Ken McGuire

Author: Ken McGuire

  • Blogging For (Creative) Beginners

    I’ll be giving a half day beginner blogging course in Kilkenny in May under the ArtLinks banner. With details being finalised just before the weekend and rolling out with the new ArtLinks business courses being promoted for the summer, I’ll have to say I’m looking forward to giving the course and working with more creative types in Kilkenny.

    That said, the course will be promoted to creative practitioners working within Kilkenny, Carlow, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow and should attract a good blend of visual artists, musicians, writers and the likes. This will be the second course I’ve been involved in putting together for ArtLinks, having facilitated a “Getting Ahead In The Music Industry” day (my 90 minute talk focusing on effective use of the web for musicians) in Wicklow last November.

    For musicians who are new to blogging and don’t want to wait until May for a chat, have a gander of Kyra Reed’s recent blog post for TuneCore on Why Every Artist Needs A Blog.

    It is also nice to see that the Kilkenny Arts Office have also started the ball blogging about their Artist In Residence programme at the gallery at 72 John Street.

  • Delighted The Internet Has An Off Switch

    In comments on my post prior to the weekend, Bernie Goldbach suggests that

    you have to shut off the warbles, the beeps, the bubble-ups, and the vibrating text alerts at least once every three months.

    To certify this, Pavlos adds

    Isn’t it great when we find ourselves in places and situations where the absence of technology goes by unnoticed?

    Such was the case for the weekend. Granted, there was no complete absence of technology – I did bring my laptop and Mbox in order to process some tracks from the One Take Sessions (two weeks ago this Thursday) and I did watch a few episodes of Seinfeld on DVD – but I did marvel in the ability to disconnect.

    There is no land line in the house in Sligo. There is no land line for a reason. There is no satellite TV, pipe TV, cable TV or antenna capable of picking up a TV signal again all for a reason. I took joy in leaving my mobile phone in a corner of the house where the only useful function I could get from it is to tell the time.

    The result?

    A great weekend.

    Kayaking across an open lake in high winds, walking mountain roads at 7am, tucking into a bag of chips at the Aclare St. Patrick’s Day Parade (which far surpasses the quality of the Kilkenny parade, at least from what I can remember of it anyway), enjoying quality pints in the local and all without a care for what’s happening in the online world.

    Given I spend way too much time “connected” as it is, it’s a great escape to shut off for a few days and I’d advocate it to anyone – throw yourself into the outdoors for a weekend and forget about everything else, just for a little while anyway.

  • Internet Silence For The Weekend

    Kayaking TrioJaiku off? Check. Twitter off? Check. Internet profile on phone? Still deleted. Last.fm Radio? Nowhere to be found. Paddle? Check. ProTools? Check. Boots? Check. Bike? Check.

    I’ve been waiting for March to hit for ages, this stretch of ten days or so to be more precise. It’s close on two months since I’ve had the chance to get up to Sligo but come lunchtime today I’ll be counting down the miles to the lake, all in the hope that I’m getting a head start on the bank holiday traffic.

    I’m imposing internet silence for the weekend. Twitter and Jaiku mobile updates are off. There’s no broadband connection in the house above – which surprisingly suits me this weekend – no dial-up connection and mobile coverage is sketchy at the best of times.

    The lack of any decent speed internet connection doesn’t sway me at all at the lake. I know if I drive 7 miles up the road that I can get a wireless broadband connection. I know if I make the trip into Ballina (Mayo, we’re pretty close to the border) and could bring my laptop with me, enjoy internet access and coffee in the town, but I choose not to. There are enough natural distractions in the area to enjoy as opposed to spending even MORE time logged on.

    Barring one appointment I’ve got on Saturday I plan on getting back out on the lake, tackling some more of the waves at Iniscrone (I’m guessing we’ll have the weather for it though I must look up the surf reports), cycling the mountain roads until my legs fall off and if I’ve enough energy left, flesh out an idea on paper that’s been bubbling away in my head the last two weeks (good bubbles) and I’m NOT leaving until I’ve got one new track recorded for delivery on MySpace next week.

    If you’re emailing me, DMing me or looking for me in general, don’t expect to find me until Tuesday – or maybe Monday night, depending on what happens on the 17th.

    Yes, some of us still believe that St. Patrick’s Day and it’s traditional Irish activities should take place on the 17th and not a bloody Saturday.

    Then we’ll do it all again next weekend for Easter.

  • The Gamechanger: AOL Acquire Bebo In $850m Cash Deal

    BeboOne of my former employers have announced that they’ve acquired Bebo
    , currently ranked as the third largest social network in the US, behind MySpace and Facebook, and likely the widest used social network within Ireland. The deal sees AOL purchase Bebo in a US$850m cash deal, a price significantly higher than that paid for Intermix Media (MySpace) back at the end of 2005.

