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Slashback: Squashing, N'Synch, Yopy 351

Posted by timothy from the unseasonably-warm dept.
A quick Slashback for you this evening with more on the clones who won't get to be killed onscreen, the Yopy (alas!), hacking your PVR, and a skeptical reaction to recent claims of dramatically increased compression. Read on for the goods.

Waitaminute, what happens there between the "lead" stage and the "gold" stage again? HomerSimpson writes: "Recently on /. I read of a compression scheme reported to provide huge gains for the compression of random data. New Scientist reports, however, that the claims are unlikely at best."

Perhaps we can watch some other bands be slaughtered instead? eruditorium writes: "Apparently, the negative public reaction to n'sync's appearence in episode 2 has caused lucas to drop their cameo. See it here on Scifi Wire." san1701 links to another similar posting about this important issue at TheForce.Net.

On-again, off-again is not good for electronic projects. cd_Csc writes: "CNET is reporting on Samsung's newest Windows CE based PDA and mentioned (as a side note) that, 'A Samsung representative also confirmed the cancellation of Yopy, the company's planned Linux-based PDA.'"

Update: 01/11 02:41 GMT by T : Looks like it's not quite that simple: Bill Kendrick writes "LinuxDevices.com caught wind of today's Slashback regarding the Yopy PDA's demise.

Well, fortunately for Yopy fans, they got the real scoop directly from G.Mate..." Thanks for the quick response, Bill, and sorry for spreading false information.

Imagine explaining to your kids what VCRs were. jimmcq writes: "Slashdot previously ran a story asking about Hacking the New Replay TV Units. There have been several recent breakthroughs to allow a PC to emulate a Replay 4000 so that video can be shared in both directions. The source code has been released under the GPL. There are also several variations including a java version and an Apache/PHP Server."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Slashback: Squashing, N'Synch, Yopy More

Slashback: Squashing, N'Synch, Yopy

Comments Filter:

  • You know it's just a cover up.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by 11thangel ( 103409 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:04PM (#2820509) Homepage
    The real reason N*Sync's cameo was dropped was because Natalie Portman can't keep up with the dance steps.

  • Attack of the Clones (Score:5, Funny)

    by i_am_nitrogen ( 524475 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:04PM (#2820510) Homepage Journal
    Looks like the clones themselves are the ones being attacked. For once Hollywood (or Lucas at least) actually listened!

    Maybe he's just planning on compressing them 100:1 with that new algorithm so that nobody can see them. Perhaps due to the repetitive and unoriginal nature of all "clone" (or "popular") music, a higher compression ratio would be achieved. Think of it, I only need to store one song to hear every 500 out there

    • 2 wrongs... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by aka-ed ( 459608 )

      For once Hollywood (or Lucas at least) actually listened!

      Two wrongs don't make a right. The subtle reason why N'Sync being in the film is wrong is that it is product placement, like having the wookie sip a Pepsi. Removing them due to fan protest is the wrong reason. If Lucas was the 'artist' we'd like to think our best filmmakers are, fan opinion would not be a reason to change an artistic decision. Consider: N'Sync now has sufficient cause to consider George Lucas a whore. (I say this at known risk of being downmodded, but please think about it before calling this flamebait.) That's irony!

  • George Lucas actually listened to his fans? (Score:4, Funny)

    by LilDebbie ( 539816 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:04PM (#2820513) Homepage
    Does that mean he'll add a five minute spot to the film where Jar-Jar gets brutally murdered?

    • Re:George Lucas actually listened to his fans? (Score:4, Redundant)

      by servasius_jr ( 258414 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:09PM (#2820543)
      Does that mean he'll add a five minute spot to the film where Jar-Jar gets brutally murdered?

      Yes. My sources indicate that a wookie will rip his arms off.
      • I still don't want to go see it unless the wookie beats him to death with his own dismembered arms.

        I think I need to find a Jar-Jar Sims model and set him on fire or something.

      • That's too bad .... for George.... :) (Score:4, Insightful)

        by kaladorn ( 514293 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:36PM (#2820963) Homepage Journal
        Yes. My sources indicate that a wookie will rip his arms off.

