Ken McGuire

Category: Technology

Sometimes its good to know how to do something!

  • Sexify Your PC And Win Big

    That seems to be the message coming out of Intel in the news today as they’re offering up to US$1m for “designers and manufacturers who can come up with sexier alternatives to the big, beige box” (according to the BBC).

    Now, I’ve seen PC’s modded into toasters, remote control cars (ever seen linux run on a toaster).

    Now maybe thats not exactly what they’re after. But with over €250,000 given to the winner to help mass-produce the new machine (which has to run on Intel’s Core 2 Duo chips) there’s no doubt to be a wave of interesting entries.

  • Wanted: Digital Video Camera Suggestion

    I’m considering the purchase of a digital video camera, mid range camera in the region of €1500 tops. If anyone can suggest anything that would be worth looking into for less than that kind of money (like the €500-€1000) range then I’m all ears. Camera’s main purpose would be shooting gigs, so I’m looking at high quality under low lighting. Audio capture doesn’t have to be fantastic as the end result would use feeds recorded via the desk.

  • Yahoo Hackday Next Weekend

    Visit the Yahoo Hack Day website and you’ll be a little thrown by the following message….

    Sbe gur yngrfg arjf nobhg Lnubb! Bcra Unpx Qnl, ernq gur Unpx Qnl oybt! Yvaxf: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 N O P Q R S Jr’ir bcrarq hc Lnubb! sebz gur vafvqr bhg jvgu bhe jbeyq-erabjarq Unpx Qnl, naq sebz gur bhgfvqr va guebhtu gur Lnubb! Qrirybcre Argjbex. Abj jr’er bcravat hc Lnubb! vgfrys gb n fryrpg tebhc bs unpxref naq fcrpvny thrfgf sbe n jrrxraq srfgviny bs unpxvat, pnzcvat (lrf, gur gragf-va-gur-bhgqbbef xvaq–jr unir ernyyl, ernyyl avpr tenff!), zhfvp, naq tbbq gvzrf.Jr’yy xvpx guvatf bss ba Sevqnl, Frcgrzore 29gu jvgu n serr nyy-qnl qrirybcre jbexfubc (qrgnvyf).

    Mouse over it though and everything is ok… Clever touch.

    The weekend comprises of a series of workshops and speeches, while the night time is given over to “hacking” teams, developers coming together to work out on the lawn at Yahoo or huddled inside the main building. Coders and developers will have their chance to demo their projects on Saturday evening.

    Among those giving talks and/or workshops:

    • Rasmus Lerdorf, creator of PHP;
    • Douglas Crockford, inventor of JSON;
    • Andy Baio and Gordon Luk, co-founders of Upcoming.org;
    • Cal Henderson, Engineering manager for Flickr;
    • Matt Sweeney, author of the YUI Library’s Animation Utility and Dom Collection;
    • Keynote by Bradley Horowitz, head of product strategy for Yahoo!;

    Sounds very interesting indeed….

  • Are You Ready To Zune?

    Well, I’m not, in fairness. I’ve only recently splashed out over 400 euro for a 60GB iPod video and then Stevie (Jobs) Wonder goes and announces a massive price cut, when initial price cuts still haven’t hit European shores.

    Anyway, gripe with Apple’s pricing policy aside, there’s going to be massive coverage on the web tonight and tomorrow about Zune as it goes to launch, with initial details now available in the Zune Virtual Pressroom.

    Marking the next big milestone for its Connected Entertainment vision, Microsoft Corp. today unveiled details of the first products to be released under its Zune™ brand. Designed around the principles of sharing, discovery and community, Zune will create new ways for consumers to connect and share entertainment experiences. The Zune experience centers around connection — connection to your library, connection to friends, connection to community and connection to other devices.

    “The digital music entertainment revolution is just beginning,” said J Allard, vice president, design and development, at Microsoft, who is leading the charge for building the family of Zune products. “With Zune, we are not simply delivering a portable device, we are introducing a new platform that helps bring artists closer to their audiences and helps people find new music and develop new social connections.”

    Go knock yourself out with all the details on Microsoft’s Zune here.

  • Second Life Users Be Warned

    Someone might have your credit card details… amongst other things.

    BBC are reporting that Second Life has been hacked over the past week in a “security breach in which a malicious hacker broke into a database holding information about Second Life’s 650,000 users”.

    An ongoing investigation by Linden Lab into the security breach found that it involved an attack on the software used on its membership database.

    It took the serious step of asking people to renew their password because the nature of the attack meant it could not find out which personal records had been looked at by the attacker.

  • Ripping Blogs And Forums To The Press

    Here’s a question for you this morning….

    You’re quoted in an article in a newspaper about your take on certain events and you give permission to the article’s author to make reference to your website after speaking with him in depth about the article in question.

