Re-released I, Robot to be first home release-exclusive 3D

When the 2004 science fiction movie I, Robot is re-released on Blu-ray later this month, it'll make movie history as the first movie to be re-mastered in 3D for the home market exclusively, launching a new range of 3D Blu-rays from 20th Century Fox.

A sign that 3D movies aren’t necessarily the modern fad that some believe may come in the unlikely form of Will Smith’s 2004 movie I, Robot, which is to become the first library title to be re-worked into the stereo visual format for Blu-ray release, instead of theater re-release, when it hits stores at the end of this month.

The movie is one of what studio Twentieth Century Fox is calling “a handful” of movies from its library that will be converted for Blu-ray re-release in the 3D format, although no other titles have been named at this time (Entirely conjecture, but considering that Fox owns the rights to the Alien movies, is it really going to pass up the chance to at least put either Ridley Scott’s original or James Cameron’s Aliens into 3D? After all, both are at least as well-known as I, Robot, and in the same genre, as well…). According to a Fox spokesperson talking to the Hollywood Reporter, associates of Will Smith have seen the results of the 3D-conversion of I, Robot, and were apparently happy enough with it to ask about the possibility of other Smith movies receiving similar treatment.

The movie has been converted using JVC Kenwood’s 2D3D workstation, which made its public debut at last winter’s Hollywood Post Alliance Technology Retreat, with Fox already attached as a business partner at that time. One of the benefits of this system when compared with other conversion techniques, according to Fox SVP of Advanced Technology Ian Harvey, is that it allows for faster conversion by minimizing manual rotoscoping or paint work, which in turn can cut costs considerably. Estimates for 3D conversation have ranged from anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 per minute in the past, which would considerably add to the budget of any movie project; Harvey won’t be drawn on the cost of the JVC system, but will admit that it is “less than other techniques” that Fox has previously considered.

The conversion for I, Robot was handled by a creative team including a specialist stereographer, but director Alex Proyas wasn’t involved, according to Fox (Again, it’s unknown whether other directors will be involved in their movies’ conversion in future, especially considering that the titles of said movies have not been made public as yet). Currently, the JVC system is aimed primarily on movies  – and, presumably, potentially television shows aimed at the home market, rendering in HD but not beyond at this point; according to Fox’s Harvey, that’s the way it should stay. “They should shoot new films in 3D,” he said, adding that in his opinion, “there are still issues on any conversion. It is not like Avatar.”

The new, 3D I, Robot is released on Blu-ray October 23.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Stop romanticizing the analog age

There’s a good reason that 8-tracks, rotary telephones and tube TVs all went to the landfill: They suck compared to what we have today. And no amount of reimagining history will make them any cooler.

I’m writing this article on a typewriter, by candlelight, while I sup coffee from a mason jar. I’ll be using a Polaroid SX-70 to take the accompanying photos. Once it’s finished, I’ll rise from my vintage upcycled chair, pause briefly to wax my ironic moustache, and remove splinters from my posterior before jumping on my penny farthing and cycling to the office to submit it. That’s right – I’m a hipster with a low-tech fetish that’s supposed to spark a new dawn of nostalgic revivalism: Adopt the shoddy, outdated junk that I spend every waking moment seeking out, or risk being sneered at. (Actually, if too many of you find the same things charming, then I’ll move on because it’s not okay to like anything “lamestream.”)

Seriously though: What is with adopting long forgotten technology that doesn’t work very well? Idealizing the seventies or eighties seems like something only someone who never lived through them could do. We mass produced all kinds of incredibly wasteful rubbish back then. As a writer, I would never sit down and write an article with pen and paper, nor would I use a typewriter anymore. You know why? It’s because they are uncomfortable, impractical, and drastically inferior to using a word-processing program on a computer or laptop.

Tech from the analog age is dead for a reason. We developed superior tech. That nostalgic imperfection you find in old Polaroid or those scratchy vinyl recordings can be replicated in digital form if you have a genuine longing for something that reminds you of childhood or makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.

“We did it first”

No, no you didn’t. Stop and think about how that antiquated product, clothing, or facial hair style, came onto your radar. It’s because at one time it was considered viable by the general population. You are basically filtering for rejected awfulness. I can turn a blind eye to skinny jeans, big sunglasses and trucker hats. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather never see any of those things again, but I’ve come to terms with my complete lack of power over the fashion world.

