One article wasn't enough

Well it is news overload for me today. Here are a few that got my attention today:

Peter Jackson to Executive Produce 'Halo' Movie

From the article: The man behind Frodo, Gandalf and King Kong has thrown his weight behind the movie "Halo." Director Peter Jackson -- along with screenwriter Fran Walsh, who was also part of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "King Kong" -- will be executive producers of "Halo" -- the film based on the hit video game, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced today. The movie is a partnership with Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox and Microsoft.

Microsoft invents a ‘one-play only’ DVD to combat Hollywood piracy

From the article: Computer software giant Microsoft has developed a cheap, disposable pre-recorded DVD disc that consumers can play only once. The discs would give Hollywood increased control over the release of new films and allow consumers the chance to watch a film at the fraction of the price of an ordinary pre-recorded DVD. More important, the discs would prevent copying and digital piracy, which is costing the film and music industry billions in lost revenues.

CEATEC 2005: Pioneer Shows HARUKA, a 3D Floating Visualization (I4U News)

From the article: Haruka is a virtual receptionist inside a 210x180x210mm box that floats in 3D like the projections of R2D2 in Star Wars. This must be cool to see first hand. No glasses are necessary to see the 3D character. The 3D character is also interactive. It has sensors that detects if a person is coming close or tries to touch the 3D projection. Pineer added also voice to the virtual receptionist enabling it to say things like: "My name is HARUKA, I am your guide". See a large photo of HARUKA on MSN-Mainichi. More details about Pioneer Precision Machinery's 3D floating vision can be found on their site (Japanese).

Fujitsu Ten’s “Dual Display” navigation system (Engadget)

From the article: Here’s one of the first applications of that “Dual Display” technology announced by Sharp back in July. Fujitsu Ten will be releasing the “AVN7905HD” navigation system in Japan, which allows the driver and passenger to see two different images on the same screen at the same time. While the passenger watches a DVD, for example, the driver can keep an eye on the GPS map as they find their way. The 800 x 480 resolution of the screen will drop to 400 x 480 when you turn this feature on, but since the technology is still in its infancy, that’s fine by us. Who needs compromise when you’ve got technology?