ANOTHER TELSTRA FAIL - A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I have an iPad, like many a person these days, and as I have wi fi in most places I use that. I don't need a plan for data or anything like that, but on the odd occasion , business travel etc I need to use 3G data on a pre paid Telstra sim. On a recent work trip I tried to recharge my 3 year old sim, which I top up every 4-5 months..... but it wouldn't work... so I rang Telstra, its expired they say.. you haven't used it in 6 months so we have cancelled it,  of course Telstra never told me it was going to expire. They told me go buy a new one, or better yet get one on a discount at a supermarket. So while a bit disappointed , I did exactly that. I got a pre paid sim for half price , great deal I thought, then I tried to activate it, that went ok, despite the instructions in the booklet I got from Telstra pointing me to the wrong web address.

Ok all going good, or so I thought, I find out the iPad keeps saying sim faulty, invalid etc... so spend 30 mins on tech support trying to figure it all out. I told them 3 times I bought this from a supermarket, they kept telling me take it back there, so I did, the supermarket refused , they said I have to take it back to Telstra shop.  I rang the support people, and they said same thing, take it Telstra shop and they will just swap it. Mind you I live 45kms from the nearest Telstra shop.... anyways take it back.. they just say, "NOPE,  YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT BACK to Woolies"....  so now here I am again about to waste more time and more efforts and more petrol to get a simple sim card from Telstra to work!!

No wonder I have not been with Telstra for years, their customer service is terrible, one part of the company says one thing, the shops say another, I only use Telstra for the odd times my Optus service is no good. I wont be going back with Telstra once I finally get this sorted out.

UPDATE: AUGUST 15TH

After 30 mins on the phone again with TELSTRA support, I managed to convince them to send me another SIM card in the mail, after my very poor experience with the TELSTRA store, so now I await the new sim, lets see if this works!


UPDATE: August 16th.

New sim arrived, and active, wow only 4 days to solve this.. but at least its solved.

Astronaut Tips: How to Wash Your Hair in Space | Video

The arcades of USA!

I recently went to the USA.

here are some pics of retro arcades and some modern ones !

NBN Changes my home life!

I am one of the lucky people to be in an area that the NBN has just rolled out to (Bacchus Marsh). Just after one week I can tell you its changed my home life (and my work).

I am a video producer by trade, thus having access to high speed internet is very important to upload video clips to clients. This was never possible on my old ADSL 1,  384kb connection, as it used to drop out and take hours to try and upload such 4 + GB files.   In addition I have two sons at home, avid online gamers, and video on demand watchers, and so too is my wife. Add all this up on ADSL = FAIL!

Now with the NBN (the 100MB down 40 MB up service, via Internode)  I can be uploading files to clients, watching a VOD service , and so too can the xbox which allows VOD service, all the while, the guys can be uploading their favourite clips to you tube, while playing an online game, while using the new voip PHONE without the internet so much as giving a hiccup.   My time to upload to clients is now measure in minutes, not hours, or days or having to sending hard drives in the mail. My Skype calls are in perfect clarity and HD video to the other side of the globe. Buffering of downloading you tube videos or getting a streaming video happening on iview or other VOD service is a thing of the past. Sending large attachments in emails happen in seconds not 30 to 40 minutes later. And this all happens at 20 dollars a month cheaper than I was paying for Telstra's terrible congested ADSL 1 service !

The NBN shows just a glimpse of what is possible with real speeds , and the ability to work , communicate at the speed of light will have quantifiable payoffs in productivity and reduction in wasted time and which will pay off in cost savings and also more time spend with family and friends , be that in the real world or virtual one.  The technologies and services that can now be developed with these speeds available to every home in Australia can now be a reality , not a dream.

Don't let any Government in Australia tear down this great service , this infrastructure project is as,  if not more important than a national highway system, or snowy river scheme!!  The cost and efficiencies such a scheme will bring have not even begun to be measured. Let the NBN be allowed to be continued to all Australians, and let us be an example to the world of what can be achieved if we have progressive long term plans that help every Australian individual, and business be competitive on a world stage.

Many countries look at our system with envy, and my recent trip to USA proved that USA internet is flaky, costly and poor. As they are dictated by commercial forces. I have many an international associate tell me they wish their government had the same vision as the current Australian one,  to deploy such a scheme to truly help all the citizens.

Let us finish what has begun!

Whats wrong with Australian TV..

http://www.digitalproductionbuzz.com/interview/grant-burton-problems-australian-broadcast-television/#.ULKPTKVzLe4


 part 2


http://www.digitalproductionbuzz.com/interview/philip-hodgetts-view-future-television/#.ULKPmKVzLe4

Microsoft Surface no iPad killer!

