« August 6, 2006 - August 12, 2006 | Main | August 20, 2006 - August 26, 2006 »
Thanks to Tyler Ballance of Bleepsoft, we now have a new wiki for planning the rad dawn-to-dusk hackathons. Get your Xcode on 9th September if you're anywhere near Austin, Texas.
If you're far away, join or start another city for CocoaDevHouse on the wiki.Originally from CocoaRadio by reBlogged on Aug 19, 2006, 6:39PM
people like Mike inspire me; Fundrace, OGLE, Pizza Party, VGMap, and reBlog are all wonderfulOriginally from Waxy.org Links reBlogged on Aug 19, 2006, 6:25PM
True to the cliché, images sometimes speak louder than words. Such is the case with The Urban Forest Project, a collaborative endeavor led by the NY chapter of AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) to hang 185 banners in Times Square as a way to get New Yorkers thinking about the role of nature in their urban experience.
Each banner has been designed by a different graphic artist, illustrator, or photographer, with their only guiding requirement being the use of trees or tree metaphors to make a visual statement.
Together they create a forest of thought-provoking images at one of the world’s busiest, most energetic, and emphatically urban intersections. Following their display, (September 1–October 31, 2006) the banners will be recycled into tote bags and sold at auction, with proceeds going to scholarship and mentoring programs that benefit students of the visual arts.It was close to impossible to select just a handful to feature here. It's truly worth a visit to their online gallery to scan through all of the art. The above images were done by (from left to right): Kathleen Schenck Row, Kenneth Martinez & Kiffer Keegan, Green Map System, and Mark Randall.
via: Core77
(Posted by Sarah Rich in The Means of Expression - Media, Creativity and Experience at 08:54 PM)
Originally from WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future by reBlogged on Aug 18, 2006, 12:54AM
A tool for converting MS Reader .LIT files into their original XML/HTML formatOriginally from random($foo) reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 11:43PM
Classic Sesame Street video clip on how crayons are made.Originally from kottke.org remaindered links by reBlogged on Aug 18, 2006, 11:09AM
(photo by Dan Dickinson) Last night was the end of this year's SummerStage concert series, and also the final show of Gnarls Barkley's summer tour. With all the hype they've gotten since the spring, and their non-stop touring schedule...Originally from Amy's Robot by reBlogged on Aug 18, 2006, 10:38AM
Rethinking Moneyball. Jeff Passan looks at how the Oakland A's 2002 draft class, immortalized in Michael Lewis' Moneyball, has done since then. "It is not so much scouts vs. stats anymore as it is finding the right balance between information gleaned by scouts and statistical analyses. That the Moneyball draft has produced three successful big-league players, a pair of busts and two on the fence only adds to its polarizing nature." Richard Van Zandt did a more extensive analysis back in April.Originally from kottke.org remaindered links by reBlogged on Aug 18, 2006, 3:25PM
Fans of the San Francisco Giants have been flummoxed by FusionStorm. The billboards in the Giants' Baseball stadium are populated by Levi's, Budweiser, Cingular and other usual suspects. FusionStorm has taken out two billboards in completely different colors and type treatments on different sides of the field. I thought I would investigate on the Internet (I like to do that). FusionStorm.com, whose mission appears to be to simply "Make Technology Work" greeted me with this:
That image is not working. It looks to me like dude is about to fall off a cliff! I don't want to fall off a cliff.
But one preposterously wasted chunk of baseball sponsorship dollars does not justify a Hello, Typepad post. Two presposterously wasted chunks of baseball sponsorship dollars, on the other hand...
Enter Azek Trimboards! Mets fans High and Inside note: "This year, one of the most prominent sponsors of the New York Mets has been an entity mysteriously known as Azek Trimboards."
Azek Trimboards match FusionStorm tag for tag in sheer web ineptitude. The Azek source code represents web soup at it's worst, so much so that Google takes a seemingly random snippet off of Azeks' info page to describe Azek in Google search results as: "Manufactured in a proprietary process, AZEK Trimboards are consistent and uniform throughout with no voids."