    Of course, add two years worth of growth throughout the US and Europe, an opening up of the Bebo platform to accept third party applications and the price is likely to go up.

    If AOL were looking for an “in” to the social networking arena, they’ve certainly got it now. The deal is expected to close some time in April, opening up a potential 40 million users to further AOL services (providing of course they’re not existing users).

    I think it’s a great purchase for AOL and costs considered, it looks they’ve got themselves a decent price as well. Estimates on the sale of Bebo in the past 12 months have exceeded the US$1bn mark, TechCrunch reporting in February that Bebo may go for anywhere between US$1bn and US$1.5bn to Google while Yahoo was also rumoured to be looking into acquiring Bebo last summer.

    From the announcement today, AOL chairman Randy Falco says

    this deal is a “gamechanger” and will help power our strategic priorities across the board. Bebo is the best social media asset out there and has the most engaged audience and has seen great growth since its launch 3 years ago. We will be a social media powerhouse. 80 million unduplicated visitors when you count AIM and Bebo. Bebo will be connected to the largest distributed web audience and will circulate traffic from our sites to Bebo and the reverse and have the scale to grow Bebo worldwide. Joanna has impressed me with her vision for the new Web and better ways to connect and develop long-term relationship

    Of course, the future of Yahoo itself has to be yet confirmed. There’s rumour today that Microsoft are set to announce their purchase of Yahoo at a 3pm press conference.

    When all is said and done, congratulations to AOL on the deal, but does this mean I go back to using my ICQ account?

    Update: Centernetworks has a live call with AOL (notes) here.

  • Two Jobs Of Interest

    I thought I’d mention these two as they’re both quite interesting jobs working with two startup companies in Ireland.

    Joe Drumgoole is hiring – that is to say that PutPlace.com is hiring and they’re looking for a Mac developer to create a Mac version of the existing PutPlace Windows client. PutPlace provide a means for organising your digital life – photos, video, audio, documents and more. You don’t need a lifetime of experience (though you must be good at what you do and have a few years under your belt working in Panther, Tiger and Leopard environments) and you don’t even have to live in Dublin (though you will be paid for relocation if you choose to move closer to the company.

    As the job post says

    PutPlace is looking for a developer to build a Mac version of its existing Windows client software. The ideal candidate will have demonstrable experience of building whole applications on Panther, Tiger and Leopard. Ideally with Objective-C using the Cocoa framework. Knowledge of Python, Django, SQLite and PostGres will get you bonus points. We pay market rates and above for the right people. We offer stock options and a health plan. We also give you the ability to build someting from scratch that will make real world users happy.

    It’s a great opportunity to get in on the ground of a really interesting Irish startup. If you want to find out more, check out the job listing here or visit PutPlace.com.

    If I spoke Irish and wasn’t working for myself, one position I would seriously consider is that of a trainee podcaster. Are Edgecast advertising for the first professional podcast job? They’ve got to be close to it anyway!

    Edgecast Media, an innovative social media company, is the brainchild of Conn Ó Muíneacháin. While also producing award winning podcasts, Edgecast are behind the Irish version of Intruders.tv which launched last September. The Edgecast presence at numerous tech events in Ireland over the last year or so has provided some valuable and much needed audio and video exposure of startup companies in Ireland as well as extended coverage of new media events such as PodCamp Ireland, the Irish Blog Awards and more.

    But – they’re also hiring and have been advertising for almost a month now a position for a trainee podcaster.

    The position involves a good deal of radio production work for traditional broadcast channels, in addition to production and publishing of blogs, podcasts and other forms of internet media. The position would suit a recent graduate in radio production or multimedia. Applications will also be considered from students seeking temporary work-placement as part of a third-level course.

    To find out more on the trainee podcaster position, click here to read the job post.

    Positions like these with companies like these did not exist when I was leaving college – and that was only three years ago.

    If you’re a Mac developer or an Irish-speaking soul with a strong interest in podcasting and new media then these are two positions which should not be overlooked.

  • USB Compilation Album For DownloadMusic.ie

    In the aftermath of the Blog Awards and having a brief word (and subsequent emails) with DownloadMusic.ie’s Johnny Beirne, I’ve been asked to join a panel of well respected musicians and promotors (including the likes of 2FM’s Rick O’Shea, former Choice Music Prize winner Julie Feeney, WLR’s Roddy Cleere, Today FM’s Alison Curtis and more – full list here).

    The purpose of the panel is to select 10 tracks from the DownloadMusic.ie catalog to go forth onto a USB released compilation album which will be sold online as well as being distributed to key media personnel around the country.

