[scifinoir2] Social Networks See Trending Increase in Users Over 50

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
Social Networks See Trending Increase in Users Over 50Percentage growth of
new older users far greater than that for younger users[image: Social
Networks See Trending Increase in Users Over 50]
Posted Aug 30th, 2010 03:11 PM by Ann
Oui

*CYBERSPACE*—The oldsters are catching up, and are in some regards surging
ahead of the youngsters in their use of social networking sites. You read
that right.

The trend is unmistakable, according to new Pew Research data. Over the past
year, social networking use among internet users aged 50 and older has
nearly doubled, from 22 percent to 42 percent. Assessed another way, half
(47 percent) of internet users ages 50-64 and one in four (26 percent) users
ages 65 and older now use social networking sites.



The older set still has some ground to make up if it wants to equal or
better the 18- to 29-year-olds, 86 percent of whom say they use sites such
as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But if the current adoption rate holds,
it could happen.

“Between April 2009 and May 2010,” reported Pew, “internet users [aged]
50-64 who said they use a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or
LinkedIn grew 88 percent and those ages 65 and older grew 100 percent in
their adoption of the sites, compared with a growth rate of 13 percent for
those ages 18-29.”

The data also suggests that, in addition to their acceptance of social
networking, older people say they also are becoming regular users.

“The use of Twitter and other services to share status updates has also
grown among older users—most notably among those ages 50-64,” said Pew.
“While just 5 percent of users ages 50-64 had used Twitter or another
status-update service in 2009, 11 percent now say they use these tools. On a
typical day, 6 percent of online adults aged 50-64 make Twitter a part of
their routine, up from the 1 percent who did so in 2009.

“By comparison, social networking sites have gained a much larger foothold
in the lives of older Americans over time. One in five (20 percent) online
adults ages 50-64 say they use social networking sites on a typical day, up
from 10 percent one year ago. Likewise, 13 percent of online adults ages 65
and older log on to social networking sites, compared with just 4 percent
who did so in 2009.”

Looked at another way, among the pool of adults ages 50 and older who use
social networking sites, 44 percent used them on the day prior to their
being contacted for the survey.

For more information about the Pew research, click
here
.

[scifinoir2] Bike Transforms into a Baby Stroller

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
Bike Transforms into a Baby
Stroller
September 2nd, 2010 | Tech  |

[image: Bike Transforms into a Baby Stroller]

Taga  combines the fun of a
bicycle with
the functionality of a baby
stroller
.

This awesome 
invention
allows
you to exercise while you spend quality time with your child. It only takes
20 seconds to change modes.
[via
]

[image: Taga Bicycle]

[image: Taga Bike]

[image: Stroller Bike]

[image: Stroller Bicycle]

[image: Baby Stroller Bike]

[image: Baby Stroller Bicycle]

[image: Baby Stroller and Bike Combo]

[scifinoir2] Einstein's prediction finally witnessed one century later

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
Einstein's prediction finally witnessed one century later

By Tannith Cattermole 

*19:26 September 1, 2010*

[image: Raizan and team used optical tweezers to suspend the bead and
observe Brownian motion for
...]

Raizan and team used optical tweezers to suspend the bead and observe
Brownian motion for the first time Credit:
Particle Size 
Analysis
 - 
www.particletechlabs.com
cGMP approved Lab Pharma, Food, Cosmetics
Market Crash 
Coming?
 - 
www.stealthstocksonline.com
Technical indicators suggest market collapse could begin within month
Thermal Imaging
Detector
 - 
www.Fluke.com/Thermal-Imaging
Infrared Thermal Analysis Solutions – Find the Right Tool For the Job!
bead 
cenotec

[scifinoir2] Neutrino observatory under Antarctic ice nearing completion

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
Neutrino observatory under Antarctic ice nearing completion

By Ben Coxworth 

*23:05 September 1, 2010*

4 
Pictures
[image: One of IceCube's digital optical modules being lowered into
the 
ice]

One of IceCube's digital optical modules being lowered into the ice
*Image 
Gallery
(4
images)*
ThermaFreeze Ice
Packs
 - 
www.thermafreeze.com
Flexible, Reusable Ice Sheets,Great For Compress, Coolers & Shipping
Migraine Relief Ice
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 - 
www.IceWraps.net/Migraines
Reusable Cranial Ice Cap Relieves Migraine Headache Pain Naturally.
Instant Cold 
Compress
 - 
GoGoods.com
Disposable, Fast, Single-Use Cold Compresses. Great Low Prices.
Up To 40% Off Eco
Travel
 - 
www.Travelocity.com

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Fw: Thrillist ATL: Cancel Your Netflix Subscription

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
I wouldn't call Nikkatsu's work softcore porn. It is a little more artistic
than that in some cases. Plus they had their best directors making the films
from the 60s-70s. They also produced 4x's as much work. (they also produced
movies like The Grudge and Machine Girl)

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 2:08 PM, B Smith  wrote:

> When I was a kid I loved Monster From a Prehistoric Planet aka Gappa, the
> Triphibian Monster. It was basically a Japanese retelling of Gorgo turned up
> to 11. There were two monster parents instead of one, they were triphibians
> because they could fly as well as live in water and on land. They also had a
> breath weapon.
>
> It was Nikkatsu Studio's only attempt at trying to knock Toho of the top of
> kaiju eiga mountain. it failed miserably. Shortly after that the studio
> became known for softcore porn.
>
> --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "Mr. Worf"  wrote:
> >
> > I'm actually familiar with this site but I couldn't bring myself to watch
> > any of these movies. Maybe if I were 16 again and up all night with my
> > friends.
> >
> > On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 12:16 PM, Sammie A  wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > JUST CHECKED THIS OUT.  SOME OF IT IS JUST PLAIN SAD..BUT I
> WILL
> > > NOT BE CANCELING MY NETFLIX!
> > >
> > > Fate.
> > >
> > > --- On *Thu, 9/2/10, Thrillist * wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > From: Thrillist 
> > > Subject: Thrillist ATL: Cancel Your Netflix Subscription
> > > To: jazzynupe...@...
> > > Date: Thursday, September 2, 2010, 9:42 AM
> > >
> > >
> > > <
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.php?M=4532387&N=240362&C=712dae5628d631ab7d44c9b93991a32b&L=69501
> >
> > > ATLANTA  9.2.10
> > >
> > > You could bring back hats
> > >  [image: Click Here]<
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.php?M=4532387&N=240362&C=712dae5628d631ab7d44c9b93991a32b&L=132197
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > <
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.php?M=4532387&N=240362&C=712dae5628d631ab7d44c9b93991a32b&L=132198
> >
> > >   <
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.php?M=4532387&N=240362&C=712dae5628d631ab7d44c9b93991a32b&L=132199
> >
> > >  iMovieTube  Awesomely horrible movies, totally free
> > > They say the best things in life are free, which means they've
> obviously
> > > never had a Whatchamacallit. For a gloriously time-wasting site from a
> guy
> > > who realized the *worst* things in life are also gratis, visit
> iMovieTube.
> > >   [image: Thrillist - iMovieTube]<
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.php?M=4532387&N=240362&C=712dae5628d631ab7d44c9b93991a32b&L=132198
> >
> > >  iMT exclusively streams movies whose plots, production, and acting are
> > > sublimely wack completely free o' charge on their high-quality player;
> > > there's no fee because the films' owners allowed their copyrights to
> expire,
> > > or let them be licensed, so you at least know they can execute a
> three-point
> > > turn. The blessed badness includes:
> > > *In The Year 2889:* "A group of post A-war survivors, gathered together
> in
> > > a valley, are menaced by cannibalistic human mutants with telepathic
> powers.
> > > They argue and complain a lot, which doesn't really help their
> situation<
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.php?M=4532387&N=240362&C=712dae5628d631ab7d44c9b93991a32b&L=132200
> >",
> > > making one wonder how that dude effectively GTLs in post-apocalyptic
> > > wasteland.
> > > *Teenage Devil Dolls:* "Cassandra falls in with the wrong crowd in high
> > > school. Her home life is not great, and she turns to a group of
> delinquent
> > > bikers to help escape. Before long she's doing drugs and failing her
> classes
> > > until she has no chance of getting in to college", which is tragic,
> since
> > > it’s the perfect environment for failing/taking drugs.
> > > *Bloody Wednesday:* A "surreal character study" made in '87, this one's
> a
> > > tale of "an average guy's speedy descent into madness and violence"
> inspired
> > > by San Diego's 1984 McDonald's massacre; it starts w/ scrolling text
> that
> > > reads "The last place we would feel threatened is our neighborhood
> coffee
> > > shop", at least until someone busts a Frapp in your ass.
> > > A few films even feature genuine Hollywood stars, such as kung-fu
> flicks
> > > with Bruce Lee and Sonny Chiba, *Born To Win* featuring one Bobby De
> Niro,
> > > and *Attack Force Nam* starring David Carradine, who found out the hard
> > > way<
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.php?M=4532387&N=240362&C=712dae5628d631ab7d44c9b93991a32b&L=132201>that
> the best things in his own life would actually end it.
> > >  Everything is better when there's no cost; spend tonight watching epic
> > > ridiculousness at iMovieTube.com<
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.php?M=4532387&N=240362&C=712dae5628d631ab7d44c9b93991a32b&L=132198
> >
> > >
> > >  [image: Click Here]<
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.php?M=4532387&N=240362&C=712dae5628d631ab7d44c9b93991a32b&L=132202
> >
> > >   [image: Join us!]
> > > <
> http://themove.thrillist.com/link.ph

