Recent Posts

9326

Living Room / Re: stackoverflow-like site for DC. Would it work? Now free

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2010, 12:35 PM »

A lot depends on the goal of your website.

If you're seeking to create a sense of community and foster wide ranging discussions, what DoCo has right now is a very good way to go.

If you're looking to establish what's primarily an "Experts Q&A" site (where you go in, get what you need, and get out) then stackoverflow's model is probably better.

If you want to develop a community built expertise"repository" along defined subject lines, then go with a wiki.

But think it through first. Especially if it's an existing community.

FWIW, some years back I participated in a web community that switched from a "flat" forum format like we have here to something very similar to the stackoverflow thing.

What happened was that the discussions eventually began dropping off because 90% of the new membership was coming to the site simply to get free tech support and consulting. And once word got out (wrongly) that it was a "Q&A site" they got a lot of new people.

Wasn't long before the people with the real expertise began to resent constantly having their brains picked by folks who acted like it was owed to them. You would not believe the demanding tone some people adopted. One twit (who used the handle pcExpert) even went so far as to loudly complain about the occasional bits of joking around that went on. The site lost one of it's oldest and most valuable contributors when "pcExpert" flamed him for getting a little too playful with his replies. After that, the guy stopped showing up, and within a few months the rest of the "old guard" also disappeared. The site gradually folded up about a year after.

It's amazing how a simple software or format change can alter the entire social fabric of a web site.

Something to think about anyway.

9327

General Software Discussion / Re: Video Editing software - Any recommendations?

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2010, 08:44 AM »

Well... it's a good enough link that it's worth repeating. 

9328

Living Room / Re: Which prize would you choose?

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2010, 07:53 AM »

I'd go with $1K.

Since I have zero at risk, and the odds can't be logically determined from the information given, there's no point in going for a lower payoff.

9329

Living Room / Re: "The More You Use Google, the More Google Knows about you"

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2010, 12:44 PM »

Yeah. I'd be willing to take a gander.

9330

Living Room / Re: South Park - streaming full episodes now available free on new website.

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2010, 07:05 PM »

Your wish is our command! 

9331

General Software Discussion / Re: Video Editing software - Any recommendations?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2010, 06:42 PM »

I remembered DC's philosophy of openness... even with those with lower brainwave frequencies... 

-Armando (April 14, 2010, 05:10 PM)

Good one. Zing!

Bravo!!!

9332

General Software Discussion / Re: Video Editing software - Any recommendations?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2010, 03:58 PM »

a couple actually confirms some of what 40hz says

-Armando (April 14, 2010, 02:41 PM)

That's a first!

9333

General Software Discussion / Re: Video Editing software - Any recommendations?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2010, 01:30 PM »

I've worked a little bit with Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum when I needed to quickly put together some training materials. It was easy to get your head around how it worked, and the results were quite impressive. Or at least they were to my client - which is all that mattered AFAIWC.

I got VMSP as part of the Sony Imagination Studio Suite.

Along with Vegas, the suite also gives you "home" versions of Acid, SoundForge, DVD Architect, and PhotoGo.

It runs about $150 plus change if you shop around. Lotta bang for the buck in that the suite costs about what you'd pay for any two of the packages that make it up.

I used Acid Studio to whip up some nice ambient and techno background music to go with the video and ran it all through Architect to get it on DVD. I didn't use PhotoGo since I didn't need an image sorter/tweaker for my project. But if you're going to be doing a lot of this stuff it could come in handy. I also didn't bother with SoundForge because I already have a pro-grade audio editor that I'm comfortable with. However, if you don't have a favorite audio editor, you'll find SoundForge is a very capable product.

I'm not a video pro by any stretch, but the one pro I do know (who works for ESPN) said he thought VMSP was a very capable product. He felt it was probably the best single package to start with if you're on the PC platform and new to video editing. (Which is why I bought it! )

Plus, if you ever do need to move up to Vegas Pro, the experience you gained using the "starter version" will 'transfer' very nicely.

