Delft ceramic style cross-stitch mantle clock
July 22, 2008 Category: Uncategorized No Comments »
Lovely Delft ceramic style cross-stitch mantle clock. Bohus writes -
I've never been into ornate and elaborate clocks - and that's not just because I'm always late. Even though I'm clearly fond of crazy mechanical stuff, I've never really been a fan of Grandfather clocks for example. I've seen them most when awarded to alarmed frat boys on The Price Is Right, but even in person they just strike me as a just little too much.
Delftclock There's an unusual brand of white Delft porcelain clock that some folks have on their mantles. Delft porcelain is a Dutch specialty - blazing white porcelain with art brushed on in a deep blue. Clearly this is what the above craft project is meant to evoke... but in cross-stitch! This is such a weird collision of ideas that I just don't know how to feel.
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MobileMe Sneaks Onto Windows Computers…And No One Cares?
July 22, 2008 Category: Uncategorized No Comments »
After a rocky start which involved post-launch outages and subsequent apology letter not to mention the big reveal that MobileMe wasn't exactly the "push" service they advertised, Apple finally has MobileMe up and running. But now, after updating iTunes to the latest version, many Windows users were surprised to find a new MobileMe icon in their Control Panel. Apple is once again sneaking software onto our PCs - the question is, why are we letting them get away with this?
MobileMe Bundled With iTunes
This isn't exactly the first time Apple has sneaked additional programs onto our machines. Already notorious for bundling QuickTime with iTunes, Apple was finally taken to task last March, when they bundled Safari with their iTunes software update. (QuickTime is one thing, apparently an entire web browser is quite another.)
Yet, they didn't learn their lesson from that experience, or even more likely, they just don't care. They're Apple. You love them. They can do anything right?
Wrong. The truth of the matter is, outside the tech blogosphere (which, ironically, doesn't seem to include that many blogs about computer software), the MobileMe "malware," as it's being called in some cases, is a hot topic for discussion.
When clicked, the icon launches a window that essentially functions as an advertisement for the MobileMe service with text that reads:
"Try MobileMe
MobileMe stores your email, contacts, calendar, photos and files in an online "cloud," and keeps your Mac, PC, iPhone, or iPod touch up to date. Sign up now and experience MobileMe today."
And guess what happens when you click the "Learn More..." button? You are, of course, taken to a web site where you are able to purchase the MobileMe service.
To remove the icon, you have to go into the Control Panel, Launch "Add/Remove Programs" ("Programs and Features" on Vista), and uninstall the program "Apple Mobile Device Support." Since the name of that program doesn't actually say "MobileMe," a more novice Windows user might not know that it is the program responsible for the new icon on their machine and leave it be.
If any other company did the same (especially Microsoft!) the outrage would be deafening. So why aren't we hearing more complaints about this behavior when Apple does it? Can they really do whatever they want?
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SlyDial: Get Straight to the Point
July 22, 2008 Category: Uncategorized No Comments »
I love nifty voicemail services which make use of the Internet in some day. This one doesn’t really make use of the Internet so much other than for marketing purposes, but it’s still very cool. The name of the service is Slydial and it lets you get directly to someone’s mobile voicemail, skipping the call they might or might not pick up. In short: a direct way to leave a message while saving time and avoiding an awkward phone call.
Here’s how it works: you dial 267-SLYDIAL from any U.S. landline or cell phone, and enter the phone number of the person you want to leave the voicemail to. You’re directed to their voicemail within a second, and you can go ahead and leave the message, which they get to whenever they want to.
The service is undoubtedly a niche, situation-oriented service, but I see a lot of people having a use for it. We often need to save some time in our fast-paced lives, and thinking of the thousands of businessmen this is targeted for, it could serve as the perfect solution.
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Oyster Card Hack To Be Released, In Good Time
July 22, 2008 Category: Uncategorized No Comments »
DangerFace writes "A little while ago some Dutch researchers cracked the Oyster card, meaning they could get free public transport around London. The company that makes the cards, NXP, sought and got an injunction to stop the exploit being published, but that has now been overruled by a Dutch judge. The lovely Dutch blokes are holding off from releasing the hack for the time being, to give NXP time to secure their systems."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Gloves warn you of the outside temperature
July 22, 2008 Category: Uncategorized No Comments »
These "Mittens AKA Twinkling Gloves" from Finland include a temperature sensor to let you know the outside temperature so that you can be sure not to forget to wear them. Interesting, although you might want to be careful shaking hands with someone while wearing them.
Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Wearables | Digg this! Tags: makeRelated posts
Favtape Plays Back Your Pandora or Last.fm Favorites [Streaming Music]
July 22, 2008 Category: Uncategorized No Comments »
Marking a song as "Loved" or a "Favorite" on music discovery apps like Last.fm and Pandora doesn't help you a whole lot when you want to hear them again. Free mashup site Favtape bridges the gaps between your Last.fm or Pandora profile, track-finding sites like Seeqpod, and the dead-simple interface of a site like Muxtape to create a playlist of your marked tracks. Some tracks might not actually play once loaded into Favtape, but it's a cool way to create an instant playlist of songs you'll definitely like.
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3 Ways to Make More Money Blogging
July 22, 2008 Category: Uncategorized No Comments »
Allen Stern over at CenterNetworks has been asking a number of interesting questions over the last six months or so, starting with the question of whether an RSS feed is worth a buck. Today, in a continuance of this professional blogger introspective, he asks what you’re doing to put food on his table. The whole question is neatly explained and contained in this video embedded below.
Here’s the version for those unable to view the video: “Bloggers are supported by ads. Few of you click on those, and you seem almost proud of this fact. As much as 52% of you use ad blocking software. How do you expect us to eat? ”
There’s a bit more to it than that, but it’s the gist of the issue, and it’s one that I identify with. I’m a content producer, and I’m a supporting a wife and two kids on the fruits of advertising. I’d love for you to click on as many ads as possible, so that our CTRs will go up, the advertisers love us, and they keep throwing money our direction.
Problem is, just by begging and pleading, I’m unlikely to change your behavior in for a sustainable period of time. You may click a few ads around this article if you really feel sorry for me, and you may remember to do it again tomorrow, but long term, you’ll probably go back to your habits of not clicking on ads.
Frankly, it’s ok. It’s human nature. Bossman Pete will probably kick my ass for saying this, but we have learned, as humans who stay on the ‘Net all day, how to tune out ads. You probably don’t even see them when you’re looking at this site (and no, I’m not talking to the folks with AdBlocker, I’m talking to regular folks who have the ability to focus on what they want to pay attention to).
This is a failure not on the consumer’s part, but on the part of those making the advertisments. Sure, we can all assume for a minute Allen’s attitude, which to me is a bit akin to the attitude assumed by most public broadcasting. It works for a certain segment of the audience: “It’s your responsibility to make sure this programming stays on the air.” But there’s a reason why Charlie Rose is on PBS and not CBS during primetime - most folks find him boring. Those that don’t find him boring will seek him out on PBS, and ostensibly donate to the cause. The rest watch Survivor or American Idol or whatever else is on network TV these days (I guess it’s obvious I’m watching Charlie Rose).
There are innovative and interesting ways to increase the value for advertisers on blog content, but it requires that bloggers and their advertising agencies start to think outside the box a bit. I’ve a number of ideas of what this means…
Behavioral Marketing
One of my biggest let downs in recent memory was that Facebook, the supposed darling social network of the Web 2.0, had a groundbreaking advertising and monetization solution, and the best they could come up with was Project Bacn. This is a company that collects a literal wealth of information about their users, all of it supplied voluntarily, and they do absolutely nothing interesting with.
I had hopes that they were going to announce an advertising network that others who had content that was in no way associated with Facebook could join. The most successful form of advertising on the Internet currently is Google’s search ads. This is because they know my intent - they know what I’m looking for, and can present relevent ads alongside my results. In theory, Facebook know my favorite movies, my favorite activities, and in many cases, my favorite websites.
Concurrently, one of the worst performing types of ads are those displayed on social networks. The reason is simple - the content is too enjoyable. Advanced mainstream social networks are the ultimate in a customized web experience. Why would I click off to the ads?
Open that targetting data to content websites, and you have yourself a ballgame. Tailor the ads down to a micro-targeting level, based on what they’ve said their interests are, and you’ll increase CTRs. Simple as that. The first major social network to start offering this to bloggers will be the next major player in Internet advertising.
Using Your Brand with Video
I’ve long said that the smartest thing that blogs with a brand can do is get into video. The response rates on video advertisements, when done properly, are amazing. Furthermore, a video ad associated with a recognizable brand fetches a much higher asking price than any typical display advertisement.
Add to that the ability to latch in captive subscribers via podcast subscription feeds and being able to deploy to a large variety of platforms and other media types, and you are seeing return on investment.
The downside to video is that for well produced stuff, it can be both time-consuming and expensive. As newer technologies become available, this cost is going down, and frankly the bar for excellence in broadcasting has been brought way down in recent years, so that often a few minutes of commentary on a webcam can be just as compelling and acceptable to general audiences as slick Hollywood effects.
