Category: Technology

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Getting bit by not managing my data

So... much... audio...The last few days, I’ve found my mind swimming through the issue of managing the data that rests on my laptop and external hard drive. This goes beyond the basic backing up gigs of junk in the event of catastrophe. I’m pretty good about staying on top of such things.

What I’m talking about is the simplicity of keeping track of everything, where it is, and how much space it’s taking up. I have so much audio sitting around, it’s getting nuts. It doesn’t help that I come from the radio mentality of not wanting to delete anything.

Back at WSUI, we archived so much onto CDs, it’s not funny. Stacks and stacks of blank CDRs would turn into piles of archived programs and interviews. You do it for the sake of history and yourself, creating evidence that you were once on the radio and hopefully good at it. Of course, those piles, no matter if it was your stuff or not, would be disowned when it came storing them. There’s probably still boxes and boxes of stuff waiting for some part-time, student employee to spend hours doing something along the lines of catergorizing everything into some sort of library.

With all of my podcast audio floating around, I’m starting to have flashbacks. Raw audio that I saved as a back up to go back to in case something went wrong during editing. Then the polished audio, edited and spliced up to my liking. Finally, exported clips of uncompressed audio. All of this eating up storage space.

You start a new project with the thought in your mind of keeping everything in check, only to work so hard on getting this new episode out that you forget about simple house cleaning. Yeah yeah, I’ll just be sure to take care of it next time… right? Wrong.

So here lies my pain of being a sucker and not managing my data better. Going through and finding the various pieces of audio, compressing them for storage, deleting the uncompressed stuff along with any program data that might have resulted from the numerous editing applications that I use, and repeat. It’s a slow, tedious process, but I put it off for far too long. Once it’s done, I’ll have gigs of storage space back and a DVD or two of archived audio.

This is a lesson to be learned for anyone that is podcasting, but can be applied to many situations. You never want to just delete a bunch of stuff to simply make some space. Archive it. You don’t know when it might become handy at some point in the future. At the same time, that’s history on your hard drive.

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Belkin Wi-Fi phone for Skype

I have to say, I like the idea of this product a lot. Makes a lot of sense for some one like myself with all my family being back in the states.

Belkin's Wi-Fi Phone for SkypeBelkin today unveiled its Wi-Fi Phone for Skype that lets users make free Skype calls without the need for a computer. The device offers free, unlimited domestic and international calls over the internet to other Skype users, as well as low-cost calls to “ordinary” areas worldwide, according to Belkin. “With over 100 million registered users all over the world, Skype is enabling the world’s conversations,” said Mike Chen, director of product management for Belkin. “The Belkin Wi-Fi Phone combines the cost savings and enjoyment of using Skype with the convenience of Wi-Fi, making it even easier for people to stay in touch.” The Wi-Fi phone is slated for shipment in North America in August for $150, with launches planned in Asia, Europe, and Australia to follow thereafter. [macnn]

Yes, now you can waltz into those trendy cafes that offer free Wi-Fi connections and annoy everyone sipping their lattes while you speak loudly on your phone with people around the world. Just remember, speaking even louder into the phone will not make data packets get sent any better in order for the other person to hear what you are saying. That doesn’t work on copper lines, and it sure don’t for VoIP.

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Breaking in the Nokia bit by bit

Last night at the meetup, I ran into another Vancouver blogger that got the Matchstick deal that I did, so perhaps it is time that I get around to mentioning a little bit more about this Nokia 6682 that I’m starting to like more and more everyday. I promised myself to never own another brick again, but this thing has me thinking twice.

Seriously, giving me stuff for free makes me think twice about a lot of things. Have a new, Apple laptop you want me to try out? How about some recording equipment? Digital audio devices? Anyone?

Anyhow, here’s three pictures I took last night with the Nokia. Click on them to see the full image. All three are being uploaded and posted without any altering, so what you see is what the phone takes.

