GoogleTalk has gone all fancy. Chatting away on it this afternoon and all of a sudden there were colours and lights and flashy icons and stuff…. something to keep me entertained over Friday lunchtime, preparing yet another chat avatar!
Its also available on the Blackberry, if there’s a PocketPC version of it doing the rounds I’d be pretty happy. The new PDA is working out quite well indeed!
Author: Ken McGuire
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GoogleTalk Fancied Up
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YouTube moving on up
35 million videos viewed a daily.
Hundreds of thousands of comments. Positive feedback, negative feedback.
View them online, spread them in email, stick them on your bebo or MySpace account, hell, even post them in your blog.
I’m talking about the videos being hosted at YouTube, quite possibly the new internet leader for online video sharing. Whatever about Google Video or Atom Films, YouTube seems to be doing the business when it comes to video, according to SiliconBeat this evening. Its also something I’ve been looking at of late as a means of distribution for another organisation I’m involved with.
But why the big news? Well, they’ve been handed another US$8 million in VC funding – barely five months after receiving a first round sum of US$3.5 million. Seems like things are getting busy on the YouTube front and they’re moving right on up…. read on for the full article.
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New podcasting logo?
Is this the face of the new PodCasting logo? Reading MonkeyBites this morning it seems there was a contest held in Germany of all places to determine a universal podcasting logo? The result? An RSS icon wearing a set of headphones….Not sure how effective this kind of design would be. Personally I would rather see something a little more iconic, in the style of the new RSS icon. Somehow, adding a set of headphones just doesn’t do it for me!
Update
Alan from Spoiltchild / Pinstripe has made this offering (opens in new window) in retaliation. Certainly a lot more along the lines I was thinking…
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Dramatic Web 2.0 Transformation
DeviantART, where I house some of my photography and prints are just about to revolutionise their website. And amongst all the Web 2.0-style sites that are doing the rounds at the moment, I’m just not sure that this is a good idea.
If you take a look at the first link in the post you’ll arrive at my profile page, get a feel for the look, the structure, how everything appears and works…. then take a look at the second link. Whatever about new websites and businesses adopting a “web 2.0 strategy” or approach to how their site is designed and run, is it really worthwhile to perform a radical changeover after almost 5 years of the same style of site, a site which currently holds 2m+ users and 20m+ works of art?
If you’re that well established, would you make the move?
Update: Ok, following investigation it looks more like a bad taste april fools joke – but I still think it raises a valid question, irregardless of whether the change goes ahead or not. If you were in their position, with a solid userbase on a particular model of a website, would you still press ahead and make such dramatic changes?
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Kilkenny Business Awards 2006
Quiet weekend on the blogging front but just back in the door from the Kilkenny Business awards. Not used to blogging about the business here but needless to say a good night was had. No major awards but nice representation, a great meal, good conversation and all the rest. Needless to say, being nominated for Service Provider Of The Year after just over six months in business isn’t bad considering we were bunched with companies trading over 20 years around the country.
It does have to be said that there are some absolutely excellent businesses operating in Kilkenny in all areas (retail, service, HR, manufacturing etc.) and for small startup businesses its evenings like these that offer a genuine appreciation of the work involved and the role everyone plays in providing business services to the region.
Congratulations to everyone on the night and everyone I’d been speaking to, hope to see you, and ourselves, again next year! -
Is allTunes the new iTunes?
You’ve got to hand it to the Russians, when it comes to music on the net, its bloody cheap! With the iTunes store not exactly available in Ireland until recently (at least not when I had started out in college), some of us went MP3 shopping in Russia through the likes of MP3Search and AllOfMP3 which allows downloads for 10c / 2c p/mb respectively.
Anyway, AllOfMP3 have now released a desktop client, allTunes (via Techcrunch), which allows users to login to AllOfMP3 via their desktop, browse the store, and download their albums at the same cost – a full album working out around $1.50 give or take. Personally I think its great. Digitial downloads shouldn’t be too expensive, otherwise you’d simply go out and buy the CD (including case, quality printing, store charge, markup, vat etc.). Its real jewel in the crown is the back catalog of out of print albums (I picked up Kerbdog’s 1994 release, out of print about 10 years) and its massive selection of international music.
Worth a shot I reckon…
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New Toy For Ken
October 24th I made a post highlighting a phone I was looking at in time for Christmas but never bothered… until today. My P900 which has served me so faithfully for the past 15 months just isn’t cutting it any more, mainly with web and email access that I couldn’t really utilise unless going through a web mail front with expensive GPRS charges 😉
Anywhoo, I’ve decided to splash out and pick up the HP HW6515 Mobile Messenger (running Windows Mobile 2003) to replace the P900 through Komplett, if all was well in the world I’d have it Friday but I’m a patient guy. Being able to pick up WiFi access will be a major plus, but does anyone know if there’s Irish maps available for TomTom or MS Streets?
