Jun 16

Apple patent application highlights location-based social networking, encourages intimate pinging

Posted in: Apple, Books, itunes, Movies, Music, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, social networking, SocialNetworking, Today's Chili

Making friends is hard. Apple knows this. In fact, the company outlined such difficulty in a newly surfaced patent, highlighting the sort of “long and awkward conversation” sometimes required to discover common interests. The patent application, filed back in late-2009, describes a location-based social network that helps users discover people in their vicinity, based on common interests like books, movies, and, naturally, music. Of course, Cupertino already dipped its toes in the social networking waters with the iTunes-based Ping, which, in spite of initial excitement, failed to really capture the imagination of Apple’s dedicated base. And this isn’t the first time the company has flirted with the idea of location-based social networking either, as a patent that surfaced halfway through last year can attest. The company has clearly learned its lesson with this one, however, and that lesson is: more drawings of women winking and references to Springsteen songs in the application process.

Apple patent application highlights location-based social networking, encourages intimate pinging originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Mac Rumors  |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 10

Roger Ebert’s Great Movies app hits iOS devices, pulls you from your Netflix-recommended slump

Posted in: app, film, ios, ipad, iPhone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, Movies, Today's Chili
Struggling to decide on a few movies to watch this weekend? Then you can always peruse the solid suggestions offered by Roger Ebert’s ongoing Great Movies series, which is now available in convenient app form for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (though not optimized for iPad, unfortunately). In addition to over 300 reviews from Ace in the Hole to Yojimbo, the app offers stills and fully searchable details for each film in the series, plus links to add a movie to your Netflix queue or buy it from Amazon, and the ability to make your own lists of what you’ve seen and what you want to see. There’s still no indication of a release for Android or other platforms just yet, but iOS users can grab the app right now for $0.99 via the iTunes link below.

Roger Ebert’s Great Movies app hits iOS devices, pulls you from your Netflix-recommended slump originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink @ebertchicago (Twitter)  |  sourceiTunes  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 08

How to Text at the Movies Without Being a Dick

Posted in: Movies, Today's Chili, top

The taboo against talking on your phone during movies is at this point about as socially established as our rules against eating each other alive, socks with sandals, or marrying our parents. But what about movie texting? Let’s explore. More »

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Jun 07

CineXPlayer Adds 3-D Conversion, Now 100% Less Ugly

Posted in: ipad, Movies, Software and Operating Systems, Today's Chili

Despite its oddly intercapped name CineXPlayer is a great DIVX movie player

iPad movie player CineXPlayer has just gotten a big update. Version 2.1 not only adds some features, it gives my go-to XVID movie app a much-needed lick of paint.

CineXPlayer lets you load up your iPad with all those movie files and TV shows you — ahem — acquired legally. It’ll play pretty much any format you throw at it (AC3 sound isn’t supported). Just drag the movie files into the app via iTunes and you’re good to go.

There are plenty of other apps that do this, but CineXPlayer stands out for its stability and its excellent support for subtitles. Drop an SRT file in and you can select it to playback over the movie. Font size is adjustable and the text rendering is clear and smooth. And if the subtitle file has the same name as the movie file, they get paired up automatically.

One thing CineXPlayer wasn’t was pretty. Movies appeared in an ugly, text-only list and when you hit the “help” button, you were treated to a super-cheesy video featuring either the developer or the developer’s friend. This was enough to get me to buy and try many prettier apps.

Now, though, CineXPlayer has an icon view (although the text labels are horrible) and proper help pages. It also has search, draggable subtitles and the thumbnails show a frame from where you are in the movie (the app remember your position for you).

It also has — via in-app purchase — live 3-D conversion. You can choose between two kinds: anaglyph (red and blue/green) or “grilli 3-D.” This cost an extra $2. I bought it, but can’t test how well it works due to a lack of 3-D specs.

Other in-app purchases let you password protect folders (porn!) or disable iTunes backup to keep your computer’s hard drive a little less full.

Finally, you can now sort the movies into folders from within the app, as well as rename and delete files.

In all a great update, which is free for existing owners, and just $3 if you don’t have it. Recommended.

CineXPlayer [iTunes]

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Jun 06

2-D Glasses Remove Nausea from 3-D Movies

Posted in: Accessories and Peripherals, Movies, Today's Chili

2-D Glasses cut out a dimension and protect you from pinkeye

Imagine the scene. You show up at the cinema to meet your so-called friends and they have decided to go watch the 3-D version of Thor. Aside from the fact that they should have taken you weeks ago, this presents a problem. You hate 3-D, but you love your idiot friends despite their tardiness and poor taste.

What do you do? Do you buy a cheaper ticket for the 2-D version and go in on your own, therefore enjoying a brighter picture and a nausea-free evening? Or do you suck it up and don the filthy, bacteria-ridden rental specs and sit with your friends (probably next to the one who eats his popcorn too loud)?

