Stricken down by a persistent summer flu, I have got time to browse the Internet in bed and tweak my system. Particularly the VNC remote desktop has been open a lot (upgrade of my server into Ubuntu Feisty Fawn did give some nasty errors and sorting them out has taken days — and the mail system still does not work). On more positive side, we finally got the digital video camera that I have been thinking about a lot. Originally I considered an AVCHD camcorder for the hi resolution benefits, but after looking a bit into the downsides (and price) of that technology, I decided to go for SD instead. The corder we got is Sony DCR-SR52E, a 32 meg hard disk model, which we picked up mainly for the interface: a touch screen and good usability makes this a nice choice for those occasional family clips. I have now tested the image quality and bundled software a bit, and (after some Vista specific upgrades) everything seems to be ok now. Projected to the large screen of my media room from a processed and compressed archive DVD the screen is blurry, but directly plugged into the living room television, I get sharp and colourful image. Some more tweaking is still needed to see what is the optimal way to archive. (These HDD camcorders use MPEG2-PS standard for recording, which means compression taking place when compared to DV tapes.) There would already have been some MPEG-4 camcorders on the market, aimed squarely at Youtubes and other net videos, and I suppose much of delivery to our extended families will also take place trough such online services. (Much easier for everyone involved if I send an email link rather than organise an entire evening of home video watching 😉
Category: media
media, culture and society
Blade Runner Ultimate
Yes, I am that much of a fanboy, I definitely could go for this — any more details available anywhere? This Binary Bonsai/EzyDVD leak still the only detailed data?
Disc 1 – The Final Cut (2007):
Ridley Scott’s definitive new version of his science-fiction masterpiece includes added & extended scenes, added lines and new and cleaner special effects.
Disc 2 – 3 Complete Film Versions:
‘82 U.S. Theatrical version
‘82 International Theatrical version
‘92 Director’s Cut
Disc 3 – “Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner” Documentary
Newly created documentary: Through interviews with the cast and crew, critics and colleagues, this feature-length documentary provides a mainstream-friendly yet meaningful in-depth look at Blade Runner’s literary genesis, its challenging production and controversial legacy. When all is said and done, this will be the definitive documentary on the film.
Disc 4 – Enhanced Content Bonus: (TBC)
INCEPTION – Featurettes and galleries devoted to Philip K. Dick, the birth of Cyberpunk and adapting the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
PRE-PRODUCTION – Featurettes and galleries devoted to script development, conceptual design and abandoned sequences.
PRODUCTION – Featurettes and galleries devoted to principal photography and locations.
POST-PRODUCTION – Featurettes and galleries devoted to deleted scenes, music and visual effects.
RELEASE – Featurettes and galleries devoted to marketing and reaction including Trailers, TV Spots and Promotional Featurettes
LEGACY – Featurettes and galleries devoted to the film’s resurrection and impact.
Disc 5 – Work Print Version & Enhanced Content:
Including the rarely seen Work Print version and potentially the 52 min. Channel Four (UK) documentary which was the first serious documentary created for the film.
Additionally, the set will come packaged in a limited “Blade Runner” briefcase holding the five-disc digipack with foil-enhanced and embossed slipcase. The goodies inside will include a lenticular motion image from the original feature, a collectible model spinner, an origami unicorn, a collection of photographs and a letter from Ridley Scott. Holy shit.
The street date is going to be in September. Unfortunately, the retailer is not taking international orders for this thing. However, don’t be too surprised if Region 1 gets the same thing. We’ll keep you posted.
Article on digital culture
My article discussing the character and development of digital culture has now been published in a new anthology that is focused on visual culture, titled Toisin katsoen, visuaalisen kulttuurin lukukirja (Gaudeamus, 2007). More on the book here. You can read a draft version of my piece “Viesti, kuva, peli: virtuaaliutopioista pelikulttuurien syntyyn” (in Finnish) here; if you quote, please access the final, printed version though.
Music for the masses
Listening and watching music yesterday evening in my ‘media cave’, I started again thinking about the value of ‘content’ and the current distribution models of music. According to some sources, already 95 % of CD sales in China are pirated, and the online distribution (legal and not-so) continues to grow in popularity (see references as http://cyberextazy.wordpress.com/tag/research-statistics/ http://www.bpi.co.uk/pdf/BPI_UK_Commercial_Music_Piracy.pdf http://www.riaa.com/news/marketingdata/facts.asp etc.). Looking at the ubiquity of mp3 players, the problems people are having with various copy “protected” legal disks and the hassle-free, cross-device use that is associated with non-protected digital music, it is easy to foresee that the strongly protective DRM road is problematic. If, on the other hand, a CD or a media file is more like an advertisement for the artist in the future, than the actual product people are willing to pay for, where the income is going to come from? Clicking through my collection with the Vista Media Centre, one alternative quickly became obvious: the added value of lyrics, high-resolution album cover art, additional media such as music videos and photo slideshows are surely something that would provide rich experiences for those who really become interested in the artist, after listening the music. There are multiple physical services and products that provide additional value to digital music, such as concerts and large-format printed materials, high-quality archive copies in well-produced DVD/Blueray formats that would still provide revenue for the industry and the artists, even if the business models are definitely going to undergo a transition.
