Month: October 2009

Adobe FXG, WTF?

Adobe FXG is so wrong in so many ways, its untrue. When Microsoft decided to do there own xml vector format I was shaking my head but now Adobe's also doing the same my head is in my hands.

FXG 1.0 describes an XML-based graphics interchange format for the Flash Platform. FXG contains high-level graphical and text primitives that can be used to create, group, transform and visually modify basic vector and bitmap shapes. The FXG rendering model follows very closely the Flash Player 10 rendering model and exposes all graphics capabilities of the Flash platform as well as offering expandable support to accommodate future capabilities of the Flash Player.

When initial work on an XML-based graphics interchange format began, the natural first thought was to use SVG. However, there are key differences between SVG and Flash Player's graphics capabilities. These include core differences in SVG and Flash's rendering model with regards to filters, transforms and text. Additionally, the interchange format needed to be able to support future Flash Player features, which would not necessarily map to SVG features. As such, the decision was made to go with a new interchange format, FXG, instead of having a non-standard implementation of SVG. FXG does borrow from SVG whenever possible.

Aka, we see the need for a xml vector language but svg is already developed and we can't be bothered to change our flash engine to support it. Instead we want to write a spec around our already written code base and make you all adopt it. Well geez thanks Adobe. I really hope no one uses FXG, hopefully the lesson will get back to Adobe that they can't just stick opensource on a manipulated web standard and expect people to use it unless you make them do it in your own proprietary world (*cough* Actionscript). Thank goodness at least Google is backing open standards like SVG.

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Software ahead of the curve: Google Wave

Google Wave, is the hottest thing on the web at this current moment. And to be frank marks the start of Google's rise in my estimations and there commitment to the web as the platform. When I first saw the Google IO video was impressed and seeked out my wave invite I would have got if I had gone to the London event. So I've been using/on Google wave for a while now, but since the public beta I've started to really use it for conversations.

So I've noticed Google wave has been getting a bashing from some high profile bloggers in the industry such as Scoble who thinks it will crash on the beach of overhype (what ever that means?). So what do I think? Well I think its amazing and most of my thoughts after watching the video still hold. So I'm going to start with the things I'd like to see changed or I think are not quite right.

Web-like – Wave is on the web but still not part of the web enough. For example why is it I can't send a link to someone directly to a wave or even better using the querystring to a section within a certain wave? Ideally you could do it with Xpointer or Xpath. I know there's wave robots/plugins which can push things out of the wave environment but linking and anchoring should be built in at the basic level.

Groupware – Wave is as far as I can tell a groupware system and although this is great for the enterprise, its also got enough usefulness for much smaller adhoc groups like us arranging events over basecamp, etc. So because of this, it needs plugins for time management, spending, calendaring as soon as possible. Heck I'd like to see a basecamp plugin for Wave but thats for another blog post. I did say ages ago that Lotus, Novell, Microsoft should be worried. There big bulky collaboration systems are under threat by the wave protocal. If they were smart they would quickly launch some skunk work clients or conversion transports using wave. Steve Rubel talks a lot about how Wave doesn't solve a consumer problem and therefore it will die. but I don't it has to, in the same way basecamp doesn't solve a consumer problem. No this is groupware for everyone but someone will adapt it for more clever things.

Client – Wave is crying out for some enterprising developers to create clients for it. I'm not knocking Google's Web Toolkit (GWT), google have done a great job with Google Wave's client but its not quite there yet. Its heavy on my browsers resources. I know there's a version for webkit browsers and the command line, but wheres the XUL, AIR, GTK+, QT heck even a Flash version. The API has been done and theres already reference versions to learn from, so whats taking so long? I can't be the only one thinking this? Anil Dashes excellent blog post talks about the complexity of Wave but never seems to mention how much better wave could be with a different client. Actually this would also solve a lot of the issues Steve Rubel is talking about with Wave.

So i'm still impressed but can't help people are writing it off at the first fence. Give it time to mature and grow before writing it off now. Wave is a hot but not ready for the consumers yet. Oh by the way I've run out of invites sorry.

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Google urges Web adoption of SVG

SVG logo

Thanks Brendan for the pointer to this post about SVG.

Some seeds for overhauling Web browser graphics were planted more than a decade ago, and Google believes now is the time for them to bear fruit.