        Whose arms shall the wookie rip off: Jar-Jar Bites or George "This-space-for-rent-or-product-placement" Lucas?

        Jar-Jar is an enormously annoying figure to adults, beloved of children, and therefore killing him in a bloody mass of dismembered limbs, although satisfying to the adults, would make the movie traumatic for the young-uns.

        If the wookie was to tear off George's arms, it'd be some measure of justice for Episode 1, Jar-Jar, etc. and it could be done in a backroom so no kiddies need be traumatized. And the adults would still be satisfied.

        The great story of good and evil and redemption evolved in the middle 3 movies (Ep IV-VI) with Campbellian overtones is being sold down the river by a man whose vision has lost its way in favour of a big paycheck. There were a lot of worthwhile Mythic elements amidst the entertainment of the original movies, and the story had a certain power. Jar-Jar the rastafarian doppelganger and even fancy high-kicking Darth Maul (of few words, and a cheesy death) can't conceal the deeper emptiness in Episode 1, which is about to be (by all appearances) surpassed in its vaccuity by Episode 2: Attack of the Clowns.

        George... how could you? How did they ever get to you man....?

      • Yes. My sources indicate that a wookie will rip his arms off.


        Wouldn't that require Jar-jar being able to beat a wookie at chess?

        • OT: Wookiee! (Score:3, Informative)

          by GTRacer ( 234395 )
          Sorry guys, but I see this one goofed way too often. There's TWO e's in wookiee [starwars.com], not one. And for Double Jeopardy, their homeworkd is spelled Kashyyyk.

          I try to keep my pedantic tendencies under control, but sometimes...

          GTRacer
          - Wouldn't have bitched if any of the previous 10 uses had been correct...

    • "The 'N Sync guys were shot as extras, and whether they're in or out won't be determined until the final edit," Hale says.

      http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/eo/20020110/en/_n_s yn c_cut_from_quot_clones_quot__1.html
    • as noted in this story [theforce.net] and here as well [yahoo.com]
      So can those griping Star Wars fans finally breath easy? Not quite. Lucasfilm spokeswoman Lynn Hale wouldn't confirm Thursday whether 'N Sync will or will not appear in the final cut of Clones, saying "it's just too early to make that decision." - "The 'N Sync guys were shot as extras, and whether they're in or out won't be determined until the final edit," Hale says.
      So you may get surprised after all. it may all depend on their acting abilities, such as they are.
    • George Lucas actually listened to his fans?
      As if. I'm sure that if N*sync don't make it into the film it will either be because they didn't pay enough, or they were never going to be in it. Either way, I'm sure it's just one big cynical marketing exercise that has nothing to do with art and everything to do with shifting crap products.

      Now I'm off to play a bit more Episode 1 Racer on my N64...

    • Does that mean he'll add a five minute spot to the film where Jar-Jar gets brutally murdered?

      Due to popular demand it will actually be a 27 minute sequence where Jar-Jar torturously has the life squeezed out of him, bit by bit. It will be most gory.

      Rumor has it that the climactic moment of death includes Jar-Jar's head exploding when he is subjected to an N'Sync recording. Fortunately it will be administered via headphones, avoiding potential fatalities in the audience.

      -
    • I think the more interesting question is, "George Lucas actually listened to his fans? Does this mean his fans will stop whining and / or give him a couple points for backtracking on this one?"

      I'm guessing not. Putting N'Sync in must have been a greedy publicity stunt (and not an attempt to please his daughter), so pulling them out must also be a greedy publicity stunt (and not actually listening to his fans).

      I actually kind of feel sorry for N'Sync. I've never seen them and don't listen to their music, so I don't give a flying leap about them as a boy band -- but if I got a chance to be in a Star Wars movie, even for a few seconds, and then was told "no, sorry, you don't get to after all" because one long wail of fanboy outrage went up around the world -- well, needless to say, 1) I'd be pretty disappointed and 2) wouldn't think much of Star Wars fans in general after that.

