for this program have already been sent out. Your reminder may not reach the intended address in time for this program's airing.
Back to TV Schedule


text:
|2012-10-03, 20:58
|Link #61
Join Date: Dec 2003
Age: 35
|2012-10-03, 22:20
|Link #62
Join Date: Sep 2012
You never know.
|2012-10-04, 05:07
|Link #63
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 29
The reality is that when you buy a DVD you're not paying for the production of that anime, that anime already exists and has been paid for. What you're doing is paying for the next production. If you think about it what you're talking about is even riskier to the consumer, because he has no idea what that money will be put towards. On the other hand, if I'm choosing to contribute $X to a particular project I'll probably have some character designs, a simple plot synopsis and the staff. So I can choose for my money to be put towards the next innovative Mecha show, and not have the studio choose to put my money towards yet another generic harem show.
Not only that, but if I were to donate 100% of my money will go to the studio. If, on the other hand, I buy a DVD it's probably closer to 30%, with the rest going to Amazon, various distributors, the DVD manufacturer, all people who are superfluous to the supply chain of getting the Anime into my hard drive. Really the only important people are the studio and translators. And translators have been shown to be willing to work for free so...
But to be honest, as I said earlier, even if I did have the money, I probably still wouldn't spend it on anime. Anime isn't offering me the product I want. I have no interest in owning DVDs, and I don't want to see a large proportion of the money I put into industry be wasted on round pieces of plastic, and their distribution.
|2012-10-04, 05:51
|Link #64
reading #hikaributts
Join Date: Feb 2009
The way you are making it sound is as if you can't appreciate a thing what those people (All the animators, seiyuus, producers etc.) are doing.
It's probably true that lots of people in this forum don't have an income and that's why i think that they don't know how the hardships of people who are working. People like youself only look at the product, while purely neglecting all the effort that was put into that work.
If you even want to see a "next project", then you don't want the investors to leave because they won't have faith in that the next project will earn them anything.
Last edited by hyl; 2012-10-04 at 06:12.
|2012-10-04, 07:20
|Link #65
Join Date: Jan 2009
If anime BD's had more eps in them then the price could be justified....
As they are now, I don't see how it makes financial sense to spend on the video portion of anime. They cost more than games and have far less content
If you love a series it's more worthwhile to buy other items like the original work that spawned the anime if it's an adaptation or artbooks and other extra content
|2012-10-04, 07:52
|Link #66
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 29
[QUOTE=hyl;4380778]Let's look it at the other way around, this socalled piece of plastic is what they earn their money with.
The way you are making it sound is as if you can't appreciate a thing what those people (All the animators, seiyuus, producers etc.) are doing.
It's probably true that lots of people in this forum don't have an income and that's why i think that they don't know how the hardships of people who are working. People like youself only look at the product, while purely neglecting all the effort that was put into that work.
[quote] I have great respect for the Anime industry. I just want to give my money to them directly. Not through a dozen intermediaries.
It's like with games. Now I only buy games online, because I know that (depending on the website) over 70% of my money is going towards the original developers/publishers, not Gamestop. When I buy a Paradox grand strategy game (my favourite developer), I want my money to go to Paradox, not someone else. That's my prerogative as a consumer, and I will always buy from platforms where more of my money goes to the developers I love. The same goes for Anime. I don't give a damn about bestbuy, Bandai, Mediablasters, Aniplex or Funimation. They did good work in the past, but now they're a completely superfluous barrier between me and the creators.
Unfortunately, under the previous system, to be an investor you need to have a lot of money (and speak Japanese...), which is not possible for me. But I think through crowdfunding, this is possible.
Of course, there's always a risk that I'll donate to a project that turns out to be a dud, but on the flipside, when something amazing gets made I'm going to have the satisfaction of knowing that I helped make that happen. And not simply that I consumed it after the fact.
I want future anime production to work like Patronage, not consumer goods. In Patronage an artist goes to his patron and describes what he wants to create, and if the Patron finds it appealing, then the patron gives the artist his money. The Artist gets to create the great work that the Patron wants to see. And through this the artist might also gather enough extra profit to be able to self fund a project that he wants but that no patron cares for. Both the Artist and Patron wins, and it allows a scope for projects that may not be commercially viable or "toyetic" enough.
Basically I want to see a situation where us consumers collectively are the patrons, and not bean counting investors who are more concerned with commercial viability and minimizing risk.
I don't want to be an Anime consumer, I want to be an Anime Patron. Art should not be regarded as a consumer product. But those of us who want to see it should give money to those who make it happen (artists need to eat!).
