Comments for technopop: technology -v- culture ... abundant musicality ... and whatever else is on our minds

Comment on The Cloud -v- the Paradise of Infinite Storage by pyker

pyker — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:53:02 +0000

Allison Outhit misuses “RAM”.

>In other words, what’s the value of the cloud when the cost of storage is declining
>precipitously? Or, conversely, what’s the point in buying lots of storage — however
>cheap it is — when we all have access to the cloud pretty much whenever and
>wherever we want?)

I think it’s easier to see the benefits of each when you consider things other than music. The value of the cloud is the dealing with the syncing problem. Personal storage is great for music and distrust of the cloud. The biggest problem I see with the cloud is bandwidth and latency. US home bandwidth is pretty pathetic still. But whether distributed computing usage patterns are any different in Japan or South Korea, I don’t know.

Comment on R.I.Fucking.P. by zim

zim — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:51:08 +0000

wow, i’d missed that as well. rip indeed.

Comment on The trouble with “trends” journalism by pyker

pyker — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:05:36 +0000

Heh. You’ve identified the fundamental problem: lack of rigor when identifying “trends”. If anyone’s going to publish a trend story, I’d like to see some statistical confirmation that it is a trend. If not, no story. If it is, there’s a 99% chance I still don’t want to see it as a story, because trend stories are a bit like survey stories. You’re either telling me something I already know, or telling me about what other people are doing and I don’t care. Very occasionally a trend story works but only if (a) it’s a real phenomenon and (b) there is something interesting to be said about it.

Comment on The end of Top Gear? by pyker

pyker — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:04:40 +0000

Part of the charm of Top Gear is that some of the series, for no apparent reason, are a bit pants. That speculative article you cited is pretty weak. I thought it was clear he was talking about neither that particular car *nor* the show, but the “era” of cars like that. He’s given to that kind of melancholy, as he said the exact same thing a couple of years ago. Also the article seems to ignore that they mentioned, in the studio portion of the show, which was filmed much more recently than the aston spot, they casually mentioned being back in November.

I thought the series was weak, but I think I enjoyed a lot more moments than you did. E.g. the challenge of finding the perfect car for a teenager. And in that segment, my favorite bit was when they were at the office trying to get insurance quotes. I loved seeing them in action there, bantering, goofing off, working on the story. It’s the kind of thing you wouldn’t normally get to see in process, just the result. I also enjoyed seeing the stig photocopy his head in the background of that sequence.

You didn’t enjoy seeing James May get all quiet and flustered with his glamour model rally partner?

In any case, I predict they’ll be back, and I’m looking forward to it.

Comment on HP3: Now, that’s a film! by pyker

pyker — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:53:09 +0000

Ah, zim, you’re doing yourself a great disservice by not reading the books. I really recommend reading them all before you see any more of the films. Book 3, in particular, is just outstanding. Shame you can’t unwatch the third movie before reading it.

Comment on HP3: Now, that’s a film! by zim

zim — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:09:20 +0000

yes, i enjoyed #3, and also liked Goblet of Fire (can’t remember the #).

Gambon — meh. I’ve not read any of the books, so i have no great insight to what the character should be. I just find his character a little too much of a pushover, i guess.

Alan Rickman is probably my favorite; he seems to be having an absolute blast.

Comment on HP3: Now, that’s a film! by pyker

pyker — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:51:03 +0000

Did you notice all the animals? Even in random scenes you get crows hopping about. I didn’t notice it until I watched the extras on the DVDs. Details like that really added up. Agreed it is a great film. Gambon is still pants, however.

Shame Cuaron didn’t get to direct another one.

Comment on Blogging the Harry Potter films by pyker

pyker — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:57:42 +0000

I’m glad to hear you read the books first. I enjoyed the movies, but seeing them first does the books a real injustice. It’s the small moments and the humor that make the books for me, and those are mostly what get left out of the movies. The films make for good spectacle. They are better on the big screen, though.

Comment on Damascus Citizens’ Redemption? by pyker

pyker — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:09:56 +0000

Not looking good for the legislation — seems to be losing momentum in the face of industry lobbying.

Comment on Forwarded with minimal comment by Rick

Rick — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:38:08 +0000

I, on the other hand, am available only for taped interviews on a specific number of issues. I will grant consent for such an interview only if the request includes a correct guess the number. (Hint: It's a natural number.)