MIT Technology Review Article on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Ok, so online photo sharing is hot. I was impressed with Picasa/Hello (just acquired by Google), this is another angle on the same story. Flickr is trying to merge photos with social networks. Not sure how they expect to make money. They do have ads.
I get the feeling not all the photos are wholesome and pure. One can mark photos as "likely to shock".
They do have private groups, so I can host the family pictures there. They may be too private however, I don't want to bother Grandma with a password. I'm ok with the feeble security of a privately held URL.
Somewhat like Picasa's Hello they support hosting a photo and simultaneously creating a blog entry with a lower res thumbnail. So you can use their blog, or you can use another blog (I have an unpublished blogger photoblog brewing). Somewhat like Picasa, but it's all web client so no platform issues. On the other hand one can't stage fifty photos for posting, the easiest interface is to mail one photo at a time (suited to phone based photoblogging). Maybe they'll extend their offering.
I'll read this MIT tech review and see what it says.
Hot area, but noone is yet following the grandma-friendly plans I posted on newsgroups and emailed to photo vendors a year ago ...
Update: I read the MIT article. It's really an iChat, text messaging, party animal, social networking kind of schtick. I can't see where they expect to make money (higher featured version costs money?) but I can't judge this market demo -- I'm way too old!
Not quite what I need ... but we'll see where it goes ...
Friday, July 16, 2004
Flicker: Doctorow (boing boing) likes it
Welcome to Flickr!
I'm still not sure what it is. Some kind of photo sharing/community/blog service. The profile seemed to ask more personal questions than most (I entered "taken") -- makes me think it might be a dating service rather than a means to create a photo blog with limited distribution.
Given Doctorow's nature, it could be either of the above.
I'm still not sure what it is. Some kind of photo sharing/community/blog service. The profile seemed to ask more personal questions than most (I entered "taken") -- makes me think it might be a dating service rather than a means to create a photo blog with limited distribution.
Given Doctorow's nature, it could be either of the above.
Bluetooth, thumb drives, RFID, watches and cyborgs
Air2Net Bluetooth CF/PC Card
How do we end up traveling from the 20th century into the virtual age? Historians, if there are any, will look back at wrist watches with embedded bluetooth and flash memory, and they'll look at dogs tagged with RFID implants.
Then they'll look at feckless youngsters who implant RFID tags to weird out their parents. Whose younger siblings implant usb stores and bluetooth modules (Perhaps the power supply remains external? A good way to gross out parents would be to inject alcohol into a subdermal fuel cell bladder). And so it goes.
I do like the idea of a watch with USB storage 2-4GB (or, soon, a microdrive with 40GB), a thumprint reader, bluetooth and an embedded RFID tag (I'm too squeamish to put the RFID tag in my forearm). I think with a bit of cleverness the watch could look pretty conventional, and even less bulky than is the current fashion (the real problem is batteries -- we need a fuel cell battery than can be resupplied by an external device).
Anyone remember the Java ring of the 1990s?
One could do a LOT of things with this combo. Data would be stored on the USB store as an encrypted disk image. The RFID tag would respond to inquiries and trigger a biometric authentication request. Upon authentication a nearby computer would exchange keys with the Bluetooth adapter, then mount the disk image via the bluetooth interface. The disk image would contain one's roving profile, private keys, etc. (like the Java ring)
Nothing new here or technically challenging, just interesting to watch the pieces come together.
How do we end up traveling from the 20th century into the virtual age? Historians, if there are any, will look back at wrist watches with embedded bluetooth and flash memory, and they'll look at dogs tagged with RFID implants.
Then they'll look at feckless youngsters who implant RFID tags to weird out their parents. Whose younger siblings implant usb stores and bluetooth modules (Perhaps the power supply remains external? A good way to gross out parents would be to inject alcohol into a subdermal fuel cell bladder). And so it goes.
I do like the idea of a watch with USB storage 2-4GB (or, soon, a microdrive with 40GB), a thumprint reader, bluetooth and an embedded RFID tag (I'm too squeamish to put the RFID tag in my forearm). I think with a bit of cleverness the watch could look pretty conventional, and even less bulky than is the current fashion (the real problem is batteries -- we need a fuel cell battery than can be resupplied by an external device).
Anyone remember the Java ring of the 1990s?
