zakur wrote (and included with a post):

Japanese blades often did not have a tsuba (hand guard)

Nonsense. A tsuba is an integral part of a practical katana. Only decorative or ceremonial long blades occasionally (e.g. shirisaya) lacked them. The tsuba didn't just protect the wielder from an opponent's blade, it also prevented the wielder's hand from sliding onto the blade during thrusts. Fighting with a tsuba-less sword would be folly.

That clears up a point of confusion for me. In the series "Bleach" the other Soul Reapers find Ichigo Kurusaki's sword surprising because of its size (it's almost as long as he is tall) and that it doesn't have a handguard (as far as I know his is the only sword without one).

BTW, in "Bleach" the sword is called a zanpakto. Its size reflects the power of the soul reaper who wields it. Ichigo's zanpakto (in its normal state) is the largest one that I've seen.

Hurricane78 wrote:

Problem is: When they stop working, it rips you into pieces. ;)

True. My opinion on the way Star Trek's gravity system works (based on what we've seen) is that the system is fine as long as everything goes as planned (the system perfectly handles the gravity to ensure there isn't even a sensation of moment). However, it is when anything unexpected (like a shot from an enemy ship) happens that's when the gravity system lags in compensating for the change in momentum. However, it is still fast enough to minimize the danger to the crew (so they get a non-lethal jolt instead of going splat against the wall).

10101001 10101001 wrote as part of a post:

In a similar vein, up until Windows 95, there were various schemes to overcome the 8.3 limitation of DOS filenames. Most used the idea of keeping a separate file (descript.ion for example) containing a short and long filename and merging them in memory with the directory listing for long filename supporting programs. Microsoft decided to do something similar, except they stored the long file names directly within the directory listing--ie, the took two separate streams of information and made them one.

In a related note, this sounds similar to the way that Profession Write used to store its document information. It would automatically create an extra file in the directory that contained document information on all of the Professional Write documents in the directory, including the long document name.

Returning to the topic of the article, I request a clarification. I've read the original article in the original thread and I'm unsure of exactly the issue is. From that I read, it seems like the issue isn't that the document is saved in many pieces (which the OpenDocument format does). Rather, it seems like the issue is that MS Word can create custom made XML tags on its own and that is what the issue is. If that is the case, would this have an affect on the OpenDocument format? Thanks in advance for the clarification.

sznupi wrote:

Or built in LaTeX for extra points? (even e-book readers should be fast enough nowadays for it...)

For me, it isn't important which format is chosen as long as: (1) it renders consistently (as an example, if I choose a font that is supported by the reader, it should reliably render on my reader in that font), and (2) formatting and editing tools are commonly available for users to make their own e-books.

Using the Palm Reader format as an example, Palm provides a guide on how to markup your text files as e-books using a text editor (the markup language is similar to HTML and can be picked up in a few minutes), a free program that allows you to convert the formatted text files into e-books, and a paid program that allows you to convert text, RTF, and HTML files into its markup language, and convert them into e-books. It makes it very easy to create and consistently format your e-books. Based on my own experience, I've found Palm Reader format (.pdb) to be a very good e-book format, and one designed specifically for e-books.

For me, the main advantage of using HTML and RTF as ebook formats is that they are already well established, and if you have a Windows or Mac you already have the tools needed to create and edit these files. I've heard of LaTex, but I'm not sure if it as available and usable for the average user (if I'm wrong please correct me).

jecblackpepper wrote:

But having PDF that has its page size the same size of the screen still defeats one of the major advantages of an ebook. That is, the ability to change font size and re-flow the text accordingly.

I often change font size to fit the conditions in which I'm reading on my Cybook. Typically I use a single font-size that I'm comfortable with, but there are times when I like it to be larger: in dim light when I don't want to strain my eyes reading it; when its on the book stand on my exercise bike and thus further away than I would normally hold it, when I'm on a train and I need to compensate for my hand shaking etc.

I agree that being able to resize the text on the fly is a strong advantage of e-books. With my Sony Reader, even though the text is sized to the screen, I do have the ability to increase the size of the text (it basically just makes the text as large as possible while still fitting the entire page on one screen).

