Toshiba conceded the Hi-Def format war earlier today. Rumours of their forthcoming announcement had circulated the net for some days already, so one can’t claim surprise.

I’ve been getting quite a lot of feedback to my two-part rant about the format war. Since it’s obvious some people have difficulties in comprehending written text, I’d like to clear things up a bit.

Finland’s most influential newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, published a short news item about Warner’s decision to support only Blu-ray from May 2008 onwards. The ensuing discussion on HS’ website was interesting reading, mostly because the majority of chuckleheads there were convinced that Blu-ray’s victory will lead to cheaper movies and players. Dream on, people, dream on.

It was mere days before CES 2008 and the already announced HD DVD press conference, when Warner Bros. shook the industry with its announcement of their exclusive support for the Blu-ray format (from May 2008 onwards). Early adopters and industry pundits everywhere wasted no time in declaring the format war over.

Politicians are a lot like diapers: they should be changed frequently, and for the same reason.
– Tom Dobbs, Man of the Year

Jenkkien jeesustelu alkaa mennä hippasen liian pitkälle.

Otetaan yksi HD DVD-soitin, hintaan 499.99 dollaria. Laitetaan päälle rahtikuluja 57.50 taalaa. UPS:n laskun mukaan vaihtokurssi on 0.79063014, joten tuontiarvo $557.49 = ~440,77 euroa.

DVD-soittimista kannetaan nykyään 14 prosenttia tuontiveroa, eli tässä tapauksessa ~61,71 euroa. Ennen ALV:n laskemista tuontiarvoon ynnätään vero, joten ALV lasketaan summasta ~502,48 euroa. ALV (22%) on täten ~110,55 euroa.

tämän. Uhraa 15 minuuttia edes ensimmäisen sivun lukemiseen ja mieti, mitä kaikki lukemasi merkitsee tulevaisuudellemme.

Brian Flemmingin dokumentti ‘The God Who Wasn’t There’. Erinomainen. Mikäli suosimasi dvd-nettikauppa ei dokkaria tarjoa, kannattaa etsiä vaikkapa mininovasta ja luottaa BitTorrenttiin.

Charlie Sheen gave an interview to Alex Jones (of Prisonplanet “fame”) where he openly questioned the US government’s official story of what happened on 9/11. Whereas Alex Jones usually does more harm than good in exposing high-level conspiracies (I can’t help it – the guy acts like a fuming crackpot, and therefore has no credibility), my hat is off to Mr. Sheen. He’s a star of a popular sitcom, and making such statements could easily ruin his career. I happen to agree with him: there are way too many unanswered questions and plenty of proof of foul play surrounding 9/11. Let’s hope other celebrities have the courage to come out and demand a truly independent investigation – though I’m sad to say that it’s probably too late already. Anyways, kudos to Mr. Sheen. (If you don’t know what this is all about, google for “Charlie Sheen” and 9/11)