Just testing this out..

..comparing the MT blog to..

..the Wordpress blog entry page.

everyone, please try it..

Let me google that for you

reQall: fun new app

Software speech-to-text? I doubt it. Indian transcription is more likely, but great app either way.

reQall Selects Yap to Provide Speech-to-Text Conversion for Their Memory Aid Applications | Reuters

reQall is a voice-enabled memory aid that turns your iPhone, BlackBerry and other mobile device into a powerful organizer, reminder system and productivity assistant. reQall`s patent-pending Memory Jogger actively helps your memory by identifying those items you need to remember "Here and Now." It also boosts your memory with related items and items you probably have forgotten.

Apple Tablet

Apple's Tablet: The Story So Far - apple tablet - Gizmodo

With so many rumors about an Apple tablet buzzing around, it's hard to believe Apple wouldn't announce one this year. But what do we really know about this thing?

I've always thought a huge iPod Touch would be the bomb, plus, word is that all Touchs will have camera, mic, and speakers soon too. I think this really might help me get my dissertation done..

Netflix in Vista Media Center means no more movies in the mail necessary.

Netflix Watch Instantly comes to Vista Media Center, not Extenders

So, this is the final step in translating my entertainment needs to being completely online.  With on-demand access to a huge portion of the Netflix library, I could watch movies, TV shows, cartoons, and more for a mere $8.99/month.  We were on the $4.99 plan, but only got 2 hours of instant viewing for that price. The streaming quality is great though not HD-quality.  However, compared to analog channels on my HDTVs, it looks incredible.  Really makes me glad I pulled audio and video from my PC in the living room to the bedroom as well (and IR remote control via Jensen ir100a).

The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future

Thank you Tom Brokaw for making it so easy to typify any generation..

'Dumbest Generation'? Professor blames technology - USATODAY.com

Teens and young adults are more likely in their free time to check their Facebook page than read a book.

And they are dumber for it.

Who brought back the electric car?

GM Builds the First Chevrolet Volt | Autopia | Wired.com

"We’ll see [it] in showrooms by the end of 2010."

Tech Specs for Slumdog Millionaire

Silicon Imaging

A customized camera support and recording package had to be built to meet the unique form factor demands of the Slumdog shoot. They enlisted Pille Film, of Wiesbaden Germany, to create a custom solution which included a gyro stabilizer for the base of the SI-2K Mini. Instead of using the traditional film-style camera body, they elected to use Apple Mac book Pro notebook, running Windows XP, for the recorders, and built them into ruggedized backpacks, to be worn inconspicuously. Stefan Ciupek, the show’s technical supervisor and additional camera operator, coordinated the design and modifications of the camera system with Wolfgang Damm of Pille, whose team worked around the clock to get the 2K Mini rigs built.

Pille assembled four units for the production, and by testing them in a sauna, determined that the laptops would have to be packed in dry ice so they wouldn’t fail in India’s intense heat. Once shooting began, the dry ice had to be reloaded hourly; the production required up to 45 pounds of dry ice daily.

"I've done some odd things, but this was the oddest," Mantle says.

Universal Cellphone Charger

GSM Association sets 2012 target date for universal cellphone charger - Engadget

Just a couple of days after a top European Union commissioner mused about the need for a universal cellphone charger, the GSM Association has now come out and announced that it and 17 of its partner companies are indeed working on such a solution, and that they plan to have a common format in place by 2012.

iPhone Rubik's cube app

Since I just spent time taking several of these apart to "solve" them, this is pretty cool:
iPhone App Solves Rubik's Cube in 20 Moves or Better | Epicenter from Wired.com

iPhone App Solves Rubik's Cube in 20 Moves or Better

JVC introduces New Final-Cut-Pro 6™-Ready Solid State Camcorders

This could totally change my world:

JVC Press Release - New Final-Cut-Pro™-Ready Solid State Camcorders

The growing trend in the professional video market is to record directly from camera to solid state memory, and the current leading solutions have made the workflow quite expensive for most users, relying on proprietary media and file formats. In addition, compatibility with major non-linear editing (NLE) systems requires codec converting or re-wrapping format files, a process that significantly slows down the post production process. Professional users are yearning for a simple, fast solution that allows instant editing of recorded material without file conversion, and a media cost approaching the economy of tape.

Broadband prices too high, leads to crime.

Hardware Hacker Charged With Selling Cable Modems That Get Free Broadband -- Update | Threat Level from Wired.com

Hardware Hacker Charged With Selling Cable Modems That Get Free Broadband

Whoah! GMail has tasks... This would have been great 5 years ago..

Gmail: What's been keeping the Gmail team busy

Not sure why this is even in their Labs. Should have been added ages ago. I guess they didn't have a decent task list to keep up with ever adding this feature.

YouTube HD looks good

It's about time too. Still in beta.

YouTube Tests Out High Quality, Stereo Surround Videos | Epicenter from Wired.com

While these videos will result in slower loading and require powerful PCs for smooth playback, HD quality videos are a step in the right direction for YouTube. Now if they can just work on getting a larger inventory of high quality content people want to watch on there, their ad model will be in business.

Proactive content sharing from Monty Python

It's about time somebody was up front about sharing their content on YouTube.

YouTube: And Now For Something Completely Different on YouTube

Tivo Pizza

This is kind of cool:Food: Your TiVo Now Places Orders for Domino's Pizza On-Demand

6 to 10 times HD quality for less than $20K

This is actually a pretty good demonstration of the ease of use for Red cameras new system of super high-definition (my term) acquisition. This is also the most convoluted demo I've ever seen, but in the end it makes great sense for video techies like myself. Unless you've got a 4096×2160 projector (or monitor) you won't see a huge difference, but what an amazing bang for the buck these guys are giving us.RED / Red Mythbusters

Internet Addiction

So, even with my recent abstinence from Facebook, I'm still pretty addicted to being onine, especially when I'm avoiding something. At least in China I might be able to get treatment.Health: Chinese Doctors Officially Classify Symptoms of Internet Addiction

"Eighty percent of addicts can be cured with treatment, which usually lasts about three months," said Tao. He did not describe the treatment, however.

UTC ENGR and CMPS students should do this..

