The new iPods will actually use 640x480 files even though the screen doesn't support them. When they are displayed on a larger display it makes a big difference.

Jilli, if the video will play in iTunes, see if you have a "convert to iPod format" option under the Advanced menu.

Jilli, if the video will play in iTunes, see if you have a "convert to iPod format" option under the Advanced menu.

Oooh, let me try that.

amych, you are a genius! It worked! My shiny black iPod (which I named Renfield) is now playing the video for "Bela Lugosi's Dead". Excuse me while I cackle with glee.

Further Adventures with the Video iPod: Instant Handbrake does indeed create iPod ready videos. Still takes forever, but that's fine.

My god, the more I learn about Jon the cooler I think he is.

blush

Bah. Anyone ever use the Microsoft Script Degugger (for Javascript)? It sucks donkeys compared to the one that comes with the Microsoft Development Environment....

eta: Ah, now I remember (I think). The Microsoft Script Degugger won't let me debug when I insert a 'throw new Error()' statement, but if I have the debugger open and set it to halt on a particualr line, then I can debug.

Wankers.

Google Maps for Palm Treo.

Sweet.

(Just make sure you have an unlimited data plan).

The new PS3 and Wii have motion-sensing controllers. This got my inner geek going:

When you wave around the new Nintendo controller, two tiny, flat pieces of silicon inside it, each weighing about a millionth of a gram, flex against silicon springs that hold them in place.

The movements are minute, or to put it another way, they're on the scale of 10 to 100 hydrogen atoms stacked side by side.

But these tiny movements can be measured with incredible accuracy. A charge is applied between the moving pieces of silicon and two nearby sensors. Faint fluctuations in that charge, as small as that of 10 electrons, are picked up by a chip that translates it into an understanding of how the controller is moving.

The two moving weights, which fit together on an area less than a millimeter square, have different roles. One has two sets of springs, which allow it to move from side to side and back and forth. The other weight is a flat piece anchored almost like trampoline. It senses vertical movement. This way, the chip can distinguish motion in all three dimensions of space.

I'm not sure if I want one, but it's cool that this technology is out there and is so cheap. Apparantly the motion-sensing chips cost about $1 per axis.

[link]

I'm planning on getting a a Wii because it's actually at a reasonable price point. I want to get a PS3, but I don't think it's really worth it until I also spend the money to upgrade the Plasma TV from an EDTV model to an HDTV model. Then I can kinda justify it with the fact that it is also a blu-ray DVD player. Kristin, of course, will just roll her eyes at me about all of this.