I know there was lots of talk about the HTML 5 video element which originally was meant to support the Free and Open video codec and architecture Theora/Ogg Vorbis. But that got written out of the standard specs and each next generation browser went there own way. So from memory, Firefox 3.5 supports Ogg/Theora, Opera supports Ogg/Theora, Safari/Webkit supports Mpeg4/H.264 and Google Chrome supports both Ogg/Theora and Mpeg4/H.264. Anyway, Google just recently bought On2 which could be a interesting move if they decide to open source or free up the VP7 codec (just incase you didn't know VP3 was the base for Ogg/Theora). On2 have always said there codec is more efficient that H.264 and one of the things which always gets thrown at Theora is the lack of efficiency against modern codecs like H.264. To be honest, anything like Xvid or better works for me, but I get the point. So could this latest move finally unite the likes of Mozilla and Safari? Maybe unite against Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight platforms? Actually being open would really be a stake in the heart of these closed technologies. Oh by the way did anyone see the HTML5 timed media example from BBC RAD?
Ten rules for Radical Innovators
I didn't blog Twitter's Ten Rules for Radical Innovators (found via @adew), because I think it was about the time of my blog being down. Umair Haque describes across 10 points why Twitter is changing the way we not only communicate but also innovate. Following the last blog post its good to point out that this is another reason why its critical that one company isn't going to rule this field no matter what their indentations may be at the time.
Interestingly the rules are actually good enough almost by themselves to create all types of dialogue around. We actually have a copy printed out on our wall in work. The Video above is Jeff Jarvis and Umair Haque at the Next09 conference, where they talk about the money side of all this.
- Ideals beat strategies
- Open beats closed
- Connection beats transaction
- Simplicity beats complexity
- Neighborhoods beat networks
- Circuits beat channels
- Laziness beats business
- Public beats private
- Messy beats clean
- Good beats evil
Too important for one company to rule the field
Thats how I generally feel about a lot of things. Microblogging included. Slate have a post (found via @tdobson via @technicalfault about the recent Twitter outage, which I've not really talked about too much yet.
Twitter is run by a single company in a single office building in San Francisco. When you send out a message, it flies about Twitter's servers and then alights in all your Twitter pals' cell phones and Tweetdecks. The system is fast and technologically simple, which helps explain its exponential growth.
But for Twitter, centralization is also a curse. In its early days, the site was known for its regular brokenness—its error-page logo, the “fail whale,” became a cultural shorthand for suckiness. Twitter went down so often because the idea behind Twitter—sending out short status updates to the world—became too popular for one company to handle.
I know Twitter's strategy is to connect everyone, but I don't see it. The big systems are interconnected with interoperable standards and work although on paper they wouldn't. Email, Newsgroups and the internet generally are good examples. All too important for one company to rule.
The rest of the post switches into looking towards alternatives. On one foot you got the open microblogging platforms such as Laconi.ca and Jaiku Engine. But then on the other you got the RSS extensions such as RSS Cloud and Google's new pubsubhubbub. Both approaches are valid and I can see room for both. I'd like to see pubsubhubbub in my desktop reader one day soon.
The Time Travellers Wife spoils all
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c |
| Rachel McAdams | |
| www.thedailyshow.com | |
Rachel McAdams pretty much gives away the plot of the whole film in this interview on the Daily Show.
The remixes, the contests
Just seen there's a couple of interesting remix competitions which some people might not be aware of. Felix Da Housecat has a remix contest around we all wanna be prince. Then I also spotted Skint records have one for the Speed garage classic Double 99 – Ripgroove.
Its not just music makers getting in on the action, There's also a few dj contests I've spotted and may enter. Dirty smart have a Dj competition but its not going to be the right type of music for myself. I just missed the In Trance we trust dj contest but I'm not too late for the Pacemaker summer contest it seems.
Wall of Fame: Napster vs iTunes
The Gadget show's wall of fame again and this time its the battle of music download sites. Thankful this time they picked the right one. Napster.
In the red corner: Napster. A bit of a rebel it shook the music industry to its core and changed the way we thought about music for ever. Devised by an 18-year-old college student, Napster launched in 1999. It combined a music search function with a file-sharing system, which effectively meant you had access to all the music on all the hard drives of computers connected to Napster. It was bit dodgy, infringing on copyright law, and the music industry had it shut down in 2001. But Napster lives on in an online music store, and it’s the legacy of the original site that makes it so great.
