10 ms·

Paul Allen finds long-lost Japanese battleship

109 points by kenjackson 12y ago

xgbi 12y ago
This kind of philanthropy is quite amazing to watch: this guy has the means to pursue his passion, and we, the humanity, benefit from his stubbornness :)
- kaeluka 12y ago
  Benefit how? Seems like an expensive hobby to me
  - weland 12y ago
    The Musashi is an important part of naval history. If Allen has, indeed, found it, studying it or even displaying parts of it in a museum would immensely help preserve the memory of those days. It was also a remarkable feat of engineering, and I think there was only one other ship like it.
    - masklinn 12y ago
      > The Musashi is an important part of naval history. There still is little to no benefit. The Yamato wreck was found 30 years ago and is significantly more accessible (under ~340m under the surface versus >1km) > It was also a remarkable feat of engineering Meh. Japan had actually planned for a Super-Yamato class (design A-150), but demand for carriers and cruisers diverted resources and the project was killed after Midway. > I think there was only one other ship like it. 3-ish, Shinano was initially laid down as a Yamato-class battleship before being remodeled into an aircraft carrier. And of course they weren't actually useful ships at that point (the US canceled the Montana class without laying a single keel)
      - weland 12y ago
        Even if it's never retrieved (which is likely, given how difficult it is to access), I think the mere fact that it was spotted, marked, and can be explored, is an important milestone. People ought to remember these things.
        masklinn 12y ago
        > I think the mere fact that it was spotted, marked, and can be explored, is an important milestone. An important milestone of what? It's not like that wreck is likely to contain anything of interest, anything which would change our understanding of the pacific theatre let alone the war. And we have extensive traces of more or less the entire history of the Musashi (including a rough location of the sinking) so its eventual fate has never been in question. > People ought to remember these things. I'm reasonably certain the activities of one of the biggest navies of WWII is remembered reasonably clearly. By opposition to, say, the Porajmos.
        weland 12y ago
        > An important milestone of what? It's not like that wreck is likely to contain anything of interest, anything which would change our understanding of the pacific theatre let alone the war. The battlefield at Agincourt also contains nothing of interest, and the famed forest isn't there today, either. And yet, there's still a plaque there that commemorates the event, just like there is on every memorial house. Even if it didn't add any information, the mere fact that the ship was found is important. A pile of metal on the bottom of the sea is a far stronger reminder.
        masklinn 12y ago
        > A pile of metal on the bottom of the sea is a far stronger reminder. 1. A pile of metal a kilometer under the surface is no reminder, an invisible reminder reminds nobody. 2. 30 ships and 500+ planes were lost during Leyte Gulf, it's not like one more wreck nobody can see unless they've bought themselves a $200m yacht and an ROV is going to change any reminding. If you find rich people playing with their toys cool that's fine, but don't pretend they're doing anything other than playing with their toys.
      - philwelch 12y ago
        "Do you create anything or just criticize others and belittle their motivations?"
        Aushin 12y ago
        I used to agree with this sentiment, but this essay changed my view: http://gawker.com/on-smarm-1476594977 http://gawker.com/on-smarm-1476594977
  - curiously 12y ago
    I thought the exact same thing. It might be unfair of me to judge what he does with his money but all I see is just a rich guy having fun. Not that there's anything wrong with it. But consider that these battleships once fired on Americans, helped enslave Asia. If he found a German U-boat my response would be the same. Here we are celebrating the artifacts of a perverted imperial force that is responsible for countless crime against humanity.
    - venomsnake 12y ago
      I will also celebrate any artifact of Chengis Khan ... Humans are renewable resource[1]. History and knowledge are much more precious. [1] Not only mine, but every corporation with HR department opinion.
    - onion2k 12y ago
      History and the preservation of artefacts is not about celebrating. It's about remembering and learning why people did what they did. It's incredibly important for future generations to know what happened in the two World Wars otherwise there will always be a danger that people might do it again. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
      - masklinn 12y ago
        And finding the Musashi wreck reminds us of that… how? Wouldn't it have been a much better reminder if Allen had put his yacht money towards, say, improving the Unit 731 Museum or conserving/improving the east-european camps ruins?
        saiya-jin 12y ago
        oh boy, you sure have an issue with what hobbies people choose :) why don't you have an issue with people going bowling & drinking beer on saturday night, just to pick an example out of gazillions more? this one has more outcome than just joy of participants, everybody here except you accepts it and is happy about that... just sad trolling around?
