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In a recent article, ExtremeTech and Dr Raymond Soneira hold forth that LCoS is the best HDTV imaging technology available today, and that the JVC Professional model DLA-HRM1 is the best LCoS TV out there. And so by extension, the JVC Pro must also be the world’s best HDTV set.

Ray evaluated the 7 main display technologies on 15 points of comparison, and ranked LCoS first, with CRT a close second. Third was DLP, with the 3-chip version edging out the DLP 1-chip. Lumped togther in last spot were PDP (Plasma) and the direct and projection versions of LCD.

The author then had a look at the 6 LCoS HDTV models of which he was able get early or demo samples, and decided that the DLA-HRM1 from JVC is the best. The 1920×1080 48in monitor was described as ‘outstanding’ and as having very accurate colors and gray-scale. The $43K device is intended to be used as a reference monitor, so it’s unlikely ever to reach your local retailer.

The article concludes by remarking on 2 promising future display technologies: SED, which has good black levels & fast pixel response, and the use of LED backlighting for color stability.

LCoS Display Technology Shootout Part A – ExtremeTech, January 31, 2006

Posted in TVs & Monitors ~ 2 Comments

Talk of time travel is back, and, for good this time … perhaps. The eminently qualified Michio Kaku surveys the paradox-fraught field of temporal excursions in a new article entitled “The Physics of Time Travel – Real or Fable?” just published in Quantum Biocommunication.

Kaku states that time travel is at least theoretically possible, as evidenced by a solution to Einstein’s equations put forth by Kurt Goedel, whose work portrays time as a kind of fluid that circulates at varying speeds around and about the universe. And recent developments in the field of quantum gravity have encouraged Kaku enough to imply that the possibilty of time travel is a definite maybe.

The remainder of the article postulates that causality violation can be avoided by means of spinning off a parallel universe just when you happen to take some untoward action, such as killing off your biological grandfather. And then there’s the small problem of actually getting to a different time, which the author suggests can accomplished by stepping through a wormhole caused by a rapidly spinning ring of neutrons created by a rotating black hole [.. good luck in finding a traversable wormhole..]

The Compleat Time Traveller it’s not, but the opening chapters of that book seem to be taking shape.

The Physics of Time Travel – Real or Fable? – Quantum Biocommunication, February 16th, 2006

Posted in -gadget ~ 2 Comments

Mitsubishi has announced a new DLP TV with a wider color gamut and a simpler DLP engine. This new design replaces the lamp and color wheel filter found in older DLP systems with three pipelined laser diodes.

Implementation of the RGB semiconductor lasers makes for purer colors, avoids bulb burnout, allows for a more compact cabinet design and shortens power up time. Elimination of the color wheel also removes those color trails sometimes seen on DLP screens.

Mitsubishi has also added an image post-processing system they call NCM intended to bring the image up to the recently-published IEC 61966-2-4 extended-gamut YCC color space standard, a.k.a. “xvYCC“. The resulting picture is brighter than standard DLP and will have about 1.8 times as many colors.

xvYcc corresponding laser illuminant projection television – Mitsubishi press release, 2006 02 15

Posted in TVs & Monitors ~ 2 Comments

The art and science of selecting an attorney to defend yourself in court can be as problematic as selecting a student for your Law school. Those in need of legal services and those who operate Law schools face many of the same challenges, such as predicting success in the profession and in identifying those lawyerly attributes and traits that correlate with effectiveness in the legal system. Now, a six-year study by Marjorie Shultz, Professor of Law at the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, and Sheldon Zedeck Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, has put forth 26 factors that contribute to good lawyering, viz-

Analysis and Reasoning, Creativity/Innovation, Practical Judgment, Researching the Law, Passion and Engagement, Questioning and Interviewing, Influencing and Advocating, Writing, Speaking, Integrity/Honesty, Able to See the World Through the Eyes of Others, Self-Development, Organizing and Managing Others, Negotiation Skills, Networking and Business Development, Building Client Relationship and Providing Advice and Counsel, Organizing and Managing (Own) Work, Developing Relationships, Evaluation, Development and Mentoring, Problem Solving, Stress Management, Fact Finding, Diligence, Listening, Community Involvement and Service, Strategic Planning.

While the above is an interesting and comprehensive list of factors that can predict success, it seems far too generic and far-ranging and universal a compilation to be useful. It’s difficult to believe that the authors spent a total of six years in compiling this list. Shultz and Zedeck plan to spend even more time to further refine these 26 factors into a test that can replace the current LSAT-based system, which in their view merely predicts law school performance, and does so poorly at best.

Others, who have also studied “lawyer personality traits”, come up with different lists of factors. One such list puts forth the claim that, compared to the general public, lawyers are far more skeptical, have a higher sense of urgency, are less sociable and more autonomous. That list also goes on to state that compared to ‘ordinary’ lawyers, so-called ’super’ lawyers are characterized by a high ego drive, more empathy with others and a high degree of resilience. In their view, the most significant factor in the making of a super lawyer is the aforementioned ego drive, which translates into a propensity to view “argument as sport”.

