I think this would rock, as it's rather a waste to have those nice wide LCD screens off at any time (that and the fact that my apartment is of the aforementioned shoebox type).
Pilgrimage 2004, the one and only American demoparty
What about the NAID parties (North American International Demoparty)? These were held in 1995 and 1996 and were very well regarded. Also check out the compulsory geek pics from the events.
There were a few more US parties, but I forgot the names. It's a damn shame the US doesn't have more of them. I remember it got very expensive for US demosceners to keep crossing the Atlantic to get to the parties in Finland and Denmark (not to mention forcing them to get a passport; something that the vast majority of Americans don't have!).
That and the ability to customize your sender e-mail address (not just the 'Reply-To' address). This would eliminate the need to change your existing e-mail address, like Yahoo's paid customers can do right now.
As Sergey Brin said back in April, there are a lot of features planned for GMail including POP3 and IMAP access. I have no doubt they'll include customized sender addresses before it's released to the public.
Google may be the poster child for a 'good' corporation but the roll-out of the gmail system is most definitely not one of the better acheievements. By pre-announcing gmail so far in advance, all the other free providers have now upped their storage. While gmail is still not publicly available.
I disagree totally. Gmail's two-phase rollout has given Google the option to observe the competition's response and react to it before their service is even officially launched (not to mention creating a buzz that would make Seth Godin proud).
I've had a GMail account for about two months now and the system is in a constant state of flux. I've reported bugs one day and they've been fixed the next. Each and every bug report or piece of feedback gets a personal response from the Google team. They are very serious about perfecting the system.
The only reason Google are waiting so long to launch it is because they want to make sure it's the best webmail out there bar none. When it's launched, that's when the comparisons can really start. And that's when Hotmail et al won't be able to shake a stick at Gmail.
It is exactly this cocky, pointless geek-speak tone that stops these projects from gaining wide appeal with the less technically-inclined majority (and the business community in particular).
MyUID is a good idea, but like with so many open source projects run by CompSci students, if it's communicated like this, it won't get off the ground. When will these people learn?
No, this would be a mistake. If MM released his movie on the internet first, it would damage its credibility and hurt its message.
There are plenty of 'exposé' documentaries available online (including the infamous banned Panorama documentary on the US election in 2000); just take a look on any of the major P2P networks. None of these have made a dent on the public at large because the image of online video is of something shady and illicit rather than respectable and credible.
This is a PR war just as much as a real one. If MM gets fat on the profits of his movie, who cares? It's the message that's important. Put it in the mainstream cinemas, just like Black Hawk Down and JFK (two movies that attempt to 'rewrite history' with obvious bias) so the public can get a balanced view and decide for themselves.
Sitting on a packed tour bus or in a busy cafe speaking my intimate thoughts out loud into an MP3 recorder doesn't sound too wise now does it?
Stick with a pen and notebook, and make sure you TAKE the time to hammer it into the computer as soon as you get back home. It will be time worth spending because you'll be editing and polishing as you type (as well as taking out those personal passages that you didn't want to share online - if you want to publish your travel stories on the web). That's what I did for my two-week tour of New Zealand and IMO it worked out fine.
You may want to consider using a cell phone that opens up into a keyboard. This would allow you to send text messages to your email address.
Errr, that would be ridiculously expensive for anything more than very short notes. An SMS has a maximum of 160 characters (you can write more, but then you send multiple SMS's -> more $$$). On top of this, SMS's that you send while roaming (and I don't think this guy will be buying a new SIM from a local provider for a two week holiday abroad) are usually more expensive than when you send them from your home network.
Evan Williams and his team, of Blogger fame (bought by Google last year), developed a 'Plogging' app called Pyra back in 2000. Work on it got halted when Blogger started to take off, but I remember trying out a beta version and it rocked. There's a little info still around on Pyra, but not much, and people seem to miss it; the Pyra.com site is now just a brochure for their company, which was also called Pyra.
I guess the market just wasn't ready for this app in 2000. Credit to Williams and his team for their vision, I guess!
