When good demos go (very, very) bad - Reuters Newsblogs:
July 28th, 2006, filed by Eric Auchard
At Microsoft’s annual Financial Analyst Meeting on Thursday, Vista product manager Shanen Boettcher set out to show just how easy to use the speech recognition technology built into upcoming Windows Vista software will be. Like, for example, dictating aloud a simple, heartfelt letter to mom, and having one’s voice automatically transcribed into a computer.
The result was a disaster.
Several tries at making the computer understand the simple salutation “Dear Mom” was read by Microsoft software as “Dear Aunt, let’s set so double the killer delete select all.” Attempts to correct or undo or delete the error only deepened the mess.
(Later, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer blamed the failed speech recognition product demonstration on “a little bit of echo” in the room...)
2006/07/30
More Vista woes
2006/07/24
Kazaa, Skype, and now "The Venice Project"
Serial entrepreneurs Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis are at it again, this time with a venture for distributing TV and other video over the Net
Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the entrepreneurs who created the pioneering Web applications Kazaa and Skype, are working on a new communications venture, BusinessWeek.com has learned. The pair plans to develop software for distributing TV shows and other forms of video over the Web, according to people familiar with the matter."
Way misguided
Advertising Age: "Here's a sample. Hub post from 'Holly' -- who happens not to be a random Hubster, but a child actress with grown-up ghostwriters. Bad grown-up ghostwriters. (Warning: If you are squeamish seeing others embarrass themselves, this would be a good time to turn the page.)
Shopping will be my number ONE hobby this fall. I am going to be the most fashionable teen at school! I'll be on the lookout for the latest fashions. From leggings to layers, to boots and flats, big belts and headbands! I'll be looking for it all! Layering is SO IN right now. Hobo bags are also in style. OH! And big sunglasses! WHOO!! I don't know where to stop! With all of the new clothes I'll be getting, the kids at school will be begging me for fashion tips!
Yeah. Sure they will. "
Boys 2 Men: Playing with dolls
It prompted me to trawl the web and this is what I found... from the Unofficial Action Man site, which specialises in the classic action figures:
"Today's Collectible FiguresI have included this picture to show the difference in 1/6 scale action figures of today. On the floor is a 1994 Action Man complete with almost bald flock hair head despite being looked after (1970s Action Men never had this problem). Standing above him is Captain Miller of the US Army 2nd Ranger Battalion from Normandy 1944. Captain Miller is wondering what army this Action Man is from and whether he is going to a fancy dress party. The look on Action Man's face suggests he doesn't know either... "
What you won't find on this site: Flower-arranger Action Man, created by the Hasbro toy company. Check the overcompensation with the gun size.
What you will will find here: Archives of every every costume, figure, accessory, catalogue and more, from several decades spanning the "authentic, classic period", as created by the Palitoy company.
Oldsexy
Sex Bomb 1
Sex Bomb 2
Oldnet
I decided to peruse the Wayback Machine's earliest archives to see what the internet looked like in 1996...
2006/07/23
My Sunday in pictures
Never thought I would be one of those people who posts arb photos online, but hey. Actually, this is something of a geeky experimet at the mo, seeing as how I have only recentlygot my Nokia SU1B Bluetooth digital pen working with my handset, to upload my handwritten notes and camera snaps directly to this page. For example, the middle picture is a crash message from an engineering sample of Nokia's forthcoming Blackberry killer, the E61. Reads "Please report the Mulder files and delete them". Very cool for X-Files types. Geeky, neh? Ultimately all these will come down... I don't believe in posting overly personal stuff in public spaces.
2006/07/22
My Saturday in pictures
Building Bionicles with my boys, my fave weather as seen from my in-laws house, collecting crystals in the back garden of Patrick's house (damn him!), a lesson in skater pop culture about comfortable shoes.
The myth of the digital home
The digital home | Science fiction? | Economist.com:
The digital home: Science fiction?
Sep 1st 2005 | SAN FRANCISCO
Their first challenge in stimulating any sort of consumer interest is the difficulty of merely explaining what the digital home is supposed to be.
