misc. links of the day...

Is it possible to embed javascript in flash?
Why would I want to do that? One reason is that I could embed that swf object in a sprout.

FS Command: A Short Introduction
http://www.moock.org/webdesign/flash/fscommand/

Flash / JavaScript Integration Kit (Beta)
http://weblogs.macromedia.com/flashjavascript/

Creating Beautiful Interfaces with CSS - 081806
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-988708193861222512

MIT prof's notorious talk on How to Talk
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/02/19/mit-profs-notorious.html

Next Nature -- a designer's vision of a nature overtaken by corporatism
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/02/19/next-nature-a-design.html
LIFT08 Presentation video
http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2008/02/the-freakiest-m.html

SitePoint CSS Reference
http://reference.sitepoint.com/css

sounds/voices in your head?
http://physorg.com/news122567894.html

If you agree that we should be able to purchase alcohol on Sundays in GA, please click on the link in the AJC article below and sign the petition. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/02/18/booze_0219.html

AVCHD hoop jumping

We got a new Sony AVCHD video camera at the office - and the camera/video is fantastic! But the format is so new, it seems that only newer software/editing tools support it. Before you go out and get it, make sure you have the software to edit it! Could even be more than the camera itself!?! Here is some detailed info on AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition). The codec is now being used by Sony, Panasonic and Canon in their new HD cameras.

CoreAVC, a reasonably cheap($15?) and quick h.264 decoder for Windows, can decode AVCHD as well as a variety of other h.264 formats (info via doom9).

Some peeps are using this $30 converter for AVCHD (windows only).

Supposedly Mac supports AVCHD native with iLife 08 (via amazon). and FYI - the swiss army knife for Quicktime (Mac OS) is the Perian codec.

And in related news... 'DVD Jon' frees your media with DoubleTwist.
*Much thanks to Jeff Gray and Michael McReynolds for info posted here.

embeddable video playlist

swfIR / sIFR 3beta2

Question: Is there an html or other device we can download, and it show all the sIFR fonts in my collection? Much like a font book?
Could it be possible to use sIFR fonts in other apps? Like AfterEffects, Photoshop, Illustrator, on your system?
Flash is so prevalent, could it be a better format (than TTF, etc)?

sIFR Flash Fonts Library
http://www.isarie.com/?p=17

convert any TTF font into a SWF Flash file for use with sIFR. (Requires .NET 2.0).
http://digitalretrograde.com/Projects/sifrFontEmbedder/

sIFR 2007: The Roundup (sIFR3 beta)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/04/27/sifr-2007-the-roundup/

swf Image Replacement: sIFR for your Pictures
http://www.swfir.com/

sIFR3 beta2 - FEB 08
http://novemberborn.net/sifr3

sIFR showcase web examples
http://www.alvit.de/sifrbeauty/

More sIFR font collections
http://cg.scs.carleton.ca/~luc/sifr.html
http://www.fortysomething.ca/mt/etc/archives/design_elements/fonts/

Set Top Box/PVR/PC

Why burn content to DVD to watch it on your tv? Media is dead?!? Not yet. This box (Divx Connetcted) is apparently only for watching (windows) divx videos, music and photos (jpgs/bmps). But it does look like there are plugins being developed, however it looks like the plugins are channel/content based? More info on this device here: 01 | 02 | 03
Im not planning spending my money on physical media like Blu-Ray, especially since it will be defunct soon. With online storage and backup available - the only thing holding (most) people back is cost and transfer time. And that may be the tipping point.
I think that a mythtv, dreambox, orb.com, slingbox, or apple tv may be a better solution for now.
My ideal set top box would have:
-internet surfing
-plays most file formats
-storage or usb for external drive
-does videophone
-built in wifi, acts as a router

THE SIGNAL MOVIE RELEASE

So some friends of mine created a movie (THE SIGNAL), and it premieres this Thursday, February 22, 2008 - at the Plaza (Atlanta GA). Im planning to be at the premiere - and celebrating with them. My buddy Kevin told me about sproutbuilder - so I thought I'd try it out:

grandcentral + gizmo = supafree?

Are free calls to 60 countries possbile? Im trying to find out... GrandCentral adds Gizmo Support!!! (article here) Info on how it works - on GrandCentrals website. More info on free VOIP forwarding. BETA video calls for windows users. *Of course you will need headset to use for phonecalls on the PC. Questions that i dont have complete answers for: -free unlimited international calls? -works with cellphone too? Also checkout ringbranch.com and fring.com.

