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...because it would keep ISPs from becoming shills and police for the movie industry.

"This is a high-stakes debate," Glickman said. "Do we take a stand for intellectual property rights or cast them aside in the digital environment? Are we permitted to respond to consumers, innovate on their behalf and compete with the world, or are we told by our government to stand down? Today, the MPAA and all of our studios are standing up in opposition to broad-based government regulation of the Internet."

During his speech, Glickman stressed that such legislation would severely harm anti-piracy efforts, a matter of concern to everyone in the film industry. "No one here needs a lecture on what happens when one illegal copy makes its way to the Internet -- God forbid on opening weekend -- and is instantly available," Glickman told the movie theater owners, studio execs and others. 

"Today, new tools are emerging that allow us to work with Internet service providers to prevent illegal activity. [But] new efforts are emerging in Washington to stop this essential progress. This effort is being called by its proponents 'Net neutrality.' It's a clever name," Glickman continued, "but there's nothing neutral about this for our customers or for our ability to make great movies in the future." 

Let me get this straight: Net Neutrality is a bad idea because it would make it hard for providers to restrict what a third party thinks might be copyrighted content? Please. How about you develop a new business model to fit today's market and stop living in the 1990's. Don't you miss dialup?

I'm sitting in a panel featuring Daniel Graf from Kyte TV, Eric Steuer from Creative Commons, Carlton Evans from The Moxie Institute, and Robert Scoble of FastCompany.tv.

I walked into the Austin Convention Center expecting to finish my write-up of the Cyber Safety panel and upload the audio that I got from it yesterday. Instead, I was confronted by this man.

Adam Lavis and audio

If you bought an HD-DVD player from Circuit City and it's less than 3 months old, you can trade it in.  The news has been everywhere that Circuit City is offering a secret trade-in.  They'll give you a refund, in the form of a store credit, if you bring back your HD-DVD player and want to swap it for/towards a Blu-ray player.

 

Here are details from Electronic House

 

March 05, 2008 | by Gordon Jones

For those of you "lucky" enough to have purchased an HD DVD player from Circuit City in the last 3 months, the chain is offering a "do-over" of sorts. In what looks to be a somewhat secretive program (you have to ask for it) the City will take that hidef player off your hands and apply its original purchase price towards a new Blu-ray player. Of course, you'll be paying the difference, which could easily be a couple hundred if not more.

And before anyone asks, no, this offer does not apply to discs. That's what eBay is for.

 

A lot of other sites have info as well, and I'll post links to those articles at the end.  There's a part of me that wonders why Circuit City isn't hyping the trade-in offer.  I mean, obviously it represents an expense to them because they're extending a return period, but the commitment to doing right by their customers that they'd show by having a massive announcement about it would be staggering.  By going bigger they'd be able to make non-Circuit City customers aware that they're more pro-sumer than their competitors.

 

We'll see how it works out.  Until then, just like they did at Gizmodo, I'm going to put out the call -

 

Has anyone tried the trade-in?  How'd it work?  Let us know!

 

Links to other articles on the trade-in:

 

Elctronic House

Slash Gear

Gizmodo

engadgetHD

This is all over the place, but here are some specifics from Reuters

By Franklin Paul

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc has decided to exclusively sell high-definition DVDs in the Blu-Ray format, dealing what could be a crippling blow to the rival HD DVD technology backed by Toshiba Corp.

The move by the world's largest retailer, announced on Friday, caps a disappointing week for HD DVD supporters, who also saw consumer electronics chain Best Buy Co Inc and online video rental company Netflix Inc defect to the Blu-ray camp.

In a statement on its Web site, Wal-Mart said that over the next few months it will phase out sales of HD DVD systems and discs. By June, it will sell only products in the Blu-ray format which was developed by Sony Corp.

 

This is indeed huge.  The upside is that the 7 people who bought a PS3 can already play Blu-ray discs.  Also, they tend to be cheaper than an HD-DVD.  For those of you who are wondering, both an HD-DVD Player and a Blu-ray will play your standard DVDs, so you won't be forced to re-purchase your movies.  You can to get the enhanced quality and features, but it won't be like when you dumped VHS and had to re-buy 20 years worth of movies.

 

Another tidbit that was brought to my attention is that Blu-ray discs have 3 formats right now, ranging from 1.0 to 2.0.  A 2.0 player will play all 3, but if you have a 1.0 player and a 2.0 disc you're out of luck.  HD has the advantage there because the players have an ethernet connection that allows you to reach out to Toshiba and get the latest firmware.

 

At this point in the game it seems like it's too early to declare a winner.  For me, I think it's too early to purchase either player.  Now, if you have the money or can get a really good deal, go for it (and let us know about it, of course).  But for what my opinion's worth I would say wait it out.  Sony says that 2.0 will be the final Blu-ray standard and if that becomes reality I'd say go get one.

 

As far as HD-DVD, I'm sorry, but I think it's dead.  Wal-Mart, for all of its perceived evils, is a powerhouse if ever there was one.  If they back (or in this case abandon) a product or technology, it's going to be felt.  And it isn't like they're "preferring" or "recommending" Blu-ray over HD.  They're totally phasing out HD-DVD.  As much as I love Toshiba (I just barely sold my 4-year-old Toshiba cell phone that was collecting dust) I just don't know how they can overcome Wal-Mart dumping them.

 

If you have any doubt over Wal-mart's power let me remind you about The Eagles.  Their last album, which had its initial release as a Wal-Mart exclusive, sold circles around Britney's wide-release comeback album. 

I'm totally psyched that the strike is over.

I'm also totally ok with neither party getting eveything they want - compromise is ok.

What I'm most pleased about is the fact that the staffers get to go back to work.  These people generally make decent to good money, but not enough to finance a 4-month unpaid vacation.  Any time a bunch of hard-working people, often with kida and families, get forced out of work through no fault of their own, that blows.

 

When they get to go back to work, that's a cause for celebration.

Rented, via RedBox, Saw IV and Rush Hour 3 this weekend. Saw IV was a big step up from III, but still didn't have the cache of the original.  It did manage to draw me in with it's parallel narrative, but the ending was (spoiler alert) the same as they used for Saw II.  Granted, a different character, but still the same ending. Still, for $1.49, it was an alright way to spend a couple of hours. Rush Hour 3, however, confirmed my faith in the nickname "Brett Hackner." The actor-generated action was a little weak (due primarily for Jackie Chan being 53) and the other action sequences, like the Paris car chase, were just lame. Going in I was expecting the traditional Rush Hour experience:  A few laughs, a neat stunt or 2 and maybe some shit blowing up.  Didn't really get what I was looking for. Even at the aforementioned $1.49 I feel ripped off.

Scientists, take a break.  I've got this one figured out.

Geekiness is passed on from father to son.

Xander (for those of you who don't know, that'd be my 3 year-old son) actually likes the same things that I do. Sometimes after dinner I'll put in a DVD for us to watch.  Sometimes I play the Dad Card and decide that we're watching what Daddy's watching and if you don't like it you can do something else.  Sometimes, like tonight, I let Xan pick.  He totally asked if we can watch "Buffy."  When I asked him why, he said "I like Spike." It's really cool to see him develop interests and be able to understand what he's seeing on the screen.  He'll tell me things like "There's Willow" or "Uh-oh, they're fighting." The best part, of course, is that I have a 3 year-old who requests that we watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Father of the year?  I'm leaning towards "yes."