  - qb45 12y ago
    What's wrong with sponsoring sonar and underwater robotics R&D?
    - masklinn 12y ago
      What R&D? In 2015 Paul Allen found a 1000m deep 70000t wreck whose rough location was known. RMS Titanic is a 50000t wreck in two parts 3700m deep and was found in 1985. Bismarck's 45000t wreck was found in 1989 under 4800m of water.
  - whybroke 12y ago
    Yes, it's a hobby that generates some marine archeology which is very nice. Probably not the equivalent cost of building and running what was the largest yacht in the world. Probably not the most sensible process for choosing projects to pursue. Clearly not as efficient as simply taxing that amount and devoting it directly to more systematically chosen research projects by people familiar with the field. Saving, for example, the whole yacht part. But certainly a great deal better than funding political campaigns to drive down wages. So kudos!
    - TeMPOraL 12y ago
      > But certainly a great deal better than funding political campaigns It's better than this by sole virtue of having anything coming out of it. Political campaigns are zero-sum games for wasting infinite amounts of money.
    - greedo 12y ago
      The idea that his money should be taxed instead of spent as he wants is a bit disgusting. He's already paid taxes on the money he has earned, and if he wants to spend it on something you find lacking in efficiency and sensibility that's his business. So kudos for derailing this thread about an interesting archaeological find.
  - madaxe_again 12y ago
    Salvage rights, potentially - although I doubt, unless there's a secret stash of bullion aboard (no idea why there would be), that recovering anything is going to be economically viable, due to its depth. That, and the fact that it's a mass grave.
  - melling 12y ago
    He donates a lot of money to brain research too. It just doesn't get the HN audience excited: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Paul%20Allen%20brain&sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Paul%20Allen%20brain&sort=byPo... As for expensive hobbies, it does help create an economy for the "toys" needed in the endeavour. Robotic research vehicles, etc. it's certainly more worthwhile than trolling around HN/reddit.
    - whybroke 12y ago
      The "toys" could be purchased more coherently and consistently by teams who know the field if they had equivalent funding. And used for projects of significantly more historical and scientific value (though probably less media value). Although it's better than nothing, I'm not sure relying on arbitrary funding from wealthy hobbyists on projects they happen to find fun is the best way to decide the direction of research. >it's certainly more worthwhile than trolling around HN/reddit. Once you squeeze enough on wages there's not enough disposable income to do much else.
      - melling 12y ago
        Yeah, there's always some guy who says this. Well, then do it. Raise the funds and get the team or convince taxpayers to to fund it. The team looking for Amelia Earhart, for example, has been at it for a long time by raising private funds. http://gizmodo.com/5936462/a-search-team-might-have-finally-found-amelia-earhart-after-75-years http://gizmodo.com/5936462/a-search-team-might-have-finally-... Here's another privately/self funded team looking for WW2 planes. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/anderson-cooper-diving-deep-for-the-forgotten/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/anderson-cooper-diving-deep-for-... But for goodness sakes, don't be The Critic: http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsorbonnespeech.html http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsorbonnespeech.html
        whybroke 12y ago
        There's nothing unusual or evil about Paul Allen in particular. But there is a disastrous trend at reducing public funding for research and education and pretending that that a few volunteer enthusiast or fund raisers can compensate for it. Or that the amusement of and for the increasingly super rich are adequate technical compensation. Such much so that a company devoted to amusement rides into sub orbit is often called the superior of NASA and the word philanthropy now, incredibly, applies to the subject mater of this article. With a posting worded as over the top as this one, it's an opportunity to clearly point out this silliness. Calls to additional action are quite right as you say. But likewise, pointing these issues out here does not preclude other action. >Yeah, there's always some guy who says this I certainly hope so. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_gadfly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_gadfly
- masklinn 12y ago
  Seems self-masturbatory more than philantropic, he tweeted and announced the discovery publicly without even bothering to warn the philippine navy or coast guard, or the Suikokai (imperial navy and JMSDF retiree foundation), that he was looking for it.
rurounijones 12y ago
Not just a battleship, one of the two famous Japanese "Super-battleships", pride of the Japanese navy, with the biggest guns ever fitted on a warship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi
- smoyer 12y ago
  It's curious that the article you reference already states that Paul Allen found her in March 2015.
  - TeMPOraL 12y ago
    It's the Internet, news spread fast.