That is not at all what they want to do today, however. Another study by Parks Associates found that 89% of people with a home-computer network felt that the relatively modest goal of sharing internet access is its most important function, with printer-sharing the second priority.
All this points to a huge problem with the digital-home vision: the lack, among most consumers, of any sense of crisis about the status quo in entertainment. “We don't think many folks are looking for an electronic nerve centre in their homes,” says Pip Coburn
After all, popping in a DVD, say, is so easy and works so well. By contrast, getting a digital home up and running promises several lost weekends of fiddling with manuals and settings, and hefty expenses in new gear. According to Mr Coburn's formula for evaluating new technologies, whereby adoption is a function of the users' sense of crisis (ie, motivation to change) outweighing their perceived pain of switching, the digital home ranks as a clear “loser”.
“If consumers even know there's a DRM, what it is, and how it works, we've already failed,” says Peter Lee, an executive at Disney. The same goes for codecs. “The user shouldn't know or care what format they're using,” says James Poder, an engineer at Comcast, America's largest cable company and broadband internet service provider, because “consumers don't want to be IT administrators for their own home.”
2006/07/21
Smile, you're on Happy Planet Index
Most everyone has heard of the Happy Planet Index, in which an attempt is
made to quantify what goes into a "happy life for all", including economic,
ecological and life expectancy factors, and a whole lot of other stuff.
Makes for jolly interesting stats, and here are some of them...
5 highest scoring (happiest):
Vanuatu
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominica
Panama
Cuba
5 lowest scoring (most unhappy):
Ukraine
Dem. Rep. of the Congo
Burundi
Swaziland
Zimbabwe
5 things we can do about it:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
Increasing material wealth in (so-called) developed countries does not lead
to greater happiness, and that extreme poverty systematically undermines
people's opportunities to build good lives for themselves and their
families. We urgently need to redesign our global systems to more equitably
distribute the things people rely on for their day-to-day livelihoods, for
example: income, and access to land, food and other resources.
2. Improve healthcare.
High life expectancy in a country reflects good healthcare and living
conditions, and has a positive relationship to people's sense of well-being.
Globally we need to increase access to clean water, halt the rise in
diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, and reduce child and maternal
mortality. The World Health Organization estimates that everyone in the
world could be provided with a good level of basic healthcare for just $43
per person, per year.
3. Relieve debt.
Many developing countries are forced to prioritise the service of crippling
financial debt over providing a basic standard of living. Debt
sustainability calculations should be based on the amount of revenue that a
government can be expected to raise without increasing poverty or
compromising future development.
4. Shift values.
Value systems that emphasise individualism and material consumption are
detrimental to well-being, whereas those that promote social interaction and
a sense of relatedness are profoundly positive. Government should provide
more support for local community initiatives, sports teams, arts projects
and so on, whilst acting to discourage the development of materialist values
where possible (for example, by banning advertising directed at children).
5. Support meaningful lives.
Governments should recognise the contribution of individuals to economic,
social, cultural, and civic life and value unpaid activity. Employers should
be encouraged to enable their employees to work flexibly, allowing them to
develop full lives outside of the workplace and make time to undertake
voluntary work. They should also strive to provide challenges and
opportunities for personal development at work.
An electric car as fast as a Ferrari
Lunch over IP: The (very) fast Tesla electric carSo the red roadster in the picture is the much-awaited Tesla electric car, which was unveiled today: it that can go from zero to 100 km/hour in four or so seconds - as fast as the Ferrari Testarossa - and has an autonomy of 400 km - comparable to that of an average car running on gasoline.
Cordless got you feeling Blue?
Topical because Toby and I (and I suspect others) routinely have 3 generations of Bluetooth accessories in play at any time, and getting cross compatibility between things is hell!
It's not foolproof, but might be helpful. Try it.
