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Digital RSS FeedsWhere Will They NOT Sell Advertising? - USAToday is reporting on a high school teacher in San Diego, who has started selling advertisements on his test papers in order to pay for printing costs for his class. He felt it was the only way to subsidize the costs of printing for his classroom; his budget is $300, but his printing costs about $500 per school year. Most ads, at this point, are pretty innocuous. Inspirational messages from parents top the list of ads, but ads have also been bought by local engineering firms and an orthodontist. What concerns me about this is that this marketing gives advertisers access to children. Our children are the most vulnerable to advertising, without the maturity and life experience to weed out the obnoxiousness that is advertising. I can block advertising when my kids surf (ad blocker plus for Firefox) and keep the television watching to a minimum, but if my kids are getting advertising at school on their tests and homework papers, I have absolutely no control over t...Feed Source: www.geeknewscentral.com GNC-2008-12-02 #428 The HP Magic Giveaway - I talk about the HP Magic Givaway and the concerns I have about what Ustream is doing at the beginning of the show along with a host of other things. Do not forget the People's Choice Podcast Awards Ceremony
Full Show Notes Click Here
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... Ustream.tv removing critical comments in Messsage Forum - Yesterday after seeing ads injected into my video stream I asked the question in the Ustream.TV forum if there was a way to shut the ads off. The reply was no. The moderator then closed the message topic from further comment.
Seeing he closed the message topic I posted a second message that outlined my concerns and hoped to get a constructive conversation going. Well they not only closed that discussion before anyone could respond they actually deleted the comment in order to stifle debate. This was a second slap in the face.
The question that needs to be asked does Ustream.TV want to have a conversation with it’s family of content contributors on their own site or do they want to have the conversation here?
I find it very curious in over 2 hours of viewing shows that are featured on the main page of Ustream.TV that none of those shows has the advertising we saw yesterday popping up. But as you dig in deeper, and leave the front page the advertising i... Ustream.TV pushing inline ads without warning. - Revised:
I am leaving Usream.TV as soon as possible. Large in part due to what happened during a live sponsored event on ustream when they started without warning pushing large advertisements into the content stream.
I did not opt into having ads jammed into my viewers face. It was ridiculous. The ads where completely inappropriate for our audience.
I would have gladly payed for a premium service to not have ads forced n my viewers. But now that they have done this without warning I am finished with them they have burned a bridge here.
This could not come at a worse time as I was planning on holding the Podcast Awards ceremony on their service. I will be looking at alternatives today and tomorrow. Mogulus is one possibility but their encoding is not as good as Ustream.
The way they initiated this is wrong. No warning nothing. I understand a company has to make money just give us a heads up that this is going to start.
... Tech Podcast Live Round Table Today! - We are starting today at 1pm Pacific / 4pm Eastern
To get the high quality video in the GotoMeeting session click this link.
Or you can watch the lower quality stream here
... HP Magic Giveaway First Week of Contest Launches -
Hey folks here is the first weeks worth of Contest Launch Dates and Awards Announcements. Each participating blog in the HP Magic Giveaway has it’s own Contest Launch Date and Award date. That way your not trying to do the contest in all 50 participating sites at once.
... November Tech Podcasts Network Round Table - Announcing the Nov Tech Podcast Round Table
Saturday November 29th
4pm Eastern 1pm Pacific
We have three presentations. That should be worthy of everyone's time.
Rob Greenlee from Zune to talk about the Zune and Podcasting Support
Andy McCaskey with a variety of Topics
Todd Cochrane to share his Live Podcast Setup
Should be a fun event and hope that you will join us for the live event.
To participate in the Round Table is very simple, 15 Minutes before we start Simply Click this link.
GotoMeeting will load automatically and then you can then choose to either dial in, or participate with a headset via VOIP. Mac users will want to tune in as well because my demo of GotoMetting will be done with a Mac. GotoMeeting Version 4 has 100% Mac Support as well as PC Support.
GotoMeeting is the official sponsor of the Tech Podcasts Round Table you can get a free no c... Palm TREO Pro Smartphone - The second Palm TREO phone I reviewed is the TREO Pro Smartphone. My initial impression out of the box was that it looked like a Blackberry but thats where the similarities stop.
It was running on Windows Mobile 6.1 that was probably my biggest surprise but again I have never used a TREO before so was not aware that they had went to Windows Mobile. The phone I received was connected to AT&T and was very fast when connecting to the Internet.
The phone also is Wi-Fi capable and hooking it to my home network resulted in very fast net access as one would expect. But once again loading web pages resulted in very disappointing results. I loaded at least a dozen of my favorite websites with the built in browser and pages just did not render well as compared to G1 and iPhone.