World's Largest Truck Goes Robotic : Discovery News

That's nearly two million pounds of metal, fuel and stone powered by a 3,550-horsepower, 24-valve engine moving at up to 42 miles per hour, with software and a robot at the wheel.

They made a Saturn Vue autonomous a few years ago, why not a giant dumptruck?

Wiimote hacks

This guys toots his own horn a bit, but this video is really impressive.Johnny Lee demos Wii Remote hacks | Video on TED.com

Johnny Lee demos his cool Wii Remote hacks, which turn the $40 video game controller into a digital whiteboard, a touchscreen and a head-mounted 3-D viewer.

WifiEverywhere is coming..

Top News - Feds OK broadband over TV white spaces

In a move that could advance the spread of broadband internet service nationwide, the Federal Communications Commission voted Nov. 4 to open up unused, unlicensed portions of the television airwaves known as "white spaces" to deliver wireless broadband service to more Americans.

The vote is a big victory for public-interest groups and technology companies such as Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp., which say white spaces could be used to bring broadband internet access to rural America and other underserved parts of the country.

I'm a PC at Apple Stores

Microsoft placing "I'm a PC" recording booths outside Apple stores - Engadget

The Apple / Microsoft ad war keeps escalating -- while Apple continues to insist that John Hodgman is the human representation of all PCs, Microsoft is taking its populist approach to the streets. Very specific streets, actually -- it's placing "I'm a PC" recording booths outside of Apple stores, like the one pictured here in Birmingham, England. The booth is staffed with three 'Softies who'll try to sell you on the latest in Windows tech while making nyah-nyah faces at Apple store patrons, and guests are invited to make a short video explaining why they, too, are PCs. Not to be outdone, Apple has pledged to send Justin Long to your house to charmingly condescend to you about his various abilities while still pretending to be your best friend.

How to buy an HDTV

Good article on what to look for when buying a new TV.

Giz Explains: How to Buy an HDTV Like a Pro

The contrast ratio is the most important thing to look for in today's HDTVs.

Free Wi-fi, Nationwide

I predicted this a while back, FYI.

FCC Paves Way For Free Wi-Fi -- Wireless -- InformationWeek

The FCC's plan to offer free nationwide broadband has taken a step forward as the agency said the potential interference with wireless carriers' networks is minimal.

Mindmapper Extraordinaire

So, I'm testing out this service: Online Mind Mapping - MindMeister, and really enjoying it for all of my scattered projects. In class yesterday we brainstormed TV Show ideas with it, though I wish I could make it go fullscreen. Curious too about embedding. Let's see..


Neat!

Oh no you didn't post that song that sticks in my head..

Seriously, don't watch this, it will stick in your head for days.

I warned you..

Mac Tablet?

Patent: Apple Details Multi-Touch Mac User Interface - Mac Rumors

Who drew these, Matt Groening?

Another bites the dust.. Satellite Television.

Though I've heard the HDTV on satellite is the bomb compared to Comcast, this article thinks the technology for satellite television is winding down.
Could Satellite TV Get Creamed by Cable? | Epicenter from Wired.com

Could Satellite TV Get Creamed by Cable?

My favorite free web-app...

..is no longer free :(

Well, there is an ad-based free version but that is no longer free in my book. Probably as enjoyable as calling the bank for the weather report..

Anyhoo, I'll probably splurge for the $3.95/month plan as I love calling in appointments to my Google Calendar and tasks into my Toodledo list.

New rate plans for Jott

iQuake

iPhone Games - Quake 3 Arena Ported to iPhone - iPhone Hacks
Maybe the greatest thing to happen to iPhone: will update when i jailbreak my touch and play it.

Exorbitant prices for HDMI cables

I've noticed that all sorts of basic cables for electronics are priced sky-high in recent years, particularly those carrying digital signals (1's and 0's) where it either works or doesn't and signal noise isn't really a problem. Anyhoo, CNet noticed as well: The economics of cables | The Pervasive Datacenter - CNET News.com

People tend not to comparison shop. It's something you need now. Prices are in tens of dollars not hundreds of dollars and are often considered in the context of the more expensive electronics the cable is being used with.

Here are a bunch of HDMI cables as good as any others for $10 or less.

Comcast vs. FCC

Comcast throttled peer-to-peer apps for years now and it's time to pay the price..
Comcast Spoiling for Fight With FCC

"We continue to assert that our network management practices were reasonable, wholly consistent with industry practices, and that we did not block access to websites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services," Comcast said.

Network neutrality advocates hailed the news of the F.C.C.'s ruling.

"This vote reflects the bipartisan support for protecting consumers' access to the free and open internet," said Marvin Ammori, general counsel of Free Press and author of the original complaint.

To iPhone or not to iPhone?

This article says no.
Iphone 2.0: Why You're Better Off Avoiding the iPhone

the technology they use is explicitly chosen to divide people into separate digital cells, and to position Apple as sole warden. When your business depends on people paying for the privilege of being locked up, the prison better look and feel luxurious, and the bars better not be too visible.

Photoshop tips

Photoshop enthusiast and frantic video editor Deke McClelland fits 101 tips for Adobe's premiere product into five minutes of video

Onboard Memory + USB Devices = Win!

Isn't it time we started putting device drivers for USB connected devices onto an onboard memory card?

Can you imagine plugging in your new printer or webcam and instead of also inserting that archaic CD-ROM you get an option to instantly install needed drivers and software as soon as you plug in the USB cable?
I think you can buy 256 or 512 MB flash drives for pennies now, so, come on people, let's make this happen.

Google's phone OS is coming out soon...

Video: Google demos the HTC Dream at I/O conference - Engadget

This would totally change my life.

Since I'm moving more and more to web-based apps, particularly Google's, this would really be a useful tool. However earlier this year Google announced support of new open-source smartphone code to support a variety of manufacturers.Krakow says Gphone is delayed to 2009. Wait, what? - Engadget

the whole Gphone buzz was pretty much killed dead when Android got real.

Smack my Macbook

You have to play this YouTube clip to see how cool this really is...

Medallia Blog: SmackBook Pro
Can I put pictures of my employees on here and smack 'em around?

