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| The Direction of Technology: Progress or Social Decadence? | May 27, 2009, 7:34PM |
 by: Sgath |
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I have heard the argument before that science is dangerous, including all sorts of fear based and paranoid theories. One of the less irrational suggests that science may begin to expand so quickly that humans beings lose the very basis of their natures and society collapses or undergoes unwanted and rapid change(such as artificial intelligence, eugenics, total virtual addiction, etc). Is the slowing of scientific progress a viable option concerning the risk associated with more information, or will that information serve to mature our species and grant more wisdom of the universe around us? Sometimes I think the advance of science has very little to do with the wisdom of the public at large. The majority of humanity accepts as false many of the core foundations of scientific progress in the modern age such as quantum physics, evolution, and cosmology. Yet society continues to rely more and more on the very concepts which the majority of people ignorantly reject. With advances in weaponry and information exchange, does rapid technological change serve humanity as a whole when considering the history of and future possibility of destruction? | |
topic: Technology | |
[reply] [109 comments] |
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| Sucks to be the MPAA: DVD±R DL Drives | January 11, 2006, 1:03AM |
 by: eon |
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Anyone else getting a kick out of the fact that they are now making very good (and very cheap) dual layer (and double layer) DVD burners? I picked up a very nice Sony DVD±R DL drive for a mere $80 at my local Wally World. Other than the obvious practical uses for a CD that can store 8GB of data, this is also the first format that makes copying movie DVDs (DVD9 discs) simple and lossless. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who, a year or so ago, struggled with programs like DVDXCopy which tried to squish standard DVD9 movie discs onto the then standard DVD5 (single layer) burnt discs. It was an alright idea and made the best use of available technology at the time. The DVD5 disks held 4.38GB of data and the movie DVDs held up to 7.95GB. So programs like DVDXCopy would squash the video with high compression (some quality loss) to fit the movie onto a burnt disk. You also had the option of leaving out special features, versions, audio formats, etc. (ick) to help it fit with less compression or setting the movie up to span 2 burnt disks and having to switch them out to view certain features or formats (double ick!). Then came the MPAA with their armada of lawyers. They crushed 321 Studios (authors of the aforementioned software) in a long, nasty legal battle. Soon, it became pretty much impossible to find any software that would go anywhere near the topic of making movie DVD "backups". It seemed that greed ruled the day and even those of us who were innocently making backups of movies we legitimately owned (right, I know!) would be locked out in the cold. And that brings us back to my new Sony DRU-810A drive. It's a very simple matter to use programs such as Nero to make identical (perfect) copies of movie DVDs onto the new DL disks. To my experience, these disks play flawlessly in most of the newer (and lots of the older) set-top DVD players. No missing features, no degraded video, just a perfect copy of a regular movie DVD. Previously, a holy grail of sorts. Some of you will immediately interject with your "but, but! Most movie discs are encrypted and DVD copy software like Nero won't read encrypted discs!". To which I say, do a quick bit of research. Google for "DVD43" and yea, verily, the problem is solved. The MPAA will have a hard time stopping software which does the single job of decryption without actually making copies. Nero by itself can't do the dirty deed and DVD43 by itself can't do it either. Neither program alone is illegal so it's up to us to decide what to do when we just so happen to have both programs running on the same computer. I don't know about you guys, but I suddenly have a lot of perfectly legal "backing up" to do! A review of the drive. | |
topic: Technology | |
[reply] [11 comments] |
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| Videogame violence | December 14, 2005, 11:54PM |
 by: Satchell |
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Ok so the idea is that parents are starting to think that video game violence makes kids violent. It’s just a stupid idea. It might make stupid kids more violent but for the majority of the kids playing video games its fine. I have been watching violent films sense I could talk. My dad raised me to never attack first in a fight and always keep your cool. That I should subdue the opponent and not let it become a huge fight. I can watch very gory films and be fine with it. I can lop of limbs in video games and feel no different then when I started. Violent games and movies don’t make kids violent... the opportunity to learn right from wrong in a comfortable setting decides. Well for me it did. My dad always let me see whatever I wanted but he also taught me how to defend myself and how to use force correctly and when needed. The same thing with cursing... he used to try and pay me to say 'fuck.' I would never do it because I had morality as a little bugger. Then I learned that there is nothing wrong with cursing... so he taught me how to do it appropriately. Don’t treat your kids like little kids or they will grow up to know nothing but that. Feed their interests… not oppress them. That only leads to them doing whatever it is with their friends and not doing it properly. Of course videogames and movies program your brain. Everything you experience helps program your brain. When you did led in your hippy outfit it programmed your brain a certain way. When I play a video game I get right into it. I go into a mode that is unlike normal life. I can’t explain what I do in words because the moment I try to explain something as simple as jumping I freeze up. My hands just do it. That’s the programming its doing and not training you to be a ninja... though that doesn’t sound like a bad idea... ninjas are badass. If you play grand theft auto for 48 hours you aren’t going to want and go out and steal a nice car or shoot someone walking down the street. Don’t get me wrong I have had moments where I picture myself as in the game and me doing those things but it’s just for laughs and nothing more. Just because some kid played 007 and shot a guy does not mean 007 should be banned. It just means there is one more stupid fucker with access to guns. It’s sad really... to be blamed for other's actions. As a gamer I feel attacked by the media. Like I am going to go out and shoot someone just because I own a copy of halo 2. My mom thinks I am a video game addict just because I rather sit inside and shoot some bots than sunbathe. So please spread the truth. Stop the hate. Thanks Kris for this wonderful idea. | |
topic: Technology | |
[reply] [1 comment] |
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