      Always assuming Lucas just genuinely wanted to do something nice for his kid and not rake in mad dough. Could be either or both, IMHO.

  • Jar-Jar is next (Score:5, Funny)

    by Zen Mastuh ( 456254 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:06PM (#2820523)
    Apparently, the negative public reaction to n'sync's appearence in episode 2 has caused lucas to drop their cameo

    Come on slashdotters, get those anger votes in!!! We can change history and have a Jar-Jar-free Episode II and III. Let's get those Natalie Portman nude scenes in there while we're at it. Gee, I never thought mob rule could be more fun than good ol' democracy...

  • No more clones (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:07PM (#2820530)
    Not bad considering Star Wars producer Rick McCallum is quoted as saying he and Lucas are not influenced by the internet...

  • Another one... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Burgundy Advocate ( 313960 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:08PM (#2820535) Homepage
    Sourceforge, part of VA Software, disables downloads [slashdot.org] from Simply GNUstep [sf.net], a project they host....

    ...after Slashdot, another part of VA Software, posts a story about it. [slashdot.org]

    Way to support the community, guys.

    • Re:Another one... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Fourier ( 60719 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:46PM (#2821215) Journal

      Oh, settle down. If you actually read your own link [slashdot.org] you would notice that SourceForge disabled the download because the file size was unreasonable. Would you sacrifice d/l rates for all of sf.net just so people can transfer 200GB/day worth of Simply GNUStep?

      Besides, one of the SF guys posted a solution that would allow them to distribute the load.

  • Yopy is a sacrifice to the Beast of Redmond (Score:3, Flamebait)

    by zulux ( 112259 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:11PM (#2820553) Homepage Journal
    If it is true that the Yopy is being killed after - it's most likly that Microsoft told them that they had to do it. Samsung, the parent of G.Mate, is really getting in bed with Microsoft : Their new phones are Stinger (WinCE) based, their new DVD will play Windows WMF audio files and their new tablet is WinCE based.
    • it's most likly that Microsoft told them that they had to do it
      This is not likely. MS is not in commanding position in that market. Yopy looked cool but its better that they cancelled the project now than after launch and leaving a significant of people stranded. I think they sold a few "development" systems at a fairly high price wonder if they will refund some of that expense. That would be a classy thing to do and would provide a fair amount of good publicity.
      • I think they sold a few "development" systems at a fairly high price wonder if they will refund some of that expense

        Why? If the people who bought the "development" systems had developed apps I doubt Samsung would have canned it...

        • From what I have heard the yopy is still alive (with a totaly new design) and will just not be marketed by samsung but by Gmate [gmate.co.kr] themselves anyways you can check their page .. but its been a while since they have really posted anything themselves anyways the now only have an MMC slot but have a keyboard in a clamshell like design

      • Re:Yopy is a sacrifice to the Beast of Redmond (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Lemmy Caution ( 8378 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:55PM (#2820794) Homepage
        They don't need a commanding position in the market. They could do exactly what I would do:

        1. Look at Samsung's distribution and consider what a liability Linux and Palm-based PDA's and phones are to the WinCE penetration,
        2. offer discounts in exchange for exclusivity,
        3. offer to include Samsung products on WinCE/PocketPC advertisements,
        4. lend some development muscle over to Samsung and even help them .NET their products.

        It's all about the golden rule. Who has the gold, makes the rules.

  • Rejoice! (Score:2, Funny)

    by tonyt ( 115436 )
    This marks the first time the whining and bitching of slashdot users has actually had a tangible effect on the real world! Rejoice!

    But wait! Think of the larger implications! If we keep this up, Microsoft will just give up one day and shut their doors! I know it!

    Congratulations.
  • This is a shame.... this was seen (not by me, but reported here previously) at several trade shows and drew a lot of good reviews. I wonder if it was just a big pipe dream and great mockups or if was dropped for other reasons. Hardware really sucks to sell, and it's quite possible that this system was complete and ready to go, but sales would have to be unrealistically high, or the price would be unrealisticaly high to expect it to sell at all :(

    I wonder if there's any chance of this system still making it out into the world in the form of GPLed software, patches, or an emulator for people to hack around with. Maybe sometime in the future this will still surface (fingers crossed).
    • I think this is maybe a misunderstanding (maybe disinformation?) - YOPY.com (gmates) just recently changed their site to accept orders and showcase the YOPY's product launch.
      Samsung's spokesman probably is denying that they'll distribute it themselves, which is not news.