Charging for access to it after the fact is pointless, because you can't stop people from seeing it without paying for it. It's pointless to even try. You have to charge for it before it's been created.
|2012-10-04, 08:01
|Link #67
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dai Korai Teikoku
You know, the funny thing is, the law is mostly aimed at music and movies, those that are hit hard by pirating. Anime by itself is not as hardly hit in any sense, since DVDs are really a niche market (and lucrative enough to pay back investments, given that those that will buy the DVDs will buy the DVDs no matter what happens) and manga books are cheap enough to not stop people from buying. I'm not really seeing the point to the discussion of buying anime DVDs here.
|2012-10-04, 08:08
|Link #68
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 29
Well the US market in Anime DVDs is basically collapsing. And that was big enough to be a boon to Japanese producers. I can't say much about the Japanese market, but certainly if they want to get the potential money lying there in western Otaku wallets, they're not going to get anywhere with the previous "mass market DVD" approach. People just aren't as interested in buying DVDs anymore. And why should they be? DVDs are inferior to downloads in every respect.
But even in Japan, I think there's a lot of untapped potential. Let's not forget that the potential Otaku audience is somewhere around 1-5 million (someone else can give a better estimate), while most DVDs never sell more then 10,000 copies, with the best sellers selling 50,000. I bet that like in the west, there's a lot of Japanese Otaku who rarely or never buy DVDs, and that they make up maybe 90% of the audience. What the Japanese system is doing very well is exploiting the enthusiasts who are willing to spend craploads of money on the hobby.
|2012-10-04, 08:14
|Link #69
reading #hikaributts
Join Date: Feb 2009
Of course everyone wants directly in control in what they want to see get created.
But you do know that you are wishing for something nearly impossible seeing how this capitalstic world works.
The individual consumer usually does not have the resources and the power to have any influence over any big projects in this world.
This is not just limited to anime, but for everything.
Also it seems you are boycotting this for the wrong reasons. Artists needs to eat, yes. But without any big projects, they won't be able to eat.
Not that i am defending how the anime industry (actually this applies to every major company) works, seeing that the top and the investors gets most of the profit while the rest of the staff just get paid based on their wages. But that is how the whole capitalistic system works .
|2012-10-04, 08:18
|Link #70
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dai Korai Teikoku
And that's the point of the system. In an era where you can easily record broadcasts to watch later, does it make sense to try and crack down on "pirated" anime in the first place? Setting aside the issue of people outside of Japan (who are not under this law in the first place and have a much higher barrier t the market unless you're in Korea or Taiwan), the anime industry as a whole recognizes reality and have adjusted to it, with DVDs being more of getting back the investment and all other products (figures, OVAs, games, etc) being the ones that lead to extra income. It's because of the core way the system works that doujinshis and such can flourish without much problems: Doujinshis lead to the growth of the fan base, who might buy the DVDs (thus contributing to getting the investment back) and the related products (making a profit). Such a system does not really work for the music and movie industry, thus they were the ones pushing for this law.
|2012-10-04, 08:28
|Link #71
reading #hikaributts
Join Date: Feb 2009
OAV: You do know it's technically a non broadcasted anime episode. Which means it has the same costs as an actual episode except for the costs related to reserving airing slots on tv.
games: Those are entirely different projects by themselves, with their own investments and costs.
|2012-10-04, 08:33
|Link #72
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 29
If the Anime industry sticks to making money through optical disc sales, they'll die along with the optical disc format which is rapidly becoming obsolete.
|2012-10-04, 08:40
|Link #73
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dai Korai Teikoku
OAV: And how much do you think the TV slots are worth? A cost not spent is a potential source of income or alternative investment.
Games: Same as the figures.
1. DVDs are a lot more common in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, than elsewhere. A lot of people want to have physical copies, which still drives various physical forms of recorders/players.
2. Quite a few people buy the boxes just to keep it. I happen to be one of those (I usually buy three copies, one for backup, one for permanent display, one for use).
In fact, if anything, the digital age is driving the sales of DVDs by creating the demands through the building of the fan base.
|2012-10-04, 09:06
|Link #74
reading #hikaributts
Join Date: Feb 2009
Are you denying that the world does not work this way , just because there are one or more of these incidental cases compared to everything else?
OAV: And oav does not cover the costs of the anime project, seeing that it has it's own costs to cover.
Games: Games are completely different projects. They are usually both tools used to market eachother, not to cover each others costs. You don't think that Hunex gave any of their profits to manglobe or vice versa for the psp port or the anime of Mashiro iro Symphony, do you?
Or Kadokawa games and AIC for koichoco psp game and anime
|2012-10-04, 09:16
|Link #75
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Akazukin Chacha
Comet-san (someone fansub this, dammit! It's not as fun to watch without subs...)
Heartcatch Precure + movie
Mind Game
A) I'm probably an outlier
B) I pirated all of that first.
Most of my (substantial) R1 collection are things that I pirated first. Nowadays, it isn't needed so much because of readily available legitimate streaming services, but certain shows, like everything in my R2 list, don't have streams and probably will never get them.
|2012-10-04, 09:21
|Link #76
reading #hikaributts
Join Date: Feb 2009
|2012-10-04, 09:47
|Link #77
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 29
2. And people still buy records too. But they're an extreme minority, and not enough to build a business model around. At best it's a supplementary source of income. Depending on disc sales will limit the potential size of the Anime industry, as it fails to take account of all the consumers(like me) uninterested in buying disks, but still interested in putting money into it.