    - smoyer 12y ago
      True ... but wikipedia is about facts and the history expert cited said he'd need a lot more proof.
      - porker 12y ago
        No. Wikipedia is about what people consider to be facts. I'm sure the editorial team will be on to it... one day. It can easily be cross-referenced, and without digging in detail it looks to be true.
      - DanBC 12y ago
        > wikipedia is about facts No, Wikipedia is about verifiability.
  - xxs 12y ago
    it's wikipedia, you can check the history but since it's quite the news someone went and edited the page.
- jleyank 12y ago
  Actually, it was one of three. The Shinano was completed as the biggest carrier of WW II and sank on its maiden voyage due to faulty (or non-existent) damage control. For those who care about such things, there were a number of carriers converted from battleships/battlecruisers or cruisers used in WW II. Sorry, I'm one of those who care about such things...
eng_monkey 12y ago
It might seem as if he really paid other people to find it.
smoyer 12y ago
This web-site make Firefox completely unresponsive and (looking at top) uses more than one full core. Why do they expect I'll stay on their page?
utefan001 12y ago
"The launch, like the ship itself, had to be concealed from prying eyes; the most important means of accomplishing this was a citywide air-raid drill staged on the launch day to keep everyone inside their homes. Musashi was successfully launched on 1 November 1940, coming to a stop only 1 metre (3.3 ft) in excess of the hull's calculated 220 metres (720 ft) travel distance across the harbour. The entry of such a large mass into the water caused a 120 cm (3 ft 11 in) tsunami, which propagated throughout the harbour and up the local rivers, flooding homes and capsizing small fishing boats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi
alimoeeny 12y ago
Reminded me of Cryptonomicon. Although I don't know which character will be Paul Allen. Definitely not Douglas Shafto.
- scardine 12y ago
  Probably a mix between Randy and Beryl Hagen.
- dredmorbius 12y ago
  There's a very Paul Allenish character in the story already, though he's cast as a gaming company programmer who'd retired. The one with the 747 wreck hung from the ceiling of his house.
NIL8 12y ago
OT... I am really annoyed that so many news sites set their videos to autoplay. Facebook does it too. This was bad in the old days when it was common and it went out of favor for good reason. Note to those responsible (not that they'll read this): I might want to watch your video after I first read some text. When I hear the video start up while I'm trying to read, I immediately try to press stop. This usually takes several attempts because your video players are awful. Nine times out of ten, I will leave the site without watching your video or reading the text. I don't have time for the aggravation.
- graycat 12y ago
  In December, I got a virus likely from such auto-play videos. Symptom and Solution. On Windows, kept getting auto-started instances program iexplore.exe running. Virus scanning for days didn't solve the problem. Finally a Windows system restore back to November or so did solve the problem. Larger Solution. Of course, for each video clip on a Web page, Firefox and Flash keep saying that Flash is vulnerable. No joke. Then they refuse to play the video unless I confirm by clicking three times. So, great! Now those videos no longer auto-play. Of course, for this benefit, I am still running version 12 or some such of Flash. So, after 12 versions, Flash still has bugs? So, I'm going to believe that 13 is such a lucky number that finally version 13 will be safe? Nope! So, I will stay with version 12 and, thus, block the auto-play videos. When I do want to play a video, it will be a significant video from a respected source and, thus, likely safe; I have to doubt that version 13 would be much safer. There are other such frustrations at Web sites that still cause me to do what you do -- leave!
  - NIL8 12y ago
    Yes! It's incredibly frustrating. I find a solution for one problem only to find out that the solution created a new problem. It's all because of sites like these. Maybe I'll just avoid these altogether or maybe I'll create a browser extension like Adblockplus that prevents me from following links to sites that are reported to have autoplay. What to do....
  - sp332 12y ago
    13 (actually 16 last I checked) is safer because so many known vulnerabilities have been closed. Virus toolkits have exploits ready to go for old versions of Flash, and exploits for newer versions are rarer.
phon 12y ago
I believe that they could have quickly confirmed the ship's identity by measuring the chrysanthemum seal that is mounted on its prow and checking to see if it's dimensions match those of the one found on her sister ship Yamato. (More information: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/supership/producer.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/supership/producer.html)
n3xus 12y ago
Paul Allen is an inspiration to creative, idea people everywhere!
WalterBright 12y ago
It's too bad it's probably impossible to raise such a ship. I'd love to take a tour of it, the Bismarck, and the Titanic. Allen has rescued other WW2 things from oblivion like the FW-190 pulled out of swamp and restored to flying condition. I've certainly enjoyed visiting his museum of restored rare aircraft at Paine Field.