What I can’t abide is people using impractical antiquated tech and pretending like there’s something great about it. Gigantic power-guzzling TVs with thick beveled glass screens were just rubbish. Ugly, cheap, plastic stereo units with hundreds of knobs and buttons are like the consumer tech equivalent of the 1970s tower block architecture that still blights the UK. Record players were a pain to use and vinyl took up loads of room, usually getting scratched while it did so. Physical books kill trees.

And don’t even get me started on the rash of faux-vintage products and apps that are flooding the shelves of boutiques in all the right neighborhoods around the globe. An obsession grasping for authenticity and nostalgia for a past that is somehow more real than the digital present renders an iPhone dock shaped like a rotary telephone and 75 percent of Instagram filters null and void.

Fake nostalgia

Speaking of nostalgia (and speaking to the under-30 leading edge of this annoying trend), it’s not possible to be nostalgic for something you never experienced the first time around. If you don’t know firsthand the misery audio cassettes getting eaten by your boom box or your floppy disks or the heartache of a love letter lost by the postman, then you’re just being different for the sake of it and the quickest way is to dig through humanity’s landfill. Forget about applying creativity toward something new, just backdate your conformity.

As for those of us with a legitimate claim to the tech of the 70s and 80s that’s so ascendant, I acknowledge the comfort of a nostalgic haze, but I ask: do you really want to trade your phone in for a Sports Walkman and a landline? Really?

I’m not the nostalgia police, but I am telling low-tech-loving hipsters everywhere to stop waxing their mustaches for a moment and think. It shouldn’t be difficult to look like you’re not trying. Why make life harder? Just because something is outdated does not mean it is cool (see Nazism, medieval medicine and outdoor toilets). Embrace new technology, forget the analog age, let antiquated tech die a dignified death, and focus on the horizon. With some proper damned sunglasses please.

[Image credit: Tube TV: LesPalenik/Shutterstock; Cassette: Shawn Hempel/Shutterstock]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Search.xxx, the porn-only search engine, makes its premiere

A new search engine that will only provide pornographic links launches today, spelling an end to embarrassing Google search history.

When reports emerged last year that the company behind .xxx web domains aimed to launch a porn-only search engine, the public reaction was fairly mixed. On one hand, some people greeted the idea with intrigue, saying it was finally time to have a place to consolidate and separate private searches from ordinary searches on Google or Bing. On the other, Google and Bing do the job just fine, as long as you remembered to clear your search history before someone else uses your computer and found your naughty recent activity.

Today, Search.xxx is reality. ICM Registry, the company that operates .xxx domains, promises the search engine will help streamline the search process while protecting users from the virus and malware that often plague pornographic websites. The porn-only search site can also be useful for those switching over from Google, since Google tend to avoid giving you pornographic hits in the first few results. Google’s autocomplete also begins to stop when it recognizes you’re typing a relatively inappropriate word since it’s a fairly family-friendly site.

“There’s as much porn as you would like out there,” ICM CEO Stuart Lawley tells Digital Trends in a phone interview. “Some of the major search engines with their algorithms … are effectively de-ranking adult searches in many cases.”

Lawley also says Search.xxx will be ad-less, so no pop-ups will bombard your search experience — or as Lawley describes it, “an assault on your senses.” Users will also be able to set up their sexual orientation to customize their search results, and categories of video types will be located on the left side to filter what you’re looking for. Of course, the results will still only display other .xxx websites, which could leave out your preferred sites that are still under the .com domain. Still, it’s a problem Google can help you solve given some extra time and effort.

“It’s only .xxx sites because those are the sites we know abide by the code of conduct and go through the McAfee scan,” Lawley says. “It’s a service that’s free of charge [for both users and .xxx domain owners] … It’s a giveback to our existing customers, and we hope to generate a substantial volume of traffic to .xxx owners, justifying their investment in the .xxx space.”

Next step in ICM’s agenda is to launch a subscription service for pornographic videos, matching online video streaming services available today. Clips can be downloaded at approximately $2, just like movies, videos, and TV shows off iTunes. A competitive pricing structure for sure, considering that Netflix and Hulu Plus are just $8 a month at their most basic level.

