This is a perfect time for me to ask this question... I downloaded a program, which I'm using on a trial basis, that edits commercials and saves .tivo files as different formats. The .mpg files I created look fine on playback, but when I set up a DVD creation (using Nero, which came with my DVD drive), the picture is squeezed in on either side. It's set at 4:3, and if I try to convert to 16:9, it just squeezes it on the top and bottom too. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this?

Stupid question time: Why does my DVR have a SmartCard slot when any television show would take up more memory than a smart card has? What's it for ?

Hey, I don't know what you people did, but many of the browser address line icons are showing up now! Good times.

Why does my DVR have a SmartCard slot when any television show would take up more memory than a smart card has? What's it for ?

Stuff. Secret stuff.

Actually, I'm pretty sure this works the same way as some satellite boxes that have smart cards to tell the box which channels you're authorized to receive.

There's all this controversy over some people reprogramming their cards to get extra channels for free, and the allegedly draconian response to this by the satellite people. Apparently they've also criminalized the mere ownership of satellite smart-card programmers.

eta: The purpose of giving a DVR the smart card is to allow the DVR to decode signals without it having to use the satellite box.

Why the fuck did Google Images fancy up its results display? Now I have to hover to see image sizes and the web site it's from. Not entirely sure who that's better for. Worse for me, for sure.

I can't see anywhere in preferences to turn it off (not that I trust the preferences screen--I sure don't get 100 image search results to a screen like it implies).

Now I have to hover to see image sizes and the web site it's from. Not entirely sure who that's better for. Worse for me, for sure.

Wow, that's really annoying. Who could possibly think that's an improvement? It's not like that info was particularly cluttering up the screen.

Typo Boy, have you been following the EEStor story? [link]

EEStor's system--called an Electrical Energy Storage Unit, or EESU--is based on an ultracapacitor architecture that appears to escape the traditional limitations of such devices. The company has developed a ceramic ultracapacitor with a barium-titanate dielectric, or insulator, that can achieve an exceptionally high specific energy--that is, the amount of energy in a given unit of mass.

For example, the company's system claims a specific energy of about 280 watt hours per kilogram, compared with around 120 watt hours per kilogram for lithium-ion and 32 watt hours per kilogram for lead-acid gel batteries. This leads to new possibilities for electric vehicles and other applications, including for the military.

By some estimates, it would only require $9 worth of electricity for an EESU-powered vehicle to travel 500 miles, versus $60 worth of gasoline for a combustion-engine car.

A lot of people are very skeptical about their claims, though.

Thanks, tommyrot. I'm going to stick a smartcard in there and see what happens.

I'm pretty sure that Smartcards won't work with a new device unless you call the cable company and they have someone do some configuring.

When I had a cable company provided DVR with a smart card slot, I asked them what it was for, and they said nothing yet, it was in the specs so that if they ever decided to use it would be there. That was a few years ago, though. And may have been BS at the time.