I’m sure I’ll blog it once I get it…
If anyone had ever considered the phone, the price tag on Komplett is very competitive for the sim free option, almost 70 euro cheaper than Expansys and about the same if you were looking at a secondhand / refursbished model on eBay….
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Racketeering Via Skype?
Most of us know that Skype is based upon technology and code created by the two guys behind Kazaa, the infectious (literally) P2P file sharing application that put every major record company into a spin in the last year. Now it looks like their past is catching up with them, only this time through Skype as both Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis are being pulled up in the courts under RICO laws which are usually reserved for those in organised crime… go figure.
The case itself is why the technology behind Kazaa was never sold on to the company (Streamcast) who had “first dibs” on it….
Makes for interesting reading, as always 🙂
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Got X1? Not any more….
O2 are recalling their X1 handsets because of a potential charging fire hazard, so it seems (via Gizmodo with original story breaking on Mobileburn). Seemingly they’re also going to render all original X1 handsets useless via the handsets IMEI numbers and you’ll be able to get a free upgrade to the X2i by returning your handset. This is affecting users in the UK, no mention of a direct link to Irish mobile users but there’s always the possibility.
First time I’ve heard of this, though anyone I know with an X1 doesn’t have many problems with it. Still, a free phone is surely better than a smoking phone…
Update – O2 Ireland are recalling the handsets as a precaution for all handsets sold between December 2003 and June 2004… more details here
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Podcasts, The Open Source Way
Came across this in the morning reading, for those of you interested in grabbing podcasts without going the iTunes way (which I was trying out myself at the weekend). The article points to an open source option for scheduling the download of podcasts once you’ve got the URL you need. Called Juice, the full article is available here including a full tutorial on how to use it!
Its cross platform too, PC and Mac versions available now with a linux version in the offing… and it already comes complete with a directory of thousands of available podcasts!
The download is a nifty 6.29mb as well (windows)…
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Orders Rollings for XPS Renegade
Back in January I made a post about Dell readying to launch the XPS Renegade…. well the moment of truth has arrived, and if you’re living in the United States its gonna cost you around $10,000.
Of course you’ll get a 30″ flatpanel monitor thrown into the mix for your money but you’re looking at around 8 grand for the unit sans monitor. Announced today at the Game Developers Conference 2006 (via BusinessWire), Dell are now taking orders on the machine that is set to revolutionise PC gaming.
If you fancy donating one to the Ken McGuire Wannabe PC Gamer Fund you’re most welcome, you’ll find me through the contact page 😉
“At CES Dell was the first to demonstrate the power of NVIDIA(R) Quad-SLI(TM) graphics technology on the XPS 600 Renegade. Customers using four NVIDIA GeForce(R) 7900 processors on two controllers now can play complex 3-D games at the highest video settings, without sacrificing realism or on-screen performance. They can run applications at 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, for example, on the included Dell 3007WFP 30-inch widescreen flat panel monitor for a truly high-definition experience.
Dell also gives gamers the extra speed they crave by overclocking the latest Intel(R) Pentium(R) 965 Extreme Edition processor up to 4.26 GHz, backed by specialized XPS support technicians via phone, e-mail or chat.
For enthusiasts who demand the latest technologies, Dell also today added the physics controller as an option for its XPS 600 gaming and XPS 400 high-end multimedia desktops. Games and applications designed to take advantage of the physics technology are expected to be widely available later this year.”
Looks like its going to be quite a year for advancements in PC gaming!
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Vista Delayed – Again
Via BBC…. It seems that we won’t be getting an update to Windows until at least January 2007 as the new breaks this morning of another delay to delivery of Windows Vista – unless you’re a business customer that is.
There will be a corportate edition of the new version of Windows available likely around Thanksgiving weekend in the US with the remaining versions set to ship in the new year (Enterprise, Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate and Starter).
Only thinking yesterday as well its nearly 5 years since Internet Explorer had an update, it should be 6 by the time Windows ships, way too big a gap in my mind for any piece of software – never mind Windows itself. Still… the interconnectivity with the XBOX 360 should be fun…
Update: This news article makes more sense for business – they’re not bothered as more major corporations wouldn’t roll out Vista until 07 anyway. It does mean though that Microsoft are going to potentially miss the home computer market for Christmas, possibly the biggest selling time of the year for home computers.
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Business Uses Of RSS
If you’re around Cork on Monday evening next, IT@Cork (of which Tom Raftery is involved) is holding an evening on the “business uses of RSS” down in the NSC (National Software Centre).