[scifinoir2] Re: Fw: Thrillist ATL: Cancel Your Netflix Subscription

2010-09-02 Thread B Smith 
When I was a kid I loved Monster From a Prehistoric Planet aka Gappa, the 
Triphibian Monster. It was basically a Japanese retelling of Gorgo turned up to 
11. There were two monster parents instead of one, they were triphibians 
because they could fly as well as live in water and on land. They also had a 
breath weapon.

It was Nikkatsu Studio's only attempt at trying to knock Toho of the top of 
kaiju eiga mountain. it failed miserably. Shortly after that the studio became 
known for softcore porn. 

--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "Mr. Worf"  wrote:
>
> I'm actually familiar with this site but I couldn't bring myself to watch
> any of these movies. Maybe if I were 16 again and up all night with my
> friends.
> 
> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 12:16 PM, Sammie A  wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> > JUST CHECKED THIS OUT.  SOME OF IT IS JUST PLAIN SAD..BUT I WILL
> > NOT BE CANCELING MY NETFLIX!
> >
> > Fate.
> >
> > --- On *Thu, 9/2/10, Thrillist * wrote:
> >
> >
> > From: Thrillist 
> > Subject: Thrillist ATL: Cancel Your Netflix Subscription
> > To: jazzynupe...@...
> > Date: Thursday, September 2, 2010, 9:42 AM
> >
> >
> > 
> > ATLANTA  9.2.10
> >
> > You could bring back hats
> >  [image: Click 
> > Here]
> >
> >
> >
> > 
> >   
> > 
> >  iMovieTube  Awesomely horrible movies, totally free
> > They say the best things in life are free, which means they've obviously
> > never had a Whatchamacallit. For a gloriously time-wasting site from a guy
> > who realized the *worst* things in life are also gratis, visit iMovieTube.
> >   [image: Thrillist - 
> > iMovieTube]
> >  iMT exclusively streams movies whose plots, production, and acting are
> > sublimely wack completely free o' charge on their high-quality player;
> > there's no fee because the films' owners allowed their copyrights to expire,
> > or let them be licensed, so you at least know they can execute a three-point
> > turn. The blessed badness includes:
> > *In The Year 2889:* "A group of post A-war survivors, gathered together in
> > a valley, are menaced by cannibalistic human mutants with telepathic powers.
> > They argue and complain a lot, which doesn't really help their 
> > situation",
> > making one wonder how that dude effectively GTLs in post-apocalyptic
> > wasteland.
> > *Teenage Devil Dolls:* "Cassandra falls in with the wrong crowd in high
> > school. Her home life is not great, and she turns to a group of delinquent
> > bikers to help escape. Before long she's doing drugs and failing her classes
> > until she has no chance of getting in to college", which is tragic, since
> > it’s the perfect environment for failing/taking drugs.
> > *Bloody Wednesday:* A "surreal character study" made in '87, this one's a
> > tale of "an average guy's speedy descent into madness and violence" inspired
> > by San Diego's 1984 McDonald's massacre; it starts w/ scrolling text that
> > reads "The last place we would feel threatened is our neighborhood coffee
> > shop", at least until someone busts a Frapp in your ass.
> > A few films even feature genuine Hollywood stars, such as kung-fu flicks
> > with Bruce Lee and Sonny Chiba, *Born To Win* featuring one Bobby De Niro,
> > and *Attack Force Nam* starring David Carradine, who found out the hard
> > waythat
> >  the best things in his own life would actually end it.
> >  Everything is better when there's no cost; spend tonight watching epic
> > ridiculousness at 
> > iMovieTube.com
> >
> >  [image: Click 
> > Here]
> >   [image: Join us!]
> > 
> >
> > 
> > If you own one of these fancy personal computing machines, you need
> > MakeUseOf.com,
> > the ultra-informative blog featuring sweet websites, computer tips, and
> > productivity-spiking downloads. They’ll also give you 20+ fre

Re: [scifinoir2] Is Newsweek biting the dust?

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
I'm thinking that they will have just a skeleton crew if they go online
only. There's not as much money in online even for a seasoned player like
Newsweek.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 11:48 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

>
>
> Whoa... guess there'll be a commemorative final issue rolling out soon. If
> there's anyone to put it out, that is. Or maybe all of their money and
> resources are going to the e-version.
>
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 7:38 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> A big sign that something bad is coming down the pipe is when the
>> management quits at the same time.
>>
>>
>> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-death-of-newsweek-name-by-name-2010-7?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+businessinsider+(Business+Insider)
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
> wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
>
>
> 
>

Re: [scifinoir2] Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
I meant to say its NOT worth the $100 if you own a gaming system.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 11:51 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

>
>
> I don't see that. It's ABC and Fox programs, right? All available online
> for me right now. HD if I drop for an HDMI cable, saving me at least $50
> bucks and the rental fees.
>
> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 7:19 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> I think that Apple's offering is a little too little too late. Even the
>> Wii has better options. It doesn't have HD output on top of only two tv
>> networks. Its worth the $100 if you already own a game system.
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:34 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Saw this on G4 yesterday. On the screen crawl, they were asking for
>>> viewer responses. Very few were even interested in it, most focusing on the
>>> iPod upgrades.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:39 AM, Mr. Worf wrote:
>>>


 Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV

- By Dylan F. Tweney
 [image: Email Author]  
- September 1, 2010  |
- 2:21 pm  |
- Categories: Home Audio and 
 Video
-

  << Previous | Next 
 >>
 [image: mg_7862]

- [image: 
 mg_7862]
- [image: 
 mg_7640-copy]
- [image: 
 mg_7651-copy]
- [image: 
 mg_7665]
- [image: 
 mg_7678]


  << Previous | Next 
 >>
 View 
 all

 SAN FRANCISCO — In a sign that its television “hobby” has turned into
 serious business, Apple announced an aggressively-priced new set-top box
 that takes aim at the heart of the cable TV and DVD rental industries.

 The new Apple TV, which will go on sale at the end of September for
 $100, is a puny box just 1/4 the size of the previous model. It has an HDMI
 port, a power supply built in it, an optical audio port, an Ethernet jack,
 and built-in Wi-Fi.

 “It’s silent, cool and tiny,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, showing off the
 diminutive metallic box.

 Despite rumors, the product was not re-branded as “iTV.” Jobs did not
 state whether it was running a version of iOS, although the Apple TV’s new
 interface includes some very iOS-like touches, such as icons that jiggle
 when you are rearranging them in your Netflix queue.

 Apple joins an increasingly crowded and risky scrum of companies trying
 to reinvent television for the internet age. Netflix and Hulu both have 
 been
 offering streaming video playback of movies and TV shows, with some 
 success,
 for over a year. Google is working on a set-top box that would blur the 
 line
 between TV and internet fare, YouTube is said to be planning mainstream 
 film
 rentals and Amazon is rumored to be planning its own Netflix-like video
 streaming 
 service.
 But the real threat are the cable companies and TV networks, which have a
 lock on the shows that people want to watch — and so far, there’s been
 little incentive for them to open up their tightly-controlled ecosystems to
 internet upstarts.

