One Canuck's Radio Weblog

  Thursday, 16 September 2004

.< 11:47:38 PM >
Top 10 must-have DVD-Audio/SACDs
Confused by the unfamiliar icons on the faceplate of your new DVD player or home theater in a box? In addition to DVD video and MP3/CD audio, many new systems have the ability to play new audio disc formats called Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD-Audio. Thanks in part to larger storage capacity, both formats offer much higher resolution than standard audio CDs. Both support native 5.1-channel surround sound, and many discs also offer dedicated stereo mixes as well. The result is digital music that's finally on a par with the best-sounding LPs.

We've auditioned scores of new audio titles and picked 10 of our current favorites in each format. Be forewarned: After you hear these remastered classics, don't expect to be able to listen to a regular old CD--let alone an MP3--in the same way again.

Just stumbled onto this today. It's a few months old but is certainly a worthwhile list. I've added to my own wish list.

< 11:43:23 PM >

Retired general Joseph Hoare, the former marine commandant and head of US Central Command, told me: "The idea that this is going to go the way these guys planned is ludicrous. There are no good options. We're conducting a campaign as though it were being conducted in Iowa, no sense of the realities on the ground. It's so unrealistic for anyone who knows that part of the world. The priorities are just all wrong."

Everyone could see this coming except, apparently, the Bush administration.

< 5:13:13 PM >

This resource from actions guru Al Ward supplies you with over 600 Photoshop actions that you can instantly apply to your work. These actions allow you to automate routine production tasks, make color and tone enhancements, apply artistic effects, and much more. By Sybex. 0907 [WebReference News]

< 5:12:43 PM >

Adobe has today announced Photoshop Elements 3.0. New features include the Healing Brush, previously only available in the full version of Photoshop, and new Spot Healing Brush as well as the ability to support RAW files. Other new features include SmartFix which analyzes a photo and automatically applies enhancements and the new red-eye function has been improved, all you have to do now is to click in the vicinity of demon eyes to remove them. It also now includes much of the functionality of image... [Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)]

< 5:11:58 PM >

South Korea is the most connected, high-speed Internet country in the world -- and the technology is having a broad impact on society, providing hints of what may come in North America as speeds and use increase. [GAM-Technology]

< 5:10:21 PM >

Apple's new iMac G5 desktop computer was clearly designed to send a message to the world's iPod fans: "If you think our music player is great, you should check out our computers." [New York Times: Technology]

< 5:09:39 PM >

The latest vulnerability to plague the world's largest software maker is a doozy, affecting its Windows operating system as well as its Office and developer tools programs. Microsoft says its patch plugs the leak. [Wired News]

< 5:05:38 PM >

Gives three weeks to make up mind... [The Register]

< 5:02:02 PM >

Prime Minister Paul Martin and Finance Minister Ralph Goodale say the federal government will still have enough money for cities, the environment and a national day care program, despite a $41-billion agreement on health care. FULL STORY [CBC News]

< 5:00:47 PM >

Mirabile dictu, another press release today, this one about a last-ditch attempt to save the Expos from being moved to Washington or elsewhere, although the former partners in the team's ownership are still trying to block the move. [montreal city weblog]

< 4:46:22 PM >

Iraq: The most complete attempt yet to identify some of the estimated 15,000 Iraqi civilians killed since the US-led invasion in March last year was unveiled in Chicago today. [Guardian Unlimited] '"Every one of some 15,000 Iraqi civilians killed was a loved human being, whose loss creates heartbreak and bitterness among the bereaved families and communities," said local IBC member Scott Lipscomb. [snip] A spokesman for the Pentagon said it did not keep track of civilian casualties because it was not fighting civilians.'

It's not counting them: it's just killing them by the thousands.

< 4:42:26 PM >

Karen Kain, one of the most celebrated ballerinas in Canadian history, will be the new chair of the Canada Council for the Arts, the federal government announced Thursday. FULL STORY [CBC News]

< 4:41:25 PM >

A new US intelligence report gives a more gloomy view of Iraq's future than Bush administration statements. [BBC News | World | UK Edition]
'The report - a compilation of assessments by intelligence agencies - puts forward three possible scenarios in Iraq by the end of 2005.

They range from what the report calls tenuous stability to political fragmentation and civil war. It was prepared for President Bush before a recent escalation of violence.'

< 4:37:18 PM >

The US rebuffs UN chief Kofi Annan's assertion that the American-led invasion of Iraq was illegal. [BBC News | World | UK Edition]

Because they said so. World cops.

< 4:34:40 PM >

Gert-Jan posted this excellent screencap of CNN reporting on Putin's visit to Berlin. Too bad they moved Switzerland up and over to the Czech republic's spot on the map.

Notice how naming the Netherlands and Belgium was clearly to big a task.

If CNN can't even get elementary school facts right, how can you trust anything they say?

[Adam Curry: Adam Curry's Weblog]

< 4:31:59 PM >

In September of 2003 the Bush administration telegraphed their intent to use torture on prisoners in Iraq when they screened Gillo Pontecorvo's 1965 film The Battle of Algiers for officials in the Pentagon. [Kuro5hin.org]

< 3:33:50 PM >

Aquafadas on Thursday released iDive 1.1, an updated version of "digital video shoebox" application used to index and visualize digital video clips. The new release gains the ability to export clip lists to movie editing applications like Apple Final Cut Pro through the XML interchange format, clip list definition and extended control over compression and storage options. iDive 1.1 is a free update for registered users and costs US$69.95 or €59.95. [MacCentral]

< 3:11:21 PM >

The macosxhints Rating:[Score: 10 out of 10] Developer: Salling Software / [Product Page] Price: $19.95 / 30-click demo available

This week's Pick of the Week is somewhat delayed, due to my travels this week. It's also... [macosxhints]

< 3:08:51 PM >

Release Date: September 14, 2004
Total Songs: 11
Genre: Classical
Price: $34.99
Copyright 2004 Decca [iTunes 10 New Releases]

Amazing. A complete Bellini opera available on iTunes!

< 1:38:39 AM >

Opting to sell its music production software exclusively through its own channels, Apple recently is... [AppleInsider] 'Around the same time that Apple began dismissing world-wide Emagic distributors, the company also registered for a trademark on the word "ProBand." Some insiders have speculated that the company will eventually re-brand the Logic product line under this new name.'

< 1:34:40 AM >

Listed as one of its early supporters, Apple will reportedly implement compatibility for the newly established HDV format in future versions of its Final Cut Pro software. [AppleInsider]

< 1:26:37 AM >

The latest release of Firefox is a slick, speedy browser ready to challenge Safari. [Editors' Notes Weblog]

< 1:21:25 AM >

"What was once a hell wrought by Saddam is now one of America's making" [Daypop Top 40]
'I wish I could point to a solution, but I don’t see one. People continue to email me, telling me to report the “truth” of all the good things that are going on in Iraq. I’m not seeing a one. A buddy of mine is stationed here and they’re fixing up a park on a major street. Gen. Chiarelli was very proud of this accomplishment, and he stressed this to me when I interviewed him for the TIME story. But Baghdadis couldn’t care less. They don’t want city beautification projects; they want electricity, clean water and, most of all, an end to the violence.'

< 1:14:16 AM >

$3 Trillion Price Tag Left Out As Bush Details His Agenda (washingtonpost.com) [Daypop Top 40]