It seems that they've screwed up one of the most basic rules in pricing: never take away features and charge for them. You can charge for new features - but taking away features that were included for free before always pisses off your most loyal customers. They feel suckered. They feel like you've pulled a bait and switch on them. In this case, many MT users set up multiple blogs with multiple authors. That's what the software encouraged them to do. Now, they're looking at the pricing and realizing to continue doing so on the new platform would cost them around $600. "Costs more for doing less" isn't a way to make users happy.
AFAI understand, the main reason why there's a lot of bitching going on against the MT authors is that they were using their loyal users to beta-test their new MT release (3.0) while keeping them under the mistaken impression it was going to remain free. I quote from one blog:
No business ethics problems? How about this.
You ready a beta release of a piece of software, and ask people to beta test it. Mention nothing about paying, or even that you are considering changing the license. Being the loyal folks they are, lots say "OK" and you give them the software. They upgrade to it, and there's no way to downgrade.
Then, about 5 weeks later, you say, "Oh, by the way, most of you will have to pay to upgrade out of beta". Keeping in mind that most of the people who are the most loyal to MT, and therefore the most likely to have signed up for the beta program, are the ones who take MT to its' limits by using multiple blogs for things like link sidebars, book reviews, photoblogs, etc., and a lot of them no longer qualify for the free version because of the three blog limit.
You've just stranded a whole bunch of people on a beta version of your software, and you're basically extorting them to allow them to upgrade to a non-beta release.
It does look like SixApart have shot themselves in the foot and alienated themselves from their fanbase. They have violated the golden role of starting to charge for something that was previously free. In the world of tech where everyone wants the latest and greatest (and MT users are particularly tech-savvy given the requirements to install and maintain the software), this was always going to be an unpopular decision. How could they not have foreseen this?
The launch of their TypePad service last year (which is basically a fully commercial, hosted MT package with bells and whistles like photo gallery management) was a smart business move; make a service out of your product, and keep the original product free. This latest move, though, is beyond comprehension and will only hurt them. It will sure be interesting to see how they backpedal from this.
We're already loving Gmail and it's only been a few days since we started using it. Since we constantly hop back and forth between Linux and Windows boxes, Gmail is a godsend. We don't have to mess around with local pop3 e-mail clients. We can just open our browser - in Linux or Windows - and get immediate access to all of our e-mail.
...you mean, like, the same way every web-based e-mail service since the early nineties has allowed you to do?
Sorry but I find this review rather giddy and one-sided.
btw. I tried to sign up, but they send an email to you with a link to activate your account, but I still didnt get the mail (its been 6 hours)...
This happened as soon as I had to submit my reg form:
Warning: mail(): Could not execute mail delivery program '/usr/sbin/sendmail -t -i ' in/var/www/www.spymac.com/classes/global_class.inc on line 617
So it would seem registrations aren't really working on their end. Sorry but I wouldn't say SpyMac isn't looking like a viable alternative to something Google can put out (yet)...
Though I recently converted much of my mod/XM/s3m/IT collection to mp3 format, since it will play in my car/portables that way.
I'm trying to do the same to transfer my entire module collection to my iPod. Question: What do you use to do it? I'm currently outputting the tunes to WAV with Modplug because it's a fairly accurate player (but not 100%) and the wav writer is of pretty good quality. This is a bit of a headfuck because there is no batch converter and I have to reselect the options every time. I then have to convert everything to MP3 with CdEX. There must be a more straightforward way to do this... any ideas?
I hereby award you +1 from my phantom mod points! You may be interested in the WSP Module Player Plugin for Winamp 5 which improves the accuracy of music module playback.
To play tracker modules I'd still opt for Modplug Player over a mysterious Winamp plugin, because from the composer's perspective, the crucial thing is that the listener hears their tune as it was intended to be heard. It's one of the problems inherent in module formats that although the size of the files are relatively small (which allowed the scene to take off in a big way over BBS's), the output depends so much on the player you use (unlike MP3 for example which uses standard decoding algorithms across players).
