Wednesday, December 29, 2004
The BitTorrent Effect
WIRED has a really interesting article on BitTorrent and its creator Bram Cohen. In addition to providing a little history about the idea behind BT, it goes into the problems (and some possible solutions) it poses for TV networks and movie studios.
WIRED has a really interesting article on BitTorrent and its creator Bram Cohen. In addition to providing a little history about the idea behind BT, it goes into the problems (and some possible solutions) it poses for TV networks and movie studios.
¶
8:15 AM
Monday, December 27, 2004
Meedio plugins: MBM & MeeFreeSpace
I've installed a couple more Meedio plugins that I really like.
Motherboard Monitor 5
The Motherboard Monitor 5 plugin allows you to check things from the MBM app, like CPU temperature, case temperature, fan speeds, etc., directly from within Meedio. Very handy for nerds like me who like to keep up with such things. See a screenshot.
MeeFreeSpace
The MeeFreeSpace plugin allows you to check much hard drive space you have available. This is very helpful when you have 3 hard drives like I do. MeeFreeSpace will show you the about of space available, the % of the drive you have available and how many hours of video you can store among other stats. See a screenshot.
I've installed a couple more Meedio plugins that I really like.
Motherboard Monitor 5
The Motherboard Monitor 5 plugin allows you to check things from the MBM app, like CPU temperature, case temperature, fan speeds, etc., directly from within Meedio. Very handy for nerds like me who like to keep up with such things. See a screenshot.
MeeFreeSpace
The MeeFreeSpace plugin allows you to check much hard drive space you have available. This is very helpful when you have 3 hard drives like I do. MeeFreeSpace will show you the about of space available, the % of the drive you have available and how many hours of video you can store among other stats. See a screenshot.
¶
8:01 PM
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Another Christmas in the books
Whew! Christmas is over for another year (and I couldn't be happier about that). The kids had a blast; however, as usual, we bought the kids way too much stuff. I was still putting stuff together up until a few minutes ago.
I picked up a 300 GB hard drive for my media server, the Arrested Development DVD set, some blank DVD-Rs, some pajamas and other assorted goodies.
This morning, Amy, the kids and I dropped off some clothes, coats, toys and food for the Wayside Family Mission down on Market Street. There were several families spending Christmas there so hopefully they were able to put the stuff to good use. We always donate a ton of stuff to Goodwill throughout the year; however, it felt really good to actually deliver the stuff in person.
I uploaded a buttload of photos to Flickr over the past couple of days. You can check out our Christmas 2004 photo set here.
Whew! Christmas is over for another year (and I couldn't be happier about that). The kids had a blast; however, as usual, we bought the kids way too much stuff. I was still putting stuff together up until a few minutes ago.
I picked up a 300 GB hard drive for my media server, the Arrested Development DVD set, some blank DVD-Rs, some pajamas and other assorted goodies.
This morning, Amy, the kids and I dropped off some clothes, coats, toys and food for the Wayside Family Mission down on Market Street. There were several families spending Christmas there so hopefully they were able to put the stuff to good use. We always donate a ton of stuff to Goodwill throughout the year; however, it felt really good to actually deliver the stuff in person.
I uploaded a buttload of photos to Flickr over the past couple of days. You can check out our Christmas 2004 photo set here.
¶
8:55 PM
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Shameless TiVo Rewards appeal
OK, I've had my TiVo for about 3 1/2 year now. Over those 3 1/2 years, I've told tons and tons of people about how great TiVo is. Unfortunately, I hadn't signed up for TiVo Rewards at the time of all of that great word-of-mouth advertising, so I have nothing to show for it.
Now, with the Festivus season upon us, I am making a shameless appeal for any of my loyal reader(s) who decide to buy a TiVo to use me as their referral. It is really very simple. You just mention my e-mail address (smorty71 at gmail dot com) when you activate your TiVo service.
If I get 4 referrals, I can get a TiVo-branded 20GB iPod like this. And a referral is a hell of a lot cheaper than a Christmas gift, right?
OK, I've had my TiVo for about 3 1/2 year now. Over those 3 1/2 years, I've told tons and tons of people about how great TiVo is. Unfortunately, I hadn't signed up for TiVo Rewards at the time of all of that great word-of-mouth advertising, so I have nothing to show for it.
Now, with the Festivus season upon us, I am making a shameless appeal for any of my loyal reader(s) who decide to buy a TiVo to use me as their referral. It is really very simple. You just mention my e-mail address (smorty71 at gmail dot com) when you activate your TiVo service.
If I get 4 referrals, I can get a TiVo-branded 20GB iPod like this. And a referral is a hell of a lot cheaper than a Christmas gift, right?
¶
6:26 PM
Meedio plugins: Netflix & Launch
I installed a couple of new plugins for Meedio that are really pretty cool.