It really blows me away that TREO has not paid more attention to the w... Olive Green Palm Centro Review - Having never owned a Palm based phone I was curious to get my hands on the phones that the folks over at Palm sent over. The first unit I tested was the Palm Centro.
My litmus test was how well I could use the phone straight out of the box and in all honesty I was handicapped when I first started using it as I did not know that it was preferable to use a stylus.
After using other phones over the past couple of years that have had touch screens or did not require a stylus I felt this was like a step back in time.
The Web Browser was the first thing I loaded and after loading a web page or two I was highly disappointed as the browser stripped all of the graphics a... HEXBUG Review (A Cool Stocking Stuffer) - About 3–4 months ago I was exposed to a HEXBUG at some event I was at and found them to be pretty cool. So when the folks at HEXBUG sent me a couple to review I thought this would be something my kids would get into.
I am always getting products that I have to tell them hands off as I don’t want to have to send a product back damaged. But this time I said go for it.
I received both a Inchworm Micro Robotic Creature and a Crab Micro Robotic creature. The kids had them on just about any flat surface we had here. While my younger son 4 like the Crab Micro my older kids 11–12 liked the Inchworm Micro the best.
The Inchworm comes with a remote control and they were able to manipulate where they went easily. The... HP Magic Giveaway Gear Has Arrived! - Feast your eyes on the gear, that one lucky listener of the Geek News Central Podcast is going to win! Fedex guy asked me if these where Christmas presents my reply was yes to one very lucky person.
There are 50 sites giving away the same exact package. So be sure to visit the other sites in this promotion. The 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway will have giveaway contest from November 28th to Dec 22nd.
I will announce the date for our contest in the next few days. I will also be linking to the specific sites during their promotions so that you can participate in each of the programs.
... Mail In Rebates May Be in Jeopardy - First of all I must say: Yes, I am still waiting for my Iomega Zip drive rebate. When I purchased the drive and disks back in the mid 90's, I expected to get $70 back in rebates. I know I'm not going to get that back..
You might find this happening again, as Florida based Continental Promotion Group (CPG) filled for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection on Nov 14th. Since Canon uses CPG for rebates, they alerted their dealers a few days ago of the possible rebate issues.Canon also issued a statement saying they will cover rebates.
CPG offers many different items like rebates, Pre-Paid and Gift Cards, Sales rewards and Sweepstakes. They work with companies like Canon, Home Depot, Bed, Bath and Beyond, WOOT!, Costco, Fujitsu, Logitech, Motorola, Pricegrabber, Samsung, Staples, Westinghouse and XM Satellite. Their list goes on from there, with other companies in 120 countries.
CPG will borrow from some of the companies to get the rebates sent out. You might be a li... Take a Nap - Compelling new research from several universities is suggesting that naps can boost your memory. Our busy, 24/7 world keeps most of us from getting the sleep we need, and even worse, aging, sleep apnea, or just being a parent can rob you of consistent all-night sleeping that repairs your memory in the slow-wave sleep cycle. It turns out that it is not really the length of sleep that is important, but the quality of sleep that matters. Good sleep is better than long fragmented sleeping.
One study taught a group of subjects two-character Chinese words over a several hour period. At the end of that time, half of the group was allowed a 90-minute nap. Afterwards, the entire group was tested using Chinese words they had not learned in the previous learning session. Those who had a nap were able to infer certain characteristics from the characters they learned and actually did well on the tests, while the non-sleeping group failed.
During slow-wave sleep, the hypotha... GNC-2008-11-24 #427 Live from the homestead - I did not get the notification before the show but you will want to listen to the next show for details on how you can win $6000.00 in gear in our HP Magic Giveaway. See the link in the show notes for the prize details.
Full Show Notes Links Here!
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... The HP Magic Giveaway! - Our biggest giveaway ever is now underway. Geek News Central and 49 other sites will each be giving away $6000.00 dollars in HP Prizes. This site along with the 49 others will be giving you a chance to win during the HP Magic Giveaway!
The list of prizes are impressive. The chances to win are many. But the most important factor for this contest is that you listen to this coming Friday’s edition of the Geek News Central Podcast for the details on how you can win.
Here are the list of prizes that I will give away to one lucky winner.
... My Take on the Justin.tv Suicide - Over the last few days, more information has come out about the teen suicide viewed by hundreds of people on Justin.tv. The situation is sad, and was likely avoidable, but I'm going to resist blaming the people watching on the internet for letting it happen.
