December 02, 2005
Podcasting and Beyond
Podcasting is quickly becoming a buzz word among the techie crowd. So what is podcasting, anyway? Podcasting is online audio content that is delivered via an RSS feed. Many people liken podcasting to radio on demand. However, in reality, podcasting gives far more options in terms of content and programming than radio does. In addition, with Podcasting, listeners can determine the time and the place, meaning they decide what programming they want to receive and when they want to listen to it.
Listeners can retain audio archives to listen to at their leisure. While blogs have turned many bloggers into journalists, podcasting has the potential to turn podcasters into radio personalities.
Podcasting is the syndication of audio files using RSS. Podcasting works the same as a standard RSS feed reader or news aggregator, the only difference is that the feed you subscribe to contains an audio file in it. Instead of reading content in your RSS feed reader or aggregator, you can listen to the contents of your feed using a reader or aggregator that supports podcasting, or you can listen to them on an iPod or similar device. While podcasting was named for the iPod, you do not have to have an iPod to listen to a podcast. Podcasts can be displayed on websites with clickable links to audio files and many of the standard RSS readers, like FeedDemon's latest beta, have begun supporting audio enclosures.
So this is a rather new idea that is in pursuit of ubiquitous technology. We can now have radio show that are taken with us every where. We can listen to them at our leisure on out iPods and then delete then when we are done so that the entertainment is with us when we want it. Soon podcast will be made like news shows with video with the coming of the video iPod to make everything more ubiquitous. So as a final though to my blogs I would like to say that Apple and the iPod are making great strides for making the world ubiquitous and I thank them for that.
iPod Video
I'm of two minds when it comes to Apple's latest must-have iPod. No doubt, it's going to be a hit -- but it's not something that I personally must have -- at least, not yet. Apple has basically taken the old iPod photo and added video capabilities, allowing you to download videos, film shorts and, of course, the latest episodes of several ABC network shows, including Lost and Desperate Housewives. But the problem, if it really is a problem, with video is that you have to actually watch it. It's not like music, which you can listen to while doing other things like, uhm, driving, walking or working out. Even music can be a bit of a distraction, depending on the task at hand. But try pumping iron while keeping an eye on the latest episode of Lost, and you're likely to wind up with a barbell across your throat.
In other words, I think it's cool hardware and I'll probably wander down to the nearest Apple Store next week to check out the new video iPod -- if there any left by the time I get there. For now I'll stick with my iPod mini. (Although the idea of being able to cram the newest iPod with my favorite home-made digital videos and using it to show them off on the nearest TV has some appeal. Of course, that requires buying the optional dock. But as a transport device for videos, it doesn't get much more handy than this.)
Having said that, I realized late yesterday that my own needs -- or lack thereof -- aren't really an indicator of how well the video iPod will do. The canary in the coal mine on this? My mom. Before I'd even gotten home from work, she'd passed on two e-mails from her fellow Clay Aiken fans about the video iPod. Faster than you can hum Solitaire, I pictured mom and her "Claymates" gathered around the little 2.5-inch screen bopping along to Clay's latest video. Mom may be a bit more mature than Apple's target demographic, but if she's already passing on e-mails about the new iPod, I can see where my Christmas shopping is likely to take me. And in that, I'm sure I'm not alone.
Screwing around on E-bay
http://cgi.ebay.com/XBOX-360-PREMIUM-CONSOLE-2-WIRELESS-CONT-MUCH-MORE_W0QQitemZ8238393293QQcategoryZ62054QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
People like doing stupid fake shit on e-bay too much. This is obviously fake if you look at the history but it’s just crazy that people would put all this effort in to having something that isn’t real so the can have a little bit of internet fame.