 Apple’s play is for convenience, but it’s not the cross-platform
 strategy needed for dominance, wrote Andrew 
 Eisner,
 a director at online electronics retailer Retrevo.com.

 “A TV OS vacuum exists at the moment and unfortunately for consumers, TV
 manufacturers appear to be filling it with their own proprietary 
 offerings,”
 Eisner wrote recently. “Apple needs to gain control of the third screen or
 TV screen, after smartphone screens and computer screens, and the TV
 industry needs to move away from closed environments and let their 
 connected
 TVs work with all the apps and streaming content that consumers are finding
 so appealing.”

 The company will also be providing a feature within iOS 4.2 that
 customers can use to share videos wirelessly from their iPhones, iPod
 Touches or iPads. Called “AirPlay,” the feature will let customers display 
 a
 video from their mobile device, on an Apple

[scifinoir2] The Great Debate: Bruce Wayne vs. Dick Grayson

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
More from Tor... rhyming unintentional, I assure you.

http://www.tor.com.vhost.zerolag.com/blogs/2010/08/the-great-debate-bruce-wayne-vs-dick-grayson

-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik

[scifinoir2] Writing Hurricane Katrina

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
A very interesting article I just got in the mail. Poses interesting
questions.

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/08/writing-hurricane-katrina

-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik

[scifinoir2] Re: Best female villain?

2010-09-02 Thread B Smith 
How about Jade Fox from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?

--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter  wrote:
>
> Thanks. And a great call on Lucifer as well. I'd forgotten about that anime.
> 
> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 9:47 AM, B Smith  wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> > Great call on the Mist.
> >
> > One of my favorites is evil ESPer Lucifer from Angel Cop. The anime was
> > vile crap but she was epically badass. The shot of her using her powers to
> > ride a chopper while her arms were crossed was a great intro and when she
> > butchered the cool supporting cast you knew this was going to be something
> > different. She was like a female Tetsuo but more in control of her powers.
> >
> > --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Martin
> > Baxter  wrote:
> > >
> > > Mr Worf, for me, hands down, it's the Mist II from James Robinson's
> > Starman
> > > run. She was the slightly crazy daughter of the first Mist who, upon his
> > > death, escalated into epic-level craziness. In her first foray, she
> > > kidnapped, drugged and raped Starman, conceiving and giving birth to his
> > > son, and then she sent him pictures of the baby, telling him that she
> > would
> > > raise and train the child to kill him one day. Then, for her second
> > outing,
> > > she killed off Justice League Europe in under two minutes. She ended up
> > > dying, and Starman got his son back.
> > >
> > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mist_%28comics%29
> > >
> > > On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 6:25 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > In your opinion which character is the best movie and or comic / book
> > > > character?
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody
> > hell
> > > wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
> > >
> > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
> > >
> >
> >  
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
> wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
>

Re: [scifinoir2] Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
I don't see that. It's ABC and Fox programs, right? All available online for
me right now. HD if I drop for an HDMI cable, saving me at least $50 bucks
and the rental fees.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 7:19 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
> I think that Apple's offering is a little too little too late. Even the Wii
> has better options. It doesn't have HD output on top of only two tv
> networks. Its worth the $100 if you already own a game system.
>
> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:34 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Saw this on G4 yesterday. On the screen crawl, they were asking for viewer
>> responses. Very few were even interested in it, most focusing on the iPod
>> upgrades.
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:39 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV
>>>
>>>- By Dylan F. Tweney 
>>> [image: Email Author]  
>>>- September 1, 2010  |
>>>- 2:21 pm  |
>>>- Categories: Home Audio and 
>>> Video
>>>-
>>>
>>>  << Previous | Next 
>>> >>
>>> [image: mg_7862]
>>>
>>>- [image: 
>>> mg_7862]
>>>- [image: 
>>> mg_7640-copy]
>>>- [image: 
>>> mg_7651-copy]
>>>- [image: 
>>> mg_7665]
>>>- [image: 
>>> mg_7678]
>>>
>>>
>>>  << Previous | Next 
>>> >>
>>> View 
>>> all
>>>
>>> SAN FRANCISCO — In a sign that its television “hobby” has turned into
>>> serious business, Apple announced an aggressively-priced new set-top box
>>> that takes aim at the heart of the cable TV and DVD rental industries.
>>>
>>> The new Apple TV, which will go on sale at the end of September for $100,
>>> is a puny box just 1/4 the size of the previous model. It has an HDMI port,
>>> a power supply built in it, an optical audio port, an Ethernet jack, and
>>> built-in Wi-Fi.
>>>
>>> “It’s silent, cool and tiny,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, showing off the
>>> diminutive metallic box.
>>>
>>> Despite rumors, the product was not re-branded as “iTV.” Jobs did not
>>> state whether it was running a version of iOS, although the Apple TV’s new
>>> interface includes some very iOS-like touches, such as icons that jiggle
>>> when you are rearranging them in your Netflix queue.
>>>
>>> Apple joins an increasingly crowded and risky scrum of companies trying
>>> to reinvent television for the internet age. Netflix and Hulu both have been
>>> offering streaming video playback of movies and TV shows, with some success,
>>> for over a year. Google is working on a set-top box that would blur the line
>>> between TV and internet fare, YouTube is said to be planning mainstream film
>>> rentals and Amazon is rumored to be planning its own Netflix-like video
>>> streaming 
>>> service.
>>> But the real threat are the cable companies and TV networks, which have a
>>> lock on the shows that people want to watch — and so far, there’s been
>>> little incentive for them to open up their tightly-controlled ecosystems to
>>> internet upstarts.
>>>
>>> Apple’s play is for convenience, but it’s not the cross-platform strategy
>>> needed for dominance, wrote Andrew 
>>> Eisner,
>>> a director at online electronics retailer Retrevo.com.
>>>
>>> “A TV OS vacuum exists at the moment and unfortunately for consumers, TV
>>> manufacturers appear to be filling it with their own proprietary offerings,”
>>> Eisner wrote recently. “Apple needs to gain control of the third screen or
>>> TV screen, after smartphone screens and computer screens, and the TV
>>> industry needs to move away from closed environments and let their connected
>>> TVs work with all the apps and streaming content that consumers are finding
>>> so appealing.”
>>>
>>> The company will also be providing a feature within iOS 4.2 that
>>> customers can use to share videos wirelessly from their iPhones, iPod
>>> Touches or iPads. Called “AirPlay,” the feature will let customers display a
>>> video from their mobile device, on an Apple TV-connected TV screen, with a
>>> single tap. IOS 4.2 won’t be available until November.
>>>
>>> AirPlay “puts iPhones and iPads in the driver’s seat and makes the TV
>>> just an output device for the Apple ecosystem,” said Forrester analyst James
>>> McQuivey. “Expect Ap

Re: [scifinoir2] Nanocrystal conductors could lead to massive, robust 3-D storage and extend Moore's Law

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Thank you for setting me right. It's been so long since I last read any
literature on storage, the 3D application slipped past me.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 7:28 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
> They are talking about storage. What will happen is that we will begin to
> see memory sticks that hold hundreds of terabytes of storage. But alas we
> will be hitting the wall in a couple of years if they do not come up with a
> completely different methodology of memory and cpu/gpu design.
>
> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:39 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Pardon me... I was busy "OOOHH"-ing... might not be able to see 3D, but my
>> niece can enjoy the fruits of this.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 4:49 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> RESEARCH WATCH 
>>>  Nanocrystal conductors could lead to massive, robust 3-D storage and
>>> extend Moore's Law
>>>
>>> By Darren Quick 
>>>
>>> *19:42 August 31, 2010*
>>>
>>>  San Francisco 
>>> Coupons
>>>  - 
>>> www.Groupon.com/San-Francisco
>>> 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. It's like doing The Bay at 90% off!
>>> Silica & 
>>> Alumina
>>>  - 
>>> www.MPbio.com
>>> Quality Products for HPLC, TLC Column Chromatography and more.
>>> Exclusive SF 
>>> Deals
>>>  - 
>>> www.FreshGuide.com

Re: [scifinoir2] Is Newsweek biting the dust?