The young man in question, Abraham Biggs, was obviously troubled, and had more than once threatened to commit suicide, both in his real life and in his online activities. He had even attempted suicide at least twice, but had been stopped both times. The only people who knew for sure what Abraham was going through was his his own family and those that surrounded him in real life.
While it is tragic that this had to happen with an audience, much of the audience in question had heard the same threats from Abraham in the past, and did not believe he was serious about actually committing suicide. When he took pills, his viewers didn't know if it was a handful of relatively harmless tylenol, or something much more ... Stop Giving Me Software I Don't Need - Every day, it seems, when I boot up my computers, each one wants me to update iTunes and add Safari. It doesn't matter how many times I say no, and click quit, every day the stupid install window keeps coming back up. And there is no way to permanently turn this off. At least, not that I've found.
Java wants to do the same thing. We cannot run the latest Java here at work because it breaks one of our enterprise systems that are critical to business functions. Fortunately, you can remove the Java Updater from the control panel on most machines to make the annoying popup telling you there's a new install of Java not pop up every day. But every once in a while, that updater seems to reinstall itself on my machine and I have to delete it again.
My annoyance today is the Sandisk Cruzer. It comes with the U3 operating system installed, and self-installs on any machine you plug the device into. This tiny operating system then gives you tools you don't need, like cop... The importance of choice - I got back from holiday this week to discover that the work on my kitchen and bathroom was far from the completed state it was supposed to be. Considering that we left the house to avoid being without these facilities it is very annoying. The upshot of this is that the family is now stationed at my father-in-laws house. This is not a hotbed of new technology. Until I go back to work and pick up my 3G card I am forced to revert to dial-up for my Internet access.
Just getting online this way proved to be a challenge. The modem in my laptop has never been used. Luckily I'm a pack rat so I still had the driver CD in my case. With the modem making sounds and dialing my home number I only needed to work out what number to actually dial. I tried calling my broadband provider, no luck there. I also tried my phone provider as they might have a dial-up service. They did and would let me use it if I signed up for a 1 year plan at the bargain price of 75 dollars. Finally I tr... Our Biggest Prize Giveaway Ever! - Folks you are going to want to pay attention to Geek News Central over the next 3–4 days as we have a promotion that is forthcoming that is simply going to blow you away.
If you are not subscribed to my Podcast you will need to listen to win. How to win the multiple thousands of dollars in prizes will be announced on the show. One very lucky listener anywhere in the world is going to win a fantastic prize. I cannot wait to reveal what we will be giving away.
Oh and there is a special twist to this as well that we will reveal in the next 3–4 days. Someone is going to have an amazing Christmas!... GNC-2008-11-21 #426 Interesting Mix of Content Tonight - Very serious discussion at the end of the show about the Justin.tv suicide. Please folks make sure you take care of one another. Very stressful times we are in we need to take care of one another more than ever.
Link to complete topic notes and links to articles covered in todays show
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... Broadcaster Dies on Justin.tv. - I remember scanning though the uStream channels one night. A young girl, head wrapped in a veil but exposing her breasts to the ustream public. I also remember other issues of questionable content online or even on TV.
Apparently on Justin.tv, a broadcaster was pushed by his viewers to take a high dose of pills. He did so and died. The 19 year old was pronounced by the Broward County medical examiner.
While this is a travesty, it also sounded like this kid tried to do this before. Whether he was looking for a way out via video or not is hard to say. The end result though is all too real.
Hopefully this will not impede on Justin.tv, ustream, Seasmic or any of the other sites out there. Unfortunate as this may be, it was also bound to happen. Hundreds of feeds out there and some of them are not being viewed by anyone.
There should be a way for these companies to monitor what is out there. But once again - hundreds of videos. Some of them are here and... Tricaster Died Tonight - Well for some unknown reason in the middle of my live recording tonight my Tricaster died. Will be calling tech support in the morning to find out what the procedure is.
I can only shudder to think if this had happened during the 24hr Podcast or the Podcast Awards. I am not a happy camper at the moment.
Update RMA Issued by Newtek and the box is Fedex Overnight to San Antonio. The folks there have been nice enough to do a rush repair. Hopefully it is back in my hands next week.... GNC-2008-11-18 #425 Jam Packed Show - Back in the saddle tonight after taking the night off last night more details on the show. The 24hr Podcast has been postponed till December 20-21 but until then the show goes on.
Link to complete Show Notes!
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... Tech Podcast Network at CES 2009 - Andy McCaskey one of the team members going to CES 2009 representing Tech Podcast has put up a informational page on how companies can work with us to get great exposure during the 2009 event.