The real issue is the media, every few months we have "new iPad killer" or "new iPhone killer", being announced by the tech Media. Lets have a look at the track record of the media in this regard: The Kin was meant to be the next iPhone killer, and after 7 billion dollars (yes thats a real figure) of Microsoft R & D and marketing, the "iPhone killer" was withdrawn from sales after 90 days, they couldn't even give them away to Microsoft employees. The playbook was meant to be the next iPad killer, its dead and millions of dollars lost, the HP web os was also meant to do the same, didn't even last a month. The zune was meant to be an iPod killer... its dead, and millions in losses again despite Microsoft pushing it for years and years with no real sales that even made a dint in real market share. 


I get sick of hearing the next apple killer product is here, and yet when one does some little analysis on the product it self , in this case the surface, its hap hazard design, its confusing two model , not compatible with each other hardware and software, and Microsoft's insistence on only selling in online for the world, and in Microsoft only stores in the USA (just like the zune, strategy, cause that sales strategy worked so well for it last time), one can clearly see that this product is not destined to sell any real numbers, and is more of a prototype or a idea for other OEMS to follow perhaps... but iPad killer... no way in a frozen snow flake in hell is it that. 


I am all for competition, for if you don't have it in the IT industry you get things like Windows and all the very boring and non inspiring plastic cheap rubbish laptops and desktop PC's that all the Microsoft OEM's make. There are many things in the current iOS that have been borrowed from Android that help us Apple users have a better experience (though I would argue they borrowed more than their fair share from iOS). The next Windows 8 phones do look good and its OS is a bright light in the "copy cat" smart phone operating systems of late, however that brand new Windows 7 phone you bought on the weekend, hope you like its operating system for the next two years of your contract, as it WILL NOT run Windows 8 phone software, AS NO phone currently released will run windows 8 OS phones, (way to shaft your user base). 

Thus all I am saying put things into perspective, take a look at the history and track record of the media and Microsoft in particular, once you do that, it makes it hard to believe that Microsoft has released anything of real note or impact, once again.

iPads in Education

I found this today, it was in a presentation I attended on the Gold Coast , about people saying iPads are a waste of time in the classroom, promoted this bit of research....

From a book by Dr. David Thornburg called, “Edutrends 2010: Restructuring, Technology, and the Future of Education.” Starsong Publications, 1992.(Yes, 1992 is right!)  The statements are about the reluctance to accept new technology in education.  Here are a couple
examples:

*               “Students today can’t prepare bark to calculate their problems.  They depend on their slates which are more expensive.  What will they do when the slate is dropped and it breaks?  They will be unable to write!”  -  Teacher’s Conference in 1703


*               “Students today depend upon paper too much. They don’t know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?” Principals Association, 1815


*               “Students today depend too much upon ink.  They don’t
know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil.  Pen and ink will
never replace the pencil.”  - National Association of Teachers in 1907


*              “Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our
country.  Students use these devices and then throw them away.  The
American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded.  Business
and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries.”  - Federal
Teachers in 1950

*              You can’t use those calculators on the test.  If I let you do that, you wouldn’t ever learn how to use the tables in the back of the book and use interpolation to figure out your trig ratios.”  - High School Math Teacher in 1980

*             “Why would you ever want the Internet for student use? It’s just the latest fad – have them use the library.”  - District Employee in 1995

*             “Teachers will never use email.”  - Teacher on a
District Committee in 1996

*             “Why are we talking about students having laptops in high school?  I don’t think most parents will even give their kids their old computer, much less buy them a new one.”  Member of Laptop Committee in 2000

*             “Turn off and put away all Cell Phones, iPods, and Electronic Devices during class!”  - Signs around AHS in Fall 2006


*             "Students who are continually allowed to do word processing on a computer are not given enough handwriting practice.  Without practice using pencils and pens, students’ handwriting will become illegible.  Handwritten work should continue to be an essential part of a student’s education.  What happens when there is no computer available?"  , a quote at a Educational Conference in Australia 2009

RETRO ARCADE GAMING 80'S style

I have recently acquired a brand new 80's Cocktail arcade Cabinet (pictures below) that plays many of my favourite games from the 80's. Besides the unit being very nostalgic , and presents the games in the same way as they were, there have been a few things that occurred to me on why these old units are so much fun to play. 

 I hear you say, "but I can play all these games on my xbox or MAME on my computer".  While this much is true there a few things that can NOT replicate the real arcade experience..... let me explain :

The controls are important!

