i totally recycled this from Engadget but if you haven’t already seen this… it’s amazing. http://www.vimeo.com/1109226
sidenote: i saw radiohead in dallas last week and it was one of the most inspiring concerts i’ve ever seen them do. thom was actually having fun and joking with the crowd. he even took time to heckle a heckler during exit music (for a film).
This above factoid become increasingly funnier when you realize that the fibre optics run through the sewer and out your toilet. The age old standard of magazine reading material will be replaced by a WiFi capable device in the very near future. Feel free to visit the Google TiSP group to discuss your backup or wipe problems with others that may have similar problems.
😉
PS> Interestingly enough, Rich Miller points out that sewer delivered fibre optics were actually implemented in Indianapolis and the ‘Burq in 2001.
Like the rest of you, the new year has brought many new time wasting activities that have kept me away from the keyboard. There have been very few techno things lately that I’ve had desire to blog about and with everyone else in the world blogging their collective asses off, I haven’t the time to try and compete.
That being said, I came across this article on Wired News in my morning ritual of coffee and RSS feeds.
“Somehow, some viewer relayed a call through Justin’s phone number to the San Francisco 911 and reported a stabbing.” Welcome to daily happenings of Justin.tv, the latest experiment in reality TV on the web. Visitors to the site see a small, low-resolution audio/video feed coming from a camera mounted on star Kan’s head
Ha! That’s a good pr… wait, WHAT? Did I just read that someone has mounted a camera to their head and is streaming it for the world to see? I quickly run over to justin.tv to find out. Sure enough, I see a live feed of Justin sleeping in the fetal position at 6:30 am PST. This is nothing new really… it’s been attempted before by many porn sites. But this is the first time I know of someone strapping a camera to their head and taking it with them everywhere.
History: Based out of San Fran, 4 friends decided that they could make some money by streaming one guys life 24/7. And it looks like it’s working. Justin Kan has only been live for 4 days and 9 hours (although they have been testing for a couple months) and has already managed sponsorship. No stats on how many people are watching Justin, but at one time this morning I counted at least 100 people in the 1st chat room. People watching have access to all that is Justin… dates, parties, bathroom visits, sex (if some girl is willing to have her face/body plastered all over the internets), etc. You can see his schedule for the day, read his blog, call him and even go back through archives at different meetings, etc.
So this begs the question: will “we” watch and why? Is this the same as reading US Weekly or any other media that attempts to bring us into the lives of other, albeit celebrities, people . But Justin isn’t really a celeb… so what’s the appeal? It brings up memories of the movie The Truman Show. Truman unknowingly had the attention of the whole world and thus the appeal of someone being genuine. But Justin knows he’s on so where’s the appeal? Could it be like a mullet or a car wreck? It shouldn’t be that interesting but you just can’t stop watching it. I don’t know what it is, but I’m finding it hard not to watch.
UPDATE: i never thought about txting him. since his phone number is posted on the site, you can txt him and INTERACT with what you’re watching.
Little of my day is spent watching TV or even reading online now because of the obscene amounts of time I spend without an internet connection. But when I do manage a few minutes of spare time and a WIFI connection, my Google homepage is customized with all kinds of RSS feeds. When I got to my homepage, this JUMPED out at me from Slashdot. Having watched the RIAA cry for many years now and try and convict everyone from an 80 y/o grandfather to a 9 y/o girl, I wonder what their motivation truly is. What is the possibility that this could finally open the RIAA’s beady little eyes (with green dollar signs) to the fact that the reason their cd’s aren’t selling/shipping is cause they put out crap?
“..a Pennsylvania man is now crying foul after he got the short end of the stick in an unfortunate “mishap.” The retired carpenter, who had visited the Philadelphia Park casino before, dropped his two quarters into a Wheel of Fortune slot machine only to win $102,000 — or so he thought. The machine proudly conveyed his winnings right alongside his actual name, sending his emotions into a jovial whirlwind, but apparently the machine wasn’t exactly supposed to, you know, let people hit the jackpot, and now he’s fighting just to get his due reward. A spokesperson for the venue stated that it “was just an error in the communication system,” but added the mistake seems to have originated in the in-house computing system, not within the machine itself. The man was offered “two tickets to the buffet” (saywha?) and advised to read the disclaimer on the machine, nullifying any awards if the machine malfunctions, but he still feels that this “fault” is illegitimate.” stolen from engadget.
if i’m reading this correctly, this begs the question: if a central computer is dictating which machines win and how much they pay out, is it any longer a game of chance? does it then become a game of controlled loss? i mean odds are odds but is it still considered chance when a computer decides that it only pays out once every 3,409,403 times played and only 10% of what it takes in because that’s what statistics COULD dictate? if so, i’m in the wrong business.
3 rights turns could equal a left, so what’s the point in turning left directly? This was the thought running through the head of whoever designed traffic flow in this city. If you have to come to Richmond on business, and drive the ultra powerful (sarcasm) and thoughtfully laid out (sarcasm again) Saturn Ion, prepare yourself for the delight of your life. The concrete median that divides every major street in this city provides many opportunities for people that don’t like anything to do with the left, to go straight. Not even at stoplights are you allowed to turn left. Do you see a store you want to go in across the street? It’s easy and convenient to drive 5 miles down the road where you can wait in line for 29 minutes for the opportunity to U-Turn (but you can’t turn left there because there is no street to left turn onto) in front of a speeding Semi. Or maybe it’s fun and exciting to park across the street and Frogger your way across to your destination (maybe this is why the Vick brothers are so good at not getting tackled). Richmond Virginia hates left turns (because they don’t go Right… Wing).
