Wednesday, April 30, 2014

How Netflix Is Transforming the Economics of the Web


In the past, a transit networks like Level 3 would trade traffic with home ISPs like Comcast without either party paying a fee. This is called “settlement free peering.” These arrangements worked because both parties were sending and receiving similar amounts of traffic. But that changed when networks like Level 3 started carrying Netflix’s streaming video, and they were delivering more traffic than they were receiving. This led to what’s called “paid peering,” where the transit network must pay for the delivery of its extra traffic.

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'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' Actor Bob Hoskins Dead at 71


Billed as a versatile character actor capable of menace, quiet poignancy and Cockney charm, Hoskins' acting resume also boasts appearances in a slew of acclaimed British films of the past few decades, including gangster classic The Long Good Friday, in which he starred opposite Helen Mirren.

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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Obsessed Fans Finally Exhumed Atari’s "E.T." Graveyard


The excavator was approaching the limits of its reach when it hit paydirt. When Lewandowski saw a scoop come out of the trench with a copy of Space Invaders, he finally knew for sure he’d picked the right spot. He made a beeline to his wife. They embraced tightly for a long while, then he kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her again. He was the happiest man in the whole dump.

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Friday, April 25, 2014

It's Adventure Time

An in-depth look at Adventure Time and the people who make it.

Adventure Time’s dozens of characters are complex in a way that is rarely seen on television for adults, let alone children; each seems to inhabit his own world. In E.M. Forster’s memorable phrase, they are round characters, “capable of surprising in a convincing way.” Lumpy Space Princess is a lovable but ghastly teenager, tediously obsessed with her old boyfriend, the unprepossessing Brad; she treats her well-meaning parents very shabbily. Marceline the Vampire Queen’s father is present just enough to make it impossible for her to ignore or forget his cruelty and selfishness—qualities she has inherited, to some degree. Princess Bubblegum is afflicted with intellectual arrogance and an inability to anticipate the dangerous consequences of her scientific experiments. (One of the story’s most provocative threads concerns the tension between science and magic).

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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Famed Cinecittà Movie Studio Now a Graveyard of Film Memories


For more than 75 years, Cinecittà Studios has stood on the outskirts of Rome, the backdrop for thousands of films. Today its hundred acres stand nearly abandoned, littered with movie props and empty sound stages.

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Thursday, April 10, 2014

The Epic Disney Blow-Up of 1994: Eisner, Katzenberg and Ovitz 20 Years Later


For some time -- encouraged by his friend and mentor, Geffen -- Katzenberg had been pushing hard for a promotion. He was after a bigger title and wanted Disney to buy a television network. At the time, Eisner didn't like the prices. (He would make a deal to buy Capital Cities/ABC in 1995, the year after he'd dismissed Katzenberg.) A momentous conversation took place in October 1993, when the two were strolling the streets of Aspen, Colo. Katzenberg pressed Eisner to make him president of the company, with Wells becoming vice chairman. Eisner replied that Wells would feel "hurt" in that scenario and then, according to Katzenberg, assured him, "If for any reason Frank is not here … you are the number-two person and I want you to have the job." (Eisner later called that conversation a "misunderstanding.")

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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel are changing who can be a superhero


Rather than deep-six one of its most enduring female characters after Carol Danvers’s promotion to Captain Marvel, Marvel went in a bold new direction in a comics industry that rarely promotes nonwhite superheroes. Enter Kamala Khan, a Jersey City teenager who is already negotiating a set of complex identities—first-generation American, Muslim, Jersey girl, nerd—even before she becomes a superhero.

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Monday, April 7, 2014

Mickey Rooney Gets Emotional in One of His Final Interviews


In the extensive interview, Rooney at times became emotional while reflecting on his life and career.

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