As we get closer to the event we will be populating the page with data on what our planned schedule is and introduce the additional team members.
Our Team Coverage begins on January 6th 2009 Live from Las Vegas www.tpnces.com... TiVo a Pizza - TiVo and Domino's have joined forces to get you your favorite pie without picking up the phone. You will be able to access your TiVo and like a website - order your pizza, soda and sides to be delivered in 30 minutes.
This is not a good move, it's an interesting one. Services through your media box might just spawn some new ideas. Just like Grand Theft Auto - if you like a song, you can get it from Amazon.com. What if you were watching a movie on your Apple TV or VooDoo box and before you order the movie, you get a special on Pizza, Chicken or whatever. Maybe even your movie purchase could mean a coupon waiting at your favorite store.
Yep, the days of the Yellow Pages seem to be numbered. Then again, you might just see THAT on your TiVo or Apple TV. ... 24hr Podcast Postponed! - The 24hr Podcast has been postponed. This afternoon my grandfather of 99 years passed away. I will be traveling to Michigan to attend the funeral. While I understand the disappointment of not being able to do the event this Saturday and Sunday I am sure you all understand.
My plan is to do the event the weekend of December 20 and 21st which will match the exact weekend we did the event last year.
Todd Cochrane... 24 Hour Podcast Apperance Opportunities! - For the second year in a row, I will be hosting the 24hr Podcast which is a non stop event that will cover podcasting, technology, new media, podcast advertising and a host of other topics.
This years event kicks off on Saturday Dec 20th at 11am EST and finishes up 24hrs later! This years event is to raise money for disabled veterans. We have a goal to raise $3000.00 this year. Last years event was highly successful
During the 24hr Podcast, I have a number of slots open for podcasters to come in share their stories and talk about their podcasts. Last year nearly 30 segments were recorded that have been downloaded and listened to over 600,000 times.
If you would like to be considered for a seg... GNC-2008-11-14 #424 (1) Week till 24hr Podcast - If you want to be on the 24 hour podcast formally in a time slot let me know now. Also we will have time slots of open talk story time that will not be structured so it should be a fun event. Lot's of Science in the show tonight!
Link to Complete Show Notes
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... Flip Mino HD Review! - Just about 30 minutes ago the UPS driver dropped me a Flip Mino HD. I pulled it out of its case turned it towards me and recorded this video. I then plugged the camera into my USB port and used the FlipShare application that resides on the camera and added a couple of titles to the video and pushed it to YouTube.
Total time to when it arrived to when the video was uploaded to YouTube was just about 15 minutes. More after the video!
Please note that the Video that on my hard drive before YouTube encoding is... Gunnar Optiks Glasses Review - Nearly two week ago I received a set of glasses from Gunnar Optiks that are being touted by the company as being digital performance eyewear. Which as you use them is supposed to relieve a lot of the effects many of us get by sitting in front of the computer for hours at a time.
Testing eyewear can be a very subjective thing so I wanted to really see if I could determine if the glasses were having a positive effect on my eyes over the course of two weeks. My strategy included wearing them for three days straight while sitting at the computer then not wear them for three days.
I kept a log of typical things that happen to me after a day of sitting at the computer. Primarily headaches, dry eyes etc. What I have c... Solar Panel Technology Continues to Develop - As most of you know, I'm a rather passionate advocate of alternative sources of energy, most notably solar. A new development from scientists from the Future Chips Constellation (FCC) at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York have created the coating using nanotechnology - engineering at the molecular level, to create a boost to traditional solar panel captures.
A non-reflective coating, comprised of seven extremely thin layers, each about 50 to 100 nanometers in height, is made of silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide nanorods positioned at an oblique angle. This non-reflective ability, and the angle, allow solar energy to be captured even at non-optimal angles. This means that during the course of a day, more actual energy-grabbing hours can be effectively used than with traditional single-layer panels. In addition, the layers do not have to meet exacting standards of thickness, removing much of the tedious manufacturing that must currently be completed to cre... Alzheimer's: Not Just a Treatment, But Now a Cure? - Researchers from my own city (St. Louis University) have discovered a particular hormone that, when manipulated, can allow disease relief directly into the brain. One of the biggest roadblocks to recovering from brain injuries is the blood-brain barrier, a sort of ?gatekeeper? that keeps injurious chemicals out of the brain. Its unique construction also blocks out drugs that might be able to help in the case of brain injuries.