Walking the trail in Stanley Park

Looking out into the inlet from Third Beach in Stanley Park

Look towards Kits from Third Beach in Stanley Park

I think what I’m going to do is pass this off to Rebecca some time soon and let her play with it some more. She also talks on the phone a hell of a lot more than I do, so there might be some advantage to her giving a second opinon about it.

Just weeks before Matchstick contacted me, Rebecca and I signed a new contract with Rogers in a plan that got us new Motorola v710’s for each of us. I’m still out on a verdict, but the Nokia feels better in my hand, even though I’ve been a flip phone fan for some time now. I hope to post comparison pics of the camera of both phones, as well as my digital camera. The best part is that both the Motorola and the Nokia have Bluetooth, which play very nicely with my Powerbook.

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Übercaster beta testing to start soon

Ubercaster.comI read on MacNN the other day that beta testing for Übercaster is to begin on July 24, 2006.  I’m all signed up and anxious to try it out.

I recall hearing about the product when it was in its conceptual stages, and their blog shows that it’s been quite the process in developing the application.  I’m unsure how this compares to GarageBand 3, but from what I know about CastBlaster (a PC only application at this time), Übercaster is somewhat similar.

Übercaster is a complete production suite for podcasting. All you need is Übercaster, a Macintosh and something to tell…

Producing a show on your Mac can be as easy as everything else. Say goodbye to the laborious combination of programs. Übercaster lets you prepare, record, cut and release your shows the way you’d expect it. With its podcasting specific features and its über appealing design you’ll love working with Übercaster.  [ubercaster]

I have a few projects that I’m working on for this week, but this will be my experiment for the next.

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Folks in Cupertino make some pretty good stuff

Talking to Grandma during her visit in Iowa via iChatIt’s really no secret that I’m an Apple fan, even though I’m very capable of living in a Windows world. Afterall, my official title at the radio station I worked at was “IT Support Level 2”, but that didn’t change the fact that I was working on 5kW AM and 100kW FM transmitter sites. I’ve just been using Apples since I was four, maybe earlier. In fact, I was probably able to use a computer sooner than I was able to read, but I digress.

The brilliancy of iChat and the ability to communicate via video is pretty cool, and lots of users will tell you that. However, when my eighty-seven year old grandma has the ability to see and talk to me from my parent’s house in Iowa, that’s when you realize that this technology is pretty damn cool. Combine that with my aunt, uncle, and cousin that Rebecca has yet to meet, you begin to understand the gap that is bridged. The world seems smaller at that point.

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I’m one of those “Matchstick lucky ones”

I’ve been watching various Vancouver bloggers talk about getting contacted by Matchstick for a few months now.  For those not aware, they are a marketing company wishing to have bloggers to use the Nokia 6682 in the hopes that they’ll post about the phone.  Buzz marketing is what they call it, and posting about it on blogs is really just a cheap form of advertising.

I got my phone on Friday of last week and spent a portion of this afternoon with Rebecca getting it all setup.  It’s nifty, but that’s all about it for now.  Will be posting more about the phone plus the entire process soon.

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Get impending doom directly on your phone

The Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) is expanding once again in the U.S., and I emphasize “digital” because for a long time it was simply known as the EAS[wiki]. Welcome to the new age of technology.

The US government unveiled a communications system that in case of emergency should soon allow it to send SMS alerts to Americans’ mobile phones and computers.

“We have the ability to do this. It’s a major step,” Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director David Paulson told reporters outside the US capital as he unveiled the program’s design.

The Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) will include the participation of television networks and public radio stations and be based on an existing alert system built in the Cold War era for use in the event of a nuclear attack. [breitbart]

This is a brilliant concept, but everything like this will come with some type of problematic consequences. With so much information coming to us, “digitally”, there is that nagging convenience of ignoring that information as it comes in. The whole, “I’ll get to it later.”

This also can make people avoid the idea of paying attention to conventional methods of information distrubution, such as radio and TV. I’m not saying that is a horrible thing, but putting all your eggs in one basket could prove fatal if your mobile phone network is lacking electricity for some reason.

I can’t fail to mention the last part of this article. Who says big brother isn’t watching? Well, watching out for you, right?

