Random Blts: March 2005

2005-03-30

Business 2.0 :: Magazine Article :: Features :: What's Next for Apple?

Business 2.0 :: Magazine Article :: Features :: What's Next for Apple?

This is a terrific article about Apple ... but more importantly the subtext is about the next great consumer electronics battle that is brewing... appliances! By that I mean zillions of cool gadgets! Which ones will stick?

Apple is in a very good position, brand-wise and in terms of their focus on slick looking technology, to fight in the next big battle.

But Microsoft is in a good place too. They will probably control or at least greatly contribute to the Home Media Server of the future. Plus with their Windows CE platform ('CE' stands for Consumer Electronics) they have a relatively small footpoint operating system that has a ton of features and applications, from scheduling to video playback.

It's going to be a huge deal, and if Microsoft can really get it together, then I think their stock will finally get out of the doldrums because they will have a compelling story to tell about a huge area of future growth.

Of course, the phone companies are going to try, and Sony, who has a great start with PSP, is going to try to be the gadget king too.

So it's going to be a terrific battle. And the winner will be ... us! Because there will be so many cool gadgets to choose from!

2005-03-25

This Weather's Killing Me!

I was doing some timing tests on my computer and I couldn't figure out why my excellent code was suddenly running really slow.

Duh! Maybe something else was running in the background on my machine and killing my numbers.

So I open up the Task Manager and see that Internet Explorer is pigging out.

I start killing off Internet Explorer windows. I tend to think of them as fairly passive - they grab stuff off the web and then sit there.

When I killed off Weather.com suddenly my machine was back to normal!

Ahh.... who knows what evil lurks in the heart of a web page. Could be Java, could be Javascript, could be it simply refreshes itself really often.

As part of my current project I am running Windows Server 2003 on an isolated box. When I open up Task Manager on my local machine I see dozens of processes running. When I open up Task Manager on the server machine I see ... about five processes running! It's so cool!

I want one. I want a server machine sitting in a little rack next to my main computer serving up files and running like a bat out of hell. Very cool.

In the old days (seven years ago), I literally had one computer for every kind of task I wanted to perform, because computers (well, Windows) didn't really multi-task very well. If I started compressing a file then that was it for that computer. But now things are so much better that I can hang a ton of peripherals off my machine via USB and Firewire and things pretty much keep working.

But that flexibility isn't free - all of those background processes add up.

I wonder when it will be standard issue for a home to have a server sitting in a closet somewhere (near where the cable or DSL or satellite feed comes in).

I think Microsoft needs to make Windows Server 2003 Home Edition. Of course, they should call it Windows Server 2005 Home Media Server.

© 2005 Stephen Clarke-Willson - All Rights Reserved.

2005-03-21

The Evil Twin Attack

PCWorld.com - Does Your Wi-Fi Hotspot Have an Evil Twin?

MSNBC - Ready for your close-up? Here come the vlogs

The day after I posted a big 300K animated gif of myself emitting some magic dust I read on MSNBC that 'vlogs' - Video Logs - are the latest thing.

I doubt animated gifs are the best way to post video but they do work in all browsers!

I've noticed that on my page the big animated gif slows down the loading of most of the rest of the page even over a fast broadband connection. (I've since cut the size in half with ImageReady.)

One of the vlogs mentioned in the MSNBC article is RocketBoom. Last Thursday's Amanda's daily dance cracked me up - once it finally downloaded onto my machine. It looks like a real dance to me - the kind of dance that 'flappers' did back in the 20's.

Amanda's regular news vlog wasn't so funny. But I might check in on her video log from time-to-time.

2005-03-20

It's Magic

The animated gif below is something I made in 1995 when I first moved to the Pacific Northwest. I was digging through some old video and chanced upon it.

If you look very carefully you can see a particle emitter follow the position of my thumb.

(Note: This was a 320K gif but I reduced it in ImageReady to 32 colors which cut the size in half. It doesn't look too different. You can click on the image to see the 320k version. Woot!)