    As panelists we’re given the task of listening through and rating a short list of 50 tracks from acts registered on DownloadMusic.ie, producing a final selection of 10 to make their way to the album.

    I think it’s a great idea from the DM team who continue to help promote (and chart) music from independent Irish and unsigned acts. I’ve worked with a few acts in helping them get their music onto the service (it’s actually a rather easy process) and have seen bands reap the benefits of having their tracks available for download (both for promotional and commercial gain), particularly when the downloads are being tracked for places in the Irish music charts.

    The compilation album too will be monitored by ChartTrack so with enough sales we might see a USB released album enter the Irish charts. If anything I’m looking forward to discovering more new music in the knowledge that the contributions made by the panel are further exposing some of the gems of the Irish music scene to a greater audience.

  • Getting Set For CreativeCamp

    We’re getting set for CreativeCamp in Kilkenny this coming Saturday. You know it’s on in a castle, right? We’ve also got in the region of 100 people registered for the day and we’d love to see everyone who has registered so far there! Secretly I’m hoping for a 50-a-side game of football or hurling in the park… is it possible?

    It is shaping up to be a great day. Myself and Keith will be in the venue tomorrow afternoon and Friday to check on a few last minute things before the doors to The Parade Tower swing open on Saturday morning.

    The latest treat for those in attendance comes in the form of organic and fairly traded wine coming to CreativeCamp via McGovern’s Organic Wines. You can enjoy a glass, hopefully in the sun, or perhaps watching a screening of the first episode of a new web-based sitcom being filmed in Kilkenny?

    There’s also talk of drinks afterwards as we know there’s a few people staying in Kilkenny. If you’re not booked into Kilkenny and need a few tips, I’ve added an accommodation list to the CreativeCamp blog with estimated walking times from The Parade Tower as well. With almost 20 talks on the day and some terrific sights to take in (do give yourself a chance to stroll around the castle grounds, feed the ducks, play on the swings) and a top class lineup of speakers across varying genres and backgrounds, the day is sure to present something for everyone.

    Not to late to sign up – just click here to register!

  • A Lot To Be Said For Working From Home

    There’s a lot to be said for working from home. For almost every working day since 2005 I’ve been making my way to the office, settling into my desk, my chair, the kettle nearby and not once can I remember taking a full day to work at home. Sure, often there’s times where I’ll start a job at home if I’m up early (early being in the 7am range, the “usual” being the 7:30am range) and bring it with me to the office for 8:30am. Or maybe I’ll go the other way, start a job late in the office and bring it home to finish off, just for a “change of scenery” at the end of the day.

    Yesterday, however, I woke to heavy snowfall in Kilkenny, a headache and a general feeling of being unwell. No problem I thought, I’ll hang on an hour, down a cup of green tea, settle myself into the morning gradually and make way to the office for mid morning. No point in giving up on work though!

    Having been out of the office Friday, the mobile was beside me and turned on by 8:30am. We switched our office mail over to Google Apps around last summer so the office mail went on for 8:30am, along with Google chat to keep tied into the office. Connection to the server in the office for projects and job folders? No problem. Couple the recent installation of OpenOffice, add some graphic packages, editors, XAMPP to back the webserver at home, bundle in my Skype Pro account (and recently installed desktop phone) and I’ve everything I need really to work a full day from the house.

    Next thing you know it’s 11:30am and I’m finally getting around to that cup of green tea. At this stage I’ve three jobs cleared off my virtual desk, two training sessions arranged for next week and Friday through Monday’s email cleared.

    When I realised the headache was subsiding and I could manage lunch I figured there was no point in going to the office as I was in full swing at home. I had recently reorganising my home workspace (effectively splitting it in two to handle audio recording and production on one side of the room and office work on the other) which was certainly a help. Plus, my actual physical office is located in an industrial estate between a control panel-building company and metal fabrication company. Every hour of the day there’s machines going off, delivery trucks pulling up outside, people dropping in and out of the office for one reason or another. Now, that’s not to say that I’m working in a completely noisy environment but there are certain stages of the day when it gets noisy outside the window!

    Come the afternoon, the snow subsided outside, making way for rain but still there were no trucks, no machines and a full working day complete. I stopped for lunch for 20 minutes, grabbed a tea in the afternoon and that was it. Meetings arranged for the week, phone support jobs handled, all the time keeping touch with Aidan in the office, exchanging files over chat / email / phone.

    I used to do that kind of thing in college, the odd time anyway. Get up early in the morning, abandon the walk to college in favour of working in a very quiet house to get some valuable project time in.

    In speaking with Keith yesterday in relation to CreativeCamp it was suggested that your mind works in a different way when working from home, or your line of thinking is different. You’re getting on with the tasks at hand but you can approach them differently, cover some things you wouldn’t normally get done in the office environment.

