Deep Thought · think

A Smartwatch Owners View on The Apple Watch

2014-09-11T16:34:53Z

Gosh, I bet everyone is tired of hearing about these commentaries on the Apple Watch. I almost didn’t want to bother you with another article commenting on my first impressions on a device. After all, first impressions change a lot, like that time with the Sega Dreamcast, or that whole thing with Windows 7. Anyway, I felt that I had to write about the Apple Watch because I love watches, and I own a now competing smartwatch (A Pebble), and I have some things I just need to say.

As a millennial I am just absolutely confused as to several things about what Apple did or failed to do on Tuesday (like the fact that streaming only worked on OSX, and only on Safari, and didn’t really work at all), I am absolutely baffled at the design of the Apple Watch. There is nothing about it that says or much less screams “Buy me!” other than the exchangeable wristbands. In fact, it seems that most of the features of the Apple Watch are gimmicks to attract the washed Apple masses to spend money on a smartwatch that barely challenges the competition.

It almost feels like the design team got lost in the woods on the way to Granny’s house.

In regards to size, I am glad that Apple is offering two different “Case Sizes” (the size of the face of the watch), however Apple seems to have just given up on creating a smartwatch with a design that was in any sense classic. Bizarrely the Apple Watch invokes the result of throwing an iPod nano, an iPhone 1st generation, and the back case of a Swatch and pouring the whole thing into a baffling item of design mediocrity. Apple has wowed us before with designs that are clean, solidly constructed, and thin. The Apple Watch is none of these, its large and confusing; it almost feels like the design team got lost in the woods on the way to Granny’s house. The fact that apple is selling a gold plated smartwatch that doesn’t meet the standard requirement of a dress watch of fitting under a dress shirts cuff. I don’t know a lot of people who wear gold watches that don’t wear at least business casual to work every day. Mens fashion is a huge market at the moment, and a watch is a must have accessory as a man. The watch working with your shirt to only be seen when you want to see it, that is a absolute must. My dress watch isn’t even a smart watch, currently its a metal watch from Freestyle USA which offers somewhat cheaper sports oriented watches, all quartz movement. If you collect watches, if you like watches, you know that you want mechanical movement as the end all to end all of high-end, classic watches.

In regards to the back of the case of Apple Watch, which seeks to replicate the iconic style of mechanical watch backs, I can only call it a gimmick. Among the other things on the gimmick list is the setting dial, the inclusion of what Apple calls “messaging”, which is simply the equivalent of talking to Siri on your wrist. Perhaps the only thing that one can gauge as a non-gimmick is the inclusion of Apple Pay, although that functionality truly belongs to the new iPhones. My pebble offers no gimmicks, its pretty basic as far as smartwatches go. That’s actually why I chose it over the competition. As someone who is getting ready to graduate college and enter the business world, I wanted something that would be seen as professional enough to blend into a workplace but not flashy enough to get told to take the watch off during a test, or lord forbid any situation with sensitive material. Looking forward smartwatches with microphones and cameras offer just another possibility for infringing on our personal privacy in the world.

Despite not being the new standard for smartwatches, the Apple Watch offers increased exposure for wearables. More importantly the Apple Watch could move wearable devices to a place where they become more mainstream and acceptable as opposed to a geeky niche. With a brand like Apple pushing wearable devices, even if the Apple Watch is a weak first foray into the wearable market in my mind; there could be an explosion in the market, similar to the explosion of smaller brand MP3 players that came along with the iPod. The Apple Watch will get better over time too, after all most things do, and we can’t expect Apple to kill the device after just one iteration. Apple may not have a market winner on their hands, but they will have at least a segment that will buy it.

A Few Years Back

2012-12-28T03:53:57Z

A few years ago DT stopped cold. Articles slowly moved from semi-daily things to a weekly, to bi-weekly, to monthly, to nonexistent. Since 2010, my last two articles have been the only ones to ring in any traffic around here.

I’ve decided that I wanted to get back into the blogging game for good. To do this I’ve decided to stop posting on DT. “Again!” Your saddened screams echo at the screens of the 300 computers of my only readers. My reasoning is that I posses only the ability to write articles on this site, where I can make design decisions on a blog I run, bring in new writers, and so on.