First an most importantly these games were designed to be played with the real controls of the day, not control pads of the xbox, not touch interfaces , real control sticks that were digital, and real buttons you can mash. This can not be easily replicated with modern day controls. Also these games were designed with very low resolution CRT monitors, not HIGH RES monitors or LCD displays that just make the old graphics look wrong, too sharp and blocky. So if you are going to get one, make sure its a real ARCADE CRT and nothing else.



                                                            The social aspect is missing

I play online games all the time on my xbox, I have enjoyed many many 100's of hours playing various halo games online, but not too many people chat to each other, or if they do, the swear and carry on in a rude childish manner. If you did this in person in the arcade years ago, you would have been punched out! No one behaved in this manner, people played for total fun, and while you might have teased each other a bit , it all was all fun, and not taken seriously !  Nothing beats the aspect of playing games with the other person sitting right next to you, this is not easily replicated with your computer.


                                                        Plain simple fun !

Self explanatory really, but the old 80's games are simple (by todays standards), but are fun, simple and quick enjoyment. They have very little learning curve, but take practice to master, and are unforgiving, which makes it all the more fun. People who did not grow up in the 80's do not know the whole social aspect and the discovery of going to the arcades, socialising with real people in the real world have missed a golden era!  Every time you went to the arcades, you would see something different, see some new game technology or aspect you have never seen before, it would lead to conversations before and aftwards of games, or things that happened in the arcade.. it was a total real life experience, this is not replicated in any way.  So if you are like me, and grew up in the late 70's and 80's with going to arcades as your social aspect, relive some of the fun you had with your kids, friends etc, and get yourself an arcade table, you won't regret it!

I liked the aspect of a cocktail cabinet, which were very popular in Australia, and were found in many fish and chip or pizza shops of the day. I intend to get a stand up unit later this year (like the one pictured above) to replicate al those horizontal games I liked, and to play some head to head games that come out in the later 80's. Finally I hope to complete my collection of 80s nostalgia and fun with a pinball machine, as I haven't seen any thing that comes close to replicating the real feel of a pinball machines, its so real and tactile its not an experience that can be reproduced by any other means...

Alas the expense and the maintenance of such a machine is a little daunting to me, so it will be a few years I think till I can muster enough funds to acquire such a machine.

ANYWAYS GO AND AQUIRE YOUR FAVOURITE 80'S ARCADE TABLE AND GO HAVE SOME REAL FUN :)

Friendships and Human Relations

Todays post (updated for 2013) is not about anything technical related, its about friendships and humans relationships, something that can be one of the most important, joyful or frustrating things of our human existence. 


Some people give little thought to our human interactions with others, others can find it defines who we are as a person,  it all relates to a conversation I had with my son a little while back. 


As I am now in the "seasoned" part of my life , my son (whom is his early 20's), asked me this question the other day, he said "Dad, how come some friends of mine, never return phone calls, e-mails or SMS's , and I have to chase them up all the time? what's the story?"

My response, was, well son, sit down and let me tell you a story about friendships...
Having been around a while, I have asked this question of myself (many times), and so has my wife of 26 years, we have both found over the years that many people treat friendships as one way streets. They never drop in to see you. You have to go and see them, they do not call you, you have to call them, they never return phone calls you have to keep leaving messages. Does all of this sound familiar? I find after a few years I no longer see these people. I have had many "friends" whom I have had over for dinner parties, but you never get invited back, but then even go so far as to ask you, when are you doing another party? I have even said out loud, to one so called friend, "when are you going to do one at your place?" then you get looks of offence, like how rude of rude to impose yourself at our place.


On the odd occasion you might see these "friends", (which are not friends, I call them an acquaintance now), and they state "Oh I haven't heard from you in ages, how have you been? " etc etc... and they are all friendly, but wonder why YOU haven't been in contact with them. One person in whom this type of conversation was going on for years, I eventually confronted them , and said, " has your phone been out of order? " with puzzlement they looked at me, and didn't understand my question, "what do you mean?" , they asked? I said" you haven't phoned me, or seen me, so I presumed your phones been out, and your mobiles been stolen, and your internet has been out and your legs broke".... "Oh, ha ha , funny, I was waiting to hear from you!" , they stated. This is when I sigh, and just walk away... many people don't see it, they don't see when they are being all one way with their "friendship" (if you can call it that). They expect you to do all the running around after them, do everything their way. They cant take the time out of their day to see you, or put themselves out. I myself have always made time for, and done things for true friends, to which over the many years have found very few. 