    Perk for me is the only other person there would be my brother, the rest of the family (and the dog) firmly installed in Sligo and at that he wouldn’t be back until 5pm anyway.

    While I can’t say that I’ll make it a regular occurrence and it certainly wouldn’t be practical when it comes to client meetings, I was pleasantly surprised at the vast amount of work accomplished yesterday between 8am and 5:30pm.

    A bit of peace, plenty of focus and barely stirring from the chair made for a fairly healthy work day, and certainly provided food for thought for taking other odd days to work at home.

  • The Blog Awards Rocked. Fact

    Morning After Tea

    At last year’s Blog Awards (2007), myself and the rest of the KKM crew had to cut the night short just after the awards ceremony to cover a few gigs in Dublin. This year, the crew was cut in half, there were no gigs to cover so myself and Ross found ourselves immersed in the 2008 Blog Awards at the Alexander Hotel in Dublin last night. Early in the door (my raffle ticket was 1-5!) and late back to the hotel (some time around 3am possibly?).

    While I’ve already posted the list of winners from last night, I did want to flag a few things – mainly being the people I ran into on the night.

    The Irish Blog Awards was full of legends. A huge room packed wall to wall with legends. The people in the room are the reason you don’t have to read the newspapers. They are the technology writers, photographers, musicians, food critics, fashion divas, arts lovers, business gurus, political thinkers, sporting enthusiasts and so much more. One cannot get over the sheer power of the Irish blogging community and the respect in which everyone is held amongst their blogging peers.

    Loudervoice.com's Conor O'Neill with KilkennyMusic.com's Ross Costigan (oss237)After missing out on RedMum’s photo walk around Dublin, and failing to hook up with Phil and Andy in Wagamama (due to getting in late, trying to find the hotel and getting ready for the Awards) we did eventually arrive at the Alexander bang on 6:30pm.

    Who did I get to talk to?

    Paul Browne for a start. About bloody time as well, having missed out on a chat and pint at last year’s Awards. That can of Guinness is still in my filing cabinet and I swear I’ll remember the name of that river! Talk of the night ahead and kayaking over the west was had before being introduced to the first round of beers for the night with Darren Byne and Darragh Doyle – two of the soundest guys you could meet.

    After scoffing a few Black Jacks courtesy of the LouderVoice.com sweet bag, I finally managed to shake hands with Conor O’Neill. It’s been too long a time coming! It wasn’t long too before running into David Maybury. Having first met in Kilkenny late last year, I’ve to thank David and Deborah for the aftershow party in Burger King somewhere in Dublin around 2:30am. I say “somewhere” as there was a lot of walking, plenty of joking, and next thing you know I’m sitting down to a burger of some description.

    There was chat with RedMum, Phil O’Kane and Andy GoodOnPaper.

    Johnny Beirne is a man I’ve to catch up with again and finish the conversation that never really got off the ground – we’ll do it again. I also decided that Marcus Mac Innes is a legend as well. Some mad conversation at the end of the night I’m having trouble piecing together. Needless to say there was a lot of laughing. Plus, I gave him one of the 5 mustaches I won which can be here.

    Mustache's are the new thing... seriously!I got to catch up with Nialler9 (who did the double on the Best Music Blog) who capped off what’s been a terrific week, all things considered. AoifeMc bagged herself a gun on the night courtesy and it was nice to make the introduction before the night ran out. The same too goes for Sinead Gleeson, twitter / sunday cooking 2.0 cohort Alexia Golez (who is even nicer in real life as much as she in online, plus she had a kick-ass Thundercats tee on) and Paul Walsh.

    I managed to snap Ina on video rummaging for a holiday break… 🙂 How did that work out in the end? Went looking for Sabrina Dent before the night was out – mission accomplished too. There was some strange tattoo checking with The Humble Housewife? After that, things get a little bit hazy.

    I can go on, but in fairness I think I wound up talking to an absolute ton of people there on the night. God, I even made the dance floor for the last part of the night – big thanks to Brian Greene for the absolutely solid music through the night. No thanks to whoever kept laying on the tequila…

    Mr Mulley certainly throws a solid bash, but it’s the Irish blogging community on a whole that make it happen and make every second worthwhile on nights like last night.

    You can catch a selection of pictures I took on the night here on Flickr (will get them on Pix.ie shortly, I was told I’d be killed otherwise).

    For the moment, it’s onward towards CreativeCamp this coming Saturday.

  • Those Irish Blog Awards Winners

    Partly for my own reference for later on, and to give some link love to the winners, here’s the list of those who walked away with the trophies last night.