Insertion Fees
Starting or Reserve Price Insertion Fee
$0.01 – $0.99 $0.25
$1.00 – $9.99 $0.35
$10.00 – $24.99 $0.60
$25.00 – $49.99 $1.20
$50.00 – $199.99 $2.40
$200.00 – $499.99 $3.60
$500.00 or more $4.80
Final Value Fees
Closing Price Final Value Fee
Item not sold No Fee
$0.01 – $25.00 5.25% of the closing value
$25.01 – $1,000.00 5.25% of the initial $25.00 ($1.31), plus 2.75% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $1,000.00)
Over $1,000.01 5.25% of the initial $25.00 ($1.31), plus 2.75% of the initial $25.00 - $1,000.00 ($26.81), plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($1,000.01 - closing value)
1) Seller files an Unpaid Item dispute
Sellers can report an Unpaid Item up to 45 days after the transaction date (i.e. the date when the buyer commits to buying the item and the seller commits to selling it). Usually the seller must wait 7 days after a listing closes to file an Unpaid Item dispute. However, in the following exceptional cases, the seller can file a dispute immediately:
at the time of the filing the buyer is no longer a registered user of eBay, or
the buyer is from a country to which the seller has indicated they will not ship, in the "shipping and payment details" section of the listing. (regions to which the seller will ship are listed on the View Item page for the item in question), or
the seller and buyer both wish to mutually withdraw from the transaction.
In the first two cases the buyer will receive an Unpaid Item strike and the seller will receive a Final Value Fee credit without any additional steps. In the third case the seller must file the dispute for mutual withdrawal reasons first, and if the buyer responds to the dispute and agrees the seller will receive a Final Value Fee credit and no strike will be given to the buyer. If the buyer fails to respond, the seller can still close the dispute to receive a Final Value Fee credit, but the buyer will not receive an Unpaid Item strike.
Pretty easy to fake list something and not pay for anything.
November 30, 2005
WOW
We talked about viruses in class and how quickly they can spread even when people have to actively open the file on their computer but it’s even more amazing at how fast it can spread when it carries just like a disease.
Last week a deadly virtual plague broke out in the online game World of Warcraft. Although limited to only a few of the game's servers the numbers of characters that have fallen victim is thought to be in the thousands. Originally it was thought that the deadly digital disease was the result of a programming bug in a location only recently added to the Warcraft game. However, it now appears that players kicked off the plague and then kept it spreading after the first outbreak. Recently added was the Zul'Gurub dungeon which gave players a chance to confront and kill the fearsome Hakkar - the god of Blood. In his death throes Hakkar hits foes with a "corrupted blood" infection that can instantly kill weaker characters. The infection was only supposed to affect those in the immediate vicinity of Hakkar's corpse but some players found a way to transfer it to other areas of the game by infecting an in-game virtual pet with it. This pet was then unleashed in the orc capital city of Ogrimmar and proved hugely effective as the Corrupted Blood plague spread from player to player. Although computer controlled characters did not contract the plague, they are said to have acted as "carriers" and infected player-controlled characters they encountered.
When we begin to take human conditions and then apply them to internet idea it’s amazing how quickly things can spread. So we really should watch things like this if we start to apply more person al and private things in such situations and we might begin to have internet pick pockets that can just grab our information and run as we are walking around the internet.
DS and Google
So recently Nintendo has taken the task of making a world wide wireless network for their Nintendo DS. The America version has a very unlikely sponsor for the plan though – McDonalds. It seems that Nintendo believes that because of the vast amount of McDonalds around the country that they are the best hub for them to launch this idea. They aren’t the only place you can get the wireless link though. You can still do it through most wireless networks, including Case’s. Also, Nintendo recently unveiled a new WiFi USB connector as part of their latest attempt to release a line of Nintendo-branded wireless products. As soon as you insert this dongle into your PC, a window will open to establish a link between it and your DS. The dongle is jointly developed with Buffalo Technology, which will also release Nintendo WiFi Station access points to stores in Japan, to create instant DS “hot spots.”
In an effort to get there name out they made a rather nice website showing everyone how to get hooked up. Nintendo recently launched the Nintendo WiFi portal which is the way for all Nintendo DS owners who want to play online. Many regions do not yet have a full completed site but the United States one is up. On the site you’ll be able to see the status of the service and find a list of games that go online. By registering an account there will be special features available for download. At the moment it says the service is full operational even though most games aren’t out yet.
At the moment, these are the games that go online:
• Mario Kart DS
• Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land
• Animal Crossing: Wild World
• Metroid Prime Hunters
It’s very interesting to see that Nintendo has already set up this wireless linked community even before Google. Even though Google has been trying to set up various networks around the country it seems the Nintendo slipper right past them and has created this network all by themselves to connect all the Nintendo DS players. So it will be interesting to see if Google will now run even faster before the Nintendo network begins to extent to computers.