109 points by kenjackson 12y ago

xgbi 12y ago

This kind of philanthropy is quite amazing to watch: this guy has the means to pursue his passion, and we, the humanity, benefit from his stubbornness :)

kaeluka 12y ago
Benefit how? Seems like an expensive hobby to me
- weland 12y ago
  The Musashi is an important part of naval history. If Allen has, indeed, found it, studying it or even displaying parts of it in a museum would immensely help preserve the memory of those days. It was also a remarkable feat of engineering, and I think there was only one other ship like it.
  - masklinn 12y ago
    > The Musashi is an important part of naval history. There still is little to no benefit. The Yamato wreck was found 30 years ago and is significantly more accessible (under ~340m under the surface versus >1km) > It was also a remarkable feat of engineering Meh. Japan had actually planned for a Super-Yamato class (design A-150), but demand for carriers and cruisers diverted resources and the project was killed after Midway. > I think there was only one other ship like it. 3-ish, Shinano was initially laid down as a Yamato-class battleship before being remodeled into an aircraft carrier. And of course they weren't actually useful ships at that point (the US canceled the Montana class without laying a single keel)
    - weland 12y ago
      Even if it's never retrieved (which is likely, given how difficult it is to access), I think the mere fact that it was spotted, marked, and can be explored, is an important milestone. People ought to remember these things.
      - masklinn 12y ago
        > I think the mere fact that it was spotted, marked, and can be explored, is an important milestone. An important milestone of what? It's not like that wreck is likely to contain anything of interest, anything which would change our understanding of the pacific theatre let alone the war. And we have extensive traces of more or less the entire history of the Musashi (including a rough location of the sinking) so its eventual fate has never been in question. > People ought to remember these things. I'm reasonably certain the activities of one of the biggest navies of WWII is remembered reasonably clearly. By opposition to, say, the Porajmos.
        weland 12y ago
        > An important milestone of what? It's not like that wreck is likely to contain anything of interest, anything which would change our understanding of the pacific theatre let alone the war. The battlefield at Agincourt also contains nothing of interest, and the famed forest isn't there today, either. And yet, there's still a plaque there that commemorates the event, just like there is on every memorial house. Even if it didn't add any information, the mere fact that the ship was found is important. A pile of metal on the bottom of the sea is a far stronger reminder.
        masklinn 12y ago
        > A pile of metal on the bottom of the sea is a far stronger reminder. 1. A pile of metal a kilometer under the surface is no reminder, an invisible reminder reminds nobody. 2. 30 ships and 500+ planes were lost during Leyte Gulf, it's not like one more wreck nobody can see unless they've bought themselves a $200m yacht and an ROV is going to change any reminding. If you find rich people playing with their toys cool that's fine, but don't pretend they're doing anything other than playing with their toys.
    - philwelch 12y ago
      "Do you create anything or just criticize others and belittle their motivations?"
      - Aushin 12y ago
        I used to agree with this sentiment, but this essay changed my view: http://gawker.com/on-smarm-1476594977 http://gawker.com/on-smarm-1476594977
- curiously 12y ago
  I thought the exact same thing. It might be unfair of me to judge what he does with his money but all I see is just a rich guy having fun. Not that there's anything wrong with it. But consider that these battleships once fired on Americans, helped enslave Asia. If he found a German U-boat my response would be the same. Here we are celebrating the artifacts of a perverted imperial force that is responsible for countless crime against humanity.
  - venomsnake 12y ago
    I will also celebrate any artifact of Chengis Khan ... Humans are renewable resource[1]. History and knowledge are much more precious. [1] Not only mine, but every corporation with HR department opinion.
  - onion2k 12y ago
    History and the preservation of artefacts is not about celebrating. It's about remembering and learning why people did what they did. It's incredibly important for future generations to know what happened in the two World Wars otherwise there will always be a danger that people might do it again. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
    - masklinn 12y ago
      And finding the Musashi wreck reminds us of that… how? Wouldn't it have been a much better reminder if Allen had put his yacht money towards, say, improving the Unit 731 Museum or conserving/improving the east-european camps ruins?
      - saiya-jin 12y ago