  • At least they were going to die... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by alpinist ( 96637 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:15PM (#2820577)
    It's not like they were going to be in the whole movie. I think if Lucas had just done it and not let anyone tell the press, it would end up being one of those cool 'trivia' entries at IMDb:

    "* 30 seconds into the first scene, the boy-band N*Sync can bee seen to the right of the transport. 5 seconds later, they are blown to bits."

    Oh well. I mean, I hate all those processed-pop bands, but it would have been cool in retrospect if it had been done tounge in cheek. I mean, after all, 'Attack of the clones' and boy bands? Who can't see the irony?
    • They weren't going to die. See Coming Attraction's AOTC [corona.bc.ca] page for the original story with the never-confirmed death report, the (presumed) correction, and a link to an MP3 with the 'NSync guy saying they're cut.

      This isn't necessarily definitive, either. E! Online is reporting that it's still George's call [yahoo.com]. This might, in fact, just be a ploy to get everyone to shut-up about it. Then Lucas could still sneak the cameos in without the majority of SW fanatics knowing until well afterwards, if ever at all.

      I don't care either way, personally; people are making too big a deal about nothing. If the original Star Wars can have Billy Dee Williams in a major role, Episode II can have some meaningless pop stars amidst a hundred other extras in non-speaking, uncredited roles.

  • Here's a story on eetimes concerning the compression of VoIP packet headers that claims a 40:2 ratio. Compressed Real-Time Protocol ain't a 100:1, but this is real technology that sounds like it will be in use by cisco and motorola pretty soon.

    http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20020108S0054

    The basic idea is that the compression of the packet header becomes more and more important as the compression of the payload of the packet also increases.. since the compression ratio for the actual data is already pretty good, effnet is working on compressing the packet headers with good success. They claim an increase in traffic over a t-1 from 90 VoIP channels up to 234..

    that's real.

  • "A Samsung representative also confirmed the cancellation of Yopy, the company's planned Linux-based PDA."


    Remember the fancy Yopy demos on CeBIT 2000? The add-on camera on top of one of them? The amazingly colorful display? The concept of extensibility with e. g. a GSM cell phone, a GPS receiver, a TV set, some storage and whatever.

    Exactly that kind of concept has actually been available for about a year - not Samsung's Yopy but Compaq's iPAQ, and it's running GNU/Linux.

  • Of course it's an hoax... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by pinkpineapple ( 173261 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:17PM (#2820585) Homepage
    It was not, then why stop at 100:1 compression? If the compression scheme was able to compress ramdom data at this ratio, then why not feeding it with its own output and get 10000:1 the second time, and do that a few more times?

    PPA -- the girl next door.

    • So I guess if gziping a gzip file doesn't make it any smaller, then gzip must be a hoax.

    • Re:Of course it's an hoax... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Azog ( 20907 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:10PM (#2820864) Homepage
      Well, you are correct it's a hoax, but they didn't actually say "random". It was something like "essentially random" and they probably left a few other weasel words in there.

      It is easy to prove that it is impossible for any lossless compression scheme to compress every file, or to compress random data more than half the time. This is why their claims to get around entropy and supercede Shannon's work are so ridiculous.

      The informal version of the proof is something like:

      Digital files are essentially numbers.
      Bigger files have more bits.
      There are 2^n possible files n bits long.
      Compression is essentially using shorter numbers to index longer numbers.
      There are many more longer numbers than shorter numbers.
      So, no matter what indexing scheme you choose, there won't be enough short numbers to go around.
      So, you can only index some of the long numbers.
      So, you can only compress some files.

      And that's it... For any encryption method, there are files it can't compress. Period. In fact, for any encrytion method, there are so many more big numbers than small numbers that you won't be able to compress most files.