All this said, I’ll keep this brief, if you wish to continue reading my musings, you can find my new blog at www.geekpuncher.com. Its mainly ramblings about video games, and some assorted geekery. Hopefully it will find its way on the internet someday.

Sweet dreams Dtgeeks.com, ill let you rest now.

The Internet is A Harsh Maiden: A Maiden Allergic to The War Z

2012-12-19T21:08:24Z

I recently mentioned a game called The War Z in an article. At the time, there was not a lot of chatter on the internet about it. Just your average game, on the average internet. The last two days have seen some of the largest amount of internet activism against the game that I have ever witnessed, and I think its of note because of several things.

First of all, the internet is unforgiving. Just Bob Seger used to tell us that Rock n’ Roll never forgets, the internet never forgives, and most certainly this is not an exception. Since the games release on steam meta critic has gone from twenty-one user reviews, to an astounding 1,211 user reviews at the time of this writing. The breakdown of those feature 100 positive, nineteen mixed, and a staggering 1,093 negative. After scrolling through about six pages of reviews I found most of the negative reviews are of the zero and one variety, and most are well thought out and articulated reviews. Feel free to peruse them for yourself at the above link, I personally rather enjoy the writings of angered gamers.

Along with the MetaCritic gloom hanging over the game, it has also faced Steam troubles in the last few days. Released on the 17th of this month on Steam, The War Z rocketed to the number one selling game on the service. With a price tag under fifteen USD it was bound to sell well, and it did. However, the Steam forums for the game instantly became a place where the same things that were being said on MC were being screamed in an even angrier fashion. With over 2,000 threads after only two days on Steam. The troubles on Steam didn’t end there for The War Z, today it was removed from the service. The full details are at the source link, in summary, Steam called releasing the game a “mistake.” But wait! There’s more! Thirteen hours prior to this posting Steam began an investigation into abuse by The War Z community modorator Kewk in the Steam forum. People were apparently being banned and negative posts against the game being deleted (along with some insane forum rules). Steam is now offering refunds for the game to anyone who wants one via their support site. Also, the head developer of The War Z told everyone he was sorry that people didn’t read the Steam page correctly.

The woes for the game didn’t end there though. As we’ve seen time and time again on the internet, some very keen geeks find some very interesting things that no one ever wants to be brought to light. Today it was found that The War Z’s website was using images of zombies stolen from photos of The Walking Dead. These images were used as a background for the website entirely, including the forums, and in parts of the game. If there wasn’t already a chance that Hammerpoint Interactive, the developers behind The War Z, were getting sued, there sure is one now. This situation reminds me a lot of the craziness about the President Obama poster and photo about four years ago. Also someone decided to actually measure the map, which Hammerpoint claims is 100Sq Kilometers, they found it to be about nine square Kilometers.

The story carries on from here to the social justice portion of the internet, and of course Change.org. Two petitions have popped up on Change that target The War Z. The first petition, with 2,200 signatures at the time of writing, demands a full refund of retail price to everyone who bought the game. The petition claims that Hammerpoint Interactive has broken multiple digital distribution laws and demands a refund for everyone who bought the game. You can see my signature on there, I signed it just because I’m addicted to Change.org, and I always side with the gamers. The second petition, which was closed with 2,031 signatures, demands that valve take The War Z off Steam. Oh and if you look real close at that one, you’ll see that almost all those signatures are from today.

