Waxy.orgAndy Baio lives hereOscilloscope Fun and Games- February 13, 2008 As I mentioned yesterday, I got slightly obsessed with researching oscilloscope hacks yesterday, after seeing this jaw-dropping graphic demo released at Assembly 2007: The author released the audio files (FLAC and WAV), allowing other people to try it on their own hardware or software scopes and post the results. Continue reading...http://waxy.org/2008/02/oscilloscope_fu/ Highlights from the British MovieTone Darkweb- February 11, 2008 While researching oscilloscope art -- more on that tomorrow -- I stumbled on the MovieTone Digital Archive, an incredible and underrated online resource for vintage British newsreel footage from the 1930s to the late 1970s. Amazingly, it seems virtually unknown on the web, linked seven times on Del.icio.us and only 33 links in Google's index. It's almost certainly because of the registration wall, with no clear insight into what's hiding behind the curtain. But once you register (for...http://waxy.org/2008/02/highlights_from/ CNET to Shut Down Consumating- February 9, 2008 Just received word moments ago that Consumating, the niche dating community acquired by CNET in December 2005, will be shutting down next month. In the wake of the sale of Webshots to American Greetings, it appears that CNET couldn't find a buyer for the site and is no longer interested in maintaining it. Founders Ben Brown and Adam Mathes are no longer affiliated with Consumating, but they were the first to break the news two hours ago. "Just got word of the plan to turn off Consumating,"...http://waxy.org/2008/02/cnets_consumati/ An Assortment of Random Updates, Volume 1- February 7, 2008 I'm working on redesigning Waxy today, so no huge article. Instead, a roundup of brand new updates to posts from my first week of full-time blogging. Colin's Bear Animation Colin emailed to let me know that his inadequate former professor no longer works at the school. "They've hired a new professor this semester and he actually works at Alias," he wrote. "In only two weeks it has become very clear that we now have someone worth our parents' hard-earned cash." Also, by request, I found a...http://waxy.org/2008/02/an_assortment_o/ Origins of the "Plane on a Treadmill" Meme- February 7, 2008 By request of Waxy reader Logan Ingalls, I spent most of the day tracking down the origins of the Plane On A Treadmill physics puzzlememe. I figured this would be simple, but six hours later, I've combed through archives of the web, Usenet, magazines, academic journal, physics websites, and hundreds of discussion forums looking for the source. There have been a couple thought experiments that came close, but still different enough that they can't be considered the source. Jason Scott found.http://waxy.org/2008/02/origins_of_the/ Pirating the 2008 Oscars, Part 2- February 5, 2008 Yesterday, I released six years of piracy data for your bemusement and data munging. But what does it all mean Well, let's start with a couple questions. 1. Is the MPAA doing a better job at preventing screeners from leaking online It's hard to say. There are a couple weeks left, but so far, less than half of the 32 Academy screeners have leaked online. But yet, all but four three of the 34 nominated films are available in DVD quality right now, either as a screener or retail DVD. (Lars..http://waxy.org/2008/02/pirating_the_20_1/ Pirating the 2008 Oscars (Now with 6 Years of Data)- February 5, 2008 Every year, the Academy tries to stop Oscar films from leaking online. And every year, they leak all the same. I've been tracking Oscar piracy since 2004, but I've decided to up the ante, releasing all the underlying data and extending it to 2003. Six years of Oscar piracy data on all 186 nominated films from 2003 to 2008 -- including US release dates for Academy screeners, cams, telesyncs, R5telecines, screener leaks and retail DVD rips -- can all be viewed or downloaded below. See Part 2,.http://waxy.org/2008/02/pirating_the_20_2/ My First Week- February 2, 2008 This was my first week of daily blogging, so I thought I'd spend a moment to explain what I'm doing and why. Very few weblogs do any kind of original research on a daily basis. Most either spend their time repurposing (or just linking to) original research from mainstream media or other sources, or they do commentary and analysis. Their most important role is as information filters, distilling everything going on in the world relevant to their audience and presenting only the good stuff. ...http://waxy.org/2008/02/my_first_week/ Brent Spiner's Ol' Yellow Eyes is Back- February 1, 2008 I was writing a long, interesting article about the Microsoft and Yahoo! merger, with several interviews from insiders at both companies, but I'm already sick to death of hearing about it. So I quit! Instead, here's Brent "Data" Spiner's rare 1991 album, "Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back." Don't miss "It's a Sin (To Tell A Lie)," with background vocals by The Sunspots -- Jonathan "Riker" Frakes, Michael "Worf" Dorn, LeVar "Reading Rainbow" Burton, and Patrick "I've Seen Everything" Stewart. Brent.http://waxy.org/2008/02/brent_spiners_o/ |