    The following morning you pick up another newspaper and see that an entire blog post has been lifted without prior contact or permission and reprinted word for word. Also lifted are quotes that you made on a private forum (free forum, but you have to register to be able to read it) which another journalist registered for, published in full in said newspaper attributed to “one contributer said…” or “one contributer replied…”.

    Now, in fairness, I would have certainly expected more from this newspaper, one I’ve had a decent relationship with over the last year. The article didn’t have an author’s name to it (how can you author something that is someone’s entire blog post and numerous subsequent quotes and comments) but I know who you are and neither myself or the others involved are too happy!

    So whats your take? Would you be pleased to find your work appearing in the media without a sniff of a mention, courtesy phone call or email?

    At least they didn’t reprint the photographs! There’s only so far across the line you THINK you can walk.

  • Michele’s On TechCrunch (Kinda)

    So its not Mike Arrington doing the reporting, but TechCrunch UK (Sam Sethi) has run a piece on Blacknight’s Ruby On Rails solutions.

    Ruby on Rails developers wanting to try out the new technology can get up and running in a couple of minutes. The latest versions of both Ruby on Rails and Ruby gems are available to allow web developers produce content rich applications for their clients quickly and easily.

    Any new signons following the post? 🙂

  • iQ Bootcamp For October

    iQ Content bring their iQ Bootcamp to Morrisson’s Hotel in Dublin from October 17th to 19th with 3 days of intensive workshops. Its seems a bit pricey (would cost nearly 4 grand to send three of us there for the three days) but the topics covered are interesting…

    • Getting into the mind of your users… (profiling)
    • Intelligent interaction using AJAX and rich internet applications
    • Accessibility 2.0 (new WAI guidelines and their impact)
    • Writing for the web, the essentials
    • Web analytics (measuring and improving online performance)
    • Getting more from your intranet
    • Writing to sell and persuade
    • Rapid-fire user testing
    • Drive more traffic to your site (SEO, SEM, AdWords, AdSense)
    • Sell More Online

    What more could you ask for in a “hip venue” with “networking and cocktails” as the flyer puts it….

    Has anyone signed up for / going to sign up for this?

  • iPod Video Convension Made Easy

    Videora is a “personal video downloading program”, labelling itself as a BitTorrent RSS Reader, picking out the videos that YOU want to watch.

    What they’ve also got is a fantastic and easy to use – and free – video converter. It comes in five different flavours, namely iPod video, TiVo, XBOX 360, PSP Video 9 and PMP format.

    Tested it out last night and I’m pretty pleased with the results of the conversion, my iPod now boasting a new episode of Weeds for the morning, along with a copy of The Frames video for Revelate and a feature length copy of ‘The Dark‘.

    Conversion for a 25 minute episode of Weeds originally at high resolution divx at 512kbps (video) and 128k(audio) at 320*240 resolution took about 10 minutes and zipped across to the iPod, with The Dark taking about 40 minutes to convert. Queue up all the videos you want, set the application to switch your machine off when its finished and away you go.

    After going through trials of various other commercial apps I’m got to give this one the thumbs up.

  • Most Funding For Irish Tech Firms

    Looks like Irish tech firms are on the up yet again according to ENN this afternoon, reporting that around 78% of cumulative funds invested by Enterprise Ireland last year were invested into Irish technology based companies.

    With more good news, the article continues….

    During the period 2007 to 2012, Enterprise Ireland plans to invest EUR175 million; combined with private sector investments this will generate total funding of EUR1 billion in start-up, early stage and development stage businesses.

    Nice going and a grand time to be in a technology business, or so we would be made belive. You can check the article in full at ENN.ie

  • Where One Blog Ends….

    …another one begins.

    Sucker for punishment, or just someone who enjoys his writing and musings, I’ve launched yet another blog with the focus remaining on soccer. World Cup Access has been a fantastic micro-journey for me but I feel its regular postings (331 at present count, with an estimated 10-15 left in me as I tidy things up) will be coming to a halt once the competition is over. Focus will start to shift on the global scale towards Euro 2008 and I may well look into that area when the time comes, but with the World Cup ending tomorrow (Sunday), so too will the regular activity on WorldCupAccess.com.

    Having enjoyed the posting and all the activity in and around the World Cup to date I’ve decided I need (for myself) to keep up with writing about the sport, but with the focus on my club love, Liverpool.

    With that in mind, I introduce to you, Liverpool Access, available via LiverpoolAccess.com with a feed available at feedburner. If you are a football fan, or fanatic, you will be able to recount the great conversations you’ve had with friends over the years, rows you’ve had in the pub, what tactics you would have played and why you wouldn’t have brought on such-and-such a player in the second half… so I look at this as my online airing of views on Liverpool while keeping up with further news and events surrounding the team.

    Launched only within the last day or two you’ll find a few posts from myself, while you’ll be able to keep up with transfer news, track the league table, match reports and all my own musings.

