Blu-Ray launch date set for May 23rd in North America

Players and discs finally in the shops in late May, but where's the PS3?
Rob Fahey 14:43 28/02/2006

Sony has announced that its Blu-Ray next-generation DVD format will launch in North America on May 23rd, giving a clear timeline for the first time for the arrival of the media format which will be used by the PlayStation 3.

Eight Blu-Ray titles will launch on that date from Sony's two major film studios, Sony Pictures and MGM, namely 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil Apocalypse and XXX.

... However, the initial choice available to consumers in terms of what to play their shiny new high definition movies on will be very limited - with only one player, Samsung's costly BD-P1000, set to ship for the May 23rd launch. Further players will appear from Sony and Pioneer shortly after launch.

... Several media outlets have recently reported on comments from an unnamed Sony source, who was cited on the BBC News website some weeks ago as saying that the console's launch could be delayed due to a hold-up in agreeing final specification details for Blu-Ray discs.

The fact that players and discs are now slated to appear in mid-May seems to suggest that these hurdles have now been overcome - although a launch for the PS3 in the planned Spring timeframe still looks highly unlikely given that no details of any such launch have yet been shared with consumers or with the retail channel.

I found this at: neowin.net
Full story: GamesIndustry.biz

Sony admits PS3 delay possible

Issues with mass production of Blu-ray drives could be to blame if spring system launch is pushed back to fall.
By Brendan Sinclair -- GameSpot
Posted Feb 27, 2006 2:29 pm PT

In recent weeks, speculation that Sony would not make its previously announced spring 2006 release date for the PlayStation 3 has grown after a Merrill Lynch report predicted the new console would be pushed back until the end of the year, or perhaps later. Japanese site Sankei Web is reporting that Sony has acknowledged the possibility of a delay in the system, and that such a delay would be due to problems with the mass production of the console's built-in Blu-ray drive.

I found this at: neowin.net
Full Story: GameSpot

Video Collection 2-26-06

American Idol Audition - [via SpikedHumor]
RC Bird - Almost Real - [via SpikedHumor]
Low Flying Plane - [via SpikedHumor]
^^^ "This is amazing footage of a beach situated right next to the main runway of a busy international airport. This beach isn't popular considering the planes fly low enough to take your head off."

MPAA strikes in Europe, targets search engines

eDonkey network downed
By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco
Published Friday 24th February 2006 08:16 GMT

The Motion Picture Ass. of America has struck in Europe - forcing the closure of what it described as the largest eDonkey P2P file sharing network.

The Razorback2 network, with over a million users at any one time, was hosted at Zaventem, near Brussels, and Swiss police arrested its owner.

"We are very grateful to the Swiss and Belgian authorities for their cooperation and effective action in dealing with this particularly egregious enterprise and the individual profiting from it," said Chris Marcich of the MPAA's European office, in a canned statement.

The MPAA followed up today with a new barrage of lawsuits aimed at nine more file sharing services, including search engines.

These include Usenet hosts NZB-Zone.com, BinNews.com and DVDRs.net; eDonkey network Ed2k-It.com; and five BitTorrent indexing sites owned by one individual.

The latter told website Slyck he had yet to be been notified of the action.

The usual course of action for copyright holders has been to request that major search engines such as Google comply with a DMCA take down notice.

ISOHunt has a copyright policy which states that "... our automated indexing cannot discriminate copyrighted or non-copyrighted works", and says that it complies with DMCA notices. ®

Source: theregister.com
More info: Slyck News

Video Collection 2-24-06

Talking Cats - [via SpikedHumor]
Tunnel Crashes - [via SpikedHumor]
RX-7 Crashes at 215 MPH - [via SpikedHumor]
Disabled Dude Got Moves - [via SpikedHumor]
Helicopter Tied Down - [via SpikedHumor]
Guy Crashes Helicopter - [via BREAK.com]

"Loose Change - 2nd Edition" Documentary

"This film shows direct connection between the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the United States government.

Evidence is derived from news footage, scientific fact, and most important, Americans who suffered through that tragic day.

IT IS EVERYONE'S duty TO VIEW THIS FILM!"

Check out the Loose Change Website and go to the evidence section for a quick look at what they're talking about.

The documentary itself - Hosted at Google Video

Related: Venezuelan Government To Launch International 9/11 Investigation
Related: Scholars For 911Truth Take On Fox News And Win Big

Man reports crap dope to cops

'Absolutely mediocre quality'
By Lester Haines
Published Tuesday 21st February 2006

In brief A German pothead was cuffed after reporting his dealer to cops for supplying seven ounces of "completely unenjoyable" weed.

