Am I a podcaster? It should be a simple question to answer, but for me, things have gotten complicated.
You see I filled out the podcast listener and producer survey being conducted by Adele McAlear and Donna Papacosta. Actually if you listen to podcasts, go and do the survey yourself. But in the process of filling out the survey, I realised that I might be making podcasts myself.
I should know what a podcast is, goodness knows I love them. Technically, a podcast is a series of digital media files, audio or video, that are downloaded and made available through a syndicated feed, such as RSS.
For the stuffy amongst you, to have your podcast available for iTunes you need to supply iTunes with your RSS feed. The “pod” bit came about thanks to the iPod/ iTunes/ iPhone/iPad phenomena. If you can listen to it online, but can’t download it, then its a stream.
The unsure part of me is thanks to Audioboo. Audioboo is a website, and its an application for my phone. I start the app, record my thought in to the phone, hit a button and it sends the file off to the Audioboo servers. There the audio file is available for download (check one), or streaming and its part of an RSS feed (check two).
The thing is, it does not feel like podcasting. There is no microphone, there is no production (let alone production values). There is a minimum of action, but there is interaction. I follow people on Audioboo.
Its a audio twitter, where business and passion interact. And replies pass through members.
There is also an ambient category. Take out the phone and record where you are. Thanks to GPS info, it could be an audio Foursquare. What am I hearing now?
Its also useful for correspondents. Only temporary files are on the phone. In an “interesting” area you can record your piece and (with iOS4 and Android) upload the audio in the background. If you are stopped and searched, the evidence has already been uploaded to a server outside the jurisdiction. Expect to see it feature in a remake of “The Conversation“.
It is podcasting made easy. So yes, I am a podcaster! My studio lives in my pocket. And right now, I have no idea what to say.
I said that there are competing standards in 3D TV. Hatchai Full Parallax 3D Display seems to be up and running (I assume the Hitchai is the phonetic spelling in Japanese) and showed off their screen at the Ceatec Japan 2009 show. The news is via Gigazine and SDR News.
As you can see from the above video, you get a 3D parallax view, something you don’t get from the cinema, giving a holographic view. You also see that its working great for still objects, just like holograms. No details on how it works with moving objects, or indeed if it can work on a landscape. The secret (I’m working off a machine translation here) seems to be using multiple projectors, more projectors mean more 3D objects; which implies you could have a 3D newsreader in your living room, but a panel might not be possible.
Lets get the cynical bit out of the way first. Studios and cinemas love 3D as its impossible to do the “camera in the theatre” pirating trick with them. Just try watching a movie without the polarising glasses and you’ll see what I mean.
At the moment there are no movies that are greatly improved by the use of 3D. Just as the Jazz Singer was a gimmick where there was only 5 minutes of sound tacked in to a silent movie in 1927.
Try to imagine a modern movie done as a silent now? How much dialogue could be removed to work with those cards with the few lines? Exposition would need to be simpler in order to cope… etc.
Sound, widescreen and colour were all gimmicks once.
The entire production in photography would have to change in order to make the most of 3d. Since all movies have to be capable of being displayed on a 2d screen (DVD sales, Sales for tv broadcast, legal download) there isn’t going to be much use made of 3d, just as there isn’t much use made of IMAX.
So keeping that part of the market in mind, what is needed for 3d to take off?
The first big leap will be 3d home displays or 3D computer monitors. Then 3d still digital photography displayed on these home screens, and 3D games and interfaces on computers and consoles.
The still experiments will be what teaches the photographic and lighting requirements to the DPs (remember that lighting a black and white movie is a completely different technique to lighting a colour one. Something taken for granted today, but hard learned when it came in). The gaming and interface side will show what can be avoided an what people do and don’t notice.
Just place your bets on a 3D chess game being an early release… slow rendering is possible as most of the pieces can be pre-rendered. A slow moving game like this, well slow moving when compared to a first person shooter should be fairly easy… at most 2 pieces move at once. Then things can get faster.
Then, live action 3D comes to play… (at the moment it is limited to CG and stop motion animation).
Suddenly 3d editing becomes a desirable (and probably new found skill). Set budgets will soar (as the limited field of view is killed, as will be digital matt painting, unless they go 3d too.
Expect “AR” style commentaries on home released by that time too.
At the moment there are competing standards for home 3d, just as there were competing standards for sound in the 30s. And technicolor fought with de luxe for years. Give it time, and remember that the technical best does not always beat the good enough.
Tony points out that HD is still not ubiquitous. Well, the HD argument is flawed because of “good enough”. Few broadcasters use it, and its coming out at a time when the low definition YouTube channel is the most successful one at the moment. In other words its not being used. It may look great, but its not being used.
However, would one second of 3d and one second of HD have the same bandwidth/spectrum cost? The HD broadcast protocols might just be useful yet.
Decisions for Heroes is a project that Robin Blandford has been working on for a while. And talking about it. In fact I assumed that the product has been launched a few months back. I was wrong; today is launch day.
And he’s built something amazing – technology that will help rescue teams save more lives. Its essentially a project management tool combined with an incident reporting mechanism that’s able to monitor team histories and readiness and raise alarms for expiration or under manning conditions.