      The reason you don't notice this, and gzip and Zip and the rest actually work really well in practice is that humans tend to be interested in a very tiny fraction of all the possible numbers/files out there.

      We don't usually have large random files. Our files tend to have lots of structure, lots of repetition... this is "entropy", and Shannon's proofs about information entropy are very deep and very brilliant.

      Personally, I think it's more likely that someone will find a way to bypass Einstein's theory of relativity than to bypass Shannon's theory of information entropy.

      .
      • Well, you are correct it's a hoax, but they didn't actually say "random". It was something like "essentially random" and they probably left a few other weasel words in there.

        Given that a huge string of 0's is bound to come up in a random number stream, I'm quite certain I could come up with a 100,000 to 1 compression rate for "essentially random" data given sufficient funding.

        Any buyers?
    • Thing is, if it were true no one would use it unless it was built in to Windows/Internet Explorer.

  • Lucas is such a known control freak, I *highly* doubt that he got rid of the cameo (if he did) because of public uproar. Supposedly, he put in the cameo because his daughter is major fan on N'Sync.

    I don't understand what the big deal was anyway. It's not as if they were singing the theme song or something. If you don't like their music, grow up and deal with it.

    Not to mention that I bet 98% of the whiners have never even listened to one of their albums.

  • Jar Jar (Score:2, Funny)

    by Edward Teach ( 11577 )
    Perhaps with enough negative reaction, we can get Anakin to slice Jar Jar in half with that fancy new lightsabre he has.

  • Yopy is still out there... (Score:5, Informative)

    by wobedraggled ( 549225 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:21PM (#2820608) Homepage
    The Yopy was Dropped by Samsung, but was re-designed by g.mate the comapny that was in cortrol of the unit all along. It's got just about the same specs as most of the pda's coming out now, but with and odd keyboard layout. check out [yopy.com] or [gmate.co.kr] Personally I'll be getting the Zaurus shortly, and from what I've seen this is the Linux PDA to get.
    • The are even taking orders [gmate.com] and claim that shipping is scheduled begin on Dec 21, 2001... I didn't see any mention on the site on whether it was shipping or not.

      Good to see that g.mate is continuing with it... If they where canceling it.. purchasers of the developer model would be really mad for wasting $700 on a dead product.

  • Linux PDA (Score:3, Informative)

    by wiredog ( 43288 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:24PM (#2820624) Journal
    From ZDNET [zdnet.com]

    "Royal Consumer Information Products, best known for low-cost commodity appliances like shredders and postal scales, this week became the first to announce a low-cost color PDA based on the Linux operating system.

    The $299 device, set for launch in the U.S. by the middle of this year, will be one of the cheapest color handhelds on the market, and also promises to bring Linux to a wider potential market. New color devices from Palm, for example, cost about $100 more than Royal's handheld. "

    • Re:Linux PDA more info (Score:3, Informative)

      by saihung ( 19097 )
      Slightly more detail, with photos:
      http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4430982785.ht ml

      I always associated Royal with low-quality, but if they're not actually building the hardware themselves, and if there will be Linux synching, well that might be pretty cool. Nothing about Mac software though.
  • "Then, a miracle occurs."

  • ReplayTV show sharing site. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Tide ( 8490 ) <chad&chadsdomain,com> on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:49PM (#2820766) Homepage
    Planet Replay [planetreplay.com] is a ReplayTV 4000 show sharing site. Currently its small, but has over 500 shows listed already. Not bad for its first few weeks.

  • Nsync got the shaft (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TheGreenLantern ( 537864 ) <thegreenlntrn@yahoo.com> on Thursday January 10, 2002 @08:53PM (#2820784) Homepage Journal
    I'm sure this will be a very unpopular view, but personally I think N'Sync got the shaft on this one, and it's apparently all because of insecure, immature Star Wars fanboys.