One is a Netflix Importer. It allows you to view your Queue, Recommendations list, Top 100 list and New Releases list in Meedio. The importer works by using the RSS feeds that Netflix generates for each user account. Just snag the ID string from the end of your Netflix RSS feeds then paste that into the importer. In addition to the movie title, the importer grabs the cover art, too.
The other one is the Launch Videos plugin. It allows you to import the path to all of the videos on launch.yahoo.com by genre. So if you want to have access to Rock, R&B and Rap videos, for example, you simply check the box next to those genres. The importer then downloads all the paths. When you combine the Launch Videos plugin with the meeMusicVideos plugin, you can create a playlist of music videos.
I installed a couple of new plugins for Meedio that are really pretty cool.
One is a Netflix Importer. It allows you to view your Queue, Recommendations list, Top 100 list and New Releases list in Meedio. The importer works by using the RSS feeds that Netflix generates for each user account. Just snag the ID string from the end of your Netflix RSS feeds then paste that into the importer. In addition to the movie title, the importer grabs the cover art, too.
The other one is the Launch Videos plugin. It allows you to import the path to all of the videos on launch.yahoo.com by genre. So if you want to have access to Rock, R&B and Rap videos, for example, you simply check the box next to those genres. The importer then downloads all the paths. When you combine the Launch Videos plugin with the meeMusicVideos plugin, you can create a playlist of music videos.
¶
7:59 AM
Monday, December 20, 2004
MeetTheNeighbors.org
I stumbled across another social networking site today and this one looks like it could be kind of interesting. It is MeetTheNeighbors.org.
As the name suggests, the purpose of MTN is to allow people to set up a small online community that facilitates and manages interaction with that real-life offline community known as your "neighborhood."
From its tagline "Who is under your roof?," it appears that the site is more gear toward urban apartment dwellers. However, it does have options for those of use living in suburbia.
I've set up my neighborhood as a test; however, I may try it out and see if anyone else is interested. It seems like a good way to organize events or find people with similar interests to hang out with. We've lived in our neighborhood for just over 3 years and we only know a handful of our neighbors. My neighborhood's code is 58a7da in case you want to check it out.
I stumbled across another social networking site today and this one looks like it could be kind of interesting. It is MeetTheNeighbors.org.
As the name suggests, the purpose of MTN is to allow people to set up a small online community that facilitates and manages interaction with that real-life offline community known as your "neighborhood."
From its tagline "Who is under your roof?," it appears that the site is more gear toward urban apartment dwellers. However, it does have options for those of use living in suburbia.
I've set up my neighborhood as a test; however, I may try it out and see if anyone else is interested. It seems like a good way to organize events or find people with similar interests to hang out with. We've lived in our neighborhood for just over 3 years and we only know a handful of our neighbors. My neighborhood's code is 58a7da in case you want to check it out.
¶
7:52 AM
Sunday, December 19, 2004
FFL: I'm going to lose & I deserve it
OK, I know the games aren't over yet; however, I am going to lose (and it's all my fault).
Being the savvy coach that I am, I picked up Tennessee QB Billy Volek who had had two monster games in a row. Unfortunately, being the dumbass coach, I benched Brett Favre in favor of... Brian Griese! Griese had been playing really well and had the best matchup of the three. Unfortunately Griese scored 8 points while Volek scored 45!!! Yes, 45 points. That is a ridiculous amount of Fantasy points.
As of this writing, Pedro's pitiful team, which I've already beaten twice, has only scored 46 points with 6 players having already played. The mighty 12-1-1 sMoRTy71 team has 21 points with 4 players having already played. So, the Volek bungle should cost me the game and end my season.
OK, I know the games aren't over yet; however, I am going to lose (and it's all my fault).
Being the savvy coach that I am, I picked up Tennessee QB Billy Volek who had had two monster games in a row. Unfortunately, being the dumbass coach, I benched Brett Favre in favor of... Brian Griese! Griese had been playing really well and had the best matchup of the three. Unfortunately Griese scored 8 points while Volek scored 45!!! Yes, 45 points. That is a ridiculous amount of Fantasy points.
As of this writing, Pedro's pitiful team, which I've already beaten twice, has only scored 46 points with 6 players having already played. The mighty 12-1-1 sMoRTy71 team has 21 points with 4 players having already played. So, the Volek bungle should cost me the game and end my season.
¶
7:51 PM
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Playroom update
For the past 6 months or so, I've been slowly (very slowly) converting part of our basement into a playroom for the kids. Originally, this part of the basement was one large room; however, last year, my dad and I built a wall to separate it into an office for me and a playroom. The playroom area is roughly 400 sq. ft.
The boys chose a Buzz Lightyear color scheme, so I've spent much of the past few months painting. Walls are Star Command Blue. Doors and facings are Orange Blast. Molding is Laser Beam Green. Baseboards are Code Red.