As Stephen has been noting recently, it’s also very important to make sure that your video adds to the equation, a struggle for any content producer. It shouldn’t simply be a re-hash of what you’ve got in your text format. Following a few simple guidelines for production, though, will give you another monetization angle - one that’s lucrative for the producer, and beneficial for the advertiser.
Sponsorships Instead of Advertising
Between Steven and I, I feel like we’re beating a dead horse here, but even when clicks aren’t made on sponsorship deals, the advertiser still gets value. Take, for instance, Stickam - a sponsor for our SummerMash tour. Certainly part of the reason Stickam is advertising has to be for the purposes of driving traffic back to their site. That’s why we link their logo in our SummerMash posts back to the site.
More importantly, though, they want to associate their brand with Mashable. They have the desire to not only be seen by their users and their users viewers as a company that can get things done with live video, but by associating with Mashable in a publicly viewable way, every attendee to our events sees their logo, their work, and the fact that they’re doing well enough as a company to give us sponsorship dollars.
That imbues a feeling of stability, hipness, and awareness amongst all who see the logo on the site, watch our podcasts, and go to the events. It’s obviously not a driver of traffic, and the benefits are fairly far removed from how many people click on the link from our website.
It’s another example of how we’re diversifying our income here at Mashable so as to not solely rely on display advertisements.
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The Mole: Go Ride
July 22, 2008 Category: The Disney Portal No Comments »
And now we are down to the final five. Only a few more weeks to go until we’ll know for sure who The Mole is. Personally, I’m just hoping to fine a much needed clue or two. One of the contestants with a sign saying “I am The Mole, seriously” might be nice. Then I could discard him or her.
You know what else I noticed. Both Mark and Clay are still in the game. It is interesting that this partnership seems to be working. At least for now.
As we join the five remaining contestants in Mendoza, Argentina, we are told that it has been nearly a month since the game started. I would have guessed that each episode represented three days. That would only be 18 days, so obviously I am wrong about that.
For the first mission, they divide themselves into three smart players and two dumb players. The smart players are Paul, Clay, and Mark while the two dumb players are Nicole and Craig. The challenge is called “Go Figured,” and each team is given a set of clues to locations all over the city. When they get to the location, they will have to figure out a number and remember it to bring it back to enter into the computer. The dumb team has five numbers while the smart team has three. Oh, and they can’t write any of the numbers down.
There is one twist, however. The dumb team has easy math problems to figure out their five answers while the smart team has to deal with much bigger numbers. Personally, I’ll take the dumb team. I’ve never been good with math in my head. And I’m an accountant.
Okay, I take that back. The dumb team has some bigger numbers, too.
I think Nicole put too much stalk into the Craig messing up the one math problem. I know I’d do that, too. It’s easy to mis-add, especially when you are reading the clue. However, I am curious what happened with Clay and Mark and their first math problem. Even when I mess myself up doing math in my head, I can talk it through faster then they did. Then, of course, there is Paul sending them in the opposite direction for their last clue. I’m really thinking it’s one of the three of them. I do find it interesting that Nicole also messed up a math question later on. So she’s as suspicious as Craig by her own accusations.
When they entered all the numbers, the dumb team got one of their answers wrong. Unfortunately, it was the last one. The one where they had all the trouble. They had 20 minutes to send one person back to correct it. And they sent Nicole back, the person who was struggling with it the first time around. She came up with a different answer, but it still wasn’t correct. Instead, Clay came up with the sequence of the numbers, saving the day. And he starts calling himself a math genius. Yet he’s the one who was corrected by Mark earlier.
That night, Mark and Clay talk their strategy. They took the last quiz straight Nicole. Or at least Mark did. He’s now convinced that she is The Mole.
Clay, on the other hand, goes to Nicole and they both say they went with Craig on the last quiz. In fact, Clay thinks it is either Mark or Craig.
So, assuming Mark voted straight Nicole, but Nicole and Clay voted straight Craig (and they could be lying to each other), then why did Alex go? We didn’t have a tie last week. So why did Alex go if one of these people (or more) is so far in left field?
The teams travel to Buenos Aires at this point, the capital of Argentina, and start talking about how much they miss their family.
As the next challenge (”Ticket to Ride”) gets started, the players are asked to name the person they trust the most. Clay and Mark get two votes each (Nicole voted Mark just to tie things up), with Clay voting for Nicole, much to everyone’s surprise.
At this point, Jon announces that various family members are arriving in trains in the city. And they head off to the train station.
