Geek Ventilation

A Recommended Feature

2005-11-20T10:53:00.000-09:00

For those not in the know about Snocap or Mashboxx, I recommend reading Putting the Napster Genie Back in the Bottle by Saul Hansell over at the New York Times website.

In short, Snocap is a registry that allows content owners (musicians and labels) to register their music and define the rules about how that music is allowed to be distributed over the internet. What is the significance? Peer-To-Peer software that chooses to participate can allow the users to share and download music over their networks and the network owner will collect on any fees that need to be payed. What we are looking at is the potential for a legal Grokster. You can sample all the music you like (as long as the content owner agrees... let's not hold our collective breath) and legally purchase said music.

Mashboxx is the first peer-to-peer software to agree to employ Snocap. If this takes off, I'll definetly be using it (provided they release a Macintosh-friendly version).

How can Snocap get content holders to register? You would think that they would be super eager to, but I'm cynical. While online music distribution is more popular than it has ever been, I don't believe that enough record labels believe in the power of the internet as a legal distribution source. However, if it were to be said, in a very loud manner, that any number of popular songs were not available via Snocap/Mashboxx, I believe that content holders may become more open to the concept. If it becomes clear that sales are being lost because a song isn't available online (and they are being lost), labels that are currently unaware may find themselves a little more well-learned.

Snocap, Mashboxx, P2P

$100 a day?! $100 a day!?

2005-11-17T21:22:00.000-09:00

Russell Beattie asks, "What would you do with an extra $100 a day?". The most popular idea seems to be hiring a slave force. A blogger with his own minions? Live the dream, Russell! Did I mention he gets this money through a very tiny amount of advertising presence on his blog? Check the link for details.

blogs, advertising

Dragon Quest VIII

2005-11-17T21:02:00.000-09:00

Dragon Quest VIII is out. Supposedly it is quite good.

I've only played Dragon Warrior for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a very enjoyable game and is the first role-playing game I've ever played. I pretty much owe my obsession with video games and Dungeons and Dragons to Dragon Warrior.

1Up has a giveaway for Dragon Quest VIII going on right now. I don't own a Playstation 2, but that Slime MP3 player sure sounds cool.

If you decide to participate, good luck with the giveaway. Go ahead and tell me how the game is if you've played it. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to get my Dragon Warrior cartridge out.

Dragon Quest VIII

Google Base... meh

2005-11-17T09:15:00.000-09:00

Google Base is live now. Woohoo?

Not so much, really. Google Base allows users to upload information, classified listings, etc... their database. This database can then be searched.

Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, the chief application of Google Base so far is advertising. Actual information is sparse. Yes, it's great that you can find cars that are being sold in your area, but I would be even more interested if I could find listings on various kinds of cars with information on them. So far, Google Base is mostly a user-run Froogle.

I'm Guilty of this as Well

2005-11-16T11:29:00.000-09:00

Really, given how much bloggers blog about Web 2.0 and the web in general, this is a painfully good point.

Giant Head Rush

2005-10-29T01:30:00.000-08:00

Well, on the Giantology front, the author of the Giantology blog goes out of his way to deny being part of any game or hoax.

Mind you, I'm watching all of this with a bit of a jaded eye... certainly anyone can say or do anything on the net, and even I've been accused of being part of the supposed marketing campaign.

Giantology: Where's Arkady?

Yes, yes, that's all fine and.. WOAH!

He linked to my post? Yowzah! I hope I don't need to start denying my place in any conspiracy soon!

Interactive Giants? Viral Macrophilia?

2005-10-26T09:21:00.000-08:00

Giant love is sweeping the internet. Whether it's a new viral marketing campaign for Shadow of the Colossus, an Alternate Reality Game, or a real surge of gigantic skeletons, the Giantology blog has turned a few heads.

It seems to have started with the discovery of a video depicting a giant skeleton in India(.mov). While this video is almost certainly fake, the Giantology blog just keeps on churning out new images of various gigantic creatures.

The whole thing is weird enough for the denizens of Unfiction, and they are really getting involved. Proof that this is some sort of Alternate Reality Game just keeps on popping up.

Whether this is contemporary advertising, a diversion, or an elaborate hoax, it's sure to be worth watching.

Is That Really Okay?

2005-10-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

I really don't know what to think of Apple's front page right now.

