Category: Culture & Entertainment

  • iPod Shuffle

    For years I had been saying that I would not buy an iPod product.  After all, they sell music in the iTunes music store with DRM on it.  All of my music on my Linux computer is in the OGG format and it can’t be played with iPods.  However, when it came time to buy…

  • Mario Galaxy

    I received Super Mario Galaxy for Christmas and I must say that I’m quite happy with the gift.  This is the most talked about Wii game for the end of 2007 and not without reason.  Everyone who’s into gaming kept mentioning that Mario Galaxy is the true successor to Super Mario 64 on the Gamecube. …

  • MythTv Remote Setup Complete

    Well, almost.  I got everything installed and configured for the remote to work.  However, there are currently some buttons that don’t do anything – so I need to go into the config and get those buttons to do something.  There are definitely some things that I need to program into the remove to get full…

  • MythTv Update

    Well, I’ve have my MythTv box for about 24 hours now.  I have figured out everything that was bugging me about the system except for the remote control.  I hear this may require some compiling on my end.  Not something I’m fond of, but I’ve done it before, so it shouldn’t be too bad. So…

  • ZeroPunctuation – Awesome video game reviews!

    The word irreverent is tossed around way too flippantly these days, however, if there’s one site that deserves it, it’s ZeroPunctuation. ZeroPunctuation is a site where a British guy living in Australia reviews video games within a video format weekly. He often makes fun of games and the genres they belong in. The animation is…

  • Another example of the perils of DRM

    Time and again I’ve warned my readers of the perils of DRM.  (Specifically here and here).  That’s why I don’t buy music on iTunes and have given all of my digital music patronage to Amazon.com.  Even my wife, who’s not as into FOSS and all that as I am, has become disgusted as she’s understood…

  • The Perils of the Edge of Change

    We’re on the edge of the largest disruption in Tv technology since color Tv became mainstream. In 2009 all analog television transmission will cease. Although the two terms tend to go hand-in-hand that doesn’t mean that all channels will become HD. There just isn’t the bandwidth for that in the cable pipes right now. But…

  • Crank That is the new Mashup Sensation

    This annoyingly catchy rap song with crazy dance moves (there’s even a video online by the rapper to show you how to do the dance) is being put into all kinds of mashups. For some reason, these all seem to involve kiddie movies and Tv shows. Anyway, this gave me a pretty good laugh for…

  • Is it really stealing?

    Publishers often refer to prohibited copying as “piracy.” In this way, they imply that illegal copying is ethically equivalent to attacking ships on the high seas, kidnapping and murdering the people on them. If you don’t believe that illegal copying is just like kidnapping and murder, you might prefer not to use the word “piracy”…

  • How Engineers think…

    another great one from xkcd: What did you think when you saw the first panel? I thought of Roadrunner cartoons RIGHT AWAY!

  • Frets on Fire Rocks!

    My brother introduced me to “Guitar Hero” over the summer. I couldn’t really get into it at the time. There were basically two reasons for this. First of all, I just wasn’t in the mood for that type of game on the day he brought it over. However, the concept stayed with me and whenever…

  • HEY RIAA, all you needed to do was offer DRM-free music!

    I’ve already spent around $11 on Amazon.com’s MP3 download store. Why? Because they are selling MP3s of my favorite artists without any digital restrictions management (DRM). This is what has been keeping both my wife and I away from iTunes. Oh yeah, and the songs are cheaper than iTunes! It appears that all of the…

  • If you liked 300….

    Then you may find the following a bit entertaining.

  • Flight of the Conchords

    I just discovered this show and it’s hilarious! It’s an HBO show about two Kiwis (guys from New Zealand) who are in a band and are trying to make it big in the US. If you like absurdist Tv shows like “Ally McBeal” or “Scrubs”, then you’ll love “Flight of the Conchords”. The band members…

  • Fair Use

    Stanford University, a leader in trying to get Congress and the public to understand the importance of the Public Domain have done what I’ve been dreaming of doing for a few months now. They decided to test the doctrine of Fair Use in copyrights by creating the following video. Any Disney fan should be sure…