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Posted by
David C. Fein
January 26th, 2008
Toy Story Series Gets 3D Digital Makeover
Pixar and Disney have just announced that both Toy Story I & II are being re-rendered in actual 3D for re-release in October 2009, as a prelude to March 2010’s release of Toy Story III–also in 3D. But Why would they go through all of the effort re-rendering both I & II when so much is being converted to 3D from an original 2D format. Why? The answer after the break….
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Posted by
Marc Fusco
December 1st, 2007
Yet another reason we Fools have been holding out to get our iPhone (aside from the fact AT&T wireless service sucks in Los Angeles). There’s been plenty of 3G iPhone speculation around the web ever since the iPhone was previewed as a 2G model and Steve Jobs said, at the original iPhone keynote, that a 3G model would come ‘in the future’. Oh, and we ain’t talkin’ about Gigabites for those of us who might be confused at this point. We’re talking about the actual wireless technology (speed/bandwidth) and the difference between a current 2nd Generation (it’s actually at it’s 2.5G stage) and 3rd Generation which will utilize UMTS technology, transmitting roughly up to 2 megabits per second (Mbps) of text, digitized voice, video, and multimedia.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported on AT&T’s CEO, Randall Stephenson, publicly saying that a 3G iPhone was due ‘next year’, although he didn’t know when or at what price.
What has been unleashed since is an entirely new wave of 3G iPhone speculation. All we know so far is that Jobs’ only 3G iPhone availability update was when he announced the iPhone would be available in the UK through European telco O2, where he said a 3G iPhone was coming ‘later next year’.
This would seem to indicate a mid-year to second-half availability timeframe for 3G iPhones to be unleashed onto the world, giving Apple enough time to get the necessary FCC authorisations and testing with 3G carriers.
A 3G iPhone would provide users the speed they need to get lightning fast access to the web, email, Google Maps, the iTunes store and any other iPhone app that requires access to the data network.
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Posted by
David C. Fein
November 18th, 2007
It’s real! There is an official Apple iCar! I’ve seen it, we’ve all seen it since March 2006. His name is MAC iCAR, and he has the unique distinction of being the only ‘real world’ trademark in the Disney/Pixar motion picture, Cars.
It’s MAC iCAR, the unsung Apple trademarked hero of the film!
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Posted by
David C. Fein
October 1st, 2007
The recently completed and launched US warship–the USS New York–takes the fight against terrorism to sea.
When I first heard about the USS New York, I was both touched and powerfully patriotic.
The ship was forged from 24 tons of scrap steel taken directly from the ruin of the twin towers.
It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.
Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA to cast the ship’s bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, “those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence,” recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. “It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.”
Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the “hair on my neck stood up.” “It had a big meaning to it for all of us,” he said. “They knocked us down. They can’t keep us down. We’re going to be back.”
It’s also reported that the ship’s motto is “Never Forget”.
While a vehicle of war is not how I want to remember the towers, I do feel that the use of steel in the construction of the warship is very very appropriate.
Peace to us all…
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Posted by
David C. Fein
September 6th, 2007
Apple yesterday introduced new members and colors of the iPod. Almost completely doing away with plastic cases, Apple recolored the Shuffle, shortened the height and enlarged the screen of the nano, expanded the capacity of the classic iPod to an amazing 160 GB, and introduced the iPhone-less iPhone, called the iPod Touch.
Clearly the biggest news is the iPod Touch, and I’ll go into detail about what’s great and what’s not in my next article. But for me, my greatest joy was in seeing a new 160 GB iPod classic with a new interface and non-scratching metal case. My iPod is as much a tool as a portable hard drive, as it is as a entertainment device.
While the Pros clearly out weigh the cons, there are some changes that many will not like to the new products. Specifically, while they added video output playback ability to every iPod but the shuffle, it can no longer be accomplished without a dock. So long impromptu showings of television shows, movies, or even slide shows. Now you have more to carry with you if you expect to be entertaining from your iPod.
In general, Apple should be cheered for this well overdue update. It’s about time…
My only real complaint? I want a 160 GB iPod Touch. I doubt that will happen until RAM prices considerably drop.
Cheers!
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Posted by
David C. Fein
August 28th, 2007
The nightmare continues… and I don’t mean that John Carpenter’s masterpiece “Halloween” has been remade by Rob Zombie; the remake joins the ranks of films lost to the internet before theatrical release.
The new Rob Zombie film that opens this weekend has been leaked in DVD quality to the internet. Stereo sound, and all of the gore you’d expect. This isn’t good news.
When you have a film as expected as this one, this leak could be disastrous to the film’s release. Especially the opening weekend. Given the fact that this is a work print, it could also be destructive to the DVD release if the key deleted scenes are included in the work cut. From reports, this cut is a widely commented July cut of the film that didn’t test as well as the studio would have liked, and therefore there were many edits and the ending was supposedly reshot.