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Whoa... guess there'll be a commemorative final issue rolling out soon. If
there's anyone to put it out, that is. Or maybe all of their money and
resources are going to the e-version.


On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 7:38 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
> A big sign that something bad is coming down the pipe is when the
> management quits at the same time.
>
>
> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-death-of-newsweek-name-by-name-2010-7?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+businessinsider+(Business+Insider)
>
>  
>



-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Geek time!

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
You probably did, Mr Worf... my memory is akin to Swiss cheese at times.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 7:48 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
> Didn't I post the trailer for it about a month or two ago?
>
> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:44 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> "Thee Good, The Bad and The Weird"... what planet have I been on, to have
>> missed that? [?]
>>
>> Thanks for the heads-up on this, B. I'm off to the mall tomorrow, to check
>> with my contact.
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 2:32 PM, B Smith  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Yes it is. The wife and I streamed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo the
>>> other night and it was awesome. Also the blu-ray plan on Netflix is a
>>> lifesaver too. I have The Book of Eli, Kick Ass and The Good, The Bad and
>>> The Weird sitting at home ready to be watched.
>>>
>>> BTW I just finished setting up my surround sound in the man cave and I'm
>>> ready to disturb the neighbors.
>>>
>>> --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com ,
>>> "Kelwyn"  wrote:
>>> >
>>> > For the record, while the plasma and the blu-ray are great in their own
>>> overpriced ways, it is Netflix that is the bomb!
>>> >
>>> > ~rave!
>>> >
>>> > --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com ,
>>> Sammie A  wrote:
>>> > >
>>> > > o.k.  so i just purchased a LG 50" plasma and a LG blu-ray player.
>>> they (LG) give u a one month free trial of Netflix with the blu-ray player.
>>> decided 2 check it out.  mind u, never tried netflix before.  so as i am
>>> strolling through the menu's..in the television side i
>>> seeThe Dresden Files:  Season 1 / 12 Episodes.  now u know i am going 2
>>> be really happy these next 2 days!  after that, it will be Farscape:  Season
>>> 1 / 22 Episodes.  by the weekend, i should be on Torchwood: Season 1 / 13
>>> Episodes.  think i am going 2 like this blu-ray player thing!
>>> > >
>>> > > Fate.
>>> > >
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
>> wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
>>
>>
>>
>  
>



-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
<<327.gif>>

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Best female villain?

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Thanks. And a great call on Lucifer as well. I'd forgotten about that anime.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 9:47 AM, B Smith  wrote:

>
>
> Great call on the Mist.
>
> One of my favorites is evil ESPer Lucifer from Angel Cop. The anime was
> vile crap but she was epically badass. The shot of her using her powers to
> ride a chopper while her arms were crossed was a great intro and when she
> butchered the cool supporting cast you knew this was going to be something
> different. She was like a female Tetsuo but more in control of her powers.
>
> --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Martin
> Baxter  wrote:
> >
> > Mr Worf, for me, hands down, it's the Mist II from James Robinson's
> Starman
> > run. She was the slightly crazy daughter of the first Mist who, upon his
> > death, escalated into epic-level craziness. In her first foray, she
> > kidnapped, drugged and raped Starman, conceiving and giving birth to his
> > son, and then she sent him pictures of the baby, telling him that she
> would
> > raise and train the child to kill him one day. Then, for her second
> outing,
> > she killed off Justice League Europe in under two minutes. She ended up
> > dying, and Starman got his son back.
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mist_%28comics%29
> >
> > On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 6:25 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > In your opinion which character is the best movie and or comic / book
> > > character?
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody
> hell
> > wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
> >
>
>  
>



-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Best female villain?

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Don't see why not, Adrianne.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 11:28 AM, Adrianne Brennan <
adrianne.bren...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> Does Dark Phoenix count?
>
>
>
> ~ "Where love and magic meet" ~
> http://www.adriannebrennan.com
> Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series:
> http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon
> Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series:
> http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath
> The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m):
> http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 9:47 AM, B Smith  wrote:
>
>> Great call on the Mist.
>>
>> One of my favorites is evil ESPer Lucifer from Angel Cop. The anime was
>> vile crap but she was epically badass. The shot of her using her powers to
>> ride a chopper while her arms were crossed was a great intro and when she
>> butchered the cool supporting cast you knew this was going to be something
>> different. She was like a female Tetsuo but more in control of her powers.
>>
>> --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter 
>> wrote:
>> >
>> > Mr Worf, for me, hands down, it's the Mist II from James Robinson's
>> Starman
>> > run. She was the slightly crazy daughter of the first Mist who, upon his
>> > death, escalated into epic-level craziness. In her first foray, she
>> > kidnapped, drugged and raped Starman, conceiving and giving birth to his
>> > son, and then she sent him pictures of the baby, telling him that she
>> would
>> > raise and train the child to kill him one day. Then, for her second
>> outing,
>> > she killed off Justice League Europe in under two minutes. She ended up
>> > dying, and Starman got his son back.
>> >
>> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mist_%28comics%29
>> >
>> > On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 6:25 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
>> >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > In your opinion which character is the best movie and or comic / book
>> > > character?
>> > >
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody
>> hell
>> > wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
>> >
>> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 
>>
>>
>> Post your SciFiNoir Profile at
>>
>> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYahoo!
>> Groups Links
>>
>>
>>
>>
>  
>



-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Best female villain?

2010-09-02 Thread Adrianne Brennan 
Does Dark Phoenix count?



~ "Where love and magic meet" ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon
Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath
The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m):
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html


On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 9:47 AM, B Smith  wrote:

> Great call on the Mist.
>
> One of my favorites is evil ESPer Lucifer from Angel Cop. The anime was
> vile crap but she was epically badass. The shot of her using her powers to
> ride a chopper while her arms were crossed was a great intro and when she
> butchered the cool supporting cast you knew this was going to be something
> different. She was like a female Tetsuo but more in control of her powers.
>
> --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter 
> wrote:
> >
> > Mr Worf, for me, hands down, it's the Mist II from James Robinson's
> Starman
> > run. She was the slightly crazy daughter of the first Mist who, upon his
> > death, escalated into epic-level craziness. In her first foray, she
> > kidnapped, drugged and raped Starman, conceiving and giving birth to his
> > son, and then she sent him pictures of the baby, telling him that she
> would
> > raise and train the child to kill him one day. Then, for her second
> outing,
> > she killed off Justice League Europe in under two minutes. She ended up
> > dying, and Starman got his son back.
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mist_%28comics%29
> >
> > On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 6:25 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > In your opinion which character is the best movie and or comic / book
> > > character?
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody
> hell
> > wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
> >
>
>
>
>
> 
>
> Post your SciFiNoir Profile at
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYahoo!
> Groups Links
>
>
>
>

[scifinoir2] Re: Best female villain?

2010-09-02 Thread B Smith 
Great call on the Mist.

One of my favorites is evil ESPer Lucifer from Angel Cop. The anime was vile 
crap but she was epically badass. The shot of her using her powers to ride a 
chopper while her arms were crossed was a great intro and when she butchered 
the cool supporting cast you knew this was going to be something different. She 
was like a female Tetsuo but more in control of her powers.   

--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter  wrote:
>
> Mr Worf, for me, hands down, it's the Mist II from James Robinson's Starman
> run. She was the slightly crazy daughter of the first Mist who, upon his
> death, escalated into epic-level craziness. In her first foray, she
> kidnapped, drugged and raped Starman, conceiving and giving birth to his
> son, and then she sent him pictures of the baby, telling him that she would
> raise and train the child to kill him one day. Then, for her second outing,
> she killed off Justice League Europe in under two minutes. She ended up
> dying, and Starman got his son back.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mist_%28comics%29
> 
> On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 6:25 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> > In your opinion which character is the best movie and or comic / book
> > character?
> >  
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
> wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
>

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Geek time!

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
Didn't I post the trailer for it about a month or two ago?

