Yeah I couldn't handle either mess. I've built some of my web apps on DooPHP which I've found to be really well coded (building a blog would be a snap, in fact it's one of their demo apps) and based a couple communities on Simple Machines Forum, which is kinda messy on the backend, and another on Vanilla Forums which is actually quite nice underneath.

http://doophp.com/
http://vanillaforums.org/
http://simplemachines.org/

Exactly, here's an example you can browse. A bunch of feeds on a bunch of stuff all categorized for easy viewing: http://www.netvibes.com/rident

How about Netvibes? I've used and enjoyed them for quite a while. In fact I'm making this post from there right now. http://www.netvibes.com/

Agreed, one afternoon of watching AVGN will bring out the truth in the parent's statement.

Yeah I totally agree with Pecosdave here. Make me ashes and toss me back to the earth, keep your memories. How selfish and inconsiderate toward the living for the dead to occupy a portion of land infinitely.

Agreed, the message is more important. Also I'm all for mad digital photo editing skills but the process of recreating the exact angles from the WWII photos isn't exactly quick or easy either. This project either involved lots of measuring or lots of trial and error.

Give this localman a medal!

Sounds like "content moderator" may become an industry job title. I run a small set of forums and get some spammers but they are easy enough to ban and moderate out of conversations just by checking once a day. Hiring someone who can tell an advert or troll comment from an insightful one can't be that hard or costly. Why suffer while the software is obviously still a leg down? Human's can do this quite easily, especially at the scale of a small news site, and last I checked there are some humans out there that need a job.

I'd have to agree, 65 feet with a decent lens should not be an issue. They make temporary rules like this to keep people out of somewhat dangerous conditions and out from under toe when the clean up crew needs to make quick changes. It's not like these reporters are standing around the sidewalks beside a couple of collapsed buildings while the rubble is being removed. They are on a boat which is constantly fighting the currents of the open ocean while trying to get close for the best shots; this situation has potential to lead to reporters getting in the way and possibly causing a mid-ocean collision or worse, personal injury or death. They have the right to request further access too so I don't really see an issue with the Coast Guard's decision.

Microsoft doesn't exactly like it when you crack their XBoxes and Zunes either. How is that different than Apple?

Flash (either by Macromedia, or now Adobe) has never been great. The only place it's been okay is Windows and for a long time it had poor support in OSX and little to no support in Linux (there were even mildly successful attempts at reverse engineering it to at least provide something). Flash is the holder of a fairly atrocious security record much like its new found sibling, Adobe Reader. Flash has also always had very poor video performance when compared to desktop streaming video applications and has never supported more than 2-channel audio. To utilize most of Flash's video playback features you are required to use their proprietary flv format. Where is the openness in that? I see it was conveniently not mentioned in the Adobe letter.

Scribd is going HTML5 and hopefully other document providers do also. HTML5 can defeat Flash paper and PDF. Text is text and it can be formatted and displayed in any fashion, in any font, for any medium with HTML5 and CSS and sometimes a little JavaScript.

Apple has it's share of bullshit. The closed, guarded app store which allows religious bigot applications but not political satire is completely offensive and I will never own one of their products. Their insistence on HTML5 but only supporting their chosen audio/video formats is equally distressing. iTunes/iPod is just as poor with a lack of offering and supporting open standards audio such a FLAC.

All three are quite good at corporate spin. Adobe is avoiding portions it's and Macromedia's poor track record with Flash and [Acrobat] Reader. Adobe is trying to avert the loss of more web multimedia market share. Apple is avoiding mention of it's limited acceptance policy which not only judges functionality but also application content in what I would consider is a biased fashion. Apple is trying to not just gain some market share but push Adobe's current solution out of the set of viable options for web developers as they have more vested in codecs/devices/desktop applications then web-based playback solutions. Microsoft is playing the vulture card. They have Expression which I can see as becoming a HTML5/JavaScript/CSS IDE or a Flash IDE and Microsoft does know it's way around when developing an IDE. If Adobe loses this PR scramble and Flash is defeated, they will surely follow suit, replace the Flash portion of Creative Suite with an HTML5 Canvas App, and refocus their objectives.

Personally, as a web developer and off-again, on-again Linux user, I hope HTML5 succeeds with the inclusion of open audio and video standards also. I've dealt with enough poor support from the world of Flash on the development and client ends. I've dealt with the problems it's wrought upon the world of disabled web users.

Here's another earlier unboxing. http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6422351#post6422351

Adobe has always been good at dev environments. Good, consistent app interfaces on the design side and supportive IDEs on code side. I have little doubt that Adobe sees this situation and isn't doing what they do best. Creating a great development environment for designing, animating and programming HTML5/CSS3. Microsoft is headed that direction with Expression too. If the standards are going to be open, they'll need to provide the most appealing dev tools instead of the shiniest proprietary codec or plugin.

Wasn't that an episode of Sliders?

How about present a few options instead of offering complaints to complaints people? I know there are some current, fun, "mind-buster" style games out there. I would recommend Braid or Machinarium as interesting, side-scrolling, indie puzzle games. Racing has it's niche in competence also with series like Gran Turismo. FPS is a twitch sport but that doesn't mean the need to think isn't there. Check out games like ARMA2, Americas Army 3, or Resistance and Liberation for more teamwork, realism, strategy. I hope my list is enjoyed, these are just a few of the current games that one could get into which do require a bit of thought not to die, crash, get stuck, and/or lose. Any suggestions for the RPG, RTS, flight sim, or other category that I missed?

Last I knew MKV was a container, not a codec. You can put divx, h264, wmv or whatever you prefer for a video format inside it. Or all of them together at once in parallel tracks. Same goes for audio and subtitle tracks. One more feature MKV preserves from a VOB is chaptering. It really is sweet and the best direction for digital video to go. But the commitment to use one codec should be remembered as Handbrake's decision as just about any audio/video/subtitle formats work inside the MKV container. In h264 vs DIVX, h264 wins outright. I'm also always a fan of wasting a few extra megs on better audio so AC3 is the way I'd go.