The company is hosting the SVG Open 2009 conference that begins Friday to dig into a standard called Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) that can bring the technology to the Web. With growing support from browser makers, an appetite for vector graphics among Web programmers, and new work under way to make SVG a routine part of the Web, the technology has its best chance in years at becoming mainstream.

Good stuff, I still think SVG is amazing and deserves to be taken seriously. This might be just the boost it needs to move forward and become fruitful. The benefits to google must be quite clear and i'm sure svg will make it into chrome if it doesn't already have it? It would also make sense to include SVG or even SVG tiny into the Android stack too. And lets not forget Google needs to have a answer to Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight. Well between SVG, HTML5, JS, CSS and there recent spend on On2's video codecs who knows what could be built.

Ages ago Antoine Quint gave a presentation at Xtech which showed the total stack of Joost's media player application. The stack included SVG, alongside XHTML, CSS, JS, RDF, XUL. The biggest problem they had was with video playback which integrated and was controlable via dom scripting. Well now with that problem almost solved without the aid of Flash/Silverlight. Its should be easy to complete the web stack, and without bigging up Google again, there doing and thinking the right way again.

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Google Wave? Let Pulp Fiction show you why

I know I've been promising to put my thoughts about google wave up for ages but I wasn't actually sure the EULA allowed public reviews when I was on the sandbox server. However now its somewhat more public, I'm seeing stuff popping up all over the place, so its certainly time to write something. Till then, here's some great use of wave found via a public wave.

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How good is the rendering on the Sony Ereader?

close up on the Sony Ereader

People keep saying, well I use to read ebooks on my x device and that had a screen resolution of y by z. Well fine but its not the same, trust me I know. I use to read ebooks on my ipaq's and even the compaq areo before that. There resolution was low at 320 by 240, it did work but boy was it bad. Most people say you just need more rez and screensize. Well I've tried it on my HTC Touch HD which has a massive rez of 800 by 480 on a 3.8 inch screen and hell I even bought a Apple ipod Touch to see if that would work and both worked but once again its not the same as a read ereader. 5inch and above is certainly good but its not about the resolution exactly. Looking at a LCD doesn't work very well for reading black on white text and switching it to white on black is even worst for extended periods. Don't get me wrong as I type this now I'm typing black text on to a sandy colour backdrop but reading 300+ pages while in a public setting like a coffee shop. No thanks. Nope eink technology is amazing and till you can effectively change the screen quicker that once per second and add more that 12bit colour the ereader has to be separate device.

You can see more pictures taken here. I might have to get my Canon out when I get back from holiday to see what I can do with a super macro function.

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Pablo the drugs mule dog spawns a meme

I got to say I like the Talk to Frank anti-drugs adverts (although there more about drugs education that anti drugs, which is maybe part of there success). They've been on UK tv for a while but because I don't watch much live TV, I tend to miss clever advertising like this one. But whats more interesting is the meme its created on the web. There's some amazing remixes which work in a similar way to the Pablo advert. For example here's the best one, Perdo the Drug Dealer Cat because cats are too smart to be drug mules according to the comments. There's also other Pablo videos including Cocaine bag tries to seduce Pablo the dead drugs mule and Ben's Banknote. All good stuff.

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Movies are a metaphor for life: Some more films you may have missed

I already admitted to watching a lot of films, and had a lot of people saying some nice things about me highlighting some of the films worth watching which you may have missed. So I thought I'd run through a few more which have had me stuck to the screen. If you find the list useful, do say.

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel – I've already covered this one in a post here. But generally its about 3 guys who find a time travel conundrum in the middle of a British pub. Smart, clever and original is all things I could say about this film which is billed as Shaun of the dead crossed with Dr Who.

Bad Guys – This heist movie starts very well and ends pretty poorly. The film starts with 4 guys in a warehouse, 3 guys and a woman. Shes got blood over her shirt and holding a gun at one of the guys who can't help but wind her up with everything he says. You later find out that the 2nd guy is a crooked cop and the 3rd guy is some chemist who has designed a new kind of drug which has the kick of ecstasy but without the downside. They just got back from some deal which went wrong when the 1st guy decided to shoot the top boss. The tension at the start is something else, but as the story line slowly unfolds so does the plot. Its a modern Reservoir Dogs at the start but ends up somewhere else by the end. Worth catching if you can, there's some great lines including the title of this blog post.