That, and they could use some alternative revenue streams. Things like Art Books, Concept art etc. Sell off some of the production materials to enthusiasts.
But the truth is, the industry doesn't really have a choice. It's not a matter of if disk media will die. It's when. Disks are an outdated business model unsuited to the new digital marketplace. They'll be selling things that people simply aren't interested in buying. Most people don't think disks are worth anything anymore. Love it or hate it, but people view the content as "free". People don't like putting a price tag on ideas. So instead of charging for ideas after the fact, the only way forward I can see is to ask for money to develop those ideas in the first place. It will spur greater audience participation, by in some sense putting them in direct control of what is made, and what isn't.
|2012-10-04, 10:32
|Link #78
Join Date: Oct 2004
Age: 38
|2012-10-04, 11:31
|Link #79
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 29
But there isn't any reason why a soft copy wouldn't be superior to a bluray. For one thing, data will always be read faster from a hard drive. The only real issue is the encoding. A heavily encoded video will run poorly on a bad computer.
My connection is pretty terrible, but even I have an easy enough time getting 720p content (1080p is a bit trickier).
If you're having trouble with your blu-ray rips, I'd recommend a computer upgrade. Fortunately a computer upgrade has many more uses then a blu-ray player...
|2012-10-04, 11:41
|Link #80
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dai Korai Teikoku
|Thread Tools


text:
Augmented Reality Treatment May Alleviate Phantom Limb Pain 30
Zothecula writes with this excerpt from GizMag: "Studies have shown that a large percentage of amputees feel pain in their missing limbs. ... The ailment has so far proven difficult to treat, but a new study suggests therapy involving augmented reality and gaming could stimulate these unused areas of the brain (full journal article), resulting in a significant reduction in discomfort. ... In testing the treatment, the team used myolectric pattern recognition to predict phantom movements in the stump of a chronic PLP patient. By using the patterns as inputs in an augmented setting where a virtual arm was superimposed on the patient's real-life body, as well as controlling a car racing game, the team were able to gradually reduce the pain reported by the patient to zero." The study is an early one: there's only a single test subject, but one that had no success with any other form of treatment.


text:
Experts argue that reducing policy uncertainty is as important as cutting tariffs, to attract foreign investment.
Experts at UNCTAD's Trade and Development Board picked up the inequality debate following the Public Symposium in June.
Illicit financial flows are now worth nearly $800 billion per year, according to CCFD-Terre Solidaire.
Policy space emerges as a key issue for the post-2015 development agenda at UNCTAD's annual Trade and Development Board.
Official Development Assistance, improved tax collection and a strong role for civil society are essential to achieving sustainable development.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Connect with us
Signup for our Newsletter


text:
Ralph Chen remembered as a hero to shareholders
BY JULIAN RICHARDSON Assistant Business Co-ordinator firstname.lastname@example.com
IN life, Ralph Chen was known around corporate Jamaica as the probing minority investor at shareholder meetings, unafraid to challenge company directors on issues ranging from typos in annual reports to corporate social responsibility.
In the small society of Jamaican investors, Chen, who died at the age of 67 in December, has been hailed for his big voice.
He cut his teeth in shareholder activism during the Finsac era of the 1990s and continued to be an active shareholder up until his death, taking on the likes of National Commercial Bank (NCB), Sagicor, GraceKennedy, etc on business practices.
"Ralph spent a lot of time attending seminars and was a voracious and seemingly insatiable reader. He had a library of hundreds of books, primarily on business and management, but with a significant content of books on religion, philosophy and positive thinking," said Jeffrey Cobham, former managing director of NCB, at a thanksgiving service for Chen's life at the St Andrew's Scots Kirk United Church in downtown Kingston on Wednesday.
Despite his own financial challenges, Chen was always giving to the less fortunate, said Cobham. It's in line with his advocacy for women in the boardroom and for corporations to follow socially conscious policies.
Dennise Williams, creative director at CreativeWurxMedia, and a former financial journalist with both the Jamaica Observer and the Gleaner, said Chen was "in his prime" as a shareholder activist after the 1990s financial meltdown.
"He would get up and hijack the microphone for half-an-hour; he would talk about how much he lost personally during Finsac and take the various board members to task," said Williams, who shared many audiences with Chen at press conferences and investor forums over the last decade.
Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) general manager Marlene Street-Forrest said the JSE is saddened at Chen's passing and the void he has left as the voice of investors at shareholders' meeting.
"We have been calling on shareholders to make their voices heard at annual general meetings (AGM) and Mr Chen did not miss one if he could go," said Street-Forrest.
"He advocated for many changes and I think many persons listened to him and many companies made changes just because of his persistence," she told Caribbean Business Report.
Chen helped to make companies better, said Gary Peart, CEO of Mayberry Investments Limited.
"Certainly, he raised points which companies would take action on," said Peart.
"AGMs are not as well attended as they should be, and you could always count on Ralph Chen to be there, to go through your annual report, to pick out whether there is a typo, something not being in the proper order, best practice etc ... you knew he was not somebody who had your worst interest at heart," he added.