Today, I was able to install some shelves and add the storage bins I picked up at IKEA. I plan on finishing up the rest over the holiday break (our offices are closed between Christmas and New Year's Day).
You can see some photos of my progess at Flickr.
For the past 6 months or so, I've been slowly (very slowly) converting part of our basement into a playroom for the kids. Originally, this part of the basement was one large room; however, last year, my dad and I built a wall to separate it into an office for me and a playroom. The playroom area is roughly 400 sq. ft.
The boys chose a Buzz Lightyear color scheme, so I've spent much of the past few months painting. Walls are Star Command Blue. Doors and facings are Orange Blast. Molding is Laser Beam Green. Baseboards are Code Red.
Today, I was able to install some shelves and add the storage bins I picked up at IKEA. I plan on finishing up the rest over the holiday break (our offices are closed between Christmas and New Year's Day).
You can see some photos of my progess at Flickr.
¶
2:30 PM
Friday, December 17, 2004
Social Networking meta list
I am currently working on a lot of online community and social networking stuff at work, so I read a lot of RSS feeds and blogs on the subject.
Today, the Social Software Weblog updated its Social Networking services meta list. It is a really handy reference for anyone interested in building online communities and social networks. The list is broken into 9 categories like "business networking sites," "dating sites" and "photo sharing emphasis sites."
I knew everybody and their brother seemed to be building social networking apps; however, I didn't know there were so many already up and running. There have got to be over 100 listed. I think the only one that I use is Flickr.
I am currently working on a lot of online community and social networking stuff at work, so I read a lot of RSS feeds and blogs on the subject.
Today, the Social Software Weblog updated its Social Networking services meta list. It is a really handy reference for anyone interested in building online communities and social networks. The list is broken into 9 categories like "business networking sites," "dating sites" and "photo sharing emphasis sites."
I knew everybody and their brother seemed to be building social networking apps; however, I didn't know there were so many already up and running. There have got to be over 100 listed. I think the only one that I use is Flickr.
¶
12:49 PM
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Firefox ad in NYT
The Mozilla Foundation has placed a 2-page ad in the New York Times that was paid for partly with donations from Firefox users. In fact, one page of the ad features the name of every person who made a donation.
The ad reads "Are you fed up with your web browser? You're not alone. We want you to know that there is an alternative."
Check out the Mozilla press release here. Also, you can check out the ad here.
The Mozilla Foundation has placed a 2-page ad in the New York Times that was paid for partly with donations from Firefox users. In fact, one page of the ad features the name of every person who made a donation.
The ad reads "Are you fed up with your web browser? You're not alone. We want you to know that there is an alternative."
Check out the Mozilla press release here. Also, you can check out the ad here.
¶
1:57 PM
Wal-Mart's iLo brand
All of the gadget-related sites are abuzz with the new iLo brand of electronics that Wal-Mart has quietly been rolling out since May.
After checking out Walmart.com (since I hate going to the actual store), I am really surprised at the price of their products, especially considering the features they include.
For example, the iLo DVDR04 is a DVD recorder that has component video outputs, digital audio outputs and a FireWire input for $149. That's really cheap!
They also carry another model of DVD recorder that features an 80GB hard drive for $278.
The biggest knock I have against iLo, besides consumer perception of the quality of Wal-Mart products, is the look of the products. They definitely don't have a high-end look to them. But I guess I shouldn't expect that for something that costs $150.
I'm very tempted to pick up one of the DVDR04s just to try it out. Or...one of my loyal readers could pick one up from my Froogle Wish List.
All of the gadget-related sites are abuzz with the new iLo brand of electronics that Wal-Mart has quietly been rolling out since May.
After checking out Walmart.com (since I hate going to the actual store), I am really surprised at the price of their products, especially considering the features they include.
For example, the iLo DVDR04 is a DVD recorder that has component video outputs, digital audio outputs and a FireWire input for $149. That's really cheap!
They also carry another model of DVD recorder that features an 80GB hard drive for $278.
The biggest knock I have against iLo, besides consumer perception of the quality of Wal-Mart products, is the look of the products. They definitely don't have a high-end look to them. But I guess I shouldn't expect that for something that costs $150.
I'm very tempted to pick up one of the DVDR04s just to try it out. Or...one of my loyal readers could pick one up from my Froogle Wish List.
¶
12:15 PM
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Firefox tweaks
I stumbled upon this link after reading an article on HackADay.com. It lists a couple of ways to speed up Firefox. Even though, I was already satisfied with the performance of FF (especiallu compared to IE), these changes made a noticeable difference.
1. Open Firefox 1.0 and in the address bar type: about:config
2. Find network.http.pipelining and double click on it so it = true
3. Find network.http.pipelining.maxrequests double click on it and change it from 4 to 100
I stumbled upon this link after reading an article on HackADay.com. It lists a couple of ways to speed up Firefox. Even though, I was already satisfied with the performance of FF (especiallu compared to IE), these changes made a noticeable difference.