        oh boy, you sure have an issue with what hobbies people choose :) why don't you have an issue with people going bowling & drinking beer on saturday night, just to pick an example out of gazillions more? this one has more outcome than just joy of participants, everybody here except you accepts it and is happy about that... just sad trolling around?
- qb45 12y ago
  What's wrong with sponsoring sonar and underwater robotics R&D?
  - masklinn 12y ago
    What R&D? In 2015 Paul Allen found a 1000m deep 70000t wreck whose rough location was known. RMS Titanic is a 50000t wreck in two parts 3700m deep and was found in 1985. Bismarck's 45000t wreck was found in 1989 under 4800m of water.
- whybroke 12y ago
  Yes, it's a hobby that generates some marine archeology which is very nice. Probably not the equivalent cost of building and running what was the largest yacht in the world. Probably not the most sensible process for choosing projects to pursue. Clearly not as efficient as simply taxing that amount and devoting it directly to more systematically chosen research projects by people familiar with the field. Saving, for example, the whole yacht part. But certainly a great deal better than funding political campaigns to drive down wages. So kudos!
  - TeMPOraL 12y ago
    > But certainly a great deal better than funding political campaigns It's better than this by sole virtue of having anything coming out of it. Political campaigns are zero-sum games for wasting infinite amounts of money.
  - greedo 12y ago
    The idea that his money should be taxed instead of spent as he wants is a bit disgusting. He's already paid taxes on the money he has earned, and if he wants to spend it on something you find lacking in efficiency and sensibility that's his business. So kudos for derailing this thread about an interesting archaeological find.
- madaxe_again 12y ago
  Salvage rights, potentially - although I doubt, unless there's a secret stash of bullion aboard (no idea why there would be), that recovering anything is going to be economically viable, due to its depth. That, and the fact that it's a mass grave.
- melling 12y ago
  He donates a lot of money to brain research too. It just doesn't get the HN audience excited: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Paul%20Allen%20brain&sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Paul%20Allen%20brain&sort=byPo... As for expensive hobbies, it does help create an economy for the "toys" needed in the endeavour. Robotic research vehicles, etc. it's certainly more worthwhile than trolling around HN/reddit.
  - whybroke 12y ago
    The "toys" could be purchased more coherently and consistently by teams who know the field if they had equivalent funding. And used for projects of significantly more historical and scientific value (though probably less media value). Although it's better than nothing, I'm not sure relying on arbitrary funding from wealthy hobbyists on projects they happen to find fun is the best way to decide the direction of research. >it's certainly more worthwhile than trolling around HN/reddit. Once you squeeze enough on wages there's not enough disposable income to do much else.
    - melling 12y ago
      Yeah, there's always some guy who says this. Well, then do it. Raise the funds and get the team or convince taxpayers to to fund it. The team looking for Amelia Earhart, for example, has been at it for a long time by raising private funds. http://gizmodo.com/5936462/a-search-team-might-have-finally-found-amelia-earhart-after-75-years http://gizmodo.com/5936462/a-search-team-might-have-finally-... Here's another privately/self funded team looking for WW2 planes. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/anderson-cooper-diving-deep-for-the-forgotten/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/anderson-cooper-diving-deep-for-... But for goodness sakes, don't be The Critic: http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsorbonnespeech.html http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsorbonnespeech.html
      - whybroke 12y ago
        There's nothing unusual or evil about Paul Allen in particular. But there is a disastrous trend at reducing public funding for research and education and pretending that that a few volunteer enthusiast or fund raisers can compensate for it. Or that the amusement of and for the increasingly super rich are adequate technical compensation. Such much so that a company devoted to amusement rides into sub orbit is often called the superior of NASA and the word philanthropy now, incredibly, applies to the subject mater of this article. With a posting worded as over the top as this one, it's an opportunity to clearly point out this silliness. Calls to additional action are quite right as you say. But likewise, pointing these issues out here does not preclude other action. >Yeah, there's always some guy who says this I certainly hope so. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_gadfly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_gadfly
masklinn 12y ago
Seems self-masturbatory more than philantropic, he tweeted and announced the discovery publicly without even bothering to warn the philippine navy or coast guard, or the Suikokai (imperial navy and JMSDF retiree foundation), that he was looking for it.

