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Back when the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD format war was in full swing, LG sat on the fence by launching a player that spun both formats (the much maligned BD100). But now that the dust has settled, the Korean company has turned its attention to Blu-ray exclusively with the BD300, a modestly-priced but feature-packed player.
But before we get stuck into its features, here's an interesting little curio - the BD300's page on LG's website still shows the HD DVD logo, which makes us think that at some point the BD300 was destined to be another dual-format deck. We can confirm however that it doesn't play HD DVDs, as demonstrated by its almost violent rejection of our V For Vendetta disc.
Anyway, on with the review. The BD300 boasts full BD Live support, which at this price is not to be sniffed at. It's soon to be joined by the BD370, which also allows you to connect to YouTube and watch video clips through its Internet connection, and although the US version of the BD300 supports downloads from Netflix, the UK version is currently limited to downloading film extras and the like. The BD300 supports Profile 1.1 BonusView features too, making this deck a wise investment if you're into bonus features.
The BD300 is a very classy-looking player, with a beautiful translucent fascia and a delectable silver strip running along the top that has the power and open/close buttons embedded into it. The display panel is bright and easy to read, and alongside it is a USB port, which you'll need if you want to download BD Live content or play MP3, WMA and JPEG files from an external storage device.
The rear panel is equipped with all the key connections, with the only notable omissions being multichannel analogue outputs, which would have been useful for owners of older amps without HDMI inputs. But it does offer an Ethernet LAN port, the necessary connection for web-enabled features, and an HDMI v1.3 output that supports 1080/24p output and Deep Colour. The inclusion of optical and coaxial digital audio outputs is handy if your amp is limited to one or the other, but the composite video output is about as useful as a paper umbrella. Rounding up the sockets is a set of component video outputs.
As the lack of multichannel outputs suggests, the LG's audio talents are fairly limited. On the plus side, it's able to output Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio bitstreams from its HDMI output - great news if your receiver can decode them - but it's only able to decode Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus, which will be a real blow for those with HDMI-equipped receivers without HD audio decoding who want to enjoy the extra resolution offered by DTS HD Master Audio.
Format support is pretty healthy though. Aside from the aforementioned MP3, WMA and JPEG playback, the BD300 also accepts AVCHD and DivX (but sadly not DivX HD like the DVS450H DVD player) as well as spinning BD-RE/BD-R, DVD-RW/-R, DVD+RW/+R and CD-RW/-R discs.
I got through no less than 4 LG DVD players (with HDDs) ranging from 𧶀 up to 𧹺 before I gave up them. Every machine suffered the exact same problem - after trying to play any Region 1 disc, they would no longer play any single layered Region 2 discs. A very strange firmware fault. I managed to get a refund and ended up with Panasonic.. far superior. I have a few LG products in the house and am retty happy with them all, but I won't touch their disc players again.
Is it just me, or did DVD players get under 𧴜 quicker that Blu-ray players have? I understand that Sony has to recoup dev costs, and early players were basically repackaged desktop pcs with p4 chips in them... so perhaps what is needed is a cheapo chipset from the no-name manufacturers? Blu-ray has been around for a while, and I still see the format as an indulgence for enthusiasts. Sorry this sounds so negative! DVD to HD formats isn't quite the step that was taken when we went from VHS to DVD. Will Blu-ray ever be widely adopted or squashed flat by internet-connected media centres and video on demand?
Although this and the other players in the 250 bracket review very well I'm just not convinced by the price of the media (ouch) nor the apparent boot up times & loading time of the blu-ray disks - go make yourself a brew. Having owned 1 expensive Sony DVD deck from back in the day, and now experiencing the joys of almost instant viewing from WD's HD TV, I'm now viewing the future. Having to find my film of choice (amungst my extensive DVD collection) and then open a tray and eventually eject it seems a thing of the past. Just give me my 1080p HD experience on download and I'll be happy. Blu-ray Blu-late Blu-it for me!
