I have been following this Blu Ray / HD DVD debate for some time. I agree that one of the reasons the Blu Ray format won was due to its integration with PS3... Toshiba really did not have a comparable sales offset to the integration with PS3. Although Microsoft Xbox 360 did support HD DVD, it never integrated the player as a stand-alone in the 360 system. If it had, Blu Ray fans, let me tell you that we would be looking at a different war.

Let me expand on one of my theories as to why Blu Ray beat out HD DVD and much if it has to do (in my mind) with the protection of intellectual property rights. As we all know, Sony owns MGM and makes much of its revenue from the American production company's revenue. Toshiba does not own any film studios and as such, did not have as much interest in developing a standard that would protect the profit of movie studios. Early on, Toshiba was moving some of its production to China (which has among the worst records in the world of protecting intellectual property). I think the movie studios saw the writing on the wall... Sony will be a staunch protector of intellectual property and Toshiba will just give it the "ol' college try." Listen, I'm not saying this is the only factor, but please tell me why it was not one of the MAJOR factors that lead with most of the large movie studios adopting the Blu Ray standard.

To those of you that are concerned that you will have trouble backing up your Blu Ray discs, I think your concerns are well founded. Remember that Sony was the company caught installing Rootkits in peoples computers when they were trying to play Sony Studio music CDs on their home computer. I have read that sony is looking to use an updateable Blu Ray firmware... and my guess is that the updates have the real possibility of playing Blu Ray back-ups difficult.

Finally, I wanted to comment about the comment(s) stating that the new Chineese standard may prevail in a bottom-up war with Blu Ray. I personally doubt it due to -- as I have stated -- China's absolute disregard for the protection of intellectual rights and the studios' interests in protecting their profits. When the studio have such a staunch ally as Sony in the copy protection war, why aid and abet the Chineese in developing their own standard? If you recall, one of the reasons the Chineese wanted a new standard in the first place is that Chineese DVD manufacturers were not paying royalties to the developers of the DVD format when they were producing their DVD players in China. So, not only were the Chineese not protecting the intellectual rights of movie studios, manufacturers were not receiving royalties on the DVD technology, itself when the Chineese were producing the hardware.

At any rate, I agree with portions of a lot of the comments that I read, but I thought I would ad my own "spin" on Sony's new crown in the HD format war. I personally liked the HD format idea, and think it may have won... but it is clear that the movie studios are the ones steering the "format ship."

vinniekb,

You wrote:
"maybe he stoped paying there bills and they were getting him back because they were cut off the money train!!"

Yeah, vinniekb, maybe pigs will fly, too. There were four cooperating witnesses BEFORE Vick's felon friends copped a plea. Hmmm, so let's see... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven! Seven witnesses, vinniekb, but you believe it was because Vick stopped paying the bills. What an idiotic statement (no surprise coming from an idiot). Vick owned the property... he didn't have to "cut them off," all he had to do was KICK THEM OUT. But then again, why would he do that when he was a co-conspirator that enjoyed fighting dogs to their deaths.

You also wrote:
"the "Devels" try to get anybody black that becomes so rich and becomes the best at what they feel is there positions or there sport, basketball Jordan,Kobe, ..."

Well, spelling errors aside, I think that Jordan and Kobe received fairly favorable coverage. Kobe was accused of rape and admitted having sex with that girl... but he's stilly "riding high" in Los Angeles as though nothing happened and I haven't seen anything really put a crimp in Jordan's life. But, regardless, what does Jordan, Kobe, Bonds, or Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny have to do with Michael Vick's interstate dogfighting charges. Oh, I'm sorry, what is that, vinniekb, nothing?

That's what I thought you little troll, you don't have any actual excuses for Vick's ADMITTED actons... he's admitted to illegal dogfighting, funding illegal gambling on dogfighting, and illegal interestate dogfighting.

You may be in love with Michael Vick and defend his wrongdoings, but to me he's just another athlete that thought he was above the law. You may think torturing animals by fighting them for money is "no big deal," but I think it IS a "big deal."

For your final act of idiocy, you wrote:
"Give me a Break and wake up "AMERIKKKA"!!!!"

Obviously what ever point you were allegedly trying to make, before, is brought into perspective by your last comment. I'm sure that conVick will be very glad that he has inarticulate losers like yourself justifying the illegal activities he just disavowed on national TV. That's funny, vinniekb, because with inarticulate losers like yourself making dubious arguments, who need Billy Martin or any other high priced attorney.

Vinniekb, before you decide to post again, please either get some morality, get some better arguments, or get a life.

vekperigin, your wrote:
"You are the same people who THRIVED and prospered on the rape and dismemberment of an entire race - for 400 years."