    Just putting it out there… 🙂

  • Lidl To Start Dealing Broadband

    They might only ever have two people working the checkouts (which is one of my pet hatreds of shopping there) but according to Om Malik’s blog this evening they’re about to become the next big supermarket broadband dealer.

    Lidl, a German discount supermarket – think Walmart type operation – is going to start selling discount broadband packages soon. The company plans to offer high speed connections for about 20 Euros a month. They will also sell a VoIP-based phone service as well.

    If you squeeze in between the german sausages and coleslaw at the end of the shop, you might just find that 6mb broadband connection you’ve been looking for. No word on if the Irish chain of stores, of which there is one in Kilkenny and likely one in your own home town too will be offering the service but the plans are in place to roll it out in Europe.

  • When Gaming Can Get You A Job…. Almost

    I love Football Manager. I’ve been an avid fan of the series since its earlier days as Championship Manager and going back further afield to the likes of Tactical Manager in the mid 90s. In more recent years four of us would get together every couple of weekends, settle ourselves in with a case of beer in the fridge, a Chinese takeaway at some stage of the night and enjoy countless hours trying to take our respective teams to the top of the leauge in good old lan game fashion.

    Even after ten years or so of playing the game we still recount great matches down through the years, fantastic signings, cup finals… whatever. But its all a fantasy.

    Except for John Boileau, who recently took his computing gaming experience to the next level. Having enjoyed ingame success with the likes of Doncaster, Nuneaton Borough, Rushden & Diamonds and in later years Liverpool, Real Madrid and more, John decided to apply for the vacant post at Premier League club, Middlesbrough. In real life.

    John sent the application back in May, along with his footballing CV based on his exploits in the game, and to his credit, got a sweet letter back from Boro chairman Steve Gibson.

    Check it out here.

  • Chorus Ups Cable Speed

    (Via). Picked up this post earlier this evening having been away from the PC most of the weekend, at least in an online capacity anyway. So it seems that Chorus are upping their cable speed and lowering their prices, bringing them into line with NTL. Meaning that my 1mb cable service comes down from €30 to €20. But seen as I’m already paying €30 a month, their new pricing structure gives me access to a 3mb service at that price.

    Low and behold, a DSL speed test this evening across various sites is showing an average d/s of 2.5mb. Do I thank Chorus? Think so…

    Not only that, but if I wanted a 6mb line it looks like its only an extra tenner a month 🙂

  • The CIA Are Watching Your Bank!

    Have you transferred money to the US in the last 5 years?

    Does your bank use the Swift system for financial transactions and money transfers?

    Does your government know EVERYTHING they’re supposed to know?

    I think that if you find you answered yes to the first two questions, with a no for the third, that its quite possible your bank account has been screened by the CIA. There’s one for you! (Via DRI)

  • Apple iTalk Video

    Oh what a video….

    Now if only it was real….. (via)

  • Sky By Mobile

    Sky By Mobile is almost here and looks like a right good service. You’re out and about on the town, caught on the train on the way home, stuck in traffic, sick in the hospital – whatever. Just hop on the mobile (3G service) or use the proposed text-message alternative to remote schedule a recording. Available in Ireland? Remains to be seen, with no absolute launch date but if you’ve already got Sky+ then you’ll be looking at a good free service from Sky.

    Once you get around your 3G mobile charges that is 😉

  • Dell And The World Cup

    I’m gripped by World Cup fever, but you’ve got to hand it to Dell for their nice World Cup marketing. Any of you who subscribe to their newsletter will be aware this morning of their World Cup game… and if not, then you can pick it up here. Nice flash based application where the more free kicks you convert, the bigger your savings with Dell, giving you 20-30% off certain products, or the chance to win a few prizes for yourself. If you’ve a few minutes to spare in the office or at home it could be worth giving a crack. (Not an affiliate link by any means!)

    Click to fire up the game

  • Office Gets Creative Commons

    Creative Commons licensing is about to get integrated into Microsoft Office thanks to a new addon for office Microsoft are releasing making Microsoft the first software vendor to embed a license-selection option inside its applications, something which could come in useful in terms of third-level education (I think anyway). In particular from my own view of writing and submitting papers through your college years where lectures might just happen to ask (as has happened in the past)…. “would you mind if I put that up on the website?”.

    “We very much share a common belief that creators of works should be able to express their intentions with regard to subsequent use, and Creative Commons has created exciting ways to have works shared freely or have works reused by others,” said Tim Ruben, currently Assistant General Counsel at Microsoft.

  • Comparing Blog Statistics

    Certainly interesting watching the comparison between World Cup Access and Creative Imagination – WCA already has about 70% the number of subscribers via Feedburner that this blog (kenmc.com) has…. while World Cup Access averaged just over double the number of unique visitors daily over kenmc.com. Nice to see people interested in the World Cup in an online capacity anyway!