Company directors and even audience members at times appeared annoyed at Chen's constant, long-winded questioning and observations. But his dedication was admired by arguably everyone.
"Ralph Chen was the person that a lot of people relied on to ask questions that they were afraid to ask — he wasn't looking for any friends," said Williams.
"Whether you liked him or not, he was consistent."
Wednesday's funeral provided a clear indication of that profound respect. Among the company executives in attendance with Cobham were Jamaica Livestock Association Managing Director Henry Rainford and well-known company secretary Gene Douglas. Many of the mourners did not know Chen personally, but felt it necessary to thank him for his contributions.
"I didn't even know he had died until I saw it in the newspaper (obituaries). I had to attend," said one lady from the The Office of Utilities Regulation.
Williams asked a question that some may have queried to themselves as Chen's body laid in the deep brown mahogany casket.
"In our very limited minority shareholder society, who is going to replace Ralph?"
1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper � email addresses will not be published.
2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.
3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.
4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.
5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: firstname.lastname@example.com.
6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: email@example.com.
7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy


text:
The "Share" button on PS4 promises to make uploading gameplay clips much easier than ever before--especially with Twitch and Ustream integration. However, don't expect to capture games in their entirety, as the ability to record gameplay comes with caveats. Notably, developers can restrict what footage can be captured in their games.
In an FAQ, Sony stated that users will not be able to record, distribute, or stream entire game playthroughs. "Users may not be able to record certain areas within the game," the FAQ states. "Developers can select the area of restriction, and what will be restricted will depend on game titles. In these cases, recording will be temporarily suspended during the scene."
Sony's policy enables game creators to block having story-related spoilers posted online. For example, Beyond: Two Souls can be found in its entirely on YouTube.
In addition, PS4 cannot share videos to YouTube at launch. Savvy users, however, will be able to get around this restriction by using the YouTube function from their Twitch video archive. Users will also be able to make use of an external HDMI-based capture device following a post-launch system update.


text:
|Spa & Wellness
|Offer Dates
|Jul 7, 2016 to Dec 31, 2018
|Qualicum Beach
|$125 -
Among many other benefits Raindrop Massage with Vitaflex improves spinal alignment issues.
Raindrop has helped numerous people, bringing relief with chronic back pain and producing visible improvement in scoliosis. Often many types of spinal problems and mis-alignments are caused by bacteria and viruses hibernating along the length of the spine. The use of essential oils helps to dispose of these viruses within the spine, helping its structure return to normal. Raindrop Massage with Vitaflex has eliminated the need for back surgery for hundreds of people.
In addition to this Raindrop Massage cleanses the body of toxins, relieves inflammation and pain, unwinds tight and sore muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
|Additional Information
|Cell or Toll Free
|Member ProfileWebsiteClick to bookView Specials
Email Sharyn Sadauskas to promote your special here


text:
Minimum computer specifications
To use the School Website Service you will need a PC with the following:
- A working Internet connection
- Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista or 7
- Internet Explorer 7 or 8, Google Chrome, or Firefox V3
- Java settings enabled
You can test if your computer meets these specifications - Please note, this checks to see if Java has been enabled but not the version installed on your computer system.
Internet Explorer 9, 10 and 11 are not compatible with the current SWS system that you use to maintain your school websites: the editor function will not work correctly. You may therefore need to downgrade you browser to a compatible version (IE 7 or 8) or use an alternative browser. The advised browser to use is Google Chrome
If you are using the Hosted Schools Service (HSS) you should already have a compatible Internet Explorer browser and Java installed to use SWS:
Go to the Start Menu and select School Website Service
This will open an internet browser and take you to the Hantsweb homepage where you can browse to your school's website to login
How Java works
Java is software installed on your computer that works with the Internet browser to run the Text Wizard.
You will be prompted to press Run or Run this time (in Chrome) when you open the Text Wizard and this should load the Java software. If the Java is not run you will need to logout and reload again.
Errors and bugs with Java
If your Java software is loaded properly or you have an incompatible version installed you may get the following error messages when trying to edit your pages:
"The Content Manager cannot execute the function you selected. Please restart the Content Manager and try again. "Error code - Applet not loaded"
"The text could not be loaded. It is possible it was not parsed correctly. Reason iu"
Users may also find that the Spelling checker doesn't work or the 'styles toolbar' disappears within the Text Wizard if an unsupported version of Java is installed.
Incompatible versions of Java can also corrupt the Text Wizard, with only the Editions / Versions panel showing. The main content can still be accessed, although you will have to go to View and un-tick Editions/ Versions to see this. To resolve this issue your login profile will need to be reset by IT and a compatible version of Java will need to be installed.
Schools using the Hosted School Service may encounter problems with Java due to a conflict between the different versions of Java that these services use. A separate access function has therefore been created for HSS users.