More and more films are showing up on the internet in the highest quality, and these leaks are leaving a major wake in their path. “Highlander: The Source,” “Hostel: Part II”, “Sicko” are just a few that have suffered.
Given the huge investment made by the studios, you can expect that the whole studio system will begin to lock up and lock down all outside production. Folks, with film industry strikes on the horizon, leaks of films on the net, and an overall eight-hundred-pound-gorilla mentality, you can expect to see the studio system of internal production departments increase in the near future with Fort Knox security being employed. Just wait and see…
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Posted by
David C. Fein
August 20th, 2007
Amazing. Just amazing. Just as we were waiting for the first 100 GB 1.8″ hard drive–the same size hard drive that Apple (currently) uses in the biggest iPods–Samsung doubled the current 80 GB drives by announcing a huge 1.8″ 160 GB drive.
Even though rumors are that Apple is switching to flash memory in all of their iPods, A nice 160 GB iPod would be a great last hurrah!
Samsung’s Tiny 1.8” Hard Disk Drives are Giants in the Exploding Mobile Market
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Posted by
David C. Fein
August 20th, 2007
Paramount recently announced the most expensive single season of a show ever placed on home video. Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 1: Remastered, exclusively on HD-DVD for $218.
Joining Universal Pictures, Paramount and Dreamworks Animation have chosen a side in the High Definition disc war; HD-DVD. Privacy of sales figures have always been a major focus for all of the studios. This is one of the biggest reasons that the studios are high on the DVD format. Distribution is direct from the studio, and all records stay within the company.
While the Dreamworks SKG films are not exclusive to either format, it was reported today at Yahoo News that the studios have definitively chosen HD-DVD over Blu-ray.
Sony, the most major player in the Blu-ray camp; and receives royalty payments for every Blu-ray disc sold, in essence receives the sales statistics for all Blu-ray releases. This is incredibly powerful information when you want to negotiate a deal with another studio for anything from sequel rights, co-production deals, and could easily be used to sway talent by sharing ‘true’ figures as a lure to Sony.
Knowledge is power in Hollywood, and with accurate figures going to Sony, they are ideally poised to be ‘The Godfather’ of the industry, making offers that the other studios couldn’t refuse.
Whenever its reported that Blu-ray is leading the HD disc competition, I return back to the blackmail aspects of the battle. Remember, this is the beginning of a next stage in movie sales; with looming strikes over disc royalties, information such as these verifiable figures could easily set a negative precedent.
While most figures are generic, and would be reported as ‘Paramount pressed 5000 discs today’ and not by title, the fact that Blu-ray plants are being carefully monitored by Sony at the moment due to the many problems they have been having with their first generation discs, it’s clear that this title monitoring could easily, and are likely occurring.
While I personally feel that Blu-ray has the better technical format, I expect HD-DVD to win in the long run for political reasons. Stay tuned for further updates…
UPDATE: Deadline Hollywood Daily Reports MILLIONS of “Promotional” Dollars given to both studios as part of the deal.
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Posted by
David C. Fein
July 24th, 2007
Have the Blockbuster Online guys hacked Netflix???
Last night I went to log in to Netflix to watch a streaming episode of Masters of Horror only to find their website down with a promise of restoration by 8PM. I came back at 8, and it said 11PM, I came back at 11, it said 2AM. This morning I returned to the site, at 8AM, and it wait ‘be back up at 9AM… 9 AM said 11AM, and now it simply reads “temporarily unavailable.
It’s reported that Netflix shares are now at an all time low, and that the company recently reduced the price of all of their plans by roughly $1. What they didn’t expect was the site to go down.
The Boston Herald reports that Netflix claims that they will be back online by 4PM but doesn’t state the reason for the outtage.
You can be sure that some hacker at Blockbuster is getting a huge bonus today. Amazing when you consider the power of a intelligent nerd in a closet… Hail nerds!
Cheers!
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Posted by
David C. Fein
June 30th, 2007
Big iPhone headache: Waiting for AT&T activation
Well, in addition to the long lines, and slow cellular service, it seems that there is also a long wait for activation.
Read more…
First Night Apple iPhone Sales Far From Sellout!
Simply put, if you check Apple’s iPhone page’s you’ll see a link to their list of Apple Stores, and the current availability of iPhones. After extended hours, it shows that all Apple stores still have quantities available.
Check the iPhone availability at your local Apple Store.
UPDATED: As of June 30th, 10 AM PST, Every single Apple store still has stock of iPhones. I repeat, no Apple stores have sold out their allocation.
More to come…
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