Hey, anybody here 400 years old?...300?...100?... oh, sorry, vekperigin, looks like you can't clame we are "the same people." By the way, vekperigin, wouldn't such a broad statement about an entire group of people that is not based on specific evidence be, I don't know, "racist?"

Listen, vekperigin, if you go out and commit a federal crime, maybe in YOUR plea bargain you could ask that the judge sentence you to the same jail Michael Vick will be confined. Hey, rather than spending your time writing positive things about a convicted felon and animal torturer, you could actually tell Mike Vick how much you love him, face-to-face. Just think about it, vekperigin, you may only be one federal felony away from spending a couple years of incarceration with you boyfriend, Vick. If you're lucky enough to get a cell near his, maybe you two could pass notes down the prison hallway about how unfair the US legal system is. Although... it may be a little more unfair to you seeing as Wal-Mart only pays you $5.75 an hour and Vick was a privileged athlete with a $130 Million contract.

Wow, vekperigin, you're sure right about the pervasive unfairness in the system that resulted in a minority athlete lacking a college degree and almost any other marketable skill signing a $130 Million contract and who knows how much more in endorsements. Yes, vekperigin, I'm sure you and Mike Vick will have a lot to talk about... in prison.

Here's that website one more time (wasn't sure how it would word-wrap):

http://thestartingfive.wordpress.com/2007/07/27/spotes-notes-72707-moore-terrence-on-michael-vick-skip-prosser-bonds-vs-costas-lz-gets-really-real-the-other-side-of-pro-athletes/#comment-11067

I absolutely believe that Michael Vick is guilty. He owned the home, owned the black shed behind the home (with blood in it where the fights were alleged to have taken place), owned the dogs, owned the company MV7, LLC which owned the breeder's license to breed the pit bulls, owned the website VicksK9Kennels.com (and/or a similar site), and owned the pit bulls themselves. Hmmm... exactly how does anyone suppose Vick wasn't involved in illegal dogfighting?

Vick better hope he doesn't get a cell with a dog lover.

By the way, if anyone is interested... there is a website/blogger site that generally supports Michael Vick and bloggers on this site have stated that they are planning a rally for Michael Vick at the Georgia Dome. Here are some of the posts:
------------------------------------------------
# FalcFan Says:
July 28th, 2007 at 5:02 pm

Rally at the Georgia Dome (or as it should be known - Mike’s House) 7/29/07 at 3pm.
------------------------------------------------
# SportsDiva Says:
July 28th, 2007 at 6:15 pm

I’ll be at the Dome tomorrow!!
Tell everyone you know and tell them to be prepared to document it with pics and videos and be prepared for MSM to attempt to ignore and/or discount us.
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# Miranda Says:
July 28th, 2007 at 7:19 pm

I just drove down Northside a little while ago and there are people out there right now with “Leave Mike Alone ” T-shirts on…..I know the rally is tomorrow….so what’s going on right now? Mabe they’re just out there, don’t know.

Glad to see that Collin Spencer has joined Mike’s team in a PR/media consulting capacity. Yeah Sportsdiva, if we don’t have our cameras and recorders ready, the MSM will ignore it or pretend like only 25 people showed up.
-----------------------------------------------

If you agree or disagree with their views, you may like to let them know your opinion. Here is the website where you might be able to respond:

http://thestartingfive.wordpress.com/2007/07/27/
spotes-notes-72707-moore-terrence-on-michael-vick
-skip-prosser-bonds-vs-costas-lz-gets-really-real
-the-other-side-of-pro-athletes/#comment-11067

Anyone tempted to respond to the first poster, "Karl Doelle," don't take the bait. You can easily see that this individual is baiting everyone and probably doesn't even believe what he/she is writing. For all we know this person might be a white racist deliberately trying to incite other white people into saying racist things because they are so angry about the ignorance of the posting. Don't take the bait... this person is trying to change the discussion into an issue about race, and as any rational person who has followed this story and read the 18 page indictment can tell you... this is not about race, it is about a famous rich and privileged athlete thinking that the law does not apply to him.

This story by Mr. Michael David Smith that the local authorities were alerted to problems at the Vick property, before, combined with the fact that the local DA (Poindexter) refused to even execute a search warrant shows and the local Sheriff refused to investigate the neighbor's complaints points as well as the fact that this has allegedly been going on since 2001 points more to the conclusion the Vick was receiving SPECIAL TREATMENT that the average VA resident would not. His celebrity status and wealth appeared to shield him from local prosecution and apparently allowed his illegal venture, Bad Newz Kennels, to operate unmolested for 5 - 6 years. That's a lot of tortured pit bulls and the evidence is there, buried in Vick's own backyard, for you non-believers. There were 17 dead dogs exhumed from his property -- and none of those dogs appear to have died from natural causes.

