Australia the movie

We went to see Australia the movie last night.

Loved it, it was way better than i thought it was going to be. I can understand why some reviewers have given it a bad rap but basically it's just Luhrmann's quirkyness.

If you liked Strictly Ballroom then you'll like this as well. I guess some people just dont understand certain types of humour.

Definately worth seeing on the big screen as the scenery is spectacular.


Cheers,
Dean

Twitter is dead

I read Mark Evans twitter post and thought my response deserved to be posted here.

Twitter is dead.
http://www.markevanstech.com/2008/11/26/no-twitter-sms-for-you-canada/#comment-140964


Cheers,
Dean

Speed of light factoid

Here is an interesting speed of light factoid;

The distance travelled by light in 1 second;
is equal to
The distance i would travel riding a bicycle at 12 miles an hour, 24 hours a day for 22 months.

...... nothing to see here, feel free to move on.


Cheers,
Dean

Who exactly does CTIA think they represent

So the 2009 CTIA show agenda lands on my desk this morning.

I'm kind of perplexed, exactly who is it that the CTIA thinks they represent these days!!!

Sure putting on grandiose events with Al Gore and Billy Crystal (both of which have absolutely nothing to do with wireless but I'm sure cost a bomb in speaking fees) stroke your egos but how does this have anything to do with your charter.

How about spending members money on stuff that counts like better wireless access and encouraging more advanced carrier functionality/R&D.

Billy Crystal FFS!!! what were you thinking.

Cheers,
Dean

When is 16 x 9 going to become the norm?

16:9 HDTV's have been around for ages and 16:9 broadcasts have been around for a while as well.

So can someone please explain to me why 90% of tv is still being broadcast in 4:3?

I mean how hard is it to reformat all the old content into 16:9, i mean the do it for all the re-edits of the dvd's they release.

The other thing thats bugs me is why is all the on demand content on Time Warner still in 4:3? even the latest stuff which has to be cut from 16:9 to 4:3 is still shown in the old format.

With the changover in the USA to all digital in Feb 2009 do you think we can get all the channels to finally make the switch?


Cheers,
Dean

Studios bully the wrong ISP

lol - I love how Mark White the CEO of iiNet a major Australian ISP has told the studios to go 'f' themselves.
http://torrentfreak.com/movie-studios-join-forces-to-sue-isp-over-bittorrent-081120/

Basically the Studios are suing iiNet and Mark personally because when they send him details of an ip address allegedly using 'P2P' for copyright piracy content his response is 'fine, go tell it to the police, until they get involved I'm not doing anything about it'.

I'm sure the studios would love for the ISP to turn over the data, no subpoena, no trial/jury or due diligence etc but the law is the law.

Why should iiNet be booting customers off the network on the three strikes law without any actual proof or official legal involvement.

I also laugh at the studious how they pick on a smaller isp rather than suing Telstra or Optus.

I think Mark should counter sue for vexatious litigation. If the studious are serious about piracy then they should take all the legal steps required, no shortcuts.


Cheers,
Dean

etherpad

So what do you think?

http://etherpad.com/LceljGu8bu

by Michael Arrington on November 19, 2008

<http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/19/etherpad-shows-google-docs-how-its-done/>
A team of ex-Googlers, with backing from Y Combinator <http://www.crunchbase.com/company/appjet>, the Friendfeed founders and others, have created what might be both the ugliest and most useful group productivity app we've seen. Etherpad <http://etherpad.com/>, a new product from Appjet <http://www.appjet.com/>, launches this morning, and you must try it out.
It's comparable to Google Docs or a wiki, but it's far more useful.
You start off by creating a new workspace. You type basic text on numbered lines at will. Then invite someone else in and have them type as well. Each user's edits are highlighted a different color.
Changes are made in absolute real time, something even Google hasn't been able to do (Google docs update every fifteen seconds).
Users can also chat in the sidebar, save versions and make a few tweaks to the settings like removing line numbers. One great feature optionally highlights Javascript syntax (making this a great way to write code collaboratively) And that's it for now. There is very little bling to the site at this point.
In the future, co-founder Aaron Iba
<http://www.crunchbase.com/person/aaron-iba> says that they'll have features for exporting documents into text files, Word format, etc.
Eventually they'll offer businesses premium features for a fee, like controlled access, private URLs, etc. They'll even offer non-hosted version that companies can install on their own servers for higher security.
This instantly became a must-use application for me. It makes phone calls a lot more productive - just open up a workspace and take notes together, in real time.
A screencast is here <http://etherpad.com/ep/about/screencast>

Cheers,

Dean

What Property Recession

So much for a property recession, was walking to the subway tonight and noticed a 'cocktail opening night' for a redevelopment in Brooklyn Heights.

Not sure if anyone was buying anything but looked packed out. Looks like really nice high end fixtures and fittings but on the pricey side, it's about 600 meters from our place (btw we closed in the last of the sheetrock today :) ....more on that later.


Cheers,
Dean

Virtual likeness contract contention issues

Interesting events in the UFC this week. John Fitch one of the top contenders has been dropped from his contract because he refused to sign over his 'lifetime virtual likeness' rights for inclusion in the UFC video games.
http://mmafrenzy.com/2008/11/19/fitch-wellisch-and-aurelio-released-by-the-ufc/

It's an interesting conundrum because whilst one wants to support UFC and Zuffa for establishing the sport of MMA to where it is now, at the same time these one sided deals are only going to fracture the sport.

