Inside View

OPML Revision Notes

OPML EVANGELIST James Corbett would probably enjoy hearing that third level multimedia programming students are collaborating on revision topics by sharing pertinent information via an OPML jumplist. Once it contains items of true interest to the reading public, I'll offer the parent file for peer review. The idea emerged after a classroom visit by a graduate.

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MP3s on Amazon

JUST ABOVE Jonathan Brazil's context-sensitive advertisement for Amazon comes news on his blog via UK Times Online that Amazon and Universal have followed Apple and EMIs lead on the retail of DRM free MP3s. I've only seen classical tracks offered that way through Amazon promotions. I'm with Jonathan and prefer "life (without) controlling DRM technology", and if I can't get that, I butter my life without toast. I also like life with context-sensitive advertisements.

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Jacqui Cheng -- "Bring it on, iTunes: Amazon readying DRM-free music service"
Cory Doctorow -- Universal and Amazon to sell DRM-free MP3s"
Jonathan Brazil-- "Amazon Go Universal with MP3"

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Removing the Clutter

AFTER SERVING more than 5m pages across five different websites, I have learned that much of what I offer online spills over the side without being noticed because of how it's presented. Too much stuff looks cluttered so I am removing content clutter on this blog during the next two months and rebadging it as well. Newsfeeds will remain intact, only the on-screen appearances will change. I've several reasons for reducing the information here.

Hoping London Cloud Wins

THE CLOUD enabled a mesh network for the City of London today, effectively creating the largest wi-fi city network in Europe. For the next 30 days, The Cloud will provide free access in association with Nokia, allowing anyone with a WiFi-enabled device to get online for broadband internet access on the move. Should the London experience earn positive coverage in the business press, it will be easier to replicate the concept in Irish cities.

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Sam Sethi -- "London Wi-Fi Free for a Month"

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Two Million Pages Served

AT 1518 TODAY, a visitor from Dallas, Texas landed on my blog after asking Google about "ipod drag and drop." Of the 1.3m pages in his Google answer set, he chose mine. In keeping with the milestone, I'm going to create a podcast on the uninterrupted service I've had with Typepad, how I manage iPod content manually, what generated the first million page views here, how local authorities are blocking some Irish blogs, and OpenCoffee in Ireland.

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Croc Alert

FROM EVER-VIGILANT John Walkenbach comes a cautionary note about a Swedish hospital that wants to ban its staff from wearing Crocs plastic clogs (image from Croc Fans), saying they generate static electricity that can knock out medical equipment.

"Blekinge hospital in southern Sweden suspects the slip-on shoes, made by US firm Crocs Inc, are to blame for at least three incidents in which respirators and other machines malfunctioned. The mishaps caused no injuries. Hospital spokesman Bjorn Lofqvist said staff wearing the clogs could turn into a cloud of lightning because of the static electricity."

We have quarantined our Crocs until further notice.

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John Walkenbach -- "Crocs Banned"
Associated Press -- Plastic Clogs Disrupt Machinery"

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Stupid People Think for Free

IGNORE EMAIL offering nice stuff for free. That's my advice and I follow it. Today, I'm ignoring a promo that offers me free flights anywhere in the world through Southwest Airlines. The email promo explains that all I have to do is prove I have AIDS, herpes or a festering infection. By proving I have a STD, I get a $10,000 gift voucher that can be used anywhere in the world. The only problem is that when I follow a legitimate-looking link, I will infect my computer with malware.

So I ignore this email because it offered me something for free. And I've also modified my list of blocked phrases to ensure the phrase "fly free" goes directly into the bin.

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I won't provide a link to either the sender or the malware URL.

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Worth of promo pack

WE UPGRADED TO version 9 of SoundForge (requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 to be installed though ours conflicted with the installation of SoundForge 9 on first go) and the most amusing part of the process was getting invoiced for the marketing material inside the parcel (click on image to see what we mean) containing the manual (never read in eight previous editions of use) and DVD about the product. We paid three cents to receive the promotional literature. Now we know marketing delivers more than two cents' worth of value. We're also enjoying continued excise-tax-free FedEx service from the States.

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Upcoming Changes

UPCOMING.ORG NOW ties its listings closer into Yahoo! That's handy from one perspective but it also forces me to merge two of my Upcoming identities into a single Yahoo! identity. There's a work-around but it means developing several Yahoo! identities and that ultimately means logging in and out of Yahoo to manage accounts. I do that now with three different Flickr accounts but it's messy. At the moment, I have a screen name from a dormant account, a log-in from my main Yahoo! account and an screen avatar from a work-related Flickr account. I'm not alone in this kind of personality mash-up and Yahoo! wants to placate old skoll users by offering free prizes. It means offering a US or Canadian address and then getting a free t-shirt.

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New Upcoming Event: Digital Expression Exhibition in Clonmel, Co Tipperary on 25 Apr 07. But I cannot add it to the new-look upcoming because the "new venue" submit screen locks up Firefox on XP.
I think I'm user 20379 on Upcoming.org. Another ID in a land where all is supposed to be under one hat.

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Sony Vision Series

ONLY THE SUMMER separates us from releasing short videos every week. They won't be anything like Ze Frank but they will bring a little bit of hypermediacy to those who read this blog through newsfeeds. We need things to complete the look and our search has taken us to the Sony Vision Series. Many of the loops offered for sale remind us of Tim Kirby's turn-of-the-century creations in blue screen studios. The Vision Series libraries include textures, backdrops and stock footage that provide dynamic, royalty-free solutions for desktop video productions. Done right, the Vision Series titles offer sophisticated 3D texture and backdrop animations that add a truly distinctive edge to your work. The Vision Series libraries provide a broadcast-quality look that would keep even the most jaded YouTube viewer glued to your content.

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Sony Vision Series offers broadcast-quality backgrounds. That's a Twitter background from my Flickr photostream at the top left of this post.
Pointers to alternatives.

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