In fact, if I'm gonna play the role of a total purist, the only real way to listen to a module is either:
1) To play it in the tracker in which it was originally composed (Fast Tracker 2 for XM's, Impulse Tracker for.IT's, etc.)
2) To play an MP3 version of the tune, which was created from a WAV file that was output in said tracker
Many composers (well before the scene kinda died:) release their stuff in both MP3 and the original tracker format. PLUG ALERT: As do I (MP3's / modules.
--screamager [previously of the KFMF, now just reminiscing]
Why is this still listed as a beta? I thought it was the source of a finalized product that had already been used in multiple installations... Did I miss something?
what about when you get into a position of power that someone doesn't like. All they have to do is pay off someone at Google to go through your old email and find something a bit questionable in your past.
You're right. But it's been the same deal with Hotmail and the other webmail services for years. Or hosting providers for that matter. Or even ISPs (that could potentially store all the data that you exchange with their servers).
If you're really worried about people digging up dirt on you if you get into a position of power, it's probably better to stay away from the Internet entirely.
Very cute (the marketing and the tone of the site, not the girl). Google seems to have pioneered the image of the humble personally-maintained website.
It looks like the typical homepage of any CompSci geek student, but it's backed by computing power of Skynet proportions and the company is valued at over $15 billion.
Don't let the way it looks fool you - it's all deliberate and contibutes to it's popularity.
The idea is excellent and the implementation works well (for a beta). But I can't see why the programmer used flash when it seems like a tool that could be done so easily (and in a bandwidth-friendly fashion) using colored HTML tables.
Slashdot Mirror
There's some speculation that the all-new Apple iMac G5 (announced for September) will include TV functionality
I think this would rock, as it's rather a waste to have those nice wide LCD screens off at any time (that and the fact that my apartment is of the aforementioned shoebox type).
Pilgrimage 2004, the one and only American demoparty
What about the NAID parties (North American International Demoparty)? These were held in 1995 and 1996 and were very well regarded. Also check out the compulsory geek pics from the events.
There were a few more US parties, but I forgot the names. It's a damn shame the US doesn't have more of them. I remember it got very expensive for US demosceners to keep crossing the Atlantic to get to the parties in Finland and Denmark (not to mention forcing them to get a passport; something that the vast majority of Americans don't have!).
Of course, the best solution is to create a superior protocol and set of clients, get it standardized, and somehow get them widely adopted
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this supposed to be the goal of Jabber?
It doesn't seem to have gained much momentum in any case.
That and the ability to customize your sender e-mail address (not just the 'Reply-To' address). This would eliminate the need to change your existing e-mail address, like Yahoo's paid customers can do right now.
As Sergey Brin said back in April, there are a lot of features planned for GMail including POP3 and IMAP access. I have no doubt they'll include customized sender addresses before it's released to the public.
Google may be the poster child for a 'good' corporation but the roll-out of the gmail system is most definitely not one of the better acheievements. By pre-announcing gmail so far in advance, all the other free providers have now upped their storage. While gmail is still not publicly available.
I disagree totally. Gmail's two-phase rollout has given Google the option to observe the competition's response and react to it before their service is even officially launched (not to mention creating a buzz that would make Seth Godin proud).
I've had a GMail account for about two months now and the system is in a constant state of flux. I've reported bugs one day and they've been fixed the next. Each and every bug report or piece of feedback gets a personal response from the Google team. They are very serious about perfecting the system.
The only reason Google are waiting so long to launch it is because they want to make sure it's the best webmail out there bar none. When it's launched, that's when the comparisons can really start. And that's when Hotmail et al won't be able to shake a stick at Gmail.
Q: Can penguins fly?
A: No.
It is exactly this cocky, pointless geek-speak tone that stops these projects from gaining wide appeal with the less technically-inclined majority (and the business community in particular).
MyUID is a good idea, but like with so many open source projects run by CompSci students, if it's communicated like this, it won't get off the ground. When will these people learn?