Still other psychometric tests with lawyerly ambitions include the 16PF Questionnaire, MBTI, and FIRO-B. With MBTI, for example, lawyers tend to cluster in the four corners labeled ISTJ, INTJ, ENTJ and ESTJ, while others end up in ENTP, which implies the designee is Extroverted, iNtuitive, Thinking and Perceiving. The flaw in all of these intra-paragraph devices is that they rely on autoethnography. Test takers can game the system by the simple expedient of providing the desired answer instead of the true answer. If you wish to be deemed a Thinker, as lawyers are wont to do, then simply disagree with psychometric statements that resemble the following:”You make decisions to create harmony by applying person centered values”.

The current LSAT is heavily weighted towards logical reasoning, analytical reasoning and reading comprehension. Shultz and Zedeck propose to change that model by symbolically devaluing reasoning in favor of softer skills such as empathy, compassion, mentoring and harmony. A reductio ad absurdum of their approach would have us replace the adversarial system with a network of arbitrators, negotiators, grief counselors and psychologists.

But back to the matter at hand…how to find a good lawyer. Unfortunately, whatever system is in place for identifying good lawyers and law students with good potential, privacy matters will virtually guarantee that the associated data will constitute a system of hidden variables from the perspective of consumers of legal services. Lawyer’s test scores, school grades, grade point averages, class rankings, extra-curricular activities, HR evaluation reports, in-court win-lose ratios will be unavailable, so one surmises that ‘word of mouth’ will continue to be the mainstay of finding a good lawyer. That should be seconded by ascertaining which short-listed lawyers were on the debate team in school, and who also appear to be egotists.

[For a compendium of anti-lawyer sentiments, please consult Predators and Parasites: Lawyer-Bashing and Civil Justice. The article nicely dissects dislike of lawyers into four main groupings viz (1) Corrupters of discourse; (2) Fomenters of strife; (3) Betrayers of trust; and (4) Economic predators. The piece is a kind of preemptive strike against those with Shakespearean ambitions, is written by a lawyer, provides rebuttals and so effectively predates against narcissistic meanderings such as "The legal system discomfits by reducing life to a series of transactions in a kind of barter system wherein we are all consigned to be buyers and sellers in a marketplace that hovers between truth and justice, an artificial construct whose machinations are just beyond our purview and entrusted to mandarins".]

What Makes for Good Lawyering? – Boalt Hall Transcript, Summer 2005: Vol. 38 No. 2

Posted in General ~ No Comments

Interesting news – we seem to have the beginnings of a codified simian philosophy or system of thought. New Scientist has inferred, perhaps inadvertently, the transparently simple ethical strictures to which our closest cousins seem to adhere, viz: 1. Live fast, and 2. Breed young.

In an article ostensibly topic’ed on the comparative speed of the molecular clocks of people and chimpanzees, NS spills the beans on the ape code of moral conduct.

Why bother with 613 commandments, let alone 10 of them, or the eightfold way or even the five precepts, when 2 simple, easy to remember points seem appropo … provided one has a quadrupedal gait.

Live fast, breed young, say apes – New Scientist, 28 January 2006

Posted in mail2web.com ~ No Comments

Here’s a striking view (top) of the surreal Ixtapaluca housing complex in Mexico City taken by helicopter pilot Oscar Ruiz.

Distrito Federal desde el Aire – a collection of 85 aerial views of Mexico City taken by Sr. Ruiz – via BoingBoing

Posted in mail2web.com ~ 3 Comments

If you never got the opp to run an entire Information Technology department, here’s your chance to just that … well in simulation anyway. Thanks to Intel, you can now virtually manage people, allocate resources, and pursue strategic analysis and planning. Looks interesting, might be amusing for a few hours, and depending on how well the game is written, it could even marginally bump up your Myers-Briggs scores when applying for the real thing.

Intel IT Manager Game – Intel website

Posted in mail2web.com ~ No Comments

Apple just announced a new 1GB version of the iPod nano, making for 3 nano models all together – at capacities of 1 2 and 4GB. Priced at $149 , $199 and $249 respectively.

The halfGB and 1GB Shuffle models are repriced to $69 and $99. They must be getting ready to intro new models.

Today’s declines in Samsung and Toshiba share prices on Asian markets were attributed to this move by Apple. Dell’s recent ditching of it’s hdd-based Digital Jukebox MP3 players has also been attributed to/blamed on the strength of the iPod brand.

Apple might be trying for a triple-digit market share and seemingly to bait the antitrust mavens at the DOJ.

Apple iPod nano website

Posted in mail2web.com ~ No Comments

CNet has published a revised list of the amount of radiation output from cell phones. The author of the article is quick to point out that there is no definitive proof yet that cell phone radiation cause any health problems.

The Motorola V265 has the dubious distinction of being the phone with the highest SAR rating (1.55). The model with the lowest SAR ratting (0.12) is the Audiovox PPC6601.

[...it seems unlikely that the non-ionizing radiation of cell phones causes cancer. Wikipedia has a cautiously salutary article on this topic entitled "Mobile phone radiation and health".]

[...and here's a gadgetmaniac apology: We previously made note of this story, wherein someone claimed to be able to cook an egg by placing it between 2 cell phones. That story is a hoax - a 6 year old practical joke gone awry. In retrospect, the website name - Wymsey - should have raised some flags.]

Cell phone radiation levels – CNet, January 26, 2006

Posted in mail2web.com ~ 1 Comment

Nice-looking pre-concept 2-seater car thx to designer Marc Mainville of the Hyundai Kia America Design Center.

Kia Sidewinder Hits L.A. – Kia News Release, 11 December 2005

Posted in mail2web.com ~ 2 Comments