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Recent Posts

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676
Living Room / Twitter is the world's fastest growing search engine
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 17, 2010, 03:19 AM »
Twitter now supports 800 million search queries per day, according to Biz Stone, the site’s co-founder, making it the fastest growing search engine, outpacing Yahoo! and Microsoft’s Bing combined.

For those who don't use Twitter for searching, you may like to know about this greasemonkey script: http://www.readwrite...th_twitter_ad-on.php



from Guy Kawasaki's Blogger
677
Living Room / Re: Can Anonymous voting redefine social media?
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 17, 2010, 02:56 AM »
The specific categories are much better than the frontpage but really this is basically what you get when you have a low traffic social media site combined with an image-centric lay-out combined with an editing crew that regularly doesn't update new content fast enough.

99% of what makes social media seem less like a turd magnet is the amount of times the users of the service polish the front page and even then it seems less smelly only because majority of the time a cleaner interface makes it easy to skip the trail of brown compared to seeing it all in full view.
678
This isn’t just willy nilly available for everybody. It’s only available for OEM licenses for Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate. The timing (though who knows what the heck computing will look like in 2020) is timed to the projected end of life cycle of Windows 7. Deadlines in 2010 and 2011 for when OEMs can stop selling PCs with XP or Vista installed are still in effect and keep in mind that Microsoft is scheduled to stop supporting XP in 2014.



from Kathy Jacobs' Amplify
679
Living Room / Can Anonymous voting redefine social media?
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 16, 2010, 04:20 AM »
Mattters offers easy, single-click access to high quality, real-time, news and stories about the thousands of topics that the major news organizations ignore, but which really, really matter to the rest of us.

Each website and tweep is hand-picked by our staff after laboriously researching, examining, poking, probing and dissecting it/them. Those that are consistantly the most interesting, the most relevant, that have the nicest photos and in-depth news or interesting speculations are preferred.

We don't care if a website is a major website or just has a few dozen visitors each month - if they have great content, we love them!

Its all about helping everyone 'follow their interests'. We hope to make this so easy and fun that we can follow interests we never knew (or had forgotten) we had!

Sorry if this is pretty common. This is the first time I've encountered a social media service that supports anonymous voting (although according to the site, the voting has less impact if you don't sign up)

The lay-out pretty much hurts my eyes so no pictures but surprisingly the anonymity of it all made me more inclined to vote on a story. Not sure if this interest would hold up but it did made me participate in stories despite the painful lay-out.

[url=http://mattters.com/]Matters.com
680
Sorry, I should have checked before I posted it. Unfortunately that's pretty much all the services I can find.

They all mostly are appealing to RSS to newsletters so the type of real time e-mailing is not available. It might be better if you directly contact all freeware website watchers and suggest something like this to them.
681
Not sure I would call Speed Racer the movie a homage. It barely had the feel of the original and there was no car-fu.

A satire true. I would even go as far as call it a parody but homage... well I'm just pointing this out to show the complexity of saying odd or different.

Personally I think there are tons of movies people can consider odd but may not appeal and be considered crud or silly by majority of people.

Again, personally instead of a list - I would refer people to three directors: "classic" David Cronenberg, Takahashi Miike and Ed Wood.

These three guys in my opinion hold the mainstream sanity line for odd and different vs. approachable movies. That is, if you find the movies by these directors as "not odd" but "normal" then you're probably ready for the odd stuff like The Holy Moutain

That said many of these are still hit or miss. For example I couldn't sit through The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser by Werner Herzog no matter how revolutionary of a director he was and with that one movie I decided I wasn't going to like his other movies because of so much praise for that movie.
682
It's kind of like Google Me, I guess.

People firmly believe it's true but it's all a rumor officially.
683
Free version can only allow for 5 feeds:

http://www.feedmyinbox.com/

Note, I didn't verify this application - this is just the top search on Delicious.com

Edit: Nevermind, I don't know how Delicious ranks their items by default.
684
Edit: Btw the below service doesn't provide send to e-mail support

I still haven't checked the firefox extension sitedelta but you could reduce the monitoring time in page monitor (for Google Chrome)

The downside is that it's probably not as intelligent as Webmon for dodging update changes to the most minute of things like date changes. This especially holds true if you are going to reduce the update checker to within minutes.

You may probably be better off looking for a page2rss -> rss2e-mail type of service but I have no personal experience with any of those.
685
The first iteration of Friennuendo used the metaphor of a line and visibility. By default, both participants would start on the left side of the line and the person to be friended would be on the right side. Users can move in discrete steps across the line and if one user moves to within the visibility range of the other user, a friend request is sent. The first iteration of Friennuendo also included the idea of private areas in which only the owner could access. Private areas allow users to “hide” from unwanted friend requests by always remaining invisible.

