[eke2k6]

Quote:

Ever read Darwin's Radio and Darwin's Children by Greg Bear? Great stories.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin's_Radio

 
I'm not sure how that applies here, and half of my higher education is based on genetics.
 
All I'm saying is that we're actively killing ourselves and our descendants, and it would be nice if we stopped letting politicians with corporate interests prevent agencies like the EPA from doing their jobs.
 
I see your fictional story, and I'll raise you a factual one:
 
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_River#Environmental_concerns
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion
 
What the ozone layer protects us from:
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-ionizing_radiation
 
When the ozone layer is depleted, there will be nothing to filter out the ionizing rays of the sun, and then those rays will come through with enough energy to actually break the phosphate backbones of our DNA. It may/may not happen in our lifetime, but I'm sure you don't want your grand/great grand children to experience such a world.

 

[DigitalFreak]

An the diary club is alive and well and buzzing away while I was at work.
 
Rather funny everyone on here is talking about phones considering today and yesterday I had a chance to demo the new iPhone 5 and the SIII.
 
I shot by the Apple store yesterday and played around with the new iPhone. It took awhile for me to get a display model in my hand because the freaking store was overflowing with fan boys/girls swooning all over the new phone. The first thing that surprised me about the phone was the weight meaning it weighs absolutely nothing in your hands. The materials especially the back are rather nice and at first glance I'm guessing it's not going to be as scratch prone or a finger print magnet like the other generations were. As for the screen.....I'm going to be blunt. What's the freaking big deal it's just a longer 4 inch screen? There were people comparing their old iPhone to the new one and grinning saying "oh man it's so huge". Okkayyyyyy whatever floats your boat people. The screen mystery aside I do have to admit it did seem like a very nice phone with a nice snappy responsive UI to match. I tried playing around with the camera and was impressed with the panoramic photo capabilities. Seeing the new iPhone minus it's trademark 30 pin connector made it look rather weird in my eyes. The new connector will take some getting used to.
 
The SIII is a nice piece of hardware. It feels solid in the hand and although light it' still has a little bit of weight to it. The over sized screen and it's vivid colors really draws a persons eye when you first hold it. I can see this handset being a big draw for the media whores who collect all kinds of high res video and pictures. The camera on the SIII didn't impress me at all. I took various pictures and if they weren't overly saturated they were overly dark. If those two problems didn't pop up I would then get pictures that were blurred. I don't know, maybe the display unit was malfunctioning. Overall though I would also rate the SIII as a good phone.
 
@MuppetFace
Sorry to hear about your vintage headphone troubles and hopefully it all works out in the end. As for your post involving the MX-4 core reading the specs and looking around some of the Android sites which reviewed the phone I'm sure it's not a bad phone. From what I've read the screen could use a little more work specifically pixel density could be a little better but I'm sure it will do it's job well enough. Spec wise I also noticed it had the same processor as the SIII which means the MX-4 can keep up pretty good alongside the giants in the Android world in the speed category. Here's the thing, in the Android world, Apple world and general handset world that phone really isn't a big deal. Yes it has toslink and probably does sound fantastic when compared to other Android handsets but it's still not a big deal to Android enthusiasts. The fact that it looks iphonish will probably be a big turn off to many. The fact that it doesn't have expandable memory will be a huge turnoff to most people who use Android. Look at the specs and watch some video showing what the SIII can do and you'll see what I mean. The SIII is currently the cutting edge in the Android spec and functionality arsenal while the MX-4 just sounds better then the average handset. People like us will care that it sounds good but Android enthusiasts won't. Matter of fact I can almost guarantee you if a Android fanatic ever decided to order that phone the first thing they would probably do is root it wipe out whatever customization Meizu has on it and either install stock Android or a custom ROM of their choice.

 

[333jeffery]

I just wish the environmentalists understood the Laws of Conservation. Maybe they would then be able to come up with better solutions.
 
A headphone question: I want to upgrade from my Sennheiser HD600's, and was wondering if my only choices are the HD650 or the HD700/800? I like the Sennheiser sound with my Lyr and Bifrost, and would want something similar to them.

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

I'm curious, are there any good podcasts people listen to here?
 
I probably spend as much if not more time listening to podcasts rather than music, and I'm always keen on new discoveries. I actually envy the US public radio system since it seems to produce a diversity of such interesting content.
 
