pictures

Teen 'sexting': Stupid and illegal

"Sexting" is the practice of taking a sexually revealing picture of yourself, typically from a cell phone, and sending it to someone. Legal consequences aside, it's a dumb thing to do, especially for younger age groups in which it has become something of a fad.

Even if you are comfortable with the person receiving the image, you never know for sure where else it might land. Digital images are easy to copy and forward, and even if you trust your friend's discretion, it can be accidentally forwarded or seen by others with access to your friend'… Read more

The chroniclers of narcissism: Daily Mugshot vs. Daily Booth

If you're a Twitter user, you've probably seen tweets directing you to a person's "Mugshow." This is yet another Web gimmick that makes you scratch your head when you first learn about it, but over time it begins to make a modicum of sense. Think of it as the essence of Twitter, in pictures. Kinda.

Both Daily Mugshot and Daily Booth ask that you come back to the site once per day, take a snapshot of yourself, and publish it in your timeline of pictures. You can add comments to your pictures, share them with others, and view other users' pictures. That's it. Twitpic they ain't, but they are fun.

Maybe you find the concept ridiculous. But if you don't, which one should you use -- Daily Mugshot or Daily Booth?

It's time to find out.… Read more

CNET launches HDTV picture settings forum

Today I'm proud to announce the relaunching of one of our most popular services here at CNET Reviews: providing picture settings for HDTVs. Now and for the foreseeable future, HDTV picture settings information will live in its own dedicated forum at CNET, where readers can search for our official settings to apply to their own TVs. The format also allows readers to post their own settings and share advice on HDTV setup in general.

Click here to check out the new forum and search for your HDTV.

In case you didn't know, for every HDTV I review I publish the exact picture settings I use during picture quality evaluations and comparisons. I arrive at these settings through a formal calibration process, employing high-end equipment and industry-approved methods to adjust the myriad user settings found on today's HDTVs to achieve the best home theater picture for a dark room.

The idea of publishing the official CNET picture settings is to allow owners of the TVs I review to try out my settings at home to see if they like the picture. I won't guarantee that everyone will love the look of the picture produced by these settings, but I will say that the image quality, especially from a color accuracy standpoint, nearly always surpasses that of any of the presets built into the HDTVs themselves. But don't take my word for it; try the settings and see for yourself.

… Read more

WonderCon 2009: And you are there!

Not everyone can make it to WonderCon every year, I understand that. Honestly though, if you don't deal well with crowds, you should probably stay home, because wow.

The crowds on Saturday are probably the reason I'm not going back on Sunday. I can take only so much of clueless geeks bumping my camera, walking into my shot, standing in the middle of heavy traffic areas, (apparently) not bathing that day, and making dumb "purist" comments about changes from the graphic novel to the "Watchmen" movie, only to be proven completely wrong.

Yeah, I'… Read more

Edge-lit LED by Sony reviewed: Thin, expensive

As if 240Hz, 1080p/24 compatibility and contrast ratios in the millions aren't confusing enough, get ready for more product differentiation in the LCD TV space: two different kinds of LED lighting schemes. On one hand are relatively tried-and-true "local dimming" LED-based LCDs, which generally give great picture. In the other are "edge-lit" LED-based LCDs, which if the new Sony KLV-40ZX1M ($3,999) is any indication, do not.

We're sure the distinction won't stop marketers from trying to equate the two, however, and simply call them all "LED TVs," expecting consumers to assume that all LED-based LCDs give great picture. In fact, one company, Samsung, has already said it wants to create a separate "LED TV" category to differentiate the more-expensive, higher-tech-sounding sets from their lowly fluorescent-backlit cousins.

Also, who knows, maybe Samsung's upcoming edge-lit models, namely the 6000, 7000, and 8000 series HDTVs announced at CES, will perform better than the Sony KLV-40ZX1M we just reviewed. Lighter black levels and imperfect uniformity hampered its picture--as you might expect, the edges of the picture were brighter than the middle (go figure!). It sure looks cool though.

Read the full review of the Sony KLV-40ZX1M.… Read more

Easily secure images or videos

Encrypting pictures and video to secure them from prying eyes is a simple process with this easy-to-use utility, but it didn't turn out to be as flexible as it claimed during our tests.

Picture and Video Encrypt launches a small, unadorned but functional and easy-to-comprehend interface that's mostly taken up by a pane for listing filenames. There's no detailed Help feature, but figuring out how to use this app is a simple matter: you just click Add, select a file, then click Protect (or Unprotect, if you're decrypting a file).

This app worked fine in our … Read more

Panasonic Premiere plasmas are great, but not quite as good as Kuro

Despite the fact that Pioneer has exited the HDTV business, we still consider its Elite Kuro plasma TVs, such as the PRO-111FD, the best-performing televisions we've ever tested. Now Panasonic has released a new lineup of so-called Premiere plasmas that takes direct aim at the Kuros. While they deliver a superb picture, they still fall a bit short of the mark.

We reviewed the 65-inch member of the series, model TH-65VX100U ($9,995 list), and there's a 50-inch version coming in late February, model TH-50VX100U ($4,995 list). Aside from their high price tags, these displays must overcome the fact that Panasonic announced a slew of new plasmas at CES that use the company's next-generation NEO PDP panels, which consume less power and deliver even deeper black levels, according to the company. Before somebody asks, no, the Premiere series does not use the new panels.

Still, there's a lot to like about these expensive displays. Picture quality is excellent, with deep black levels and superb shadow detail, although color accuracy (along with black level) didn't match the Kuro. The Premiere plasmas have the same build quality we lauded on Panasonic's standard professional monitors, like the TH-50PF11UK. They also share some of the same "professional" characteristics, such as the necessity to purchase a separate stand and speakers if you need them, and relatively sparse input selection.

Read the full review of the Panasonic TH-VX100U Premiere series.

… Read more

Source: 'Significant' layoffs at MPAA

LOS ANGELES--Many of the major film studios have gone through a painful round of layoffs and now the industry's trade group is cutting staff, too.

The Motion Picture Association of America, much maligned by file sharers everywhere, has gone through a "significant" round of layoffs, according to a studio source. The source said the layoffs were well over 10 percent and more reductions are expected.

A spokeswoman for the MPAA confirmed the layoffs to CNET News, but declined to provide numbers or percentages. The group battles copyright infringement on behalf of the six largest film studios. How … Read more

TorrentSpy renews legal campaign against MPAA

Nearly a year since being ordered to pay the big film studios more than $100 million, TorrentSpy is launching a legal comeback.

On Tuesday evening, TorrentSpy filed an appeal to overturn a judgment issued by U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper. Last May, Cooper ordered TorrentSpy, which shut its doors as a result of the legal fight with the Motion Picture Association of America, to pay nearly $111 million in damages to the MPAA for infringing the copyright of thousands of films and TV shows.

TorrentSpy was a favorite tool for those seeking bootleg films, but site operators always insisted … Read more