Many acquaintances I have had, but VERY few true friends, and by true friends, I mean the ones they will put them selfs out for you, invite you back for dinner parties, make time for you, and return your phone calls, even if they are busy they will let you know they cant talk right now, but want to as soon as possible, when they have a free moment. 


I get that some friendships are just passing ones, ones that you need you have to get a job done, or ones they you only have coffee with once in a blue moon, not all friendships have to be the close, emotional types, I get that. The people that pretend they are the close ones, but are not, is what gets me, and yes I also understand that this type of manipulation has been going on since the dawn of time. Its understanding that that helps. The term,  fair-weather comes to mind. 

The true Friend is what many people seek, but can not find! These are the people that want to know you the person, not you the person that may know people that can help them leverage things or be able to do things for free or cheap for them. Those people are very rare indeed, and if you find a friend like that, hang on to them, as they are as rare as diamonds. I married my best friend, and thats the best friend I have ever had, hopefully you might find a friend like that too... but don't worry son, real friends do come along, but you will find most people you meet are not friends in the true sense of the word but really are acquaintances. Thats just life.

I have only a very few people in the category of true friends, one which lives out of state, but when we do catch up, its like nothing has changed. Maybe its the distance that keeps this type of friendship fresh alive, fresh and meaningful, or maybe its that they are true friends, and distance doesn't mean anything, and both parties accept that you will be out of contact for months. Although you still may exchange e-mails, phone conversations etc... its still not the same as being in physical presence with some one. A person that you can read all their body language, facial expressions etc.  

(A side note, a famous linguist once said 70% of communication of the human language is done via body language, facial expressions, with tone and inflection of voice. The actual words themselves make up 30%. Maybe why e-mails and forum threads get so out of hand so quickly, as they are misinterpreted, as much of the meaning of the words are lost, as they are stripped of their "voice" and "body".) 

Alas I digress, friendships (the real ones) do come in many different forms, its just recognising the real ones to the fake ones that one gets better with wisdom. 

One person whom I thought was a friend for many years,  was mealy a chameleon, trying to mimic what they knew I would like in a true friend, but too often I found them out for their true self, (secrets, hiding the truth, and using people as mere objects, as a way to try and get ahead) and they are were mealy after me, to manipulate me into helping them all the time. But when I had had a medical crises , they were no where to be found, had every excuse under the sun not being able to help. I found many of their core values , were twisted, selfish, and had such a sense of entitlement  Which just goes back to the old thing, I cant trust anyone expect for the family under my own roof. How jaded of me I know, but some people are every clever at hiding their true motives!


Do I think I am perfect? far from it? I don't expect others to be either , but if we can all show the values above, and learn from our past mistakes , and acknowledge them, then we might have a closer connected world, rather than the current one which seems to be more disconnected than ever. The values of family are more important to me now then ever.  Sure I have disagreements with those I really love, but we have always come around to forgive each other, and respect each other for who we are, and what we stand for. That is after all what true emotional connections are about. 



I know we have to try and get one with most people in order to have some order in our lives, but success, for me,  is not dictated by money, possessions or status of your career.  I know some people pretend to be your friend in order for them to achieve what they think society wants in success (materialism), but they are not people I can really relate with. Nor at the same time do I think we need to all be Buddhists on a hill, mediating all day. There is a happy medium, after all if you crave nothing but the material things in life (keeping up with the Jones syndrome some call it), you will continuously be unhappy, as you strive for the unachievable , there will always be some one with more money than you, a better job than you, etc. The trick is to understand what you have now, and cherish that, that might be something as simple as your values, integrity, what you have done for others (no better gift than the one of giving).  That doesn't necessarily mean you gave money, it may be as simple as you gave some one your time, or your compassion or care etc. 



I try and not let the people that have "used" me over the years,  get to me, and just chalk it up to another experience , it also makes me reflect on what I have, and how lucky I am to be blessed with what I have, for I feel as rich as a king to have in emotional bonds with my wife and family. 

(* Notice I said wisdom, not age, as they two are not always linked. Usually as a person matures, they do gain wisdom, but not always. I am sure we have all met the very wise young person or older person, at the same time, met the old unwise person or young idiot. 

the old saying, quality not quantity seems to apply for so many things in life... this seems to be one that fits that mould as well... many "friends" some people may have, but very few real friends are had. )

Over the years I have heard many people say that have 100's of friends... but really the reality is, they do not have that many true friends in the sense of the word. The rest is just an illusion. It also maybe us more emotional types are more privy to what people what people want from other people in a friendship, maybe its material, or maybe is emotional or maybe a mix of both or something else. This does make me more venerable than most, and people who can read that, can trick us more emotional types. 