How to check your Java version
At present SWS will work with any version of Java up to Version 6.20 so please do not download (or update plug-in) for the latest version of Java, if prompted. It is fine to use an earlier version than 6.20, but we do recommend that you check first to see what version you have installed. Please follow these instructions:
Close all your browser windows;
Go to Start, open the Control Panel and double-click on Add or Remove Programs (or Programs and Features in Windows 7 or Vista)
You should see one or more versions of Java. If you only have up to version 6.20 - JSE Runtime Environment 1.6.0 Update 20 (where 20 is a number) and no later version installed then that should work fine.
If you do have an incompatible Java version....
Select any program related to Java (e.g. Java I SE Runtime Environment 7 Update 1, also known as Java 1.7.0_01) and click on Remove.
Make sure you are logged in as an administrator and download and install an earlier version of the software from Java. Scroll down the page until you find the option Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6.0 Update 20. The J2SE Runtime Environment (JRE) allows end-users to run Java applications. Click the download button.
If you do install a 64 bit version of Java please check your system is compatible for this - otherwise please install a 32 bit version.
Save the file to a location on your computer that you will be able to find later (eg. Desktop.) When the download has finished find the file that you downloaded and double-click it to install Java version 6.20. Follow the instructions on the screen, accepting any default options.
Shut down and re-open your browser and try to open the text wizard.
Java Troubleshooting
Java will need to be enabled and the plugin will need to be correctly installed to run.
You will also need to allow pop-ups for the website address if pop-up blocker is switched on.
If a compatible version of Java is installed but it does not 'Run' correctly please check your Java settings to ensure it is correctly configured.
Further Support
If you have tested your computer and it appears to meet the specifications and you have downloaded the correct version of Java, but you still get an error message when trying to open the text wizard then please report this via the online form


text:
Last colour from my lipstick sampler card is Ginger, a coppery bronze. My least favourite for sure:
The texture though – divine!!! Its like YSL's Rouge Volupte but lighter. Gorgeous. I am going to go down to the counter shortly and pick up a few of these…hoping they aren't too expensive!
What do you think of Ginger?


text:
James Hagan is nominee for TIME Dealer of Year Award
TIME has announced the nomination of James Hagan, president of Bald Hill Dodge Chrysler Jeep Kia in Warwick, for the 2014 TIME Dealer of the Year award.
Hagan is one of a select group of 57 dealer nominees from across the country that will be honored at the 97th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Exposition in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 25, 2014. The announcement of this year's nominees was made by Jed Hartman, group publisher, Time Inc. News and Business, and Tim Russi, president of Auto Finance for Ally Financial.
"The dealers nominated for this award are community heroes, as well as economic and civic leaders, who have time and again shown their dedication to making a difference," Russi said in a statement. "Ally is pleased to once again be supporting these dealers in their efforts to create vibrant, thriving communities."
In its third year as exclusive sponsor, Ally will recognize dealer nominees and their community efforts by contributing $1,000 to each nominee's charity of choice. Nominees will also be recognized on the recently launched website, AllyDealerHeroes.com, which highlights the philanthropic contributions and achievements of auto dealers across the U.S.
The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry's most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Recipients are among the nation's most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a longstanding commitment to community service.
Hagan, 57, was chosen to represent the Rhode Island Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition – one of only 57 auto dealers from 17,000 nationwide – nominated for the 45th annual award. The award is sponsored by TIME in association with Ally Financial, and in cooperation with NADA. A panel of faculty members from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan will select one finalist from each of the four NADA regions and one national Dealer of the Year.
"As a member of a family-run dealership, I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction in running the business with integrity and professionalism," Hagan said in a release. "Another equally rewarding aspect is the employees that work with us on a daily basis. I strive hard to value their input in almost every major decision. Their dedication is unsurpassed. Without our great employees and our loyal customers, we are nothing."
Hagan didn't start out in the car business. A 1974 graduate of Toll Gate High School, he earned a B.S. degree in marketing from the University of Rhode Island in 1978 and worked in technology sales for 10 years. At age 33, he joined his father's dealership.
"My dad needed someone to come into the business from the family and run the operations," he said.
Hagan opened a Kia store, also in Warwick, in 2008.
"The most rewarding thing in this business is the opportunity to work with my dad," Hagan added. "He still works with us at 89 years old. He was incredibly supportive and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime."
His uncle and cousin are also actively involved in the company.
Hagan feels he gained tremendous insights by working in an industry other than the retail automotive business early in his career.
"I always look at our dealership as if I was on the outside looking in," he explained. "How would I like to be treated? What would my first impression be like? What is the message that would make me tell my friends? What is the dealer's reputation? These are some of the questions that have helped me do the right things for our customers."
Hagan is proud of his ongoing work with area youth through the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership.
"It is a weekly commitment of one hour to help a local student that needs guidance through school or life struggles," Hagan said. "It truly is an amazing experience to be able to be a factor in a kid's life and to help them through the potholes they face. A little time can go a long way to a young person who can use some help in his or her life."