© 2005 Stephen Clarke-Willson - All Rights Reserved.

2005-03-19

Amazon.com: Books Search Results: Michael P. Waite

2005-03-18

iTunes downloads tracks w/o copy protection - then applies the DRM

DVD Jon: buy DRM-less tracks from Apple iTunes | The Register:

"iTunes downloads each song as an audio stream, but only once it has grabbed the track does it apply the DRM rules - not surprising, perhaps, since the copy-protection coded into a given song is client computer-specific. Technically, then, PyMusique doesn't bypass the copy-protection code since it grabs the file before the DRM rules are applied. Still, it's a moot point and one that lawyers will enjoy debating if they're given the chance."

Whose goofy idea was that? Windows Media is better - it downloads encrypted files from the get-go. In fact, you can share them with your friends. If you go to play a file you got from your friend, you are taken to a web site where you can buy the key to unlock the track.

2005-03-14

NPR : Donald Knuth, Founding Artist of Computer Science

NPR : Donald Knuth, Founding Artist of Computer Science

The link is to a really charming interview with Donald Knuths, everyone's computer science hero.

Knuth gives out checks for $2.56 to people who find errors or typos in his books.

I myself received a check for $1.28 and another for $2.56 from Knuth when I was in college. These checks were for typos in his TeX and MetaFont books. I was so poor back then that I cashed them. In fact, I was so poor that even though I thought about making copies of the checks, I decided the $0.25 that would cost was too much.

Here's an errata page (scroll down) from Knuth's page at Stanford.

© 2005 Stephen Clarke-Willson - All Rights Reserved

2005-03-12

How to Park

I was at Target and I saw this guy who had a good solution to the problem of too many "compact" parking spots.

Truck does whacky parking job

2005-03-11

Google localized in Klingon

Google supports many different languages - including Klingon, apparently.

2005-03-09

Apology

PC: EA Loses Another Key RTS Executive

Way back in the day, when I had a large series of articles posted at my web site called "The Rise and Fall of Virgin Interactive," I quoted Mark Skaggs from an interview where he said he was going to build a team in a month. This was really just a point of departure for talking about team building.

I later ran into Mark at the Queen Mary and he said, "What the ---- is your problem? Why do you write that ----?" (In retrospect, I can't be sure he actually used any swear words - maybe just some strong words.) He also told me he was misquoted by the article I referenced, which is very easy for me to believe.

My answer - "Enquiring minds want to know!" (Those articles had a pretty big following.)

So, anyway, I have to say, that over the years Mark has weathered a lot of changes at Westwood/EA and built a lot of good products as the keeper of the Command and Conquer franchise.

So, sorry Mark, I took your name in vain oh-so-long-ago, and good luck with whatever you end up doing. You've done a kick-ass job maintaining that product series through a lot of transitions. Good job.

(Here's a story from my VIE series about how Dune II which lead to Command and Conquer came about.)

© 2005 Stephen Clarke-Willson - All Rights Reserved

2005-03-07

AllofMP3.com still legal

Moscow prosecutor lets low-cost MP3 site off the hook The Register:

"AllofMP3.com maintains what it's doing is legal, under the terms of a licence granted to it by the Russian copyright licensing authorities. Essentially, it can transmit CD content without first gaining the authorisation of the copyright owner, provided it makes a nominal payment for the privilege, which it claims it does. It says its distribution of tracks across the Internet of digital audio files is equivalent to a broadcaster or a cable company transmitting songs as part of their programming.

Last month, the computer crime division of the Moscow City Police began an investigation into AllofMP3.com's activities after receiving a complaint from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The police referred the case to the Prosecutor's Office with the request that the Internet site be brought to book.

However, because the site is not involved in the physical distribution of unauthorised copies of the songs it offers, it can't be put on trial for breaking Russia's copyright law, the Prosecutor's Office said last week.

The IFPI has already admitted that AllofMP3.com is operating within a loophole in Russian law, and that a successful prosecution would be unlikely. "

2005-03-06

Formats galore!

