PC World recently posted a story about getting their new iPod Shuffle that started shipping this week. About half the fun of getting a new product from Apple is the unpacking of your new toy. Harry MacCracken added this video on YouTube to the article. I was pretty amazed at just how small this thing is.
My favorite part is how he tries to stuff it into an empty box of nerds. And that’s nerds the candy, not a box full of people much like myself.
I find this particularly interesting because I know a variety of people who have worked or are still working for Gannett owned newspapers. So many of them have bashed the world of new media, blogs, or citizen journalism, citing that amateurs do not warrant journalistic credibility. The guys up in the corporate offices might be forcing them to think otherwise.
The publisher of “America’s newspaper” is turning to America to get its news.
According to internal documents provided to Wired News and interviews with key executives, Gannett, the publisher of USA Today as well as 90 other American daily newspapers, will begin crowdsourcing many of its newsgathering functions. Starting Friday, Gannett newsrooms were rechristened “information centers,” and instead of being organized into separate metro, state or sports departments, staff will now work within one of seven desks with names like “data,” “digital” and “community conversation.”
The initiative emphasizes four goals: Prioritize local news over national news; publish more user-generated content; become 24-7 news operations, in which the newspapers do less and the websites do much more; and finally, use crowdsourcing methods to put readers to work as watchdogs, whistle-blowers and researchers in large, investigative features. [wired]
This transition is slated for full implimentation by May, but you can be certain that newsrooms across the board are pondering what their future is going to be like. The article goes on to address the concern about this action being a cost cutting measure for the future, but staff have been told not to worry about job cuts. That is not what this restructuring is about. I find that hard to believe in its entirety, but this is a daunting move, especially in the newspaper business.
Breebop had a post some weeks ago about journalists and the ego on their shoulders, and I thought back to it immediately while reading this story. Now don’t get me wrong, I have a high respect for those I know in the business, but there are numerous times that they have frustrated me with closed mindedness. It all comes down to sources, but the element of not being a trained journalist, most often with a degree from an accredited institution, can make something invalid in their eyes.
I’m not going to chalk it up to ego as much as I will to over education. Traditional media instructors teaching traditional media in a new age. Some of this is changing, but there will always be a select few who see the new and the changing to be a waste of time and credibility.
Let’s be honest. Gannett is trying to adapt, if not trying to save their butts. You know that resistance will appear, not wanting to lend credit to citizen journalists. I’d be curious to hear what my friends in the business think, and maybe they won’t be thinking I’m so crazy for blogging now.
This pisses me off to no end. Being a recent victim of a hacker myself, I can totally sympathize to as to what happened to Matthew Good. In fact, there’s a little bit of my help that I gave him that was a victim of an attacker to his site as well. Good needed some help getting PodPress to work on his site, so I was more than happy to help him out. None of that seems to matter a whole hell of a lot now.
I’m not sure what the complete story is, but the hack seemed to go deeper than just getting into WordPress and making a stupid post, like what happened to me. According to a post by his friend Sonny, another person who has helped him on numerous aspects of his site, files were compromised and are missing. I really liked the recent design to his site, but all of that is lost.
I’ve always been one to proceed with restraint, but right now, lynch mob is the phrase that immediately comes to mind.
Recorded last night and uploaded this morning, episode #117 is posted.
We’ve been really busy lately, and that has delayed getting this episode out. Rebecca and I took time to record something last night and post it this morning. Rebecca’s really come on board with the podcast, and I highlight some of her awesomeness. In fact, she has secured yet another interview opportunity with a band coming to Vancouver, so we make that announcement as well as discuss the new avenues that RadioZoom is exploring.
Being part two of my one year anniversary in Vancouver, we can’t get through this episode without doing some Vancouver Trivia, no matter how much Ubercaster messes up on us. I have to say, I’m really amazed with how much I have learned about this city in the past year. We also take a moment to get to some feedback that we’ve received from listeners.
Be sure to check out the ever changing website for RadioZoom. The “RZ Blog” has been added and will feature updates about the podcast. Also check out the “Episode Archive” to see a list of every episode of the podcast that is available.
