Computers & Writing - Movies & Music Blog

New Lame Sound!

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 19:48:33 -0600

The Lame encoded MP3 is very luring. I for one accepted the lack of quality so that I may enjoy music more often and with easier access and mobility. I understood the words and caught the beat and I was happy with that, but after listening to the difference between Lame encoded music and that of AAC or just MP3 files alone, I don’t know how long it would be until I appreciated the quality of the older versions if ever.

Virtual Vets

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 19:18:57 -0600

The gaming world has gone a long way as far as graphics and authenticity are concerned. The game “Brothers in Arms” was so realistic and showed off authentic battle scenes from World War II.

Old Rips: May They Rest in Peace

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 17:29:31 -0600

Old Rips: May They Rest in Peace - Members of the Napster generation, who blissfully piled up free tunes while they could, are realizing that the quality of low-bitrate MP3s sucks. Part one of a three-part series. By Dan Goodin. Plus: The Digital Audiophile's Toolbox [Movies & Music]

Finally a breakthrough with mp3s has come about us. An expert team of programmers of computer science and mathematics has been rigorously working on a new compression method called "lame."

Authenticity

Thu, 08 Dec 2005 18:22:35 -0600

The Rembrandt Code - Identifying true old masters - and spotting the fakes - is a rarefied art. By Bijal P. Trivedi. [Wired]

I came across this article on Wired discussing a new high-technology method for identifying paintings which are the authentic works of Rembrandt van Rijn and which are products of his students or even outright reproductions. Though this technology is being applied to a low-tech medium, I think this quest for authenticity has bearing on many issues facing digital media products.

Hooray for movies!!! (Oops, I mean advertisements!!!)

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 14:43:27 -0600

Film fans can expect more advertising on big screen - Ad forecasters at ZenithOptimedia said on Monday that spending on in-theater ads, usually shown before the trailers, rose by 18% this year to $400 million — and likely will go up by about 15% each year through 2008. By Laura Petrecca and David Lieberman. [Movies & Music]

The three biggest movie theatre companies in the US, Regal, AMC, and Cinemark, have all decided to use cineMedia as their primary outlet for advertising during movies.

Shaking the Industry

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 14:26:48 -0600

Thinking Outside the Box Office - Director Steven Soderbergh talks about the copyright cops, the remixing underground, and why he'll debut his new movie on DVD, cable, and in theaters all at once. By Xeni Jardin. [Movies & Music]

In a recent interview with film director Steven Soderbergh, Wired collected his thoughts on piracy, copyrights and the release plan for his new film. Sodebergh shared a common frustration with restrictive copyright laws when asked whether manufacturers should be forced to build copy protection mechanisms into their devices (DRM). Soderbergh replied, "It's a tricky question. I don't think somebody who creates something should have their rights violated. Yet we have a culture in which creating something like [Danger Mouse's] The Grey Album can get you thrown in jail. That's sad. It's an astonishing, amazing piece of work that should be heard."

Rebel Without a Copyright?

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:40:06 -0600

DVD Jon Lands Dream Job Stateside - Michael Robertson, the bold but oft-sued genius behind MP3.com and Linspire, brings the iconic and frequently prosecuted Norwegian media hacker to California for his latest venture. This should be interesting. By Annalee Newitz. [Movies & Music]

Though more than a month old now, I came across this interesting story about Jon Lech Johansen, a Norweigan hacker, or reverse engineer as he usually calls himself. Jon's stock in trade is producing hacks or programs to disable DRM (Digital Rights Management) components included with much of today's commercial media. Like myself, Jon is leary of overzealous copyright protection but he has taken up the fight in a slightly different way. Not only are Jon's actions illegal under US law (and recently, Norway's), but he continues his work flagrantly out in the open.

Harry Potter FOUR!

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:40:26 -0600

Christopher Null is very excited about this film. The first three Potter movies were hits themselves but for Null to show appreciation for only this fourth one says a lot for the film.

Recording Industry vs The People

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:19:49 -0600

Oklahoma Woman Fights Back Against RIAA - We have just learned of another case, this one in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where a defendant is fighting back against the RIAA. The name of the case is Capitol Records v. Foster. There the defendant has filed counterclaims for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, and for "prima facie tort" under Oklahoma law. The judge dismissed the counterclaim for "prima facie tort" but has left standing the counterclaim for a declaratory judgment. During the period Ms. Foster was accused of being a copyright infringer she did not even have a working computer. [Movies & Music]

Xbox360

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:41:54 -0600

According to Chris K. the Xbox 360 was not as impressive as he would have hoped. It is hard to change revolutionize the gaming world like the PS2 did.

DRM (aka Death to Ripping Music)

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 14:34:57 -0600

Music labels losing sales over DRM - It's not news that consumers hate DRM, especially the kind that keeps Little Johnny from ripping that Velvet Revolver disc to his iPod on Christmas morning. What is interesting, though, is how little the major record labels care. By Nate Anderson. [Movies & Music]

Even though DRM is completely legal and doesn't actually do any harm to someone’s computer, consumers hate it and it is causing music companies to lose money. The problem is that music companies thought that DRM was great since no one knew about it when it first came out.

Virtual Vets Flesh Out D-Day

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 13:57:48 -0600

Virtual Vets Flesh Out D-Day - Little footage exists of the bloody action behind enemy lines during the D-Day invasion. So what's a modern documentary maker to do? By John Gaudiosi. [Movies & Music]

I just came across this story on Wired about a History channel special supplementing a World War II documentary with vivid, full color footage from the game Brothers in Arms. In light of the comparative lack of D-Day footage and the overuse of the material that is available, the History Channel opted to use this game as a way to recreate those fateful days.

Peer2Peer Goes Legit

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 14:52:15 -0600

iMesh is entering the game a little late. They may be a few steps behind other, already established file-sharing networks such as Napster, Grokster and Kazaa, but they also have these predecessors to learn from.

Peer-to-Peer Goes Legit

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 14:06:34 -0600

Peer-to-Peer Goes Legit - IMesh becomes the first file-sharing service to offer legal access to more than 2 million tracks from major labels and independents. by Niall McKay. [Movies & Music]

While I would be happy to see music and other media available to the consumer at no cost, this recent development for iMesh is a good blend of easy consumer access and commercial viability. Using a true peer-to-peer architecture, differing from iTunes' server-to-client model, iMesh offers a libary of "up to 2 million tracks" for 99 cents each or $6.95 per month. This subscription plan, not offered by iTunes, is an offering that I believe brings true value to the consumer. If a user downloads as few as 8 songs per month, he is already experiencing a savings in the form of a unit price below 99 cents. Most music fans could find many more songs than 8 per month and the value of this option becomes even greater. I don't mean to run on like an iMesh marketer, but in the interests of seeing media brought cheaply to the consumer I thought I'd share some of its merits.

How to get the new King Kong movie today!!!

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 14:52:33 -0600

Film file-Sharer sent to Prison - A Hong Kong man has been jailed for three months for film piracy after he shared movie files over the internet. [Movies & Music]

For the first time in the world ever, someone has been arrested for uploading illegal material onto the internet through the popular file-sharing client BitTorrent. Chan Nai-Ming, an unemployed internet user in Hong Kong, was arrested and sent to jail for three months for distributing the films Daredevil, Red Planet and Miss Congeniality. This may sound familiar to those who remember the days way back when Napster had to be shut down for the illegal file-sharing of music in mp3 format.