One could do a LOT of things with this combo. Data would be stored on the USB store as an encrypted disk image. The RFID tag would respond to inquiries and trigger a biometric authentication request. Upon authentication a nearby computer would exchange keys with the Bluetooth adapter, then mount the disk image via the bluetooth interface. The disk image would contain one's roving profile, private keys, etc. (like the Java ring)
Nothing new here or technically challenging, just interesting to watch the pieces come together.
Pluck RSS Reader: Retrieve news from favorite sites
Pluck RSS ReaderAnother RSS reader, this one an IE plug-in. RSS seem clients now come in four flavors:
1. web service/asp: use browser to work with
2. email plug-in, esp. Outlook
3. browser plug-in, esp. IE/FireFox
4. standalone
I think the standalone are unlikely to go too far. I'd like to use a web service that had companion plug-ins for Outlook and FireFox, so they'd share a single OPML file.
1. web service/asp: use browser to work with
2. email plug-in, esp. Outlook
3. browser plug-in, esp. IE/FireFox
4. standalone
I think the standalone are unlikely to go too far. I'd like to use a web service that had companion plug-ins for Outlook and FireFox, so they'd share a single OPML file.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Rocket RSS Reader
Rocket RSS Reader
I followed this link via a Blooger Google ad. It looks interesting, especially since I've been disappointed with bloglines latest changes.
I do like having Google's ads next to my blog posting and my gmail. They're interesting and useful.
I followed this link via a Blooger Google ad. It looks interesting, especially since I've been disappointed with bloglines latest changes.
I do like having Google's ads next to my blog posting and my gmail. They're interesting and useful.
Google and digital image storage
MacSlash | Google Acquires Digital Photo Management Company Picasa
Very interesting! Google has the power to crush the digital image store/sell industry. I wonder if they'll build Google extensions into Picasa then make it freely available. The Picasa web site has links to a tool that facilitates putting images into Google's Blogger blog. Photoblogging deluxe?
Update:I downloaded both Picasa and Hello, Picasa's Chat/peer-to-peer image sharing application with the "bot" interface to Blogger.
Phew! Complex and innovative. I can see why Blogger went for Picasa. Very impressive. I may even pay the $30 for the app, though I suspect it will soon be free (I'll wait a few days before I buy, I'm on a 14 day trial.).
Here's a sample photo. I may switch to this mode of distributing photos to friends and families. I'll create a private photo blog just for that purpose.
Here's an old photo for test purposes ... (Molly, then aged about 3 months, now 14.5 years and on her 7th life ...)
Today Google acquired Picasa, a company that makes digital photo management software. No specifics were given but Jonathan Rosenberg, vice president of Product Management said 'its technologies complement Google's ongoing mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.' Perhaps this means that Google will someday allow you to use some of your GB of storage to host and showcase your digital photo library.
Very interesting! Google has the power to crush the digital image store/sell industry. I wonder if they'll build Google extensions into Picasa then make it freely available. The Picasa web site has links to a tool that facilitates putting images into Google's Blogger blog. Photoblogging deluxe?
Update:I downloaded both Picasa and Hello, Picasa's Chat/peer-to-peer image sharing application with the "bot" interface to Blogger.
Phew! Complex and innovative. I can see why Blogger went for Picasa. Very impressive. I may even pay the $30 for the app, though I suspect it will soon be free (I'll wait a few days before I buy, I'm on a 14 day trial.).
Here's a sample photo. I may switch to this mode of distributing photos to friends and families. I'll create a private photo blog just for that purpose.
Here's an old photo for test purposes ... (Molly, then aged about 3 months, now 14.5 years and on her 7th life ...)
Boing Boing: Sterling's Singularity speech audio
Boing Boing: Sterling's Singularity speech audio
I need to download this sucker then get it on my iPod.
Update: Bleah. I downloaded, converted to AAC, made it bookmarkable, and listened. Sterling caricatures Vinge and mocks much of Vinge's writing. I thought Sperling's arguments were simplistic and misdirecting. He never really deals with Vinge's fundamental theses, but he does well with simplistic rhetoric and humorous digressions.
Stupid and a waste of time.
Bruce Sterling's speech to the Long Now Foundation on the Singularity is a corker. He really is a *hell* of a speaker.
I need to download this sucker then get it on my iPod.
Update: Bleah. I downloaded, converted to AAC, made it bookmarkable, and listened. Sterling caricatures Vinge and mocks much of Vinge's writing. I thought Sperling's arguments were simplistic and misdirecting. He never really deals with Vinge's fundamental theses, but he does well with simplistic rhetoric and humorous digressions.
Stupid and a waste of time.
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