In the blue corner: iTunes! Proclaiming to be the daddy of online music, iTunes is like having a massive music and video warehouse in your bedroom. It originally launched in 2001 as a digital music player before it converted to an online store. It makes transferring music to your iPod easy as! And it’s this simplicity that’s led to its dominance of the online music world with over four billion songs sold!
Putting my hate for the itunes store and its locked in ecosystem a side, itunes would never have come about unless Napster had come on the scene. Napster took all the risks and got finally sued so much that it went legit. iTunes has a massive audience but its just a large download store and isn't ground breaking. Even the removal of DRM came late to iTunes. No doubt Napster deserves the position on the wall of fame.
Northern Exposure
I don't mind being asked about my time in Manchester, I've come to really enjoy Manchester even with its changeable weather. So changeable that I usually keep my sunglasses on my head even when its raining. Anyhow I was interviewed by Ariel which is BBC's internal weekly newspaper about my move to Manchester. As usual what was printed does not truly reflect what was said. For example at the end, its writen that there are things you couldn't do in London such as hold meetings in the bar. Well actually no, I said there's lots you can not do in London such as host external usergroups from around the region in our bar and meeting rooms after hours. The picture isn't too bad, but I did think there were many better ones which reflected Manchester better that a tatty billboard with club flyers over it. We did shoot pictures inside the bars on deansgate locks but instead they picked that one. in Anyway its done and I'm left feeling that lack of trust again for mainstream media. If your interesting in reading the whole piece, you can read it here.
TEDxLiverpool
TEDx Liverpool happened yesterday (Aug 7th) at Liverpool's ICDC. Being the first one of five is no mean feat but the TEDx Liverpool team pulled it off nicely. The line up included Steve Clayton from Microsoft, Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino from Tinker.it and Alison Gow from Liverpool's Daily Post. The concept of TEDx is that there are live speakers crossed with pre-recorded talks from the real TED events. The choice of videos was good and mixed well with the live speakers, I did wonder if it would work as smoothly but it did. I would say there was about 100+ people at the event, but a lot of people did drop out for one reason or another. So anyway the friendly challenge of one upping each other is off to a great start. I took some nice pictures of the event.
The Case Against Apple–in Five Parts
Jason Calacanis has wrote a extra long essay about why the love affair with Apple is over. Its a good read and hopefully adds to the mounting public pressure. The essay is broken dowin into 5 main points.
- Destroying MP3 player innovation through anti-competitive practices
- Monopolistic practices in telecommunications
- Draconian App Store policies that are, frankly, insulting
- Being a horrible hypocrite by banning other browsers on the iPhone
- Blocking the Google Voice Application on the iPhone
Of course I've been writing similar things for a while but its always good to hear Mac fans coming to there senses.
The fiery warm snap mix
Another mix, this time on the more chilled side of the trance spectrum. It was recorded at about midnight while sitting on my balcony watching the trains go by. It was a warm night and I was sipping a Diet Ginger beer while mixing. Its a good mix, lots of lesser known tunes with some new ones. I did make one mistake in the middle where I pressed the pause button on the wrong track but otherwise its all good. Let me know what you guys think… The artwork for mix cover is from – Burn Blue under CC licence of course.
- She wants him (Blake Jarrells Panty Dropper Remix) – Moussa Clark & Terrafunka
- Fallen (Gabriel & Dresden Anti-Gravity Remix) – Sarah McLachlan
- Made of Love – Ferry Corsten feat Betsie Larkin
- Body of Conflict
ub mix) – Cosmic Gate - Isn't Life Wonderful (Flat 6 mix) – Alex D'ella vs E-Bop Allstars
- Into Something – Richard Durand
- Language (Santiago Nino Dub Tech Mix) – Hammer and Bennett
- Minimalistix (Club mix) – Close Cover
- Unprepared – Marco V
- Silver Bath – Plastic Boy
- The Situation (Liquid life remix) – A Situation
- Radio Crush (extended mix) – Ferry Corsten
- Can't Sleep – Marcel Wood Feat Elles De Graaf
- It's time (Ferry Corsten's flashover mix) – Ferry Corsten