check in
Minutes spent missing Facebook since quitting 4 days ago: 0. Minutes spent missing how easy it is to keep in touch with everybody: more. But so far it feels worth it. Still waiting for you, Diaspora.
critical thinking
HDMI hmm
I’ve been saying for ages that Monster cables exist only to part retards from their money, but even I have to admit I didn’t know much about HDMI. Here’s the HDGuru with more.
Inside the HDMI cable scam
Choosing the HDTV that’s right for you
For example, HDMI cables, no matter what the box says, only push 60Hz. For someone who fights nausea staring at a 60Hz CRT monitor for too long, that’s a revelation. The important distinction is that there’s none of the brain-melting flicker of CRTs in LCD technology, so a 60Hz pipe is apparently fine for anything all the way up to 1080p 3D.
That said, TVs abound with Hz ranges from 60 all the way up to 480. I don’t pretend to follow how these two technologies play together, but I do know that moving objects (or a panning perspective) look better on higher speed (Hz = refresh rate) screens. Or do they? Consider this:
For the best LCD picture, either traditional or LED backlit, choose one with either a 120Hz or 240Hz refresh rate. However, all 1080p plasma sets produce artifact free, full 1080 line motion resolution. Panasonic’s V and Z series plasmas offer a 96Hz refresh rate that produces images free of the judder found in all 60 Hz panels (plasma and LCD) without the artifacts associated with 120/240Hz LED/LCDs.
(from Choosing the HDTV that’s right for you)
Fascinating.
sweet sweet justice
Wired’s Threat Level reveals that Lifelock CEO Todd Davis has had his identity stolen 13 times. And his own company failed utterly to help him in any way.
This makes me happy, because Lifelock is useless garbage, and they lie. In March they were fined 12 million dollars for deceptive advertising (another Threat Level story). Just a big fat con – like Enzyte. Perhaps most comically, their own network was practically unprotected, leaving subscribers’ data open to pilfering.
What’s interesting for me is the continuing reinforcement of the fact that you don’t need to have a proven, working product to make a fortune. You just need advertising and the awareness of the laws you’re skirting. Oh – and a very low tide-line of morality. If you move fast and know when to get out, the system actually applauds your success.
Yep, that’s sad. On the other hand, caveat emptor is a very old idea too.
sweet sweet justice Read More »