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:44 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

>
>
> "Thee Good, The Bad and The Weird"... what planet have I been on, to have
> missed that? [?]
>
> Thanks for the heads-up on this, B. I'm off to the mall tomorrow, to check
> with my contact.
>
> On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 2:32 PM, B Smith  wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Yes it is. The wife and I streamed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo the
>> other night and it was awesome. Also the blu-ray plan on Netflix is a
>> lifesaver too. I have The Book of Eli, Kick Ass and The Good, The Bad and
>> The Weird sitting at home ready to be watched.
>>
>> BTW I just finished setting up my surround sound in the man cave and I'm
>> ready to disturb the neighbors.
>>
>> --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com ,
>> "Kelwyn"  wrote:
>> >
>> > For the record, while the plasma and the blu-ray are great in their own
>> overpriced ways, it is Netflix that is the bomb!
>> >
>> > ~rave!
>> >
>> > --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com ,
>> Sammie A  wrote:
>> > >
>> > > o.k.  so i just purchased a LG 50" plasma and a LG blu-ray player.
>> they (LG) give u a one month free trial of Netflix with the blu-ray player.
>> decided 2 check it out.  mind u, never tried netflix before.  so as i am
>> strolling through the menu's..in the television side i
>> seeThe Dresden Files:  Season 1 / 12 Episodes.  now u know i am going 2
>> be really happy these next 2 days!  after that, it will be Farscape:  Season
>> 1 / 22 Episodes.  by the weekend, i should be on Torchwood: Season 1 / 13
>> Episodes.  think i am going 2 like this blu-ray player thing!
>> > >
>> > > Fate.
>> > >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
> wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
>
>
> 
<<327.gif>>

[scifinoir2] Is Newsweek biting the dust?

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
A big sign that something bad is coming down the pipe is when the management
quits at the same time.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-death-of-newsweek-name-by-name-2010-7?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+businessinsider+(Business+Insider)

Re: [scifinoir2] Nanocrystal conductors could lead to massive, robust 3-D storage and extend Moore's Law

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
They are talking about storage. What will happen is that we will begin to
see memory sticks that hold hundreds of terabytes of storage. But alas we
will be hitting the wall in a couple of years if they do not come up with a
completely different methodology of memory and cpu/gpu design.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:39 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

>
>
> Pardon me... I was busy "OOOHH"-ing... might not be able to see 3D, but my
> niece can enjoy the fruits of this.
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 4:49 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> RESEARCH WATCH 
>>  Nanocrystal conductors could lead to massive, robust 3-D storage and
>> extend Moore's Law
>>
>> By Darren Quick 
>>
>> *19:42 August 31, 2010*
>>
>>  San Francisco 
>> Coupons
>>  - 
>> www.Groupon.com/San-Francisco
>> 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. It's like doing The Bay at 90% off!
>> Silica & 
>> Alumina
>>  - 
>> www.MPbio.com
>> Quality Products for HPLC, TLC Column Chromatography and more.
>> Exclusive SF 
>> Deals
>>  - 
>> www.FreshGuide.com
>> Get Deals On Things To Do, See, Eat & Buy In SF. Sign Up Online!
>> BAE Systems Rad Hard 
>> ICs

Re: [scifinoir2] Gunman takes hostages at U.S. Discovery Channel

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
He probably got his info from Fox or bad talk radio.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:37 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

>
>
> Guy's an eco-terorist... and a stuppid one at that. If he'd done his
> research, then he'd know that Discovery also owns Planet Green, which does
> cover environmental issues.
>
> On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 5:04 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Gunman takes hostages at U.S. Discovery Channel
>>
>>-
>>- [image: Twitter]Tweet This
>>- [image: LinkedIn]Share on LinkedIn
>>- [image: Facebook]Share on Facebook
>>
>> [image: James Jay Lee is pictured in this undated photograph. MSNBC on
>> September 1, 2010 identified Lee as the armed man who police believe may
>> have explosives strapped to his body and has taken a number of hostages in
>> the Discovery Channel headquarters building in suburban Washington.
>> REUTERS/Handout]
>>Related News
>>
>>- Man, shot in head, notices five years 
>> later
>>Tue, Aug 24 2010
>>- One dead after shots fired near Texas 
>> college
>>Tue, Aug 17 2010
>>- UPDATE 2-Discovery commits more cash to Oprah 
>> network
>>Fri, Aug 13 2010
>>- U.S. FDA panel backs Glaxo, Valeant epilepsy 
>> drug
>>Thu, Aug 12 2010
>>
>>   Related Topics
>>
>>- U.S. » 
>>- Television » 
>>- Media » 
>>
>>By Maggie 
>> Fox
>>
>> SILVER SPRING, Maryland | Wed Sep 1, 2010 4:13pm EDT
>>
>> (Reuters) - A man carrying a gun and possibly with explosives strapped to
>> his body took a small number of hostages in the Discovery Channel
>> headquarters building in suburban Washington on Wednesday.
>>
>> "Right now we have an unconfirmed number of hostages, a small number of
>> hostages that are with the suspect at this point," Tom Manger, Montgomery
>> County police chief, told reporters.
>>
>> The man entered the building wearing what appeared to be metallic canister
>> devices on his front and back and he pulled out a hand gun, Manger said.
>>
>> "The man told everyone to just stay still, and he has remained on the
>> first floor area," he said.
>>
>> It was unconfirmed whether a shot had been fired or whether there were any
>> injuries, Manger said.
>>
>> A U.S. law enforcement official said he believed the hostage-taker was
>> named James Lee. A man called James Lee of San Diego was arrested in
>> February 2008 after throwing money into the air in a protest outside the
>> Discovery building, the Montgomery County Gazette reported that year.
>>
>> Police sealed off the area around the building and SWAT teams were at the
>> scene in the suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland. The building was ordered
>> evacuated and children were removed from a day-care center.
>>
>> "He appears to have some sort of explosive device on his person," police
>> Captain Paul Starks told reporters. He said the police were in contact with
>> the suspect, who had made some demands that police would not go into.
>>
>> Police were watching the suspect on the building's closed-circuit security
>> system.
>>
>> ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS
>>
>> Discovery employees posted updates on the situation on Twitter including a
>> link to a website,savetheplanetprotest.com/, in which demands are made
>> against Discovery to cover environmental issues. It was not confirmed that
>> these demands were made by the man barricaded in the building.
>>
>> Police in nearby Takoma Park, Maryland, sent out an e-mail to residents
>> that said, "an unknown, armed Asian male (is) barricaded in the building
>> with at least one hostage."
>>
>> Montgomery County Police Corporal Dan Friz said of the suspect: "His
>> concerns are with the Discovery Corporation right now." He would not go into
>> further details.
>>
>> A reporter from the local ABC affiliate said he saw an ambulance crew
>> wheel a gurney into the building about an hour after the incident began at 1
>> p.m. EDT, but there was no official word of casualties.
>>
>> Discovery Communications says it reaches 1.5 billion subscribers in more
>> than 180 countries with the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science
>> Channel and Planet Green networks.
>>
>> Among the demands to Discovery on savetheplanetprotest.com were calls for
>> an end to programs "promoting War" and those "encouraging the birth of any
>> more parasitic human infants." "Saving the Planet means saving what's left
>> of the non-human Wildlife by decreasing the Human population," the website
>> said.
>>
>> (Reporting by 
>> Jackie
>> Frank

Re: [scifinoir2] Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
I think that Apple's offering is a little too little too late. Even the Wii
has better options. It doesn't have HD output on top of only two tv
networks. Its worth the $100 if you already own a game system.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:34 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