What makes it different is that it is designed for a particular niche; rescue teams. Are the exercises and training reflecting the actual calls? Or the actually locations? Are there enough cliff climbers on-call this weekend? Are there certifications that are about to run out? This kind of thing actually saves lives. Its been studied, over 1,800 rescuers from Ireland, UK, USA, Greece, and Australia helped to trial and shape the development of the software. But one stands out. Robin is a volunteer member of the Irish Coast Guard (a cliff rescue climber to be precise) so he has seen first hand what is needed, and what is the most useful way to get that information across.
I’m sure that the basis of D4H can be used in more business-like settings, or indeed in logistic based industries.
And from saving lives, we move to a performance management technology that may cost the careers of a few politicians.
Created by John HandelaarKildare Street is, almost simply a database. A database of what is being said in both Houses of the Oireachtas, by whom, when, how often and the complete text of what they say so it can be parsed for content. Based off the UK project, theyworkforyou.com, you can keep an eye on your favourite politician, or all the politicians in a constituency, or even when a particular word or phrase is spoken in the Dáil or Seanad Éireann debates or in written answers or questions to the Dáil.
There are a few bugs still in the system (it is a beta and since Irish addresses are vague it can misidentify a constituency, particularly when one side of a road is in one constituency, and the other side is in another constituency. It happens), and there is up to a 24 hour delay between the speech in the chambers and the text of the speech hitting the system (not a fault with the system but with the source; debates.oireachtas.ie.
Its useful to find out which TD or Senator has stayed quite all along (the records go back to 2004), and finding out how they actually voted on subjects of concern to you. Then you can challenge them when they call around asking for your vote.
Do challenge them. Right now, I’m wondering if there is a version for the MEPs.
Two people who should be praised for being heroes and making a difference.
So I ran it through Wordle to see what patterns emerged.
We have a big “government”, a large “tax” and a much smaller “payment”, “pay” and “spending”. Oddly, “Public” is almost as big as Government.
Now then, its unlikely that a Minister would put the text of their speech in to something like Wordle, but if they did, the resulting speech might be, well, interesting.
They have the statements from other years too. I think I might have to play with comparison tools (once I’m on a more powerful machine).
Oddly for me, women have had a lot to do with my personal computing history.
I grew up with the low level grown and high pitched squeal of arcade machines. Computer games. So when the chance came to learn how to program a game on the old Commodore 64 I leapt at the chance.
The teacher in the classroom teaching Commodore basic, was a woman (whose name I simply cannot remember. Kineally or Keneally. Back then every teacher was either “Miss” or “Sir”). At this point I’m not going to name names unless she blogs, or at least tweets.
Later on, I watched the “video” games review TV show (or rather several, but all) hosted by Aleks Krotoski who still has a hand in the games world and quite possibly will never leave technology in particular how it impacts on people.
Later on came college (if the class wasn’t an odd number 50% of the class would have been women) and work in general.
Indirectly I worked under Padmasree Warrior, and female programmers were no different to the male programmers in the eyes of the code in Motorola.
Later the world of social media introduced me to Ellybabes, the first person I met at the first Irish Barcamp in Cork. To the coding evangelist (which might actually be part of her job title) that is Martha Rotter. To first Irish podcaster of either sex I met, and business guru Krishna De. To the promotional expert that is Maryrose Lyons. And to the best, and probably most fun, web designer; Sabrina Dent. To women who actually get thing done, like Laura Czajkowski and Alexia Golez.
So why isn’t there equality among the sexes for a job that normally requires communication, concentration and heavy thinking? It could be fictional role models and expectations as Naomi Alderton suggests.
Maybe.
But if you have a daughter, let her know that computers aren’t just for the boys. And if you are involved in technology yourself, take a look at the Geek Girl Dinners.
This reaction wasn’t due to Teencamp Ireland, taking place in Film Base, Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin on Saturday (January 17 2009). No, I had planned to go and at least stick my head in. My reaction was from the presenter talking about teenagers and public opinion of them.
His reaction to how teenagers are “supposed to” act made me realise two thing. I haven’t done that stuff for years. Yes, I meet up with friends and hang around doing nothing, but now I require a roof, and maybe tea. And two, teenagers aren’t the problem. The generation gap is between those who think as adults and all the rules they think have to apply, and smart teenagers who take on the JFDI (Just Freaking Do It) attitude of getting stuff done.
Its not a generation gap, its an attitude gap. My shoes may be too tight, but I still dance. Badly and I need a rest afterwards, but I still dance. And I’m one of the more cautious ones. I haven’t had a brilliant idea to turn in to a new technology, or a new business to run. I was never a young technologist, despite my interest and love of all things techie. I’m only getting my head around the messy innards of running a business. I feel destined to be in the back room.
Getting things done. Done for others, but done.
Teencamp is an unconference for teenagers and technology. The notion of a BarCamp is easily understood. The focus here is on the teenagers getting together face to face about technology (I have no doubt that there will be a swapping of contact details so the conversation continue long afterwards). Its about people teaching their peers about how they do things. It’s about hanging out with others with the same interests. A normal BarCamp and a gaggle of teenagers hanging out share quite a few things.
So, can I call in? Be that embarrassing uncle. Find out if I can help… and then leave (I do want to ask the manga speaker a few questions about tracking down DVDs first).
Pat Phelan of MaxRoam is still playing Santa. Or is it a New Year’s blowout? He is offering a Nokia N79 and a 37 inch LCD HDTV. All you have to do is drop over and leave a comment and wait for the courier.
Maybe not wait. There are no rules or regulations or any thing like that, but they will be given away on the evening of the first of January.
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