Hagan was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Jack A. Perkins, executive vice president of the Rhode Island Automobile Dealers Association. Hagan and his wife, Judith, have one son.


text:
I'm assuming this has no chance of defeating encrypted connections?
TFA confirms it, near the end of the second page. It also only currently works at 100 megabits/second.
So my oc4 line is safe!
Sure it is. But when it seems to slow down to 100Mb, shortly, it's just network maintenance. Honest.
I'm assuming this has no chance of defeating encrypted connections?
The article explicitly says it cannot recognize encrypted files as the method cannot identify them with a hash. Although, I doubt anyone could think of a good way to ID files in encrypted BitTorrent.
I thought my summary submitted this morning [slashdot.org] did a better job describing this but you should note that this has some key things to overcome before it can be used:
They seriously need to overcome these obstacles before illegal file sharers should worry about it being used to target people.
They seriously need to overcome these obstacles before illegal file sharers should worry about it being used to target people.
I strongly disagree. People need to start raising hell about this Big Brother bullshit now. Technology like this operates under the assumption that ALL users are criminals until proven innocent and blatantly violates the 4th amendment(in the U.S. at least).
Furthermore, does anyone here honestly believe that this type of technology will only be used to stop copyright infringement and kiddie porn? This technology smacks of oppression and the quashing of political dissent.
The reason we go after copyright infringement, kiddie porn(well porn in general as it is always lumped in if at all possible to kiddie porn), and things like majauana is to make as much of the general populace guilty of something that is both against the law and seen as deeply wrong with the person.
Once this is achieved the person can easily be moved to a status of lesser or non-personhood.
Example is a "Sex Offender" law. Such laws are created inevitably to protect children. However, sex offender includes any offense that is deemed sexual in nature. Public nudity, an argument with a spouse that turns violent which may indeed be an isolated incident and as much at fault with the spouse(I'm not talking about someone who regularly beats their spouse), or just pissing on the sidewalk because there is no where else to go for miles. Everyone is lumped in and assumed to behave like the worst offenders in the group, the serial rapists and violent pedophiles.
1 The False positives problem will be ignored. Already most people and lawmakers consider bit-torrent as a whole to be file sharing and thus piracy. Now they have a way to "ID" the criminals or at least their files. The false positive might work in court but your net connection would be gone long before that case comes due.
2. This might have a chance to work, provided legislation isn't passed to counteract net neutrality. If such is passed this would easily meet any definition of "reasonable" as would a
this has some key things to overcome before it can be used:
* Has not been tested for false positives (explicitly stated by a researcher in the article).
Here's my implementation. It also hasn't been tested for false-positives, but I'm hopeful:
bool is_illicit_content(
/* may need parameters in the future */ ) { return true; }
I've seen commercial boxes that you can already buy that do a lot more than this and faster. He made a big deal about it not disturbing the network, but that's a standard feature. Unless this thing is dirt cheap or something, I don't really see the application.
I think that the manufacturer will try to pimp this as an "IP Compliance Product" to ISPs and madly lobby every politician they can bribe, err, I mean donate to.
It knows every "illegal" hash on the Intertubes?
If it does that's more newsworthy than the gadget itself.
All it does is compare the encoded hash value in the Bittorrent header against a list of known illegal hashes. Hashes you have to program manually.
That sounds exactly how Snort [snort.org] works.
I guess if you had a bunch of hashes, you could put these in a configuration and basically have the described functionality.
I've analyzed Snort more than 6 years ago and also remembered that it couldn't operate on more than 100Mbit. Might've been a change here and there, though.
Depends how it works.
I'm betting something like this:
$data = read_data_stream($eth)
if (get_protocol($data) == "bittorrent")
$illegal_content = 1;
} else
$illegal_content = 0;
In which case, encrypted or not, you're still guilty.
I was wondering, would this defeat this scheme?
Let bittorrent deliberately make errors in the data transmitted. Hashing is very sensitive to small changes.
Also, transmit it with error correcting codes so that it can be put back together by the receiver but the hasher gets garbage.
Finally, so that the hasher doesn't do the error correcting themselves, send the parity encrypted with the keys exchanged beforehand.
I suppose it's still open to man in the middle attack though.
Till they come up with a good way to figure out whats going across the network encrypted, they will just be wasting their time.
In theory, they could attack encryption with man-in-the-middle during the key exchange. If the protocol is known, the middle man can simulate the other end node for both nodes, and give each one a different key, so they can still see the traffic.
And if they did that, we could start having the tracker negotiate SSL keys for us. If they tried going after the tracker traffic, we could make that HTTPS. If they started faking the certs, we could move to OpenDNS or install a "trusted" torrent root cert. That is a battle they could not win.
Well, eventually, people would have to exchange the trusted torrent root certificates directly (i.e. not over the network). And they could be filtered by the network.
I think the scheme is in principle possible, but probably very much impractical. You could perhaps create an order of magnitude more music, movies and videogames for the sheer cost of the setup required to negotiate all the encryption keys in the central government server.
He was talking about using a man in the middle attack. Both parties think they are talking to eachother.