Web 3.0 ideas/concepts

(in other words, what i (and ideas from others) think the next generation of web needs to be)
-every webpage could be user re-configureable. And a layout/style button. In theory, the last person to modify the page - is the way the next new person would see it. The returning users would view the layout that they have chosen or created (via a cookie). The layout button would be a dropdown, to view all of the various styles in sequential order. This would enable users to potentially make the site more usable to each individual. Elements such as videos/channels and music could also be shown on the page - along with the provided content from the site. Something like - we are promoting this video, here are your collected videos. The user could quickly add this sites video to their playlist or video collection. The same goes for the written content, photos or music. Could the user add elements? Based upon a browser setting, other users could choose to enable or disable this, along with a
Social aspects(facebook) and widgets would also be tied in. I would think that the mobile users would have an impact in this as well.
-content is open and easily portable or collectable
-less keyboard(more 1 click functionality) - easier to use(usability). Using openid for automatic username & passwords, voice entry, (kinda similar to minority report).
-Fully controlling our data and interface. A mash-up, personalization through configuration
-Ease of connectability, thru various hardware advancements
-Semantic -to perform reasoning on user's behalf or machine-facilitated understanding of information in order to provide a more productive and intuitive user experience
-more pervasive??? (technology used by other devices as well - phones)
-applications would be hosted
-more free services & software
-3D paradigm(2nd life web experience) will come of age in Web 4.0

To borrow from businessweek: A web that gives people the tools to craft their own tools, their own software, etc. Why go to YouTube when you can set up your own MyTube, with the same functionality but tailored to the specific purposes of your blog/community website/etc. People will be able to create their own complex online social media tools with a few clicks, but remain linked to other tools and other people through tagging, rss and all that good stuff.

Special Reports Web 3.0

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur & Strategy Consultant Sramana Mitra, after receiving reactions and feedback on her definition of Web 3.0, writes a follow-on synthesis explaining why the Semantic Web can only be implemented in a Contextual Domain. Thus, Web 3.0 according to her, is a Verticalized, Contextualized, Personalized Web. 01 | 02 | 03

From geraldjoseph.typepad.com:
1. gestural and voice computing-with the growing emergence of interaction design, user interface design technology and innovative emphasis software will eventually be operated via gestures of the hand or eye (similar to virtual reality gaming) and voice via certain demands
2. more software embedded in browsers-many new software companies are moving towards the 'always on' model where software operates via a browser and doesn't require any downloading or installation on your desktop or server
3. eventually there will, most likely, be a linkability web app that allows you to use all of your disparate desktop, server, and mobile devices and programs (including telephones, fax, instant messaging, pagers) in a single browser window on your desktop or handheld device
4. you also have to begin to expect the advent of avatar interactions in virtual worlds as a part of social networking and social shopping

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_3

Much thanks to Charlie Deppner, Michael McReynolds for thoughts/input.

Freelance opportunities abound

Had dinner with my friend Kris Sheets the other night - and he mentioned oDesk. Its worth a look. Apparently they made a splash on the scene in 2006. They outsource to Freelancers, IT Companies, Programmers, Web Designers, and more - oDesk. And here is my profile. Articles here: The On Demand Global Workforce - oDesk, oDesk/O'Reilly Tech Visualizations, oDesk Provides On-demand Skills.

I found a huge list of freelancing job sites.

My buddy Bill told me that eworkmarkets.com(now defunct) was what he used, until they folded. They charged $$$ and left a lot of people unpaid, no warning - in 2007. He also had a cool idea - an app that emails you when certain jobs match across several sites. Some might have this function already. Also - if you wrote a very niche app but wanted to know when/if someone was looking for that type of app. There are sites that you can sign up for for "reputation" reviews
like rapleaf and spock. So if some client is on that, and has good feedback/reputation, you have more confidence in them. You can also use these sites: programmermeetdesigner.com
, xing, linkedin, rentacoder, elance. The problem with a lot of these job sites is that they often have mostly low $ stuff.

Edit PDF documents online with PDF Hammer

PDF Hammer is an online utility that lets you perform basic edits to PDF files. You can upload an individual file or multiple files and rearrange or delete pages and then export your project as a new PDF file. The site provides a quick and simple solution for combining multiple PDF documents into one file or for stripping away pages you don't need in a long document.

The developer is working on adding additional features like the ability to rotate pages and apply watermarks and stamps to pages. The only thing that would make PDF Hammer easier to use? A desktop client. Sure it's nice that you don't have to register or download anything to use the application. But if you've got a bunch of files to edit, it can be kind of tedious uploading them one at a time. Via: DownloadSquad.com. More info: How to pwn PDF password protection, Convert docs to PDF online -free.

Update: Five Email Addresses that Convert Documents (docx, mp3, wav, pdf, html) and Convert PDF to HTML online.

Music for 18 - Steve Reich

A cool article I heard over the weekend - with some very cool music... At almost an hour in length, the piece unfolds like a slowly shifting dream, with sections of repeated material ebbing and flowing around a cycle of 11 chords. It's scored for strings, percussion, woodwinds and voices, and takes tremendous concentration on the part of the 18 players. To this day, the work is mainly performed by the composer and his loyal group of musicians. Listen Via NPR. Some ok videos on youtube.