    I had been featured under Best Technology Blog for kenmc.com while KilkennyMusic.com was included in the Best Music Blog, those categories going to Robin and Nialler9 respectively. Couldn’t go to two nicer lads! Fair play!

    I’m currently shaking off a hangover, getting sorted with some photos from last night as well as the list of names of people I spoke to – yes, I saved them to my phone “just in case” the pints kept flowing. The pints, and shots, flowed until we were pretty much the last ones out the door so I’m glad I kept that list!

    Full flashback / summary later this evening…

  • There Was Blogging, There Was Drinking, There Were Cheers…

    Irish Blog AwardsThat’s how I imagine tonight will run, but not exactly in that order.

    The 2008 Irish Blog Awards are taking place tonight in the Alexander Hotel, Dublin with kick off scheduled for 7:30pm. Having been to the Awards last year I can say that the Alexander is a great venue and anyone going is bound to run into some fantastic people.

    The blog finds itself nominated for in the Best Technology Blog category amongst the likes of Tom Raftery’s Social Media, Donncha O’Caoimh, Alexia Golez, Michele Neylon’s Pensieri, Michelle Gallen, Dave Northey, Inside View from Ireland, Robin Blandford’s ByteSurgery, James Corbett and Chris Horn.

    Word has that list gets shorter again tonight before the awards are announced but it’s been a pleasure to have kenmc.com nominated for the very first time. I’ll also be there with Ross as KilkennyMusic.com found it’s way on the music shortlist though a betting man would put money on Nialler9 doing the double. Not a bad way to round out a week with Super Extra Bonus Party bagging the Choice Music Prize too.

    According to Ross…

    Ken will be the guy to talk to if you basically want to talk about anything from music to technology, sport, you name it. I’ll be standing beside him, the guy with the mohawk, consuming copious amounts of free alcohol and saying things like “what the hell is a blog anyway!?”

    Says he leading the way for staff bloggers at KKM. Either way, we’re going to go and have a bit of craic, wind down after a few hectic weeks on all fronts and mingle with the very best the Irish blogosphere has to offer.

    While having two phones might make me a terrorist, I’ll also be concealing my new Nikon Coolpix S200 so if you’re talking to me, jump in for a picture, sure why not!

    See all y’all tonight.

  • iPhone Ships March 14th Wearing A 1GB Cap

    iPhone Available On O2

    As mentioned earlier, the Apple iPhone has been announced by O2 and will be available to the public from March 14th 2008. The rumoured prices of €399 (8gb model) and €499 (16gb model) are also true.

    Three tariffs have also been announced by O2

    • €45 p/m inc 175 anytime minutes, 100 texts, 1gb data
    • €65 p/m inc 350 anytime minutes, 150 texts, 1gb data
    • €100 p/m inc 700 anytime minutes, 250 texts, 1gb data

    Notice a trend here? The tariffs seem reasonable if you’re a heavy voice user but I know for a fact I wouldn’t be using the iPhone to make 350 minutes of calls, never mind 700 minutes. As it stands, I pay O2 €35 bucks a month for my 150 anytime minutes and 100 texts. That would make the 1gb data an extra tenner on my contract – of which I would have to sign a new, minimum 18-month term contract on an iPhone only tariff (non-transferable).

    So, for €65, should I not be entitled to 3gb of data, presuming the extra 1gb costs ten euro extra a month? And what about a €100 option? Still capped out at 1gb?

    Considering that O2 offer mobile broadband at €30 a month for a 10gb cap, could this not be factored into the iPhone price plan? That way at €65 I’d get 10gb worth of data, plus my 150 anytime minutes and 100 free texts. I’m not a heavy voice-user, I could live with that.

    Considering the number of podcasts, photos, videos etc. I consume in any given month I’d find the 1gb cap rather restrictive – each extra megabyte costing you 2c. Small change, but it would mean I could pay anywhere up to a euro per podcast when out and about, more for videos, maps etc. General surfing, not so much a problem, but I’m a multimedia head by nature…

    Apart from the 1gb cap, it is nice to see the phone finally hit the Irish market. The O2 site comes decorated with the usual Apple warnings against modifying your new iPhone or attempting to unlock it to any network.

    If you do want to secure an iPhone for the 14th of March you’re going to need to visit your nearest O2 retail storing, bringing proof of ID and two crisp 50 euro notes as a deposit. If you’ve already upgraded your phone, or recently upgraded your phone, you won’t be charged an upgrade penalty to buy the iPhone (which also means that there are no discounts available to long-term contract users on the O2 network). Plus, if you’re a new customer you can start out on the iPhone or upgrade again at no penalty, once you commit to the 18 month contract.

