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Best Buy exec: Flat panel price drops are A-OK
As research reports and analysts continue to predict a sharp case of oversupply that will lead the plasma and LCD HDTV markets to drop sharply in price as manufacturers battle, Best Buy apparently doesn't see that as a problem (as consumers waiting to buy cheap flat-panels neither do we). Citing the much higher average price of the new TVs versus the screens they have been selling for the last several years, as well as their expectation that sales will accelerate as prices drop, the only problem Best Buy seems to have is getting enough in stock to sell. Apparently the World Cup created an American shortage as manufacturers shifted panels to eager European buyers.Enough talk about the coming flat-panel price crash, wake me when it happens. I've got a 42-inch widescreen spot on the wall just gathering dust. If prices don't drop soon I'll just have to...buy one at the current prices. In the face of that sort of threat, it is impossible to see how the industry can continue to hold out.
Best PSP driving game ever
So this is why that Gizmondo dude mutilated his $1 million Ferrari (other than street racing while drunk). Lumines on the sun visors.
Hospital server crashes under weight of music downloads
Don't look now, but the same folks that brought us the evils of podslurping, bluesnarfing and cellphone ID theft are at it again. The culprit this time: devious iPod users who stuff their workplace servers with downloaded music and videos. According to the Sun, a paragon of journalistic expertise, a UK hospital's server was brought to its knees by employees who filled it with so much music that there was no room left for crucial patient data. As one patient told the paper: "It’s a disgrace. How can they sit around downloading music when they should be looking after patients?" We couldn't agree more. We suggest that, in the future, hospital staff should only download music while looking after patients. And share the files with them as well. Nothing like a bit of Gnarls Barkley to brighten up the ward.[Via Network Endpoint Security News]
More minor security flaws in Mac OS X
Security-Protocols has discovered a few more minor security issues in Mac OS X that mainly pertain to how the OS and a few of its apps handle images and opening zip archives. From a quick glance through the listed errors, they pretty much amount to crashing an app, though a couple of the Safari issues cause "the application to crash, and or may allow for an attacker to execute arbitrary code."Apple has been notified of the issues and will apparently be fixing them in the next security update. As Tim Gaden at Hawk Wings (where I found this) says: the classic advice of being careful about what attachments and links you open and click on should keep your Mac humming along just fine.
Stability Issues and the Public Test Realms
US realms Bonechewer, Eldre'Thalas, Firetree, and Skywall were taken offline for a little less than an hour today for unspecified emergency maintenance. Checking the realm forums shows that all four realms have a collection of complaints about crashes and unexpected downtime this week, as well as a persistent rumor that the four realms live on the same server cluster as the public test realm - and thus experience heavy stability hits whenever the PTR goes live. While Blizzard doesn't release server information of this nature, it's an interesting coincidence that these realms seem to be having additional stability problems since the PTR came online again. Does anyone from these servers have an opinion on whether performance takes a hit when the test realm goes live? Without detailed technical information being released from Blizzard (quite unlikely) we may never know if this is actually the case - but in the lack of other information, educated guesses may be the best we can hope for in the way of news.
Stefan Eriksson charged with multiple counts
Guess whose favorite scandal-ridden carousing ex-gangster party animal Los Angelean Swede just got charged with felony counts of embezzlement, grand theft auto, driving under the influence, and illegal possession of a firearm by felon? You got it, Stefan Eriksson. who supposedly faces 14 years in prison, if found guilty. What, you didn't think someone this shady was going to go about his business forever more without further question after that fateful evening last February, did you? Oh, and FYI, the handsome, mysterious Dietrich -- the man accused by Eriksson of driving the $1m Enzo into the pole at 160mph -- continues to evade capture, despite prosecuters' claims he does not exist. We have just received word, however, that he was spotted late last week attempting to cross the Canadian border in a Groucho Marx disguise and Ferrari PowerWheels.[Thanks, Alex B]Update: Apparentl Eriksson pleaded not guilty and was held on $5.5m bail. Yo, dudes at Xero Mobile, you wanna help a brother out? Thanks, Freddy.