Next day air – A overnight delivery company mess up a package drop by giving it to the neighbours. The package turns out to be drugs and the neighbours some of the most daft criminals you'll ever met. Unfortunately for all parties involved the sender is a proper dealer before long, things are being sorted out. To me its like an american version of lock stock and two smoking barrels but less clever, stylish and well lock stock. Its still enjoyable and the mixup comes to some clarity at the end.

Blood and Bone – Do you remember when you were young and use to watch trashy beat-em-up films like American ninja? The plot was simple, beat everyone up and then beat up the boss. Yep you don't see many of those anymore. But Blood and Bone is simply that, a revenge movie to beat everyone up. Nothing more, nothing less. If you thought Redbelt or Kill Bill were not ass kicking enough, try this.

Chéri – Michelle Pfeiffer plays a courtesan who earns a good wage from what she does. But she falls in love with a client whos a lot younger that herself. The style is 1920's and amazing to watch on the screen. This isn't Moulin Rouge but you get the feel it could be, style wise. The story line is very easy to follow and moves along at a medium pace. Its fluffy and the journey is more important than the ending which is obvious from the very start.

Whatever Works – This film reminds me of a Might Aphrodite but with a crazy cup of reality from Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm). The funny thing is that its actually directed and written by Woody Allen. Its clever, witty and if you like Woody Allen, you will enjoy this one for its undertones of darkness crossed with beams of lightness. I did think the ending was a little plain but its a likeable movie through out.

The Cooler – The cooler is a person who puts players off there winning streaks in casinos. This cooler is the best in las vegas but when he falls in love, things start going in reverse. The lack of cooling eats into the profits of the casino and of course before long the casino try to split up the relationship. The rest is a romantic film of love and sacrifice. One for the sofa with a bottle of wine and loved one.

Chaos Theory – A surprisingly interesting romantic comedy which you can watch at home with someone else or by yourself and not feel like you lost 90mins of your life. As the title suggests its like Sliding doors but much more fun and looser. For some reason I didn't even see this one at all in the cinemas, which is surprising looking at the talent on board.

Nothing But the Truth – This is truly a Excellent film. A reporter faces jail for outing a CIA agent and not revealing her source. The whole film is tied together perfectly and the characters are very believable alongside the strong acting from the whole crew. I can't say much about the film without spoiling it but I do wish Hollywood would create more smart films like this one.

Crossing Over – I'm a sucker for these multi-character canvas drama films. This one is very close to the award winning Crash and Traffik but this one is centred around the different people trying to be legally American after crossing the border into LA. Its pretty gripping and although not quite the same league as the other two mentioned, its not far off.

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Ebooks? Great to curl up with in a coffee shop or on the couch?

Reading at the thames

Thirdly, aside from the voting-with-your-feet side of things, it is just a really nice book to own in print. It is really well made, looks stunning and feels great to curl up with in a coffee shop or on the couch.

So in the last post about Jono Bacon's ebook he wrote a part about why people should still buy the book version. The last part was the quote above. This provided the perfect start for me to talk about the Sony Ebook reader I bought almost a month ago.

I love my ereader it operates very well and hasn't let me down not even once since I got it. Pull it out, switch it on and there you have it. Is this as fast as opening a book to the right page? Maybe not but its not far off. Reading in low light and sunlight is as good as a book and does it pass the coffee shop test. I was in starbucks waiting for someone and was engrossed in the pirates dilemma that I finised chapter 4 in the time it took to finish my slighly bitter grande americano. Anyway the point of this post isnt' to compare the two. Its more a look at the book industry and ebooks.

My friend Miles shot me a troubling smile when he first saw my Ereader. Then he accused me of supporting a unsustainable business model. The problem with ebooks is that they generally cost the same amount as the paper books themselves. This isn't right and I agree. Imagine if digital downloads cost the same as there physical versions. Buy a Film for 7 pounds as a DVD and also download the same for 7 pounds, it doesn't seem right does it. I mean come on it should be cheaper simply because there's no or low manufacturing, packaging or delivery. Worst still is the lack freedom attached to ebooks. So you pay more and can do less. This is a scandal, why would anyone get involved in this?

