jordan – Tech Today w/ Ken May

The Wheel of Time series is one step closer to your television

Enlarge / From the new cover created by Dan Dos Santos for The Fires of Heaven , book 5 of Wheel of Time . (credit: Dan Dos Santos / Tor Books) Though it has been in the works for years, there is at last solid news on what’s happening with the TV series based on Robert Jordan’s bestselling fantasy series Wheel of Time . Now Variety is reporting that Sony has bought the rights and hired Rafe Judkins ( Agents of Shield , Hemlock Grove , Chuck ) to write and executive produce it. Jordan’s 14-book epic first hit bookstores in 1990 and has become one of the biggest selling series of all time, by some counts even outselling George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire . It’s a classic tale of good and evil, full of a mixture of mythologies from Western and Eastern lore. And, of course, there is a mystical dragon-related quest. But that just scratches the surface of these intricate novels, famous for their deep worldbuilding and dramatic turns. The last book in the series was published after Jordan died, and it was written from Jordan’s notes by bestselling author Brandon Sanderson. The TV series has had a very weird history, with a seemingly unauthorized pilot airing early one morning at 1:30am in 2015 on FXX, starring Max Ryan and Billy Zane. There was no publicity about the airing, and it was apparently a surprise to Jordan’s widow and editor Harriet McDougal. In a statement , she wrote that she was “dumbfounded” and had no idea a pilot was being made. Now, she says, the rights issues have been worked out, and the new deal with Sony is the real thing. Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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The Wheel of Time series is one step closer to your television

Netflix details its HDR streaming lineup for this year

Netflix recently revealed it had rolled out support for high dynamic range video , starting with the first season of Marco Polo . This was the initial step in the company’s plan to go all in on that technology , which it believes is the perfect complement to 4K — something it’s been pushing since 2014 . By the end of 2016, the streaming service will have more than 150 hours of original programming in HDR, Netflix confirmed to Engadget. Of those, over 100 hours are expected to hit the platform in August, a figure that won’t be easy for competitors such as Amazon to match. While Marco Polo is the only show taking advantage of HDR (Dolby Vision, HDR10) right now, more content is going to follow suit in the next few months. That includes existing series like Bloodline , Daredevil , Jessica Jones and Chef’s Table , as well as The Ridiculous Six movie. Netflix will also feature HDR in the upcoming Luke Cage and The Defenders shows, plus The Do-Over film starring Adam Sandler and more. Here’s the full list, according to Netflix: A Series of Unfortunate Events Bloodline Chef’s Table Hibana Knights of Sidonia Marvel’s Daredevil Marvel’s Iron Fist Marvel’s Jessica Jones Marvel’s Luke Cage Marvel’s The Defenders The Do-Over The Ridiculous Six Unfortunately, there are no firm details on when these are scheduled to arrive. “Timing varies depending on the title, as we are in the process of remastering any existing TV shows and movies, ” a Netflix spokesperson said to Engadget. “It is also dependent on the title’s launch date. We don’t have any dates to confirm at this point in time.” But hey, at least you can be excited about all the HDR stuff that’s coming in the near future.

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Netflix details its HDR streaming lineup for this year

Why All the Best Kit Kat Flavors Are Only in Japan

Wasabi, strawberry cheesecake, green tea, dark chocolate, sweet potato. What do these flavors have in common? They’re all KitKat varieties exclusive to Japan. but how did the crispy, break-associated candy get so popular overseas? Read more…

Google Street View gives you a tour of ancient Jordan landmarks

Jordan is home to some extremely significant historical and religious sites. However, visiting those landmarks in person is no mean feat — which is why Google just added many of them to Street View. Fire up your web browser and you can get virtual, 360-degree tours of more than 30 ancient locations, including the city of Petra (above), Jerash and legendary castles from the Crusades. We suspect that this will pale in comparison to the grandeur of seeing these relics first-hand, but you should at least have an inkling of what the experience would be like. Source: Google Maps

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Google Street View gives you a tour of ancient Jordan landmarks

Microsoft Surface Book vs. MacBook Pro: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Microsoft is making a big splash with its latest gear, the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book. These pricey products are designed to compete directly with Apple’s traditional hegemony on premium gadgets. But just how well do these latest offerings measure up against Apple? Read more…

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Microsoft Surface Book vs. MacBook Pro: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Turns Out Ashley Madison’s Uncrackable Passwords Are Actually Very Crackable

It was little solace to victims of the Ashley Madison hack that the company had kept their passwords extra secure. Some even said the hashing algorithm was bulletproof. But—oops!—it turns out Ashley Madison made a programming error . And now, hobbyists have already deciphered over 11 million passwords from the leaked accounts. Read more…

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Turns Out Ashley Madison’s Uncrackable Passwords Are Actually Very Crackable

Transparent Batteries That Charge in the Sun Could Replace Smartphone Screens

A group of Japanese researchers have managed to improve the design of a transparent lithium-ion battery so that it’s now able to recharge itself when exposed to sunlight without the need for a separate solar cell. Read more…

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Transparent Batteries That Charge in the Sun Could Replace Smartphone Screens

T-Mobile Will Stop Customers Abusing Unlimited Data

T-Mobile’s ‘unlimited means unlimited’ policy is good for consumers, but it’s also a boon for less scrupulous users who use cell data to replace broadband, with the help of a few dubious workarounds. Starting today, the endless data gravy train is going to stop . Read more…

A Fascinating Look at How a Film Projector Works

Enginner Guy Bill Hammack is a master at taking seemingly-boring technology, and breaking down the components and manufacturing process until you’re left with nothing but respect for the engineers who designed it. Read more…

Sadly This 10TB Hard Drive Is Designed For Servers, Not Your Laptop

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies—aka HGST, aka a subsidiary of Western Digital—was recently showing off its gigantic new 10TB hard drive at the Linux Foundation Vault tradeshow in Boston. But unfortunately you won’t be packing 10, 000 gigabytes into your laptop anytime soon because the drive is designed for use in servers, and mostly because it requires special software to work. Read more…