The internet, or at least part of it, grabbed its stomach and threw The War Z up today. In a time when we see companies trying to rip everyone off all the time. From charging us to make phone calls on Skype, to gumball machines being fifty cents USD now, everyone’s a scoundrel. At least the internet can still defend itself. For more information, see this article from Kotaku which helped me find so much of this information. Also if you have played The War Z and want to offer up your opinion, hit up the comments section. Finally if anyone wants to buy me a copy of The War Z, I will review it for everyone, then give it back to whoever bought it for me (I definitely won’t be touching a game with this much drama myself). Finally, to call me ignorant, a terrible writer, or just to hate on the topics I have chosen to write about, you can abuse me in the comments. I promise I won’t moderate them.

http://kotaku.com/5969784/the-war-z-mess-every-crazy-detail-we-know-so-far

In Light of the Lyrics App Debacle

2009-05-20T02:04:48Z

Link

Apple initially rejected Jelle Prins’ iPhone app Lyrics, which displays lyrics for the songs in your music library, including the profanity contained in some song lyrics. Apple cited that fact as the reason for turning Prins down.

Oh Apple, look what I found:

Perhaps maybe you should make them censor it?

Ooh, and there’s this other app that allows unfiltered access to the internet, including objectionable content which you seem not to like allowing. I think it’s called… um.... Safari, that’s it! Wait a minute....

Yeah, make the developers of that conduit of smut pay for their sins against our children.

Speaking of children, won’t somebody think of them?

4chan.org’s Popular Board /b/ Taken down

2009-01-10T23:26:45Z

In wake of the DDOS attack on /b/ that I reported on a few minuets ago. It has taken only twenty seven minuets for the moderators at 4chan to take down /b/. At 7:27PM EST /b/ was reported as 404’d.

4Chan.org Threatend By Internet War Against Boxxy

2009-01-10T22:12:01Z

While browsing one of my favorite sites I found that the internet war between 4chan.org‘s Anonymous and a young, quite annoying girl from youtube named Boxxy has began to reach what a sociologist would call ”Critical Mass.” There is a large movement amoung 4chan.org users to perform a DDOS attack on the site at 7:00PM EST tonight. If you also brows the website be sure to expect delays or even a total server crash from 7PM onwards tonight.

The group of users are calling the attack under two codename: Operation Valkyrie and Operation Clampdown. The goal of the attack is to, according to the boards at 4chan, “stop the spread of the boxxy cancer.”

I will keep you updated on this situation as it develops throughout the night.

UPDATE 6:45PM EST: Just fifteen minuets before the attack an image is found of DDOS program aimed at 4chan.org. It appears to be a program commonly used called Low Orbit Ion Cannon. The interesting thing from the screen shot is that the programs are set to broadcast a message to the 4chan.org mods to destroy boxxy or else it seems the attack will be endless. More information to come.
ion.jpg

Images regarding the DDOS attack: (these have been edited to make them more family friendly and as to not promote illegal actives as is against dtgeeks.com policies.)
valkyrie.jpg

DISCLAIMER:
In no way is the author of this post, or http://www.dtgeeks.com supporting the hacking, attack, or other illegal actions against any other website. We are in no way responsible for the actions of any of our readers and have done all we can to prevent our readers from being able to join in said attacks. By reading this post you agree that you exanerate all blame for any actions related to the above event from http://www.dtgeeks.com, its authors, its owners, or other readers.

Note to Apple: Vista is fixed.

2008-10-22T04:32:38Z

Apple’s relentless anti-Vista smear campaign continues, with its latest round of “Mac vs. PC” commercials accusing Microsoft of spending money on marketing that it could be spending to “fix Vista.”

Here’s a note to Apple: Vista is fixed. It’s called Service Pack 1, a release that, by all accounts, addresses the vast majority of issues Vista had at launch. Windows Vista with SP1 is fast, stable and highly capable, and despite Apple’s relentless smear campaign, people are gradually beginning to realize that Vista isn’t as bad as they’d been led to believe.

It’s time for Apple to stop the smearing and go back to focusing on the positive aspects of Mac OS X.

Back-to-school tech shopping: a buyer’s guide

2008-07-26T07:58:54Z

It’s back to school time again here in the United States, and you know what that means: kids going off to college! And these kids may need a computer! Are you a parent without a clue of what to buy, and what your kid might need for school? Read on.

Mac or PC?