The researchers describe the blood brain barrier as a sort of bouncer at an exclusive nightclub. While the bouncer welcome those on the approved guest list, it looks for trouble-makers trying to crash the party, refuses to let them in and evicts them if they do get in. The researchers were able to identify the particular bouncer responsible for keeping out the hormone PACAP27, which regulates general admission. By altering a molecule, the blood brain barrier was then able to let in PACAP27. The entrance of this hormone allowed repair of damage fro... Paid Too Much For Your LCD Television? - The government is levelling fines from three LCD producers, including the venerated LG. Apparently, LG, Sharp, and Chunghwa all conspired to fix prices on their LCD products, including televisions, computer monitors, and cell phone screens. The fines total $585 million.
What's disappointing in these types of anti-trust and anti-competitive charges and pleadings, is that the people that were overcharged (that would be you and me) will not reap any of the benefits. That money goes to the government, right into the general revenue fund.
If this had been a class action suit, we might have all gotten $20 in discounts or credits or something. But we're not getting anything out of this deal.
Still, I'm glad that anti-competitive legislation is in place, and that those policies are enforced. At least companies can't get away with conspiratorial price fixing without some oversight. But I know in the end, we the customers will be paying for the judgment these com... Holiday Toys - I'm starting to put my list together for Santa for the holidays. Yes, Geeks can have dreams too!
Starting off, I've already purchased some things for the kids, including Sansa 8 gb MP3 players. These sweet little units are as powerful as the iPod without the costly risk of replacement when they get banged around too much. While I would love to get them all iPods, I don't think they'd survive the hustle and bustle of my teens.
I, myself, am looking at the new HD-capable Flip camera. Sweet at $229 and I could have so much fun with such a thing. I mean, I could do so much important work with this thing. Yeah, that's the ticket. The Flip Mino HD looks just like earlier versions of the Flip, only it films in HD. It shoots video in 1280x720 720p resolution, wider than the previous 640x480 size, and touts one-click uploads to websites like YouTube, MySpace and AOL Video. You can also upload to Vimeo and bleep.tv, which will actually upload your video in its origi... If You Can't Get Them to Come to You... - Then you should come to them!
That's Sears' stand, anyway. After a terribly failed attempt last year to get people to join their online community, which was just a glorified way to spread their advertising, they have found a new tactic.
Users of Facebook can now "become a fan" of Sears, and get a $5 gift card for their trouble. Considering you can't buy a single thing at Sears for $5, this is a thinly disguised attempt to get people into the store, or onto their online site, to spend money. If they can't get you to come to them, then it's easy to just come on over to a place that already exists and get potential customers' attention there.
I'm a Facebook user, but I won't be becoming a fan of Sears any time soon. These kinds of questionable sales tactics always turn me off. Even less reason now for me to shop at Sears, although I wasn't a huge fan before.... GNC-2008-11-11 #423 24hr Podcast Date Announced - The 24 Hour Podcast will be November 22nd and 23rd. If you want to be on the show or know of someone that should be on the event I need your help in filling the 24 hours with great content.
To See Full Show Notes Click Here
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... 24 Hour Podcast Announcement - For the second year in a row, I am planning to do a 24hr Podcast. Last years event www.24hrpodcast.com was a huge success. We raised a significant amount of money and was able to contribute 5 OLPC laptops to needy children around the world.
This year I will be raising money for disabled veterans with the goal of raising $3000.00. Pledging is starting today! You can pledge now, and pay later by sending a email to geeknews@gmail.com and pledge the amount you feel you can afford we will send payment info later.
I had hoped to do this event in December but my schedule is such that I am going to shoot for doing the event the weekend of November 22nd & 23rd. I have to get the schedule together quickly within the next 10 days.
If you have a compelling story and it surrounds the new media space, technology or science. I would love to get you on the schedule for the event... Podcast Awards Winner Announcement Today! - The 2008 People’s Choice Podcast Awards Winner announcement happens today at 4pm Pacific / 7 PM Eastern / 1AM GMT. Watch here or join chat at live event at www.podcastawards.com
... Podcast Awards Winner Announcement - On Sunday November 9th at 4pm PST / 7pm EST or 1am GMT I will announce the 2008 People's Choice Podcast Awards Category Winners. This will be a live streamed event from the PodcastAwards.com.
Within the next week we will announce the date for the Awards Ceremony where we will announce the People's Choice and Best Produced category winners. During the awards ceremony you will get to hear from each of the 22 category winners through a interactive online event.
This years event has run very smoothly, if it had not been from the 46 volunteers from my podcast this event would never have been possible so huge Mahalo to them. I hope that you take the time and check out all of the podcast that were nominated, they all have highly engaged audiences whose host are podcasters that have found the magic to grow significant audiences.