Sadly, there's no trimboard blog (trimboardeo? gizboard? trimway?) that has written about Azek so that I could glean more information (if I wanted to.) And that's the other reason FusionStorm and Azek have stuck with me - I'm used to trivia becoming available within fourty seconds of my first wandering thought, if that. If Apperceptive advertised with the Mets or the Giants, I hope we'd do a slightly better job of communicating who the heck we were. Speaking of which, I have to get back to work.
Apperceptive is consistent and uniform throughout, with no voids!
Originally from hello, typepad by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 7:02PM
CitySol. This past Sunday was the third in a series of free outdoor parties promoting environmentalism in NYC. The summer festivals along Manhattan’s East River waterfront combine “renewable energy-powered live music..., interactive exhibits showcasing key innovations, practices and policies for New York’s sustainable future, and a green lifestyle marketplace.” This Sunday, Per Scholas was also out collecting electronics for recycling or refurbishing and redistribution to low-income families. Reader Colin sends a link to pics of Sunday’s festivities on the NYC IMC. The next event takes place on September 24.Originally from Social Design Notes reBlogged on Aug 18, 2006, 12:32AM
In order of increasing puerility and decreasing interactivity, some tributes to a great game by David Crane:
- The new, tubular Skatefall!
- A trailer for live-action Pitfall!
- Pitfall! on South Park
- Pitfall! outtakes
Originally from Grand Text Auto by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 11:10PM
I got email from David Dunham that the Opal pre-release is now feature-complete: “It has essentially the same easy-to-use feature set as Acta, but adds multiple selection, a search field, on-screen magnification, the ability to focus on a subset of the outline, and Spotlight support.”
David’s a fellow Seattle-ite, by the way.Originally from ranchero.com by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 7:48PM
Chris Lattner: A cool use of LLVM at Apple: the OpenGL stack. I've contemplated a similar use for LLVM, but I haven't found any runtime specialization sample code.Originally from Hack the Planet reBlogged
Now that Flash is a real programming environment, FVNC is a VNC Client for Flash Player 9 and above. It would probably make a good replacement for the slow-loading Java VNC applets found in various KVM-over-IP equipment.Originally from Hack the Planet reBlogged
Originally from hustler of culture by reBlogged
Q:
We are very interested in buying brown basmati rice but have not found a source nearby. We live in Uxbridge about 1/2 hour north-east of Toronto, Canada. Have you a listing of sources or can you pleaase advise where we should look to find sources?? Thanks.A:
Sorry for the minor delay. Um, I can't imagine that there's not a river of Brown Basmati Rice around Toronto, or at leat in Toronto. Road trip!! Canada is full of Indians as well as health foodies, no? How about an Asian market? Come on - there must be!!Shipping rice would be expensive I would guess. Heavy as it is en masse. I think your best bet is to call around to health food stores and rev up the car. If I'm telling you everything you've already tried, then I'm afraid I'm going to be useless here. Sorry. Keep Googling - "brown basmati rice ship Canada".
Originally from Susan's Nutrition Weblog by reBlogged
david posted a photo:
Originally from david's Photos by reBlogged
david posted a photo:
Originally from david's Photos by reBlogged
We're not sure exactly what the Taxi & Limousine Commission's official position is on the topic, but we can take a wild guess that our driver last weekend strayed from cabbie's code of conduct. Faced with a track work-related delays and cancellations, we cut our subway ride back to Brooklyn short at City Hall last Sunday and jumped in a cab at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. A minute or two after almost running over a nerdy hipster (or would that be hipster nerd?) on his Vespa, our fearless driver turned around to us and dangled a dime bag between the seats. "Yo, you wanna buy some pot, man?" We were not surprised when he later revealed that he had recently received his bachelor's degree in business. Months out of school and already an entrepreneur. Only in New York, kids. Only in New York.