    The 18 month contract would put the cost of the phone at €810 (contract) plus the minimum €399 spend meaning you’ll have splashed out over €1200 come Autumn 2010, before you count any additional voice, SMS, voicemail, roaming or data charges.

    It’d be a hell of a lot cheaper to pick up an iPhone elsewhere and jailbreak that sucker.

    I’ll be the one in the corner waiting by the N95 8GB bus stop.

  • iPhone Announced For O2 Ireland Later This Morning

    Apple iPhoneSo O2 have confirmed that they are the exclusive Irish carriers of the Apple iPhone. This was pretty much a given considering O2 are the exclusive carriers in the UK.

    Scouting around the blogosphere this morning, Engadget are reporting that the iPhone will

    • retail at €399 inc. VAT for the 8gb model
    • retail at €499 inc. VAT for the 16gb model
    • will go public on Patrick’s weekend (launching March 14th)

    The suggested price range is quite reasonable, all things considered. It also places the phone in the immediate price bracket of the Nokia N95, the first gen of which O2 are still shipping – though recent conversations I’ve had with O2 reps and other Irish bloggers suggest the N95 8GB model’s arrival is imminent.

    I’m still set on swinging for the N95 8GB model but we’ll see what comes out of this morning’s announcements.

    Update 1: Announcement to be made at 11:15am in O2’s Dublin HQ (via Damien Mulley)

    Update 2: Pocket Lint are reporting that “Three new iPhone tariffs will be available from O2, starting at €45, all of which will include anytime minutes, texts and a 1GB data bundle.”

  • Antitrust To Cost Microsoft Another €899m

    MicrosoftFour years ago Microsoft were fined €497m (as in million) by the European Commission, the company at the time ordered to release key parts of it’s Windows code to other developers. In 2006, the company were fined a further €280m. Today it emerges they’ve been stung for a staggering (in lay mans terms) sum of €899m, the EC finding Microsoft guilty of not handing over code and breaking an EU anti-trust ruling.

    The sum equates to $1.4bn which works out at what, around 3.5% give-or-take of the total offered in Microsoft’s proposal to take over Yahoo? At the very least it would pay for a B2 bomber.

    Whatever way you look at it, it’s still a huge chunk of cash to pay out, though I’m certainly interested in where this €899m will wind up. How about €899m worth of free software for schools in Europe?

    In the press this morning, however, one might draw the idea that Microsoft would be challenging the imposed fine as they see it relating to issues resolved in the past.

    We are reviewing the Commission’s action. The Commission announced in October 2007 that Microsoft was in full compliance with the 2004 decision, so these fines are about the past issues that have been resolved,” the company said in a statement. As we demonstrated last week with our new interoperability principles and specific actions to increase the openness of our products, we are focusing on steps that will improve things for the future,” the company said. (via)

    You think the EU could step in and ask Apple to check their currency conversion rates at all?

    This morning’s press release attributes the €899m fine to Microsoft having “charged unreasonable prices for access to interface documentation for work group servers“.

    Check here for history on the antitrust case with Microsoft.

  • New MacBook Pro Rolls In

    MacBook Pro 15″ ModelThe Apple store is getting a bundle of new products and price cuts of late – the arrival of the 32gb iPod Touch, the price cuts to the iPod Shuffle (1 gig model now available for €45 online) and the arrival of the MacBook Air. Now it’s the turn of the new MacBook and MacBook Pro models.

    I’ve been a MacBook Pro user since December 2006 (seems like a lifetime ago now) and of all the laptops I’ve owned and used over the years I have to say it’s the best piece of computing kit I ever put money into. That said, if I was in the market for a new laptop, then the new MacBook (or Pro) models would be my first port of call.

    In the Irish Apple Store you’ll find the MacBook starting from €999 while the MacBook Pro starts from €1799. Though if you want my advice, buy foreign… it’s a hell of a lot cheaper.

    The 15 inch MacBook Pro model (of which I’m using) now comes with 200gb HD space as standard, processor upped to 2.4GHz (I’m on 2.16) and NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 128MB SDRAM.

    Move up to the next model (2.5GHz 15 inch) and you’ve got yourself an extra 50gb HD space and your graphics card gets bumped up to 256mb (extra 400 euro). The real sweetness is in the new 17 inch model, busting out a screen resolution of 1680 x 1050, 250gb HD, LED backlit screen option and graphics bumped up to 512mb on order.

    The MacBooks too have some nice new additions, again with processor, HD and graphics all getting a boost.

    Each model ships with 2GB RAM as standard and multi-touch (via MacBook Air) has also been added.

    Check here for MacBooks     and here for MacBook Pros on the Irish Apple store.