Free SEO Tips/Comparison

Want to know how to get your Website high up in natural search results, but don’t want to pay a search engine optimization (SEO) firm just to find out what you are doing wrong? Now you can get a free, automated evaluation of your site on Website Grader. Just type in your Website address, and it will spit out a report detailing what you can do to boost your site’s SEO juice. It even gives you a grade. Part of Hubspot. Via TechCrunch

the ole Web 2.0

From Wikipedia - the phrase Web 2.0 can refer to a trend in web design and development — a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services (such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies) which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing between users. So whats next (Web 3.0)? To help answer that, I wanted to get a grasp of what Web 2.0 was. I will address 3.0 in a future blog post....

creating a playlist

The great thing about this site is that it hits google videos, youtube, and myspace - with more to come. My question is - why dont they let users have the functionality to aggregate other video content from other sites? Looks like Lycos may have similar functionality too. I really like the wide capability of the chumby player, but I want to get rid of the shell - and just have the screen. There are more playlist generators out there, so take a look around and see what works best for you: How to create an XML playlist, with youtube.com, imeem.com, JW FLV MediaPlayer, MeFeedia.com, VideoSticky.com, Clipstream.com, with Silverlight... Does your blog or website have videos?

RIA done quickly = Adobe Thermo?

Bad news is, still in private beta -and no date of release has been set. "Thermo" is an upcoming Adobe product that makes it easy for designers to create rich Internet application UIs. Thermo allows designers to build on familiar workflows to visually create working applications that easily flow into production and development. Great video intro here. Thermo lab page. With hot new technologies -discussed in video, you gotta subscribe to this.

More to share?

Nowadays, do really really need the entire computing power of one PC (for each of us)? For gamers - maybe so. But think about it - is there a hardware device that will allow any PC to be used by 2 or more users -simultaneously? Kinda the idea of a reverse of a KVM switch. Ideally, the other users would have another screen (to view), keyboard, and mouse. Worst case scenario - users could share a split screen. But just imagine how this might help the poorer communities. Maybe even help curb some eco waste? Great for coffeeshops that share wifi/pcs. Could this be done remotely (like logmein.com) or at least wirelessly? Could this idea greatly extend the OLPC (One Laptop per Child Foundation)? or http://pixelqi.com/?

WARNING! Apple's QT 7.4 update disables...

Apple's recent QT 7.4 update disables Adobe's After Effects: "According to numerous posts on Apple's discussion forums (several threads of which have been deleted by Apple), as well as a number of popular video editing blogs, Apple's recent QT 7.4 update does more than just enable iTunes video rentals — it also disables Adobe's professional After Effects video editing software. Attempting to render video files after the update results in a DRM permissions error. Unfortunately, it is not possible to roll back to a previous version of QT without doing a full OSX reinstall. Previous QT updates have also been known to have severe issues with pro video editing apps." My question is: Could you convert the Quicktime to another format -and be able to edit? -Via Slashdot. More info here: DefectiveByDesign.org

easy, cheap, web based backup!

Originally started in May of 2006, Carbonite (Windows only, Mac peeps should try Zmanda or Mozy) will backup all the data on your computer as long as it’s connected to the internet - for only $50/year! The service has no upload limits!
My favourite thing about Carbonite is actually the "set and forget" nature of it. Installation is just a single wizard-driven setup executable and an online registration. After which you pick the files you want to back up (by default its My Documents and Desktop) and bob's your uncle! Backup is done is the background over your broadband connection and it picks up when you're computer's idle and slows down when you're working.
The only things to grapple with here is trusting these servers and the time it takes to backup and restore. It will take a few days to backup all my data (excluding programs) but once that is done, it is only incremental backups that take place. A complete restore will take about half that time depending on the speed of your broadband connection's downstream.
Carbonite=$50 yr (link 01, 02)
Mozy=$5 mo. (link 01)
Zmanda=$.20 GB mo. (link 01)

OnlineLeagueManager.com

So my company [Novologic.com] is ramping up production of the revised interface and web based service for one of their subsidiaries: OnlineLeagueManager.com I created the look and feel for the new design, and may be involved with the production. Its been in use for over 4 years now, by various parks and leagues. Why wait in those long lines - and have to deal with all that paperwork? If you, or someone you know is interested in learning more about this service, please contact Steve Taylor @ 770-277-1030ext247 or info@novologic.com.

Jott & Sandy = Productivity Boost

With Jott, a user can call a toll-free number and leave a message up to 30 seconds long. The resulting audio file is transcribed by workers in India, and its contents are sent to the user as an e-mail or text message -FOR FREE! Jott has just rolled out some incredible updates where you can send a note, not only to yourself, but to other people who's email addresses or SMS #'s you have loaded into your contacts. Send a message to one person, or a group of people. Its ideal for to do lists, reminders, communicating with groups, blogging, and more. Combine Jott with Sandy for even more productivity assistance.
Jott is only one of several young companies experimenting with new services marrying voice, text messages, and the Internet. In November 2006, voice-over-Internet company ViaTalk introduced Braincast, which works much like Jott, except that it delivers the actual sound file recorded by the user rather than a text transcription. (Jott sends both.) QTech of Hyderabad, India, is testing a similar service called ReQall. Pinger lets users send voice mail without actually placing phone calls; the recipient gets a text message with a link to the audio file. British firm SpinVox works with cellular carriers to turn subscribers' voice mails into e-mails, text messages, or blog entries. And for $9.99 a month, SimulScribe will convert up to 40 of your voice mails into text messages. Credits: Technology Review, StudentLinc, Jeff Gray, Burke Allen & Bob Horton