Photo by SherilynOriginally from Brooklyn Record by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 10:45AM
Latte recorded on the N93
Latte recorded on N73
Latte recorded on K800i
London restaurant Guides recorded on the N93
London restaurant Guides recorded on the N73
London restaurant Guides recorded on the K800i
Food stil life recorded on N73
Food still life recorded on N93
Food still life recorded on K800i
London on Picadilly on N93
London Picadilly on N73
London Picadilly on K800i
One of the trends I mentioned in my 2006 predictions was about the Cameraphone maturing to a camera replacement in the point and shoot segment. It is now time to come back to the prediction and select my favourite cameraphone in 2006. I have had three finalists which I have used over the past weeks. The SonyEricsson K800i, the Nokia N73 and the Nokia N93, the second generation transformer.
I used all the devices as Liferecorders, doing the continuous act of recording the big and little things around me. This means it is a mix of detailed macro photography, landscape and snapshots of people, primarily my kids. To finally make up my mind I spent an afternoon in London recording same picture on all three devices so that I could get some facts to my intuitive feel. You see a few of them shared here.
If one only follow the specs then the winner should be the N93, the second generation transformer. With its performance; 3x optical zoom, full VGA video I was sure that would be the device I would liferecord the latter half of 2006 with. After usage the N93 comes last. Others think it is the best. Its camera for still is not as good as the N73 or the K800i. It has been is optimised for video and for that one does pay a quality price in still photography. The images seem more washed out and blurry. (Could be my unit, which I bought in the shop) I know I record about 10% video, maybe that could increase to 20% with the N93 quality. With the zoom I could do more interesting photography, but it comes with a serious drawback in bulk and will set a bigger dent in the wallet. On the N90, which was my favourite Liferecorder for 2005, I accepted the bigger bulk. Now with the N73 and the k800i, It gets harder to justify.
I am terribly torn between the k800i and the N73, both are amazing. After looking at the pictures on the computer, I do not print images, the K800i takes the best pictures. They are richest in colour and have a warm and sharp feel to them. So if my only criteria would be image quality then the K800i is my Cameraphone of the year. However one cannot completely forget video, it is important for a Liferecorder and this is the SonyEricsson’s Achilles heel. The N73 does 4 times the resolution of the K800i or 352x288 pixel. I do also like the bigger screen and the stereo speakers of the N73. It also does a great slideshow feature with Ken Burns effect. On the other hand the K800i has a cool possibility to shoot panorama and its best picture feature is superb. Both of these are accessible from camera idle, increasing their usage.
Function is not everything in a cameraphone. Consumer behaviour in the mobile business is such that users select the form not function. Here my favourite is the N73, I think it is the most beautiful S60 device to date, the designers really paid attention to the little details, I love the speaker grilles, the super clean backside and the immediate impression of a giant screen . The keypad is not good enough, I would have made number keys larger. The N73 is after all a smartphone supposed to be used for text as well. Nevertheless my choice is the N73, it is the Cameraphone of the year.Originally from ChristianLindholm.com by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 8:58AM
Bush v. Gore has started to disappear into a legal memory hole—and why it should not.The heart of Bush v. Gore’s analysis was its holding that the recount was unacceptable because the standards for vote counting varied from county to county. "Having once granted the right to vote on equal terms," the court declared, "the state may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person’s vote over that of another." If this equal protection principle is taken seriously, if it was not just a pretext to put a preferred candidate in the White House, it should mean that states cannot provide some voters better voting machines, shorter lines, or more lenient standards for when their provisional ballots get counted — precisely the system that exists across the country right now.Originally from Rebecca's Pocket reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 8:30AM
Microsoft released Live Writer over the weekend, which is a little Windows word processor that posts what you write to the blog of your choice. I used it on Sunday to post to a Live Spaces bog and it worked...Originally from Guardian Unlimited: Technology blog reBlogged on Aug 14, 2006, 9:55AM
A designer wonders if the dials on stoves could be better designed. The proposed redesign makes sense but doesn't seem that practical to me. My stove has a little picture next to each dial demonstrating which burner it controls. After nearly ten months of constant use, I still have to check to make sure I'm lighting the correct one.