  • Stage6 Shuts Its Doors On Thursday

    Stage 6So Stage6 is shutting its doors or so last night’s newsletter announced. After failing to find any alternative to keep the service going “either as its own private entity or by selling it to another company”, DivX have announced the plug will be pulled on Stage6.com com Thursday February 28th.

    Since its launch Stage6 rapidly became one of my favourite destinations for online video, not just because you could find the odd episode of Lost or Prison Break on it (if you were quick enough to find it), but because of the high quality of video delivered and the fact you could find some decent original content.

    Relatively unrestricted by both length and filesize, Stage6 houses a massive range of original online shows, interviews, documentaries, old movies, foreign movies, film trailers, music videos and much more.

    In terms of local use, one example of quality content to be found on Stage6 is that of ‘Vultures’, a web based sitcom produced by friends of mine at Mycrofilms, a new independent film company based in Kilkenny. Before Vultures hits iTunes and starts looking for a new home online, check out the first episode while you can by visiting the Vultures channel. If you prefer to wait, we’re also planning a screening of Vultures (running time approx 40 minutes) during lunch in one of the rooms at CreativeCamp on March 8th.

    It’s just a pity the overall Stage6 service couldn’t be maintained.

  • iPod Video to iPod Touch (How To)

    iPod Video to iPod Touch (How To)Back in October, I had published a post on how to hack your ipod video to make it look like an ipod classic.

    Well, given that there’s been a new firmware release from the same group that published the Classic firmware I figured I may get to testing the new iPod Touch interface for the iPod video.

    Don’t go getting excited – it’s not going to turn your iPod video into a touchscreen interface, but it will give you a rather impressive new interface for your iPod video.

    Note that I had previously been using an early release of the iPod classic firmware, iTunes clearing that on me last night to install Apple’s 1.2.3 release for the 5G iPod, which I’ve overwritten with the new iPod Touch firmware release (built on 1.2.1).

    Update: Almost 12 months on, I’ve stopped using my own video iPod and haven’t attempted this upgrade since I first made the post, I’m now happily using an actual iPod Touch. Note that as with any software or firmware upgrades or installs, you also accept responsibility for your actions and following the steps. I can’t and won’t guarantee that it will work for you as it’s been a while since I attempted it myself. I don’t accept iPods via mail to change firmware and I don’t accept responsibility for your own iPod when you’re making changes.

    Remember, if you get stuck, you can do the iPod reset as outlined in the older post.

    Prepping For The Install

    As with the previous hack, you’ll need to get yourself a copy of of the latest version of iPodWizard. You’ll also need access to a windows machine (XP / Vista), the correct firmware version for your iPod (5G firmware | 5.5G firmware) and an iPod cable.

    How To Update Your iPod Video Firmware

    • Before plugging in your iPod access the main menu settings by going to Settings > Main Menu when you turn your iPod on. Make sure the only menus switched on are ‘Music’, ‘Photos’, ‘Videos’ and ‘Extras’, everything else can be switched off. This will ensure there are no broken links or errors in navigating your iPod from the main screen.
    • Connect iPod to PC (iPod Wizard is windows based). If iTunes opens on connecting, you’ll need to close it and make sure that nothing else is accessing your iPod at the time. If connected properly, you will see the ‘Do Not Disconnect’ warning on your iPod screen.
    • Browse (via My Computer) to your downloaded firmware and if zipped, unzip it to a new folder. I named my folder 5G iPod Touch Hack.
    • In iPod Wizard, set your edit mode (top left corner) to ‘Firmware File’.
    • Click the ‘Open Firmware’ button and navigate to your ‘5G iPod Touch Hack’ folder and open the ‘TouchHack2.0’ file (Windows displays the default icon if no filetype associated, it has a .bin extension). Once loaded, the firmware’s version name will appear beside the ‘open firmware button’.
    • Click ‘Write To iPod’ to start copying the firmware onto your iPod. This doesn’t have any impact on your music collection, everything remains intact. The write process can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
    • Once written, press ‘Eject’ in iPod Wizard. You should hear the Windows sound (if your speakers are on) for the removable drive disconnecting. DON’T unplug your iPod. Your iPod will restart and begin loading the new firmware for the first time.
    • When your iPod has fully restarted, press ‘Eject’ again in iPod Wizard. This will disconnect your iPod from your PC at which time you can remove the cable and start exploring your new interface.

    Before & After Images

    iPod Touch Hack - Click for more images

    A full range of images can be found here on Flickr.

    The firmware update was released by DrivenDesign.

  • Mourning My iPod No More

    Now playingThere’s few things in life I go anywhere without.

    House keys.
    Wallet.
    Mobile phone.

    Since September 2006 you can also add a 60gb video iPod to that list. In my pocket, in my bag, in work, in the van, on a bus, on a trip to Canada, on a trip to Germany – wherever I went, the iPod followed.