Well I'm not! Theres a serious problem with Ereaders or Ebook readers if you prefer. Since the Amazon kindle came out its boost the awareness of Ereaders but on the other hand everyone seems to think its the only kind/approach. The Sony Ereader is arguably a very different beast and moves in different circles. You can get involved in the Ebook scandal if you choose but you don't have to. There's plenty of ebooks available without adding to the unsustainable business model. So when is it going to change? Honestly I don't know but my thoughts is that it won't get any better paradoxically till more people buy Ereaders and reject the ebook stores. Like most things the black market will fill the demand till the book publishers get a clue or get the message. The Paradox is even stranger because there's little benefit to most people with ebooks. Yes size and weight but really most people don't care. Look at Ebooks on smartphones like the iphone, android, windows mobile, etc. Its all available now but no ones really going for it. This may change, in the same way music collection balloned over time and people started using there phones. But for most people even the most perfect density or size won't make any difference. Our relationship with books is radically different from other media. I don't quite know why but the scenario of curling up with a ebook still seems quite distant for most people including I'm somewhat sad to say myself.

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Is Intercultural competence needed in online dating?

Intercultural competence is the ability of successful communication with people of other cultures.

I love what the guys at OK Cupid do, they have a very interesting social dating site. But what makes it unique is the tests/quizes and the way it monitors every aspect of what you do across the site. Don't get me wrong I know other sites do this but OK Cupid is very playful about how it does it. Anyway for a while now, OK Cupid has been presenting a fascinating looks the habits, trends and behaviours of its participations via its blog called OkTrends.

I can point you to quite a few interesting trends (How Races and Religions Match in Online Dating) (Online Dating Advice: Exactly What To Say In A First Message) but the latest trend is a bombshell and has massive implications outside of the social grazing field of OKCupid.

The takeaway here is that although race shouldn’t matter in messaging, it does. A lot.

First of all, how do we know that race shouldn’t matter? Are we just making some after-school-special assumption that “true love is colorblind?” No, we’re not: we know race shouldn’t matter to replies because the races all match each other more or less evenly, and reply rate correlates to matching.

Getting down to the meat of the issue, here's the graph of replies when there is a male sender. (by the way the gay table is coming next week)

Reply rate by race for a male sender

So going by the above chart, OK Cupid has come up with these conclusions.

  • Black women are sweethearts. Or just talkative. But either way, they are by far the most likely to reply to your first message. In many cases, their response rate is one and a half times the average, and overall black women reply about a quarter more often.
  • White men get more responses. Whatever it is, white males just get more replies from almost every group. We were careful to preselect our data pool so that physical attractiveness (as measured by our site picture-rating utility) was roughly even across all the race/gender slices. For guys, we did likewise with height.
  • White women prefer white men to the exclusion of everyone else—and Asian and Hispanic women prefer them even more exclusively. These three types of women only respond well to white men. More significantly, these groups’ reply rates to non-whites is terrible. Asian women write back non-white males at 21.9%, Hispanic women at 22.9%, and white women at 23.0%. It’s here where things get interesting, for white women in particular. If you look at the match-by-race table before this one, the “should-look-like” one, you see that white women have an above-average compatibility with almost every group. Yet they only reply well to guys who look like them. There’s more data on this towards the end of the post.

And now if the sender is female…

Reply rate by race for a female sender

And that conclusion from Ok Cupid

  • Men don’t write black women back. Or rather, they write them back far less often than they should. Black women reply the most, yet get by far the fewest replies. Essentially every race—including other blacks—singles them out for the cold shoulder.
  • White guys are shitty, but fairly even-handed about it. The average reply rate of non-white males is 48.1%, while white guys’ is only 40.5%. Basically, they write back about 20% less often. It’s ironic that white guys are worst responders, because as we saw above they get the most replies. That has apparently made them very self-absorbed. It’s interesting that white males do manage to reply to Middle Eastern women. Is there some kind of emergent fetish there? As Middle Easterners are becoming America’s next racial bogeyman, maybe there’s some kind of forbidden fruit thing going on. (Perhaps a reader more up-to-date on his or her Post-Colonial Theory can step in here? Just kidding. Don’t.)

Well what can you say to all that? There's already been 300+ comments to the blog post. Surely we're somewhat beyond this? Maybe my faith in human evolution is somewhat misplaced?

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