Luckily, there is a third choice: 2-D glasses. These specs won’t help with the dim picture you see from a 3-D theater screen, but they will cut out the stomach-wrenching effects some people get from 3-D. The technology is simple. 3-D works by sending a different image to each eye. Without any glasses, you can see both images on screen together, and they are blurry and impossible to watch. 3-D glasses filter these in various ways to send the correct image to the correct eye. 2D glasses filter out one image from both eyes, so you see the a 2-D movie.

The other advantage is that you won’t have to pay a rental fee for the theater’s own 3-D spex. In fact, you’ll pay back the cost of the 2-D glasses in a few weeks, as they cost just $8 a pair. They also have some other magical properties according to this amazing review on Amazon by Quindraco:

I ordered two of these, one pair for myself and one for my father. They both arrived at the same time, so naturally I put them on immediately. I forgot to remove the first pair before putting on the second, which is when I discovered a hidden feature of these glasses.

It seems obvious now that I think about it, but it turns out, when you wear 2 pairs of 2-D glasses at once, they effectively become 4-D glasses! I found myself able to see through both space and time, something I had only previously experienced while under the effects of completely legitimate medication.

Suddenly I was able to see the seconds ticking away as the universe aged, and I must say, they’re very pretty-looking. These glasses are definitely a solid buy, especially in pairs. I want to buy a third set as I am very keen to see what the world looks like in 6 dimensions.

Available now.

2-D Glasses [@-D Glasses via Harry McCracken]

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Jun 03

Tennessee bill broadens scope of ‘theft,’ wide enough to include web-based subscription services?

Posted in: download, Movies, Music, netflix, Today's Chili
This week, Tennessee signed a bill that made waves across the web, with many sites claiming that sharing your log-in credentials for services such as Netflix could soon land you in the slammer. The actual story isn’t that simple. The bill essentially adds onto laws pertaining to the theft of ‘services’ in the legal sense by covering more things that can be defined under the title. For instance, the original list included cable services, to keep folks from jacking free HBO — now, stealing “entertainment subscription services” can make you a felon as well.

Tennessee has always been a hotspot for the recording industry, so there’s almost no question about what this bill was meant to fight; during a senate hearing for the bill, the RIAA itself explained that online music services could be pirated via password sharing. It also added, though, that users who share passwords “en-masse” are the focus, rather than individual cases like it had pursued in the past.

However, this bill covers more than online services and could even extend to physical media such as magazines, another example vulnerable to this type of theft. Furthermore, while sharing passwords to these “entertainment services” may be illegal after its enactment on July 1st, that’s not what this legislation is technically about; the RIAA would still need to prove that password sharing equates to theft in a court of law. You can check the links down below for more details.

Tennessee bill broadens scope of ‘theft,’ wide enough to include web-based subscription services? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PC Mag, Associated Press  |  sourceH.B. 1783, TN Code 39-11-106, Nashvile Public Radio  | Email this | Comments

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May 27

Hurt Locker lawsuit targets a record-breaking 24,583 IP addresses

Posted in: lawsuit, legal, Movies, Today's Chili, verizon
It’s been almost a year since the producers of The Hurt Locker filed a lawsuit against 5,000 alleged pirates suspected of distributing the film via BitTorrent. Now Voltage Pictures has updated its complaint, adding almost 20,000 IP addresses to the list of defendants. That makes it the largest file-sharing lawsuit of all time — a crown previously held by the company behind The Expendables, according to Wired. The plaintiff has already reached agreements with Charter and Verizon to identify individual users, but no such deal with Comcast, who owns nearly half the supposedly infringing addresses. Linking those addresses with user accounts would let Voltage manage individual settlements — probably somewhere between $1,000-$2,000 — rather than continue legal action. All of this eerily echoes the Oscar-winning film’s plot, about an adrenaline junkie who couldn’t resist downloading just one more movie. Or defusing one more bomb. We’re a little fuzzy on the details, but venture into TorrentFreak to scan for familiar IP addresses.

Hurt Locker lawsuit targets a record-breaking 24,583 IP addresses originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 15:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTorrentFreak, Wired  | Email this | Comments

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May 26

Sony stands behind its digital projectors, claims the only thing ruining movies is Russell Brand

Posted in: Movies, sony, Today's Chili

In case you missed it over the weekend, the Boston Globe published an article stating that the misuse of 3D lenses on Sony 4K projectors is drastically reducing the amount of light and color in digitally projected 2D movies. Sony Digital Cinema has finally responded with a list of “The Facts” that reiterate information some readers have posted in our comments and that we’ve obtained from individuals working as projectionists. They claim that contrary to the Globe’s information, the projector technology used as described isn’t to blame for poor picture quality. Notable items on the list are that the Sony system does not alternate between two images rapidly, changing the lens takes less than 20 minutes, the RealD 3D filters only reduce light output by 20% (not 85%), and if the lens can’t be changed, then it’s still capable of playing back content at 14fl (foot lamberts) which is within the recommended specs for brightness.