1. Open Firefox 1.0 and in the address bar type: about:config
2. Find network.http.pipelining and double click on it so it = true
3. Find network.http.pipelining.maxrequests double click on it and change it from 4 to 100
¶
8:19 PM
Motely Crue's back
As many of my early readers remember I was (and, technically, still am) reading "The Dirt - Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band." So it should come as no surprise that I have a special place in my formerly-hair-metal heart for "the Crue."
So tonight, just for a few minutes, I was able to flashback to junior high and high school (when I still had hair) while watching them perform together on the SpikeTV Video Game Awards (I TiVoed it. I'm not that big of a loser!). They actually didn't sound too bad for a bunch of 40-something guys in leather pants.
I am willing to bet that the tour ends prematurely, though. After reading much of their book, there is no way they will be able to get along.
As many of my early readers remember I was (and, technically, still am) reading "The Dirt - Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band." So it should come as no surprise that I have a special place in my formerly-hair-metal heart for "the Crue."
So tonight, just for a few minutes, I was able to flashback to junior high and high school (when I still had hair) while watching them perform together on the SpikeTV Video Game Awards (I TiVoed it. I'm not that big of a loser!). They actually didn't sound too bad for a bunch of 40-something guys in leather pants.
I am willing to bet that the tour ends prematurely, though. After reading much of their book, there is no way they will be able to get along.
¶
1:09 AM
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
EA is the devil!
First of all, let me say that I love football video games (love 'em!). For all of the consoles I've ever purchased (Nintendo NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast, XBOX), it was a football game that sealed the deal - Tecmo Bowl, Super Tecmo Bowl, NFL2K, NFL2K2.
Without football video games, I would probably not be the gamer I am today (damn, I feel like there should have been some cheesy political campaign music playing in the background when I typed that).
Of all the football games I've played, the ones made by Sega (and now ESPN) were always my favorite. I believe I own all of the 2K series games of NFL games. The recent price drop to $19.99 for the 2K5 games almost made it too good to be true.
Now, it turns out that EA, the makers of the inferior Madden series of football games, has made an exclusive deal with the NFL that shuts out all other publishers of NFL games! That means that no one, other than EA, can make a video game using NFL teams, players or stadiums!
I guess EA figured that if they can't create a better product than the competition, they can find other ways to eliminate them. Unfortunately, even with no other NFL games on the market, Madden still won't be the best.
First of all, let me say that I love football video games (love 'em!). For all of the consoles I've ever purchased (Nintendo NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast, XBOX), it was a football game that sealed the deal - Tecmo Bowl, Super Tecmo Bowl, NFL2K, NFL2K2.
Without football video games, I would probably not be the gamer I am today (damn, I feel like there should have been some cheesy political campaign music playing in the background when I typed that).
Of all the football games I've played, the ones made by Sega (and now ESPN) were always my favorite. I believe I own all of the 2K series games of NFL games. The recent price drop to $19.99 for the 2K5 games almost made it too good to be true.
Now, it turns out that EA, the makers of the inferior Madden series of football games, has made an exclusive deal with the NFL that shuts out all other publishers of NFL games! That means that no one, other than EA, can make a video game using NFL teams, players or stadiums!
I guess EA figured that if they can't create a better product than the competition, they can find other ways to eliminate them. Unfortunately, even with no other NFL games on the market, Madden still won't be the best.
¶
12:38 PM
MPAA v. BitTorrent trackers
WIRED is reporting that the MPAA has filed suit against several BitTorrent tracker server owners in an effort to stop the trading of copyrighted material.
Although tracker servers don't host any illegal or pirated files, they do point users to the location of the those files. The MPAA claims that pointing to the files is a enough to be deemed illegal.
Following that kind of logic in the real world would mean that you could be arrested for pointing to a prostitute and yelling, "Hey, there is a prostitute over there!" Right? I mean, prostitution is illegal and I just pointed at a prostitute.
With a recent study estimating that BitTorrent accounts for 35% (come on, can that be right?!) of all internet traffic, the outcome of this case should be of interest to a lot of people.
In addition to outlining the MPAA's complaint, the article provides a great overview to how BitTorrent works.
WIRED is reporting that the MPAA has filed suit against several BitTorrent tracker server owners in an effort to stop the trading of copyrighted material.
Although tracker servers don't host any illegal or pirated files, they do point users to the location of the those files. The MPAA claims that pointing to the files is a enough to be deemed illegal.
Following that kind of logic in the real world would mean that you could be arrested for pointing to a prostitute and yelling, "Hey, there is a prostitute over there!" Right? I mean, prostitution is illegal and I just pointed at a prostitute.
With a recent study estimating that BitTorrent accounts for 35% (come on, can that be right?!) of all internet traffic, the outcome of this case should be of interest to a lot of people.