 
 

 
Asides from a couple of mostly forgettable tech news podcasts, there are two that I enjoy that actually encourage thinking ....which is becoming a lost art, I sometimes think.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/common-sense-with-dan-carlin/id155974141

Common Sense with Dan Carlin is an independent look at politics and current events from popular New Media personality Dan Carlin. Carlin's self-described "Martian" viewpoints infuse each episode with a political alien's take on the world around us and the problems it faces. It's a smart, unique (and admittedly U.S.-centric) program that doesn't dumb down the information or analysis for the slowest person in the room. Carlin's rapid-fire staccato voice has been compared to William Shatner after too many espressos. That, plus his penchant for making everyone in the audience mad at him eventually, makes for a witch's brew of a podcast that is not for everyone. But for those craving a deeper intellectual analysis, a less partisan approach and unpredictable outside-the-box revelations, Common Sense with Dan Carlin is a feast for the mind.

Since so many of the news media outlets are biased, either to the right (ex. Fox News) or to the left (ex. MSNBC), this is refreshing because Carlin calls out both sides for their failures.
 
 
And the other one, from the same fellow....
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dan-carlins-hardcore-history/id173001861?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

In "Hardcore History" the very unconventional Dan Carlin takes his "Martian", outside-the-box way of thinking and applies it to the past. Was Alexander the Great as bad a person as Adolf Hitler? What would Apaches with modern weapons be like? Will our modern civilization ever fall like civilizations from past eras? This is a difficult-to-classify show that has a rather sharp edge. It's not for everyone. But the innovative style and approach has made "Dan Carlin's Hardcore History" a New Media hit.

 

[veyrongatti]

Quote:

An the diary club is alive and well and buzzing away while I was at work.
 
Rather funny everyone on here is talking about phones considering today and yesterday I had a chance to demo the new iPhone 5 and the SIII.
 
I shot by the Apple store yesterday and played around with the new iPhone. It took awhile for me to get a display model in my hand because the freaking store was overflowing with fan boys/girls swooning all over the new phone. The first thing that surprised me about the phone was the weight meaning it weighs absolutely nothing in your hands. The materials especially the back are rather nice and at first glance I'm guessing it's not going to be as scratch prone or a finger print magnet like the other generations were. As for the screen.....I'm going to be blunt. What's the freaking big deal it's just a longer 4 inch screen? There were people comparing their old iPhone to the new one and grinning saying "oh man it's so huge". Okkayyyyyy whatever floats your boat people. The screen mystery aside I do have to admit it did seem like a very nice phone with a nice snappy responsive UI to match. I tried playing around with the camera and was impressed with the panoramic photo capabilities. Seeing the new iPhone minus it's trademark 30 pin connector made it look rather weird in my eyes. The new connector will take some getting used to.
 
The SIII is a nice piece of hardware. It feels solid in the hand and although light it' still has a little bit of weight to it. The over sized screen and it's vivid colors really draws a persons eye when you first hold it. I can see this handset being a big draw for the media whores who collect all kinds of high res video and pictures. The camera on the SIII didn't impress me at all. I took various pictures and if they weren't overly saturated they were overly dark. If those two problems didn't pop up I would then get pictures that were blurred. I don't know, maybe the display unit was malfunctioning. Overall though I would also rate the SIII as a good phone.
 
@MuppetFace
Sorry to hear about your vintage headphone troubles and hopefully it all works out in the end. As for your post involving the MX-4 core reading the specs and looking around some of the Android sites which reviewed the phone I'm sure it's not a bad phone. From what I've read the screen could use a little more work specifically pixel density could be a little better but I'm sure it will do it's job well enough. Spec wise I also noticed it had the same processor as the SIII which means the MX-4 can keep up pretty good alongside the giants in the Android world in the speed category. Here's the thing, in the Android world, Apple world and general handset world that phone really isn't a big deal. Yes it has toslink and probably does sound fantastic when compared to other Android handsets but it's still not a big deal to Android enthusiasts. The fact that it looks iphonish will probably be a big turn off to many. The fact that it doesn't have expandable memory will be a huge turnoff to most people who use Android. Look at the specs and watch some video showing what the SIII can do and you'll see what I mean. The SIII is currently the cutting edge in the Android spec and functionality arsenal while the MX-4 just sounds better then the average handset. People like us will care that it sounds good but Android enthusiasts won't. Matter of fact I can almost guarantee you if a Android fanatic ever decided to order that phone the first thing they would probably do is root it wipe out whatever customization Meizu has on it and either install stock Android or a custom ROM of their choice.