Through our Sponsors support they have allowed us to buy the cool prizes that ma... Did You Notice Something About the GNC Podcast? - In my daily routine, I download a lot of podcasts. I figure it's part of my job - I podcast, therefore I should listen to other podcasters. For Instance, I am listening to a new cast (for me) called the Geek Rodeo Cast. Geek News Central, SDR News, Totally Cool Tech Podcast, Caffination Podcast, TWIT and many others.
And yes, I listen to my podcast, too (Geekazine). I figure if I cannot get through my own podcast, how would I expect others to? In listening, I can also catch any issues. I just heard another podcast that started, but was only 2 minutes in length, when it should have been 30.
So I was downloading Todd's podcast today when I noticed it was taking a lot longer. The other shows had completed, so I just figured it was a connection issue. As I always say: The Internet is always as fast as it's slowest connection.
When I started to listen to the show, I noticed the quality. Now I know that Todd had issues with his mixing board and went to get a new... Interview about TechPodcasts.com on the DV Show - Check out this Video interview I did with the team at the DV Show. I talk about the Tech Podcast Network along with some of the cool things we are doing at RawVoice. The DV Show
Thanks to the Team over there for the opportunity to talk about the network.... GNC-2008-11-07 #422 Important Announcements in this Show - Info on the Podcast Awards Winner Announcement also big thanks to the folks at Blue Mics for stepping up with prizes. Check out the latest Round Table at TechPodcasts.com.
Link to Full Show Notes with all Links to Today's Commentary
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... Gary Vaynerchuk responds to Howard Sterns Social Media Rant - Gary had a great response to some things Howard Stern has to say about social media. For those of you that have been holding back from jumping into new media you should listen to this.
On a side note you all know that I have said since 2004 that the new media evolution will continue to force those in the traditional media space to change or become irrelevant.
... Using Social Media in the Election - One thing you have to hand to the Obama campaign they knew how to use Social Media effectively during the campaign. The Republicans can learn some lessons from this and so can some companies.
Many of the things the Obama camp did cost them nothing but one of their staffers time to make sure they were engaged. One instance was the utilization of Ustream.tv
As many of you know I have been using Ustream for the live portion of my podcast and while I draw small crowd in the middle of the night. The Obama team would put a live Ustream Channel at ever speaking event he went to and thousands would tune in.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, they used blog commenters and bloggers effectively to neutralize negative commentary. With a dedicated group of staffers watching blogs they would pounce on sites almost instantly when someone had a negative thing to say and used blogs to essentially blast the competition.
Very effective use of technology was key... FCC Opens "White Space" - As we had hoped, the FCC has approved opening the "white space" that was being reserved in the TV broadcast spectrum for the last fifty years. It has been a four-year process, and has finally come to the conclusion it should have all along.
This, despite protests from every broadcast entity in the country. So much for big business having all the say. Under the FCC's plan, white space spectrum will be unlicensed and free ? like Wi-Fi ? to anybody who wants to use it. In some markets, there's enough white space to fill a half dozen TV channels.
They have put in place safeguards that should allay any broadcasting fears that currently exist. "Safe zones" where the white space cannot be used, like around entertainment venues or near broadcast points for traditional television broadcasters. Other entities can ask for safe zone treatment from the FCC.
The opening of this broadcast space bodes well for innovation. Right now, devices to use the space are not ava... Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes - Ok folks, the comment spam over here has just gotten to be amazingly thick, to the point that I am not even sure if any real person has commented since Lumpy about a month ago. Therefore, I am moving to a new site for my blog. The Geeks Blog is to be found by combining the bold words and adding a dot com, and it will be the new location for my blog. It's using the new Movable Type 3.33, and will have more restrictive commenting. If you want to comment, and have your comment show up within 3 months, I recommend TypeKey.
This install will no longer accept any comments unless you use that. I will not be going through comment spam any more over there, than I do now, which is to say once every 3 months. I know a few of you do use that, and I thank you. For those that do not, and you know who you are, I would recommend that step. It's not hard, and does give you access to a not insignificant portion of the blogging c... I'm back baby! - Due to the kindness of a Shadow Walker, my guild in World of Warcraft, I am back in World of Warcraft. The last time I played was the 28th of June, and I must say that taking the break I did has helped, I think. I no longer feel the need to be around and in game all the time. My two main characters are 60, I am happy with my life outside of game, and I am excited about the stuff we have heard so far about the expansion.
My Druid will get to fly, my Paladin will get to be a real tank, taunt and all, if I go that route. There is going to be a lot of new content to explore when the expansion hits, and lots to explore in the world of outlands. From the minimal research I have done, checking fan sites, Google Video and YouTube, it looks awesome. For those who haven't doing the obcessive research I have, the videos that have popped up online are showing stuff like what one sees upon passing through the dark portal.