R.Randall Fransen, mutual friend of the Porter’s and myself, has just spent a week in Montreal with a manufacturer developing some f’in awesome prototype bags for his new company co:labs. Of course he blogged all of it and it is certainly worth a read, especially the post from Wednesday.
instead of being given a ride home by melanie or sasha, a client of theirs was on their way downtown so he offered to give me a ride. let me set the scene. his name is tony, he wears a leather jacket, he has thick, black, curly, greasy hair and looks like a wana-be playboy. he drives a BMW that blares terrible house/techno music and it smells of rich mohogany. we start down the road back to downtown and tony begins going back and forth on it, waiting for someone else to show up on the side of the road so we can pick them up as well. in the meantime he begins the challenging chit chat that only comes between a small language barrier.Â
“so you like living in new york?†he asks me. i explain to him that only lived there a short time but that i loved it. “i hate new york.â€Â “why?†i ask. beat. “too many chinese. one shows up, opens shop and then 100 more just appear. they have no imagination…â€
Well… sort of. In browsing my daily hot sheets, I came across this little article in Engadget (which, like this article, is a re-hash of this article) about the iPod Suit. Designed for the young, hip, exec that needs to wow the boardroom with his newfangled widgit that cost a lot and really serves no purpose other than showing his or her generational chasm from traditional business attire. However, this does mark the first time I can remember the iNoun product wave attempting a swing into the executive fashion market.
“As if your ipod is THAT inaccessable in a suit?” R.Randall Fransen, heterosexual designer, quipped. He goes on (and I paraphrase), “But if your iPod is buried in a bag I can see a need, of course.”
I give them “E” for effort, “A” for style but “F” for iNoun product awesomeness.
I think nonfamous should have another cat. for iNoun products…
First, let me start by saying I have 2 really bad drunk habits (aside from being drunk). 1 is drunk emailing and the other is drunk dialing. We’ve all done it. We aren’t proud of it and most people that are the recipient of them have probably uttered, “We’ve all done it” in attempts to console. Nonetheless, the embarrassment from making said call still stings. If only there was a way to eliminate the chance of Drunk Dialing and not have to delete potential victims out of my phone…
AH-HA! This morning on my way to work NPR‘s Morning Edition had a little blurb about a mobile phone that could stop this embarassment.
“You blow into a spot and, if you’ve had too much to drink, the phone displays a weaving car hitting traffic cones. It will then prevent you from dialing pre-specified numbers that could cause embarrassment.“
That is exactly what I need. I do some more digging to find this article on Engadget and another on MobileMag. I guess this is old news except that they will be available in the US very soon. Thanks to LG, I shall Drunk Dial No More.
In an effort to get back to my tech roots, I’ve decided to write a review of one of my latest toys… the Motorola H605 Universal Bluetooth Headset.
SPECS
REVIEW
When I first saw the package, I was a little surprised at how big the device actually was. The picture on the right is pretty close to life size. The blister pack took very little effort to get open (which is rare these days) and no scissors or knife.
The headset was very light indeed and very Borg looking when on. I can’t tell if that’s real leather or pleather but it’s soft to the touch and has a little padding to it.
PRO: Charging port is USB 2.0 just like a RAZR, which is nice if you have a RAZR or any other device that runs USB 2.0. I only need one cable to recharge all my devices (as long as it’s not all at the same time).
CON: It takes a lot of effort to actually get it on your ear but when it’s on it AIN’T coming off (I tried rockin out to some Everclear to knock it off but to no avail).
PRO: While it’s on I barely notice and after a while I forget it’s there. My Ray-Ban’s are still wearable but note that they have a really thin wire frame. Those of you with thick ass frames (like D&G or Versace sunglasses) will be uncomfortable.
PRO: First test was pairing it with both my V3 and my V330. Pairing was very simple and only took a couple of seconds.
CON: I may be able to pair with up to 8 devices, but I can’t use them both at the same time! Damn! Not a super big deal but since I have to carry 2 phones, it would’ve been nice. The other thing is it changes your profile… so instead of hearing my favorite Homestarrunner ring, I hear a standard ringing because It can’t play MP3’s…
PRO: Distance test exceeded my expectations… I was able to get about 45 ft. away from my V3 before my call recipent said I was breaking up. That’s much better than the advertised 30 ft.
PRO: The earbud pivots and swivels to get maximum ear placement. This is nice cause it blocks out external noise and increases hearability. Sound quality and volume on the call was awesome. I could hear w/o any problem in the office, in the car and at home (this is a big deal to me since I have hearing problems). The call recipients all had no problems hearing me from the car or the server room which makes me think it may have a background noise filter.
CON: When on your ear, the buttons are really hard to find.
PRO: Lots of functionality with the buttons: mute, call reject, answer second call, redial, join 3-way (the phone type that is), and if you have voice tags assigned, you can use your voice to call.
CONCLUSION
Having owned a few Bluetooth headsets in my day I can safely recommend this one to everyone. None of the above cons are deal breakers… and I have really enjoyed using Motorola’s first behind-the-ear headset.