Since this conversation, my son has had a different view and seems to be more content with his life. 

Others might think I am little jaded with too many bad experiences, or others might see that I am seeking too much from friendships. I just know that getting to know a person, the real person, whom is genuine down to earth person, whom relates very closely to the core values I hold dear is the most rewarding thing you can have on this planet, and brings some meaning to our existence as humans. For me, life isn't about the collection of material possessions, or the acquisitions of wealth or power as symbols of success, it is how we value ourselves and others, and how we can all try and help make this world a better place. Its is the values of respect, charity, honour, honesty, passion, compassion, integrity, and love that are the important possessions of life. 

What do others think? My life experience is obviously different to many others, but I am sure there are few people that can relate to this story... thoughts??, comments ??

TELSTRA FAIL AT HOME ADSL SERVICES

For almost a year now,  my new home has had the dreaded ADSL congestion issue. This means during most times when you are home the rest your suburb is trying to use the internet and it slows to a crawl,  to where its worse than old dail up speed. I often can get no more than 56kbs in speed or slower and pings are 1000ms or more making the internet useable for sending e-mails. No voice chat, no video chat, no downloading anything.,. even web surfing is a major chore with web pages taking minutes to display. Its like sharing your internet connection with 1000 other people in your house.

This is not helped by the fact that my 2 year old suburb was fitted with 10 year old infrastructure from Telstra. Telstra saw fit to install outdated ADSL 1 only multiplexers with no Backhaul to support them!  Thank you Telstra, good to see you have the nations future at heart!

I have complained on a weekly basis to them, to which I NEVER get a reply, I have been to the TIO, Local Member, council, you name it.. no one can do anything. The ISP who buys from Telstra whole sale has said there is a scheduled upgrade to the backhaul in October. No mention of upgrading the old ADSL 1 multiplexer to an ADSL 2 one. Even so , that will be a year of charging a premium amount for a rubbish service!

They charge me 100 bucks a month for a dial up speed service, and think that's ok. Its criminal that any business is allowed to conduct themselves this way. If I bought a plane ticket from Melbourne to Sydney, and instead a plane ticket I got a pair of running shoes, and told to RUN to Sydney, I would have a legal recourse. But Telstra are a law unto themselves, and no one has any say in how they conduct themselves. I do not see how this is acceptable nor legal in this country to act this way!

So Telstra stop FAILING at providing a service, if you cant provide a service then don’t offer it, or offer some compensation or alternatives. Stop ripping off the Australian people with substandard services!

The most AMAZING Southern Skies of Australia

Change your Signal

Time to change the Signal....

Control your information life…

This stems from the other article I wrote about don’t worry be happy, its time people took control of the way they receive their information, be it news, information, the state of the world .. whatever, and stop being just a passive individual willing to eat the feeds of the negative so called “news” coming from commercial TV networks, magazines , radio and newspapers. Lets face it, TV news is just a platform to feed lots of horror stories on the latest flu epidemic, latest terrorist bomb, or murders etc, nothing about scientific discovery, or things that really inertest you. Radio has become totally irrelevant, with FM shock jocks talking about where they found their dirty undies last night, or what come out of their kids nose this morning. Newspapers are nothing more than advertisements disguised as news or information, or paid political announcements. Magazines are an amalgam all the above. Time to take control.

How to take control.

Well stop watching TV news, and listening to Radio, and read what you want. Use google, use the net, and read really what’s interests you, and you will find that suddenly the world isn’t this big terrorist camp, war ridden, plague ridden world. Not to deny these things are going on, but these things have been going on for 1000’s of years, we just didn’t have some media moguls feeding us lots of negative crap about how many car smashes happened today, or how many people died in some natural disaster. Get into podcasting, listen to what you want, not what packer wants you to hear with the occasional cute puppy story thrown in to try and balance all the terror. Get into RSS feeds on particular scientific, medical, SCI FI stories or whatever things interest you.

INFORMATION, should be selective about your interests, what drives you and your passions. Maybe if more of us got our view on the world this way, everyone might stop thinking how bad everything is for a change, and lighten up, and stop being so mean and selfish to each other. The current media feeds on everything negative, people in turn become negative, because its so much easier to be negative about everything than positive. You can start being more positive by controlling what you see and hear by taking these steps:

• Get a PVR (personal Video recorder, a hard drive unit that records TV). We all complain that there is nothing on TV, then control it, select what you want to watch, there are so many DVD’s and Box sets of good TV shows, watch them instead. Get a PVR and programme it to only record the shows, and doco’s you want, so what if they are on 2am in the morning.. get your PVCR to do all the work.