@GhehinG, I think it's just down to supply and demand, there is not mass appeal for BlueRay, as such it's taking longer for the price to drop. Also the format war didn't help. Like you pointed out nowadays there are more ways to get HD, some would say was there really any need for BlueRay?. Maybe even ReadOnly USB pens might have been a better media.
If anything the end of the format war allowed the manufacturers to postpone price cuts that would have happened has HD DVD been there to compete with. Now that the global economy is as it is, it seems less and less likely we'll be seeing a significant reduction in prices. :(
HDRE, downloading 1080p HD may be the best solution for you, but with my connection (broadband, just not that great) I could probably get the Blu-Ray delivered in the time it takes to download - and that's assuming my ISP doesn't cut me off for "breach of fair usage policy" halfway through.
That said, I am not ready to invest serious money in Blu-Ray. Some discs are reasonably priced - Hellboy 2 cost me less than the DVD version - but personally I can't see myself buying a standalone Blu-Ray player. Personally I think multi-purpose devices like the PS3, and PCs with Blu-Ray players, are the way to go at this point.
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When Congressman Jason Chaffetz first bumbled onto the political scene in 2004, his ascent was accidental and his quick exit self-inflicted.
But the wheel was reinvented and the former BYU placekicker came bustling back. It remains to be seen whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Chaffetz was elected to Congress in 2008, a couple of years after he left his job as Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s chief of staff in a less-than-auspicious fashion. In the short time he was the governor's top guy, he managed to offend legislative leaders and so alienate co-workers that many were glad to see him go.
It was a fluke he had become chief of staff in the first place. After forging a career in the multi-level marketing industry, he became the media contact for Huntsman's gubernatorial campaign in 2004. He was named campaign manager when political insider Chuck Warren suddenly left that job.
Huntsman, being Huntsman, was a shoe-in to win and Chaffetz, whose stint as campaign manager opened the door to the chief of staff's office, suddenly was in a position of power.
Legislators soon complained that Chaffetz often blocked access to Huntsman and they were forced to bring their concerns to Chaffetz instead.
In fairness, instead chalking up his behavior to runaway ego, as some legislators believed was the case, he may have been doing Huntsman's bidding. The fact is, the governor never appeared much enthralled with having to engage with legislators.
But Chaffetz had a reputation for being too heavy-handed with staffers as well. For whatever reason, he didn't last, announcing he was seeking opportunities in the private sector.
But his self-exile didn't last long. He stormed back, upsetting six-term incumbent Chris Cannon in the Republican primary, largely on the strength of Chaffetz' hard-line stance on immigration reform and Cannon's support of the more reasonable Dream Act.
As his third term begins in January, Chaffetz has become a player in Washington by, among other things, making himself available to the media and sticking firmly to the right-wing party line. Unfortunately, embracing that dogma makes him part of the problem with partisan gridlock, not the solution.
When he first arrived at the Capitol, Chaffetz eagerly became one of Rep. Eric Cantor's flunkies by doing all he could to frustrate Democrats on the House floor, bellowing "point of order, point of order, point of order" whenever a Democrat stood to explain a bill. In short, he acted like a 3-year-old. But that's the tea party.
Chaffetz is the most accessible member of Utah's congressional delegation. Many reporters have his cell phone on speed dial, he always returns calls and is unfailingly charming. He's a bright guy, and most reporters I have talked to like him. I like him.
But when I asked Chaffetz recently about alternatives to hard-line immigration reform, especially since the GOP got pounded by the Latino vote in November, all he could say was what he has been programmed to say: "It's Obama's fault."
Chaffetz was on the Sunday morning talk shows recently, this time talking about the fiscal cliff. His one-size-fits-all mantra: "It's all Obama's fault."
He actually likened House Speaker John Boehner who can't get his rambunctious caucus to approve a bipartisan compromise on tax cuts to the late Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill. And he said it with a straight face.