In addition to outlining the MPAA's complaint, the article provides a great overview to how BitTorrent works.
¶
12:34 PM
FFL: Playoff matchups
Now that the Monday Night Football game is wrapped up, the four FFL playoff teams have been determined:
#1 seed: sMoRTy71 (12-1-1) 2nd in Power ranking
#2 seed: SF Reamers (8-4-2) 1st in Power ranking
#3 seed: Big Blue Bombers (8-6) 7th in Power ranking
#4 seed: Big Bitchsmacker (8-6) 3rd in Power ranking
According to the FFL rules, #1 plays #4 and #2 plays #3. So, for the second straight week, I will be playing Pedro Espinoza's Big Bitchsmacker team. This schedule is supposed to reward the overall #1 team by placing them up against the Wild Card; however, the #3 seed is actually the worst team in the playoffs (You hear that, Bryan? Your team sucks!).
So, I will have to defeat 2 of the top 3 teams in the league to claim the FFL title this year. In addition to the title, that would also give me an 11-game winning streak (and a 1-year free pass to trash talk the other teams in my league).
Now that the Monday Night Football game is wrapped up, the four FFL playoff teams have been determined:
#1 seed: sMoRTy71 (12-1-1) 2nd in Power ranking
#2 seed: SF Reamers (8-4-2) 1st in Power ranking
#3 seed: Big Blue Bombers (8-6) 7th in Power ranking
#4 seed: Big Bitchsmacker (8-6) 3rd in Power ranking
According to the FFL rules, #1 plays #4 and #2 plays #3. So, for the second straight week, I will be playing Pedro Espinoza's Big Bitchsmacker team. This schedule is supposed to reward the overall #1 team by placing them up against the Wild Card; however, the #3 seed is actually the worst team in the playoffs (You hear that, Bryan? Your team sucks!).
So, I will have to defeat 2 of the top 3 teams in the league to claim the FFL title this year. In addition to the title, that would also give me an 11-game winning streak (and a 1-year free pass to trash talk the other teams in my league).
¶
7:17 AM
Friday, December 10, 2004
ABCs of Google Suggest
Someone over at /. ran each letter of the alphabet through Google Suggest. Here are the results:
A is for Amazon
B is for Best Buy
C is for CNN
D is for Dictionary
E is for Ebay
F is for Firefox
G is for Games
H is for Hotmail
I is for Ikea
J is for Jokes
K is for Kazaa
L is for Lyrics
M is for Mapquest
N is for News
O is for Online dictionary
P is for Paris Hilton
Q is for Quotes
R is for Recipes
S is for Spybot
T is for Tara Reid
U is for Ups
V is for Verizon
W is for Weather
X is for Xbox
Y is for Yahoo
Z is for Zip Codes
Someone over at /. ran each letter of the alphabet through Google Suggest. Here are the results:
A is for Amazon
B is for Best Buy
C is for CNN
D is for Dictionary
E is for Ebay
F is for Firefox
G is for Games
H is for Hotmail
I is for Ikea
J is for Jokes
K is for Kazaa
L is for Lyrics
M is for Mapquest
N is for News
O is for Online dictionary
P is for Paris Hilton
Q is for Quotes
R is for Recipes
S is for Spybot
T is for Tara Reid
U is for Ups
V is for Verizon
W is for Weather
X is for Xbox
Y is for Yahoo
Z is for Zip Codes
¶
1:32 PM
Thursday, December 9, 2004
Flickr featured on WIRED.com
WIRED.com published an article about Flickr this morning. It gives a really good overview of how Flickr differs from other photo upload sites like Ofoto.
Like me, most of the people quoted in the article see the social networking components and the easy-to-use tools as the key differentiators for Flickr.
Matt Haughey who runs MetaFilter says, "It's kind of like trying to describe why Blogger.com was wonderful in 1999...Flickr's really onto something. They're going to blow up like Blogger eventually."
WIRED.com published an article about Flickr this morning. It gives a really good overview of how Flickr differs from other photo upload sites like Ofoto.
Like me, most of the people quoted in the article see the social networking components and the easy-to-use tools as the key differentiators for Flickr.
Matt Haughey who runs MetaFilter says, "It's kind of like trying to describe why Blogger.com was wonderful in 1999...Flickr's really onto something. They're going to blow up like Blogger eventually."
¶
12:37 PM
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
Holiday Party 2004
Two things the ladies love: pink, me with a bowling ball.
Well another company holiday party is in the books. This year, we decided to go bowling because, as we all know, nothing gets you in the holiday spirit faster than velcroing on some shoes and doin' some bowling.
It turns out that I am not a very good bowler. In fact, some would probably go so far as to say that I should never touch a pink bowling ball again. In the face of this haterism (which is a trip, BTW), I was able to bowl a 105 and a 98. Take that!