>
>
> Saw this on G4 yesterday. On the screen crawl, they were asking for viewer
> responses. Very few were even interested in it, most focusing on the iPod
> upgrades.
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:39 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV
>>
>>- By Dylan F. Tweney  
>> [image:
>>Email Author]  
>>- September 1, 2010  |
>>- 2:21 pm  |
>>- Categories: Home Audio and 
>> Video
>>-
>>
>>  << Previous | Next 
>> >>
>> [image: mg_7862]
>>
>>- [image: 
>> mg_7862]
>>- [image: 
>> mg_7640-copy]
>>- [image: 
>> mg_7651-copy]
>>- [image: 
>> mg_7665]
>>- [image: 
>> mg_7678]
>>
>>
>>  << Previous | Next 
>> >>
>> View 
>> all
>>
>> SAN FRANCISCO — In a sign that its television “hobby” has turned into
>> serious business, Apple announced an aggressively-priced new set-top box
>> that takes aim at the heart of the cable TV and DVD rental industries.
>>
>> The new Apple TV, which will go on sale at the end of September for $100,
>> is a puny box just 1/4 the size of the previous model. It has an HDMI port,
>> a power supply built in it, an optical audio port, an Ethernet jack, and
>> built-in Wi-Fi.
>>
>> “It’s silent, cool and tiny,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, showing off the
>> diminutive metallic box.
>>
>> Despite rumors, the product was not re-branded as “iTV.” Jobs did not
>> state whether it was running a version of iOS, although the Apple TV’s new
>> interface includes some very iOS-like touches, such as icons that jiggle
>> when you are rearranging them in your Netflix queue.
>>
>> Apple joins an increasingly crowded and risky scrum of companies trying to
>> reinvent television for the internet age. Netflix and Hulu both have been
>> offering streaming video playback of movies and TV shows, with some success,
>> for over a year. Google is working on a set-top box that would blur the line
>> between TV and internet fare, YouTube is said to be planning mainstream film
>> rentals and Amazon is rumored to be planning its own Netflix-like video
>> streaming 
>> service.
>> But the real threat are the cable companies and TV networks, which have a
>> lock on the shows that people want to watch — and so far, there’s been
>> little incentive for them to open up their tightly-controlled ecosystems to
>> internet upstarts.
>>
>> Apple’s play is for convenience, but it’s not the cross-platform strategy
>> needed for dominance, wrote Andrew 
>> Eisner,
>> a director at online electronics retailer Retrevo.com.
>>
>> “A TV OS vacuum exists at the moment and unfortunately for consumers, TV
>> manufacturers appear to be filling it with their own proprietary offerings,”
>> Eisner wrote recently. “Apple needs to gain control of the third screen or
>> TV screen, after smartphone screens and computer screens, and the TV
>> industry needs to move away from closed environments and let their connected
>> TVs work with all the apps and streaming content that consumers are finding
>> so appealing.”
>>
>> The company will also be providing a feature within iOS 4.2 that customers
>> can use to share videos wirelessly from their iPhones, iPod Touches or
>> iPads. Called “AirPlay,” the feature will let customers display a video from
>> their mobile device, on an Apple TV-connected TV screen, with a single tap.
>> IOS 4.2 won’t be available until November.
>>
>> AirPlay “puts iPhones and iPads in the driver’s seat and makes the TV just
>> an output device for the Apple ecosystem,” said Forrester analyst James
>> McQuivey. “Expect Apple to gradually push more and more in that direction.”
>>
>> “But,” McQuivey added, “as of this moment in 2010, Apple has not yet made
>> a significant play for control of the TV.”
>>
>> In an implicit acknowledgment of Apple TV’s poor sales to date, Jobs again
>> referred to the product as the company’s “hobby.” He showed the

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Geek time!

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
"Thee Good, The Bad and The Weird"... what planet have I been on, to have
missed that? [?]

Thanks for the heads-up on this, B. I'm off to the mall tomorrow, to check
with my contact.

On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 2:32 PM, B Smith  wrote:

>
>
> Yes it is. The wife and I streamed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo the
> other night and it was awesome. Also the blu-ray plan on Netflix is a
> lifesaver too. I have The Book of Eli, Kick Ass and The Good, The Bad and
> The Weird sitting at home ready to be watched.
>
> BTW I just finished setting up my surround sound in the man cave and I'm
> ready to disturb the neighbors.
>
> --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , "Kelwyn"
>  wrote:
> >
> > For the record, while the plasma and the blu-ray are great in their own
> overpriced ways, it is Netflix that is the bomb!
> >
> > ~rave!
> >
> > --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Sammie
> A  wrote:
> > >
> > > o.k.  so i just purchased a LG 50" plasma and a LG blu-ray player.
> they (LG) give u a one month free trial of Netflix with the blu-ray player.
> decided 2 check it out.  mind u, never tried netflix before.  so as i am
> strolling through the menu's..in the television side i
> seeThe Dresden Files:  Season 1 / 12 Episodes.  now u know i am going 2
> be really happy these next 2 days!  after that, it will be Farscape:  Season
> 1 / 22 Episodes.  by the weekend, i should be on Torchwood: Season 1 / 13
> Episodes.  think i am going 2 like this blu-ray player thing!
> > >
> > > Fate.
> > >
> >
>
>  
>



-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
<<327.gif>>

Re: [scifinoir2] Robot Tattoos: Awesome Mechanical Body Art

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Even I find those cool.

On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 4:57 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
>
>
>Web Urbanist 
>  
> 
> --
>
> Robot Tattoos: Awesome Mechanical Body 
> Art
>
> Posted: 31 Aug 2010 10:00 AM PDT
>  [ By Marc  in Gadgets & Geek 
> Art,
> Technology & Futurism . ]
>
> Robots are intrinsically fascinating, especially now that we almost have
> the technological  capability to create
> what once was only a science fiction fan’s dream. We’re not quite there,
> however, and so we continue to give life to our imaginations of a robot
> inhabited world through the most permanent means at our disposal: ink. Here
> are some of the most creative and well done robot tattoos around:
>
> *Toy Robots*
>
> (Images via robotliving
> , 
> hopegallerytattoo
> , robotliving ,
> esimpsonphoto )
>
> Vintage  toy robots are sparking
> fountains of nostalgia, and it’s quite popular to use these childhood
> inspirations to good use, as foundations for a robust and creative robot
> tattoo.
> Biomechanical Tattoos
>
> (Images via sepiamutiny
> , 
> fandumb,
> pets-patch 
> , amitbhawani
> , geekologie )
>
> For those who feel more than just an affinity with androids, there are ways
> to make you seem a bit more mechanical, and all it takes is a little peek
> under the skin. These realistic biomechanical tattoos are intense and
> extremely well done.
> Styles
>
> (Images via 
> classictattoocleveland
> , trentstattoos 
> , spamusers
> )
>
> There’s plenty of room to get creative with robot designs… like this
> ominous angel, clunky thinker, and ailing piece of junk.
> Robot Love
>
> (Images via 
> robotliving
> , 
> odditytattoo
> , fullyrobotic , 
> fuckyeahtattoos
> )
>
> Much of popular culture involving robots deals with the differences between
> man and machine, with a main focus being emotion. Can robots learn to feel?
> Whether they can or not in reality, they certainly can in our tattoos.
> Creative Robots
>
> (Images via lhblk , 
> sunnybuick
> , 
> nickbaxter
> , 
> boingboing
> , icorners )
>
> Some robot artists choose to take the clunky robot to another level, using
> their artistic skill and creative vision to create something unique and
> wonderful.
> Robots in Pop Culture
>
> (Images via davideubank
> , picable , 
> staytruephx
> , 
> greatwhitesnark
> )
>
> Robots in popular television shows and cartoons provide a plethora of robot
> characters to choose from for body art, or at least, inspiration.
> Go Big!
>
> (Images via fatetattoo
> , gareth owens ,
> insaneink , 
> thevillainsraygun
> )
>
> Robots are all about being giant and menacing. Full of mechanical power and
> intimidating height and strength, it’s natural that you’d want your robot
> tattoo to have the same larger than life presence.
> Endless Variety
>
> (Images via 
> stylehive

Re: [scifinoir2] Nanocrystal conductors could lead to massive, robust 3-D storage and extend Moore's Law

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Pardon me... I was busy "OOOHH"-ing... might not be able to see 3D, but my
niece can enjoy the fruits of this.

On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 4:49 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
> RESEARCH WATCH 
>  Nanocrystal conductors could lead to massive, robust 3-D storage and
> extend Moore's Law
>
> By Darren Quick 
>
> *19:42 August 31, 2010*
>
>  San Francisco 
> Coupons
>  - 
> www.Groupon.com/San-Francisco
> 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. It's like doing The Bay at 90% off!
> Silica & 
> Alumina
>  - 
> www.MPbio.com
> Quality Products for HPLC, TLC Column Chromatography and more.
> Exclusive SF 
> Deals
>  - 
> www.FreshGuide.com
> Get Deals On Things To Do, See, Eat & Buy In SF. Sign Up Online!
> BAE Systems Rad Hard 
> ICs

Re: [scifinoir2] Gunman takes hostages at U.S. Discovery Channel

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Guy's an eco-terorist... and a stuppid one at that. If he'd done his
research, then he'd know that Discovery also owns Planet Green, which does
cover environmental issues.