Who would have imagined that a such a simple question would resort to fanatical responses? At any rate, the decision isn’t as clear-cut as it used to be. Despite big gains by Apple, Windows still controls a good 90% of the market. There is still much more software and accessories available for Windows than the Mac, but that doesn’t mean the Mac isn’t a good option. There may not be as many products available for the Mac, but there are still more than enough choices out there for most users, and that number is always growing. Windows PCs start at lower prices, but Macs are not out of reach for most people (Mac laptops are available from $1099 US). Another thing to note is that Macs can run Windows too.

Also, some schools or academic departments may have certain requirements; some may require Macs, others may require Windows. Be sure to check with your kid’s school for any specific requirements.

Desktop or laptop?

In my two years working at an on-campus computer store, I can tell you this much: students love laptops. They take them to the library, to class, and to study groups. So for most students, a laptop is the way to go. Desktops tend to be more expandable and more powerful (especially on the higher end), but for the vast majority, a laptop can do just about anything a desktop can, even drive a second display.

Software

The most obvious piece of software is Microsoft Office (Windows and Mac version). There are other options for office software too, such as iWork for Mac users and OpenOffice.org¹, which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux users. The best part about OpenOffice.org is that it’s free! All three offer a similar batch of features and can all read and create Microsoft Office files. A free trial is available for Office for Windows and iWork for the Mac, so you can take those for a test drive and see which one you like best. A demo of the Mac version of Office isn’t available for some reason, though.

Security

The number one security concern in computer users’ minds is malware (viruses, etc...). To help prevent a massive infection, you kid’s school may require antivirus software. However, antivirus software may be available from the school either free of charge or for a small fee; check with the school to see what the requirements are, and what they provide for students.

The number two security concern is, well, making sure the damn thing doesn’t get stolen! Fortunately, there is an easy theft deterrent: a cable lock. These attach to a cable lock port that is included on almost all laptops on the market.². A cable lock is inexpensive and easy to use, and will prevent most crimes of opportunity.

More Accessories

There’s a crapload of stuff you can get along with the computer. Quickly going down the list in no particular order:

Storage: You’ll want to get both an external hard drive and a USB flash drive. External hard drives are invaluable, because, trust me, your son or daughter will want to back up his/her stuff. I don’t know how many times I’ve helped panicked grad students who just lost their dissertation because their hard drives died. Backups are your friend. Flash drives are useful for shuffling files between computers, or for taking to the computer lab to print a paper when your son or daughter ran out of printer ink and needs to have the paper on the professor’s desk in twenty minutes. Waiting to the last minute is bad.

So to recap: storage good. Panicking bad.

A bag: If your kid just got a shiny new laptop, what better way to keep it shiny than a nice sleeve case or bag to go with it? Personally I lean toward backpacks and messenger bags; basically, you’ll want something that doesn’t look like you have an expensive piece of computer equipment in it to, again, prevent crimes of opportunity from would-be thieves. I own a backpack by a company called STM, and I swear by it. You can read my review of it here. STM, of course, isn’t the only game in town; other vendors that make great laptop bags include Timbuk2, Waterfield, Sumo, Targus, and a good number of other companies.

Keyboards and mice: If your kid got a laptop and will be spending a lot of time at a desk, they may want to consider a keyboard and/or mice. Keyboards and mice come in more shapes and sizes than you could ever imagine. Keyboards and mice come wired or wireless, in standard designs or ergonomic ones. Some mice are designed to be easy to toss in your bag with your laptop. Some places to look for more information include Microsoft, Logitech, Targus, and Kensington. If you’re looking for ergonimic keyboards and mice, Key Ovation has a full line of ergonomic products.

Surge protectors: You don’t want to end up with a fried computer after a power surge, do you? Get one. They’re cheap, and they sure beat the alternative.

USB hubs: Some computers—especially laptops—have a limited number of USB ports. If your kid has an iPod, a keyboard and mouse, a printer, an external hard drive, and a digital camera, they’re going to need more than the two measly ports on a MacBook. USB hubs are generally inexpensive as well. A word of caution: some USB hubs are “powered” while some are not. A powered USB hub includes a power adapter and as the name suggests, gives the USB port additional power. (Captain Obvious strikes again!) The reason for this is because some devices require the additional power; every USB port on a computer is capable of carrying an electrical current, which some devices (e.g. an iPod) require. However, each USB port on a USB hub does not carry enough of a current to power these devices, hence the power adapter. In general, you will want to buy a powered USB hub.