    So George Lucas has a 14 year old daughter, and he thought he'd shut her up by giving N'Sync 3 seconds of screen time. Big fucking deal. It's not like this affects the integrity of the film in any way, shape, or form. It was a fucking cameo for God's sake, and a very short one at that. Rich and famous people get cameo's in movies and TV all the time. 99% of you wouldn't have even noticed it until the DVD came out, and you found the exact time refrence on the Internet.

    I don't listen to N'Sync or anything like it, but I've never understood why anyone would hate them. Christ, they're a band. It's not like pop music should be taken as a personal affront by anyone. No one is making you listen to it. N'Sync isn't running around the country raping your girlfriends and daughters. What, are you so insecure you can't stand it that some boy band is more popular with teenage girls than you are?

    You don't think N'Sync aren't big-time Star Wars fans? You don't think they weren't psyched to get this? Any of you people would be thrilled by an opportunity like this. Basically what this comes down to is petty jealosy, pure and simple. N'Sync is already rich and famous, why should they be so lucky. How dare they bespoil my movie, those bastards. Grow up, all you lamer fanboys who bitched and moaned about this. Don't you have better things to worry about besides who get's blown up by blaster fire in a movie?
    • Lucas has done Camoe himself. About halfway through Beverly Hills Cop 3, Eddie Murphy jumps in front of a couple about to board a ride in the amusement park. The male half of the couple is none other than George Lucas.

    • Re:Nsync got the shaft (Score:5, Funny)

      by tunah ( 530328 ) <sam AT krayup DOT com> on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:35PM (#2820961) Homepage
      No one is making you listen to it.

      Well I'm glad you control the stereo in your house. Some of us have 13 year old sisters :(

    • Re:Nsync got the shaft (Score:5, Funny)

      by sam_handelman ( 519767 ) <samuel DOT handelman AT gmail DOT com> on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:54PM (#2821025) Journal
      It's not like pop music should be taken as a personal affront by anyone.

      MTV Exec: Evidently, the thing people who read this slashdot web-thingy hate most is when puppy dog eyed young men sing bubblegum and dance in unison.

      MTV VP: Ex-cellent. (ala Monty Burns) Cancel 'Daria' and run a four hour special on where O-Town buys their jeans. That'll show 'em.

      MTV Exec: After that, they hate AOL.

      MTV VP: We'll stream babble from an AOL chatroom across the bottom of the screen.

      MTV Exec: Yes, my master. Soon it will be time to reveal ourselves.

      What, are you so insecure you can't stand it that some boy band is more popular with teenage girls than you are?

      Yes, but I judge women purely on their secondary sexual characteristics, so on the pop music front it pretty much balances out.

      N'Sync isn't running around the country raping your girlfriends and daughters.

      That's a tautology, since we slashdotters have neither.

    • Re:Nsync got the shaft (Score:5, Informative)

      by cgleba ( 521624 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @11:10PM (#2821306)
      I hate N'sync not because of jealousy, not because I dislike their music and not because I dislike them.

      I hate them because they are a symbol of modern pop culture, the marketing machine that calculates what you should think and then creates it. I hate that the fans, my fellow Americans, who are completely ignorant to the fact that they were atrifically created, a T-1000 of the year 2000, a puppet, a robot to suck money out of the pockets of young teen's parents and to sway the fragile and youthful minds into a 'market share'.

      I hate the fact that they are the drug of the industrailist machine that keeps its workers happy and ignorant, a 'soma' in this Brave New World.

      I hate the fact that they are the icons of conformist pop culture, a culture that spits on any other ideas, a culture that breeds ignorance and a culture that so typifies America.

      "N'Sync" is the marketing term for this. It is the name of the symbol. It is a buzz word more then a band, the shwastika of music industry.

      The people in the band are probably cool kids and they got the shaft as soon as they signed up for the band. Their lives are probably controlled by "image" and "popularity" however that was the deal with the devil that they accepted when they willfully signed.

      If my burger sucks I'll complain to the waitress. She didn't make the burger, 'I shouldn't take it out on her' but if I put pressure on her to make a better burger, she'll go to the cook and proxy the pressure. I don't have access to the cook.