Theoretically shouldnt the Meizu be faster then the S3 though? 

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

Theoretically shouldnt the Meizu be faster then the S3 though? 

Why would you think that?

 

[barleyguy]

Quote:

I just wish the environmentalists understood the Laws of Conservation. Maybe they would then be able to come up with better solutions.
 
A headphone question: I want to upgrade from my Sennheiser HD600's, and was wondering if my only choices are the HD650 or the HD700/800? I like the Sennheiser sound with my Lyr and Bifrost, and would want something similar to them.

The HD650s aren't a definitive upgrade from the HD600s.  They are different, but some people like them better, some worse.  The HD700 has had mixed reviews.  The HD800 is a definitive step up, but they are also much harder to drive, so you'd want to try a pair with your setup before spending $1500 on them.  Luckily they are strangely common in this community, so you should be able to find a meet where you can take your rig out and plug a pair into it.
 
The Lyr should be really great with orthodynamics, like the HE500, HE4, LCD2 or LCD3.  They will have a very different character from the HD600s, but you might really like it.  Orthos have really liquidy midrange that makes voices sound very involving, and the large orthos have great bass as well.  The disadvantage of the modern orthos is comfort and build quality.  The high end Sennheisers are more comfortable and have more consistent quality.
 
.02

 

[veyrongatti]

Quote:

Why would you think that?

Same CPU same GPU but smaller screen so the GPU has to do less work? 

 

[barleyguy]

Quote:

Same CPU same GPU but smaller screen so the GPU has to do less work? 

Only if it's lower resolution, and only for certain applications.  Web browsing for example is pretty resolution independent because the content is the same either way.  So in that case it won't make any difference.  Some games are rendered differently for different resolutions, so that would be case where lower resolution would be faster.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

A headphone question: I want to upgrade from my Sennheiser HD600's, and was wondering if my only choices are the HD650 or the HD700/800? I like the Sennheiser sound with my Lyr and Bifrost, and would want something similar to them.

 
The 700 and 800 sound pretty different from each other and from 600.  The HD650 is mostly a more laid back a side-grade.
 
The 800 is a definite upgrade but they're a good deal brighter.  The HD700 is what would happen if Skynet based the T-800 terminators on the Grado RS1 instead of a human being.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

The HD700 is what would happen if Skynet based the T-800 terminators on the Grado RS1 instead of a human being.

 
I have to say, that is one of the more indecipherable analogies I've ever come across lol. 

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

  I'm curious, are there any good podcasts people listen to here?

 
Nice choices. I also listen to Marketplace (Kai Ryssdal has a great radio voice) and All Things Considered.

 

[jgray91]

It doesn't get a whole lot slimmer than my RAZR V3 and it has a removable battery.  And that's after it's folded closed.

It's those giant screens.  No matter how thin you make it it will still be rigid with a wide and tall enough face that it hogs your whole pocket anyway which is my real issue.  I wonder if there's some sort of formula for pocket deformation and efficient use of the available volume...

Of course. The screen layers. How did I forget something that obvious.

I'm curious, are there any good podcasts people listen to here?

I probably spend as much if not more time listening to podcasts rather than music, and I'm always keen on new discoveries. I actually envy the US public radio system since it seems to produce a diversity of such interesting content.

Some of the ones I listen to that I would recommend, though some are probably pretty common, are:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

This American Life (of course) Human interest and at times journalistic, this is probably the closest I will get to talking to a lot of people in one lifetime and getting some different perspectives. A good episode: NUMMI, an hour length episode about the ill-fated but brilliant joint production facility between Toyota and GM

Radiolab Absolutely brilliant little pop science podcast with two hosts with amazing chemistry and interesting outlooks. One is an atheist and the other is religious, but both seem absolutely dedicated to making science fun. A good episode: Lucy, an episode primarily about a family's attempt to live with a chimpanzee.

Freakonomics From the guys who made the book of the same name, pop economics podcast. A good ep: The Suicide Paradox, an economic and cultural analysis of suicide.