The report generated a storm of controversy a couple of months ago
Can you say... D'OH!
release the movie online, for free
No, this would be a mistake. If MM released his movie on the internet first, it would damage its credibility and hurt its message.
There are plenty of 'exposé' documentaries available online (including the infamous banned Panorama documentary on the US election in 2000); just take a look on any of the major P2P networks. None of these have made a dent on the public at large because the image of online video is of something shady and illicit rather than respectable and credible.
This is a PR war just as much as a real one. If MM gets fat on the profits of his movie, who cares? It's the message that's important. Put it in the mainstream cinemas, just like Black Hawk Down and JFK (two movies that attempt to 'rewrite history' with obvious bias) so the public can get a balanced view and decide for themselves.
Sitting on a packed tour bus or in a busy cafe speaking my intimate thoughts out loud into an MP3 recorder doesn't sound too wise now does it?
Stick with a pen and notebook, and make sure you TAKE the time to hammer it into the computer as soon as you get back home. It will be time worth spending because you'll be editing and polishing as you type (as well as taking out those personal passages that you didn't want to share online - if you want to publish your travel stories on the web). That's what I did for my two-week tour of New Zealand and IMO it worked out fine.
You may want to consider using a cell phone that opens up into a keyboard. This would allow you to send text messages to your email address.
Errr, that would be ridiculously expensive for anything more than very short notes. An SMS has a maximum of 160 characters (you can write more, but then you send multiple SMS's -> more $$$). On top of this, SMS's that you send while roaming (and I don't think this guy will be buying a new SIM from a local provider for a two week holiday abroad) are usually more expensive than when you send them from your home network.
IMO, bad idea.
Evan Williams and his team, of Blogger fame (bought by Google last year), developed a 'Plogging' app called Pyra back in 2000. Work on it got halted when Blogger started to take off, but I remember trying out a beta version and it rocked. There's a little info still around on Pyra, but not much, and people seem to miss it; the Pyra.com site is now just a brochure for their company, which was also called Pyra.
I guess the market just wasn't ready for this app in 2000. Credit to Williams and his team for their vision, I guess!
I quote from Techdirt Mike's analysis:
It seems that they've screwed up one of the most basic rules in pricing: never take away features and charge for them. You can charge for new features - but taking away features that were included for free before always pisses off your most loyal customers. They feel suckered. They feel like you've pulled a bait and switch on them. In this case, many MT users set up multiple blogs with multiple authors. That's what the software encouraged them to do. Now, they're looking at the pricing and realizing to continue doing so on the new platform would cost them around $600. "Costs more for doing less" isn't a way to make users happy.
AFAI understand, the main reason why there's a lot of bitching going on against the MT authors is that they were using their loyal users to beta-test their new MT release (3.0) while keeping them under the mistaken impression it was going to remain free. I quote from one blog:
No business ethics problems? How about this.
You ready a beta release of a piece of software, and ask people to beta test it. Mention nothing about paying, or even that you are considering changing the license. Being the loyal folks they are, lots say "OK" and you give them the software. They upgrade to it, and there's no way to downgrade.
Then, about 5 weeks later, you say, "Oh, by the way, most of you will have to pay to upgrade out of beta". Keeping in mind that most of the people who are the most loyal to MT, and therefore the most likely to have signed up for the beta program, are the ones who take MT to its' limits by using multiple blogs for things like link sidebars, book reviews, photoblogs, etc., and a lot of them no longer qualify for the free version because of the three blog limit.
You've just stranded a whole bunch of people on a beta version of your software, and you're basically extorting them to allow them to upgrade to a non-beta release.
It does look like SixApart have shot themselves in the foot and alienated themselves from their fanbase. They have violated the golden role of starting to charge for something that was previously free. In the world of tech where everyone wants the latest and greatest (and MT users are particularly tech-savvy given the requirements to install and maintain the software), this was always going to be an unpopular decision. How could they not have foreseen this?
The launch of their TypePad service last year (which is basically a fully commercial, hosted MT package with bells and whistles like photo gallery management) was a smart business move; make a service out of your product, and keep the original product free. This latest move, though, is beyond comprehension and will only hurt them. It will sure be interesting to see how they backpedal from this.