On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 5:04 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
> Gunman takes hostages at U.S. Discovery Channel
>
>-
>- [image: Twitter]Tweet This
>- [image: LinkedIn]Share on LinkedIn
>- [image: Facebook]Share on Facebook
>
> [image: James Jay Lee is pictured in this undated photograph. MSNBC on
> September 1, 2010 identified Lee as the armed man who police believe may
> have explosives strapped to his body and has taken a number of hostages in
> the Discovery Channel headquarters building in suburban Washington.
> REUTERS/Handout]
>Related News
>
>- Man, shot in head, notices five years 
> later
>Tue, Aug 24 2010
>- One dead after shots fired near Texas 
> college
>Tue, Aug 17 2010
>- UPDATE 2-Discovery commits more cash to Oprah 
> network
>Fri, Aug 13 2010
>- U.S. FDA panel backs Glaxo, Valeant epilepsy 
> drug
>Thu, Aug 12 2010
>
>   Related Topics
>
>- U.S. » 
>- Television » 
>- Media » 
>
>By Maggie 
> Fox
>
> SILVER SPRING, Maryland | Wed Sep 1, 2010 4:13pm EDT
>
> (Reuters) - A man carrying a gun and possibly with explosives strapped to
> his body took a small number of hostages in the Discovery Channel
> headquarters building in suburban Washington on Wednesday.
>
> "Right now we have an unconfirmed number of hostages, a small number of
> hostages that are with the suspect at this point," Tom Manger, Montgomery
> County police chief, told reporters.
>
> The man entered the building wearing what appeared to be metallic canister
> devices on his front and back and he pulled out a hand gun, Manger said.
>
> "The man told everyone to just stay still, and he has remained on the first
> floor area," he said.
>
> It was unconfirmed whether a shot had been fired or whether there were any
> injuries, Manger said.
>
> A U.S. law enforcement official said he believed the hostage-taker was
> named James Lee. A man called James Lee of San Diego was arrested in
> February 2008 after throwing money into the air in a protest outside the
> Discovery building, the Montgomery County Gazette reported that year.
>
> Police sealed off the area around the building and SWAT teams were at the
> scene in the suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland. The building was ordered
> evacuated and children were removed from a day-care center.
>
> "He appears to have some sort of explosive device on his person," police
> Captain Paul Starks told reporters. He said the police were in contact with
> the suspect, who had made some demands that police would not go into.
>
> Police were watching the suspect on the building's closed-circuit security
> system.
>
> ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS
>
> Discovery employees posted updates on the situation on Twitter including a
> link to a website,savetheplanetprotest.com/, in which demands are made
> against Discovery to cover environmental issues. It was not confirmed that
> these demands were made by the man barricaded in the building.
>
> Police in nearby Takoma Park, Maryland, sent out an e-mail to residents
> that said, "an unknown, armed Asian male (is) barricaded in the building
> with at least one hostage."
>
> Montgomery County Police Corporal Dan Friz said of the suspect: "His
> concerns are with the Discovery Corporation right now." He would not go into
> further details.
>
> A reporter from the local ABC affiliate said he saw an ambulance crew wheel
> a gurney into the building about an hour after the incident began at 1 p.m.
> EDT, but there was no official word of casualties.
>
> Discovery Communications says it reaches 1.5 billion subscribers in more
> than 180 countries with the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science
> Channel and Planet Green networks.
>
> Among the demands to Discovery on savetheplanetprotest.com were calls for
> an end to programs "promoting War" and those "encouraging the birth of any
> more parasitic human infants." "Saving the Planet means saving what's left
> of the non-human Wildlife by decreasing the Human population," the website
> said.
>
> (Reporting by 
> Jackie
> Frank
> , Bill 
> Trott
> , Diane 
> Bartz
> , Xavier 
> Briand<

Re: [scifinoir2] Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Saw this on G4 yesterday. On the screen crawl, they were asking for viewer
responses. Very few were even interested in it, most focusing on the iPod
upgrades.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:39 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
> Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV
>
>- By Dylan F. Tweney  
> [image:
>Email Author]  
>- September 1, 2010  |
>- 2:21 pm  |
>- Categories: Home Audio and 
> Video
>-
>
>  << Previous | Next 
> >>
> [image: mg_7862]
>
>- [image: 
> mg_7862]
>- [image: 
> mg_7640-copy]
>- [image: 
> mg_7651-copy]
>- [image: 
> mg_7665]
>- [image: 
> mg_7678]
>
>
>  << Previous | Next 
> >>
> View 
> all
>
> SAN FRANCISCO — In a sign that its television “hobby” has turned into
> serious business, Apple announced an aggressively-priced new set-top box
> that takes aim at the heart of the cable TV and DVD rental industries.
>
> The new Apple TV, which will go on sale at the end of September for $100,
> is a puny box just 1/4 the size of the previous model. It has an HDMI port,
> a power supply built in it, an optical audio port, an Ethernet jack, and
> built-in Wi-Fi.
>
> “It’s silent, cool and tiny,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, showing off the
> diminutive metallic box.
>
> Despite rumors, the product was not re-branded as “iTV.” Jobs did not state
> whether it was running a version of iOS, although the Apple TV’s new
> interface includes some very iOS-like touches, such as icons that jiggle
> when you are rearranging them in your Netflix queue.
>
> Apple joins an increasingly crowded and risky scrum of companies trying to
> reinvent television for the internet age. Netflix and Hulu both have been
> offering streaming video playback of movies and TV shows, with some success,
> for over a year. Google is working on a set-top box that would blur the line
> between TV and internet fare, YouTube is said to be planning mainstream film
> rentals and Amazon is rumored to be planning its own Netflix-like video
> streaming 
> service.
> But the real threat are the cable companies and TV networks, which have a
> lock on the shows that people want to watch — and so far, there’s been
> little incentive for them to open up their tightly-controlled ecosystems to
> internet upstarts.
>
> Apple’s play is for convenience, but it’s not the cross-platform strategy
> needed for dominance, wrote Andrew 
> Eisner,
> a director at online electronics retailer Retrevo.com.
>
> “A TV OS vacuum exists at the moment and unfortunately for consumers, TV
> manufacturers appear to be filling it with their own proprietary offerings,”
> Eisner wrote recently. “Apple needs to gain control of the third screen or
> TV screen, after smartphone screens and computer screens, and the TV
> industry needs to move away from closed environments and let their connected
> TVs work with all the apps and streaming content that consumers are finding
> so appealing.”
>
> The company will also be providing a feature within iOS 4.2 that customers
> can use to share videos wirelessly from their iPhones, iPod Touches or
> iPads. Called “AirPlay,” the feature will let customers display a video from
> their mobile device, on an Apple TV-connected TV screen, with a single tap.
> IOS 4.2 won’t be available until November.
>
> AirPlay “puts iPhones and iPads in the driver’s seat and makes the TV just
> an output device for the Apple ecosystem,” said Forrester analyst James
> McQuivey. “Expect Apple to gradually push more and more in that direction.”
>
> “But,” McQuivey added, “as of this moment in 2010, Apple has not yet made a
> significant play for control of the TV.”
>
> In an implicit acknowledgment of Apple TV’s poor sales to date, Jobs again
> referred to the product as the company’s “hobby.” He showed the new Apple TV
> at a press conference here on Wednesday.
>
> But Jobs was careful to cast the company’s previous product as a learning
> experience, and indicated his intention of throwing more of the company’s
> weight behind the upgraded Apple TV.
>
> Apple TV customers will be able to rent first-run HD movies for $5, at the
> same time as they’re released on DVD. T

Re: [scifinoir2] FCC rejects proposal for free wireless service

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Damn. They'll end horribly, all of them.