Now comes the hard part. Clay and Craig are up first. Clay has three minutes to get answers from Craig to 30 questions about his girlfriend. Then Clay will be asked 5 questions. If he gets 3 of the 5 right, Craig will get to visit with his girlfriend. Otherwise, she heads back home. They got through all 30 questions, but Craig didn’t know the answer to some of them. But they managed to get three of them correct.
Next come Clay and Nicole. Nicole is trying to learn as much as she can about Clay’s wife. Nicole was a machine, even having time to go back and recheck answers. She easily got the answers right.
Third is Mark and Nicole. Nicole’s family member is her mother. Mark is asking the questions too slowly for Nicole’s taste. But it didn’t matter because he got the question correct.
Fourth is Clay and Mark. The pressure is really on this time because one of the questions Clay got asked Mark didn’t have an answer for. Therefore, Clay had to get three out of four correct. But he did it. Frankly, this was the one I was most concerned about. Maybe it’s the name, but I have always really liked Mark.
Finally, comes Mark learning about Paul’s wife. Paul passed on the first three questions, putting the pressure on Mark. In fact, he wasn’t sure about very many questions, which makes things very hard for Mark. But they still managed to pull it off.
I didn’t mention that each reunion also adds $10K to the pot. So, they earned $50K. And as they said, The Mole would have to have no heart to sabotage that mission.
The players had the next day with their loved ones. Nicole spent the time complaining about everyone else. In fact, she complained so much that she let her mom talk her into leaving. It’s hard to take her seriously since she has complained since day one. She is such a drama queen. And her mother wasn’t impressed when she found out about Nicole’s threats of murder. I honestly wonder how she feels after having watched how she is edited. Anyway, Nicole plans to throw the quiz so she can leave with her mother. Frankly, I think a lot less of her knowing she is quitting in such a manner after all this time. Heck, I even have more respect for the player who was bribed. Nicole claims that by leaving on her own terms, she isn’t letting the others beat her. Yet she is leaving because she can’t deal with them any more. Paul especially has been trying to drive her away. Seems kinda like he won to me.
After a family dinner, the players take the next quiz. Then everyone comes together for the execution. We’ve got a tie this week, so it will be the player with the slowest time. I wonder if Nicole took a long time. She said “Oops” when the tie was announced.
And in the end, Nicole didn’t do it right. The executed player was Clay.
I’m sorry, Clay. This is all my fault. I said that you and Mark had a good partnership going. And now you are out of it.
So, I wonder if Nicole’s comments about not being able to throw it is a cover for messing up or a cover for being The Mole.
So, going back to the conversation between Mark and Clay. Mark took last week’s quiz straight Nicole and stayed in. Clay answered Craig and stayed in. Yet this week he is gone. So, I wonder if he answered Nicole this week and that why there was a tie or if he got Mark to switch. Or if Clay answered Craig and was wrong, which will get Mark to switch from the truth.
Yes, I’m confused, and I wrote it.
I am still looking at Paul as The Mole, however. I think the thing with the map was just too suspicious. I’m sure it was the editing and we’ve been set up not to like him. Heck, he’ll probably turn out to be the winner and Mark will be The Mole. But I’m sticking with Paul for now.
Originally posted on The Disney Blog.
HOWTO install your keys in a Leatherman handle
July 22, 2008 Category: Uncategorized No Comments »
Instructables user Pyro222 has a great HOWTO for installing your keys in the handle of an old Leatherman Micra tool. I love this idea -- except the TSA would probably confiscate it, because installing a key in the hands of something that once held a knife confers magical, knife-like properties on the key (obviously).
Link
(via Make)
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Octopulse instrument
July 22, 2008 Category: Uncategorized No Comments »
Core77 has an interview video with Brit Leissler, who made (and is still making) the Octopulse. From the site:
Brit Leissler, of Shoot the Stylist Studios in London, demonstrates the Octopulse, an experimental instrument designed for Yamaha's Product Design Laboratory. This little creature has as a goal to turn listeners of music into players of music, which, in practical terms, takes the form of a knitted synthesizer that turns unapproachable technology into an easily approachable, tactile and emotional object. With this cuddly 'alien bagpipe' you can control analogue sound synthesis through unconventional means. The 'tonetacles' of the Octopulse react to motion and light, transferring movements into information for an analogue synthesizer to convert into cacophonous noises. This unconventional soundscape alters perceptions of what music could be and allows the electronic sounds of a synthesizer to be accessed by anyone.
The next gen Octopulse will be Arduino powered. Oh, I just love tentacled electronics!
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