HDTV Listings for April 13, 2006
What we're watching: She's no Dennis Haysbert, but Geena Davis returns in a new episode of Commander in Chief tonight. Usually we'd opt for the Earl/The Office 1-2 combination however they are stuck in repeats, but if you somehow missed the "dundies" episode of Office do yourself a favor and check it out anyway. Luckily UPN is filling with all new shows, starting off with Everybody Hates Chris.There is also a replay of the unfortunately-cropped Crash on Showtime and for sports fans you can choose from MLB action on INHD or a doubleheader of basketball on TNT-HD.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
Lionsgate delays Blu-ray movies
Just as our own Ben was lauding the release of top tier titles like Best Picture winner Crash on Blu-ray, Lionsgate turns around and delays all of it's Blu-ray releases. The movies were scheduled to be released on May 23 along with the offerings from Sony Pictures, but instead will be on hold until June when Samsung is releasing their first Blu-ray player.Confirmed Lionsgate Blu-ray titles: Lord of War, The Punisher, Devil's Rejects, Saw, T2: Judgment Day, Reservoir Dogs, Total Recall, Dune, Rambo: First Blood, See No EvilThe second wave of titles they had previously announced for June are now on hold indefinitely. This is probably to be expected after the Samsung delay became official, but it doesn't make it any easier to swallow.
Urgent Maintenace
Tseric informs us that the realms Aegwynn, Akama, Chromaggus, Draka, Drak'thul, Garithos, Hakkar, Khaz Modan, Jubei'Thos, Kul Tiras, Korgath, Malorne, Mug'thol, Runetotem, and Thorium Brotherhood have been taken down for urgent, but unspecified, maintenance. Further the continent of Kalimdor seems to be having serious technical difficulties - reports in the general forums suggest that the continent may be crashing (or causing player disconnects) as frequently as every thirty seconds. Ouch. Thank goodness there's a lot of cool stuff in the Eastern Kingdoms - just hope you didn't log out in the wrong place...
That's what you get for installing Windows!
In the tradition of "The Crash" feature on Japan's Impress Watch site, we present this very sad case: a PowerBook that has seen much better days. However, as shown here, it still runs when hooked up to an external keyboard and monitor. So, don't feel sorry for this Mac's owner. Just think of him as the ultimate case modder, who managed to turn an old laptop into a desktop using nothing but a Hummer H2.[Via TUAW]
WoW Moviewatch: World of Computercrash
Alright, I get ticked off when I'm playing video games just like anybody else, and there have been dozens of times that I wanted to pound my keyboard into a pulp & toss it out the window...but unlike you & me, this kid actually does it. I haven't seen this much unbridled rage since Howard Dean; I guess Ritalin hasn't made it to certain parts of Europe yet. Have some earplugs ready for this one...
HDTV Listings for April 2, 2006
What we're watching: Crash, the Academy Award Winner for Best Picture premieres tonight at 8 on Showtime. It's got plenty of competition however, with new episodes of Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Sopranos and Cold Case all at the same time. We'll probably be checking out even more Final Four action as the women go at it tonight on ESPN-HD.Of course, you can always check out the second part of Jeremy Piven's Journey of a Lifetime on Discovery. So many choices, so few tuners on the DVR.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
DrunkenBlog discovers another image that crashes WebKit
Wanna have some fun with Safari (or apparently any WebKit-based browser), a certain picture, and a post at the DrunkenBlog? Apparently, drunkenbatman has come across another image that can crash WebKit and anything based on it, including the Finder and Preview.If you want the full rundown, head over to the DrunkenBlog post using something like Firefox, Camino or Opera - just not Safari, OmniWeb or any other WebKit-based browsers. If you visit the post in Safari, it will crash; this has been tested in the latest 10.4.5 update on both PPC and Intel versions. Also, whatever you do, do not download the image to your desktop, especially if (like me) you have the Finder option to "show icon preview" turned on. It'll crash Preview and send Finder into a constant crashing/restart cycle.Like I said, you can get the full, in-depth rundown (and I mean in-depth) on this issue and its specifics at the DrunkenBlog.