New gaming machine specs
I have now the full specs for my suggested new gaming PC. Here is a quick rundown (skip this if not interested in current gaming PC gear; this is written mostly just as my own review notes):
The memory: two 1GT DDR2 800MHz, Vitesta, 240-pin DIMM from A-Data. It appears to have a lifetime warranty, which is encouraging. The full product specs from Taiwanese manufacturer are here: http://www.adata.com.tw/adata_en/product_show.php?ProductNo=AD2800U
The graphics card is another key element. That is coming from a company called EVGA, and the full title of the model is e-GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB/320Bit DDR3, PCI-E. Also this manufacturer claims to offer “lifetime warranty” for registered customers. The manufacturer specs are here: http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=640-P2-N821-AR&family=23 and the PDF spec sheet here: http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/640-P2-N821.pdf
The essential facts are: DirectX 10 (for Windows Vista Premium), SLI capable (good if you want to plug in another one and really go for the overkill), 240 Hz Max Refresh Rate, 2048 x 1536 x 32bit x85Hz Max Analog, 2560 x 1600 Max Digital; PCI-E 16X, two DVI-I outputs, and one HDTV (through a DVI-I, also a S-Video output in DIN-style, but not a HDMI). They also link to one online review: nV News’ EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS SLI Review (done in February, they were running two of these in SLI parallel mode): http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/evga_geforce_8800gts_sli/index.shtml
They conclude: “I won’t lie: when I first saw the (seemingly) “crippled” specs of the 8800 GTS, I scoffed at the thought of using one or two of those cards when the GTX has SO much more power. But after using these for the past few weeks, I can say without a doubt that these cards are amazing. The almost-free antialiasing in a number of games, the overall amazing picture quality and DirectX 10 support are just three of MANY reasons you should own an 8800-based card.” Well, ok, I think I can live with that for a while. Btw, if you want to see the tester being killed by a troll in The Dark Messiah, here is a video clip: http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/evga_geforce_8800gts_sli/video/dark_messiah.mpg
This is clearly mainly built to be a gamer’s card; the HDTV side is crippled since HDCP protected content can only be output in single-link DVI mode and only 1280×800 resolution is supported, which is a bit disappointing.
The disk will be a Samsung: 500GB Spinpoint T166, 3.5″, SATAII/300, 16MB, 7200RPM. The manufacturer specs are here: http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/SpinPointTSeries/HardDiskDrive_SpinPointTSeries_HD501LJ.asp
It is a rather cheap drive, hope it will last (no lifetime warranty here…) There seem to be no real reviews, but see e.g. http://www.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/product_id=29867541/id_type=masterid/
The optical reader / writer would be a LG: DVD+-RW DL LS, GSA-H12/22/42LRBB, 18x8x8x. They claim that this would burn a regular DVD in 5 minutes and support also burning dual-layer (8,5 GB) DVD burning (which is nice, because my stand-alone dual-layer burner is now broken). It is really difficult to find anything from LG’s own pages, but previous models have fared well in reviews. Here are some specs from a British store: http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/539205/art/lg/gsa-h42lrbb-internal-writ.html#
The CPU will an Intel: Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz, 4MB, FSB1066 Boxed (Conroe). Tom’s Hardware Guide is a good resource of information when you want to know more about processors; here is an Intel platform overview (dated, 2004): http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/07/19/looking_ahead_to_intel/
In 2006 they announced Core 2 Duo as the new king of the hill: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/07/14/core2_duo_knocks_out_athlon_64/
In a more recent article they compare Core 2 Duo to the Core Duo Extreme: http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/11/core-2-duo-overtakes-core-2-extreme/
This one is mostly interesting for those who will go into the overclocking game, but it appears that these “older” CPUs can actually outperform Intel’s top processors (in 1000-dollars range) by some proper overclocking. Hmm.
Game PC took a closer look at E6600 in last October:
http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=e6600&page=1
Their verdict? “The Core 2 Duo E6600 mixes together excellent performance at stock clock speeds, low power consumption, a robust feature set and lots of overclocking potential all at a very tolerable price point.” Nice.