No, it's crippled because (from the site):
# No promotion of your weblogs through the Recently Updated list
# No commercial usage
# No more than one author and three weblogs
AFAIK these were part of the old MT package before this pricing scheme was launched. Hence, crippled.
Sorry but I find this review rather giddy and one-sided.
...is 40 million spammers devising schemes to beat your spamfiltering 'tests', now you've published them on Slashdot for all the world to see.
Thanks a lot mate!
btw. I tried to sign up, but they send an email to you with a link to activate your account, but I still didnt get the mail (its been 6 hours)...
/var/www/www.spymac.com/classes/global_class.inc on line 617
This happened as soon as I had to submit my reg form:
Warning: mail(): Could not execute mail delivery program '/usr/sbin/sendmail -t -i ' in
So it would seem registrations aren't really working on their end. Sorry but I wouldn't say SpyMac isn't looking like a viable alternative to something Google can put out (yet)...
I haven't *downloaded* any of those files in ages though. Anyone know where one can find good ones?
The Mod Archive, Scene.org and Nectarine Radio are good places to start.
Though I recently converted much of my mod/XM/s3m/IT collection to mp3 format, since it will play in my car/portables that way.
I'm trying to do the same to transfer my entire module collection to my iPod. Question: What do you use to do it? I'm currently outputting the tunes to WAV with Modplug because it's a fairly accurate player (but not 100%) and the wav writer is of pretty good quality. This is a bit of a headfuck because there is no batch converter and I have to reselect the options every time. I then have to convert everything to MP3 with CdEX. There must be a more straightforward way to do this... any ideas?
I hereby award you +1 from my phantom mod points! You may be interested in the WSP Module Player Plugin for Winamp 5 which improves the accuracy of music module playback.
.IT's, etc.)
:) release their stuff in both MP3 and the original tracker format. PLUG ALERT: As do I (MP3's / modules.
To play tracker modules I'd still opt for Modplug Player over a mysterious Winamp plugin, because from the composer's perspective, the crucial thing is that the listener hears their tune as it was intended to be heard. It's one of the problems inherent in module formats that although the size of the files are relatively small (which allowed the scene to take off in a big way over BBS's), the output depends so much on the player you use (unlike MP3 for example which uses standard decoding algorithms across players).
In fact, if I'm gonna play the role of a total purist, the only real way to listen to a module is either:
1) To play it in the tracker in which it was originally composed (Fast Tracker 2 for XM's, Impulse Tracker for
2) To play an MP3 version of the tune, which was created from a WAV file that was output in said tracker
Many composers (well before the scene kinda died
--screamager [previously of the KFMF, now just reminiscing]
Development Status: 4 - Beta
Why is this still listed as a beta? I thought it was the source of a finalized product that had already been used in multiple installations... Did I miss something?
what about when you get into a position of power that someone doesn't like. All they have to do is pay off someone at Google to go through your old email and find something a bit questionable in your past.
You're right. But it's been the same deal with Hotmail and the other webmail services for years. Or hosting providers for that matter. Or even ISPs (that could potentially store all the data that you exchange with their servers).
If you're really worried about people digging up dirt on you if you get into a position of power, it's probably better to stay away from the Internet entirely.
Very cute (the marketing and the tone of the site, not the girl). Google seems to have pioneered the image of the humble personally-maintained website.
It looks like the typical homepage of any CompSci geek student, but it's backed by computing power of Skynet proportions and the company is valued at over $15 billion.
Don't let the way it looks fool you - it's all deliberate and contibutes to it's popularity.
A mate of mine goes one better. His name is Patrick, he lives in Luxembourg, so he nabbed the domain TRICK.LU and his e-mail is now.... p[@]trick.lu.
The idea is excellent and the implementation works well (for a beta). But I can't see why the programmer used flash when it seems like a tool that could be done so easily (and in a bandwidth-friendly fashion) using colored HTML tables.
The main headline is Internal Server Error. Pretty neat.