Wii dominance

The 7 Commandments All Video Games Should Obey - Page 7 | Cracked.com

Here are the three competing new-gen consoles, adjusted so that their size roughly reflects how powerful their hardware is in relation to each other.

Here are the same three consoles, adjusted so that their size reflects their worldwide sales in 2007:

Funny, until you realize that most Wii games could actually be played in a browser with Flash. Get me a Wiimote for my PC and I'm all set.

ASCII Star Wars

This is pretty great. Colors were reversed in Terminal on my Mac, but I guess it doesn't really matter.
Friday Fun: Watch Star Wars in Text via Telnet

from any command line, type telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl and sit back to watch the show

Posted by cmwillis at 11:50 PM |

Use Google Docs to collaborate on the cheap for a News script

Working with Collaborators: Simultaneous editing and viewing

Working with Collaborators: Simultaneous editing and viewing

Posted by cmwillis at 5:42 PM |

Google Maps Street View spotted in Chattanooga

My tech-savvy wife spotted and correctly identified the Google Map's street view car in Chattanooga last week. Here is a shot of it working in Knoxville:


Wonder what weird things they'll catch Chattanoogans doing.

Reality Me » Knoxville Street Views Happening Now

YouTube HQ

This script is a little daunting (just the webpage, the install on Firefox was incredibly simple), but YouTube videos with actual watchable quality is great.
YouTube H.264 - Userscripts.org

Get it and watch Kitty Bowl:

Best description of GTD, from the man himself

Web Worker Daily » Archive David Allen Part 3: Really Getting it Done is Not Just Lists «

This is not another business du jour fad that’s going to go away. This is a whole new way to match your operational procedures to the way your brain really works.

Accept and believe. It really can change your life.

New router, slower speeds :(

So, after installing my new Linksys router with 802.11G 54Mb I am getting much slower connectivity on the LAN ports. Took many hours of tinkering just to get the thing to work with Comcast. Their tech support guy laughed at me.

UPDATE: Still gettng sluggish response. Speedtest.net won't even run with Linksys in place. Makes me very reluctant to try this: Turn your $60 router into a $600 router.

UPDATE 2: Getting a decent response on my Macbook now, but nothing at all with a PC laptop.

UTK sells out to RIAA..

However you feel about copyright laws, UTK went over and above the call of duty when asked for student identities as related to IP addresses used for downloading music illegally.
RIAA sees a 99.6% capitulation rate from students at UT

RIAA sees a 99.6% capitulation rate from students at UT

Finally somebody gets it.. but then they don't.

All TVs should be internet ready.. It just makes sense. Now there is one you can buy:
Lumenlab's Qmax PC-in-a-TV gets detailed, $10000 price tag - Engadget

The only question left, it seems, is why? But that is a little steep. If only MSN hadn't released MSN TV set-top boxes years ago and that had been built into Tivo..

Oh well..

Posted by cmwillis at 8:22 PM |

Blue men.. new YouTube feature..

YouTube: YouTube Adds Visual Search Tool

click the full-screen button on the lower right corner of the video. In the full-screen window, click the network-type button next to the play button.

Posted by cmwillis at 3:04 PM |

Awesome new web application linked to sweatshops..

Jott, an awesome new web app lets you call an 800 number and receive your text transcribed as emails, text messages, or entries on your calendar or todo list. Very handy for me, since I still have neither a PDA or an iPhone. But, since I was initially amazed by the success, I later found out that the fancy new way of transcribing is people. JOTT.COM IS PEOPLE!!
Scheduling: Add Items to Gcal with a Phone Call using Jott to Google Calendar

I like Jott, but is anyone else slightly creeped out that they use actual people to do part of the transcription? Whenever I leave myself a message I can't help but think of the poor guy in India who sits around all day proof-reading whatever weird stuff people are Jotting.

So, they're making any money off of web-ads I suppose, since the service is free, but I wonder what those people in India make per diem? Ethical issue: Does my use of this service help or hurt these people? I lean toward help, since some entrepreneur came up with the idea and used the difference in wages to make it happen. But can't these people make a little more?

Chaz suggested I call up and list all the things I don't like about India. That's just mean.

We're here, we're geeks... Article on Geek Pride.

For non-geeks, it's definitely time to regroup -- OrlandoSentinel.com

Used to be, "geek" wasn't anything you wanted to be in life.

Posted by cmwillis at 10:32 AM |

Newbie's Guide to Facebook*

Newbie's guide to Facebook | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone

What is Facebook and why should you use it?

Mocs News embedded

Just testing to see how easy it would be to place an embed code on the Mocs News webpage.

Touch-screen goodness

In my quest to make our new house even more tech-nerdy, I found this entry on touchscreens, which I am hoping to obtain a used one and use in my Kitchen as a Media Center viewing station and email (and maybe recipes).
Unthinkingly.com» Blog Archive » Wanted: An open-source, user-centered touchscreen platform

Fundamentally I think that touch is intimate and intuitive, and clearly touchable interfaces have incredible potential, especially for the folks that haven’t been brow-beaten into adapting to 20th-century conventions of computer interfaces like the QWERTY keyboard.

We'll just see how intimate it is. I bid on a kiosk screen on ebay that I want to enclose in an oak facade that matches the cabinets. Home-y!

Put ALL of your music online with MP3tunes

I am only 107 hours away from having my entire music library backed up online in a folder that will then sync with any computer I set up the Oboe client on. I LOVE this idea, so we'll see how well it all works out.

Backup, Sync and Listen to Your Digital Music Collection with an MP3tunes Locker @ MP3tunes.com

Nintendo beating the pants off of Sony

Wii outselling PlayStation 3 'six to one' - Engadget

Wii outselling PlayStation 3 'six to one'

Posted by cmwillis at 10:53 AM |

Wifi/Cell phones coming..

I've been waiting for this for a long time..

When you're out and about, it works like any other phone; calls eat up your monthly minutes as usual. But when it's in a Wi-Fi wireless Internet hot spot, this phone offers a huge bargain: all your calls are free.