All of these go directly against information from the original “Deep Focus” source, although it still doesn’t explain why they could see such a marked difference between films in the same theater being projected digitally or on film. However, simpler explanations like an old and weakened bulb, a film projector set outside the specs, or unintentional misconfiguration could account for all of that. Until this is sorted, all we can recommend for your summer movie viewing is that if you do see anything out of order, don’t let that jumbo tub of popcorn and Icee slow you down — complain to management loudly and quickly to get the picture fixed. Check after the break for Sony’s claims, as well as more detailed information from a projectionist we spoke to that broke down just how the technology works.

Continue reading Sony stands behind its digital projectors, claims the only thing ruining movies is Russell Brand

Sony stands behind its digital projectors, claims the only thing ruining movies is Russell Brand originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 22:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSony Digital Cinema  | Email this | Comments

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May 24

CyberNotes: Organize Your DVD, CD, and Book Collection

Posted in: CyberNotes, Features, Freeware, Movies, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on March 04, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Time Saving Tuesday

Sometimes it is astounding the collection of DVD’s, CD’s, games, and books people have. For some individuals it gets to the point where they don’t even remember what they have anymore. In fact, I’ve known some people who would find themselves purchasing the same movies over again simply because their collection was so vast that they couldn’t remember if they owned it already.

To solve problems like that you need to turn to a full media organizer, and luckily there’s a free one available which we’ve received several emails about over the last few months. It’s called Libra, and is capable of managing books, CD’s, movies, games, and DVD’s on Windows.

–Managing Collections–

Libra is available for both Windows XP and Vista, but the interface for Vista does have a bit more eye candy. Beyond the beauty also lies a lot of functionality. The size of the thumbnails on the virtual bookshelves can be adjusted so that you can see more or less at any one given time. This is done by using the slider in the upper-right corner.

libra overview
(Click to Enlarge)

It’s also possible to change how the media is sorted on the bookshelves. By default everything is grouped by type (books, games, movies, etc…), and are sorted by the title. Anything can be sorted in about a dozen different ways, which ultimately puts the control in your hands.

–Adding Media–

Obviously a program like this is only great if it makes adding media from your library a piece of cake. I would have to say that Libra is pretty simple from that standpoint because it uses Amazon’s vast database of information to grab details and box art for all of your media.

libra add game
(Click to Enlarge)

Searching can be done according to the type of media that you’re looking for (books, games, movies, etc…), and then results can be shown from Amazon’s United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France, or Canada sites.

Naturally you’ll probably start searching for your media according to the names, but that will probably take awhile in the end. What I recommend doing is searching according the ISBN/EAN number, or even by the UPC. Don’t feel like entering in the UPC? If you have a webcam hooked up to your computer that’s not a problem. Just hit the webcam button and focus in on the UPC. Libra will read the UPC and scour Amazon looking for a match:

libra webcam

I mean really, could you ask for any more?

–Loaning to Friends–

Anytime you’ve got a good collection of media going it likely means that you’ll have friends crawling to your doorstep looking to borrow items at no cost. No problem, right? You lend a movie to one friend, a game to another, and a couple more movies to a few more friends. You eventually get to the point where you are relying on them returning it at some point in the future, but as many of us have experienced your friends need a few reminders.

Libra to the rescue! There is a loan feature in Libra so that you can keep track of who has what. Just find the movie that you want to lend out, click the “Loan” tab, select who is borrowing it, and pick a date that you would like it returned by:

libra loan

You’ll want to create a profile for each one of your friends and family that borrow movies from you, but after that it takes just a few clicks here and there to keep track of who has what:

libra friends
(Click to Enlarge)

–Overview–

As you can tell this is an extremely powerful application for the media gurus out there. There’s a lot more that you can do with Libra, and we would love to hear from some of the people who have experience with the application. Shoot us your feedback in the comments below.

Download Libra for Windows

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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May 17

Video: Super 8 Projector Made From Lego

Posted in: Hacks, Mods and DIY, lego, Movies, Today's Chili

A movie projector isn’t as simple as you might think, which makes Friedemann Wachsmuth’s creation all the more impressive. Along with his friend Kalle, he built a fully-functioning Super 8 projector. And as if that wasn’t enought, he did it with Lego.

The projector uses two Lego technic motors (the only non-Lego parts are the lamp, the lens and the film reels) to drive both the projection and the rewind mechanisms (switching between the two is done by disengaging a pin). A projector not only runs the film forwards, but has to hold each frame still for a moment between light and lens so the picture can be projected.

This is done by using a claw (in this case a modified lego piece) to hook the film into the “gate”. The light is then allowed through the film, cut off again and the film is advanced. This happens 24 times a second.

Watch until the end of the clip above, and you’ll see the lens being removed. I love that it is just sat there inside the Lego. I also think that the light source is ingenious: an LED flashlight not only provides a lot of light, it is also cold so if the film does get stuck in the gate, it won’t frazzle and melt as it would in a movie theater projector. Good job, and so much nicer than a video projector, whatever it may be made from.

Lego Technic Super-8 Movie Projector [Peaceman. Thanks Angela!]

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