One thing I'd like to see on all e-book readers is the ability to use basic HTML as a format, while using an internal (maintained in the reader) Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) to control the formatting of the text. For instance, the user can set the CSS to render paragraphs in Georgia 14pt with 12pt of blank space after the paragraph, while H1 would rendered in Helvetica 18pt, centered, with a page break before the heading.

initdeep wrote:

not all pdf's are scaled to the screen.

if it's created for the sony screen size it works perfectly, and iirc there is a wat to make a pdf that does not have hard page breaks and line breaks but will actually reflow when opened in the sony reader.

I agree that PDFs are terrific on the Sony Reader as long as they are sized for the screen. When it comes for formatting my e-books, I prefer to take care of it myself (setting page size and margins, and having it set the page breaks via styles) rather than making the e-book reader do the work.

When it comes to the new e-book readers, one feature I hope Sony (and other e-book reader makers if they haven't already added the feature) adds to their readers is the ability for the user to choose a typeface when displaying RTF files and plain text files. I prefer to read my e-books in a serif typeface, and often the reader displays them in a sans serif typeface regardless of the actual font in the original document. I searched online for help and wasn't able to find any.

This is the main reason that I choose to format my e-books as PDFs. With RTF and plain text files I couldn't control the typeface the text would be shown in. With RTF files, sometimes they would display in the typeface that I chose, and at other times they would display in a different typeface.

When I was using my Palm T/X as an ebook reader, one of the features I liked about the ereader program was I could choose the specific font that I wanted my ebooks to displayed in. I had the option of several different fonts that I could use.

Falconhell wrote as part of a post:

Pete Townsend of The Who had hearing damage, which occoured due to excessive headphone volume in the recording studio, not live gigs.

I remember hearing in a TV program (I think it was on VH1) that Pete Townsend's hearing was damaged during The Who's performance of "My Generation" on The Smothers Brothers Show. An explosion was set up to go off in the drumset at the end of the appearance, but it set up to be far too powerful. When the explosion went off it damaged Pete Townsend's hearing.

The following is a link to a YouTube video of the performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9-JdubfUCw

I'd add basic HTML to the list of durable formats. Even if there is difficulty in rendering it as a webpage, it can be opened the file in a text editor and the document information (such as the text and formatting) is easy to figure out.

jkiol wrote:

Not only have I forgotten how to write in cursive, I've forgotten how to write in lower case.

I also don't use lower case letters when writing. Rather, my "lower case" letters are simply half the size of my "capital" letters.

This is due to my time in the military, when I was working in jobs that trained me to write in all upper case letters for clarity (errors caused by unclear handwriting were not acceptable). Even when no longer required by the job, I found that I liked the clarity that writing that way provided to both me and people who needed to read my handwriting.

That is the main reason, besides lack of use, that I no longer write in cursive. Even when writing in cursive regularly, at times my own handwriting was difficult for me to read when I tried to read something that I'd written recently. But with things I've written in block letters (as described above), even decades later they are still as legible as computer-printed documents.

Despite the advent of computers, I think there will always be a need for handwriting. But as it has been made clear by the many posts in the thread, one of the main reasons cursive is fading from use is that many people find it much easier to write in block lettering or in upper/lower case lettering. That, and people's bad experience in trying to learn and use cursive have caused them to abandon cursive when no longer required to use it.

I think that, eventually, cursive writing will move into the same realm as calligraphy. It will be an admired artistic skill that (when done well) produces beautiful results.

mikael_j wrote:

If I recall correctly these days some researchers are classifying Generation X as those born between the mid-60s and the late 70s and Generation Y as those born from the mid-80s to the mid-90s with those born inbetween these two generations being called the "Cold Y Generation".

/Mikael

There was a book called "13th Gen" released a few years ago that deals with the people that have also been called "Generation X." Per that book, using those born in the mid-60s to mid-80s as the defining birth years is based on the end of the baby boom. "13th Gen" refers to those born between 1961 and 1981 as the thirteen generation since the founding of the United States.

The reason that the book "13th Gen" uses 1961 to 1981 as the defining birth years for the 13th Gen is that while the baby boom continued to the mid-1960s, the individuals born after 1960 were socially and culturally different from those who were part of the Baby Boom Generation.

Opportunist wrote as part of a post:

Rights holders claim that without DRM they'd lose sales. My claim is you lose at least as many because of it. Actually, you don't "win" any sales with DRM, or rather, compared to the sales you lose because of DRM, your gain is minuscle.

