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For a very long time, life was limited by the rate at which we spoke. Although we have had writing systems for millennia, early texts were designed to be read aloud, meaning that literature unfolded at the pace of human speech. For years now, podcast and audiobook players have provided speedup options, and research shows that most people prefer listening to accelerated speech. Now Jeff Guo writes at The Washington Post that a new kind of storytelling is emerging as software has made it much easier to watch videos at 1.5x to 2x.
You can play DVDs and iTunes purchases at whatever tempo you like and a Google engineer has written a popular Chrome extension that accelerates most other Web videos, including on Netflix, Vimeo and Amazon Prime. Over 100,000 people have downloaded that plug-in, and the reviews are ecstatic. “Oh my God! I regret all the wasted time I've lived before finding this gem!!” one user wrote. According to Guo speeding up video is more than an efficiency hack. "I quickly discovered that acceleration makes viewing more pleasurable. "Modern Family" played at twice the speed is far funnier — the jokes come faster and they seem to hit harder. I get less frustrated at shows that want to waste my time with filler plots or gratuitous violence. The faster pace makes it easier to appreciate the flow of the plot and the structure of the scenes."
"So here we are," concludes Guo, "spending three hours a day on average, scrambling to keep up with the Kardashians, the Starks, the Underwoods, and the dozens of others on the roster of must-watch TV, which has exploded in the age of fragmented audiences. "Nowadays, to stay on the same wavelength with your different groups of friends — the ones hating on “Meat Chad” and the ones cooing over Khaleesi — you have to watch in bulk."
(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday June 28 2016, @06:59AM
Yeh, I know Google will look *anything* up for me.
My situation was that I did not give a damn about what appeared to be a rich spoiled brat on a McDonald's placemat. Not enough of a damn to even google her.
Didn't see anything about Paris Hilton that interested me either. Just figured she probably had something to do with Hilton Hotels, and everytime I stayed in one, a couple bux went to her.
Personally, I am much more interested in the thermodynamic properties of propane than both of these "celebrities" put together.
Yet, the world values these celebrities much more than the desalinator stuff I seem to value.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by Zinho on Tuesday June 28 2016, @01:21PM
I know exactly what you're talking about.
By the way, are you suggesting that there's a method for using the thermodynamics of Propane to purify water? I would love to read up on that if you've got a link, it sounds fascinating! That's the sort of innovation the world really needs right now.
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
(Score: 1) by anubi on Wednesday June 29 2016, @03:53AM
I do not have any link to anyone else doing it this way...
For my uses, the propane is a cheap heat pumping mechanism.
Propane is miscible with lubricant, and most importantly, not corrosive.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]