I've posted a few of the photos from the event in a Flickr photo set. Check them out here.
Two things the ladies love: pink, me with a bowling ball.
Well another company holiday party is in the books. This year, we decided to go bowling because, as we all know, nothing gets you in the holiday spirit faster than velcroing on some shoes and doin' some bowling.
It turns out that I am not a very good bowler. In fact, some would probably go so far as to say that I should never touch a pink bowling ball again. In the face of this haterism (which is a trip, BTW), I was able to bowl a 105 and a 98. Take that!
I've posted a few of the photos from the event in a Flickr photo set. Check them out here.
¶
8:40 PM
Interview with TiVo's Director of UE
PVRBlog has an interview with Margret Schmidt, TiVo's Director of User Experience. It covers "how TiVo's UI was originally developed, how new features are added, and how the sound UI came to be, among others."
I think one of the key things that Schmidt's team does (that other teams fail to do) is plan for the long-term. She says, "We try to design for the future (where we want to eventually take the feature) and then pare it down to what we are going to ship in a particular release. This lets us show how the experience will naturally evolve rather than having to radically change it to accommodate future functionality. We try to add to the experience rather than change it or take away something users rely on."
I've had my TiVo for over 3 years now and I still haven't found a better onscreen interface in any of the PVR software apps or cable set-top boxes I've seen. This interview is a great read for anyone interested in designing user interfaces.
PVRBlog has an interview with Margret Schmidt, TiVo's Director of User Experience. It covers "how TiVo's UI was originally developed, how new features are added, and how the sound UI came to be, among others."
I think one of the key things that Schmidt's team does (that other teams fail to do) is plan for the long-term. She says, "We try to design for the future (where we want to eventually take the feature) and then pare it down to what we are going to ship in a particular release. This lets us show how the experience will naturally evolve rather than having to radically change it to accommodate future functionality. We try to add to the experience rather than change it or take away something users rely on."
I've had my TiVo for over 3 years now and I still haven't found a better onscreen interface in any of the PVR software apps or cable set-top boxes I've seen. This interview is a great read for anyone interested in designing user interfaces.
¶
7:54 AM
Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Why is Microsoft blogging?
News.com has a short article describing some problems that users are having with the recently launched MSN Spaces, a blogging service from Microsoft. It turns out that MS is doing a couple of things that are upsetting their new bloggers:
1. Keyword filtering: MS is not allowing words that they deem inappropriate in the titles or URLs of the blogs. I don't have the list; however, I imagine "open source," "competition" and "Firefox" are on there.
2. Content policy: According to the News.com article, MS, unlike Blogger, "forces new users to grant Microsoft permission to 'use, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, modify, translate and reformat' their blog postings."
All of this makes me wonder why Microsoft got into blogging in the first place. They've never really been big on openess. In fact, they were one of the first companies to fire someone over a blog post (remember the contractor who photographed a palette of Apple computers being delivered to the MS campus?).
It also makes me wonder why anyone would continue to use their service once they discover these policies. After all, the whole point of blogging is being able to say whatever the (insert objectionable word from MS' filter here) you want.
So, Microsoft, leave the blogging to Blogger. You guys get back to work on XBOX Next.
News.com has a short article describing some problems that users are having with the recently launched MSN Spaces, a blogging service from Microsoft. It turns out that MS is doing a couple of things that are upsetting their new bloggers:
1. Keyword filtering: MS is not allowing words that they deem inappropriate in the titles or URLs of the blogs. I don't have the list; however, I imagine "open source," "competition" and "Firefox" are on there.
2. Content policy: According to the News.com article, MS, unlike Blogger, "forces new users to grant Microsoft permission to 'use, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, modify, translate and reformat' their blog postings."
All of this makes me wonder why Microsoft got into blogging in the first place. They've never really been big on openess. In fact, they were one of the first companies to fire someone over a blog post (remember the contractor who photographed a palette of Apple computers being delivered to the MS campus?).
It also makes me wonder why anyone would continue to use their service once they discover these policies. After all, the whole point of blogging is being able to say whatever the (insert objectionable word from MS' filter here) you want.
So, Microsoft, leave the blogging to Blogger. You guys get back to work on XBOX Next.
¶
5:37 PM
Monday, December 6, 2004
Joined Netflix again
I finally broke down and did a free Netflix trial. I did a trial back in '99, but I let it expire shortly after. Now I want to try out the new Friends feature that they just launched since I am working on some social networking stuff at work. Plus, I've got a home theater PC with a huge hard drive... uh, never mind.
Anyway, check out this great overview of the Friends feature at buzzhit.
I finally broke down and did a free Netflix trial. I did a trial back in '99, but I let it expire shortly after. Now I want to try out the new Friends feature that they just launched since I am working on some social networking stuff at work. Plus, I've got a home theater PC with a huge hard drive... uh, never mind.