Fool.com: Goodbye to DVDs [Commentary] January 24, 2005

I've changed my mind about Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD. I don't think HD-DVD will win just because it is compatible with current manufacturing technology. I think we'll have both.

DVD players are already really multiplayers - they play most anything. Some even play DivX. They play DVD-RAM, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD Audio, CD-R, CD-RW, manufactured DVDs and CDs, and support a multitude of formats. Some will play your JPEG pictures and make a slide show for you.

So, it will cost a few bucks extra, but the DVD player of the future will just add Blu-Ray and HD-DVD to the list of formats they support. In the early days, I suspect a lot of films will be released on HD-DVD because it will be cheaper to manufacture. HD-DVDs can be made with existing DVD pressing plants. Later, as the movie studios and conusmers want even more storage, Blu-Ray will take the lead.

But we'll have both, just as we have DVD-RAM, DVD+/-RW, and CD all coexisting.

Formats galore!

[Note: 1/27/2006 - now that we know that Blu-Ray is going to cost TWICE AS MUCH as HD-DVD we can safely write it off.]

© Stephen Clarke-Willson, 2005 - All Rights Reserved.

2005-03-04

Am I Right - Song Parodies, All The People At That Number

Am I Right - Song Parodies, All The People At That Number

This is hard for even me to believe, but my younger brother Tim actually put on a concert at UCI with Tommy Tutone. How the hell do you put on a concert? I don't know. It had something to do with promoting a car brand or something.

© 2005 Stephen Clarke-Willson - All Rights Reserved

Life's Been Good To Me

Am I Right - Misheard Lyrics, Joe Walsh:

"And I got me an office
called records on the wall"

Correct Lyrics:

"And I got me an office,
gold records on the wall"

I always thought "Records on the Wall" was a great name for a record label. Someone should use it.

Spring has Sprung

It's an early spring in western Washington.

(Click for bigger picture. Nearly every picture here can be expanded to a big one but nobody ever clicks on the thumbnail to get the bigger picture.)

© 2005 Stephen Clarke-Willson - All Rights Reserved.

2005-03-03

New Rating Announced

Video game ratings system adds new category.

It's about time! I ranted about the need for this earlier.

Possibly the Perfect Phone

Possibly the perfect phone. The Sony Ericsson W800:

Plays MP3s via Memory Stick (up to 2 gigabytes),
has an FM Radio,
has Bluetooth,
has a 2 megapixel camera,
works as a speaker phone,
is a quad band world phone, and
it's small.

I wonder how much it will cost.

2005-03-01

Microsoft Millionaires

I wrote these in June 1997:

Microsoft Millionaires - You too can be a Microsoft millionaire. Looking at the price history of Microsoft stock over the past 10 years shows that it has increased 40 times. It's a safe bet it will increase 40 times over the next ten years. So, just buy $25,000.00 of Microsoft stock, and wait ten years, and you'll have a million bucks. My goal for a retirement account is $2,000,000.00, which will produce enough interest income to live in great style, so this would get me half-way there. (Beats working.)

[Needless to say the stock is not on track for going up another 40x. -- Stephen]

-and-

Gates to pay off national debt? Speaking of that 40x increase in the stock price, Gates' stock is currently worth over $30 billion dollars. In ten years, it will be worth $1.2 trillion dollars. Assuming we continue to battle deficit spending with our current sort-of hold-the-line policies, where it doesn't get hugely worse over the next ten years, then Gates, as a charity donation, could pay off the national debt. Some of you may have heard how Paul Allen here in Seattle offered to buy the local football team for $120 million, if the state government made certain concessions, like building a new stadium. Imagine what strings Mr. Gates might attach to his gift of $1.2 trillion? "Well, my $1.2 trillion dollar gift was the result of a relatively 'friction-free economy', so I think maybe the Federal Trade Commission and the Commerce Department in the Department of Justice should be dissolved as a good-faith gesture."