For those who are still contemplating why you might want to switch over from your preferred search engines to a porn-specific one, here’s how Lawley puts it:

“Porn is very personal,” he tells Network World. ”You may have been looking for Brazilian midget transsexuals, and you’re sitting there at home with your kid or your wife saying, ‘Let’s go on a holiday to Brazil,’ and the next thing, it’s suggesting Brazilian midget transsexuals from your previous Google search history.”

And that’s a conversation none of us ever wants to face.

[Additional reporting by Andrew Couts]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

OnLive acquired by Lauder Partners, but who will own the streaming video game company in the future?

OnLive's new owner Lauder Partners has a history of investing in streaming technologies, but will it hold on to the troubled gaming company?

OnLive is dead, long live OnLive. Or at least live a little longer than previously expected. The world’s first full cloud-based streaming video game business isn’t closing shop completely, just as corporate communications director Brain Jaquet said on Friday. Rumors that the entire OnLive staff was laid off on Friday as an anonymous investor with “substantial funding” took ownership of the company and its assets also turned out to be true though.

Who is OnLive’s new master? GamesIndustry International reported on Monday that Lauder Partners, one of the initial investors that backed OnLive during its second round of fund raising in 2009, has taken control of the company.

The news clarifies just who lost their jobs and who made the transition to the new corporate structure of OnLive in the wake of its dissolution as a private entity. Reports from Kotaku and Joystiq are corroborated by an official statement.

“Almost half of OnLive’s staff were offered employment at their current salaries in the new company immediately upon the transfer, and the non-hired staff will be given offers to do consulting in return for options in the new company. Upon closing additional funding, the company plans to hire more staff, both former OnLive employees as well as new employees.”

The stock deal for former employees does not extend to OnLive’s founder and CEO Steve Perlman. “Like all shareholders, neither Steve nor any of his companies received any stock in the new company or compensation in this transaction at all. Steve is receiving no compensation whatsoever and most execs are receiving reduced compensation to allow the company to hire as many employees as possible within the current budget.”

Anonymous sources from within OnLive said that it was Perlman’s mismanagement and refusal to sell his company to interested bidders that caused it to implode this month.

Lauder Partners has invested heavily in streaming technologies over the past three years. Following its investment in OnLive in 2009, the LLC has backed local television streaming service Aereo, as well as Smart TV software makers Flingo and TrickPlay.

Lauder isn’t likely to maintain full ownership of OnLive. The transition period will entail streamlining OnLive’s business beyond mere staff cuts, establishing firm content deals like the service’s agreement with Ouya’s Boxer8, and hunting for a new buyer. OnLive competitor Gaikai was purchased by Sony earlier this year, the first shots fired in the new streaming battlefield for video game console makers. Priority one for Lauder will be polishing OnLive until it shines and selling it to the highest bidder.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Usain Bolt wins 200m gold – then grabs pro photographer’s DSLR to snap some pics

You'd have thought Usain Bolt would've had other things on his mind seconds after becoming the first athlete in history to retain the Olympic 100 meter and 200 meter titles, but no, the charismatic character still found a moment to entertain, this time by grabbing a camera from a professional photographer and taking a few pics himself.

When superstar athlete Usain Bolt comes to hang up his running shoes, there’s a chance he might turn to photography for his next career.

Following his storming run to his second gold at the London Olympics – this one in the 200 meters – the Jamaican sprinter grabbed a Nikon DSLR off one of the trackside professional photographers and proceeded to take a few shots himself.

After getting some pics of fellow countryman and sprinter Yohan Blake, Bolt turned the camera on the huddle of trackside pro snappers, which included the owner of the camera, Jimmy Wixtröm.

Wixtröm, who shoots for Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, can be seen grinning broadly in one of Bolt’s pictures (below), no doubt thinking, “Wait till I tell the picture editor about this.”

Interviewed by his paper after Bolt’s shenanigans, Wixtröm described the superhuman sprinter as “charming” and said he was a “pretty good” photographer.

He also revealed that for several days prior to the 200 meters final, he’d been pestering Bolt for a decent photo opportunity. Bolt kept declining to pose for Wixtröm, and instead promised him he’d get his picture after the final. The runner certainly delivered on that front.

Now Wixtröm is in possession of one very special memory card, and one that will probably never be formatted again.

Check out all the post-race shots, by both Wixtröm and Bolt, over at Aftonbladet.

[via PetaPixel: images by Jimmy Wixtröm and Usain Bolt]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com