Printers: Once upon a time, about the only choice most users had were inkjet printers. And inkjet printers are good: they give you decent quality on the cheap. Or at least the initial cost looks good. And then you get taken to the cleaners for ink cartridges. However, in recent years, laser printers have come down in price to the point where a standard black and white laser printer is now well within reach for most buyers. And even though toner cartridges are usually a good bit more expensive than ink cartridges, they last longer. Way longer. If your kid needs or wants to print in color (photos, etc...), an inkjet is still the way to go. But if all he or she needs is something to print English papers, a laser printer may be work a look.

Note that printers sold today do not come with USB cables in the box! Be sure to pick one up when buying the printer. If the salesperson doesn’t mention this, then, well, they’re not doing their job.

A second monitor: While not a must-have, a second display is worth considering for one fact: it boosts productivity. Also, laptop users will appreciate the space.

These are just some of the things to consider; there are a many more items to think of. But the ones I mention above should provide for a pretty complete setup for most people. And even though this list is geared toward buying for college, most of these tips are equally valid for general computer purchases too. That’s right, two blog posts in one! A model of efficiency!

Where to shop

You could order through a mail-order catalog or online. Or you could go to Best Buy or The Apple Store. But, hands-down, the best way to buy a computer for your kid is the on-campus computer store. Many schools have one, either as part of the bookstore or as a separate shop. But regardless of the location, these places can offer your son or daughter computers, software, and accessories at ridiculously low prices, thanks to academic discounts. Now for the caveat emptor: these stores often require the student to be present when making the purchase, and require a student ID, so you might not be able to surprise your kid with the computer of their dreams. But then again, you save a crapload of money, so I’d say that it’s a pretty good tradeoff. Wouldn’t you agree?

And one final note...

This is my last post here at Deep Thought. I have recently accepted a job with a major computer industry publication (*cough*PC World*cough*), and, since Deep Thought covers a lot of the same ground as my new employer, I won’t be able to write for DT any longer since, well, I’d be competing against myself in a sense. I was one of the original staff members here, and DT has been my baby so to speak, even if it hasn’t been as successful as we all hoped. I’ve had a blast writing for Deep Thought over the past three and a half years, and I am sad to leave it behind. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read what I’ve posted, no matter how stupid some of it may have been. I appreciate every comment you’ve written, whether you love my work or hate it. I credit my work with Deep Thought for helping me land this job in the first place, and I will always remember the time I spent here.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

-- Nick Mediati
July 26, 2008

¹Can somebody tell me why they added the .org to the software’s name?↩
²The MacBook Air is a notable exception; it doesn’t have a lock port.↩

Spam turns 30; Internet not happy

2008-05-03T18:50:00Z

THE INTERNET- Spam today announced that it has been 30 years since its first use, when it was first sent on the ARPANET on May 3rd, 1978. Since then, it has maintained a standard of excellence in annoyance of anyone who dares to set foot on the World Wide Web. Though not called spam until 15 years after that historic event, Spam was an insult and a nuisance even on its first day of life.

“LOSE 10 POUNDS IN 2 WEEKS!!! VIAGRA IN STOCK 40% OFF NOW!!! I’M 30 YEARS OLD TODAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! FREE ANTIVIRUS SCAN U ARE INFECTED!!!” Spam announced today, to thunderous dissent. Though the first use of spam was email, it has since spread to many other communication methods, such as instant messaging, blog comments, and even the telephone.

One humble spammer, who gave his name as Geoff Kennedy, was available for comment. “V|aggra 50mg x 60 pi1ls = $ 89.95,” he told Deep Thought. He then added, “Have liver problems; have kidney problems; have ever had blood cell problems such as sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, or leukemia,” a statement which had us somewhat puzzled. The man concluded by stating that, “Via-gra 1.41 per p!ll best 0n-line dr.ugstore in the internet,” and resumed his work. I then threw an empty soda cup at him.

