Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

[sweetcell]

if pakistan can do it... so can india.  USA need not apply.
 
  India Gets WiMax
   

(...)
 
 Access will cost about $25 a month, which Prasad says is on par with wireline service.
 
 (...)
 
 Being first to market with a robust WiMax network could put an Indian stamp on the technology, says Sharma. He compares it to the support Europe and the U.S. have given to the cellular technologies GSM and CDMA. "India will take the lead in establishing WiMax as an Indian standard and a disruptive technology," he says.
 
 Problems besetting Sprint Nextel, WiMax's main champion in the U.S., mean Americans will have to wait to see a similar network. Says Ayvazian, "I'm not sure the U.S. will get anything significant out of [the Tata project] other than seeing how to rapidly deploy it in multiple cities."

[vansmack]

March Madness on Demand is 75% full
 
 I'd sign up now.

[vansmack]

The Democrats: "Wine-track vs. "Beer-Track"
 
 The contenders are battling over the soul of the Democratic Party
 
 A famous political distinction exists between �??wine-track�?� and �??beer-track�?� Democrats. Wine-track Democrats have traditionally supported reform-minded liberals such as Gary Hart and Paul Tsongas. Beer-track Democrats have preferred more practical-minded pols.
 
 Part of Bill Clinton's genius was to bring the wine-drinkers and beer-drinkers together. This was, after all, a man who went to Yale and Oxford but who grew up the child of a widow in the backwoods of Arkansas. Yet this year's Democratic primaries have burst the party asunder once again.

[godsshoeshine]

heh, i like both beer and wine, but no hard alcohol

[vansmack]

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
  heh, i like both beer and wine, but no hard alcohol

Lately, I've begun to drink equal amounts beer and wine, but the hard alcohol ban still exists for past sins.

[godsshoeshine]

i miss scotch a bit, but i suppose its for the best

[sweetcell]

really?  not even cognac?

[Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface]

I drink only from a very select list of spirits (available upon request), none of which are beer. So, I guess, I'm a wine-track guy.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
  i miss scotch a bit, but i suppose its for the best

The fact that that was post #500 in the things I think you all need to know it absolutely appropriate.  Better yet that is wasn't from me.
 
 And yes sweetcell, the ban applies to cognac too.  I can usually get special dispensation for cognac, but why waste it?  When I can have the 12 year old Tullamore, I drink the Dew.
 
 Believe us when we say it's for the best.

[Venerable Bede]

Originally posted by vansmack:
 
 Believe us when we say it's for the best.

false!  it's totally awesome walking down the middle of the street at 2 in the morning. . .at least the cable cars had stopped running, that would have been a problem.

[vansmack]

TVs reinforced for those smashing Wii games
 
 "Wii have a problem but we have a solution," jokes the Panasonic engineer. The problem is that gamers using the Nintendo Wii are smashing plasma TV screens if the remote slips from their grasp mid-game. The company's answer is to reinforce the screens by applying old-style TV tube-making technology.
 
 Old-fashioned cathode-ray tubes contain a vacuum, so they have to be made from a thick toughened glass to ensure they don't implode. Modern plasma and LCD screens have only a thin glass faceplate because although the cells inside the screen have to be protected from the air, they do not need a vacuum. So gamers using the motion-sensitive Wii remote to play tennis or golf games can crack the screen and ruin an expensive TV if they lose their grip.
 
 The Solution...

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
  false!  it's totally awesome walking down the middle of the street at 2 in the morning. . .at least the cable cars had stopped running, that would have been a problem.

Remaining safe and getting home are not the problem.  It's the Sternal Rub!

[godsshoeshine]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  TVs reinforced for those smashing Wii games
 
 "Wii have a problem but we have a solution," jokes the Panasonic engineer. The problem is that gamers using the Nintendo Wii are smashing plasma TV screens if the remote slips from their grasp mid-game. The company's answer is to reinforce the screens by applying old-style TV tube-making technology.
 
 Old-fashioned cathode-ray tubes contain a vacuum, so they have to be made from a thick toughened glass to ensure they don't implode. Modern plasma and LCD screens have only a thin glass faceplate because although the cells inside the screen have to be protected from the air, they do not need a vacuum. So gamers using the motion-sensitive Wii remote to play tennis or golf games can crack the screen and ruin an expensive TV if they lose their grip.
 
 The Solution...

this is my greatest fear. glad my 52 inch lcd made it through my scottish cup run unscathed. i had issues with rangers and celtic

[vansmack]

If this is true (and I don't beleive that it is) this would be a brilliant move on their part and could propel the HD download model to the forefront, far faster than Apple TV's 720 box.  I would be oh so happy!  
 
 Microsoft Not Discussing Blu-ray On Xbox 360
 
 Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is not in talks to add Blu-ray high-definition technology in the Xbox 360, an executive with the software maker told a British news agency on Wednesday.
 
 The comments of Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for the videogame console, to Reuters put a damper on reports that Microsoft would turn to Sony-backed Blu-ray following the demise of the rival format HD DVD.
 
 "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience," Greenberg told Reuters in a Wednesday interview.
 
 There's more...

[vansmack]

I'm spending the day at an entertainment industry conference and the speaker is talking about the market share of Walmart in DVD sales and the role they played in the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format war.
 
 Then it occured to me that the same argument can be made about Apple and its market share for digital downloads.  It's no wonder that hollywood hasn't embraced the digital download model for its movies - who wants to be beholden to Apple (read: Jobs) when it comes to digital distribution?  The music industry has well documented the history of its struggles with Apple and it's proprietray DRM and hollywood likely wants no part of it.  Apple only has deals with Disney, where Jobs is coincidentally the largest shareholder.