I can provide a personal example of lost sales due to DRM. I basically passed on buying music on-line due to DRM, regardless of the price. Basically, it was only until this year, when I could get DRM-free music from iTunes and Amazon.com, that I started buying music on-line (mostly music that I could not locally find on CD or was too expensive on CD).

Now, I've purchased quite a bit of music on-line. But if DRM was still in place, those sales would not have happened.

91degrees wrote and included with a post:

Yeah, that totally didn't ruin any immersion..

No, what ruined the immersion was bad voice acting.

Does the fact that Chief Wiggum, Moe, Principal Skinner, Apu and Professor Frink all have the same voice actor ruin The Simpsons? No, because Hank Azaria is a talented actor who gives each character his own voice. Hell, Eeyore and Optimus Prime have the same voice. Nobody cares because they sound different.

I think that is the key ("Nobody cares because they sound different"). Each character should have a distinctive voice, and one that is appropriate to the character. That is the problem with using famous actors as voice actors, the real them tends to overpower the character they are playing.

Returning to the anime series Bleach, there is a voice actor named Kyle Hebert who provides the voice of both Ganju Shiiba and Sosuke Aizen. The performance he gives as each character is so completely different that it was complete surprise to find out that the same voice actor performs both characters.

tepples wrote and included with a post:

[In a non-Pokemon related work,] They had used the same voice actor as the one who did Misty in the Dutch translated version of the Pokemon tv show.
Yeah, that totally didn't ruin any immersion..

Did it also ruin immersion when Tim Allen played Tim Taylor in Home Improvement, Santa Claus in The Santa Clause trilogy, and Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story?

Sometimes using the same voice actor for different roles can be a little distracting. I'm a fan of the series Bleach and many of the voice actors from that series do many different characters. For example, a check of the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) shows that Wendee Lee, Megan Hollingshead, Kate Higgins, and Stephanie Sheh both do at least two regular voice actor roles in the series. But they often alter their voices so that they sound significantly different in different roles.

Also, many of the voice actors from Bleach have appeared in many other series over the years. As an example, a check of the IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0283253/) shows that Wendee Lee alone has over 290 voice actor credits.

BitterOak wrote:

Meryl Streep's character in Doubt had it absolutely right. Ball-point pens are to blame. People in my parent's generation who learned to write with fountain pens always seemed to have better handwriting than me. I always struggled with cursive in school: my writing was very slow and messy.

A few years ago I bought my first fountain pen, and now, writing is a pleasure. I still don't write terribly neatly; it seems whatever pen you learn to write with determines your handwriting for life. But I can write in cursive much faster and my penmanship has improved a bit. If you have never tried a fountain pen, I urge you to. I never thought writing cursive could be a pleasure.

I agree that fountain pens are terrific to write with. I used to use them in high school because they gave better writing quality that ball point pens. With recent pens, the ones that come closest to the writing quality of fountain pens are the rollerball pens (the kind of pen I use now) and the gel writer pens.

Returning to the topic of the thread, I think the major factor that has led to cursive writing falling into disuse is that people are no longer required to use it. For myself, outside of grade school I've never been required to write in cursive. Now, I no longer have the ability to write in cursive.

I think another factor in the decline in cursive handwriting is that so much of our writing no longer remains in a fixed place. What I mean by this is, before the advent of electronic communication our writing basically stayed on a piece of paper. The only way the writing could travel is if it was sent or handcarried to someone.

Now, much of what we write travels in a non-physical form. Rather that writing letters on paper, we write e-mails and text messsages where the text only exists in an electronic form. Also, much of what is handwritten ends up being retyped into an electronic format at a later time.

Man On Pink Corner wrote as part of a post:

An earlier poster had it right: batteries are bombs. Want a lot of power in a small space? Then you're going to have to put up with the occasional case of China Syndrome. Sorry, that's how it works.

From what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong), it is in the nature of lithium batteries to go out of control. Much of the engineering of lithium batteries is to (1) prevent them from following their nature (ensure they don't go out of control) and (2) ensure they fail safely when it does occur.

I think the last point is the key. If the battery in a device fails, it should fail in a way that doesn't put the user in danger (even if it destroys the device).