2006/07/20
Compare cellphone cameras
Extraordinary resource where you can compare the photo quality of different cellphones. Personally I don't trust it 'cause it doesn't look scientific enough... different subjects shot at different positions etc. Mostly focused on US phones, although the most popular global models are there too.Whatever you say, I think that cellphone photography is finally set to take off for real. I think the better quality 2MP cameras make for quite reasonable printouts, given the trade off against convenience of only carrying one device.
And to prove my point I am going to blog one picture per day, directly from my phone (or various phones, depending what I am using). Check it out next week, ya luddites.
Still, try this comparison engine out for yourself.
Ten tech-related YouTube clips you shouldn't miss | CNET News.com
Download all ten of them at YouTube, linked from CNet. Some are mediocre, but make sure you get 1. Jon Stewart on Net neutrality and 4. the Apple Flea MP3 player
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | What is the 1% rule?
What is the 1% rule?
Charles Arthur
Thursday July 20, 2006
The Guardian
It's an emerging rule of thumb that suggests that if you get a group of 100 people online then one will create content, 10 will 'interact' with it (commenting or offering improvements) and the other 89 will just view it.
Frequent flyers fold-out desks
Apparently these tables fold out from the side of your carry-on wheelie case. Perfect for some frequent flyers who need to work in transit, including your's truly.
More from flightables.com
2006/07/18
More cell phones than people
In 30 countries around the world, from Aruba to Italy to Hong Kong, mobile phone penetration has past 100 percent. Translation: the number of cell phone subscriptions has exceeded the size of the population. That's according to end-of-Q1-2006 data just released by London-based researcher Informa Telecom&Media. Here is the list:
Turks & Caicos Islands: 161.8%
Aruba: 150.8
Luxembourg: 140.7
Lithuania: 139.9
Cayman Islands: 136.4
Netherlands Antilles: 134.0
Grenada: 133.3
Israel: 125.9
Italy: 122.4
Cyprus: 121.5
Macau: 121.3
Bahrain: 117.8
Greece: 114.7
Czech Republic: 114.0
UAE: 113.9
Jersey: 113.6
Sweden: 112.5
Hong Kong: 110.8
UK: 110.1
Estonia: 108.6
Spain: 108.0
Austria: 107.3
Ireland: 107.0
Norway: 106.1
Antigua & Barbuda: 104.6
Iceland: 103.3
Finland: 103.1
Portugal: 101.3
Kuwait: 101.1
Singapore: 101.0
Informa's analysts project that another 10 countries may join this list by the end of the year, including Russia, which added 50 million subscribers last year. Market penetration in the US is currently at 72 %.
2006/07/17
* geeks * Linux timeline updated
Linux Journal is updating its neat Linux Timeline, which previously stopped at 2002. They are soliciting input from anyone who has anything to to add. There are several dozen posts already, and the whole thing makes for geek-fascinating reading.
Linux Timeline
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9065?
By LJ Staff on Wed, 2006-05-31 01:00.
100 of the most significant events in Linux history.
It starts with...
August 1991: "Hello everybody out there using minix - I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones...."
Most Airplay: Top All Time 500 Songs
Sanjeev.NET : Top All Time 500 Songs :
No's 1 to 11
001. Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin
002. One by U2
003. Sweet Child O Mine by Guns N Roses
004. Everybody Hurts by Rem
005. Angels by Robbie Williams
006. Imagine by John Lennon
007. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
008. Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve
009. Hotel California by Eagles
010. Trouble by Coldplay
011. Let It Be by Beatles
012. Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
013. Under The Bridge by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
014. Space Oddity by David Bowie
015. Pride by U2
016. Every Breath You Take by Police
017. Heart Of Glass by Blondie
018. Don't You Want Me by Human League
019. Wonderwall by Oasis
020. Another Brick In The Wall by Pink Floyd
Check the rest of the list here.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished-Computerworld
Sharktank -Computerworld:
That Doesn't Help
Frantic vice president calls IT manager pilot fish - he's trying to save a presentation from the network to a USB thumb drive for a ready-to-start board meeting, and nothing's working. It doesn't take fish long to find out why. "The thumb drive is jammed into the network port," reports fish. "I unplug it, put it into the USB slot, then plug the network cable back in, and the presentation is downloaded in seconds and stored. When I ask why the VP put the USB drive into the Ethernet port, he responds that he wanted to download the file from the network, so he put the key into the network port to speed up the process."