Darmstadt resident Hans-Juergen Bendt, 52, complained of the "fraud" after the retailer refused to refund him the £270 he'd shelled out for "absolutely mediocre quality" toke. The police decided to ignore the serious allegation against the dealer and charge Bendt instead with buying and possession of drugs. ®

Source: theregister.com

Eww! Those dirty mouses!

February 17th, 2006 | Posted in Computer Technology by Leon Huang

The Korea Consumer Protection Board conducted a survey this week on 120 frequently touched items commonly found in public places. And guess what, computer mouses found in cyber cafes are ranked second most bacteria-infested among the 120 items, containing an average of 690 colony forming unit (CFU) of bacteria per 10cm². That is behind the 1100 CFU found on shopping cart handles, and double of the 340 CFU found on toilet doorknobs and handles.

Source and full story: HipTechBlog.com

mIRC 6.17

Posted by Howard Thomson on 18 February 2006

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a virtual meeting place where people from all over the world can meet and talk; you'll find the whole diversity of human interests, ideas, and issues here, and you'll be able to participate in group discussions on one of the many thousands of IRC channels, on hundreds of IRC networks, or just talk in private to family or friends, wherever they are in the world.

Download: mIRC 6.17 (UK Mirror) | US Mirror 1.29MB (Shareware)
View: Changelog | mIRC Website

Source and full story: neowin.net

First ever virus for Mac OS X discovered

OSX/Leap-A worm spreads via iChat instant messaging software
16 February 2006

Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have announced the discovery of the first virus for the Apple Mac OS X platform. The virus, named OSX/Leap-A (also known as OSX/Oompa-A) spreads via instant messaging systems.

... "Some owners of Mac computers have held the belief that Mac OS X is incapable of harboring computer viruses, but Leap-A will leave them shellshocked, as it shows that the malware threat on Mac OS X is real," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Mac users shouldn't think it's okay to lie back and not worry about viruses."

Source and full story: Sophos Antivirus

Seagate Announces 12GB Micro Hard Disk

Posted by David Reed on 16 February 2006

Seagate has announced a new 1-inch 12GB hard disk that is substantially smaller and faster than its current top of the line 8GB model. The ST1.3 series 12GB disk is 23 percent smaller, has a 50 percent greater capacity, and consumes 30 percent less power than its predecessor. The disk is designed for use in mobile phones and portable media devices. The drive is the second Seagate model to use perpendicular recording, and the first to do so in the 1-inch category.

The drive's small size of 40x30x5 mm allows for more streamlined media devices and is suited well for clamshell and candy bar style mobile phones. As part of its G-Force Protection system Seagate will also offer an optional drop sensor which will increase shock resistance 33 percent and help the drive survive a 1.5 meter or roughly five foot fall onto concrete or ceramic surfaces when properly mounted inside a device. In addition, Seagate's RunOn technology will keep the track heads aligned when the device is in motion.

The ST1.3 begins shipping in the third quarter of this year.

I found this at: neowin.net
Full story: Techtree.com

Sony sets price for Blu-ray discs

Wed Feb 8, 2006 5:13 AM ET
By Thomas K. Arnold

Sony Pictures announced pricing for its Blu-ray movie titles today, becoming the first major studio to do so. In addition, it announced plans to bundle multiple formats in a low-cost package, beginning with DVD/UMD bundles next month.

Catalog Blu-ray titles will wholesale at $17.95, which is roughly the same price that DVDs debuted at in 1997. New releases will wholesale for $23.45, a 15 to 20 percent premium over new release DVD titles. This is done to accommodate sell-through and rental markets, according to Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The discs should start appearing on store shelves in early summer.

Sony Pictures also announced a plan to bundle movies in different formats at a lower price point. Starting March 28th, it will release DVD/UMD (PSP disc) combo packages of six titles including "The Grudge" and "Resident Evil." Second wave titles, coming April 25th, include "Snatch" and "Ghostbusters," with a third set due in May. Combos will be priced at $28.95, which is considerably lower than the retail price for each format purchased individually.

I found this at: neowin.net
Full story: Reuters

BunnyKill 1, 2, and 3

These animations are pretty sweet. One bunny killing a bunch of other bunnies, lots of blood... just good wholesome entertainment. Check em out here at SpikedHumor.