Favorites from Google Reader

Google Reader

Laser TVs and projectors

I've been wondering about this for a long time. Seems to me that projection is limited by the contrast ratio, since the black areas never seem black enough in relation to the bright areas. But, if the bright areas suddenly got amazingly brighter, then we'd be onto something.. Lasers could do just that.
Laser TVs launching Christmas 2007 - Engadget

The new sets are touted to be half the price, twice as good, and use a quarter of the electricity of conventional plasma and LCD TVs and be half the weight and depth of modern plasmas.

Posted by cmwillis at 1:30 PM |

Underwater Camera Housing

I've been wanting to do this for a long time:


Underwater Camcorder Mod! $10! - video powered by Metacafe

DIY: Build your own underwater camcorder housing - Lifehacker

Real nice China!

Geekologie - Greatest USB Drive Ever

Sad thing is, USB cables cost almost as much as flash memory..

Online video editing tool

YouTube launches online editing tool | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone
YouTube launches online editing tool | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone

YouTube has begun offering a Web-based editing tool that is apparently provided by Adobe Systems.

The "remixer," which is branded with an Adobe logo, enables users to create more professional-looking videos by splicing together media such as video clips, photos, music, graphics and other effects, according to information found on the site.

Posted by cmwillis at 9:49 PM |

Cool way to get iPhone functionality on a cheaper phone

YouTube - pocket pc make over

500th Blog entry

Wireless power? Now we're on to something..

I've been reading about this things you lie your cell phone or iPod on and they charge them for a whle now. Wireless everything? I'll bet it won't run a hair dryer.The end of the plug? Scientists invent wireless device that beams electricity through your home | the Daily Mail

Going to try this soon... LogMeIn for Mac

Wonder how it will handle the 1920x1280 resolution of the studio display at work?
LogMeIn - Remote Access and Desktop Control Software for your PC

LogMeIn enables you to connect to your Mac computers from anywhere in the world; from any other Internet-enabled Mac, Windows PC or hand-held device.

Posted by cmwillis at 11:55 AM |

Does your TV have a network jack?

So this is finally happening. I've always thought that the next generation of HDTVs should not only be higher quality, but capable of doing more than TVs currently do. Yet many people don't seem to be to enthralled about checking email, weather, RSS feeds, etc. on their TV. Why not?

Sony fleshes out details and pricing for Internet Video Link - Engadget

Super Hi Awesome Vision TV

IGN: Super Hi-Vision Crushes 1080p

The recently unveiled Super Hi-Vision standard features a video resolution of 7,680 x 4,320—16 times higher resolution than 1920 x 1080 (1080p).

Posted by cmwillis at 10:07 PM |

Hey Comcast...

...maybe dropping G4 and other channels in the middle of a fight for primacy of copper wires into our homes isn't such a good idea.

So, I know Comcast does great things for the community, people volunteer with shelters and other projects, and they do provide fairly reliable cable and internet service. However.. Cable Bill Dead, Chattanooga Invites AT&T; To Provide Video Service | WDEF News 12 | News, Weather and Sports for Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley, let's roll out the red carpet for AT&T; to come into Chattanooga to provide cable and broadband services.

First of all, lack of competition is never good. Do I think prices will drop with cable alternatives? Not really, especially since I'm still dismayed that prices keep going up and up for cellular service and broadband in general, not to mention cable TV. But will we have more options? Certainly. As a consumer, that's always good.

How will it affect public access and other educational broadcasts? We don't know. We can imagine worst-case scenarios, but there are probably some positives that could come from this as well. Time will tell. Was quite a lobby effort against this though, and I can't help but think, if that money had been used to buy airtime for educational broadcasts, at least it wouldn't have gone down the drain.

I did my part by broadcasting MTSU's talk show on this topic which did much to inform me and hopefully this community about the issue. However, I never saw Comcast's argument that we should all be so concerned about "playing by the rules." The community-based approach to cable/internet franchising is great, but if state-wide negotiating gives us choices, let the market decide I say.

Thoughts?

Willis Server 1.0

So, I embarked upon setting up a webserver tonight, based on the recommendations in the iPodifier Google group and with directions from this site.
I'm not proud of what I've done. The only next step to take is partitioning my hard drive and installing Linux. Why won't these tech demons just let me be?

The goal is to use harness the power of web 2.0 for my own destructive purposes.

So far, I've been able to add my most-recent Futurama DVR recordings to my iPod, but what next?

Another orb function

Orb works TiVo with DVR Everywhere - Engadget

I'm just saying.. Orb does everything. Last night it assimilated my DVR recordings and wouldn't let me watch Lost. I gladly obey the Orb.

Jackson Photos - Retrospective

Testing out the Photo Slideshow from Orb

Microbloggering..

Well, I've gone and done it. I'm microbloggering in addition to blogging. Twitter / cmwillis

I guess I'm in a race to see which I can make least interesting, the original blog or the new thing.

Video Playlist

This is a test of my sharing capabilities with Orb: MyCast your digital media with Orb 2.0 remote pc access software

Software only slingbox

So, this service does basically everything I've ever dreamt of with my stored media: MyCast your digital media with Orb 2.0 remote pc access software

Works incredibly from my Windows Media Center to my Macbook while at home, but if it truly streams recorded or live TV anywhere, to any device with a browser--well, my mind is pretty much blown.

UPDATE:

Here is a playlist from my home library:

Now, can I share recorded TV or videos? Looks like you can, but I don't really need that since YouTube works fine.

Also, just tried to stream video from work and the audio was choppy (made everyone sound like Satan). But audio files worked great.

Search in black - save a tree.. eventually.

Blackle - Energy Saving Search

Google, which has a white background and gets about “200 million queries a day” could reduce global energy use by 750 Megawatt-hours a year by simply changing the color of its homepage to black.

Things I want, but can't justify..

HiPE intros voice-operated Drive-N car PCs with Vista MCE - Engadget

Fun with lasers!

Graffiti Research Lab » L.A.S.E.R. Tag

Cool electric car, just tiny

Hybrid Technologies L1X-75: Zero-60 in 3.1 Seconds, Batteries Included - Popular Mechanics

Slipping into the racing seats is like folding yourself into a carry-on bag

How about an all-electric grand prix?

Powered by ScribeFire.

Sweet!