Fergus Burns (Nooked), Elain Lucey (CSO), Rob Burke and Dave Northey (both Microsoft) will be speaking on the night. Kick off is 6pm with tickets €20 for non-members. Should be some interesting discussion there though!
Update : Via comments from Tom, Elain Lucey won’t be speaking so John Dunne (CSO) will be taking her place…
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Upgrade Complete
So I made the upgrade from WP1.5 to WP2.02 this morning, which means I’ve also upgraded the theme ever so slightly. A few tweaks to be made this morning but its making it easier for me to manage the blog. I’ve also added a new contact page for those who have been asking how to get in touch with me.
I didn’t go into any real extensive testing for my old theme on the latest version of WP but if it turns out to be working fine I might well release it to the general public for download as I’ve found myself slipping into the K2 vibe recently. There’ll be some updates during the day or later on this evening.
Questions and comments always appreciated…
Some people might like the fact that the captcha is gone, hmmmm 😉
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Firefox 2.0 – Update
Just a little update post on this one. Reading Rob’s blog (Controlled By Remote) at lunchtime, he’s since downloaded and posted his notes on Firefox 2.0a with some screens as well…
Nice one Rob…
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Firefox 2.0 hits the web
Unannounced to the world but whispered around blogging circles yesterday, Firefox 2.0a has been released onto the web. Have yet to try it, but if you’re up for a copy, here’s the links…
Firefox 2.0a Windows Version
Firefox 2.0a for Macintosh
Firefox 2.0a for LinuxKeep in mind it’s likely to be a bit buggy, but if you’ve tried it out, let me know….
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When Does A Camera Become A Mobile?
I missed this story breaking during the week and immediately started to thinking along the “Is it a bird? Is it a plane?” line of things….
Samsung have gone and announced a 10 megapixel camera phone which was to be launched at the CeBIT last week. Now, not only does that phone boast a 10 megapixel camera element, but it features 3x optical zoom, 5x digital zoom and a 1/2,000 shutter speed. Not only that, but it boasts a 2″, 16.1m colour TFT LCD.
Now, when it comes to photography, I shoot a Nikon D70. Friends of mine in the compact digital range shoot anywhere between 3.2 and 6 megapixels. So why, in the name of God, would you want a mobile phone that boasts a 10 megapixel camera? Is there really that much of a need for this kind of technology on the streets? It seems to me like they’re turning cameras into mobile phones rather than the other way around…
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Updating WordPress
Following on from my post about upgrading to the latest version of WordPress from an older one (1.5) I’ll have to say that its actually quite easy. Still to apply the changes to this blog, I hadn’t realised that NFLView.com was also running WP1.5. After almost 200 posts to the ‘View since Christmas coupled with the plugins that I use over there, I was a bit sceptical about doing an update but it worked like a charm. After checking over at WordPress.org to see if there were any serious difficulties involved I set about the update this morning in a simple way…
- Dump the WordPress tables from the database via PHPMyAdmin (just in case)
- Backed up the WordPress config file (or at least made note of its contents)
- Disabled all current plugins
- Uploaded the latest version to the server, overwriting whatever was in its way
- Run an internal WP upgrade script (as suggested by WordPress.org)
- Re-enabled the plugins and switched to the new theme
Overall the process took about 20 minutes, tipping around, making sure I had everything backed up. In the end, I didn’t really need everything backed up. The main plugins I was using (subscribe to comments, democracy poll, technorati tags etc.) all worked fine in transition and there was no real downtime. If I knew my current theme was going to work moving over to WordPress 2.0.2 I would do it in a flash, but for anyone considering the change – piece of cake!
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Going Going Gone… eBay Pirates
Microsoft is now taking legal action against software pirates auctioning off various versions of Microsoft software packages on eBay. eBay themselves removed over 50,000 listings in the last year at Microsoft’s request but in an effort to cut back on piracy on eBay they’re now taking their case to the courts.
Interesting story, read on here for more…
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Intel Mac is dual booting
Remember hearing about the contest to dual boot Windows Xp and OSX on the new Intel chip based Macs? Well, its finally happened. The prize fund was being driven by the participants, starting out from nothing and stood at US$13,854 when it was nabbed yesterday by a pair of Californian programmers. (Contest Site Here)
Why anyone would want to dual boot the two on the one Mac is beyond me but fair play to them for sussing it out. Get the best of both worlds out of the one machine. I’m amazed that its been done but to be fair, nothing is beyond reach these days. Colin Nederkoom has also posted the solution online allowing people to download a how-to guide along with any additional files and drivers that are needed.
Could this mark the end of the PC vs Mac days? Concentrating on one machine…?