It doesn't matter if the tracker sends us a SSL key for us if a man in the middle attack can be used. The only way to be sure the key isn't altered is to get that key directly from the source. How you do that is up to you.
There isn't much that is open about "OpenDNS". OpenDNS is a bad solution for a non-issue problem. Please stop advertising for them.
What we should be fighting for is for isp's to be commo
It doesn't matter if the tracker sends us a SSL key for us if a man in the middle attack can be used. The only way to be sure the key isn't altered is to get that key directly from the source. How you do that is up to you.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Or well, if you don't trust the tracker then true but then the whole setup doesn't make any sense. If we both have a secure conneciton to the tracker then the tracker can swap keys for us and there's nothing a man-in-the-middle could do to prevent us from creating a secure peer connection. And if they tried attacking our connection to the tracker, we could use HTTPS and certificates to prevent that. It's you that don't understand.
It's funny you just proved my point.
The internet is in an insecure network. How does anyone know if they have a secure connection? Sure they can know this once a private/public key pair has been exchanged. But how do we know that the public key given to us is good if there is man in the middle to intercept the keys between the "trusted groups"
I should have been more descriptive. Without physically exchanging the keys with the other parties there isn't a way for an automated system to know; Without testing,
That's a lot of "we could"s. How about just using the global OpenPGP WoT, and stopping the problem in its tracks?
Once you have a distributed authentication system (which is what lets you exchange keys safely), email is just one of the applications you can build on it. Sounds like you guys have another. Whatever. The more things it's used for (the more people who connect to the WoT) the better it works for everyone.
Quit building a redundant but also specialized infrastructure, and instead, join the original.
In theory, they could attack encryption with man-in-the-middle during the key exchange
In theory, isn't this (or shouldn't this) all be illegal under wiretapping laws anyway?
As a private citizen I don't have the right to start monitoring my neighbors phone calls (even if those calls are broadcast [wikipedia.org] into my house without encryption) just because I suspect she is dealing drugs. What gives my ISP the right to start monitoring my packets just because they suspect I'm pirating something?
What gives my ISP the right to start monitoring my packets just because they suspect I'm pirating something?
It's for the children. We must protect the children. Are you one of those evil child porn supporters? If your against this you're a child pornographer.
All you have to do is add this and all politicians will support it and no publication will speak out against it. Haven't you read Mein Kampf?
And my $200 24 port gigabit switch from Dell will do it. And that's a cheap piece of crap. For the 3 of you who don't already know, You specify one port on the switch to receive a copy of all traffic on the entire switch, a vlan or a specific port. Then you can hook etherial to that port and monitor all of the traffic without modifying the original. OOOOhhhh, magic eh?
Anyway, even after I RTFA, I still didn't see anything that this thing does that my cheap port and a P2 running etherial couldn't do.
Two points.
One: the mirror port (aka span port) on your switch does not buffer the traffic, and will drop packets in any spike. That's true even for expensive Cisco switches. To get all traffic, you need a network tap on a line.
Two: getting the traffic isn't hard. It's basic sniffing. Analysing the traffic in realtime is what matters.
More restrictions on content? More encryption.
Better cracking techniques? Better encryption.
Tyrannical government? Revolution.
Another drawback is that the system cannot cope with encrypted files. "Today, about 25 percent of BitTorrent traffic is encrypted," says Schulze. If such a tool became widely used, then anyone with something to hide would almost certainly switch to using encryption, he says.
If you make breathing illegal, only criminals with breath.
Or, everybody will become a criminal.
Figured that out on your own, did you?
From the article:
Then the system looks at the files' hash, a unique identifying code used to coordinate the simultaneous download of hundreds of file fragments by different users. If a hash matches any stored in a database of prohibited hashes, then the system will make a record of the transfer and store the network addresses involved.
I mean, you could easily scrape some torrent sites for hashes, but it seems like this system would be fairly easy to circumvent. All you'd have to do is come of with some system for changing the hash on a peer-specific basis.
If I read the article correctly, what they're really doing is looking at the BitTorrent infohash, which is used when communicating with the tracker and other peers to identify the torrent. (The infohash uniquely identifies the torrent.) Having a different infohash for each peer would require significant BitTorrent reengineering, I would think.
However, it's defeated by encryption, cannot legally be used in the U.S. or Europe by ISPs, and relies on a blacklist of illicit torrents.
>cannot legally be used in the U.S. or Europe
when has that ever stopped anybody?
Example [stopthedrugwar.org]
Bonus second example [slashdot.org]
Real answer: ask a lawyer how relevant the legality of a search is.
In a word (or two):
Hash chains.
All you'd have to do is come of with some system for changing the hash on a peer-specific basis.
The hash is how data is verified. You can't just change the hashing mechanism on a peer-specific basis because you're sharing the same data with thousands of different peers. That would require every single peer to host a specific hash for each other peer, or worse, convert between hashes on the fly.