G4 - The Feed

'Guitar Hero' Controllers Work On PCs

If you've never played this game you really must.. It's the rockin'est thing to ever happen for non-rockers.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Apple TV is actually a slow Mac.. $299 for an old Mac? Not too shabby.

Kind of cool..
Apple TV running full version of OS X - Engadget

This effectively creates the least expensive Mac ever made -- at $299

powered by performancing firefox

Posted by cmwillis at 9:54 PM |

DRM-free music is on the horizon...

Apple Strikes a Chord [Fool.com] April 02, 2007

powered by performancing firefox

Long-range Wifi?

As I predicted.. http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/104759974/

Sitemeter stats

What You Talkin Bout Willis - http://cmwillis.chattablogs.com/

According to them I've had about 15,000 visits.

powered by performancing firefox

Performancing Add-on

Performancing | Firefox Add-ons | Mozilla Corporation



Just trying this out again.  I think the image went down earlier..

powered by performancing firefox

DRM-free music

This letter from Steve Jobs, entitled Thoughts on Music, makes a pretty good case for dropping DRM (Digital Rights Management) from legally sold music, thus opening the door for buyers to more easily use their purchases. However, the impetus for the Feb 6th letter seems to come more from the countless lawsuits from European countries against the DRM protected music.

Thomas Hawk presents the two alternatives available to the RIAA and recording industry which he claims are a win for Apple either way. Yes! They took the bait.

Get a first life..

GetAFirstLife.com is hilarious for anyone who knows anyone doing Second Life..

OK, so I opened a second life account over Christmas.. but I'm not doing it anymore I promise..

Kids and Computers

Found this interesting: http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/PSTECH98.asp

Being an advocate for digtal kids, I think these guidelines are reasonable and useful for early educators instructing kids with tech.

1. NAEYC believes that in any given situation, a professional judgment by the teacher is required to determine if a specific use of technology is age appropriate, individually appropriate, and culturally appropriate.

2. Used appropriately, technology can enhance children's cognitive and social abilities.

3. Appropriate technology is integrated into the regular learning environment and used as one of many options to support children's learning.

4. Early childhood educators should promote equitable access to technology for all children and their families. Children with special needs should have increased access when this is helpful.

5. The power of technology to influence children's learning and development requires that attention be paid to eliminating stereotyping of any group and eliminating exposure to violence, especially as a problem-solving strategy.

6. Teachers, in collaboration with parents, should advocate for more appropriate technology applications for all children.

Having that said, anyone think Lego Star Wars is too violent for a 3 year old?

The web 'til now.

This video very nicely brings anyone up to speed on where we are with the web and what needs to be addressed as we move forward.

Move you iTunes library, the cool way..

This artice: http://playlistmag.com/features/2005/08/shiftitunes/index.php, gives a simple way to move your iTunes library from one computer to another (including playlists and ratings). Just what the doctor ordered. Plus, it explains how to compile several libraries and to set up an environment where you can import music from any computer on your network and then play from any of the others.

Plus, check out the blog entry from the Avvenu tech on my post below. Thanks for the housecall dude!

iPhone too expensive? Not with 18 months free wireless service..

http://www.ipodhacks.com/article.php?sid=2118

Why I love Google..

Saw this bit on CNN and then looked at this article and realized that GOogle is my dream company. I have always thought that if you hire willing workers, treat them like Kings and Queens, share wealth, and make time for play--these things could all lead to huge success. Google is the shining example of this philosophy in the workplace, even if they are filtering content going into communist China.

How can I keep track of my favorite musicians?

Found this today when searching that question and plan to try it out when I get home: How can I keep track of my favorite musicians?

I don't have time to be setting up a faves list in ticketmaster (AKA: The Devil) or pollstar, but this will do all that for me, then set up an RSS feed to let me know when I can catch Sting or The Offspring when they pass through. Neat!

UPDATE: Works like a charm and scans your iTunes library lickety-split. With a bunch of rig-a-moro and learning about RSS and javascripts, I've posted the contents of my musician watch feed below. It looks a lot cooler on my personalized Google page, but this was the best I could get MT to do.

Music sharing

In my attempts to get the avvenu client working, to share music from my media-center to my office and with friends, I think I've decided to do this:
how-to-use-the-same-itunes-library-on-a-home-network

Basically you can run iTunes on any machine, upload music from any machine, rate songs, etc., and it all goes into the same library. I want something that will let me do that over the web too, but for now it looks like Avvenu is the best bet and I can barely get it working. Here is my first attempt to share some songs, though I want to get my top rated songs list up next: Chris's Music.

Avvenu lets you share music through a flash player, basically like the Zune tried to do, where friends can listen for a week or so, then the files go away, and in theory they can't save them. However, the same product lets you send friends enormously large files which could also contain music, so...

All this really makes me thing the concept of ownership of music, DRM, copyrights, and artist's vs. recording industries rights are all really going to be changing in the coming years.

My So-Called Digital Life..

So, I think I posted earlier about having adopted almost every app Google has to offer, a list which now includes Picassa 2, which I never thought I'd need, but Google knew somehow. After reading this article I'm now starting to realize their pretty similar to Cyberdyne, or at least getting a lot more like Micro$oft. Too bad they don't have any S's in their name to do that with.. G$$gle works I guess.

Here are all the apps I'm currently into:

Browser Sync
This is one of my favorites. Imagine accessing all your bookmarks at any computer you sit down to, plus cookies and passwords pre-entered if you want them (i don't!).




Calendar
Indispensable once you start using it. I have nine separate calendars that I can toggle on and off in overlays.





Docs and Spreadsheets
Kind of neat, but I haven't really shared any docs with anyone yet.




Gmail
-
Geeks love it, what else do you need to say?

Settings 



Page Creator
-


Settings 

Personalized Homepage
-


Add content 



Personalized Search

Picasa
Just started a few web albums with this. I know Flick'r is more popular, but Google makes it fun.




Talk



Video
-
I have actually switched over to Youtube for serving and collecting videos. Check out my Channel.

Uploaded Videos 

Gmail and GCal (which is what I call Google Calendar) are the main two and I have even embedded a GCal into the Continuing Education webpage. I haven't opened up MS Outlook in about 5 months and I've never felt freer.