Planet Money Another pop economics podcast, where the bubbly hosts do silly things like buy toxic assets and then try to follow them through the economy. A good ep: How Four Drinking Buddies Saved Brazil, how the government dealt with the problem of inflation in Brazil.

The Truth Radio plays! Oddly my sister finds all radio plays frightening. A good ep: Tape Delay About a date that goes horribly wrong and a man's attempt to fix it in some form. Also, this is wonderfully hilarious: Everybody SCREAM! Wars at a spin class.

The Moth Storytelling podcast. People get up and tell life stories. Some of them are pretty incredible. A good ep: Victim's Impact, one man's account of the aftermath of a brutal gang attack he suffered and his chance to address his attackers in court. This is somewhat harrowing but good humoured as well.

The Complete Guide to Everything, A podcast where essentially guys complain about things and insult each other in hilarious ways, all in the guise of delivering a comprehensive review of whatever they choose for the week. I put this on in the background, its oddly reassuring.   A good ep: Kim Jong Il, you can imagine what it's about.

Looking at what you listen to mostly, I don't think what I listen (more watching really) would be interesting to you. But for the sake of sharing, I listen (watch) The Game Station podacst. More funny talk show that happens to discuss about gaming news and opinions. Also back a while ago, I listened to the Engadget podcast back when it was the original crew. So it's a given that I followed them to The Verge and listen to both the regular podcast and the mobile podcast. Be that as it may, the Apple fanboyism is just too much for me sometimes so I just dropped it.

I'm curious, are there any good podcasts people listen to here?

I only started listening to podcasts recently and I have a habit of going through all the archives too.

Currently working on The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.

That seems funny and interesting. Having a go then.

An the diary club is alive and well and buzzing away while I was at work.

Rather funny everyone on here is talking about phones considering today and yesterday I had a chance to demo the new iPhone 5 and the SIII.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I shot by the Apple store yesterday and played around with the new iPhone. It took awhile for me to get a display model in my hand because the freaking store was overflowing with fan boys/girls swooning all over the new phone. The first thing that surprised me about the phone was the weight meaning it weighs absolutely nothing in your hands. The materials especially the back are rather nice and at first glance I'm guessing it's not going to be as scratch prone or a finger print magnet like the other generations were. As for the screen.....I'm going to be blunt. What's the freaking big deal it's just a longer 4 inch screen? There were people comparing their old iPhone to the new one and grinning saying "oh man it's so huge". Okkayyyyyy whatever floats your boat people. The screen mystery aside I do have to admit it did seem like a very nice phone with a nice snappy responsive UI to match. I tried playing around with the camera and was impressed with the panoramic photo capabilities. Seeing the new iPhone minus it's trademark 30 pin connector made it look rather weird in my eyes. The new connector will take some getting used to.

The SIII is a nice piece of hardware. It feels solid in the hand and although light it' still has a little bit of weight to it. The over sized screen and it's vivid colors really draws a persons eye when you first hold it. I can see this handset being a big draw for the media whores who collect all kinds of high res video and pictures. The camera on the SIII didn't impress me at all. I took various pictures and if they weren't overly saturated they were overly dark. If those two problems didn't pop up I would then get pictures that were blurred. I don't know, maybe the display unit was malfunctioning. Overall though I would also rate the SIII as a good phone.

That's what she said. Juvenile jokes aside, yes, I agree with you. I've yet to hold any iPhone 5 in my hands, but I don't see how a evolutionary device is all that amazing. Sure the back is now a little bit uglier but more durable than previously. And sure the screen is a touch bigger (actually the same screen dimension as my 808 PureView). Yay one more row for apps!

 

[jgray91]

Also here's an interesting comparison between all the flagship smartphones: http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/15733_Flagship_head_to_head_Nokia_80.php

Of course this would come with a Symbian, and Nokia in general, bias, but I can see that where it matters, the author tried his best to not let his love for Symbian to skew the results much. All in all though, i think that one should use this more as a table of data than as a scoreboard of winning features. YMMV.

 

[veyrongatti]

Quote:

Only if it's lower resolution, and only for certain applications.  Web browsing for example is pretty resolution independent because the content is the same either way.  So in that case it won't make any difference.  Some games are rendered differently for different resolutions, so that would be case where lower resolution would be faster.

Yay im right................. for the first time in my life