Pages Tagged Digital
Life in the Cloud: The Google Cr48 Pilot Program
These strangeres appeared when I did an image search for Cloud Computing Unicorn Zen
Thanks to some serendipitous luck, yours truly kindly received one of the 60,000 computers Google has produced for their Cr-48 Chome Notebook Pilot Program. This little act of corporate charity been enough to inspire me to write more regularly about stuff I like to do. I assume Google is watching everything I do, and hope that their engineers flip the webcam on only when I’m fully clothed.
The Cr48 is feather light on processing power, storage capacity, and weight. It lacks moving parts. It’s a Cloud Computing terminal for storing and retrieving information from the Web and gliding through the etheral networks of the Internet.
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HTML 5 Video
This came up in an image search for 'Flash' and 'Apple'.
There are many articles and blog posts about the brewing fight between Apple and Adobe over flash. There’s usually one of two takes on the subject. The first is about why Adobe or Apple are in the right about the fight. The second is a discussion about the technical merits of HTML 5 video, Flash video, and the like.
None of this really matters to the bulk of digital media professionals, though. In fact, the only thing that really matters is what the consequences of this fight mean to the people who have to make the blogs, the websites, the applications, and more for all the users out there who don’t care about who “wins” in this latest iteration of web wars.
The short version: If you’re running video on the web, make flash websites, have existing legacy flash sites, and more, be prepared to build a different version of your site for these other platforms. If this concept feels familiar, it is. It’s the latest iteration of broadband vs. dial-up websites, Windows Vs. Quicktime Vs. Real, Mobile Vs. Web, and more. In 12 to 18 months, there may be another ‘battle’ over standards, formats, and the like, and this current ‘battle’ will have likely been settled for a short time. In the interim, though, be ready for some early 2000 style web chaos.
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More thoughts from a book shopper
This is from an article about book trailers, which I'm not sure is the best idea, but it's a neat picture.
I love to read. I am often indifferent about whether I am reading paper or words on a screen. If I am reading a book, it often doesn’t matter to me whether the book is on paper or on a screen.
For some people this distinction is important. They may only want a paper book or an electronic book. Lots of smart people are seeing a future where more people will want to read electronic books instead of paper books.
But the thing to remember is that books, whether they are printed as pixels or ink or even cuneiform on stone, are still something people want to read. We like to read. As a species, we are wired and cultured to read. More on that in another blog post.
So, people still want to read books. Books will still need to be published. People will keep writing and reading them. Books, as a cultural information format, aren’t going anywhere.
The question isn’t whether books, or the publishing of books, will disappear. The question is what format the manufacture and distribution of books will take in the coming years.
Or, to put it another way, what would have gotten me to purchase the book I just bought on O’Reily’s website at the bookstore?
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Thoughts from a book shopper
The article that this picture originally comes from has more footnotes than mine, check it out
I was working on an update to this site recently, and found myself stuck on a php problem. When you get stuck on a problem, if you’re anything like me you want an answer sooner rather than later.
I started with google. After some searching there, I went to wordpress to find a plugin, or maybe something in the codex to help me solve the issue. From there, I went broader and looked for php and mysql issues that could help me explain what was happening. Finally, I decided that I needed expertise beyond the unstrucured answers I was finding. I was also ready to pay for an answer.
Some people might turn to experts exchange, or a trusted friend to find the answer. I have a DIY personality, so my next stop was Amazon.com to look for books on the subject in which I was interested.
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Social Media is the Rock and Roll of the Digital Generation
Can you make heads or tails out of this EP cover?
I was at breakfast last Sunday with some friends, both baby boomers. Inevitbly, the subject of social media came up. As I listened, I felt myself mystified and completely understanding. The jist of the conversation was that social media was dangerous, strange, poisoning America’s youth, and (on some level) contributing to their social malformation.
The whole discussion reminded me of the 1960s and rock music.
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The story of SUB POP Records
If SUB POP was a person it would be looking at 30 by now.
I read a post on The New Sleekness about the Publishing Industry that reminded me of the story of Sub Pop, as I know it.
In the early 80s, Bruce Pavitt was a college student who really loved music. He also needed college credits. Searching for a way marry the two, he took action and created a ‘zine dedicated to American independent music. Thus was born “Subterranean Pop”, a Washington State journal of all things musical, regional, and awesome. Readers of the ‘zine knew that what they read in the pages would introduce them to music they wouldn’t have found otherwise and that they would likely enjoy. There were 9 issues of the ‘zine produced. By the time Pavitt joined local music newspaper ‘The Rocket’ in 1986 with his column ‘Sub Pop U.S.A.’, he was well-versed in the world that he loved and was gaining street cred with other musicphiles.
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InBox Zero and GTD
This about.com article tells non-profits not to spam.
Email can be stressful. Left unmanaged, it’s the never ending junk mail pile. Imagine every email in your inbox as a piece of paper. If you have a few hundred or thousand in there, it looks like a nightmare. Imagine if that was your desk. People walk by, see your inbox stacked with a thousand sheets, you would get nods of sympathy. Worse, if you’ve got other people who are depending on answers from you, they know not to rely on you if you’ve got an inbox that looks like that.
Years before I started doing this, I decided what that I wanted a more productive, lower stress day. For me, it started with “Becoming an Email Ninja“ by Merlin Mann. That, coupled with healthy regular doses of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” got me to the dull, quiet email management system I have now – a welcome change to the situation that preceded it.
For anyone interested, here’s a cut-to-the-chase down and dirty explanation of how I’m doing this.
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Outdated Concepts: Web 2.0
I pulled this from a blog about a church on the web.
You’re at a meeting with a colleague, or drinks with friends, or at one of those conferences where there’s lots of whiteboards and headsets. Your colleague, client or friend is nervous. They know that they’re behind. They need reassurance. They are willing to buy a drink for anyone that can help. Free drinks are at stake.
Another friend, or colleague, or maybe a competitor steps up to calm them down. Your frenemy says, “What you need to do is think a little more Web 2.0.” Or words to that effect.
When you hear the term Web 2.0 you have one mission. Nip it in the bud. At best, Web 2.0 will steer the conversation in the wrong direction. At worst, Web 2.0 will take your friend down the wrong path as they think about what they need to do. Worse yet, you’ll watch as that person who just dropped a smoke bomb walks away with that free drink that should be yours!
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Outdated Concepts: viral marketing
This is from an unrelated Media Bistro article.
You’re at a lunch, or with a client, or out somewhere talking digital stuff with your own universe of digerati. Your client, your colleague, or maybe even you, suddenly find words like these spilling out of your mouth. “We want this site to go viral.” Inside, you want to die a little. Outside, you can see people nodding along. That’s a sign of trouble right there.
The point of this isn’t to make fun of anyone for not being hip or knowledgeable enough about terms. Just that, using these particular terms in 2010 doesn’t mean anything, and unnecessarily clouds what could be an interesting discussion.
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AT&T: Our 3G is bad
I'm not in Congress anymore.
AT&T has finally admitted that they know their 3G is bad by asking the FCC, “Can we ditch landline service?” Of course, this doesn’t mean that they are letting the public in on the idea that they are a data access provider. On the contrary, they will continue to operate under the idea that they are selling apples to people.
We’re so used to buying product that we tend to appreciate costs when they are presented to us in those terms. What I mean is, we’re used to buying apples, and if an item is presented to us as an apple, we’ll say, “How much is that apple?” Then the apple-seller says, “This apple costs this much.” And then we buy the apple.
But digital things aren’t really things, and they definitely aren’t apples.
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