• Get and Ipod , and control what you hear be it music, podcasts etc. Hear info and science shows, debates, sci fi discussions whatever, and stop listening to the 90% of dribble coming from your FM radio or the 90% advertisements.

• Use the Net to get the rest of your once printed material, besides saving trees, you will have full control of the topics that interest you, and you will avoid the negative linear feeds of news papers and magazines.

* Use twitter! Yes twitter is not just useless tool for saying the last time you fed your cat, follow organisations, news feeds, people that have interests you like, and would like to engage in. News does not have to be passive, but interactive. Information exchange should be social. Twitter can make this happen. And if you have an iphone or other type of smart phone, why do you not have twitter? Look at how valuable it has been in recent events in Australia for the distribution of information.

For a long time now I have done most of these things to keep myself update on things that interest me, and its amazing on what a brighter world it seems when you are not fed the totally negative self serving rubbish of 90% of media outlets, epically the nightly so called “news”. Try it for a month and see how well your outlook on life becomes. As Captain Mal would say “CHANGE THE SIGNAL.”

Catalyst: Faster Computing - ABC TV Science

Catalyst: Faster Computing - ABC TV Science

We are on the verge on the next computer revolution with 3D chip design.

Silicon wafers historically have been two dimensional. Intel on just changed all of that with 3-D transistors, dubbed Tri-Gate. The aim: Ensure that Moore’s Law, which dictates that transistor density doubles every two years, keeps chugging along.

These 3-D transistors are in-production technology and are expected to be used in handhelds as well as servers. The 3-D transistors will be the crux of a range of 22 nanometer processors—code named Ivy Bridge. Ivy Bridge will be ready for production at the end of the year.

These 3-D-based chips will first hit servers, desktops and laptops; Atom-based products will come later. Intel didn’t detail exact delivery targets, but later this year is likely. The company said it expects it will have a three-year lead on rivals.

Intel first detailed 3-D transistors in 2002, and now these chips will hit the market. The general idea is to pack more computing cycles with lower power. For Intel, which demonstrated a 22nm chip, 3-D chips will allow it to move into more markets such as cars, medical devices and other devices.

Intel likened the Tri-Gate transistors to skyscrapers, which allowed developers to optimize space by moving upward.

Among the key points:

• 3-D Tri-Gate transistors will operate at lower voltage with less leakage. The upshot is that performance will improve.
• Chip designers will be able to pick fins and choose transistors for low power or performance.
• 22nm Tri-Gate transistors will use less than half the power at the same performance as 2-D 32nm chips.
• These 3-D transistors have a 10x lower depletion rate.
• Applied to a CPU, you can have a lower clock rate with the same performance as higher speeds.

Thus in 5-10 short years we will see memory and speeds of computers be around a billion times more efficient, faster, and INCREASE in capacity than today. It is an amazing time to be a gadget person :)

Imagine your iPhone 7 having 1TB of flash memory storage with the power of a super computer of today in your pocket in 2016, with a battery that lasts for weeks, It looks like its going to happen.

Blu Ray Disc is a Con!

Every time I hear some one go on about how good Blu Ray is, I hear this:


“blargh blargh blargh my valve amp is better than transistor based ones, my quadraphonic stereo is better than stereo, my 8 track is better than compact cassette, my beta max is better than VHS, by Blu ray is better than everything else... blargh blargh.."

I just not buying into it, Don’t get me wrong I have a top notch set up at home, a brand new 55INCH Bravia and a mid level Blu ray player (gladly it was free), I am just not convinced its much a progression beyond DVD. And its not just me , 68% AND 65% of the US public respectively said (in two independent surveys in 2009 and 2010) they cant see the difference between BLU Ray and DVD or wouldn't invest in it, as there is not enough of a difference to justify the costs to get the best out of it. I agree with the majority!

When we went from VHS TO DVD we all got:

1. much better picture
2. much better sound
3. Random access to content
4. Special features
5. Different languages, and commentary tracks
6. The vision doesn't wear out no matter how many times you play it

DVD to Blu ray we get

1. Slightly better picture...


and for the publisher you get:

1. licensee agreements that cost a fortune, DRM licenses etc... thus preventing anyone but a Hollywood film studio to produce content for it....

Not worth it IMHO, nor the upgrades that you have to do to FULLY appreciate it all, the public are not going for it in masses either, they are not going to throw out all those DVD's etc just to have one questionable feature? Its too little to late, and its all moving to downloads in HD, so why bother? Like the Sony mini disc it will die off and only be in the hands of the audiophiles.