This is including an as yet unnamed pit lord, though rep... Dogs and jerks - I was reading through the Free Press today and I noticed in the Top News, they dedicated 2 pages, excluding ads, to the story of a couple who broke up a fair time ago amidst betrayal and pain. Belinda Stronach, for you non Americans out there, was a Conservative Party Member of Parliament, who 'crossed the aisle' to join the Liberals when the Liberals were still in power, in a failed attempt to save their failing run of leadership. In doing so, she also left her boyfriend, fellow Conservative MP Peter McKay.
Some are saying that recent alleged comments by McKay in the House of Commons are justified, and yet others say that inaction by the Conservative leadership is a sign that the party has no respect for women. My view? Having had my share of betrayal and heartache, I can see that McKay might feel a tad betrayed and still a little angry. Does that make what he said right, fair, or proper? Hell no. Do I think it should make headline news for days? Not in the least. It's a g... And the test results say.... - Gall Stones. Uggh. I have to consult with my doctor regarding 'surgical options' which I am informed may mean removal of my gall bladder, which could mean no more of most of the foods I like the most. I'll keep you up to date on the info as I have it. Now, I think I am going to drown my sorrows in.. a big glass of Crystal Light flavored water. ... All the pretty lights behind my eyes... - Wee, the pretty, pretty lights. I just got back from the pharmacy, and the hospital before that. I am proud of the fact I don't partake of illegal drugs, but I will be happy to occasionally be shot full of morphine and be high as a kite. I was in the hospital because the pain that hit me on Wednesday night, and then again on Thursday night, came back. I thought when it hit me again Thursday, I thought maybe it was just that I had eaten greasy food too much, and I stopped. But last night I ate not much of anything, never mind greasy foods, and this morning I woke up in extreme pain again.
Thankfully my parents stopped by shortly there after, and kindly took me to the hospital. They think it is something to do with my gall bladder, I think they said(I was rather hazy due to morphine) and advised I call for an ultra sound ASAP. We'll see what happens, I guess. Now, I am going to stop fighting it and go back to letting the morphine knock me out. Bye. [Addition: I forgot to m... This ain't good - I am thinking, and I may be wrong on this, but I think that agonizing pain in ones abdomen is not a good thing. I am not sure if it's what I had for lunch, which was a rather large burger at a newly opened cafe downtown, or if it's something worse, but I left work half an hour before I was off and I have just found it impossible to sit, or lie, or be still. The pain if bad when I am moving around, but it is ten times worse when I am not moving. I think I need to go to bed, or at least try. Good thing I have tomorrow off. ... Thoughts on 9.11, 5 years later - So here we sit. 5 years after an event that almost as much impact on the world as Pearl Harbor did back in the Second World War. It is a time when our nature as caring people, as emotional beings, forces us to reflect, to ponder, and toa recall. As a music fan, times like these make me thing back. Garth Brooks wrote a song after his home state of Oklahoma, was attacked, and it comes to my mind. The chorus is below.
And I hear them saying you?ll never change things and no matter
What you do its still the same thing
But its not the world that I am changing I do this so this
World will know that it will not change me.
That song reminds me that we cannot let events like that bombing, like the events of 5 years ago, bring us down. I will, though, let these events change me. We must excel and keep ourselves alive. That is how I will let them change me. I will let them remind me I am alive. I will allow them to show me that as long as I breathe, as long a... Why there will never be an iPod killer - I know, it's a bold statement. But I feel it is true, and here is why. There are too many 'iPod killers' out there. The market is saturated. Apple made a device that was a revolution in the technology sector. They did it, and were unique and innovative at a time when no one else, or very few others, where there. They did what Apple does. They made a cool looking device with neat features and they listened to the customers in what they wanted in their device.
Now we have every maker of flash memory, several who just make electronics in general, and several others who just have nothing to do with their billions, primarily Microsoft, jumping in to the market. Here is the problem, and it's the same one that anyone trying to dethrone Microsoft from it's market share, in Office and OS. Linux could have dethroned Microsoft. I firmly believe this. The problem is that there became too many flavors, too many different things for different tastes. Microsoft, for all it's bad things, d... Good weekend planned - This should be one of my busiest weekend since I moved last. i have plans today and tomorrow, and was out after work yesterday. Yesterday was a party for several people at work who are getting promoted, some within and some to out of my department. During my lunch I went down and raised a drink, and then after work I went back for the other two of the day. Today I am supposed to be biking out to the Bridge's Drive Inn on Jubilee, one of the cities most renowned ice cream places, for a little of the cold stuff before it gets too cold out.
