SteveJ-restore-test

My friend Mark expanded on my idea of "HD DV being irrelevant" - like phone SIM's, video stores can sell/rent videos on flash cards (like SD) sealed in a credit-card carrier. The issues are more commercial than technical. 8Gb USB flash memory might hit the A$50 price point this year - and A$30 next year. There is a 'base price' for flash memory - around $10-$15. This inverts the current cost structure of expensive reader/writer and cheap media. Which is perfect for rental/leasing of media - a refundable 'media deposit' works. An added bonus for content owners is a significant "price barrier" for consumers wanting to make a copy. If a 'stack' of 100 SD cards costs $1500 (vs $100 for DVDs), very few people will throw these around 'like candy'. Mark's comments: Y'know, the more I think of it, the more the SD-embedded-in-a-credit-card has a lot of appeal when the availability and price point for 8Gb SDs is right. It makes...

Over the last year I've penned 6+ e-mails to various Labor Party politicians - including one of my local representatives who've I dealt with for ~10 years. And not one reply. Zero, Zip, Nada... Rang the Good Person's electoral office today - and got various run-around responses. "Oh, I've been on holiday", "Oh, can they call you" and "they are booked solid for a month". Yeah, right. I first contacted my rep. last December saying "this can wait until after the School Holidays". January came and went, no reply... A follow-up email yielded nothing... A note to the support staff was replied to: "I've moved. XXX is responsible". What I originally wanted to talk about was 3 emails I'd sent various members without even getting acknowledged. Which is strange, because in the media I've seen reports that Political Parties are now tracking every contact from a voter. Putting together, apparently, impressive profiles ...

Talking to a friend at lunch today, the topic of "Blu-Ray" vs "HD DV" formats came up... I think "Blu-Ray" may take the market, but it won't be much of a market. There are just too many competitors for moving around video files: DVD format disks - still good for 8Gb (dual layer). Drives & media are cheap. flash memory - 2008 sees A$50 for 8Gb on USB (less on SD card) A$300 for 750-,1000Gb USB hard-drives. Under $1/DVD. Internet download. With ADSL 2+ giving 5-10Mbps for many. My thesis to my friend was "Video stores may well go for SD cards". Pay a refundable deposit for the flash card, and a fee (rental or ownership) for the content. Video stores can pre-burn large numbers of movies - and if you want a 'special' - they can make one for you in 20 minutes. His response: "they could package them like SIMs - in a snap-off credit card-sized holder". Which is better than any idea I've had on packaging. And it fulfills th...