Anyway, check out this great overview of the Friends feature at buzzhit.
¶
1:39 PM
Happy 1st Birthday, Mira!
As you can probably guess from the title of this post, today is Mira's 1st birthday. As cliched as it sounds, it really doesn't seem like that long since she was born.
Now just 12 months later, she is starting to talk and is able to pull up on the furniture. Her favorite words right now are "hot" (referring to coffee mugs), "baby" (for her baby doll), "Bubba" (referring to Mahlon or Miles), "Uh oh!" (referring to dropping toys), "Daddy" and "Mama." When she put on her birthday hat for the photo above, she said "hat."
We are going to have a small party for her this afternoon. Because she has been sick, we are going to skip Chuck E. Cheese until she is feeling better.
As you can probably guess from the title of this post, today is Mira's 1st birthday. As cliched as it sounds, it really doesn't seem like that long since she was born.
Now just 12 months later, she is starting to talk and is able to pull up on the furniture. Her favorite words right now are "hot" (referring to coffee mugs), "baby" (for her baby doll), "Bubba" (referring to Mahlon or Miles), "Uh oh!" (referring to dropping toys), "Daddy" and "Mama." When she put on her birthday hat for the photo above, she said "hat."
We are going to have a small party for her this afternoon. Because she has been sick, we are going to skip Chuck E. Cheese until she is feeling better.
¶
1:24 AM
Saturday, December 4, 2004
I'm sick of CDs
After 3 road trips in the past couple of months, I finally got feed up with CDs. At home, I use a 200-disc CD changer, so I never have to touch most of my CDs. However, when I travel, I have to pull a bunch of the CDs out of the changer and drag them around with me. It's been a real pain in the butt.
So a couple of weekends ago, I started ripping all of my CDs to mp3. Today, I finished converting most of my collection. Now I have about 2,000 songs ripped to my home theater PC. According to Windows Media Player, it would take over 127 hours to listen to them all.
After 3 road trips in the past couple of months, I finally got feed up with CDs. At home, I use a 200-disc CD changer, so I never have to touch most of my CDs. However, when I travel, I have to pull a bunch of the CDs out of the changer and drag them around with me. It's been a real pain in the butt.
So a couple of weekends ago, I started ripping all of my CDs to mp3. Today, I finished converting most of my collection. Now I have about 2,000 songs ripped to my home theater PC. According to Windows Media Player, it would take over 127 hours to listen to them all.
¶
7:32 AM
Friday, December 3, 2004
I need the DVX-Pod
If anyone out there is wandering what to get me for Christmas, you can just get me a DVX-Pod. I read about it on Engadget back in October and now WIRED has featured it in its WIRED Tools 2004, a listing of the top gadgets of the year.
The DVX-Pod is a portable media player (PMP) much like my previous favorite gadget (the Archos AV-420). What sets the DVX-Pod apart is its 7" 720x480 widescreen display. That's bigger than many portable DVD players! So in addition to watching TV shows, listening to MP3s and looking at digital photos, you'll be able to watch DVDs you've ripped to the device at full DVD resolution.
The DVX-Pod looks really cool, too. All of the buttons and controls are on the top or sides, so it has a very clean look. Check out photos of the DVX-Pod here.
If anyone out there is wandering what to get me for Christmas, you can just get me a DVX-Pod. I read about it on Engadget back in October and now WIRED has featured it in its WIRED Tools 2004, a listing of the top gadgets of the year.
The DVX-Pod is a portable media player (PMP) much like my previous favorite gadget (the Archos AV-420). What sets the DVX-Pod apart is its 7" 720x480 widescreen display. That's bigger than many portable DVD players! So in addition to watching TV shows, listening to MP3s and looking at digital photos, you'll be able to watch DVDs you've ripped to the device at full DVD resolution.
The DVX-Pod looks really cool, too. All of the buttons and controls are on the top or sides, so it has a very clean look. Check out photos of the DVX-Pod here.
¶
8:14 PM
Interview with Caterina Fake
Engadget has a short interview with Caterina Fake the co-founder of Flickr. It is a good overview of what they're trying to do with the service.
She also mentions some of her favorite Flickr groups and tags for those of us already using Flickr. The Squared Circle group, which features photos of round things in square frames, is pretty interesting.
Engadget has a short interview with Caterina Fake the co-founder of Flickr. It is a good overview of what they're trying to do with the service.
She also mentions some of her favorite Flickr groups and tags for those of us already using Flickr. The Squared Circle group, which features photos of round things in square frames, is pretty interesting.
¶
1:34 PM
Thursday, December 2, 2004
TV networks exploiting TiVo
According to an Associated Press article, several networks have been padding the end of their TV shows to (as allegedly) disrupt the ability of DVR users to record shows on other channels.