Originally from megnut.com blog by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 12:04PM
We were pretty excited when MUG directed us a blog that reviews Brooklyn Diners — like the Grecian Corner Restaurant, Vegas Diner, and Carroll Gardens Salonike, where "the ladies' room is very clean and roomy, and doesn't smell like anything. There was a dude coming out of it yesterday, but hey, it's Brooklyn, you never know what's going on." The only let-down is that this blog hasn't been updated since June — but maybe we can help inspire the blogger, Sars, to write up some more reviews. Any thoughts on Brooklyn's best (or worst) diners?
Photo by Boris BadenovOriginally from Brooklyn Record by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 11:42AM
Nice redesign by Anil Dash, "Pretending to be an authority since 1999." Hello, Typepad's own collage is getting a little long in the tooth, this may inspire me to clear the cobwebs around here.
Originally from hello, typepad by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 10:35AM
I put FlexTime in the “cold-storage locker” one week ago yesterday and it’s been resting up for its official 1.0 debut.
FlexTime 1.0 is available starting today for $18.95. A free 30 day trial is available and automatically applies to the fully-featured download available here. If you decide to buy it, you may purchase from directly within the application, or online through the Red Sweater Store.
What is the cold-storage locker? It’s my off-the-cuff name for the process of leaving source code unmodified while continuing to test the product. Many smaller businesses fall into the trap of releasing software “hot off the presses,” which often means some bug was fixed mere hours before release, inadvertently introducing five undiagnosed problems for the public to uncover.
The cold-storage locker is a good idea, but this is the first time I’ve diligently employed it. In the past I’ve just succeeded (or to be honest, sometimes failed) on the basis of my relatively careful coding practices. But after hearing enthusiastic endorsements of the policy from friends at Bare Bones and Flying Meat, I’ve decided that I should also adopt this policy going forward. Not only does it give you time to think of the “oh crap” mistakes that you might have made, but it (ideally) gives you have a little pre-launch vacation time to relax and prepare for the (hopefully) large influx of new customers.
It feels good to have FlexTime 1.0 officially under the bridge, so I can get to work on updated versions of it, and some other products I have twinkling in my eyes.
Originally from Red Sweater Blog by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 10:33AM
Sketchbook of every piece of art in the Museum of Modern Art. $20.Originally from kottke.org remaindered links by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 1:51PM
Makes sense, also valid reasoning for RSS. I waste untold evening hours with my feed collection, often getting to bed much later than I need to.Originally from tecznotes links by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 1:00PM
This is really worth reading if you're at all interested in the issues I've been on about for so long...some tidbits:
...The Wall Street Journal Online invited Kevin Bankston, a lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy rights group, to debate the issue with Markham Erickson, executive director of NetCoalition, a lobby group for Internet firms including Google and Yahoo. Their conversation, carried out over email, is below....
Bankston: ...the DOJ's position is that ECPA doesn't apply to the search engines and search terms, the search engines themselves refuse to say what they think, and it hasn't been litigated yet. In the meantime, how the law does or does not apply is being hashed out secretly between DOJ investigators and search engines' compliance counsel; the public has no idea how the law is being applied, just as they have no real idea of what the search engines are doing with their data.
Which leads to the question, do you think that ECPA applies -- or should be amended to apply -- to search engines' disclosure of search logs? And shouldn't we have a federal law like the California Online Privacy Protection Act, establishing national minimum standards for privacy policies?....
The answer, from a fellow who represents leaders like Yahoo and Google, is pretty damn anemic. I've always criticized search engines for failing to take a leadership position in this discussion, and I very much believe that whoever does first, will win big in the hearts and minds of consumers.