Internet-linked computers will automatically switch on to a video message from the US Department of Homeland Security while downloading instructions prepared specifically from natural disasters, chemical and nuclear attacks, and other calamities. [breitbart]

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A lot of chatter about a Microsoft, “iPod killer”

A lot of sites have been reporting on this for the last week, but the rumors are turning more factual. It won’t be too surprising that by the time you head out to do you Christmas shopping this year, Microsoft will have their own portable media player trying to empty more cash out of your wallet.

Music companies are apparently leaking some details about Microsoft’s plans, according to a Times story that cites sources close to the project. As the story goes, Microsoft is not merely developing one product aimed at dethroning the iPod. It is developing a complete line of Xbox-branded digital media products, including a device that plays media, a software media player and an online media service.

Microsoft has code-named the project “Argo” in honor of the huge warship used by the Greek mythological hero named Jason, the Times reported. Microsoft executives were not immediately available for comment. [macnewsworld]

The friendly geeks, I mean folks, over at Engadget have posted a photo of the yet to be revealed device, saying that the source is some one working very close to the project. Being a companion to the Xbox brand, this might not be the only device of its kind released. Only time will tell, but “wireless” is the buzz word surrounding it.

But will this be an iPod killer? I wouldn’t bet on it. Based on a post from MacRumors, this product, or products, is likely to be utilized much in the same way that Apple uses the iPod and iTunes music store. Obviously, Microsoft is pushing to get their own contracts for their service, whatever it might be.

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TV execs want to disable fast-forward on DVRs

This is one of the most rediculous things that I have heard yet, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible.

ABC HAS HELD DISCUSSIONS ON the use of technology that would disable the fast-forward button on DVRs, according to ABC President of Advertising Sales Mike Shaw, with the primary goal to allow TV commercials to run as intended.

“I would love it if the MSOs, during the deployment of the new DVRs they’re putting out there, would disable the fast-forward [button],” Shaw said. […]

Shaw also threw cold water on the idea that neutering the fast-forward option would result in a consumer backlash. He suggested that consumers prefer DVRs for their ability to facilitate on-demand viewing and not ad-zapping–and consumers might warm to the idea that anytime viewing brings with it a tradeoff in the form of unavoidable commercial viewing.

“I’m not so sure that the whole issue really is one of commercial avoidance,” Shaw said. “It really is a matter of convenience–so you don’t miss your favorite show. And quite frankly, we’re just training a new generation of viewers to skip commercials because they can. I’m not sure that the driving reason to get a DVR in the first place is just to skip commercials. I don’t fundamentally believe that. People can understand in order to have convenience and on-demand (options), that you can’t skip commercials.” [mediapost]

Even if there is a large enough push from the TV industry to start shipping DVRs with fast-forward disabled, there will be a hack for it. However, it’s the last statement that gets me. This is another example of industry forcing new technology to work for itself rather than finding alternative ways to adapt to an ever changing medium.

You think HDTV is something we are doing for the good of humanity? There’s a reason that plasmas and LCDs cost so much. It’s all about profit. Now that TV execs aren’t getting the results the networks need, they want to do what they can to control it. Instead of spending the money to fight it, they should spend time finding new ways to generate revenue. They’ll just keep losing ground heading this direction.

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Banning gadgets while driving in Canada

The Canadian Automobile Association is going one step beyond banning just cellphones while driving in order to cut down on distractions while driving.  MP3 players and other portable electronics are the next thing on the list that they want Ottawa to consider, but the ban would only apply to new drivers in Canada.

The CAA called on all provincial governments to legislate a restriction on the use of electronic devices by novice drivers.

“We don’t want their minds taken off the driving task and we want them to keep their hands on the wheel,” said CAA president David Flewelling.  [lfpress]

The B.C. government has weighed in on the suggestion[vancouversun], sparing the west coast for now.  Their position makes sense.  Doing more to make the education of the driver is the better route to go.  You can only regulate so much before it becomes ineffective.