It's a shame, because Chaffetz has the talent to be a force for getting something done. But that would require compromise. And even though he has the personality to bring people together, he has chosen to get ahead in the Republican caucus by being an obstructionist.

subset: commoncrawl


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I've a feature in the new December (inside) interior design magazine, 'Design, Philosophy and Freedom'. The writing was commissioned after the State of Design festival, earlier this year.
I'm looking into the materials and design of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and works from the recent NGV exhibition Vienna: Art and Design. A sample:
As an atheist, I am often uplifted and rejuvenated by cathedrals. For example, St Patrick's cathedral in Melbourne gives me a powerful impression of human freedom. Importantly, this is not because of its metaphysical symbolism – that is, its suggestion of some other reality, beyond the here and now. Today, churches do not mean what they once did: they cannot point to a divine maker, invisible but above or alongside us. 'What… are all these churches now,' wrote Nietzsche in The Gay Science, 'if not the tombs and sepulchers of God?' And no doubt, St Patrick's was designed by Wardell, consciously or unconsciously, to inspire good Christian submission. The spires dwarfing us, angels hovering overhead in high ribbed vaults, pews for kneeling, the raised marble sanctuary: all reminders that we are small, physically and cosmically. But as an atheist today, none of this bothers me – I have no struggle with the designs of faith. I render unto Christians their own profound faith. By my experience of St Patrick's is quite different: I'm overcome by a vision of my own humanity, as a free labour. In this, I'm engaged and inspired by the building itself – its form and substance, rather than its strictly religious significance.
This begins with the materials. The stone, for example. Much of St Patrick's is built with local bluestone, and the effect is striking. Most obviously, the cathedral looks like it was designed to withstand the centuries – as, indeed, it was. There is no hint of plasterboard and staples – these stones have lasted millennia, and they will continue to endure. In other words, there is a primordiality to stone, which gives the building an air of ancient stability. For the designer and Melbourne's laity, this was a consequence of faith: in the continuous and coming kingdom of God. But for me, it is simply a work of boldness and hope: belief in the future, and its value. It liberates the imagination from the here and now, and allows us to envisage ourselves, and our descendants, flourishing in years to come. It says: this building matters.
The stone also gives the impression of immense effort – of gravity defied. Obviously concrete and steel skyscrapers give a similar effect, but they are constructed from artificial materials: substances that yield to moulding and shaping. In other words, their existence, as materials, is to suit high-rise structures. Whereas the ridged, undulating bluestone in St Patrick's has simply been cut from the ground and left in rough blocks. These suggest, not flexibility and fitness for purpose, but weight, solidity, resistance. And yet they tower above us, decorated with botanical shapes and gargoyles, illuminated by amber glass. There is a Promethean aspect to this: a sense of the intense effort and determination required to cut, transport, lift and mortar tonnes of rock. In other words, even if the cathedral were simpler and easier to build than Eureka Tower, as a design, it still evokes immense drive and ambition: an unwillingness to accede to gravity and inertia, and the passion to replace bare earth with grand edifices. These are the connotations of stone.


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News By Tag
Industry News
News By Place
Industry News
Icon Labs Floodgate Embedded Firewall now available for Freescale Processors
Icon Labs (www.iconlabs.com), a leading provider of embedded networking and security technology, announced the integration of Icon Labs' Floodgate Packet Filter, an embedded software firewall with Freescale Semiconductor's MQX Operating System
San Antonio, Texas, June 20, 2012 – Icon Labs (www.iconlabs.com)
Floodgate™ Packet Filter provides a critical layer of security that provides critical protection against Internet-based attacks targeting embedded devices. Floodgate provides rules-based filtering allowing whitelisting and blacklisting based on criteria such as port number, protocol, or source IP address. Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) provides dynamic packet filtering based on the state of a connection. Threshold-
"Firewalls have long been a cornerstone of security in home and enterprise networks, but have been suspiciously absent for embedded systems until now," said John Weil, Segment Marketing and Operations manager for Freescale's Industrial Microcontroller & Multi-market business. "We are pleased to have Floodgate available for our customers running MQX on Kinetis, Vybrid, Coldfire and PowerQUICC processors and MCUs, providing protection against a wide range of attacks and closing critical security loopholes."
