rays

The 404 1,080: Where we paint the sixteenth chapel (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Ray Bradbury may soon be honored online with "451" error code for Internet censorship.

- Time Warner Cable grabs patent to prevent DVRs from skipping commercials.

- Twitter to grant Web sites extra characters with "expansive tweets."

- Select audiences at Disney-Pixar's "Brave" will be treated to Dolby's new Atmos sound system.… Read more

How to make your speakers sound better than ever

Since most people listen to music on free earbuds, plastic computer speakers, or car audio systems, it's easy to understand why great-sounding new recordings are rare. Even so, exceptional ones sneak through from time to time, and when I have a stack of candidates, I cover the best new releases here.

"The Raconteurs: Live in Montreux 2008" (Blu-ray) The Raconteurs were formed in 2005 by Jack White of the White Stripes, but this show from 2008 has just been released. The band's ferocious performances sound great here in DTS Master Audio. I like the two Raconteurs … Read more

Disney delays DVD releases to rentals, Netflix

If you were hoping to catch "Friday Night Lights" star Taylor Kitsch with his shirt off in Walt Disney's "John Carter," you may have to wait a few more days.

Disney has begun delaying select title releases to rental companies and Netflix by 28 days, which means the studio has held back on the June 5 release of Kitsch's "John Carter" to places like Redbox, Blockbuster, and Netflix, according to Home Media Magazine.

Disney is the last of the major studios to begin embargoing its DVD releases, a practice it started with … Read more

Ray Bradbury, author of 'Fahrenheit 451', dies at 91

Science fiction literature pioneer Ray Bradbury, whose works included "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles," died overnight. He was 91.

His passing was confirmed by io9 through his family and biographer, as well as by USA Today through his daughter.

CNET contacted the Bradbury family for confirmation. We'll update the story when we get a response.

Bradbury wrote one of the quintessential dystopian novels with "Fahrenheit 451," practically required reading for many high-school students. He also authored the script for the 1956 film "Moby Dick" and wrote scripts for the classic … Read more

Sony nixes idea of online-only console, WSJ says

Gamers would have experienced an online-only PlayStation console from Sony if the company hadn't pulled the plug on the development, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Sony decided against a download-only plan for its next gaming console and opted to include the traditional optical disk drive, according to the WSJ, which cited unnamed sources.

Online services that allow console users to download games, television shows and music without the need for disks or cartridges are gaining popularity with consumers. The Xbox 360 has evolved beyond a gaming machine and into a media hub.

But the console industry is slow to … Read more

The best headphones in the world?

I've written about the Audeze LCD-2 headphones in this blog before, but now I'm going to cover the LCD-3 model, Audeze's best headphones. At first glance the two don't look all that different, but the LCD-3s sport real zebrawood earcups and have thicker and softer real lambskin leather cushions to coddle your ears. This is a fairly heavy (550-gram) set of headphones, but they're comfortable to wear for hours at a time. Details of why the LCD-2s and LCD-3s sound different aren't forthcoming from Audeze, other than the drivers, which use similar technology, are … Read more

Get a loaded Sony Blu-ray player for $64.99

DVDs or on-demand movies? Some pundits would have you believe it's one or the other, but you can walk the line and enjoy both. All you need is a Blu-ray player that has apps.

Like this one: While supplies last, Quick Ship Electronics has the refurbished Sony BDP-BX58 Blu-ray player for $64.99 shipped. It's without question the most loaded set-top box I've seen at this price.

How loaded? Well, it's a Blu-ray player for starters. It supports regular and 3D discs, the latter kind of fun if you know where to score 3D movies to watch at home.… Read more

When streaming video is better than Blu-ray

Last week, I was reminded that cable-cutting can beat cable when it comes to a commercial-free TV-watching experience. Yesterday, an excellent story from Ars Technica reminded me why streaming often feels much more satisfying than watching Blu-ray.

The U.S. government yesterday rolled out not one but two copyright notices, one to "warn" and one to "educate." Six major movie studios will begin using the new notices this week. [...] Will the two screens be shown back to back? Will each screen last for 10 seconds each? Will each screen be unskippable? Yes, yes, and yes.

It'… Read more

Is the glasses-free 3D laptop ready for prime time?

Stereoscopic 3D in televisions, PCs, and game consoles has alternatively hailed as an industry savior and blasted as overhyped and undercooked. But no matter which side of the 3D debate you fall on, everyone agrees that bulky active shutter 3D glasses are a major impediment to widespread adoption.

That's why we were so interested in the idea of an autostereoscopic laptop (which basically means glasses-free 3D). Using the laptop's built-in Webcam and eye-tracking software, a laptop can, in theory, keep the 3D image in sync by tracking the viewer's eye movements. We first saw this demonstrated at … Read more