Yes, of the many uses of the internet to have been realized so far, spam has remained one that can stand the test of time, much to the chagrin of everyone on the internet. Happy damn birthday, Spam; we don’t look forward to 30 more.

San Francisco Chronicle: A very unhappy birthday to spam, age 30
Deep Thought: Spam poetry

Who’d’a thunk it? Most facebook apps are pointless

2008-05-02T22:58:00Z

According to a recent study, most Facebook apps are pointless silly time-wasters, according to a CNET blog post. The blog post cites a new study from Flowing Data, which tabulated the nature of the 23,000+ Facebook applications. Roughly 9600 are categorized as “Just for Fun,” while many more are labeled as “Gaming,” “Sports,” “Chat,” and other productivity-killing categories.

Now wait just a second. Why on Earth did Flowing Data research the number of pointless Facebook apps? Anyone who has spend any time on Facebook and has been bombarded with endless application invitations could tell you that most Facebook apps are pointless. A pointless survey on the pointlessness of Facebook apps. Hard to believe someone actually got paid for that.

And besides, who visits Facebook to get anything done in the first place?

Blogging may be hazardous to your health?

2008-04-07T16:48:00Z

The New York Times posted an article discussing stress-related health issues that can go along with professional blogging.

At least one blogger, Marc Andreessen, ridiculed the New York Times article. Marc, buddy, I think you missed the point. As someone who has blogged prolifically for the past few years, I can tell you that the New York Times article isn’t necessarily that far off the mark.

First of all, the Times article isn’t saying that “Blogging causes death.” No, what they’re saying is that highly-competitive blogging can cause heavy stress. Heavy stress can lead to health problems, some of which—such as heart attacks—can lead to death.

Let’s think about the real idea behind the article before shooting off about it on a blog next time.

Many bloggers today put themselves under a shitload of stress. As a blogger for DT, I’m not as hard core as some are, but I can tell you that I’ve suffered under the stress of blogging too. I’ve deprived myself of sleep. I’ve suffered burnout. I put DT before studying as a college student; it showed in my grades, and now I regret it. At times DT became an obsession, and I just coudn’t handle it anymore. That is why I don’t post here as much as I used to.

In linking to Andreessen’s post, John Gruber remarks, “There’s nothing to say about such a goofy, insipid article other than to mock it. My grandfather was a coal miner. That was a hard, stressful, dangerous job.” Coal mining is a dangerous and stressful job, but for completely different reasons. Blogging is stressful because people make it stressful. People bring it upon themselves. Coal mining is stressful because if you’re not careful you could end up seriously injured or killed. But I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the possible consequences of professional blogging.

Any job can be stressful, really. The one major difference, though, is that blogging for some can become a nearly 24-hour job. Working almost nonstop can’t possibly be a good thing.

If you’re a prolific blogger, or anyone whose job causes a heavy stress load, I have one word for you: chill. Pay the bills, yes, but also make sure you get as much rest as you can, eat right, and get some exercise. Find a balance. And if that doesn’t work, maybe it’s time to find something else to do for a living.

And with that, it’s off to another kind of hell: going to the dentist to fill a couple cavities. Boo.

On ‘A More Perfect Union’

2008-03-20T04:57:00Z

I typically don’t like posting articles that are political in nature here, but since I have nothing better to write about (and don’t have a personal blog), here goes…

In light of Senator Barack Obama’s speech ”A More Perfect Union” and the whole brouhaha over Rev. Wright, I have three questions:

Would the response be the same if any of the other Presidential candidates were embroiled in a similar controversy? Would there be such a large uproar (or maybe a bigger uproar)? And how would the other candidates handle such a situation?

How much should the expressed beliefs and views of a close friend or family member impact a candidate running for office?

Should someone leave a congregation because they strongly disagree with the pastor?

Leave a comment. I may or may not post my opinion, depending on how much I want to get into the debate.

And with that, we return to our regularly scheduled programming!