"Embedded devices connected to the Internet are no longer immune from hackers and other malicious threats. Attacks against embedded devices have become front page news," said Alan Grau, President of Icon Labs. "We are fortunate to be partnering with Freescale to bring embedded firewall security to a broad range of embedded devices."
Researchers from Columbia University's Intrusion Detection Systems Lab have shown embedded devices are far more vulnerable to Internet-based threats than Enterprise Networks. The researchers have established a global average vulnerability rate for devices such as home routers, cable modems, and webcams, of 41.62% compared to 2.46% for enterprise devices. As network connectivity in embedded devices has become commonplace and our reliance on these devices has grown, so has the importance of protecting these devices from Internet-based threats.
About Icon Laboratories, Inc.
Icon Labs is a leading provider of embedded networking and security solutions. Icon Labs award-winning software is at work at work every day, from broadband Internet access devices to core network routers, from smart modems to optical cross-connects, and from the factory floor to the operating room. Founded in 1992, Icon Labs is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. For more information, visit www.iconlabs.com, send email to firstname.lastname@example.com, or call 1.888.235.3443 (U.S. and Canada) or 515.226.3443 (International)
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Comprehensive Plan
This fall, as part of our obligations to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), the School District of Philadelphia will submit a Comprehensive Plan to PDE. The Comprehensive Plan addresses the following areas:
- Professional Education
- Teacher Induction
- Gifted Education
- Student Services
- Pre-K Program Implementation
As part of the requirements to the PDE, the Draft Comprehensive Plan will be available for public review now through November 30, 2015. The draft plan can be downloaded using the link below. The plan is formatted according to PDE's Comprehensive Planning tool, which we are required to use. Please send all comments and feedback about the plan to firstname.lastname@example.com. Public comment will be reviewed and considered prior to submission to PDE on November 30, 2015.


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Pirates batter Nova in loss
BRADENTON, Fla. — Ivan Nova believes he's gotten comfortable enough with his new delivery to win a spot in the New York Yankees' starting rotation.
Nova tossed five decent innings in an 11-9 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. The right-hander gave up four runs on six hits, walked one and struck out four.
"I think it went good," Nova said. "I got hit a couple times, but I was able to do what I wanted."
In his second game since joining the Yankees, Brennan Boesch got his first hit, an infield single. Boesch stole second and scored on Kevin Youkilis' home run to left field, which gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Boesch went 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly. The Yankees signed Boesch to a one-year, $1.5 million deal Friday after he was released by the Detroit Tigers.
Right-hander Phil Irwin worked 2 1-3 innings for the Pirates and gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks.
"I pitched behind a lot," said Irwin, who likely will start the season in the rotation at Triple-A Indianapolis. "A lot of the things I usually do well I didn't do well today. Sometimes, you have to fail to figure out what you need to do to succeed. Obviously, this didn't go well, but there are still things I can take from this and learn from."
After Irwin issued back-to-back walks in the third inning, he was replaced by Mike Zagurski. Dan Johnson walked to load the bases, then Mesa hit a towering home run into the left field bleachers.
Irwin had put together four good outings — a 2.25 ERA over eight innings, with five hits allowed and nine strikeouts — before struggling against the Yankees.
"It was a tough day for Phil," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "But that's part of spring training. You pitch well, you get bigger looks and different opportunities. For whatever reason today, he was behind in the count and his fastball was up. Everything we know about Phil, we didn't see."
Pedro Alvarez had two doubles, including one down the right field line that scored Russell Martin for the Pirates' first run.


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Gerontology prepare students for a variety of careers in long term care and community based services.