For example, if you have a single-tuner DVR and are recording a show that runs from 9:00PM to 10:02PM, your DVR will not be able to switch over to another channel to record that other show you watch at 10:00PM.
I've recently noticed ABC running some shows 2 minutes over; however, I hadn't stop to question it. Fortunately, I have a dual-tuner DirecTiVo, so I should be safe for now.
According to an Associated Press article, several networks have been padding the end of their TV shows to (as allegedly) disrupt the ability of DVR users to record shows on other channels.
For example, if you have a single-tuner DVR and are recording a show that runs from 9:00PM to 10:02PM, your DVR will not be able to switch over to another channel to record that other show you watch at 10:00PM.
I've recently noticed ABC running some shows 2 minutes over; however, I hadn't stop to question it. Fortunately, I have a dual-tuner DirecTiVo, so I should be safe for now.
¶
12:26 PM
End freeloading with JiffyBill
If you ever go out with friends and end up picking up the check for those who "didn't bring any cash," then JiffyBill is what you've been waiting for.
With JiffyBill, you can create bills for those friends who promised to pay you back (but you suspect that they won't). JiffyBill even figures out the tax and tip for your friend's portion of restaurant tabs. Cool. Plus, they use PayPal to process all transactions so you don't need to setup any credit card info with JiffyBill.
The site features a demo where you can create sample bills to see how the whole thing works.
If you ever go out with friends and end up picking up the check for those who "didn't bring any cash," then JiffyBill is what you've been waiting for.
With JiffyBill, you can create bills for those friends who promised to pay you back (but you suspect that they won't). JiffyBill even figures out the tax and tip for your friend's portion of restaurant tabs. Cool. Plus, they use PayPal to process all transactions so you don't need to setup any credit card info with JiffyBill.
The site features a demo where you can create sample bills to see how the whole thing works.
¶
12:11 PM
sMoRTy71 keeps growing
Well, it has been about 6 months since I first launched sMoRTy71.com. As with most blogs, I do the site mainly for myself. However, looking at the site usage stats over the past 6 months, I am surprised to see that there are a lot (at least it seems like a lot to me) of people visiting.
In May 2004, I had only 22 visits from 3 unique visitors. That number has been steadily growing ever since. In November 2004, I had 3601 visits from 1335 unique visitors.
I figured that much of that traffic came from Google; however, that's not the case. Only 14% of traffic comes from search engines. The vast majority, 70%, comes from a direct address or a bookmark. Who are all of these people?
I guess I shouldn't worry about it. I'm just glad to know that other people enjoy this site, too.
Well, it has been about 6 months since I first launched sMoRTy71.com. As with most blogs, I do the site mainly for myself. However, looking at the site usage stats over the past 6 months, I am surprised to see that there are a lot (at least it seems like a lot to me) of people visiting.
In May 2004, I had only 22 visits from 3 unique visitors. That number has been steadily growing ever since. In November 2004, I had 3601 visits from 1335 unique visitors.
I figured that much of that traffic came from Google; however, that's not the case. Only 14% of traffic comes from search engines. The vast majority, 70%, comes from a direct address or a bookmark. Who are all of these people?
I guess I shouldn't worry about it. I'm just glad to know that other people enjoy this site, too.
¶
7:43 AM
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
Froogle Shopping List
Google's comparison shopping site Froogle has launched a new Shopping List feature that is pretty cool. When you search for an item on Froogle, there is now a link with each result that allows you to add it to your Shopping List.
In addition to the Shopping List, Froogle also has a Wish List feature. It is pretty much the same as the Shopping List except they provide you with a URL to send to friends and relatives. Here is a link to the Wish List I've been tinkering with.
Google's comparison shopping site Froogle has launched a new Shopping List feature that is pretty cool. When you search for an item on Froogle, there is now a link with each result that allows you to add it to your Shopping List.
In addition to the Shopping List, Froogle also has a Wish List feature. It is pretty much the same as the Shopping List except they provide you with a URL to send to friends and relatives. Here is a link to the Wish List I've been tinkering with.
¶
12:25 PM
About Shawn Morton
Married father of 6; VP of Social Media at JPMorgan Chase; gluten-free; gadget enthusiast; hair metal aficionado; #Movember man View more on LinkedIn.
Recent Blog Posts
A blog farewell, 3 years too late
Upcoming speaking engagements
#1 SXSWi moment: Brazilian Men Orgy (2009)
#2 SXSWi moment: Guitar Hero Deathmatch (2008)
#3 SXSWi moment: Gary V's wine party (2009)
#4 SXSWi moment: Livin' on a Prayer (2009)
#5 SXSWi moment: KICKin' it (2008)
#6 SXSWi moment: Julia Allison talks to Stan (2009)
#7 SXSWi moment: Chat Roulette with a TWiST (2010)
#8 SXSWi moment: Powered by Posehn (2010)
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