    It had been a month since I’d seen it. I’d used the iPod (as I always do) in setting up the rig for the night, check sound levels, quick pan left and right and put it away. Collecting the gear the next morning, I grabbed the iPod, put it into the van (or at least thought I did) but it never made it back to Kilkenny. Any boxes, bags, anything small enough to hold the device have long been emptied.

    Hell, even at the weekend I unscrewed the lower panels in the back of the van just in case it had some how slipped in behind them.

    Alas, no.

    Flash to Monday of this week and I was hovering with my finger over the publish button on this post, which ultimately had a different outcome. In Monday’s post I would have talked about how the iPod was an extension of my being. Like a lost puppy it followed me absolutely everywhere – gigs, walking around town, working out, around the house, in my camera bag, in work, in the van, never leaving my side. I would have talked about how strange it is to get attached to a digital device. I’ve had phones I’ve loved, laptops I’ve loved but when something *just works* and shows no sign of needing an upgrade or update, provides great battery life (through care), hasn’t a mark on it (bar some wear on the back) and does everything I need it to do, then obviously I’m going to get attached to it. That said, this is the iPod I upgraded the firmware on.

    Plus at the time, it was a considerable investment, breaching the 450 euro mark (yes, in typical Apple fashion it wasn’t long before they announced the 80gb slim models but there you go…).

    Ever since the secondary school days I’ve had some form of portable music player sitting in my bag – hell even go back to primary school days where I would accept sitting through slower renditions of my favourite songs because the batteries in my walkman weren’t totally depleted. Walking to work in Waterford my minidisc would sit happily in my pocket. On the bus home from college by Creative Zen Jukebox would provide me with some musical interludes between conversations. But in the 18 months I’ve had my iPod it never left my side.

    Yesterday I would have talked about how it was time to look for another iPod. I didn’t necessarily need wifi, but maybe it would be interesting. I didn’t necessarily need to go to a 160gb classic model, but maybe the extra space would come in handy some day. However, I had also resigned myself to the fact that replacing my iPod would, in the present climate, have to take a lower priority on the list of things I’ve got lined up. Plus, if I was going iPod touch route I’d certainly try and organise something overseas rather than pay Apple’s silly exchange rate where US$1 = €1.

    But, no more.

    Rummaging through a bag of XLR cables needing to be repaired on Monday (and stuck with a tube of masking tape around it) the mourning of a device turned to sheer joy. Battery drained, marked up from the tape (comes of with cleaning) but a full charge via USB and the world is back to normal.

    I think I’d been physically upset at losing the iPod, such is my attachment to it. Or at the very least angry with myself for having misplaced it to begin with. How it ended up in the bag is beyond me as I certainly didn’t put it there – I wouldn’t mind only I’d been through that bag before and had it out at two gigs since.

    At least now I can empty iTunes of all the podcast content I’ve downloaded.

  • KCLR Tuesday 8pm

    I’ll be on the Culture Club with Jenny Nolan (KCLR96 FM) tomorrow night, Tuesday. The show goes out between 8pm and 9pm and you can listen online. Though not certain, I reckon I’ll be on the air shortly after 8pm as is the usual case.

    There’ll be talk of the One Take Sessions, whose 2008 lineup continues to grow with some plugs in for CreativeCamp and the Irish Blog Awards amongst other things. Or at least as much as I can fit into the slot. If I can grab a recording I’ll bring it back here or it will possibly end up at my staff blog at KilkennyMusic.com.

    The gadget segment seems up in the air since January but you never know…

  • Some Blog Updates

    I’m doing some blog updates tonight so appearances might be sketchy here and there. I’ve been working on a change of theme for the blog, something simple and not so pink (it’s been pink since October, time for a change!).

    There’s also a wordpress upgrade due, some plugin upgrades and the eventual change of theme itself which will have some “live updates” over the next 2-3 hours or so while I tweak a few things.

    Just a heads up!

    Update: Monday 22:35

    I’ve posted the first draft of the theme, to give me an idea of what needs tweaking. Of course, my internet connection in general is damn slow tonight so that doesn’t help much.

    Any feedback, thoughts, comments, errors spotted etc. let me know! I’ve ditched a lot of the small chicklets, removed the pink colour, the background image, the flash-driven Jaiku updater and overall I’ve gone for something a little more straight forward, hopefully quicker loading and a little tidier. Plus, it’s widget-friendly in comparison to the previous theme.

    The sidebar varies a bit depending where you are in the blog – the homepage displays a mini profile (which will be rewritten and updated at some stage this week), recent blog comments, a blog roll and some links; the single pages display one adsense block, latest posts blog-wide and some different widgets…

    So far so good.