All Your Base Are Belong to Google

2005-10-25T20:46:00.000-08:00

Google Base is on its way.

Basically, it's a searchable database that Google will host for free. You can keep all your information items on Google.

I used to be a major Google fan. I still am somewhat, but it's time to get suspicious. Google's income comes from selling stock and selling advertisements but Google deals in information. Google hosts your information in various ways. Google holds your e-mail via Gmail. Google holds your videos. Google holds your shopping wishlist. Now Google is opening an open-ended database.

I believe that the future will feature an information-based economy. If that happens, Google will be a prime dealer. I don't fear for privacy, but I think it may be time to hold on to any information, keep it for yourself, and sell it 50 years from now.

For more information on an information-economy, read the cyberpunk novel Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson.

UPDATE: I like the naming style that the following blogs have used for their coverage of Google Base.

The Next Next Generation of Video Games Is a Bit Much For Me

2005-10-25T20:41:00.000-08:00

Prepare to be remotely controlled.
Just imagine being rendered the rough equivalent of a radio-controlled toy car.

CNN.com - Japan developing remote control for humans - Oct 25, 2005

Japanese telephone company Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. is developing a remote control that allows one to control human beings. Using electric waves that shoot into the target's ear, the target can be made to move left or right.

I see some good application for a new-age Dance Dance Revolution. However, I always thought video games would be moving into the realm of virtual reality through holograms, not through illusory control.

The technology is made possible through a phenomenon known as galvanic vestibular stimulation. You can learn more about GVS at Aalia Wayfare's Radio Weblog.

Quantum Dots for Light

2005-10-22T10:02:00.000-08:00

When you shine a light on quantum dots or apply electricity to them, they react by producing their own light, normally a bright, vibrant color. But when Bowers shined a laser on his batch of dots, something unexpected happened.
"I was surprised when a white glow covered the table," Bowers said. "The quantum dots were supposed to emit blue light, but instead they were giving off a beautiful white glow."

Accidental invention could light up the future - LiveScience - MSNBC.com

This is definetly a nice surprise. Besides just being plain cool, it's nice to know that a good idea can just appear in a flash.

Technorati Tags: light, tech

Moving Day

2005-10-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

I am moving into my new apartment tomorrow, so I probably will not be doing any blogging this weekend.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone. I hope it is not as busy as mine.

Memeorandum

2005-10-21T19:39:00.000-08:00

The Web is humming with reports and opinions on technology. tech.memeorandum is page A1 for these discussions. Auto-updated every 5 minutes, it uncovers the most relevant items from thousands of news sites and weblogs.

tech.memeorandum

I just found out about Memeorandum this evening, and I was impressed almost immediatly. If you find yourself with information overload in your regular blog perusal, just use Memeorandum. Like Technorati, it follows blog conversations based on articles and events, allowing you to find relevant information on the social web. Enjoy!

Flock

2005-10-20T22:20:00.000-08:00

A developer release of Flock is now available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

Flock is a new Firefox-based browser centered around the whole Web 2.0 fad (or is that "meme"?) that has been running around the internet. Basically, it serves as a web browser accessorized with blogging and del.icio.us social bookmarking features. You can post to your blog and synchronize your del.icio.us bookmarks with your browser bookmarks.

Basically nothing here is cutting edge. It feels good and doesn't seem to have the expected bloat, but there's nothing here that couldn't be done via Firefox extensions. I'll play with it for a little while, but I think Opera is still where it's at.

UPDATE: Apparantly Flock isn't totally Blogger-friendly yet. I had to come back via the Blogger.com site to fix all the hyperlinks I had inserted. I'm guessing this is an issue that will be fixed in the near future.

UPDATE 2: Wow, that was just foolish of me. I hadn't realized it, but there is an HTML editor included in the Flock Blog Editor that was hiding at the bottom. I apologize for the mis-information.

Y Hello Thar

2005-10-20T20:04:00.000-08:00

I do not think I can promise that will be the last time I will use poor grammar. Welcome to "Geek Ventilation", another one of my attempts at jumping on the blogging bandwagon. I've read a few tech blogs before and I think I can manage this. The first series of posts will be fairly "eclectic", but I'm definetly open to suggestion. Please comment when you have something to say. I want conversation to be common place here. Please enjoy.