Blu-ray wins, consumers lose

2008-03-07T04:33:00Z

It’s been two weeks since Toshiba, creators and primary backers of the nascent next-generation movie disc format called HD DVD, ceased production and marketing of the technology, ceding defeat in a bitter format war raged between it and Blu-ray Disc, championed by a Sony-led consortium.

This move was widely expected following January’s announcement by Warner Home Video that it will be supporting Blu-ray Disc exclusively going forward. As the number one movie studio in the world, Warner Bros. commanded immense weight in deciding the outcome of this war, and once their announcement was made, it took less than two months for companies at every level of the home video distribution ecosystem to fall in line behind it, abandoning HD DVD in the process and leaving Toshiba holding the bag.

So now that Blu-ray Disc is poised to become the dominant next-generation movie format, it’s time to look to the future. A future that, quite frankly, looks somewhat bleak for a number of reasons.

In a Blu-ray dominated future, expect high prices, because everything about Blu-ray is far more expensive than its HD DVD counterparts. The players will be expensive thanks to costly laser pickups, complicated hardware and an even more complicated software stack that will require extensive support from the manufacturers. The discs will be expensive thanks to the relatively high cost of manufacturing discs, and the sky-high costs of authoring them using BD-J.

Expect limited selection, in part because of the high costs of creating a commercial Blu-ray Disc, but also (and far more troubling) because of the requirement for all BD-ROM titles to have AACS encoding before they can play. The costs of acquiring these licenses and the complications of implementing them will shut out many smaller, indie film studios from BD publishing, resulting in a catalog filled with generic, big-budget Hollywood crap.

Expect a poor movie-watching experience. Blu-ray Disc players have already shown themselves to be exceedingly slow at performing all but the most basic of tasks. Starting a movie can take minutes; navigating menus is fraught with problems, and when you get to the actual movie itself, actions such as pausing, rewinding, fast-forwarding and chapter skip can take seconds to register.

Expect to babysit your Blu-ray player like it’s a computer. All of today’s Blu-ray players receive frequent firmware updates to fix bugs in new movies. These updates have to be downloaded from the Internet and burned on to a CD which is then inserted in the player. The updates can take upwards of 40 minutes, and are required in many cases to watch new movies.

Expect planned obsolescence. Think the Blu-ray player you buy in 2008 will continue to play discs released in 2011? Don’t count on it; either the manufacturer will have ceased releasing firmware updates by then, or new movies will be authored for some future Blu-ray specification that your player won’t support (there are already three such specifications, version 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0, each of which support different feature sets that must be implemented in hardware—they can’t be bolted on later with firmware updates.)

And expect to be treated like a criminal. Blu-ray features multiple levels of DRM, ROMmark brands discs with unique serial numbers that can’t be duplicated using consumer disc burners, AACS encrypts the video stream and its Image Constraint Token capability allows the movie studios to artificially cripple the analog output capability of your player, and BD+ locks you out of the movie until it has scanned your player to make sure nothing’s “wrong.” Combined with the internet connectivity features of BD Profile 2.0, BD+ has some scary privacy implications as well, such as reporting your movie selections and viewing habits to a third party. Blu-ray also maintains the region protection seen in DVD (though Blu-ray only has three regions.)

The alternative offered by HD DVD, while not perfect, was decidedly more consumer-friendly and much better implemented. HD DVD simply offered a better moviewatching experience, for less money, and it did so from day one.

Maybe I’m being overly pessimistic. Maybe I’m biased. I won’t deny that this article was prompted in no small part by my dismay at how events played out in the so called “format war.” But I’ve found my pessimism reinforced somewhat in recent weeks.

At CES, Sony announced that it would allow consumers to make portable copies of its Blu-ray movies for viewing on the go… but with a catch; the Blu-ray player would have to be a PlayStation 3, and the portable player would have to be a PSP. Gee, thanks, Sony. HD DVD, by comparison, required all players to support Managed Copy which would work with a wide variety of portable players and media servers (when provided for by the movie publisher.) And on March 5, Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow is reported to have said Blu-ray players will not come down to $200 until next year—HD DVD players had already shattered that price barrier last Christmas.

