Titanic

"Terminator 2" could be back...in 3D. Fresh from reinventing 3D filmmaking with "Avatar," James Cameron wants to go back in time to target his own back catalog and convert "Aliens" and the "Terminator" films into 3D--once he's finished adding an extra dimension to "Titanic."

Cameron is currently working on converting his 1997 Oscar-snatcher to three dimensions. He's already revisited the stricken ship in 3D with his IMAX documentary "Ghosts of the Abyss," although he warns viewers that the retro-fitted "Titanic" will be more … Read more

Jon Landau, executive producer of James Cameron's phenomenally successful film Avatar and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, recently hosted a press day introducing the April 22 release of Avatar on Blu-ray--participating in one-on-one interviews with selected members of the press, as well as roundtable discussions. Although, there wasn't much in the way of food, they did have a bar where the Avatar blue martini was the house special. The following is a snippet of the roundtable conversation as well as discussions I had with James Finn of Twentieth Century Fox.

Q: Do you think 3D is here to stay, and should everything be made in 3D? Landau: Moving forward, Jim (James Cameron) wants to do everything in 3D. Had digital 3D been available a dozen or so years ago when he shot Titanic, he'd have used it, but he didn't have it at the time. And now that we have the technology we intend to do Titanic in 3D. It will take one year to 18 months and Jim will be involved in it. We see in 3D everyday--we've always seen in 3D, we just never knew how to (theatrically) capture it until now.

And should everything be made in 3D? Depends. Remaking classics, we'll use Citizen Kane for example, I would not support that because Orson Wells isn't here. Now if you want to go and do ET and have Steven [Spielberg] involved in it. I think that would be great. I think if you want to do Star Wars and I think George [Lucas] is interested in doing it. Lord of the Rings... Again, to have someone come in and interpret what [the director] wants, I think that's where we get into trouble. It becomes exploitative and not creative. Right now the desire to make movies in 3D must come from the filmmaker and not the studios.

What can we expect to find on the Blu-ray release of Avatar on the 22? Landau:The way we've approached this initial release is all about the quality of the presentation. So there is no additional content on the disc. There are no trailers, no commercials, and no director's commentary because that takes away from the bit-rate that you can apply to the movie. We went with very simplistic menus again because [to elaborate on the menu] meant you have to do nine different versions and you have to do it in French, in Spanish, and do all this different branching. It [would have taken] up enough space that you'd have lost something off of the picture quality. Jim Cameron spent a week with our color timer, who did the movie doing a special color grading for the home entertainment release. Normally, the quote-encoding process takes two weeks. We spent five weeks doing it. We had people involved from Lightstorm throughout, where we made sure everything was right. We think the quality that we are going to present on the Blu-ray is pretty remarkable.

So this is just the movie with no frills. How much of the Blu-ray disc are you using then for the movie? Landau: Well, I wouldn't say "no frills" [chuckles]... We are actually using 100 percent of the disc.… Read more

Moon Audio claims the Signature Titan was designed to outperform any speaker system in the world. It's a strictly limited edition of three pairs, and each pair is hand-signed by the designer. Each pair will also be named after its buyer and once the third pair is built, the Signature Titan is history.

Even by high-end audio standards the pricing structure is a little unusual: Signature Titan #003 can be yours for $500,000 per pair, but the cost for #002 doubles to $1,000,000! Sounds crazy, but #001 has already been sold for $2,000,000!

I spoke with Moon Audio's founder, Chris Moon, yesterday about the Signature Titan, and learned the speaker grew out of Moon's dissatisfaction with the world's best production speakers. He went out and built the Signature Titan just to see how far he could take speaker design. Moon isn't your average high-end guy, he told me that he discovered, recorded, and produced Prince, along with Morris Day, Alexander O'Neal, Dez Dickerson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Moon wrote and produced music for companies such as Northwest Airlines, music scores for films and television.

Moon claims the designers of the 72-inch-tall speaker have been involved in the high-end audio industry for 25 years. Installation and setup in the customer's home anywhere in the world is included in the purchase price. They better have strong floors; the pair of speakers weighs 2,800 pounds!… Read more

Titanic Rescue is a simple, cartoonish, quick-to-play arcade game in which you rescue dapper little gentlemen from a sinking ship.

The touch-based interface is both fun and challenging: you can touch and "flick" passengers off the ship (hopefully in a helpful trajectory) and you rescue the passengers by sliding a row of lifeboats (and, later, life preservers) underneath the falling passengers. The gameplay is quick, intuitive, and challenging, as you switch back and forth between flicking dudes and maneuvering boats. Passengers will bounce off of boats and full life preservers (although more than three will sink a boat), … Read more

Talk about the rubber hitting the road. Researchers from Princeton and Caltech have come up with a power-generating rubber material that could harness walking and other movement to charge electronic devices.