The Reason WhyThis very pleasant department clerk is known for having very strange PC problems. 'The fix always seemed to be rebuilding her PC from scratch,' says a help desk pilot fish. But one day the clerk casually mentions that she tries to speed up her PC by deleting all files that are more than two years old. 'Her reasoning was that something that old couldn't possibly be of any use,' sighs fish. 'What followed was my futile attempt to explain how operating systems work and why deleting old files was not a good idea. But at least we found out what was happening to her computer."
Check the Sharktank Archives, full of silliness.
Generalists rule, finally
blo hard
What's Hot, What's Not: IT Skills You'll Need in 2010:
The IT worker of 2010 won't be a technology guru but rather a 'versatilist.'
Stacy Collett
July 17, 2006 (Computerworld) -- The most sought-after corporate IT workers in 2010 may be those with no deep-seated technical skills at all. The nuts-and-bolts programming and easy-to-document support jobs will have all gone to third-party providers in the U.S. or abroad. Instead, IT departments will be populated with 'versatilists' -- those with a technology background who also know the business sector inside and out, can architect and carry out IT plans that will add business value, and can cultivate relationships both inside and outside the company.
2006/07/15
Skype protocol cracked? | CNET News.com
Chinese engineers claim that they've reverse engineered it. Could this spell licensing trouble for eBay?
By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: July 14, 2006, 12:39 PM PDT
Chinese engineers have allegedly cracked Skype's Internet telephony protocol, according to a Thursday blog posting.
If the blog posting is correct, software developers who currently don't have access to Skype's protocol could develop and sell Skype-compatible products and services without Skype's explicit OK. This could prove problematic for eBay, which has kept the protocol private since acquiring Skype last year.
2006/07/13
TV standby buttons will be outlawed - Britain - Times Online
The Times July 12, 2006
TV standby buttons will be outlawed
By Lewis Smith and Mark Henderson
THE Government is to outlaw standby switches on televisions and video and DVD players to cut the amount of electricity wasted in the home.
IP is crap
As a purveyor of itellectual property I must now confess a newfound TOTAL
LACK OF RESPECT for intellectual property.
My arguments are still somewhat immature, and can't easily be explained
right here right now, but the lightbulb is starting to glow brighter.
For example, if I buy a CD why should I not be able to share its contents
with anyone I want. Who created the value being ascribed to this
intellectual property? If the music industry is boosting the sticker prices
of CDs claiming overheads for promotion and distribution etc., how has that
added to the value of the artistic product, or the intellectual property,
contained on the CD. After all, I am only buying the music, not the
marketing efforts of record company.
If I am not buying the intellectual property outright, but the right to
listen to it, then why can I not transfer that right to others using file
sharing technology, so that they too can listen to it, but not own it? No
value is being diminished by this, surely? The only loser is the record
company. Right?
I am sure there is an Intellectual Porperty 101 manual that I haven't read.
But I am choosing to work this out using logic instead. I trust that
everything contained in Intellectual Porperty 101 is logical too, right?
In the end, I remain deeply suspicious of things that keeps Africa outside
the space of flows. But, just sometimes, I find myself grateful that Africa
will be spared the IP apocalypse that will occur when we find out just
what all that intangible stuff is really, truly worth, in a truly free market
economy.
Like some weird Indian chief is alleged to have said: "You can't eat
money."
Likewise, the RIAA and others shouldn't be trying to unshare personal music
collections.