I haven't seen a compelling reason why BLU Ray is better than DVD, however I have many reasons why its worse than DVD, so if a technology actually restricts how you use it, how is it an upgrade? I see blu ray as nothing but a money waster and a downgrade!

Blu Ray is, lots of pain for everyone else, drm means you cant do jack with it, no media shifting, no backups, you pay more for it, due to the license agreements, and less profit for everyone, interesting definition of vastly superior!

Quadraphonic stereo and 8 track all sounded better than what's playing in your iTunes library, it doesn't mean its a better technology, convenience will win over better looking or better sounding any day.

Why hasn't apple adopted it? The same reasons I suspect its a downgrade for consumers and a backward step!

HD is not deemed as important by the average consumer, shown time and time again in many studies for the past 3 years, here , the USA and the Uk (the only places I have data on), content is king, and that means getting it, and watching it on what you want, where you want. Also with the rapid uptake in the independent producers of video and content these days, Blu Ray is not the way forward.

Online, without DRM is the way forward. Blu Ray heralds back to an old area and is more locked up than DVD so not seen as any progression from the consumer or the producer.

Many people enjoy their 8 track, record players, valve radios, and amps, even quadraphonic stereos or quarter inch video tape, or laser disc! Each to their own, they are again not what I call mainstream, or convenient or even practical solutions to enjoying media

Blu Ray was a crock way before apple said it was, and again the amount one has to spend to enjoy blu ray's slightly better picture isn't justified IMHO, its not like the big shift we had when we went from VHS TO DVD!

I am just not accepting any decisions to move anything to blu ray, I have had a HD TV for a few years now, and I have a blu ray and a brand new 55inch Sony set, I enjoy much HD content just not from Blu Ray

Thus in Summary:

positives for blu ray:

1. picture

negatives

1. DRM
2. licenses
3. unable to backup
4. unable to media shift
5. many new titles have lock codes for extra content
6. having to have online access for your player to play content
7. The media can be damaged
8. cost of media and associated equipment to enjoy the picture

9. Region locking

Thus my reasons for saying its a step backwards.

Both BLU Ray and download (legal models) both suffer the drm issues right now. However, the download model is the best way for any content provider right now, and until such time as places like iTunes get rid of DRM, as they did for music, the current download models don't offer many more advantages over blu ray (except convince, and having a backup method.. a legal one..and no big hoops that Sony make you jump through).

Maybe they will come to their senses and loose the DRM, and on that day BLU Ray is doomed, (if not already) or even if Australia, had a big Netflix online library for wii, Xbox and ps3 or your new internet connected Bravia TV or any other media streaming box, then the shinny disc of blu ray and DVD will both look like they will go the way of the dodo !


Some things you can Google...

Consumers Putting Off Blu-ray Players?

“Consumers were happy to embrace standard DVD when that format arrived because the improvement in quality over VHS videotapes was dramatic,” noted ABI Research analyst Steve Wilson, in a statement. “Standard DVD didn’t require the purchase of a new TV, either.”


or this...


Study: even at $199, consumers still don't care about Blu-Ray - Boing Boing Gadgets


"One of the biggest problems? The cost. Even though the Blu-ray players have dropped in price, in order to actually get the benefit of Blu-ray you need to own an HDTV, which is still a very expensive investment (though Sharp has unveiled an HDTV with a Blu-ray recorder built in). Then when you consider that each Blu-ray movie costs about double the price of a DVD the numbers don't add up in Blu-ray's favor"

or this...

How can we expect Blu-ray to succeed? | The Digital Home - CNET News



laser disc is calling you... Is Blu-ray the next Laserdisc? | Where the Long Tail Ends



Don’t buy into the Sony Blu Ray con!

WHY 3D TV IS A CROCK!

1: There isn’t enough content.
It is true that in an effort to lure people back into theaters, the studios have been pushing 3D hard lately. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple to produce a 3D live action film as it is a 3D animation. To achieve 3D in animation, one instructs a computer to render a second channel of video slightly offset from the first.This is not significantly more onerous than creating an ordinary 2D CG animation. For live action films, however, 3D requires special cameras that are heavy and inconvenient to use. The practical upshot of this is that most of the 3D films being produced today are animated. This, of course, has implications for watching 3D films both in the theater and at home. If 3D continues to fail in winning over live action filmmakers, there simply won’t be much to look at. And while the studios have promised a handful of (mostly animated) 3D Blu-ray releases for 2010, there’s just isn’t enough content available now to make it a must-have home theater technology.