I owe all of these, and many other tech adoptions to Ryan DiGiorgi, my early adopter and chief influencer of all things tech.

I will try to post on a few new, nifty fun things, including:
Logmein - Access your PC desktop from anywhere, even through firewalls.
Avvenu - Stream audio from your home PC's iTunes library to any computer anywhere with a flash player (and access other files!).
My increased use of my video iPod and my new nikon D50 which I love and will post pics from soon!

Water Music

Media Center

I've meant to post this forever, but here is a glimpse into the future of television:

This is my Microsoft Windows Media Center setup connected to my old-school NTSC TV. The PC is a $500 eMachine with a 1GB of Ram and 320GB storage. It basically acts like a TiVo, but with a whole lot more to offer in my opinion and no subscription costs. Collect all of your television, DVDs, music, games into one place, then lie back on the couch with a wireless keyboard and mouse or remote and have a good time. UPDATE: I'm running the 2004 version of MCE, 2005 is the standard, but the Windows Vista Home edition will have all this built in.

The whole system is well under $1000 and the big test test was whether the wife would ever see the value or use it. When we come home to watch an episode of LOST and skip through all the commericals, she is pretty happy. She also seems to be comfortable playing back music and DVDs on the system too.

I did have to add a fan to my entertainment center's back wall which is a little noisy, but mostly that's due to using a fairly cheap PC. Sony has some water-cooled systems built just for this and Gateway has a really sweet package, but these are all rather pricey solutions.

Down-sides: nothing less cool than having to re-boot Windows during the middle of a DVD. Has only happened once or twice, but both htimes with company. LAME!!! Also, without having an HDTV for a monitor, the Windows side of things is blurry, but the Media Center software looks awesome and has a very slick interface and remote control.

Mac, Mac on Windows

Here is a shot of my new Macbook:

Here is my Macbook running Windows:

Here is my new Macbook running Windows within MacOSX via Parallels virtual machine software:

This makes for a lot of partitions, but so far I'm pretty pleased with having the best of both worlds all in one small package.

How to dissuade yourself from becoming a blogger.

This popped up in my Google homepage today:
http://www.wikihow.com/Dissuade-Yourself-from-Becoming-a-Blogger

Kind of describes where I'm at with this.

Macbook

Trying out the new mac right now and its pretty sweet so far. First Mac product I have ever bought for personal use and with the free iPod (+ $90 for upgrade from nano to video) I fairly pleased. One app crashed already, but I did go cheap on memory, planning to upgrade from the 512 MB Apple threw in to 2 Gb I will put in myself shortly. Think I killed quicktime while playing with the front row remote and doing a software update all at the same time.

Front Row is stellar, but really needs a TV recorder function. Wonder if I can stream from my Media Center PC and play DVR-MS files on here? This little remote is cool, can't wait to try it with keynote or Powerpoint.

Single button track pad is LAME. C'mon Jobs, give it up and go for 2=buttons. My 3year old has been clicking right mouse buttons appropriately for months now.. I also miss the eraserhead pointer between the G and H button on my Inspiron.

This keyboard rocks!

iSight camera is slick but would be cool to be able to shift it left or right a little.

Screen does not open up as far back as I would like it to, particularly for how I like to lie in bed and compute, but that's none of your business.

Spotlight looks to be really cool, can search for whatever files and save results as a folder that gets updated with new results everytime you open it. No more looking around for files on your hard drive. So intuitive.

28 minutes left on the batt and I fired it up about 7pm so only 2 hours or so on this batt so far. I heard it would do 5 hours from somewhere, but I am transferring 6 GB of songs to this over wifi and surfing and exploring functions.

Apple's Quicktime HD Gallery stuff looks INCREDIBLE on this thing. Plan to snag QT Pro and download some clips for showing off purposes. Also need to get some Jackson pics quickly, which leads me to..

Hard Drive space will be gone in no time. 80GB shows up as 74, so I don't know if it has a partition for OSX or what, but, I do plan to run Boot Camp and XP on here shortly and will need to reserve about 30 GB for that. Maybe I'll dump the video, pics, and music to a firewire drive..

Guess that's it. Oh yeah, this thing is hot enough on bottom to fry an egg on. Also, the left side of my GIANT MOUSE BUTTON is not responding.. I don't want to send this back though, so I guess I'll try to hit an Apple Store before my 45 days of tech support are up. Hope they can just pop a new one on there.

speedtest.net

This is awesome, check out your connection speed the way it should be checked, with a tackometer!

Update: My pc at work -

Who knew upload speeds were so slow?

Cool tech

I posted about this earlier, but here is an update to the new user interface concept from some thinktank in CA.

Just me, or does this guy look like comedian Bobby Lee?

This is geeky cool too:

And this has a funky stop motion filmmaking effect I have been wanting to use with my class:

This is just so Ryan will see it:

It's called a completed movie Ryan.. Gets good toward the end when he actually shows his animation.

Vista

So I finally got the Vista Beta installed on my Media Center PC's second drive. Some successes and faulures. Overall, the setup is pretty cool, Vista grabs all the drivers from the previous installation. Problems occur when Vista requires newer drivers and the manufacuturers don't have them out yet. My NVidia card isn't displaying correctly on the TV this way, but thats probably to be expected. Biggest dissapointment is that I can't test the Meida Center fully since it won't recognize my Hauppage capture card either.. Oh well. It does look awesome, but anyone can have this look by downloading WindowsBlinds

Looks like some really neat features but I think it will appear even more overwhelming to novice pc users.

Ordered my Macbook Friday. Can't wait to try to run Window on that...

New Gadget

So, thanks to HGTV's I Want That, Jackson now has a spiffy new LED faucet attachment. Yes, unnecessary and yes, it's TOTALLY AWESOME! My photos don't do it justice, but I guarantee you.. you'll love it.

Think ours was 8.99 at Cyberguys.com, but they seem to be out.

Crazy hotel tycoons..

If I had all the money in the world I would be the first person to build a rocket blimp and launch it into space. Oh wait, someone just did.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5173388.stm

Cool, if you're into UI

This is the closest thing to the OS in Minority Report that I've seen:

Online poem

I like this..

