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October 26, 2005
Flickr Photos
The photos are random, so you can hit reload for new ones or click to see all of them.
Posted by Lee Clontz at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2005
Trying out Flock
I'm trying out the new Flock browser. So far, it's pretty cool with integrated browsing, blogging and native de.icio.us support. Pretty interesting so far.
Posted by Lee Clontz at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)
October 18, 2005
Birds-of-a-Feather
Went to a great Birds-of-a-Feather session last night with the "XD" -- Experience Design -- group. Seems like those guys have the best jobs in all of technology. They made this crazy cool demo at the keynote of a futuristic media management tool and store, which led me to a question that I asked them.
It seems like the thing that's holding Flash back from being the best cross-platform media development product is its extremely limited format support. Right now you can play Flash Video (FLV) and MP3, but not much else. Most of the content people are buying today is in DRM'ed WMV, WMA and AAC (and the FairPlay MOV from the iTunes Music Store), and that trend is only going to grow.
What I'd like to do is to be able to write a cross-platform media player -- better than Windows Media Player, better than iTunes -- that can play anything. The inability of Flash to read anything except a very limited set of media content is going to make that virtually impossible though.
The response from the Macromedia guys was basically that it wasn't likely to happen because of licensing and technology issues, which I understand. Still, it would be a real world-beater.
Posted by Lee Clontz at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2005
Max Keynote
Some really cool stuff was showed off at the Macromedia Max 2005 keynote today. Flex Builder, a tool that will let you built Flex apps without a server, seems like it'll be really cool. Anxious to try that one out. There's a new site -- http://labs.macromedia.com -- that'll let you download software alphas (download Flex 2 as we speak). They also showed off a prototype "media app of the future" that integrated all media, games, etc. on all devices with integrated shopping capabilities (of course).
Downsides? Macromedia CEO Stephen Elop took a really weird swipe at Microsoft for no good reason, showing a Windows 95-style BSOD to applause from the audience. Those kinda went away about five years ago, but whatever. Not sure that the CEO of a company that shipped Flash 7.0, which crashed many times a day, has much room to talk. And Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen showed up very awkwardly at the end and seemed kinda like a stepfather-to-be having a "I know I can't replace your Dad" kind of conversation. It was a little creepy and probably didn't set the tone he intended.
Posted by Lee Clontz at 4:27 PM | Comments (0)
Sony's Braindead Firmware Updates
Rented a couple of PSP games for the flight -- "Burnout Legends" and "Namco Battle Museum" -- for the flight to Anaheim. I get on the plane and both games require the 1.52 PSP Firmware Update which is included on the UMD disc. Fair enough, but the firmware update requires the unit to be plugged in, even though I have a full charge. So on the plane, which, let's face it, is when you're most likely to use such a thing, you're completely unable to play the games. Very annoying.
That said, I installed the firmware update once I got to the hotel and Burnout is freaking great.
Posted by Lee Clontz at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)
Back at Max
Arrived in Anaheim yesterday for Max 2005. Good flight, good movie ("Batman Begins"), bad weather. Walked around Downtown Disney a bit, but couldn't bring myself to spend $50 for a couple of hours in the park. Everything went smoothly with checkin and this morning I'm at my first session, Advanced Actionscript 2.0. Body is a little wigged by the time change, but so far, so good.
Posted by Lee Clontz at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)
October 14, 2005
It's Free Because No One Would Pay For It
CNN's featured news video from yesterday:
Let's see: Sex? Check. Violence? Check. News judgment? I'll have to get back to you.
Posted by Lee Clontz at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)
Reading
Finally finished "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea", about the history and controversy behind the number zero. Some really interesting chapters about zero's relationship to infinity and its role in physics and geometry, although I have to confess that some of the higher math was a little over my head. Definitely a worthwhile read though, even if it took me two tries to actually get into it.
Have moved on to a much more entertaining book, "Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer," Warren St. John's hilarious, insightful book about college football fandom in the South. St. John bought and RV and spent a season on the road with Alabama fans (of which he is an ardent one), chronicling the complex and often bizarre ways that individuals cluster themselves together for love of one particular colored jersey over another. Think "Confederates in the Attic," but about college football, and you're most of the way there.
Posted by Lee Clontz at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2005
Adding Digital Certificates to Pocket PC
Saving this for later, but hoping it's what I need:
http://www.petri.co.il/adding_root_certificates_to_windows_mobile_2003_ppc.htm
Posted by Lee Clontz at 5:15 PM | Comments (0)