Luck! (And let us know what you finally select.)

9334

Living Room / Re: South Park - streaming full episodes now available free on new website.

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2010, 12:48 PM »

BTW - don't forget to build 'yerself' your very own South Park avatar while you're there! 



 

9335

Living Room / Re: South Park - streaming full episodes now available free on new website.

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2010, 09:30 AM »

Hey SuperboyAC!

Oops! Just did an edit as you were responding...  

(I gotta stop doing that. Or maybe use a different piece of software to compose these things since I keep inadvertently hitting POST when I mean to hit PREVIEW.)

Switched it back so that your quote is now the same. Sorry!

9336

Living Room / Re: South Park - streaming full episodes now available free on new website.

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2010, 09:18 AM »

For me it was the Spookyfish serial killer goldfish episode.

A serial-killer goldfish?  

Good grief! What are these guys smoking when they come up with this stuff?

9337

General Software Discussion / Re: Video Editing software - Any recommendations?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2010, 08:51 AM »

@IQLover - Out of curiosity, why is important to you that something not be from a US company? 

9338

Living Room / Re: South Park - streaming full episodes now available free on new website.

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2010, 07:51 AM »

Mixed messages? Ah yes - mixed messages...

With the legal quagmire the entertainment industry has created for itself, it doesn't surprise me that sort of thing is happening. Yet another demonstration of how the current laws surrounding the entertainment industry don't work.



Boing-Boing contacted South Park co-creator Matt Stone.

http://boingboing.ne...te.html#previouspost

Here's what Matt had to say.  (Note: I took the liberty of bold-texting the relevant lines in Boing-Boing's article.   )

South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker  have just debuted a new version of the South Park Studios website with Comedy Central, where - with Darth Viacom's blessing - you can now stream any episode from any of the show's 12 seasons.

Reached by email this afternoon, Matt Stone tells Boing Boing:

   "Every South Park episode and billions of clips have been online for years on YouTube or BitTorrent (...) we've always loved the fact that more people in more places could see our little show. The new website just makes it easier for people to see and share South Park.

    Eventually every episode and clip will be available everywhere in the world. There is a tangle of contracts that Comedy Central has with different cable companies and territories that are preventing us from that right now. But hopefully it won't be long.

    Basically, we just got really sick of having to download our own show illegally all the time. So we gave ourselves a legal alternative."

 

Look at it this way: It can only get worse!

9339

Living Room / Re: UK amateur photographers: if you're good, don't use Boots!

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 09:21 PM »

Is it just my imagination, or does the UK have a real fetish for experimenting with fascist behavior? 

9340

Living Room / Re: Apple Attacks Adobe

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 09:06 PM »

I'm guessing Adobe and Microsoft will ultimately end up filing in federal court against Apple since there's really no compelling technical reason to require all iThingy development to use one toolkit.

What leads me to believe this is Apple's recent "acceptance" of the 'mini' Opera browser into the App Store.

Maybe Apple figures if they relent on some of their more blatant efforts to restrict web and media access on their devices, they can use that in court to argue they're really not trying to restrict trade. (Cuz that would be like illegal, man!)

Once it does go to court however, Apple can expect to see pressure from AT&T, the music & movie industry, cable and TV broadcasters, and the book publishers - all of whom most definitely don't want to wind up being dragged into court behind Apple where they may be asked to justify some of their own monopolistic behaviors.

With ACTA and related legislation on the burner, I'm sure Congress, the Senate, and the EU won't be long in weighing in too.

All in all, it's a situation ripe for speeches and grandstanding. Especially with elections not too far off.



Gonna be fun! Grab some popcorn - and plan on getting there early to watch the fur fly. Hooah!!!!

 

9341

Living Room / Re: Great examples of humorous 3D CGI creature art

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 06:26 PM »

But I honestly think it would be in their best interests to so.