2. The upfront cost of 3D hardware is too steep.
The reintroduction of 3D into mainstream movies has seen a modest degree of success over the past few years. Theaters have been able to charge more for tickets to 3D screenings, which has helped them in offsetting the exorbitant cost of upgrading their projection hardware. But 3D still accounts for a mere fraction of overall ticket sales. This is because even with higher ticket prices, exhibitors cannot afford to make all of their screens 3D-ready. The cost of upgrading is also a problem in the home theater market, where HDTV’s have finally made their way into a majority of American homes. The vast majority of these households have only recently bought in. Is it really reasonable to expect people who just shelled out serious money for their new flat screens to go out and buy another $3000 TV? The value-add, especially considering the endemic lack of 3D content, is just not enough to justify the purchase. Even if the consumer in question did have the money, they would be wiser to spend it on upgrading their sound system, before going to 3D.

3. The quality of the experience is inconsistent and problematic.
I saw Avatar in IMAX 3D, which is the oldest of the 3D technologies currently in use. I then went and suffered through all 172 minutes of it again in RealD. The IMAX 3D experience was not great. First, the glasses were recycled and although I was seeing the film on opening day, they seemed somewhat warped. Even after I had changed glasses, the 3D illusion was broken every time I moved my head. It was exhausting to have to hold one position for close to three hours, but it was either that, or stare at a blurry image. I walked out of the IMAX 3D screening with a crick in my neck. The RealD screening did provide a better overall 3D experience. The illusion was not broken by head movements and so I was able to watch it in a more comfortable position. Unfortunately, when I left the RealD screening, I had a headache that lasted for an hour and a half (more on this special 3D headache later). Suffice to say that even the most recent implementations of 3D leave something to be desired.

4. The glasses are a literal barrier to entry.
While there have been many advances in 3D technology over the years, one thing that has not changed is the need for glasses. Depending on the particular type of 3D technology, these glasses work in slightly different ways, but the reliance on them to send offset images to the brain is still a mainstay of any 3D viewing experience. This is also true of the latest 3D HDTV’s which, we learned at CES, will ship with battery-powered 3D glasses. This is an annoyance at the theater, but can you imagine having to put on a pair of glasses to watch TV in your living room? And what do you do if you wear reading glasses? How about when friends come over to watch the Super Bowl, or theOscars? The glasses make a hard sell even harder.

5. Filmmakers, James Cameron included, do not really understand 3D.
Film, like photography and perspective painting, is already a three dimensional medium. Monocular cues like linear perspective, occlusion, and shadow, to name but a few, all provide the same sense of depth perception in a film, photograph, or painting as they do in real life. It is true that binocular cues add dimension to the other depth cues (when looking at objects up to 100 feet away), but it is a subtle effect and not the only way we see depth in the world or in film. While many filmmakers have an intuitive understanding of the principles of human perception, it’s not something that they study formally. Most get by in 2D, because there are established filmmaking conventions that they conform to which happen to play well with human perception. Unfortunately, 3D hasn’t been around long enough for such conventions to develop. 3D filmmakers end up using 2D film techniques that induce depth cues which are then contradicted by some of the 3D binocular cues that are layered over everything. When your brain is presented with such conflicting depth information, it will choose one version over the other, but when such conflicts happen many times over the course of a few hours, you end up with a perception headache.
There are many other factors that influence our perception of 3D, including the focal length of the lens, the composition of the shot, and the movement of the camera, but modern filmmakers don’t seem to be aware of the effects of these important factors on the perception of their films. This is why watching a 3D movie doesn’t really feel like being there, it just feels like its own, somewhat annoying, thing.

The push for 3D comes from a confluence of the old desire to create a more immersive cinema experience and the contemporary need to get people excited about going to the movies again. Unfortunately, the current 3D technology fails to deliver on the former and so it is destined to fail at the latter. A much more fruitful approach would be to adapt Douglas Trumball’s Showscan technology. What Trumbull demonstrated was that by shooting and projecting film at higher frame rates, he could create a much more immersive and realistic experience than what we get with a traditional 24 frames per second projection. His system, which involved 70 mm film shot and projected at 60 frames per second was dismissed as impractical and excessively expensive. In the digital age, this objection is no longer relevant. It is already possible to design reasonably priced digital cinema cameras and projectors that shoot and project at high resolutions and fast frame rates. This, it seems to me, is the next logical step in the evolution of cinema. Not the gimmick that we now call 3D.


..... may it die a quick death!

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