Tomorrow, myself and the same person are supposed to be meeting up at The Forks, I will be taking pictures of another coworker doing some break dancing, and then we'll head back to my place where i am making dinner, and wine shall be tasted. Should be a fun and entertaining weekend, full of interesting conversations, people, and occasions. [Update:She didn't show for Ice Cream or dinner.]... It's Mine!!! - I am overjoyed to sit here and write that I am not the proud possessor of a set of keys to my proper suite, the suite I should have had access to 1 month ago. That is correct, I have the keys to my home, and will be moving my stuff in tomorrow. Unfortunately the situation is not clear-cut there. I am now told that not only do they want me out by the end of the day tomorrow, but also they have someone moving in the 1st. In my honest opinion, these people learned nothing from the situation with me.
They still expect everything to be perfect, and then they let people down when it is less than perfect. The carpet in the suite I am in now needs to be changed, the tiles in the bathroom need to be fixed, in my opinion there needs to be a real counter put in, and at least one window needs complete replacement. Alas, it is no longer my concern. I will be in my new home tomorrow night, and although it will be a little hectic trying to get all the stuff worked out, I am sure with all ... Changes afoot - Let's see. Where to start. First, I am told the current estimate for my proper suite, the one I should have been in on the 1st of August should be ready to go sometime this week. I have Thursday off, ironically the 31st, so I expect they will be trying to push me to have my stuff moved into my proper suite by Thursday midnight. Whether that actually occurs, I would have to say, would highly depend on when I get my keys. My plan at this time is to set up the desk first, bring up the various pieces of wood from the current suite and the basement, then move all the boxes from the basement storage area first, using the dolly I have.
Those will go into my bedroom and living room for later sorting. Then I will bring up the dishes and food from my current suite. Most of this should be doable in the first night or two after work, assuming I get the keys Tuesday or earlier. On Thursday I hope to have a few hand to help move all the big stuff, my bed, couch, coffee table and more, up... I'mmmmmm Baaaaaaaack!! - I am completely overjoyed to be back online. I have 5 solid bars on my wifi signal, and in even better news, I am told they hope to give me access to the other suite over the weekend. I have downloaded a good sized chunk of podcasts, and over 3000 emails on my extra accounts alone, not even touching my main email address yet. I have much to do, many places to go, and many things to get caught up on. I will try to better post in the next day or two. ... MTS does it again - Well, my Internet connection is working and fully functional upstairs. Over a Cat5 cable. Sadly, as I am downstairs in a different apartment still, this does little to help me. Apparently in the repeated attempts to actually get someone out to actually install my TV service at my planned apartment, which included repeated mentions of the desire for a home networking kit, no one thought I might actually want a home networking kit, which comes with a wireless router, which would allow me to get online from where I am presently. Go figure.
So now my internet is live in the other suite, I am still netless at the place I am in now, and someone is coming out tomorrow to rectify this situation. I am, though, getting a few concessions on the billing side to make the pain that is this last 3 weeks a little more bearable. I will end up paying nothing for the router install, which for some moronic reason costs $100, for the install alone, not including the router, which is property... Stargate SG-1 cancelled - I heard via the Buzz Out Loud podcast tonight that SciFi has declared that this, the 10th season of Stargate SG-1, will be the last. I would like to say I am surprised by this, but I am not. I am, though, saddened by this announcement. I liked the Stargate movie that came out in the early 90's. It wasn't until, I think, the 3rd or 4th season when I came across SG-1, due to the fact that, even though it is filmed in Canada, it did not air in the normal fashion. I believe we were 2 or 3 years behind at the time.
In fact It was aired in several European countries before it aired here in Canada. I recall oddly downloading low res versions of the first few years off a site called SG1Archives, which has since become a news site. The world of Gao'uld, Asgaard, Replicators and more drew me in to the series and I fell in love with the world. I watched excitedly as the series progressed, and then branched off into the Atlantis series. I was sad when I saw O'Neill become a General, kn... KYR Episode 2 released! - I am very happy to tell you all I have finally had the chance to upload the latest episode of Know Your Role, Episode 2, recorded August 11th. The topics are many, the length is about an hour and a half, and the echo is horrendous. I am recording episode 3 tonight, and hope to be online from home by Wednesday night, so hopefully will be able to upload the 3rd episode then. Enjoy my thoughts on the Burning Crusade, Patch 1.12: Drums of War, and democracy in WoW, I present the Offline Edition of Know Your Role.
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