Originally from John Battelle's Searchblog reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 4:16PM
". . . and Push"?
UPDATE: I just Googled the text of the [1910?] wall advertisement and found this possible explanation for the obscure message on Forgotten New York
This sign had been a mystery to me for some time. Forgotten Fan David Hall submits a column from the May 27, 1994 New York Times which clears it up. Apparently the sign is an ad for outdoor advertising, an ad for ads. In the phrase 'Brush Up Business with Paint, Paste, Paper & Push', "push" means "sell" and is here for alliterative purposes. A little awkward, but copywriting has improved since, we think.Originally from jameswagner.com reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 3:52PM
even more than Arcade, I'm eagerly awaiting Get LampOriginally from Waxy.org Links reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 3:02PM
When there is no clear physical affordance… a metaphor can be useful:
(Spotted in Zurich today)
Originally from pasta and vinegar by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 2:35PM
When Computers Were Human, "the sad but lyrical story of workers who gladly did the hard labor of research calculation in the hope that they might be part of the scientific community".Originally from kottke.org remaindered links by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 2:33PM
Red Sweater Blog: “I put FlexTime in the ‘cold-storage locker’ one week ago yesterday and it’s been resting up for its official 1.0 debut. FlexTime 1.0 is available starting today for $18.95.”
One of these days Daniel and I will have to fight (cage match?) over the prefix RS for our Cocoa code. ;) (Sure, I still use RS, since I always have—don’t even make me point out that Apple still uses NS instead of AC. [Actually, for app-specific classes I often use the app’s initials, NNW or ME.] But, enough of that—check out FlexTime.)Originally from ranchero.com by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 2:21PM
Ashoka, through its Changemakers program, is sponsoring a new competition, How to Provide Affordable Housing. There's still almost three weeks left for entries, but already they have 20 strong ideas, including one from our own Vinay, the hexayurt.
Competitions and prizes are an excellent way to spur innovation in the public interest, and while this one doesn't have the cachet of, say, an open source design initiative, it's still worth checking out.
(Posted by Alex Steffen in QuickChanges at 10:18 AM)
Originally from WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 2:18PM
Wired News: “The antagonism toward the Caps Lock key extends beyond its misuse by 13-year-old trolls and naive users.”
I’m totally on board. The Caps Lock key is like a third sleeve on a shirt—and that sleeve is lined with razor blades. Don’t accidentally put your arm in there, just let that sleeve dangle, uselessly.Originally from ranchero.com by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 2:06PM
I wasn't really expecting this in my inbox this morning.
The all new Bob Marley Burnin’ game combines all of Marley’s passions into a fun interactive experience right on your cellphone. The game is set in Jamaica, where players can experience fun games based around Marley’s favorite pastime: soccer.
Okay?
Extreme Juggling
-Foot skills will be tested as you juggle the soccer ball on a relaxing Jamaican beach setting
-Collect bonuses in the air to up your score
-It takes skill to keep the ball up in the air. You only get three chances to drop the ballOther sales points include trivia questions throughout game to "help players increase their Bob Marley knowledge"; plenty of Bob Marley music "to relax to while playing", and my favourite bit, the idea that this game invites you to "transport yourself to the islands with Jamaican themes and tropical vibes throughout the game". Ahhh.
I like this, it gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Originally from Wonderland by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 1:51PM
Light Reading has done a comprehensive comparison of the online video sharing sites, and come up with a list, based on features. The full list of all sites they reviewed with table comparison is here. Their top-10 list is:
1) Blip.tv
2) VideoEgg
3) Dailymotion
4) YouTube
5) Veoh
6) Google Video
7) Grouper
8) Jumpcut
9) AOL
10) Eyespot
Lotsa other details, charts, tables etc…useful.Originally from unmediated by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 1:46PM
Say what you will about Jason Calacanis and the new Netscape, but he is one of the few people looking to actually pay people for work they love and I think that is wicked cool. (Personally, I think he is one step ahead of the internet and is not just talking about it either like most of us …but actually doing it.)