Personally, I didn't really like the concept and I think it's completely going the opposite direction of online friendship but I thought some of you may like to know about this. Longer version pointing out some of the immediate flaws that came to my mind (Not really worth clicking, I didn't think through most of my complaints)



from Figuring Shit Out
686
Great reply JavaJones. (Sorry, couldn't help adding this sycophantic sounding bit - first time I rated something in DC and it was due to the quality of the first reply.)
687
Living Room / What will happen when technology meets astrology?
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 12, 2010, 09:38 PM »
Introducing the world's first

Temporal Analytics Engine

A new predictive analysis tool that allows you to visualize the future, past or present.

This topic is using the webfind template because the service gave me the thought but really beyond the service, I'm curious what will happen if a new form of astrology comes out of this.

Already there are software that claim to be able to replace tarot card readers, crystal balls, etc. etc.

None have really reached critical mass yet but the algorithmn is already being worked on by some people.

That said, just for those who underestimate astrology, it's not really about the algorithmn maturing as the algorithmn resulting and producing a better comforting words that's interesting. Interesting because even today we have aggregators like TechCrunch, Huffington, Reddit, Digg... speaking loudly to a large community that it's easy to miss the slippery slope these top internet voices have on setting up the infrastructure for this kind of "Brave New World" hope.



from Killer Startups
688
Ok, thanks for the clarification guys.
689
General Software Discussion / Play as a 3rd World Farmer (free game)
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 12, 2010, 02:32 AM »
http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/

3rd World Farmer is a new kind of game. An experiment in the genre of Serious Games, it simulates some of the real-world mechanisms that cause and sustain poverty in 3rd World countries.

In the game, the player gets to manage an African farm and is soon confronted with the difficult choices that poverty and conflict can cause.

I don't know how accurate this is but ever since buying A Force More Powerful, I wanted to share titles on these genres (serious gaming it's often called) but I just couldn't find much of a game that wasn't either too simple or too complicated.

AFMP was close to narrowing the gap but as one reviewer puts it, often times there was only one path to win a scenario - and I couldn't find a walkthrough or figure it out.

Well, today I got an itch of searching for a walkthrough again and decided to see if there were any other game in Delicious.com that fit the politics/games tag and found 3rd world farmer.

Note that I omitted popular indie titles such as Logitech's Democracy because despite being a good game the developer or the players at least hinted at the difficulty of adopting the ai to follow a Free Market path so at least from the realism aspect that game and it's sequel didn't really capture the reality of the situation.

Not that these games are supposed to be uber-realistic but just the idea that one branch of reality is omitted can often make or break these types of games for me.
690
Where does the no IT skills required come from?
691
Living Room / Re: Sitepoint is giving away a free ebook
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 11, 2010, 06:38 PM »
Yeah I'm in the:

Code Word:
Purchased from:
Country:

Section.

I put in the code word as written above in bolded letters and Sitepoint.com as purchased from.

Edit: Oh wait, I get it now. Look in the actual book. Ok.
692
Living Room / Re: Sitepoint is giving away a free ebook
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 11, 2010, 06:28 PM »
I keep getting the code word you entered is wrong. It's the bolded letters right?
693
Finished Programs / Re: organize text
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 11, 2010, 08:02 AM »
Isn't this similar to what steeladept was looking for in this topic?

https://www.donation...x.php?topic=22650.25

CCCCtrlC link
694
Google has quietly (secretly, one might say) invested somewhere between $100 million and $200 million in social gaming behemoth Zynga, we’ve confirmed from multiple sources. The company has raised somewhere around half a billion dollars in venture capital in the last year alone, including $150 million from Softbank Capital last month and $180 million late last year from Digital Sky Technologies, Tiger Global, Institutional Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. The Softbank announcement was never officially confirmed by the company, however, and the Google investment was likely part of that deal as well.

Back in Quora, someone said Google was stupid for following Facebook's model with the rumoured Google Me since Facebook's profits come from games within the network itself. (and not the social network model)

Now with this move, Google may either have gotten it right or gotten it wrong.

The big problem I see here is how there was no mention of using social networks to provide for these games which is the primary strength of these games.



from Michael Arrington
695
http://www.standingcloud.com/

Again, I didn't register but this looks really really interesting if what it says on the tin is true.

That said, I don't really understand how domain hosting works and it looks like this needs something like an Amazon S3 service to work.

The No IT skills needed seems tempting though.
696
Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Mini-Review of JungleDisk and ZumoDrive
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 11, 2010, 06:20 AM »
@iphigenie, do you have a newbie guide on how to make spider-oak work using the command line? (I'm assuming this applies to Linux too)

The common complaint with Spider-Oak is that it takes more memory than Dropbox so this seems like a useful alternative for people wanting to get on with that program.

(That said, it's been so long since I opened my Spider-Oak software because unlike DropBox there's less of a reason to have it opened all the time since there's no convenient file manager integration)
697
Living Room / Re: The Fallacy of One Thing Leading to Another
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 11, 2010, 06:15 AM »
most rape games or other simulations do not so much represent rape but more of a form of non-consent fantasy.

Don't try to make it sound less like rape. Rape is rape.