The material is made from nanoribbons composed of lead zirconate titanate, or PZT, a ceramic substance that's "piezoelectric," meaning it generates an electrical voltage when pressure is applied. The "piezo-rubber chips" are embedded in clear silicone rubber sheets that produce electricity when flexed.

The scientists--who detail their findings in the new issue of Nano Letters, a journal of the American Chemical Society--say the rubber sheets could one day appear in shoes that power cell phones and other mobile electronic devices as the user walks or runs.

What's more, "the new electricity-harvesting devices could be implanted in the body to perpetually power medical devices, and the body wouldn't reject them," said Michael McAlpine, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton who led the project.

For example, the biocompatible material could be placed next to a person's lungs and utilize breathing motions to power pacemakers, the scientists say. That could reduce the need for surgery to replace batteries in the device.

We've heard of other gadgets that can be powered by kinetic energy, including the Dance Charge, which is strapped around the arm and powered, as the name suggests, by dancing.… Read more

Goodbyes are never easy, but it ain't so bad when you're leaving for a three-week holiday vacation to Huntington Beach, Calif. On today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast, the dudes celebrate Justin's last show in 2009. To everyone's disappointment, he'll back back in January 2010 for one episode, and then the dudes are off to CES for four shows from the CNET stage!

It's hard to believe that 2009 is almost coming to a close, but it's been a fantastic year of growth for the show. We're very excited to see what 2010 has in store for us, but this year won't be over until we get through the dreaded holiday shopping season. With Hanukkah starting tonight and Christmas just around the corner, there's not a lot of time left for us to head to the store or order gifts online. Then again, there's always the wonderful gift of debt relief!

We also can't officially wave goodbye to 2009 until we finally see "Avatar." In an unexpected twist, apparently someone at the movie studio leaked the film to a few critics who had surprisingly positive reviews!

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter assures us that "every bit of technology in Avatar serves the greater purpose of a deeply felt love story," which should come as a relief the film's detractors. Wilson also brings up a good point about Cameron's depiction of independent women that reinstates our confidence as well. Plan on watching the movie during the holidays? Let us know what you think!

There's still a full spread of 404 episodes next week featuring special guests Russ Frushtick, Bonnie Cha, Natali Del Conte, and more, but I want to wish everyone an amazing holiday and a super green New Year, see you in Vegas!

Just because there's a recession, it doesn't mean you can't find your dream job. So allow me to direct your boundless ambition toward an ad on Craigslist's Calgary site.

While many people scour Craigslist to see if Starbucks or Bed, Bath and Beyond might be seeking additions to their cheery teams, the poster of this ad is searching for an altogether more adventurous type, proudly announcing "Astronaut Needed (Northern Alberta)." Is that the cough of a million scoffs I hear? Perhaps. But this is truly an interesting opportunity, to say the least. Just look … Read more

Have any plans for the weekend? Yeah, I'm talking to you. If not, here's a suggestion: how's about some online Capture-the-Flag action (or Deathmatch action, whatever floats your boat) on Unreal Tournament III Black. Oh, and it's free. OK, so it's for the PC only and doesn't apply to the PlayStation 3, but it's still a pretty cool deal and it's something to do.

Whether or not you have the game, it's all good. The free weekend includes the game, the Titan Pack expansion, and the 2.0 patch. Now, all … Read more

Happy birthday Wilson! You're officially the oldest 24-year-old we know! To help celebrate we get a call from The 404 unofficial sound man, voice actor and eBay impulse buyer Jamey Lewis. How's that for getting your AC unit serviced? 404 fans around the world show their love for the Tangster with with tons of calls from the public. In the news, Will Smith and Spielberg team up for an action movie remake and Wal-Mart rewards shoppers for splurging on a PS3.

Dan the Mantern here. Wilson wants me to thank all the fans who left him a voicemail today. Between you and me, he's still a little misty. In case you were wondering, he plans to celebrate karaoke-style. Free ear plugs available upon request.

Remember folks, you still have this weekend to submit original box art for Little Big Planet and MotorStorm and enter to win a copy of the game. And if you don't show up in the chat room for next Friday's show with snowboarding legend Shaun White, I swear, Wilson will come to your house with a karaoke machine filled with Chinese pop songs and a sound system loud enough to shatter every glass window on your block. Friday, November 14th, Shaun White, The 404, Bacardi Cola, do it!