Basically, Netscape is looking for a full time New York based vlogger. Traveling, writing and developing online video and audio content for Netscape (both podcasts and video podcasts) is the basic job description. Specifics are as follows:
The Netscape anchor added a bit more If you think you fit the bill, send me an email (ck at newnetscape dot com) with subject line “Netscape Anchor / Preditor“, a cover letter, resume, and a link to both an online writing sample (your blog will do) and some online sample of your video work. Remember: we’re looking for a “one person band,†jack-of-all-trades who can do all this work without the benefit of a full film crew and staff.
Sounds like a heaven sent opportunity for the right vlogger. I’d run to this job in a New York minute, but alas…I live on the wrong side of the Atlantic.
More details here: Wicked cool vlogging at Netscape
Originally from unmediated by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 1:46PM
I happen to be in Helsinki this week, and unlike back home, there’s lovely weather here right now. It might not be nice enough to justify the hassle of air travel, but it’s nice enough to start a blog post with. However, like many other parts of the world, Finland has seen unusually low rainfall this year. The locals keep telling me that it’s the least rain in over 100 years — and when the Finns are complaining about the heat and freakish weather patterns, the realities of global warming become strikingly apparent. Although, if they start discovering gold under the melting ice caps, Finland could easily become the next California.
On a brighter note, in one of those “it’s a small world” moments, I happened to hear that Matt Biddulph (www.hackdiary.com) was speaking at the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, and fortunately I was able to stop by. Matt gave a nice talk about “the Open Data Movement” — the idea that opening free access to data will be just as important in shaping the future internet as the open source software / free information movements have been.
Matt in action (and a little bit of Jukka’s ear, for you hardcore PyS60 stalker types ;-):
While I’m sharing pictures… Here’s a few more images I snapped with my N90 while walking about town:
A quick shot in front of the main train station:
A crowded tube stop:
Ghosts in the street:
Originally from [eriksmartt.com/blog] by reBlogged on Aug 17, 2006, 3:47PM
The YCombinator seeded and Rails-based Kiko is up for sale on ebay as the development team decided to move on.
Richard White, one of the developers, had some more to say on this blog and surprise, surprise it was even on techcrunch (am I the only person in the world whose stomach growls when I read “crunch†or is that just the fat boy in me?)
I’m trying to figure out exactly what it is that I find fascinating about this.
- That a group of seemingly young guys made a smart decision to move on from solo calendaring?
- That it’s actually tough to get customers?
- That it’s tough to keep the wind in the sails?
- That it’s tough to get past the seed stage for such a startup now?
- That it’s for sale on ebay? (!)
- That this time around (yes I’m referrring to the supposed other past version of the Web) ebay is even an option.
Yes it’s the ebay angle.
I love it.
Even the “Condition†is stated as “Usedâ€.
So far it’s at 0 bids with a starting bid of $49,999.99 (presumably that’s the standard supermarket trick of selling you something for $19.95; makes you feel like you’ve gotten a deal), but I’d really like to see a starting bid of $0 (go ahead and have a reserve back there) and then we can see how much it goes for.
For the buyer, what would makes this different from a typical acquisition of a seed-stage startup is that you’re only getting the application, not the team (usually you want the team), so the balancing act is whether something like this would allow a seasoned in-house team (who’d have to buy into it) to get something done faster, and therefore be cheaper than doing it all from scratch.
Well. Let’s see. There’s 8 days 23 hours left to the auction. I have my prediction.
Originally from Joyeur reBlogged
Justin Williams: Say Hello to Porchlight.
"It's with great pleasure that I introduce you to Porchlight, the first product from Second Gear. In summary, Porchlight is the bug tracker I have always wanted: lightweight, nonintrusive and attractive."
Nevermind the pic of the girl, I have a thing for Elisha Cuthbert as well.Originally from Gus's blog, adventures in Flying Meat. reBlogged