Business Buzzwords That Make You Gag
Dear friends, while musing (well, okay, griping) two weeks ago about little irritants like the expression "think outside the box" or "keep me in the loop," I asked you to tell me which expressions in common business use today make you grit your teeth -- and, man, did you tell me. I confess I was surprised at the sheer volume of your answers, many of which were hilarious. Thanks -- I had a great time reading them! And I'm sure you will too. You even might be surprised to find out how many of these frustrating phrases wind up in your own conversations. (I'm guilty of using one on occasion.) Now, without further ado, let's start going through the nominees. I've listed them in order of the number of votes that they received. So you'll have to read all the way to the end to find out this year's Mallie winners for Most Annoying Lingo. Hint: The first President Bush popularized one of them.
- Bottom line, when it refers "not to an entry on a financial statement but to a conclusion the speaker wants to force you to accept," writes KB.
- Shooting someone an e-mail or firing off an e-mail. "This makes me cringe," writes Mary.
- A challenge or an issue, when what the speaker really means is a problem.
- No-brainer. Suggests Mitch, "Maybe we could redefine this to mean a person who says it."
- "At the end of the day..." Several readers complained that attorneys nowadays seem to start every other sentence this way. Adds Brian T., "At the end of the day, what really bugs me is people saying 'at the end of the day.'" Is he a lawyer?
- "Isn't this cool?" Heard at "any Microsoft presentation of any new software," one reader notes. "Is it a rhetorical question, or do these people have a very limited vocabulary?"
- Hit the ground running. Oops. I used this one in a recent magazine column. Sorry!
- Touch base, as in "Let's touch base on this tomorrow." Says Bill G.: "I don't want to touch anyone's base. It sounds as if it would lead to a sexual harassment lawsuit."
- Going forward, as in, "Going forward, let's try not to use so many dumb clichés." Wonders Dave M: "What else would we do? Go back in time?" As if!
- Win-win. The cynics among us loathe this one with a passion. Writes Stacy, "It could as easily be 'lose-lose,' since neither party really wins." Okay, then!
- Core competencies. "If I hear the head of my division use this phrase one more time, I'm going to throw something at him," writes Jim. "Something heavy." Yikes. Division heads everywhere, you've been warned.
- Mission-critical. Some of you hate this expression because it is frequently used to imply that one person's contribution to a project is less important than someone else's. Others, meanwhile, just think it sounds pretentious when businesspeople talk as if they were flying the Space Shuttle.
- Thought leader. "Can you please kill this expression?" asks P.J. "It was bad enough to see PR people describe someone as a thought leader, but when I saw someone call himself a thought leader in his own bio, I wanted to throw up."
- Reference used as a verb, as in, "Please reference page 12 in your training guide." What's wrong with the (grammatically correct) phrase "refer to" -- or just "look at?"
- Ping, as in "I'll ping you on this when I hear back from legal." This bit of tech jargon "has jumped the fence into the non-tech world," writes Scott. Let's send it back.
- There is no "I" in "team." Some of you are so weary of hearing this, you've taken to snapping, "But there is an 'M', and look! An 'E'!" Tsk, tsk.
- Radar screen, as in, "I'd like to get on your radar screen for a meeting next week." Asks Oliver, "What are we, air traffic controllers?"
- Bleeding edge, as in, "This is bleeding-edge technology." Yuck. Can we put this one out of its misery?
- Keep me posted or I'll keep you posted. Notes one astute reader, "These are usually conversation-enders indicating that no further information will be exchanged."
- Circle back , as in, "I'm just circling back to you on this", which is often "a cutesy way of pestering you for a progress report that you're probably not ready to give," says Kate
- On the same page. Third runner-up: 78 readers wrote to say they would be happy never to hear anyone say this again. Ever.
- Cheerleader, as in calling oneself a cheerleader for a project or goal at work. Second runner-up, with 87 votes. "Can't we leave high school behind us?" asks D.B.
- Value proposition. Oy. "What is this exactly, and why does everything have to have one?" wonders Valerie. Tied for first runner-up with....
- One off. This is a comparatively new figure of speech frequently used to mean "privately," as in, "You and I will talk about this one off, after the meeting." It is also apparently why, according to many of you, nothing gets decided in meetings anymore.