53:56 minutes
radiozoom.net
I’m super excited to announce that RadioZoom will be having the opportunity to interview Sparta when they are in town for their show at Richards on Richards this weekend. I have officially made Rebecca my go to public relations person for the podcast, and she has delivered big time, no doubt about it.
Like many fans of the band, I’ve been a fan of Sparta since the day they formed. No, I wasn’t one of those cool kids with my ear to the underground and knowledge of all things good. Well, maybe just a little bit, but when the forever memorable At the Drive-In[wiki] split up, Sparta was formed by three guys from the band. If you’ve ever heard the name The Mars Volta, that is what the other two members went on to. However, Paul Hinojos left Sparta nearly a year ago to join The Mars Volta.
In 1999, I went to my first CMJ Music Marathon in New York. The Foo Fighters were slated to play at the Bowery Ballroom in a somewhat early show, so a bunch of us stood in line for a few hours to check them out. More impressive than seeing them on stage was the opening band which none of us knew a lot about, and they were seemingly insane. Amazingly good, but insane.
Sad to say, I never knew who they were for months afterward. When we got At the Drive-In’s new album at KRUI a little while later, I started to piece it all together. That band I saw, with the afros and craziness on stage, was At the Drive-In.
I’ve been keeping tabs on Sparta since their first album, “Wiretap Scars“, and their two follow up albums have yet to disappoint me. Their most recent release, “Threes“, is available in stores now. I’ve had a listen through just a few times, so it is hard for me to really convey a decent review of the album. However, I assure you, it’s way, way good.
The most interesting part of doing this interview is the way Sparta has embraced new media. Their involvement with their website is very noticeable, connecting to fans in this highly digital age with podcasts and embedded videos to send out information to fans. My hope is to explore their reasons behind it and geek out with rock stars a little bit.
It is because of this that we think they have given the green light to meeting Rebecca and I for a brief conversation before their show on Saturday night. The scope of RadioZoom is always exploring new avenues, and the recent interview with Aberdeen City is a prime example of that. It feels good to be getting back into the realm of interacting with musicians, like I did during my time in radio, but we can try so many different things through podcasting that you simply can’t on the airwaves.
I caught this on Podcasting News and had to pass it on. Drivl.com posted “The Seven Phases of Owning an iPod – An Illustrated Journey“, and I laughed.
The 7th is completely true. My green iPod Mini has served me very well, even though its battery life is starting to dwindle. I’m content with living in the old school age for now. You cool kids with all your fancy color LCD displays and long battery life can go on enjoying what you got.
Speaking of, my parents just got a new iPod Nano. Adding even more to my jealousy, my dad even picked up the Belkin TuneTalk Stereo for it. I doubt he’s going to start podcasting anytime soon, but that’s a setup that I could easily use for my ventures. He’ll use it more to record voice notes for himself.
This is what we do in my family. We try to out geek each other.
Episode #5 of The Crazy Canucks was recorded tonight. I’ll also add that this was the first time with Rebecca fully in control of things, allowing me to take a back seat on the technical side and really have fun with the discussion. This won’t be the last time she gets to run the whole show for sure. In the final edit, I ran this through Levelator as an experiment.
We go ‘Dave-less’ this episode as Alanah, JJ, John and Rebecca bring you this week’s discussion. The
OvechkinsCapitals were in town on Friday and JJ shares his experience being at the game. From the awe-inspiring young Russians of the league, goalie showdowns, to shootouts.Murmurs about the crazy schedules, that only bring players by once every election year, who we’d like to see more of and who we could really do without.
Nashville handed us a ghoulish defeat last night while we’re still getting used to the lines, players and Coach Viggy’s words of wisdom.
Record as of this podcast 7-5-1 (2nd in Northwest Division)
23:50 minutes
The Crazy Canucks
For open source audio editing, Audacity is a pretty powerful program. In the world of podcasting, it’s one of those tools that are used widely when looking to keep the cost down for producing content. And by cost, I mean that it’s free.
The developers behind the application are working on the final release to version 1.3, so I’m curious to see how much their work has progressed. I’ve actually ditched the last, official release of 1.2.5 and worked completely in 1.3.0b for the last few months. It’s worked like a charm for everything that I’ve needed from it.