      I hate pop culture because I hate mass ignorance and I hate the pressure that so many teen agers go through to 'conform' with twig-thin bodies, cool clothes and the perfect attitude. I state my disdain with this to the waitress of pop culture, "N'Sync" so that the back-line cooks, the marketing gurus of pop culture may hear it through proxy.

      • It's all about the ad $$$ (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Nehemiah S. ( 69069 ) on Friday January 11, 2002 @03:26AM (#2822081)
        I completely agree with your post. I suggest, however that you move from hate to a more enlightened perspective- why hate idiots when you can laugh at them from a distance??? Both are perfectly futile as objective outlooks, but the seconds leads to lower blood pressure and fewer strokes/heart attacks/psychotic episodes.

        -----

        IMUHO the truly funny thing about all of this is that anyone who understands classical science fiction understands that the relationship between Star Wars and SF is exactly the same as the relationship between N*sync and the thousands of excellent, non-manufactured musicians performing in bars and clubs across the world.

        People who crave epic fantasy productions** (in the Campbellian sense****) have no modern epic fantasy productions to enjoy. Therefore they become excited by the most trite and pitiful semblance thereof, provided it is well advertised. I.E. Star Wars becomes the biggest smash hit in hollywood history, and people who should know better still worship it 23 years later. Mel Brooks understood it [imdb.com] in 1987, yet the collective slashdot audience does not (even today, even with his help).

        People who crave beautiful, passionate, exciting music** have no (readily apparent) beautiful modern music to enjoy. Therefore they become excited by the most trite and pitiful semblance thereof, provided it is well advertised. I.E. N*sync becomes becomes the biggest smash hit in music history, while Derek Dick, the greatest lyricist in the world, holds an estate sale to feed his wife and daughter. Weird Al understood it [imdb.com] well before 1985, yet the vast majority of targets*^*^* do not (even today, even with his help).

        It's hilarious.

        -----

        The original SW was vain, insipid, proselytizing, and fscking annoying- a symptom of a diseased culture- if for no other reason than that there is no better alternative. With all the incredible pieces of art which have been produced in that field, in the seminal literature which both defines and accompanies humanity as we progress towards our destiny, a story about a white trash farmer's son who blows up a space station is the best we can hope for??? At least the Good Guys(tm) win.

        Star Wars was successful because 1) it was (fairly) well done (especially in comparison with other sf films of the time) 2) it was advertised like no other film in history and 3)Lucas understood enough about human nature to know what appealed to the people he was trying to sell to. EXACTLY the same reasons N*synch are successful. The reason you don't remember it is because your parents were the victims, not yourselves. Or, perhaps, because the advertising that was targetted at you was successful, while N*sync advertising is not successful b/c it is not targetted at you.

        David Brin, back before the trolls drove him from slashdot, had an incredible post about this exact subject. Too bad I don't have time to try to find it...

        6 prophecies:

        [1] In 10 years, current N*sync fans will not be fans of (insert 2012 boy band name here). They will have children, and say that fans of (insert 2012 boy band name here) are vain, insipid, proselytizing, and fscking annoying. The reason they are fans of N*sync today is that the advertisements for N*sync(2002) are targetted towards them, while the advertisements for N*sync(2012) will be targetted at their children.

        [2]You will pay to take your children to see Star wars Episode VII- and it will suck just as badly as I-VI. People who think Star Wars Episode I was awesome will agree that it sucks.

        [3]Your children will love it. They will also have N*Sync(2012) posters above their beds.

        [4]You won't understand your children's POV, and your children will think "parents just don't uderstand...".

        [5]Lucasfilms/"Free Lance Entertainment" [freelanceent.com] (lol) will laugh all the way to the bank

        [6]Rev. Neh Scudder will still think 1-5 are hilarious.

        Rev. Neh
        First Prophet

        **all people, as in, symptomatic of human nature. Endemic. See any Joseph Campbell book for details.

        ****either Joseph or John :P

        *^*^* {that select portion of western civilization which has sufficient disposable income to purchase large quantities of compact disks, i.e. 14 year old girls}
  • "Apparently, the negative public reaction to n'sync's appearence in episode 2 has caused lucas to drop their cameo."

