Cloud Computing, Life

So apparently there are lots of users on Seesmic that just watch, but don't post. For some reason that creeps out a lot of people who think these "watchers" are doing something sinister. Here is my "video" response. For those that don't know, with Seesmic, you work it like a blog, except your posts are video clips. Imagine all the comments that form under a popular blog entry, instead of each person typing in an entry, they just record a video clip and post it. There are still conversations just like Twitter, they are just video messages. Some are really clever, some are really boring. Just like any other service, you get a mixed bag. I'll do a full overview on Seesmic sometime soon, I definitely see why it is so popular. In the social networking realm, this is about as personal as it gets. Everyone gets to see the "real you", and of course every little word you say and how you say it is what everyone else sees. Seesmic Post

Twitter Down. They have a big banner up saying "down for maintenance" with promise of some new features being put into production. This was the first time I was totally locked out of Twitter when I wanted to be on, so it made me think of what Twitter is all about, and why I like it. When you first try Twitter, it is confusing in that it isn't structured like so many other Internet destinations we visit. At first it is like listening to the thoughts of 1000's of people. It is all mixed together with no way to sort it out. Then as you figure out how to be a "follower" and also be "followed", you find that you can tap into a more personal understanding of the people that interest you. Instead of a carefully thought out statement, you get the real-moment-in-time happenings of the other participants. And those "real time" statements is what makes it fun. It is different than a traditional chat application in that your statements are added to w...

The virtual world and game interface will eventually become our default user interface to the internet. Second Life offers a way to "get away from it all" in a virtual sense, but it is interesting just how much the real world mirrors itself in second life. Second Life is no Utopia, and has its share of cultural and societal problems as well as positive opportunities. 1) Pick Pockets It was recently discovered that it is possible to steal someone's SL money which is called "Linden Dollars". Infected objects like videos that begin to play when a user is near can trigger the theft. So from the real world we have "CRIME" 2) Real Estate Speculation It is possible to buy raw "land" in second life which is just space that has not been populated with any virtual content. It is just "empty space". You can then create content and improve that space and then resell it to other players. It is a basic free market economy which makes up a big par...

Update: ====================================== After creating this original post I discovered the explanation of what is happening. Look here Apparently it is a Windows problem. The same results can be obtained with other strings like "Matrix can not lie". No conspiracy after all! ====================================== In Windows XP try this: 1) Open notepad.exe and create a new file 2) With no quotes type "bush hid the facts" (no quotes) 3) Save the file 4) Exit notepad 5) Re-Open notepad and open the file with the line from #2 above What is up with that? Regardless of your political beliefs, if this was done intentionally, it has got to be one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen in the technology world. Are we so divided as a country that individuals now resort to injecting their political beliefs into the most atomic actions they perform in their professional lives? What if I'm wearing something that is colored Red or Blue? Am I now a Crip or a Blo...

Fightdump.com specializes in video of clips of people of all types fighting. On MySpace you have endless pictures and videos of young people who are probably under age, drinking and partying. On YouTube people are engaging in all kinds of activities in order to create their "internet reputation". The internet never forgets, and those pictures of you looking like a fool will probably be around "forever". Hopefully those impressions won't impede your ability to get into college, or get that job you really want. "Internet Background Check", everyone will be doing it. The downside of these and other social sites is that in order to attract attention you have to do something unique. And for kids that might not have any real world skills built up yet, unique means "dumb". Of course these dumb actions seem great to the others listed as "friends" on your social profile. And of course, people doing these things don't realize that the pic...

I took the Small Wonder with me this last week end and took some videos. Included are the YouTube links. After watching the uploaded videos on my Mac, I have these comments: 1) The video looks best when there is some contrast. Taking a shot from a very long distance away is not where this device is strong. Up close shots from 3-10 feet, or shots where there is lots of color and light yields the best results. 2) The Zoom feature works well for up close shots, but far away shots that are zoomed seem to give up some clarity in the image. 3) It seems to do pretty well in low light, which is nice for such a low end device. One of the example clips is taken in my office where only a desktop lamp is turned on. As a pan across the room, you can see how well it adjusts for the low light condition. If you watch the video closely, you can see the device adjusting the light as I go from the dark objects on the desk to viewing my computer monitor. Like I said in my earlier post, this isn't a re...

P4P = Paid For Participation Is a new breed of P4P social network on the horizon? P4P seems to be the theme for the new social network called "Yuwie". With Facebook on the PR ropes, an opening has been created for a social network platform that cuts the user in on the financial action. Users get paid for different types of visits to their profiles. If someone looks at your video, picture, or any of your "stuff" you build up visit points that eventually translates into dollars that you get paid. Advertising is of course the core of the financial model and your profile is sprinkled with ads. There is also a pyramid scheme where the people that you "invite" to join become part of your "network" and you also get paid for clicks that happen for all the profiles that make up your referral network. There are up to 10 levels of referrals that can build up underneath you. You get paid "per 1000 impressions", this chart of the pay-out potential w...