Gerontology is the study of aging in humans and includes the study of the physical, mental, and social changes that occur as people age. This field is important because the aging adult population is increasing and will continue to do so over the next 40 years.
In response to this trend, Mount St. Joseph University's minor in gerontology prepares students for career opportunities in both long-term care and community-based services for older adults. The minor nicely complements one's major. The certificate may be taken by those who have completed their degrees in any field.
The gerontology minor and certificate provide resources for students to work with older adults in varied environments such as business, government, industry, public and private agencies, health and human services, research and education, and entrepreneurial endeavors.
News and Updates
Stay up to date with the most recent gerontology program news and events; visit the department of sociology and social work page.
Like what you see? Learn more by coming to visit us.
Visit our financial aid page to learn your options for scholarships, grants, and loans.


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1. Rose Body Moisturiser
£24.95, Dr Hauscka, drhauschka.co.uk
Pleasantly subtle, with natural rose essential oil, petal extracts plus shea butter and jojoba. Light and cool and easily absorbed.
2. Lumi Lux Radiance Powder
£16.50, Pixi, asos.com
Add a peachy glow to face and décolletage with this powder. It's inlaid with a floral design in shades of peach and pink with highlights of gold and shimmer.
3. Mini scented candle in Fleur Oriental
£10, millerharris.com
Oriental notes of musk and amber mixed with spicy carnation, orange blossom and Turkish rose will fill your room with florals.
4. Gracious Tuberose Flora by Gucci
£72 for 100ml, Gucci, available nationwide
This scent has top notes of peach and violet leaves, a tuberose heart and a base of white cedarwood.
5. Lavender Palm
£125 for 50ml, Tom Ford, 0870 034 2566
Lavender blended with citrus notes of lemon and bergamot. Palm leaf accord, pink and white oleander and lime blossom.
6. Express Flower Gel
£72.50, Sisley, houseoffraser.co.uk
Apply this creamy gel mask containing iris, rose and lily for three minutes, twice a week, to replenish dehydrated skin.
7. Iris Hydrating Night Cream
£12.50, weleda.co.uk
A rich night cream suitable for vegetarians that contains iris root extracts. A great option for dehydrated skin that needs overnight TLC. Perfect for in-flight hydration.
8. Hanamichi eyeshadow palette
£45, Nars, asos.com
The colours of Japanese Kabuki – rose, gold and white – are immortalised in a shimmering floral design. Almost too pretty to disturb.
9. Peony and Moss Cologne
£72, jomalone.co.uk
Those who aren't a fan of sweet floral scents may find this more earthy cologne – with its hint of spring blooming peony – more of a refreshing choice.
10. Field of flowers 3-in 1
£14, philosophyskincare.co.uk
A diverse product from Philosophy will wash your hair and your body and fill your bath with bubbles – and all with a clean flowery smell, most notably peony.
- More about:
- Air Transport
- Flowers
- Rose (flower)
- Trees


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This map of the entire Western Front contains a comprehensive listing of German armies defending the line. Apparently taken from a captured map dated 30 October 1918, the information gives each army unit down to brigade level and the section of front they held.
Such high-level information, which was not the sort of information necessary to have on the front line, meant that the Allies could potentially determine where the most fatigued or inexperienced brigades were positioned and plan their attacks accordingly.
The captured map was taken during the final Allied advance upon German positions which began on 1 November.
- Full title:
- Distribution of German forces on the Western Front according to captured map dates 30th Oct. 1918. 1:750,000.
- Created:
- 1918
- Format:
- Map
- Held by:
- British Library
- Shelfmark:
- Maps C.14.g.130.
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Supply and logistics
- Article by:
- David Stevenson
- Theme:
- The war machine
With focus on shipping, rail, road and manpower, Professor David Stevenson explores the logistics behind the management and supply of army resources in World War One and considers what impact this had on the war's outcome.