When Networks Collide
Not promoting any particular viewpoint here (at least, not intentionally; the site itself is pretty slanted)... but today, we found an interesting website that essentially monitors middle eastern TV for all manner of anti-American, anti-Zionist, pro-terrorism, or generally idiotic propaganda. The website is at http://www.memritv.org. You can view the original videos with translations subbed in with their odd little version of realplayer or windows media or whatever, or you can read transcripts if that suits you better.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) explores the Middle East through the region's media. MEMRI bridges the language gap which exists between the West and the Middle East, providing timely translations of Arabic and Farsi media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East.
Founded in February 1998 to inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501 (c)3 organization. MEMRI's headquarters is located in Washington, DC with branch offices in Berlin, London, Jerusalem, and Baghdad, and has a project active in Sweden. MEMRI research is translated to English, German, Hebrew, Italian, French, Spanish, and occasionally Turkish and Russian.
MEMRI's TV monitoring center operates 16 hours per day, overseeing every major Arab channel. The center has the in-house capability to translate, subtitle and distribute the segments from Arab TV in real time to Western news channels across the world, effectively "Bridging the Language Gap Between the Middle East and the West."
MEMRI's TV monitoring center focuses on political, cultural, religious, and other developments and debates in the Arab and Muslim world and in Iran.
Some golden clips:
Short clip of a Lebanese cleric insisting the intellectuals among Native Americans spoke Arabic with Columbus
http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ClipMediaID=90981&ak=null
Ten-minute cartoon from Iranian TV promoting suicide bombing
http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ClipMediaID=87439&ak=null
And loads more that we haven't gotten the chance to watch yet. There are more cartoons if you go to the search area and choose Iran as the country. Amazing stuff.
It’s just amazing how different the world is out there. I mean we wonder why people there go and do suicide bombing it’s because little children see the heroes of their cartoons slaughtered. For the amount of communication and technology there is that allows for the sharing of information it’s amazing the people who make this aren’t found out about and told to stop. I mean this is on their public television and is broadcast all over the country. Plus what they are saying is utterly crazy. They just ramble on with no really idea of what is true and what is false they just want their silly nationalistic ideas all over the place.
November 29, 2005
The Doom of Xbox
http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3145154
The article talks about the Xbox 360’s launch in comparison to the Dreamcast launch and how poorly Dreamcast did. I really think the Microsoft botched their second system and that it will fail miserably. However because Microsoft is rich and intends on taking over the world through the Microsoft network I highly doubt it will phase them in their undertakings into the video game world.
I just think that it's not going to do too good cause it was released too early, I still feel that both console's PS2 and XBOX are still in there prime's, more so XBOX then PS2. While I also think that the 360 won't drop off like the Dreamcast did because obviously MS wouldn't let it, I just think that the PS3 will come out on way on top again.
I do have a few questions as to why the Xbox 360 seems to have been released so quickly. It was kind of like the bad taste that was left in your mouth after eating something bad, something just didn't feel like it was time yet. I mean Microsoft cut out the HD-DVD support about a month before the launch.
For every reason stated in that 1up.com report the Xbox 360 seems to parallel a lot of things that the Dreamcast did, in fact mirroring them very closely. With this system, however, it really feels rushed, and they've been having a few problems with their systems (I think it was 14% of machines had something very wrong). PS2 had a few problems at launch, but they weren't as widespread as the Xbox 360.
I mean, Nintendo has the controller, PS3 has got loads of new hardware specs that haven't been seen, and the Xbox has only a reinforced online structure as its offering to the next-gen crowd. I was expecting a lot more than just high definition.
Xbox is doing nothing more than hoping everyone will cave and buy and Xbox 360 and then have no money for the PS3 and the Revolution. The simple fact is that it's just like how the Xbox is now - they have some hard core gamers that will just die for their Halo competitions but other than that it's a waste of money. If you want an actual variety of games that are well made on a system that had a lot of time put into it look to the PS3 and the Revolution.