    Judging by the cult-ish following of his movies, I thought George Lucas was in the business of making public opinion, not bowing to it.

    • Re:George Lucas did what? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by alpinist ( 96637 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:41PM (#2820985)
      I think the cult-ish following is what makes it hard for Lucas to actually be creative and do much more than rehash what he's already done without upsetting his fan base.

      I think part of that is because the first SW movie came out in 1977. Most of us who were even born then had to have our parents drive us to the movies to see it. And then we prayed for a ton of SW stuff for birthdays and X-Mas so we could make our own version of the SW universe in the living room with our best friend. Now let those memories sit in the nostalgia machine for 20 years, you've got some powerful mojo working there.

      So now, when we think 'new Star Wars movie' we relate it to when we were little kids and in absolute awe of these movies. It's like it's YOUR movie, and it's still your own universe for you and your best friend. So, one is highly polarized about the subject, there's very little middle ground. Aspects of these new movies are either loved or hated, and people get very vocal, especially since we're all so easily heard on the 'net.

      At least that's what I think. Me, I'm still kicking myself for not keeping all the original Star Wars toys I got as a kid. :P
    • Lucas is on his way down anyway. THX-1138 was his last good movie.

      Star Wars was a fluke. It had ahead-of-its-time special effects, and a simple plot that appeals to idiots, while trying to remain subtle enough not to offend slightly smarter viewers.

      Moderators- Strong opinions are not flamebait, even if you disagree with them.
  • First Lucas includes a death scene of a boy band at the request of his daughter. Then he removes it at the request of a howling Internet mob. Obviously Lucas learnt everything he knows about artistic integrity from George Costanza.

    Maybe it would save time if he posted any script changes to Slashdot and we can mod them up and down: (Score 3, 'Funny'; Score 4, 'Jah-Jah suffering visibly'; Score 0 'Overrated')
  • According to E! Online: [yahoo.com]
    Lucasfilm spokeswoman Lynn Hale wouldn't confirm Thursday whether 'N Sync will or will not appear in the final cut of Clones, saying "it's just too early to make that decision."

    "The 'N Sync guys were shot as extras, and whether they're in or out won't be determined until the final edit," Hale says.

    And there you have it.

  • Sorry to burst your bubble but N'Sync is ... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Augusto ( 12068 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:57PM (#2821262) Homepage
    ... probably still in there.

    theforce.net : Bye, Bye, Bye 'NSync? Not So Fast [theforce.net]
  • I wouldn't worry too much about the Samsung / G-Mate relationship. It seems to me that G-Mate gave up on them about a year ago when they spec'd out the first Yopy / "YDK" for Samsung. The newest Yopy is quite cool and has a lot of room for potential. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of them - and for 399 - if the cell phone attachment could work in the US .. it's not a bad deal.

    Just my $0.02

  • Unseasonably Warm (Score:2, Offtopic)

    by whjwhj ( 243426 )
    From the unseasonably-warm dept.

    Warm here in Minnesota too. If you've been paying any attention whatsoever to the weather in the last 10 years you have to wonder if climate change is playing a role. I'm convinced it is.

    It's going to be pretty difficult for skeptics to argue the scientific merits of the "theory" of climate change when they can walk outside on any given day and experience it firsthand.

    We need to do something about this pronto. Otherwise our descendents are going to have a lot more important things to chat about than compression schemes and pop bands.
  • Does anybody want yopy.org? It's coming up for renewal, and I have no interest in renewing it. But neither do I want a domain name speculator to get it.
    -russ
  • I thought that the idea of putting a boy band cameo into a star wars movie was a BAD idea. Then I thought it over. In 10 years, its a good bet that most people will only vaguely remember who they were and even fewer people will actually recognize them.

    Secondly, although it might have been somewhat tacky, placing members of a boy band as clones had a certain ironic twist to it that made the whole idea work out well.

    And third... the opportunity to see a boy band get blown to bits overrules my desire to not see an uncorruptable starwars movie. Its already been contaminated anyways. It's got JarJar.

    -Restil

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