I guess it's the old example of people getting greedy and blowing a good thing, who is being greedy and who is blowing the opportunity (fighters or zuffa) is yet to be seen but with lots of competing MMA leagues like Affliction etc there will always be the opportunity for fighters to practise their craft elsewhere.


Cheers,
Dean

iPhone is 'NOT' the worlds number one phone

I was reading this article - http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/11/is_the_iphone_t.html#community

I thought my comment waranted posting here as well.

Also your quote should state "when it comes to viewing 'admob' advetisements"
With only 6000 websites this is such a small sample that the data is a poor representation of the total market.

I know it's cool that Admob release this data but I really wish they did so with a more realistic explanation, iPhone definately isn't the number 1 phone in the world.

Cheers,
Dean

Z-wave?

Is anyone reading this using Z-Wave devices?

I’ve been checking out Vera from www.micasaverde.com and looks pretty cool for only $199

Waiting for the renovations at our new apartment in Brooklyn Heights to be finished but I think Santa is bringing me some zwave gadgets this Christmas.


Cheers,
Dean

IFC Media News Poject

I saw this subway advertisement last week and was wondering what is it all about as looked interesting.
Came across this article this morning - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/arts/television/18medi.html

Looks like it's worth checking out so have set up the dvr to save the series. Let me know what you think of it if you catch it tonight at 8pm.


Cheers,
Dean

The Return of Gordon Gecko

I was reading this article this morning http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/29911 and thinking this is the problem I have personally with the bailouts.


We need to have 'pruning'.


Allowing inefficient companies to fall off and for mergers to save viable assets is the best way to protect everyone and move forward strongly in the future.


When are we going to see the return of a 'Gordon Gecko' someone prepared to roll the dice and acquire multiple assets with the view to stripping off the fat and making money from taking the risk through mergers and acquisitions.

Cheers,
Dean

P.S. As a matter of self disclosure one of my favorite heroes growing up was Al Dunlap (don't know who he is....go do some research you might learn something) - My favorite quote of his was "Don't blame me for firing you from your job, if the previous management was doing their job properly I would never have been called in to solve the problem in the first place".

AT&T Fuze

Saw the HTC Touch Pro in the AT&T Brooklyn store today.

It’s marketed through AT&T as the “FUZE”

Great handset, if you are looking for the latest and greatest in windows mobile devices check it out, was surprised to see it is smaller and thinner than my HTC 8525.

Sensational screen and really snappy speed. Not sure if i like the gui but being a winmo device there will be plenty of roms that allow reconfiguring (unlike the iPhone).

Didn't sign up upgrade both our handsets at the store today because the staff there were clueless about how to upgrade my account but will followup with the AT&T corporate division that handles my account in the next few days.

Photos to come soon :)


Cheers,
Dean

V for vendetta talking head at heathrow airport

Does anyone think it's weird that the person they chose to do the security video message on the 'inter-terminal' passenger bus at heathrow airport is the spitting image of the 'voice of government news' from the movie V for Vendetta.

It's so freaking spooky in a 1984 Orwellian way. What were the producers of this video thinking?


Cheers,
Dean

A New Day?

7.30am Nov 4th. 2008 - A New Day?

Maybe..... I hate to be ominous on a day like this and I love the enthusiasm sweeping the nation but I worry that Obama can only fail to live up to peoples expectations.

I could be wrong (check out what LBJ managed to do in the first 4 years), but i think it's going to be a dissapointment like Mandelas term in SA.

Either way looks like turnout is huge which can only be a good thing.


Cheers,
Dean

The Internet of Things

Great article to read to understand why the Internet as we know it today is only in an ebryonic stage and that there is a lot more growth possible once we start enabling 'things'.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/11/02/digitalbiz.rfid/

Yes this is another article about how your fridge will be sending you emails or how IP enabled door locks eliminate the need for door keys. But more than that it's a great example of what is possible with devices that talk to each other over the internet - for another example check out this article about twitter enabled pot plants (personally i think SOAP or RSS is a better interface than Twitter but it's a start).

For those of you not into plants, how about running shoes that talk to your ipod which then uploads your running distances and speeds to a website (that you can keep private or share with other people if you want to show off).

Either way i hope you find these articles interesting and start thinking about what would help you in your life if it was 'IP enabled'.


Cheers,
Dean
P.S. Yes this post couldn't be complete without a plead for people to start moving to IPV6.....get to it people.

CPE Bluetooth Engagement

Interesting article in http://www.digital-media.net/ this week.

I dont know if http://www.breeze-tech.co.uk/ are the first company to offer CPE pricing for Bluetooth marketing but it's the first time I've heard of it.

Cheers,
Dean

One million .mobi domains registered

The promise of the mobile web, boosted by more web friendly handsets, is finally being realised, and the Dublin-headquartered dotMobi registrar has revealed that more than one million mobile domains have been registered.

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/11699/comms/mobile-web-growth-explosive-as-one-million-mobi-domains-registered

Cheers,
Dean

Mobile Web 'click-to-call' advertisements

Anyone reading this implemented a ‘Mobile Web’ click-to-call campaign?

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=93819

Was surprised to see it state 7% of mobile advertising have a click-to-call component.



Cheers,
Dean

Baffin Island Wing Suits

Fly high you free spirits.


Cheers,
Dean