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:56 AM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
> The lobbyists won... :(
>
> FCC rejects proposal for free wireless service
>
> Federal Communications Commission rejects proposal for free wireless
> broadband service
>
> JOELLE TESSLER
> AP News
>
> Sep 01, 2010 17:47 EDT
>
> Federal regulators have shot down a proposal by a startup called M2Z
> Networks Inc. to build a free, nationwide wireless broadband network using
> a spare slice of airwaves.
>
> The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday said it has rejected
> M2Z's request that the agency demand that the winner of an auction for the
> radio spectrum provide free Internet service to anyone who connects to it.
>
> That condition would have mirrored M2Z's business model of offering free
> basic wireless broadband access — with speeds of up to 768 kilobits per
> second — that would be supported by advertising in addition to a faster,
> premium service.
>
> "We gave careful and thorough consideration to the proposal, but ultimately
> determined that this was not the best policy outcome," Ruth Milkman, head
> of the FCC's wireless bureau, said in a statement. The FCC did not explain
> its rejection further.
>
> M2Z's plan had encountered resistance from T-Mobile USA and other big
> wireless carriers, which warned that it would interfere with their own
> services.
>
> "A designer allocation auction that would be tailored for one company was
> not in the public's interest, especially when that company was offering
> broadband service that is slow by even yesterday's standards," Steve
> Largent, head of industry trade group CTIA-The Wireless Association, said
> in a statement.
>
> M2Z was founded in 2005 by John Muleta, a former FCC official who at one
> time also headed the agency's wireless bureau, and Milo Medin, co-founder
> and chief technology officer of cable modem pioneer (At)Home. The company's
> investors include several top Silicon Valley venture capital firms,
> including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Redpoint Ventures.
>
> In a statement, Muleta said "the FCC's decision to delay the use of this
> valuable spectrum forgoes the consumer welfare and economic stimulus that
> would result from putting new spectrum into the marketplace."
>
> The FCC is still studying possible uses of the spectrum.
>
>  
>



-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik

Re: [scifinoir2] Best female villain?

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Mr Worf, for me, hands down, it's the Mist II from James Robinson's Starman
run. She was the slightly crazy daughter of the first Mist who, upon his
death, escalated into epic-level craziness. In her first foray, she
kidnapped, drugged and raped Starman, conceiving and giving birth to his
son, and then she sent him pictures of the baby, telling him that she would
raise and train the child to kill him one day. Then, for her second outing,
she killed off Justice League Europe in under two minutes. She ended up
dying, and Starman got his son back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mist_%28comics%29

On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 6:25 PM, Mr. Worf  wrote:

>
>
> In your opinion which character is the best movie and or comic / book
> character?
>  
>



-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik

[scifinoir2] AMC's The Walking Dead Picks Up a Second Season

2010-09-02 Thread Martin Baxter 
Get happy, Ye Fans of the Undead.

http://www.collider.com/2010/09/01/the-walking-dead-second-season-amc-frank-darabont/

-- 
"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell
wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik

[scifinoir2] FCC rejects proposal for free wireless service

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
The lobbyists won... :(

FCC rejects proposal for free wireless service

Federal Communications Commission rejects proposal for free wireless
broadband service

JOELLE TESSLER
AP News

Sep 01, 2010 17:47 EDT

Federal regulators have shot down a proposal by a startup called M2Z
Networks Inc. to build a free, nationwide wireless broadband network using a
spare slice of airwaves.

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday said it has rejected
M2Z's request that the agency demand that the winner of an auction for the
radio spectrum provide free Internet service to anyone who connects to it.

That condition would have mirrored M2Z's business model of offering free
basic wireless broadband access — with speeds of up to 768 kilobits per
second — that would be supported by advertising in addition to a faster,
premium service.

"We gave careful and thorough consideration to the proposal, but ultimately
determined that this was not the best policy outcome," Ruth Milkman, head of
the FCC's wireless bureau, said in a statement. The FCC did not explain its
rejection further.

M2Z's plan had encountered resistance from T-Mobile USA and other big
wireless carriers, which warned that it would interfere with their own
services.

"A designer allocation auction that would be tailored for one company was
not in the public's interest, especially when that company was offering
broadband service that is slow by even yesterday's standards," Steve Largent,
head of industry trade group CTIA-The Wireless Association, said in a
statement.

M2Z was founded in 2005 by John Muleta, a former FCC official who at one
time also headed the agency's wireless bureau, and Milo Medin, co-founder
and chief technology officer of cable modem pioneer (At)Home. The company's
investors include several top Silicon Valley venture capital firms,
including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Redpoint Ventures.

In a statement, Muleta said "the FCC's decision to delay the use of this
valuable spectrum forgoes the consumer welfare and economic stimulus that
would result from putting new spectrum into the marketplace."

The FCC is still studying possible uses of the spectrum.

[scifinoir2] Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV

2010-09-02 Thread Mr. Worf 
Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV

   - By Dylan F. Tweney
 [image:
   Email Author]  
   - September 1, 2010  |
   - 2:21 pm  |
   - Categories: Home Audio and
Video
   -

<< Previous | Next
>>
[image: mg_7862]

   - [image: 
mg_7862]
   - [image: 
mg_7640-copy]
   - [image: 
mg_7651-copy]
   - [image: 
mg_7665]
   - [image: 
mg_7678]


<< Previous | Next
>>
View 
all

SAN FRANCISCO — In a sign that its television “hobby” has turned into
serious business, Apple announced an aggressively-priced new set-top box
that takes aim at the heart of the cable TV and DVD rental industries.

The new Apple TV, which will go on sale at the end of September for $100, is
a puny box just 1/4 the size of the previous model. It has an HDMI port, a
power supply built in it, an optical audio port, an Ethernet jack, and
built-in Wi-Fi.

“It’s silent, cool and tiny,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, showing off the
diminutive metallic box.

Despite rumors, the product was not re-branded as “iTV.” Jobs did not state
whether it was running a version of iOS, although the Apple TV’s new
interface includes some very iOS-like touches, such as icons that jiggle
when you are rearranging them in your Netflix queue.

Apple joins an increasingly crowded and risky scrum of companies trying to
reinvent television for the internet age. Netflix and Hulu both have been
offering streaming video playback of movies and TV shows, with some success,
for over a year. Google is working on a set-top box that would blur the line
between TV and internet fare, YouTube is said to be planning mainstream film
rentals and Amazon is rumored to be planning its own Netflix-like video
streaming 
service.
But the real threat are the cable companies and TV networks, which have a
lock on the shows that people want to watch — and so far, there’s been
little incentive for them to open up their tightly-controlled ecosystems to
internet upstarts.

Apple’s play is for convenience, but it’s not the cross-platform strategy
needed for dominance, wrote Andrew
Eisner,
a director at online electronics retailer Retrevo.com.

“A TV OS vacuum exists at the moment and unfortunately for consumers, TV
manufacturers appear to be filling it with their own proprietary offerings,”
Eisner wrote recently. “Apple needs to gain control of the third screen or
TV screen, after smartphone screens and computer screens, and the TV
industry needs to move away from closed environments and let their connected
TVs work with all the apps and streaming content that consumers are finding
so appealing.”

The company will also be providing a feature within iOS 4.2 that customers
can use to share videos wirelessly from their iPhones, iPod Touches or
iPads. Called “AirPlay,” the feature will let customers display a video from
their mobile device, on an Apple TV-connected TV screen, with a single tap.
IOS 4.2 won’t be available until November.

AirPlay “puts iPhones and iPads in the driver’s seat and makes the TV just
an output device for the Apple ecosystem,” said Forrester analyst James
McQuivey. “Expect Apple to gradually push more and more in that direction.”

“But,” McQuivey added, “as of this moment in 2010, Apple has not yet made a
significant play for control of the TV.”

In an implicit acknowledgment of Apple TV’s poor sales to date, Jobs again
referred to the product as the company’s “hobby.” He showed the new Apple TV
at a press conference here on Wednesday.

But Jobs was careful to cast the company’s previous product as a learning
experience, and indicated his intention of throwing more of the company’s
weight behind the upgraded Apple TV.

Apple TV customers will be able to rent first-run HD movies for $5, at the
same time as they’re released on DVD. That’s a substantial improvement from
the past, when there were significant time lags before movies were available
through iTunes.

Customers will also be able to rent HD TV shows from ABC and Fox for $1, a
discount from the previous price of $3. The shows will run without
commercial interruption.

Netflix customers will also be able to stream video from Netflix via Apple
TV, and can also use the