Another source: AtomFilms (has advertisements but may have a faster download speed)

Chappelle tells Oprah: 'I wasn't crazy'

CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2006

(AP) Dave Chappelle told Oprah Winfrey he was stressed out and not crazy or on drugs when he abruptly left his hit Comedy Central show last spring during production.

In his first television interview since ditching "Chappelle's Show" in May, the comedian said that after he signed a $50 million deal for the third and fourth seasons in August 2004, too many people were trying to control him and his show.

"I wasn't crazy but it is incredibly stressful," Chappelle, 32, said during his appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that aired Friday.

... The status of his show has hung in limbo since May. Comedy Central announced in December that four half-hour episodes of "Chappelle's Show" -- based on what Chappelle taped before leaving the production -- will premiere in weekly airings this spring. A full season would have been between 10 and 13 episodes.

Source and full story: CBS News

CD anti-piracy firm vows openness

Monday, 6 February 2006, 10:55 GMT

The company behind controversial anti-piracy software installed on some music CDs says it will work to end security flaws found in its products.

SunComm's MediaMax software has been discovered covertly installing itself and can leave PCs vulnerable to attack.

The company has published a list of all CDs that use the software, and has pledged to make it easier for users to refuse installation, or to uninstall.

Source and full story: BBC News

Video Collection 2-5-06

UFO at WTC before 911 - [via SpikedHumor]
^^^ Gotta be fake but nicely done
Double Parachute Failure - [via SpikedHumor]
This Bus Ain't for Public Transportation - [via SpikedHumor]
Family Guy - Sucking Daddy's Nipple - [via SpikedHumor]
Close Call for Elderly Man at Rally Track - [via SpikedHumor]
Photo Booth Prank 3 - [via SpikedHumor]
South Park - Pre-School - [via SpikedHumor]
^^^ Season 8, Episode 11 - full episode
Bush Being Bush - [via SpikedHumor]

Man Tried To Sell Cocaine To Uniformed Deputy

Friday, February 3rd, 2006

Police in Orlando, Florida, allege that a dimwit tried to sell cocaine to an Orange County Sheriff's deputy (who was in full uniform, in his marked patrol car) on February 3rd.

That dimwit was Michael Garibay, who approached the car of Deputy Ed Johnson at a gas station and asked Deputy Johnson if he was, to quote the dimwit, "straight."

When Johnson said he was, Garibay was quoted as saying, "Do you know what that means? ... It means do you want to buy some cocaine."

When the deputy answered affirmatively, the dimwit showed him a plastic bag with what looked like flat white rocks and asked for cash.

A local newspaper reported that the deputy confiscated the bag and arrested the dimwit after the stuff inside the bag tested positive for nose candy.

Garibay was booked into the Orange County Jail on suspicion of cocaine possession with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, and marijuana possession with intent to sell.

Source: DumbCrooks.com

McDonald's Game

McDonald's Game - at SpikedHumor
Check it out if you're bored and have some time to kill.

Orem Man Reports Marijuana Stolen

January 31st, 2006 @ 12:06pm

(KSL News) -- Two people are in jail following a home burglary.

According to police reports, 18-year-old Kory C. Tippetts returned home Monday evening to discover that someone had broken into his house. Tippetts reported that a quarter-pound of marijuana was the only thing missing.

Tippetts told police he had an idea who might have stolen it. Tippetts explained to police that he had received a call earlier that day from 23-year-old Richard W. Hight. Hight wanted to buy some marijuana, but Tippetts couldn't meet him to make the sale.

Officers checked Hight's house, where they recovered six ounces of marijuana and arrested him for burglary, theft, and possession of marijuana in a drug-free-zone with the intent to distribute. He was booked into the Utah County jail.

With the stolen marijuana now in hand, the officers called Tippetts to come to the police station to identify the drugs. Tippetts came to the station, identified the drugs, and was then arrested and booked on drug related charges.

Source: KSL News

Video Collection 2-2-06

Laura Bush on George W. Milking a Male Horse - [via Here The Issues]
George W. Bush Allegedly Drunk - [via Here The Issues]
Kanye West's Infamous Speech - [via Here The Issues]
Police Officers Caught Looting - [via Here The Issues]
Bush "Not That Concerned" About Bin Laden - [via Here The Issues]
Weatherman from CNN Looses His Cool - [via Here The Issues]
How Not To Land - [via SpikedHumor]
Smoking Chimp - [via SpikedHumor]