Aside from Toshiba’s capitulation, there has been precious little really good news from the Blu-ray camp in recent weeks. And without the competition posed by HD DVD, sales on Blu-ray discs have dried up, and prices on Blu-ray players have risen ever so slightly. There is no reason to expect that situation to change any time soon.

Maybe I’m wrong, and Blu- ray will turn out OK. But I’m not holding my breath, and neither should you.

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Sony CEO: $200 Blu-ray players coming
Blu-ray to PSP Movie Transfers
Toshiba Kills HD DVD

Welcome to the new Deep Thought!

2008-03-03T04:30:00Z

That’s right, we’re back!

After spending considerable time and effort thinking, rethinking, designing, coding, and tinkering, we are proud to present to you the brand new Deep Thought! Here’s a brief rundown of what’s new.

A brand new look

The most obvious change to Deep Thought is the site’s overall look and feel. We wanted to design something that was clean, bright, and clutter-free, and we think we’ve accomplished just that. We’ve also eliminated clutter and extraneous cruft to a great extent. We like it a lot, and we hope you do too.

Easier to navigate, easier to read

We tried to make our navigation as streamlined and as obvious as possible. We’ve also made improving readability one of our main goals when designing the site. Text is now larger and higher-contrast, so it’ll be much easier on the eyes.

Something completely new: Journals

Have you ever visited Deep Thought looking for just Mac news or just WIndows news, but end up having to dig through article after article you don’t want to read? We hear ya. That’s why we’ve broken our content up into journals, each covering a different area of interest:

mac: Anything Mac- or Apple-related: dtgeeks.com/mac
win: Anything Windows- or Microsoft-related: dtgeeks.com/win
toys: For anyone who can’t get enough of gadgets: dtgeeks.com/toys
fun: If you’re a gamer, this is the place for you: dtgeeks.com/fun
think: Anything tech goes: dtgeeks.com/think

You can, of course, still view all articles, if you prefer.

RSS feeds are available for each journal. If you still want to see everything, we provide a feed for that as well.

IMPORTANT: If you already subscribe to any of our feeds, please visit the Feeds page and make sure the feed URLs you’re subscribing to are up-to-date. Many of our feeds have changed.

Rearrange the home page content. You can
also view a summary of the latest article or
headlines from the most recent article in
each journal.

Customizable home page

Our home page has been redesigned from the ground up, giving you the reader more control over what you see. You can rearrange the journal preview boxes, collapse the ones you don’t want to see, and change toggle between views. Your settings will be stored in a cookie, so every time you visit Deep Thought from your computer, it’ll be just how you like it. Cool, eh?

It’s not just about us

It’s about you. We’ve designed Deep Thought around reader participation, which means you can comment on articles, post in the forum, contribute to our podcast, and submit your own articles. Deep Thought is nothing without the active participation of its readers, so we hope that you stick around a while.

What do you think?

Please let us know what you think of the new Deep Thought by posting a comment below. Like it? Hate it? Tell us; we welcome your feedback. Also, if you run across any bugs or issues, leave a comment and include a description of the problem, the page you found it on, which browser and platform you’re using, and include a link to any screenshots of you took any.

Thank you for reading Deep Thought!

The fun with Facebook gifts

2008-03-02T06:58:00Z

Sometimes, buying intangible items makes sense: software, music off iTunes, even your electric bill (you can’t “touch” electricity in the truest sense, after all).

Sometimes it doesn’t make any sense at all.

Take Facebook gifts. These little icons (which I guess are 64x64 pixels each) can be yours to give to any facebook friend for a dollar! Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the idea behind giving the gifts; it’s a small gesture to let someone know you’re thinking of them, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that...I’m buying an icon. I’m buying something I can view on my computer screen ¹.

Whatever happened to sending cards? Or flowers? I mean, both cost more than a $1 Facebook gift, but you can smell and touch flowers. You can hold a card in your hands. Can’t do that with a Facebook gift. And a real gift is waay more personal. I don’t know.

Anyway, that’s my random thought for the night.

¹You could print the page, cut out the gift icon, and stick it on your fridge if you want, of course. ↩

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