Now for the winners, each nominated by more than 100 readers. May I have the envelopes, and a drum roll, please? The first 2005 Mallie award for Most Annoying Lingo goes to "new paradigm" (and its evil twin, "paradigm shift", also widely despised). Next, a big Mallie to the word "bandwidth," when it is used to refer to people. "Do we have to call hiring people adding bandwidth?" asks Lauren. Another reader, echoing the general consensus, called referring to human beings as bandwidth "appalling."
And last but not least -- are you ready? -- a tepid round of applause, please, for our final Mallie winner, and I'm sure you'll all agree this one is richly deserved: Any phrase -- uttered by any businessperson at all, at any time, for any reason -- that contains the word "vision."
Top 10 most expensive cars in the world - AutoMotoPortal.com
Top 10 most expensive cars in the world - AutoMotoPortal.com:
Bugatti Veyron $1,700,000
Ferrari Enzo $1,000,000
Pagani Zonda C12 F $741,000
Koenigsegg CCX $600,910
Porsche Carrera GT $484,000
Mercedes SLR McLaren $455,500
Maybach 62 $385,250
Rolls-Royce Phantom $320,000
Lamborghini Murcielago $279,900
Aston Martin Vanquish $255,000
Now check the cool slideshow...
Some thoughts on Apple's Bootcamp
1. How will I get a copy of Windows for my Mac? Full retail versions cost
nearly R3000.00, and the application of a dual boot PC would have to be very
specific to justify this expense. Not sure sure how a Windows XP purchase
could otherwise be bundled with the hardware purchase. How is Office
purchased? Are "system builder" verions bundled with the original Apple
hardware purchase as they are for non-Apple PCs?
2. My first impression booting Windows was: "Okay, now what?". Since almost
every other OS has been able to dual boot with Windows for many years, it
was a bit underwhelming that Apple could now do the same. The fact that this
is possible on a "closed" hardware platform is technically impressive... for
about 5 minutes.
3. While this is technically and politically interesting, I think practical
applications will be very limited. I think Apple people want Macs, and the
rest want Windows. The idea that you could buy your Mac and then use either
OS is something of a red herring. The idea that organisations might buy a
whole lot of Macs and run some Windows on them is completely impractical.
Being able to run either OS on a single home PC is, likewise, only a cool
theoretical possibility. Pracically most orgs and homes have gotten used to
choosing, and have oriented themselves around either/or. Nad then there is
the additional expense of licensing Windows, which culd cost half as much as
buying a second PC.
4. Only caveat: home gamers can accept the family preference for Mac,
knowing that they can still run all the same games as their mates. In
practice I found Windows-based gaming performance to be slightly below par
on the Mini, although the machine I was using was probably not very high
spec i.e. well above average by PC standards, but not by gamers standards.
I have not written about this yet, because it has not fitted in well with my
writing themes for the last few weeks. It will probably fit in somewhere in
due course. In the end, I am pleased that I had the opportunity to handle
bootcamp for myself in order to develop an informed opinion on the matter.
Finally, Apple + Mac OS is a killer combination. Why would you put a BMW
engine into an Mercedes body? The value ends up being less than the sum of
its parts.
Photos: A trip down HP's memory lane | CNET News.com
Photos: A trip down HP's memory lane | CNET News.com: "A trip down HP's memory lane
July 12, 2006 4:00 AM PDT
Both Hewlett and Packard maintained an open-door policy. This picture of Packard's door shows that the sun has bleached the linoleum except where it was hidden by the open door.
Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com
MS tunes Apple the odds
Microsoft's Argo sails into iPod waters | CNET News.com:
Is the Argo Microsoft's new iPod killer?
The Seattle Times reported this week that Argo, the name of the ship sailed by mythological hero Jason, is the code name for a new digital music player being developed by the company's Xbox division. Now blog Engadget has what it claims are pictures of the device.
argo
According to the reports, the Argo will be Wi-Fi-enabled. The newspaper reported that there are several other devices under development, including a media player, and an online media service."
2006/07/12
keep feeling fascination
I am so amused by my own blogging that I now have to test out all the
additional features... Like this email to blog facility.
