Geeqs.Net // Keith's Blog

Movies I haven't watched in a while, but need to watch again...

Keith Reid — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:17:13 GMT

Just because they're still THAT GOOD these movies need to be revisited every year or two in order to maintain the appropriate GEEK level. 1. The Lord of the Rings (all three) 2. Fight Club 3. Red Planet ... more to be added......(read more)

Things are a-changing in movie distribution

Keith Reid — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:03:00 GMT

Whether or not you agree with Michael Moore's movies, there should be one thing you have to respect about him. He's about to release a $2M movie he's produced out for free download. He's challenging the media distribution model. "This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans. The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November." – Michael Moore You can sign up to be notified when the movie is made available...(read more)

Hannah Montanah's Gummy Guitars...WTF

Geeqs.net News — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:46:00 GMT

And you thought gummy lighthouses were bad....(read more)

When the zombies come, they come for thee, David Dexter

Geeqs.net News — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:14:00 GMT

David Dexter pulls from under his lab desk a small lidded bucket, the type that DIY stores use to sell bumper packs of filler....(read more)

Saturday Tech Bits

Geeqs.net News — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:14:00 GMT

20 Insanely Modified Computers. Thanks Ant....(read more)

etc.

Geeqs.net News — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:14:00 GMT

Thanks Mike Martinez. The 13 Videogames that Desperately Need to be Remade (16-bit and Under). Thanks Digg? 6 Very Unconventional MMO Virtual Hotels? Chinese Government: 4 Million Addicted To 'Unhealt......(read more)

Take Your Web Apps Offline

Geeqs.net News — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:43:00 GMT

Ever want to run Google Docs or Zoho from your desktop? Unfortunately for travelers, web apps by nature are shackled to its internet connections. Now, you can cut the ethernet cable and free web apps from the web using Fluid and Google Gears....(read more)

Nintendo Shares Say Wii

Geeqs.net News — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:43:00 GMT

Stock in console maker jumps 10 percent on company's boost in sales forecasts....(read more)

Intel Grabs OpenedHand

Geeqs.net News — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:43:00 GMT

Chip giant agrees to acquire the open-source software developer for use in its Atom line of processors....(read more)

German Customs raids over 50 booths at IFA looking for patent infringements

Geeqs.net News — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:12:00 GMT

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets We've got our crack team of Engadget ninjas at IFA working to figure out exactly what's going on, but early word is that over 220 German Customs agents have raided the show looking for patent infringements. It's...(read more)

New video game depicts Venezuela mercenary attack (Reuters)

Geeqs.net News — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:12:00 GMT

Reuters - A video game depicting mercenaries storming Venezuela, which has been criticized in the oil-rich South American country as a blueprint for an invasion, will be released by a U.S. company this weekend....(read more)

Saints Row 2 Screens

Geeqs.net News — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:42:00 GMT

8 new shots posted....(read more)

Updated Blog site to CommunityServer 2008

Keith Reid — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:32:00 GMT

I've just updated the site to use the latest version of CommunityServer, 2008. The main changes visitors to the site will see is that my previous theme I was using is no longer up. I've defaulted the theme for the site until I can spend a little time customizing the look and feel.

The back-end management of the site looks cleaner than 2007 and I look forward to digging into the options later.

Technorati Tags: CommunityServer,Blog,Upgrade

Adventures in HD

Keith Reid — Mon, 26 May 2008 04:51:33 GMT

Now that I have a HDTV (LC-46D82U) and HD programming via Shaw, I've noticed that the quality of the HD broadcast varies from channel to channel and in some cases program to program.

For example, not all HD programs are created equally. The CTV National News for example is very clear and detailed, but most ABC, CBS and Fox programming in HD shows evidence of image artifacts due to compression. I'm not talking about a little noise either... it's enough noise to be distracting.

Technorati Tags: LCD,HD,Blueray,compression

As I understand it the reason for this is that the cable providers (Shaw, Rogers, Bell, etc...) have a fixed amount of bandwidth available to them for sending signals to their subscribers. To maximize their profitability they allocate less bandwidth to each channel in order to provide more channels to subscribers and they must then apply more compression to the signal and this can lead to compression artifacts as seen above.

This is the biggest challenge I see the adoption of HD having in the marketplace. The improved visual quality of programming is just not that noticeable for a significant portion of HD programming currently available.

For example, I'll be able to flip back and forth between a HD version of a program and a standard definition (SD) version of a program on my TV and in some cases the only difference I'll notice is the addition of black bars as a result of the change from wide screen to 4:3 screen. That doesn't exactly make a great selling feature.

For this reason, I've been looking at options for providing my TV with a better quality video source, such as an HD DVD player (BlueRay) or playing HD video files from my PC. More on that on my next post...

Randy Pausch Lecture: Time Management

Keith Reid — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:30:00 GMT

This is from the same CMU professor as the previous post. It is a lecture on "time management".