rurounijones 12y ago

Not just a battleship, one of the two famous Japanese "Super-battleships", pride of the Japanese navy, with the biggest guns ever fitted on a warship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi

smoyer 12y ago
It's curious that the article you reference already states that Paul Allen found her in March 2015.
- TeMPOraL 12y ago
  It's the Internet, news spread fast.
  - smoyer 12y ago
    True ... but wikipedia is about facts and the history expert cited said he'd need a lot more proof.
    - porker 12y ago
      No. Wikipedia is about what people consider to be facts. I'm sure the editorial team will be on to it... one day. It can easily be cross-referenced, and without digging in detail it looks to be true.
    - DanBC 12y ago
      > wikipedia is about facts No, Wikipedia is about verifiability.
- xxs 12y ago
  it's wikipedia, you can check the history but since it's quite the news someone went and edited the page.
jleyank 12y ago
Actually, it was one of three. The Shinano was completed as the biggest carrier of WW II and sank on its maiden voyage due to faulty (or non-existent) damage control. For those who care about such things, there were a number of carriers converted from battleships/battlecruisers or cruisers used in WW II. Sorry, I'm one of those who care about such things...

eng_monkey 12y ago

It might seem as if he really paid other people to find it.

smoyer 12y ago

This web-site make Firefox completely unresponsive and (looking at top) uses more than one full core. Why do they expect I'll stay on their page?

utefan001 12y ago

"The launch, like the ship itself, had to be concealed from prying eyes; the most important means of accomplishing this was a citywide air-raid drill staged on the launch day to keep everyone inside their homes. Musashi was successfully launched on 1 November 1940, coming to a stop only 1 metre (3.3 ft) in excess of the hull's calculated 220 metres (720 ft) travel distance across the harbour. The entry of such a large mass into the water caused a 120 cm (3 ft 11 in) tsunami, which propagated throughout the harbour and up the local rivers, flooding homes and capsizing small fishing boats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi

alimoeeny 12y ago

Reminded me of Cryptonomicon. Although I don't know which character will be Paul Allen. Definitely not Douglas Shafto.

scardine 12y ago
Probably a mix between Randy and Beryl Hagen.
dredmorbius 12y ago
There's a very Paul Allenish character in the story already, though he's cast as a gaming company programmer who'd retired. The one with the 747 wreck hung from the ceiling of his house.

NIL8 12y ago

OT... I am really annoyed that so many news sites set their videos to autoplay. Facebook does it too. This was bad in the old days when it was common and it went out of favor for good reason. Note to those responsible (not that they'll read this): I might want to watch your video after I first read some text. When I hear the video start up while I'm trying to read, I immediately try to press stop. This usually takes several attempts because your video players are awful. Nine times out of ten, I will leave the site without watching your video or reading the text. I don't have time for the aggravation.

graycat 12y ago
In December, I got a virus likely from such auto-play videos. Symptom and Solution. On Windows, kept getting auto-started instances program iexplore.exe running. Virus scanning for days didn't solve the problem. Finally a Windows system restore back to November or so did solve the problem. Larger Solution. Of course, for each video clip on a Web page, Firefox and Flash keep saying that Flash is vulnerable. No joke. Then they refuse to play the video unless I confirm by clicking three times. So, great! Now those videos no longer auto-play. Of course, for this benefit, I am still running version 12 or some such of Flash. So, after 12 versions, Flash still has bugs? So, I'm going to believe that 13 is such a lucky number that finally version 13 will be safe? Nope! So, I will stay with version 12 and, thus, block the auto-play videos. When I do want to play a video, it will be a significant video from a respected source and, thus, likely safe; I have to doubt that version 13 would be much safer. There are other such frustrations at Web sites that still cause me to do what you do -- leave!
- NIL8 12y ago
  Yes! It's incredibly frustrating. I find a solution for one problem only to find out that the solution created a new problem. It's all because of sites like these. Maybe I'll just avoid these altogether or maybe I'll create a browser extension like Adblockplus that prevents me from following links to sites that are reported to have autoplay. What to do....
- sp332 12y ago
  13 (actually 16 last I checked) is safer because so many known vulnerabilities have been closed. Virus toolkits have exploits ready to go for old versions of Flash, and exploits for newer versions are rarer.

phon 12y ago

I believe that they could have quickly confirmed the ship's identity by measuring the chrysanthemum seal that is mounted on its prow and checking to see if it's dimensions match those of the one found on her sister ship Yamato. (More information: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/supership/producer.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/supership/producer.html)

n3xus 12y ago

Paul Allen is an inspiration to creative, idea people everywhere!

WalterBright 12y ago

It's too bad it's probably impossible to raise such a ship. I'd love to take a tour of it, the Bismarck, and the Titanic. Allen has rescued other WW2 things from oblivion like the FW-190 pulled out of swamp and restored to flying condition. I've certainly enjoyed visiting his museum of restored rare aircraft at Paine Field.