The flaw in this method is the hashes themselves; the only way to detect the so-called illicit content is by knowing the specific encoding. This stops camcorder films and screener rips because they are enc
So... they invented packet sniffing?
It also means that it's impossible for users to tell if a network is being monitored
"Our system differs in that it is completely passive, meaning that it does not change any information entering or leaving a network,"
This is nothing new and it's just meaningless marketing drivel. It's impossible to tell that *any* network is being monitored. It's not like you could buy an electronic device in a spy shop that can detect network monitoring. Throttling and "traffic management" are different since that is changing the network traffic.
There is only one type of network that can prevent a 3rd party from being able to copy the network traffic. Quantum communications provides that type of infrastructure by making it *impossible* to read the traffic without destroying it.
It's not like network monitoring is really a problem anyways. If you want privacy then just use encryption.
"Our system does not modify traffic in any way, nor does it interfere in the delivery of traffic either in or out of a network,"
Ohhh, you mean it's useless right? Everyone involved knows that a large amount of torrent traffic is infringing on various copyrights. The goal of the ISPs is to protect their profit margins. They sell unlimited but expect limited. They don't care whether traffic is illicit or not, just that it does not interfere with their business models. The MAFIAA is interested in the contents of the traffic and could care less about network congestion and bandwidth issues. Until the ISPs actually start caring about content, the goals of these two groups are not the same.
Enter Net Neutrality. Only when it is in the financial interests of ISPs to care about content will they start to listen to the MAFIAA. Obviously they could not reach an agreement since the MAFIAA is going to the whores in various legislatures to trade our freedoms for the protection of a few group's business models.
Note, that I don't support piracy on principle. However, I will not give up my rights to privacy and anonymity to protect someone else's copyrights either.
Schulze adds that the approach relies on having an up-to-date list of illegal files. "The system has to update a huge list of file hashes frequently," he says. "Somebody has to qualify the hashes as copyright infringements or other criminal content."
That sounds really easy doesn't? Of course there are only a few dozen really popular public trackers out there they can scrape the thousands and thousands of new torrents each day to update their tables. Don't forget about all the private trackers either that add a file or two that changes the hash to be different from the public torrents containing some of the same files.
Yep. This should be really easy. I can't possibly see how this task could not be reasonably accomplished with just a few salaried personnel on daily basis.
From a legal standpoint, Schulze says that privacy may be a more significant problem. "Neither the U.S. nor any European country would allow [anyone] to install a device that inspects the traffic of every user just to stop Internet piracy," he says. "In this approach, every user is considered to be suspicious."
I laughed so hard I almost peed myself at this point. Legal viewpoints change more frequently than the weather. If there is enough pressure from private interests in the U.S and abroad I don't think a little thing like privacy will stop them.
Even if the legal framework were to allow the technology, it is not quite ready to go. Tests of the system, details of which will be published later this year in a book called Advances in Digital Forensics V, showed that it was effective at detecting 99 percent of illicit files, but only at speeds of 100 megabits per second.
I just knew there was a p
There's a well-known technique for dealing with dictionaries of hashes - add some meaningless bits to the content before computing the hash, so that the number of possible hashes increases. This is cheap for everyone except a person trying to keep a dictionary of all possible hashes.
"Another drawback is that the system cannot cope with encrypted files."
Even the article mentions that anyone doing something they want to hide is more likely to check the "encrypted only" checkbox. I work on NetSpective WebFilter, which has been passively identifying encrypted protocols that try to hide themselves like encrypted BitTorrent (both standard and Azureus), Skype, and UltraSurf for years. It also lets you choose to block any of these protocols you don't want on your network.
"If a hash matches any stored in a database of prohibited hashes, then the system will make a record of the transfer and store the network addresses involved."
Maintaining a list of hashes is not a new idea, as they seem to claim. It was abandoned because the list is insanely painful to manage, and it is insanely easy to get around. These guys aren't even trying to provide a list, which might be worth something (until the hackers put in the time to work around it). They're just sniffing/logging the hashes, which is child's play and worth almost nothing.
I like the way the summary tries to equate torrent with illicit. Interesting, on a site full of linux people who have probably torrented more than one distro in their lives.
Anyway - good luck with that.
I am thoroughly amused by articles like this that essential start out as:
"Hey, look we got! Yackkity, yakkity, yak, yak..."
"...Well, its pretty damn useless considering xxxxx and xxxx are already in use and defeat it completely."
Why do people even bother printing such useless information, much less invest millions of dollars into such a product?
I wonder if it can specifically identify legal content, too.
So why would the likes of the RIAA and MPAA want to do that?
They're interested in finding criminals, not showing that people are innocent.
isn't it a packet sniffer? Isn't that illegal tech for these purposes?
oh wait, http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2236292/stimulus-bill-nixed-net [vnunet.com]
Feinstein just introduced this amendment, http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/GRA09175_xml.pdf [publicknowledge.org] into the stimulus bill.
guess it's not going to be so illegal after all.
Why do they hate us so much?
In less than a century, computers will be making substantial progress on ... the overriding problem of war and peace. -- James Slagle