This is cool.. 200GB Blu-ray discs

http://www.dlmag.com/news/1446/the-200gb-blue-ray-disc-completed.html

47 times more capacity than current DVDs.

Anyone running Bootcamp?

Just wanting to get feedbback from anyone using Bootcamp on a Mac to run Windows XP. Is it all that you ever wanted? Any major hangups?

Next new gadget

Since I'm incredibly cheap and particularly cautious about technology purchases, I'm digging deep into product reviews for my next big purchase. My worst fear is forking out big bucks only to find out that if I'd waited a week I could have gotten the same thing cheaper or the next great thing. But the next great thing is always just over the horizon and I can't wait much longer. Especially for this:

Not crazy about just having an iPod for music and videos, but if they'll add input options to its calendar features.. oooo.. drool..

The other option is the new MacBook now sceduled for release on Tuesday the 16th. Will be the smaller, education-priced version of the MacBook Pro. Will be awesome to boot Windows XP on a Mac. Vindication! If only I could boot OSX on a PC. Its just a dumb name though--MacBook. Sounds like it should come in a combo with fries.

Either way I'll probably be going Mac. WHo knows if I'll ever go back? It'd have to be the greatest thing since sliced bread to beat my Media Center, quirky though it is.

Mac XP

Not sure what this means, but I think the end is near for somebody..

Windows booting on an iMac video

Free audiobooks on mp3

Saw this on a fellow chattablogger's site, but thought a few of my loyal readers would find it interesting. LibriVox has volunteers read chapters of books in the public domain and places the audio files online.

Our objective is to make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet.

I am downloading Ecclesiastes and Conrad's The Secret Agent. Will let you know how they sound. Click here to search their catalog.

Huge Letdown

Is it just me or is this not quite so cool as all the hype. So i can plug in my iPod to an Apple set of speakers? Big Whoop!

The new Mac mini with Intel chips doesn't get my heart-rate up either. My hipster teenager source at church was getting me excited about a possible iBook tablet or or larger screen iPod.

Thanks for nothing Steve Jobs..

Updated Index

Check out the fixes on my site. Now with only 137 errors in W3C's validator!

Vista w/ Media Center

This looks cool..

'Bout time Windows started using AGP and 3D acceleration in the OS. I really think if the user experience is good, this platform could really change the world, for people with $$ anyway. Too bad its not going to be this:
http://www.apple.com/imac/frontrow.html

New (old) toy

Not to nerd out too much, but I picked up one of these babies today for $40.

Big step backward from digital, but I've always want one, and for the price, it just looks cool.

Saw the whole kit on eBay for $200 starting bid..
Plus a flash and light meter for $10 more. Sweet! Now where can you buy film for these things.

Geek Test

34.51677% - Total Geek. Who'd of thought?
http://www.innergeek.us/geek-test.html

Home theater projectors?

Curious as to anybody's experience with sub-$1000 projectors with their home theater. Seems like a great way to go if you have the space, 144" for a grand compared to 52" or 60" for 3 or 4 Gs with an HDTV.

Video Podcasts

I am now addicted to video podcasts. Thank you very much Steve Jobs, even more to distract me from work and family. Particularly cool are DVCreators.net and Diggnation.com stuff, both of which pop up in Apple's video podcast directory. Now if I could only afford the video ipod. Perhaps I could sell my plasma..

Nice topography..

This may be the coolest thing ever: http://earth.google.com/

Enter a place name, then another, then fly back and forth between them on a digital globe.

Makes Changsha, China looks like its stuck in the middle of a river. Will have to ask Dale to check on that.

Nerd News

Better batteries? About time.
Other cool tech news, including mind control of machines as in Foxfire.
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1253133

Lyrics plug-in

Was going to blog about how great this MiniLyrics plugin is, but its now freaking out and not working on my Media Center PC. Was cool for a few minutes though, seeing Karaoke style lyrics on the screen while rocking out. Auto-downloads lyrics as songs play in your Media Player of choice--not yet optimized for Media Center. :(

Anybody know of any similar products or how to get this one to work consistently?

More pics

Forgot to post these from our trip to White Water.

Jackson and friend Hayden playing with triathlete Dad.

He must of rode this slide, literally, 80 or 90 times.

Here is Jackson looking thoroughly unimpressed with VBS at church. He actually had an incredible time and asks about the puppets every time we go to church.

Eyes without a face

LASIK surgery this week went very well. Went in Thursday at 11:00 with years of throbbing headaches from glasses pressure above my ears and painful heaaches from dry eyes due to contacts, and left with near perfect vision. Actually as I left I had blurry vision as the corneal flap they created hadn't completely reattached, but I took a nap and woke up later that day and woke up with 20/20.

You can see in my right eye some red dots where I got a little jumpy on the second eye. They don't really tell you what the actual experience of the procedure is going to be like. One website says, "The laser uses a cool ultraviolet light beam to precisely remove very tiny bits of tissue from the cornea to reshape it." I'm thinking something more like a corss between A Clockwork Orange and Shock the Monkey. But its only for a couple minutes to do the whole thing and if the smell of burning eye flesh and cutting your cornea with a cigar cutter doesn't bother you, then you're all set.

At my post op visit yesterday I was reading 20/20 in my left eye and 20/10 in the left. The overall experience is very worth it and for anybody interested you can get a good deal from Truvision if you are covered by BlueCross.

Maybe next an eyebrow wax?

Digital Bliss at work

Since digital bliss at home hasn't worked out perfectly (though its close..) I've now put all my hopes in our new blazingly fast dual processor 2.5 Ghz G5 with Cinema displays and 2.5 TB of storage. I'm not sure if there will be computers in heaven, but, c'mon..

Digital Bliss

As I lie here on the couch and check my email and blog I realize that I've reached another technological plateau that I've always dreamed of. The eMachines Media Center Edition PC integrated very well into my home entertainment system, and I am pretty impressed with all the Windows features. The video quality of the PC apps on my TV aren't the greatest, but maybe that's a good reason to start saving for a new High-def monitor next year.

Two drawbacks: Now we are completely dependent on broadband to use all these cool features and I want to hog the Media Center TV for playing games, particularly Half-Life 2 whenever I get it..

