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This will be the last post in this blog, as this blog has been consolidated into my main blog.

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Thanks!

Joost

I just got my Joost invitation. Very excited. First impressions are that they have recreated the TV experience well, starting off with a blast of previews of different programs -- kind of a "must see TV" line up. The videos are full screen, and significantly higher quality than youtube. It has Comedy Central programs on it, so I suppose this represents the Viacom alternative to youtube. I wonder if Joost really does handle video transfers more efficiently through peer-to-peer?

Anyways, I'm watching "Stella" - the Comedy Central sitcom from 2 years ago with an intensely bizarre deadpan trio of guys in suits. Pretty cool.

But I seem to keep getting messages after a while saying that the program can't be played... Is it my WiFi network, or is it congestion on the internet?

web 2.0 ideas

Here are three web sites that I would like to see --

1. A virtual trade show in which each store has an instant messaging window (as in meebo.com)
2. An advertising campaign for... nothing. So much of advertising is designed to create dissatisfaction, consumer demand and overconsumption. Instead, let's have an on-line campaign in which people / creative agencies submit commercials and advertisements that are designed to make people happy with what they have.
3. A shoulder surfing website, in which you can go and passively watch OTHER people surf the web.

Please leave a comment if you know of any such sites...

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

This is an interesting new-media video reflecting on the meanings and ramifications of the hyperlinked, hypertexted, interactive, participatory web today.



Source: http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/

Bus tracking in Finland using FLASH-OFDM

This link shows the current position of buses in Helsinki, Finland.

Note that it doesn't seem to work in Firefox (although it works in IE and Safari).

The technology is based on FLASH-OFDM, which has been deployed in Finland by Digita.

http://research.wspgroup.fi/hklajoneuvot/

Volcano High

http://www.mtv.com/onair/volcano_high/

This is the MTV re-dubbing of a Korean martial arts movie that takes place inside a special high school... Volcano High.

"It’s a hip-hop kung-fu flick with mind blowing special effects backed by an impressive cast of celebrity voices including Andre 3000, Lil' Jon, Snoop Dogg, Method Man and Mya. Brace yourself, Grasshopper."

Here is the link to the video on peekvid (while it lasts):


http://adrama.peekvid.com/s3306/

Google TV: is it real?

This is a video of a beta feature from google... or perhaps an elaborate mockup of a feature that google should provide...



Here is commentary:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/01/28/google-tv-an-elaborate-prank/
http://michikono.com/blog/2007/01/28/googletv-examining-the-evidence/

Is it real? Apparently not, but it points to a big potential change from traditional broadcast to internet delivery in the next few years. (Ref. tv.peekvid.com).

Update: I just saw this video from the same source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY8Wi7XRXCA
It's hilarious. These videos are from an art studio called Fatal Farm, which is in the business of creating mock commercials and in this case semi-plausible technical hoaxes...
http://www.fatalfarm.com/main.html

Update: a related posting - Bill Gates on the internet television revolution:
http://news.com.com/Gates+Internet+to+revolutionize+TV+in+5+years/2100-1041_3-6154009.html