Where are Nunna Yo Biznezz (a/k/a bigdkslammer), stak, stunna2, owtspokn and all of the other pathetic Vick defenders at??? Come on guys (or women), tell us how your boyfriend MV7 is being railroaded by the Feds and try not to use any race-baiting this time. How about dealing with the fact that this is NOT a race issue, this is an issue about the law being violated and a rich professional athlete thinking he's above the law -- again.
If you note, the Feds claim that this illegal operation (Bad Newz Kennels) has been going on since 2001 and the Feds only found out about the illegal dog fighting after a raid targeting Vick's delinquent cousin, Devon Boddie. So, it's hard for you Vick supporters to claim the Feds had some "hard on" to arrest Vick or were racially motivated.

I'm just so sick about hearing all the garbage about if this was Peyton Manning and accusations that anyone who doesn't think Vick is a choir boy or the best athlete in history is a honorary member of the KKK. Give me a break, this is typical lame diversionary tactics that supporters use in an attempt to steer the issue away form the evidence and towards issues that have nothing to do with the evidence, like race. As I said multiple times before in previous postings and received no legitimate answers -- if Vick is innocent, then why doesn't he come forward with all of the bills of sale showing he sold these pit bulls (remember, he's supposedly been doing this since 2001) from his dog breeding business (MV7, LLC) to legitimate families as PETS? Remember that his dog kennel website stated (before he hastily took it down) that he does not sell dogs for dog fighting and I believe it claimed that he screened the owners. If this were true, then why hasn't he publicly come forward with examples of all of the happy families that purchased Michael Vick pit bulls and Michael Vick presa canarios??? Where are all the personal testimonials of those alleged happy pit bull and presa canario owners? Hey Vick defenders, do you think it might be because these people don't really exist and that many of these pit bulls died in dog fights or were (according to the indictment) electrocuted, hanged, shot, or killed with blunt trauma?

By the way Nunna Yo (bigdkslammer), where all of these alleged phone records you claim to have knowledge of in which cell phone towers were allegedly used to show Vick's whereabouts and those alleged flight manifests (again showing Vick's whereabouts) that you claim to have? (don't worry bigdkslammer, here's the url in case you forgot about those comments: http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/07/14/court-documents-dogs-on-vicks-property-were-shot-drowned-and/ ) Do you remember writing that, Nunna Yo? You might want to show them to the Feds because obviously you're either delusional or a liar. Oh yeah, didn't you also state that Michael Vick would not only not be convicted, he would not be indicted and the Feds would state he was "innocent." Here's your quote in case you forgot about that one, also: "Its sad..But i will be laughing in front of the TV this week when it is known that he had nothing to do with this operation.." Are you sure you don't work for the Bush administration?... they seem to have a habit of getting a lot of predictions wrong, also.

Allow me to make a correction to my previous statement. Bad Newz Kennels is the alleged illegal dog fighting operation that was operating dog fights at the subject Virginia property owned by Michael Vick and being lived in by Michael Vick's cousin. Vick is a registered dog breeder that raises pit bulls via his company "MV7, LLC." I apologize for the error, but no, let's not move on. There are 17 dead dog carcasses in the back of a property OWNED by Mike Vick, not his delinquent cousin. Mike Vick owns a company that breeds pit bulls. I have not heard evidence of any owners coming forward that have purchased PETS from Michael Vicks dog breeding company, MV7, LLC. I'm sure that if Michael Vick can show the feds legitimate bills of sale (i.e., for pets and not for dog fighting) and the feds can get in contact with these alleged owners... then this would be exculpatory evidence. SO WHERE ARE ALL OF THE HAPPY PET OWNERS AT??? Don't you think that if you were innocent of these charges and were running a legitimate business that you would be tripping over yourself to prove to the feds, the media, and the public that you were only selling dogs as pets and here is the evidence. I guess you just blindly defend Vick even though Vick doesn't seem to be offering any evidence to defend himself.

Please see the following link for part of a story from Fox Sports News (June 1, 2007) posted on:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/11312/VA/US/
regarding the question of whether or not Mike Vick might actually be indicted:

Two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation have reported they believe there is sufficient evidence to indict Michael Vick in connection with a suspected dog-fighting ring that was run on property the Falcons quarterback owned in Virginia. The sources, however, cautioned this week that, based on the current evidence, it might be difficult to successfully prosecute Vick, who has denied knowledge of dog fighting at the property in Surry County. "There is probably enough there to bring a bill [of indictment]," said one source, "But how some of [the evidence] would play out at trial, or if it even reached a trial ... I just don't know. These kinds of prosecutions are tough".