-Eóin (April 13, 2010, 06:15 PM)

Agree..

There's no money in wallpaper images. Too easy to copy and share. So why not give it away as an advert?

It's when you get popular enough that people want to buy hardcopy (prints, t-shirts, etc.) - or big media companies want to license you work (or hire your talents) that the big $$$ start rolling in.

The best way to do that  is to become a recognized artist. Wallpaper is a terrific no-cost way to get your work out there where it can be seen and talked about.

Maybe it might be an idea to post a suggestion either directly to the artist(s) you're interested in or add a comment to that effect on Smashing?

 

Actually I checked most of them but no joy.

-Eóin (April 13, 2010, 06:15 PM)

Hmm...

I checked a few and found some pretty large images, but I'll admit I didn't check all of them. For example, like Gwen7, I also liked Hunter Hunted and found it (at 1024 X 768) in the artist's gallery on Deviant.com.



I think it would make a great, albeit creepy desktop image for a honeypot or a firewall/security server!

(I really like it when the desktop gives a clue as to what you've just logged in on. )

9342

Living Room / Re: Hidden Netflix Marathon Gems to Watch Online

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 03:53 PM »

If I had a couple million, I'd throw it his way just to finish it.

-JavaJones (April 13, 2010, 03:31 PM)

Me too. Ninth thing on my list if I ever hit PowerBall.

I understand it wasn't, and I wasn't even necessarily assuming it was, more - as you said - that he was forced to compress everything down. I just kind of felt like maybe he should have left room for a sequel, since he had so much more story to tell.

-JavaJones (April 13, 2010, 03:31 PM)

No fault there. I wouldn't have known either if I hadn't been dragged (kicking and screaming) to a SciFi Con where Whedon (unbeknownst to me) was scheduled to talk.

Once I found out about that, I settled down.

It was an interesting talk. Good Q&A too since the audience was about 50% diehard "Browncoat" - so these people knew their 'Verse inside out.

Fun two hours.

9343

Living Room / Re: Hidden Netflix Marathon Gems to Watch Online

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 03:43 PM »

Is 'Spartacus: blood and sand' any good? I loved both seasons of 'Rome', which had a lot of good reviews. But with this Spartacus it is mixed. The era holds my interest, hence the question.

-Shades (April 12, 2010, 09:44 PM)

Well...there's a lot of blood...a lot of sand...and a whole lot of sex. Probably unavoidable since we're dealing with slaves...and the Roman attitude and their treatment of slaves is pretty well documented. Nothing here you can't get from reading a good history book or actual account from the period. Apparently, these upper class Romans managed to pack a lot into their day.

IMHO a lot more brutal than the Rome series was. The bad guys are so "over the top" that it gets a little cartoonish at times. (My GF has been heard to mutter: Oh come on! during a few of the scenes.)

Very nice looking cast too, if you're into that sort of thing. You'll get to see A LOT of Ms. Lucy "Xena" Lawless if you watch it regularly.

"Pretty girl - and all grown up too.." as my GF so nicely puts it.  

She's a pretty decent actress too BTW.

Overall: worth a watch if you're a fan of the period. The Rome series was much better.

9344

Living Room / Re: Hidden Netflix Marathon Gems to Watch Online

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 03:03 PM »

I heard an interview with Whedon where he said that the full story arc for Firefly was planned out over four 16-episode seasons. When Firefly got axed from TV without warning he was very annoyed that the first season ended on a semi-cliffhanger and with loose ends dangling all over the place. Any DoCo members that write (or try to write) fiction will know exactly how frustrated Whedon must have felt.

Nothing in Serenity was put there for "shock value." Everything in it was planned for inclusion in the TV series, such as: certain unfortunate deaths, two romantic subplots, and the "big discovery" about River. The River "discovery" was supposed to end the series with enough left open (i.e. what The Alliance might do next) to start a new story cycle within the Firefly framework.

