if you've got an old 'puter and wanna know if it's up to speed for HD (High Definition) video formats, try these tests… me laptop couldn't even play the 1st one… :-(

I've always had a fascination for computer chess games…

my first computer chess game was Chessmaster 2000…

the creators of Hydra boldly claim that it's the next Deep Blue…

and, the 2nd most powerful chess game's Shredder… but, I believe that Shredder's software only…

anyhow, check-out the SSDF's Computer Chess Game Rating List…

I watched the video (be patient, their server's slow…) and the narrator sounds like he could be related to The Crocodile Hunter… the video's a good watch to learn about the history of chess & computer chess…

but, I dunno… I don't see the point for this match, since I doubt that Michael Adams' gonna beat it…

kinda looks like 3 keys from a keyboard…

youz gotta watch the video (w/ RealPlayer)… to learn more about this neat device!

it's sorta like Orb 'coz it's also limited to 1:1 (1 caster : 1 viewer) but you don't need a PC to broadcast… and, it currently costs $249… and, it's got more features than Orb…

this is another way to do Internet TV… which is not the same as IPTV…

it's totally FREE!!!

but you oughta have the right hardware before you can Orb TV…

lemme know, if you're Orbing your TV channels, I'd like to be able to watch TV from other places around the world!!!

this is another way to do Internet TV… which is going to be a strong competitor for IPTV…

they say that they'll be able to deliver 40-100 Mbps over the gas pipes…

hhhmmm… "Broadband-in-Gas"… well, we sorta have had that technology for quite some time…
audible farts are like SPIM, while silent farts are like SPAM…

my Windows Media Player is the default player of whatever it can play… 'coz I believe that it's the most efficient (uses least amount of RAM) media player for Windows… unfortunately, Windows Media Player has a very limited amount of free streaming channels…
(Windows Media Player's Equalizer uses: 31Hz, 62Hz, 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, 1KHz, 2KHz, 4KHz, 8KHz, & 16KHz…)

here's a recap of my media file type assignment to my other media players:
{1st (bullet) set are what seem to be playable only by the respective media player, 2nd (bullet) set are playable by other media players… not included are the ones that I believe to be proprietary media file types of each media player…}

Winamp:

• apl, miz, mod, mdz, nst, stm, stz, s3m, s3z, it, itz, xm, xmz, mtm, ult, 669, far, amf, okt, ptm, ogg, & voc
• kar & pls

• m4e, mp1, mpga, ssm, acp, rpl, awb, & mbc
• mp4, mov, qt, aac, m4a, m4p, smi, smil, sdp, 3gp, amr, & 3g2

• rtsp, rts, sml, vfw, flc, fli, bwf, aifc, cdda, snd, ulw, sfm, qcp, sd2, gsm, m1s, m1a, m75, m15, mpm, 3gpp, 3gp2, mpg4, m4b, m4v, sdv, amc, swa, m3url, dv, & dif

if you like my media file type associations, here's a simple way to do it:
1) start with QuickTime, go to both the "File Types" (which is in the "File Types Association") & the "MIME Settings" (which is in the "Browser Plug-in"), and check the 1st 5 main boxes… leave the "Images" as is, unless you want QuickTime to open your pics… for the "Miscellaneous", check "Digital video file"…
2) in RealPlayer, go to "Preferences" > "Content" > "Media Types", then "Select" the "Make RealPlayer my Universal Media Player"…
3) in Windows Media Player, click "Select All" on the "File Types" Tab…
4) now go back to RealPlayer, this time "Select" the "Manually configure media types for RealPlayer"… and, uncheck everything with the Windows Media Player icons & the "Audio PlayList (pls xpl)" & check all that have the QuickTime icons and those that are "Currently assigned to: none"
5) in Winamp, just make sure that you select the media file types that I've listed above…
that's it! easy, huh?

what I'm lookin' forward to are further developments with: Participatory Culture Foundation, Internet Streaming Media Alliance, & VideoLAN… if all 3 of them got together to combine their efforts & technologies, it'd be great!

this is my default player for the pls streaming media file type… RealPlayer can play pls but is very limited… I've set Winamp to play the (24) media file types that seem to be exclusive to it: apl, kar, miz, mod, mdz, nst, stm, stz, s3m, s3z, it, itz, xm, xmz, mtm, ult, 669, far, amf, okt, ptm, ogg, voc, nsv & nsa… (kar can be played by QuickTime… but since QuickTime's my lowest priority media player, I'd rather have Winamp play it… the last 2 are Nullsoft's proprietary formats…)

so far, this is the player I use the most 'coz it's got the most free streaming content, thanks to SHOUTcast > Nullsoft > AOL…

if there are media players out there that have more free streaming media content than Winamp (especial Internet TV or video content), please let me know…

another nice thing about Winamp is that it's got a 10 bar graphic equalizer (just like Windows Media Player, except it's a different range… Winamp's Equalizer uses: 60Hz, 170Hz, 310Hz, 600Hz, 1KHz, 3KHz, 6KHz, 12KHz, 14KHz, & 16KHz…)

aside from its proprietary media file types, I use this for the following media file types: mp4, m4e, mov, qt, aac, m4a, m4p, mp1, mpga, smi, smil, ssm, sdp, acp, rpl, 3gp, amr, awb, 3g2, & mbc… (the ones in italics seem to be (8) exclusive to RealPlayer…) {the 2 in bold are QuickTime media file types that RealPlayer can supposedly play… and, if it really can, I'd let it play them, 'coz I'd be able to play them in full screen mode with RealPlayer…}

once upon a long time ago… they dominated the media players… then, they got greedy…

there are a couple of installation tricks that I've learnt by myself, which makes it less annoyin'… and, I really don't like the registration part of the installation, so I bypass it…

anyhow, if you've got broadband, watch this video, "Kinda Kinky" by Ursula 1000…

even though it's ready to go, they're just givin' them Mac users the priveledge to be the 1st to use it…

it's all part of their hype campaign/marketing…

and, I'm definitely curious about H.264… (which I don't think is proprietary, but it's the 1st to include it…)

aside from its proprietary media file types, the other media file types that seem to be (31) exclusive to QuickTime are: rtsp, rts, sml, vfw, flc, fli, bwf, aifc, cdda, snd, ulw, sfm, qcp, sd2, gsm, m1s, m1a, m75, m15, mpm, 3gpp, 3gp2, mpg4, m4b, m4v, sdv, amc, swa, m3url, dv, & dif… which is another reason why I use QuickTime… not that I've ever encountered any of these media file types…

I'm hopin' that they'll start to allow users of their free version to view trailers in full screen again, instead of havin' to buy their "Pro" version or havin' to download their iTunes (which I think is completely retarded, 'coz all I wanna do is watch the movie in full screen for free but I don't wanna install iTunes 'coz I don't need the rest of the music player bloatware that it comes with) just to watch trailers in full screen…

'coz the free version can't play in full screen, I've restricted it to playin' the video file types that seem to be exclusive to it… it is my lowest priority video player… if I don't have to use it, I won't…

I'd rather see this, than watch a Calvin Klein underwear w/ that Ashton Crotcher…