The latest beta version of Audacity was released yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to play with it a whole lot, but the details about 1.3.2b on their website has me a little anxious to see what’s new.
New features in Audacity 1.3.1 and 1.3.2
- Improved Toolbar Docking
- Track focus for improved keyboard navigation
- Repair and Equalization effects
- Timer Recording
- Project saving and recovery
- Selection Bar
- Mac OS X features
New features in Audacity 1.3.0
- Collapse/Expand Tracks
- Multiple clips per track
- Improved Label Tracks
- Other features
[audacity]
Even though Audacity doesn’t look as pretty as all those other programs that you have to pay big bucks for, it can do a heck of a lot for you if you take the chance to learn it.
Smoke free restaurants and venues are something I became very accustomed to when I moved to Vancouver. In the states, this is taking effect from the inside out. It starts with hospitals pushing the proximity in which one can smoke further and further away from their walls. From there, it’s moved on to places where you can get a bite to eat, but bars fight back tooth and nail on it. At that point, there is a settlement over how much the percentage of revenue is taking from food compared to other goods that are sold, this often being alcohol. The less food you sell, the more you can have smoking in your establishment.
It’s all baby-steps towards a state-wide ban or stiff regulation on where you can or can’t smoke. In Canada, it gets even steeper. I did a little looking around, and the greater Vancouver area seems to have a more relaxed stance on it compared to other parts of the country. That doesn’t mean that people are content with the way things are.
The city of White Rock is poised to become the first community in B.C. to impose an outdoor patio smoking ban, with council set to vote on the issued Monday night.
Dozens of owners of restaurants along the beach in White Rock plan to be at the Monday council meeting to voice their opposition. [cbc]
No don’t get me wrong and start saying that I hate everyone who smokes. If that’s your habit, then that’s your thing. Enjoy the things you enjoy, and I will enjoy mine. It’s not the healthiest thing that anyone could pick up, but I’m sure no one usually gets cancer from biting their fingernails or picking their nose. Nasty habits, but far less risky.
The crappy thing about this, in terms of living in this city, is that I can recall so many times when Rebecca and I go out to eat and we don’t sit on the patio because of all the smokers. That is one of the best things about Vancouver, too. Enjoying your meal with a cool ocean breeze blowing and over priced, under juiced cocktails. There’s nothing like it, but you can’t do it without the potential company of some one who is enjoying a cigarette while chowing down. And generally speaking, that potential is usually for certain.
It’s a really tough argument. I don’t want their smoke, and they don’t like being pushed deeper and deeper into a corner. What I find it really strange about all of this is that I notice smokers, at least in public places, outdoors more than I ever did indoors. Such is the enigma of Vancouver.
Update: White Rock turned down the ban proposal last night[cbc].
I’m totally late to the game here, but the baseball season, for me, was officially over on September 30th. Technically, you could say, as a Cubs fan, the season was over in July. Whatever.
The point is, Dusty’s out, Lou Piniella is in. I take his three year contract in Chicago with mixed feelings, mainly because he’s replacing an outstanding guy like Dusty Baker. Lou is a much different manager, and that’s probably why the Cubs went for him. We want to win, and that can’t be said more than getting this guy to take the helm.
When I think of Lou Piniella[wiki], I always picture him getting pissed off and yelling until his face goes blue. You can tell me that I’m completely off base on that remark, but these are the things that I remember growing up as a kid. What you can’t argue with is the fact that he is the most ejected manager in the history of baseball. This should tell you that 2007 is going to be quite the ride in the friendly confines.
Maybe things have changed. Maybe Piniella has aged like fine wine, and conniption fits will be kept to a moderate level. I really doubt it, but I’m envisioning a vastly different look on the bench next season compared to the smooth look of Baker gnawing on a toothpick. And those rumors of Alex Rodriguez[wiki] wanting to leave the Yankees to come play for Piniella, for the love of god, better not be true. A-Rod can keep his pepsi loving butt in the Bronx.
Oh, and the Cards won the series. Good for them.