LASIK

Getting checked out for LASIK surgery tomorrow. Anybody know anything about Dr. Woolfsen or Custom Laser Eye?

I keep picturing a laser shooting out of my I like some Cyborg..

Windows Media Center

Anybody have pros and cons to share about MCE? I am looking at this eMachine and this Sony and was wondering what tech geeks thought about them.

How does MCE look on a TV with only an RCA input?

another article

Here is another article of mine in The Pulse. I'm blown away by the enormous backpage ad for the Firefly Film Fest.

Weird Ebay stuff, Ambilight

Since I've been back online, I've been on eBay a lot. I've noticed a lot of weird stuff being auctioned and found this site with lists of weird finds.

My favorite is the bumper sticker and the invisible shirts.

In other news, I saw the ad for the new Philips flat TV with Ambilight and my tech-brain nearly melted.

Back Online!

Got my new travelstar notebook drive last night and had XP installed and was back online within 3 hours! I had no idea I was so technically sufficient.. As a bonus for taking four months off our cable broadband bill I got myself a Wewa mp3 player.

Took a little while to get the wireless network up again, but was pleased to have figured that out pretty quickly too. Now I have to locate all the software I once used, figure out how to get Netdrive working again with my UTC netstorage, and figure several other quirks out.

Being hooked back up should keep me from wanting to buy this or this.

Thanks Goddness to MSN

As a diehard Hotmail user (been there since before MSN) it's about freakin' time we got more storage space, though its a measly 250MB as compared to Google's 1GB with Gmail. I hate all the junk mail, but I refuse to change addresses and send out the annoying, My email address has changed, please update your address book.

Pictures of Jackson's birthday partay coming soon..

Blogging - It's a lifestyle

As I sit here and wait for Windows Movie Maker to render a project (just .ppt slides and video clips from Early Success), I'm reflecting on how the last few weeks of no broadband has affected me. I don't even use my home PC that much, but not having access is lame. When do movies start? What is the forecast? What's on TV tonight? All ?s that can be answered most quickly in my favorites folder in MSN Explorer. I even prefer to do most of my BIble study type stuff in front of a computer to check references, etc. at www.biblegateway.com.

But, the thing I miss most is blogging. Yeah I can do it at work, on a "break" or afterhours, but I'd rather be at home. I am so glad I started this thing before Jackson was born. You remember stuff fuzzily, but if you put some words on paper, or even better in hypertext with images, it really brings back memories.

As a wannabe writer, blogging keeps the narrative process in the forefront of your mind, rather than in the sad, "I meant to have finished my first novel by now," creative writing graduate kind of way. (I do love saying, "I have a Masters in English, I can say whatever I want," when people correct my grammar.)

So blogging.. It's therapeutic, creative, and pretty meaningful in my life, as incredibly lame as all that sounds..

Cancelled Comcast

With a laptop that doesn't run over a few minutes without crapping out, I decided its best to just keep the $42.95 per month for their high-speed internet service in my pocket. Or better yet, start a college fund for Jackson. At $500.00 per year with interested compounded annually, well, that's something anyway.

Actually I'll prbably re-up after I replace my hard drive. i'm having withdrawals already just knowing it's gone, even though I wasn't using it. Hopefully I'll get in at the $24.95 per month for the first 6 months special this summer.

What's the deal with broadband costs anyway? Shouldn't the prices be coming down as the user base rises? Where are UTC professors of economics when these injustices arise?

Comcast Refund

I think this might be important to just about everyone I know in Chatt-town..

Apple

This may be the coolest thing Apple has ever done..

Anyone know of non-Apple products that will do the same for cheaper?

Laptop

So it turns out my laptop will run if I take off the cover just above the keyboard. I'd thought it was heat related, since during the cold months I was able to compute outside in 30 degrees for as long as I wanted, but indoors nothing.

Any advice? My new hard drive thermometer says I'm running at 139 degrees. If I had a tiny frying pan I could cook some tiny eggs..

Helicopter Rides - Free!

I just got to ride in the Life Force helicopter for a video project that UTC is doing with the state. It was very, very cool. We had a UTC Student (Shronda Harris of Mocs News fame) acting as a patient from an MVA, with heart contusions, shattered patella, and oh yeah, she was discombobulated. We took off and flew around UTC then landed again where she was rushed into the ER, defibrillated, and X-Rayed (they actually X-rayed her..) The whole thing was quite a rush and the finished video should look a lot like the beginning of Apocalypse Now seguey into some long tracking shots like ER. I'll post the streaming clip when its near completion.

Do the Right Thing?

6 weeks ago I ordered a digital camera for my father-in-law from etechwarehouse, but the company never sent the camera. They did bill us for it though. I assume Visa will take care of the problem. Never buy from them.

So weeks of untaken baby pictures later Jerry called me and asked if I'd run by Bestbuy and pick one up. Well, wanting to restore some consumer confidence in ecommerce I ordered the camera pictured above from PC Connection for around $300.00. They did ship promptly, in under 12 hours, but they sent this camera instead.

Valued at $699.00 it was a bitterseet box opening, because even though the invoice had the camera I paid for, I knew I would have to do the right thing and let them know the error. I emailed them, they responded saying Thank you for bringing this to our attention, we'll pay for the shipping to return this one and send you the correct camera, or bill us the $400 difference.

I know I did the right thing, but sometimes it makes me feel like an idiot when I do. Can't they throw in a memory stick or something for my honesty?

transparent background div?

Anybody know how to put a transparent background in a div without making the content tranparent as well? I have tried with alpha filter and image slice techniques, but can't find anything that works in IE and Mozilla.

Technology is funny..

So I got this Labtec wireless optical mouse and it works great in my right hand, but only if I hold the antenna plugged into the USB port with my left.

I was also pleased to see the "raging" debate about my blog causing modem failures on A Peck of Gold. Sweet baby?! Thanks! I consider that a shout-out.

CSS in Mozilla..?

Anybody know why my site now looks OK in Explorer (except to those who don't like photo backgrounds and therefore hate my baby, j/K) but terrible in Mozilla? Is Moveable Type MS-friendly? It would seem that all the tags would transfer more easily into Mozilla than IE, and not the other way around.