R.B., Nunna Yo Biznezz, and The U will be BACK!:

I'm just wondering if you always require such a high standard before believing something negative about a person (its not like Michael Vick was a choir boy before the latest allegations of dog fighting)... you seem to claim that a court of law must CONVICT Michael Vick before anyone can say anything negative about him. I don't believe Osama bin Laden was ever convicted in a court of law, so maybe you should invite him over for dinner. Michael Vick and Davon Boddie hasn't been convicted yet, either, so maybe you should let them watch over your pet chihuahua.

By the way, do you know one of the ways those who fight pit bulls get them so nasty and blood thirsty? They engage them in trainging called "blooding." While you're defending your buddy Vick, why don't you do a Google search on "pit" and "bull" and "blooding." I'm sure the fact that blooding involves taking a smaller breed dog (like your chihuahua) and tieing the dog's legs together and tieing the dog's jaws closed and then letting a pit bull loose to attack the dog and rip it to pieces is a fact that won't bother you. I'm sure that pry bar the Feds found next to all of the other dog parafinalia was pulling up floor boards in Vick's $750K Virginia home, and not for prying the apart the vice-like jaws of a pit bull that has it mouth around another animal.

R.B., don't you agree that dog fighting is detestable? And to answer another poster's question, I would absolutely feel just as disgusted is Brett Favre or Peyton Manning had sixty pit bulls in their back yard tied up to car axles (like the dogs at Mike Vick's residence). R.B. I'm sure that there were 60 pit bulls at Mike Vick's property because he has such great affection and appreciation for the breed... although that wouldn't quite explain why the Feds found the dogs in question tied up to car axles, would it? R.B. and friends, don't you think it somewhat strange that neither Michael Vick or his delinquent relative never made a simple assertion like, for example, "dog fighting is a disgusting and hinous activity and I would never ever engage in such a practice." If they are both so innocent, and we know Michael Vick is a licensed pit bull breeder, why didn't Vick and his relative make this very simple assertion that it is wrong and we breed pit bulls because we love them. I'm sure all of the "friendly" pit bulls that Vick sold are AKC registered... right??? You know, because if all the dogs he sold were registered by those that purchased the dogs from Vick -- you know, as "pets," won't the Feds have an easy time tracking down all the owners and verifying with them about what a lovely and friendly pit bull terrier they have chained to an axle in their back yard... I meand, living comfortably inside their home... with their young children?

So R.B., why doesn't Mr. part time Nike pitchman, part time NFL franchise quarterback, and part time pit bull breeder offer up all of the AKC registration and ownership information to the Feds to PROVE that he is innocent??? You don't think the reason he wouldn't do this is because it might lead the Feds to other individual engaged in dog fighting, do you??? No, that would be too logical.

Oh yeah, and for those of you challenging Stacy for citation, please see below. Although I do agree that the dog probably have not been euthanized yet, as they will probably be used as evidence in a criminal trial against Boddie and/or Vick... most of them, if not all, will end up euthanized after they've served their evidential purpose. And those that think Vick will escape charges... don't be so sure that his despicable relative, Broddie, won't turn state's evidence against Vick to save his own behind.

Those of you who jumped all over Stacy for not having citations, here you go:

1)
"Sixty-six dogs, mostly pit bulls, were seized, along with evidence of an organized fighting operation: treadmills rigged up for training; 'break sticks' that are used to pry apart the powerful jaws of fighting animals; blood-soaked carpeting that might have been used in a fighting pit; veterinary medicines for treating wounds; and 'rape stands,' hideous contraptions used to restrain female pit bulls during the breeding process."

http://www.thestate.com/sports/story/89227.html

2)
"According to Sports Illustrated, Vick's rural home in tiny Smithfield, Va., is believed to have been the scene of bloody dog fights. Five outbuildings on his property are painted black - dog fights are usually held at night - and when investigators went to the property they found more than 60 aggressive dogs, some in kennels and some chained to car axles." 'Too violent to be adopted,' SI reported, 'the animals will eventually be euthanized.'"

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20070617/OPINION/106170085

3)
"ESPN news reporter Kelly Naqi interviewed an anonymous informant who insists that Michael Vick is a 'heavyweight' in the dog fighting world. By heavyweight, the informant refers to betting power of $30,000 to $40,000. The informant is a dog fighter himself and says he has trained between 2,000 pit bulls in over 30 years. The confidential source says he remembers pitting one of his dogs against Vick's."

"'Then he started, you know, waving money,' the source said about Vick. 'He was betting with everybody.' The informant said that Vick didn't handle his dog in the pit. He had one of the members of his entourage do that, but he placed bets with about 20 people."

http://media.www.slccglobelink.com/media/storage/paper442/news/2007/06/13/Sports/Michael.Vicks.Allegations.Of.Dog.Fighting-2914381.shtml