Dorkgasm - Electronics

HD-DVD Dead Already? | NEWS

AnonymousJones — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:46:33 +0000

In a move that I saw coming a long time ago, Toshiba and the backers of the HD-DVD format are beginning to tug at their ties, a la Rodney Dangerfield. It would appear that the high definition format is starting to falter clumsily toward its demise.

According to an article from Reuters, the DVD giant Toshiba is in the final stages of planning for a graceful exit from HD-DVD manufacturing. So, what does this mean, exactly? Well, I'll drop the science on you. It would appear that even though doing so will cost the company billions of yen (which in America money is MILLIONS of dollars). Even though this is a huge hit, it would appear that the recent hits HD-DVD has been dealt have put the pain down hard on the burgeoning format.

Well, how else would you define it? Retail giant Wal-Mart decided to discontinue carrying the HD-DVD format by focusing on the Blu-Ray format. If you are one of those schlubs who still has the Toshiba cement block, you can probably pick up some movies pretty quick and cheap. Electronics store Best Buy has started to recommend the Blu-Ray format to its myriad customers now, and NetFlix will begin offering only Blu-Ray after it phases out its HD-DVD stock. Hell, even Microsoft is talking about a Blu-Ray player add-on for its behemoth Xbox 360 player.

These, of course, are all small potatoes compared to the BIG REASON. With only two movies studios continuing to release their DVDs in HD-DVD, the format seemed to be on its last legs quite some time ago. Five of the seven major movie producing studios all signed on to Blu-Ray a little bit ago amid rumors of supposed payouts reaching close to billions overall. Yep, not even the offer of a special Star Trek Phaser remote control could save Toshiba from going even further south.

The biggest surprise? You might remember a little format war back in the 80s involving our standard VHS and an upstart (also backed by Sony) called Beta. Now, in my opinion, Beta had better picture and sound, plus the tapes were smaller. How could it lose? One word.

Porn.

VHS had all of the pornography rights sewn up early on in the fight, and Beta simply couldn't keep up. This is somewhat reminiscent of the times now. HD-DVD has been used for porn for almost as long as the titles have been around. Hell, I even have one and I don't even have a player for it! However, I have heard rumors of Blu-Ray DP movies coming down the pipeline for about a month now. That was the turning point for me, I think. In my personal opinion, HD-DVD had the better quality picture and sound, but Blu-Ray had more storage capacity and integrated "gadgets" that could be used. This is a day I think we all knew was coming, but no one guessed it would come so quickly.

That's what I think, and what about you? Hit the comment board below and let's hear your argument on which is better. Either that, or drop me an e-mail to anonymous.jones@dorkgasm.com to tell me I'm right, or scream that I'm full of shit. This is Anonymous Jones, retreating back to the bunker.

I'm Calling It Now

Sysop — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:06:25 +0000

The iPhone will be result in an almost total destruction of Apple's core business (consumer, hand-held electronics) due to a combination of Apple's draconian demands that all interface with their products be proprietary and (more importantly) the decision to use a non-patented interface on the iPhone/new iPods.

Microsoft's Zune will defeat the iPod circa 2012.

Write that down.

Is that legal?: Hacking the iPhone

Sysop — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:32:21 +0000

Short answer? Maybe:

So will Apple and AT&T's legal action deter hackers? Hardly. Individual users are already allowed to unlock their own phones under an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that the U.S. Copyright Office issued last November. The exemption, in force for three years, applies to "computer programs…that enable wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network." What's less clear is whether companies and hackers can legally unlock the phones and then sell them to others, or sell unlocking software. "The law here is unclear," says Jonathan Kramer, founder of Kramer Telecom Law Firm in Los Angeles. "There just isn't any case law in this area for us to figure out how it plays out."

Not very clear is it? In the end I don't think it matters that much. The real problem is, even if it is legal, Apple can always deny support to hacked iPhones and the warranty is definitely void after this type of tampering. Because of the vast, insulting amounts of money involved, count on Apple and AT&T to get theirs one way or another.