Then into the motherboard: this will be an Asus P5B I965P S775 Core 2 Duo SATA2, FSB1066. A motherboard is a crucial component since it pretty much sets the limits for the peripherals, extendibility and overall reliability you can expect from your PC. The integrated audio chip and connectors might be setting limits to your audio experience. Tom’s Hardware gives you the quick overall idea: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/07/26/beginners_guide_to_motherboard_selection/index.html
As to this specific MoBo, you have the ASUSTeK manufacturer specs here: http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&model=1178&modelmenu=1
They also advertise the silence and power-saving features of P5B in a flash show from a “lifestyle” (home theatre) perspective: http://event.asus.com/2006/mb/P5B/index.html
The board also supports something called AI NOS (Non-delay Overclocking System) to boost performance: http://event.asus.com/2006/mb/P5B/ainos.html
The noise filtering system claims to rely on a bundled “Superbeam Array Microphone”: http://event.asus.com/2006/mb/P5B/crystalsound.html (wonder whether that will come bundled with my system?)
The audio part is important for my media room setup (as are of course the system bus, integrated chipset, processor and memory supports, heat control solutions etc.), and even if any serious audiophile would probably upgrade for a separate hi-fi audio card, I will be happy to test the integrated “8 channel HD audio” — at least it has the digital sound output through an optical/coaxial connector so that is a plus.
The motherboard is nothing spectacular, but again another pretty reliable-looking mainstream solution. More on different P5B versions: http://event.asus.com/2006/mb/P5B/models.html
Antec makes good power sources that I have been using also earlier, so I am happy this one also comes with one; Antec 430W, NeoHE 430, ATX2. This one won the MikroBitti 2/2006 power source comparison, so it should be ok (Antec has more efficient models these days, though). Powerful processors and particularly the graphics cards demand loads of electricity very fast, so this is another crucial, backbone part. The manufacturer page: http://www.antec.com/ec/productDetails.php?ProdID=05430# and see also Hardware in Review which writes about its energy efficiency in positive terms: http://www.hardwareinreview.com/cms/content/view/37/1/
The chassis is that part of PC that you will actually be looking and handling, so it would be good to have solid, well-equipped and well-designed one for my new system. In Jimm’s PC Store’s updated offer I have a newcomer specified: CoolMaster Elite 330 ATX. This is a rather basic case, but it has some nice details like the “tool-free” internal design and washable air filter: http://www.coolermaster.com/index.php?LT=english&Language_s=2&url_place=product&p_serial=RC-330&other_title=+RC-330+Elite%20330 and here’s the product sheet: http://www.coolermaster.com/installation_manual/Product_Sheet_(Elite330)_0328.pdf
I was long contemplating about getting a slick HTPC case with some proper AV style controls and connectors, but the price was in most cases ugly and there would have been some compromises in other areas (like expandability of the system) that made me finally go for a basic mini-tower.
Ok, that is pretty much it. The OS will be a MS Vista Home Premium Edition, but as I wrote earlier, there will probably be some multi-boot tweaking for this one. Or then I will just give up for all kind of tweaking altogether, and spend all my hard-earned summer vacation days (apart from the family business) just gaming, gaming, gaming! 🙂
Testing RSS feed with comments
As using a feed reader to follow blogs is becoming more and more common, I am testing a new way to integrate also comments into the blog entry feed. See: WordPress Plugin: Feed With Comments – Jeriko One.
Innocence
Right after Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell — manga (by Masamune Shirow) and the original movie (directed by Mamoru Oshii) — are among my all time favourites. Stylish and often confusing, they toy with numerous philosophically resonant themes and are invaluable for anyone drawn into exploring the elemental, often subconscious, relations humans have with their technologies. Bio Rex Distribution (Matila, Röhr & Nordisk Film) have made a real cultural service by importing into Finnish DVD markets the second full-length movie in the series, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. Possibly even more beautiful, even if a bit more slow in tempo, this is an essential work of late modern pop culture at its best. The low resolution YouTube trailer (actually the intro sequence) does not really convey its sophistication:
Test-driving Joost
One of the interesting things I have been playing with recently is the new Joost tv: an online, on-demand television style video service. It is rather easy to use, and even my old PC in downstairs almost manages to run it (time to upgrade, yep), but the content is the actual king here, of course. It has some anime, some very B-class science fiction, but the diversity seems to be increasing, so this system actually might have a chance. We’ll see.
Ambient Air working
Working on some book project deadlines this weekend, listening to ambient electronica — wonder if this Last.fm embed code for Air-type music would work here?
The Big Future of Games discussion in the Pelit Magazine
I noticed a few days ago that the special issue of Pelit Magazine is now out; it includes the long brainstorm discussion between me, Tony Manninen and Sonja Kangas on the future, including the next 15 years of development in game technology, design and culture. It was fun and intensive discussion, and runs several pages in the magazine — hope you enjoy it, too. See: Pelit.fi
frans goes blog 
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