Disqus - Latest Comments for Matt Cline

Re: Video Placebo: Is that Really HDTV You Are Watching?

Matt Cline — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 18:11:49 -0000

Heh, amusing idea.

That said, we got a new HD-ready 30" CRT about 6 months ago. We aren't getting HD signal yet, but we needed a new TV and figured that anything worth getting should be HD-ready. And damned if this sucker doesn't display regular, standard-def TV sharper than I've ever seen it. Yeah, it's 480i, but it looks a helluva lot better than my mother-in-law's 2-year-old non-HD-ready TV.

So I don't think this is entirely placebo. This HD-ready set has better video quality even at SD resolution.

Re: The SlingBox, Space-Shifting and the Future of Broadcasting

Matt Cline — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 14:43:11 -0000

Personally, I can't stand most local news.

Some D.C. local news is OK. But here in Madison WI, local news *sucks*. I've not been terribly impressed with Chicago's local news either.

If local broadcast affiliates die, I for one won't shed a tear. Having a TV station locally adds no value for me.

Re: Television Wants to be Free

Matt Cline — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 09:47:16 -0000

Actually, product placement is starting to fall out of favor with a lot of marketers. The reason is very simple: it doesn't seem to do any good.

Re: We’re All PC Users Now

Matt Cline — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 11:00:18 -0000

MikeT:
Actually, BootCamp is not "hosting" Windows at all. BootCamp sets up Intel Macs to dual-boot. You can hold down a key on the keyboard to choose between Windows and Mac OS.

By "hosting", you seem to be thinking about something like Virtual PC. That's another valid approach to running Windows on a Mac, but it's not what BootCamp does.

Developing an API compatibility layer is a *huge* job. (Among many other reasons, the Windows APIs are moving targets.) And it's not at all clear to me that it's in Apple's interests anyway.

Re: OJ Simpson Open Source

Matt Cline — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:38:28 -0000

Surely that's better than a market where only a few, rich corporations have total control over the DRM.

You think Sun is poor?

Re: The Technology Liberation Front » Archive » How Net Neutrality Regs Could Threaten Online High-Def Video

Matt Cline — Tue, 09 May 2006 11:45:00 -0000

Wow, Barry, you haven't been reading TLF very long, have you? :) I ask because plenty of posts here have gone into some detail about what's wrong with NN regulation. In brief:

You say that ISPs will abuse their customers. Find me a case where this has actually happened. There's only one that I know of, a small-fry shop in North Carolina, and the matter was quickly settled. If anti-competitive behavior by ISPs becomes a widespread problem, then yes we should take steps to remedy it. But it's not a problem right now. Why solve a problem that doesn't exist? Don't we have enough work to do solving problems that already exist?

We have no NN regulation right now. If ISPs were going to abuse their customers as you describe, why aren't they doing it already?

Furthermore, we already have a "truly competitive marketplace in telecommunications and entertainment". At least, the market is more competitive than it has been in, like, ever. NN regulation likely won't make the market more competitive. If existing communications regulations are any guide, it will make the market less competitive.