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Mapping the First World War
A fascinating and unique insight into the planning and organisation of military campaigns, featuring over a hundred maps and charts.
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The iLOOP feature is an intelligent application that relies on the loopback single-ended measurement method to characterize two fibers at once using the iOLM. Once the measurement is completed, iLOOP splits the merged results into two individual links and applies pass/fail assessments to generate a report for each single fiber. By generating individual iOLM, OTDR (.sor) files and PDF reports automatically for all your fibers, iLOOP eliminates the need for post-processing so you can close your job immediately and directly from the field and move to the next fiber pair faster.
The loopback mode in FastReporter 2 is a software option that processes field measurements taken in loopback and performs unidirectional or bidirectional measurement analysis. Just like with the iLOOP mode, the loopback mode in FastReporter 2 splits the merged results into two individual links and apply pass/fail assessments for each fiber. You can also use the FastReporter 2 loopback mode to re-process iLOOP measurements in case there's an error with the loop length definition or with the documentation. In addition to supporting iOLM measurements, the loopback mode also supports OTDR measurements.
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Anti Surveillance Fashion Show At The Maker Faire
Noisebridge will display a range of wearables for surveillance and for hiding from it at the Maker Faire, 2010
Noisebridge, an infrastructure provider for technical and creative projects, will be presenting the Anti/Surveillance Fashion Show at the Maker Faire 2010. As per Noisebridge, the show will showcase the uses of a range of wearables for both ease of surveillance and for avoiding it, with an aim to explore the role of surveillance in our society.
Noisebridge is accepting submissions to be included in the Anti/Surveillance Fashion show which could be anything from just a playful concept to a practical wear. Accessories that blind CCTV cameras or makeup that will confuse face detection programs are examples of projects that may interest them.
Anti Surveillance Fashion Show
[via Makezine]
Related Post:
Abstract Makeup Can Hide Faces From Surveillance
Image courtesy Craftzine


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Doctoral Education, Danger and Risk Management
McWilliam, Erica L., Taylor, Peter G., & Singh, Parlo (2002) Doctoral Education, Danger and Risk Management. Higher Education Research and Development, 21(2), pp. 119-129.
|PDF (174kB)
This paper examines how risk management is reworking the doctoral supervisor/candidate relationship. We argue that a larger and more diverse population of doctoral students means special challenges for universities worldwide in managing doctoral programs to optimize their productivity and minimize the risk of failure, costliness and/or litigation. An effect of this is that professional and personal relationships in universities, as in many other public and private institutions, are being reshaped in order to be more closely aligned with risk minimization policy directives and strategies. To understand what effects such reshaping is having on doctoral education, we bring together anthropological theorising of risk with pedagogical theorising of power and identity in education contexts. This theoretical cross-over between anthropology and education situates the pedagogic work of doctoral training within a culturally constituted order of professional care and risk management. We utilize this framework to interrogate 'soft marking' as a specific domain in which risk minimization is producing new relational identities for both supervisors and students involved in doctoral studies programs.
Impact and interest:
Citation counts are sourced monthly from Scopus and Web of Science® citation databases.
These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles published in 1996 onwards, and Web of Science® generally from 1980 onwards.
Citations counts from the Google Scholar™ indexing service can be viewed at the linked Google Scholar™ search.
Full-text downloads:
Full-text downloads displays the total number of times this work's files (e.g., a PDF) have been downloaded from QUT ePrints as well as the number of downloads in the previous 365 days. The count includes downloads for all files if a work has more than one.
|ID Code:
|Item Type:
|Journal Article
|Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > EDUCATION (130000) > EDUCATION SYSTEMS (130100) > Higher Education (130103)
|Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Education
|Copyright Owner:
|Copyright 2002 Taylor & Francis
|Copyright Statement:
|First published in Higher Education Research and Development 21(2):pp. 119-129.
|Deposited On:
|28 Jun 2005 00:00
|Last Modified:
|27 Oct 2014 04:55
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