Unless... maybe all those violent games or simulations do not so much represent killing people but more a form of non-consent assisted euthanasia.

I'm not.

Let's apply your words to videogame violence for example:

Don't try to make it sound less like killing. Killing is killing.

Unless... maybe all those violent games or simulations do not so much represent killing people but more a form of non-consent assisted euthanasia.

This assumes the fantasy of videogame killing is non-consent assisted euthanasia.

However, this is where the two criterias if you dig deep enough differ...and where videogame violence seems even worse.

Videogame violence from the fantastic view isn't non-consent assisted euthanasia - if it were it would be more morally kind to the digital characters.

Instead videogame violence's appeal is instead killing with less or no consequences. Worse, this illusion becomes more promoted as violent videogames expands and improves in graphics. This is what mainly contributes to the idea that it can desensitize a person with problems.

Not that crappy rape games don't have that problem but as you elevate the two digital actions - rape encourages realistic emotional depth, violence encourages realistic physics.

Physics is much more desensitizing and impactful as far as desensitizing a person because the more you press forward with physics, the more it seems like reality minus consequences. The more you press with emotional character depth, the more it's about the humanity of the victim vs. the abuser.

Even a crappy game as the game mentioned there, you could almost contrast it with Custer's. One was so stupid that it's not even much of a rape game, the other despite it's crappiness in it's pursuit of graphics, ended up producing tears in the victim which in turn is the difference between the two genres.

That said, as I mentioned under that link, it's not about saying one is worse than the other.

It's merely to clarify the situation and there's no watering down of concepts if you may. It's simply clarification so that either side is at least more informed and we do not fall into a sort of technological hypocrisy where we make excuses for one and demonize the other unfairly.

That's said with regards to such post:

No Paul,
I dont have to accept anyone's 'terms' here. I simply say this stuff [rape game] is unacceptable.

It can't be helped which is why it's a wicked problem - and it's a problem on all sides.

It's much easier to defend what you're biased against so things like this need to be clarified for those who are willing to listen to some form of objective validity. (Although I'm not saying my words are correct or I'm an expert but rather as with all things I post here - I try to provide the rarely mentioned or emotionally mentioned reasons in a more neutral but still biased manner.)

Edit: Btw I'm not saying violent videogames don't have any justification for violence. Rather I'm pointing out that after the justification there are very few games that fully explore the consequences of their actions. (Even open-ended rpgs) Again, not saying rape games fully explore the consequences but part of the process is about experiencing the actual act in more detailed perspective than merely pulling an action - like the trigger of a gun - and have someone later on provide a cutscene . (Often these Japanese games are about downfall relating to or resulting to rape so there's already that character study of a person's degraded thoughts.)
698
Living Room / Re: The Fallacy of One Thing Leading to Another
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 10, 2010, 04:22 PM »
it is simulation of real-life events, actions, and in many cases consequences, so it's hard to argue that there's no relationship at all.

This is false actually.

I mentioned this under the comments of that topic but most rape games or other simulations do not so much represent rape but more of a form of non-consent fantasy.

The same holds true for most violent videogames which is why the JFK simulator despite being less of a game and more of an attempted simulation through the eyes of the killer caused such a reaction.

The observation argument also holds no water as many simulations are merely "clicks" and then observe rather than real time actions and what few active control you have is silly and annoying and it involves rotating your mouse around a certain area. It's more like a future malware simulator if anything.

Another reason why the argument holds very little water is that even non-games like comics and videos of digital rape are perceived as negative/only for pathetic people or downright evil to view.

Finally in the macro aspect of it all, war games do not provide or produce any true moral justification of war otherwise developed countries would be very anti-war and informed of it's consequences. War games and other violent pseudo-realistic games are there to provide a more detached view of war - one closer to the movie Full Metal Jacket than say Platoon - with more realistic physics but not really more realistic morality.
699
Living Room / Re: Does serif matter in web fonts?
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 10, 2010, 02:55 AM »


Just to save this thread, here's something one of Guy Kawasaki's writers recently tweeted:

http://holykaw.allto...-of-comic-sans-video
700
Living Room / Re: Does serif matter in web fonts?
« Last post by Paul Keith on July 10, 2010, 01:23 AM »
Lol.

Well to be honest, I prefer sans serif too. Although preferably I like Verdana but it can be confusing at times.

Especially with blogs - I feel you need to sort of understand your blog's theme in order to understand what fonts to use but then normally you don't because a post can be short or you don't have problems communicating a long post.

It's tough too because for example...italicized was the one thing that I felt wouldn't hurt...but then it turns out it does especially for sans serif.

I guess with this blog post I'm going to try something subtly experimental as I was thinking of mixing sans-serif with serif anyway. Again, thanks for all the help.

Edit:

Oh nevermind, it turns out Posterous doesn't import the formatting when you e-mail it.

Hmm...or rather it does but you have to go to the web editor before it does and then it re-reformats it and takes away the color, retains the size and...I guess this is a bug or a quirk on their side so formatting is out.
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