Joss said when it became obvious to him that the TV series "wasn't ever coming back," he decided to "telescope" everything into one movie and get as much of that first story arc into it as possible. He said the real trick was not pushing it to the point of where Serenity turned into a nonstop action film since the "quiet scenes" and dialog (like some of the back and forth that takes place in the crew cabins or dining area) were often considered the best parts of the series.

I thought he did pretty well in that it probably needed something like 6-8 hours of screen time to tell the "whole" story.  It's even more impressive when you consider he only had about two hours of film time to get it done in.

Also unfortunate were all the story pieces that ultimately got left out such as:

• The story of Mal Reynolds mother and father and what happened to them that Mal became such an uncompromising and stalwart enemy of the Alliance.
• Zoe's childhood and background story - and how she met Mal
• Who and what  the Blue Sun Corporation really is. ("The hands go everywhere. Two by two, hands of blue...")
• The story behind the orange knit hat Jane's mom made and sent him as a birthday gift. (It's a very sad story BTW.)
  
• The real story behind Mal's exquisite and deadly "first wife" Saffron.
• Reverend Book's background story - and why he seems to know all the intricacies of Alliance military and intelligence systems - and what's on his ident card that even Alliance ship commanders defer to him when they become aware of it.
• What the real deal is with those black market beagles you hear about from time to time
• What the Alliance was planning to do with the cadre of children (like River) that they were so carefully training.
• Why and how Inara Serra became a registered companion, and who and what the Companion's Guild actually is. (Hint: they are a lot more than high class courtesans. Ever notice how adept at marshal arts and weapons Inara seems to be? )

So yeah, maybe Serenity was a tiny bit of a disappointment with everything that either got glossed over, rushed, or just plain left out. But I still think Whedon deserves a lot credit for doing as much as he did with what he was given to work with.

 

9345

Living Room / Re: "The More You Use Google, the More Google Knows about you"

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 12:56 PM »

that is the same lame thought that has been brought up over and over again

-kartal (April 13, 2010, 12:39 PM)

Ummm...

Maybe, going forward, we can all agree to leave words like "lame" out of our comments and responses?

It's just starting to get back to being civil in this thread. Let's not do anything to needlessly jeopardize that. Otherwise it's going to go right back to talking in circles with some of us getting royally pissed-off at our friends.

We can be passionate about something without also having to get angry over it.

Just a thought...  

9346

Living Room / Re: Hidden Netflix Marathon Gems to Watch Online

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 12:43 PM »

+1 Firefly. A classic.

Reverend Book: If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell.  <pause> A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater.

...
 
Mal: I would appreciate it if one person on this boat would not assume I'm an evil, lecherous hump.

Zoe: No one's saying that, sir.

Wash: Yeah, we're pretty much just giving each other significant glances and laughing incessantly.

9347

Living Room / South Park - streaming full episodes now available free on new website.

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 12:13 PM »

South Park.

You either hate it or love it.

Some people claim it's one of the funniest social satires ever created. Others that it represents everything that's flat-out wrong with television.

And some even believe we should blame it all on Canada!!!

Whatever...

You can now watch all of it for free via the web.

Link: http://www.southpark...os.com/clips/164627/



 

9348

General Software Discussion / Re: Question - Linux binary protection software

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 11:33 AM »

Have you looked over on Sourceforge yet? ( www.sourceforge.net )

Note: what you're looking for runs contrary to the whole philosophy behind Linux, so don't be surprised if you end up not finding anything. There's a good chance such an app might even create a violation of the GPL.

 

9349

Living Room / Re: Comic: If Real Life Were More Like The Internet

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 11:17 AM »

Sounds about right to me.

Especially the part about 'attention' being a substitute for payment.

9350

Living Room / Re: Great examples of humorous 3D CGI creature art

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2010, 10:52 AM »

If you click on the illustrations many link to the artist's web pages where larger image files can often be found. Many are suitably sized for use as as desktop wallpaper.