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One of the brightest minds in high-end audio and world-class nice-guys, Charles “Charlie” Hansen, was injured in a mountain biking accident. Although a full recovery is anticipated, he sustained spinal injuries requiring surgery and has yet to recover feeling in his legs. A blog detailing his recovery can be found here.
I know all audiophiles wish him well.
The future is now.
Jeff Han, a researcher at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, has demonstrated the future of computing interfaces. See his lecture and live demo here. His webpage at NYU, along with another demo, can be seen here.
The computing seen in “Minority Report” seemed so Sci-Fi. Now it is reality…
What has to be one of the most intelligent uses of internet technology I’ve seen in some time, a team of digital photographers and artists have painstakingly photgraphed, composed and posted a digital reproduction of the “Parete Gaudenziana.”
The website claims that the photo is 8.6 Gigapixels in resolution.
In a recent article by Chuck Colson, I was shocked to learn that in 2005 there were 100,000 more abortions than births in Russia. Furthermore, estimates are that 10 million women in Russia (of reproductive age) are sterile due to “botched abortions or poor health.”
This fact, combined with one of the world’s fastest growing AIDS epidemics, rampant drug and alcohol abuse and suicide are leading to a whopping population loss of 700,000 people per year since 1991 — the fall of communism.
Rev. Colson rightly points out that 70+ years of institutionalized atheism have robbed the citizenry of Russia of their hope, their dignity and eventually their society.
Let’s all hope that never happens in America.
“What is jitter and why does it matter?”
This questions seems to pop up at least once a week, in various forms, on AVS Forum.
An exhaustive jitter overview, written by Giorgio Pozzoli, appears here.
John Atkinson, one of my favorite reviewers, wrote a terrific editorial in the December 1990 issue of Stereophile.
Bottom Line: Jitter is a real, audible, mostly correctible and preventable barrier to achieving faithful audio reproduction. Jitter is responsible, in large part, for the differences observed between average and exceptional audio gear.
My favorite gear, Meridian, is known for its low jitter qualities…
Surf - CineNow
Listen
“Acoustic” - Everything But the Girl
Read - “Widescreen Review“ Magazine
Watch - “Battlestar Gallactica” - SciFi Network
Play - Killer Sudoku
Watched the movie tonight with my kids. Mildly entertaining. Somewhat inappropriate for younger kids (<8), but our boys seemed to enjoy it. There were parts that scared them a little, a few off-color phrases here and there…
Picture quality was excellent, eye-candy abounds. Sound was OK. I agree heartily with the following review from Amazon.com:
“Danny DeVito’s adaptation of the Roald Dahl book for children is mostly just fine, helped along quite a bit by the charming performance of Mara Wilson (Mrs. Doubtfire) as young Matilda, a brilliant girl neglected by her stupid, self-involved parents (DeVito and Rhea Perlman). Ignored at home, Matilda escapes into a world of reading, exercising her mind so much she develops telekinetic powers. Good thing, too: sent off to a school headed by a cruel principal, Matilda needs all the help she can get. DeVito takes a highly stylized approach that is sometimes reminiscent of Barry Sonnenfeld (director of Get Shorty, a DeVito production), and his judgment is not the best in some matters, such as letting the comic-scary sequences involving the principal go on too long. But much of the film is delightful and funny. The DVD release has a pan-and-scan, full-screen presentation only, plus Dolby sound and optional French and Spanish soundtracks.” –Tom Keogh
I am very disappointed by the inability of the two 2nd-Gen-optical-disc format groups (e.g., HD-DVD & Blu-Ray) to come to some concensus. Their inability to compromise has once more forced the home theater consumer into making a “rock-and-a-hard-place” decision.
Anybody even tangentially interested in home audio/video has to be feeling deja-vu all over again. This sort of battle was first observed with the Beta-max/VHS wars in the early 80’s and more recently the SACD/DVD-Audio conflict. We all are aware of VHS’s eventual domination of the home-video market. Most average consumers are likely unaware of the SACD/DVD-Audio issue.
In 2001, Richard Elen wrote a seminal article on the SACD/DVD-Audio war. As this format-battle evolved, manufacturers eventually produced so-called universal players that could play both formats. But this was too little too late. The average consumer, confused about the differing formats’ benefits and long-term prospects, refused to invest in either format’s hardware or software. This has led to both formats (each uniquely superior to red-book CD audio) to be relegated to the audiophile hobbyists.
I am concerned that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray may suffer the same fate.
The likelihood of one of these formats surviving is high, almost guaranteed I dare say. This is due to the ever increasing number of HDTV’s dotting suburban living-rooms. Even the most casual viewer can readily identify the video superiority of HDTV (720p or 1080i) over SDTV (Standard Definition - 480i). This was not necessarily the case with SACD/DVD-A and CD where typical listeners could perceive a difference, but it wasn’t necessarily as jaw-dropping as the contrast between HDTV and SDTV.
So what is a consumer to do? Invest now in both formats so they are not impeded in their ability to see whatever movie they wish? Buy one or the other format and pray they make the right decision? Wait it out until the Darwinian market forces make the decision for them?
Because HD-DVD and Blu-Ray use totally different technologies for reading the discs, a universal player will be difficult to engineer; however, Pioneer is evidently working on just this very thing. Also, a European company, NME, has evidently developed a method for including both formats on one multi-layer disc. These both may be solutions to the problem, but neither is as ideal as having one, unified, comprehensive format.
The bottom line is that none of these decisions are ideal. There cannot be a winner in this battle. The hardware manufacturers will not sell as many units as they would have under a unified format (i.e., DVD). The studios will not sell as many movies to consumers or rental stores. The consumer must either gamble or miss out on utilizing the capabilities of their new televisions. No winner.
Will they ever learn?
I had a headache this morning. I attribute this to a lack of caffeine. According to the National Headache Foundation:
grams before they will experience caffeine withdrawal headache.I believe I fall into the latter category.
So I made myself a large cup of coffee using a French Coffee Press. I have not done this very often, but I will be using it much more often in the future. The coffee has a bolder flavor and richer texture than brewed coffee. For more information on this method of enjoying java see this site.
