tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-153128302024-03-14T06:00:11.347+11:00Jason McIntyreMy blog is about web technologies ... the converging of traditional and internet media ... Search Engine Marketing (SEM + SEO) and other topics that spark my interest.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-34462577156511408112013-11-12T15:51:00.000+11:002013-11-12T15:51:14.527+11:00Apple's new SpaceShip headquarters in Cupertino<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The most realistic and detailed images yet of <b>Apple’s new spaceship headquarters</b> have just been published on Wired.
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At this point, there’s a good chance you’ve seen pictures of Apple’s proposed new headquarters — a 2.8-million-square-foot spaceship parked in a verdant man-made forest in the northeast corner of Cupertino. Since the first dozen or so renderings trickled out in 2011, however, we haven’t gotten a much better sense of what all the new campus will entail or what it will be like to work there. Until now. Apple may be known for its secrecy, but buried in Cupertino’s municipal archive is a wealth of detail on the project — including more than 20 previously unseen renderings of the new campus.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The latest images of the 2.8 million square-foot campus show an expansive cafeteria, an underground parking garage, and a subterranean auditorium where forthcoming Apple products will be unveiled to the media. The office will sit on a 176-acre plot of land, most of which will be dedicated to indigenous flora and fauna to act as a barrier between the floor-to-ceiling glass walls and the outside world. It's planned to have a separate facilities outside of the main campus for Research & Development. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Mothership</span></b>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Apple Campus 2, which was approved by city officials last month, will sit on a 176-acre plot in the South Bay city of 60,000 — a site that was once home to HP and Compaq. If you’re an Apple employee who drives to work, you’ll enter the campus at a freshly constructed security point at North Wolfe Road, on the west edge of the site. The lucky ones will quickly be diverted into a discrete, futuristic tunnel, where a subterranean service road will give them access to a two-level, 2,000-space parking garage underneath the mothership itself. Otherwise, you’ll have to wind your way to the south edge of the campus to the above-ground parking garage — a pair of emory board-shaped structures, clad with solar panels and foliage. If you take advantage of Apple’s shuttle buses from elsewhere in the Bay Area, you’ll be dropped off at the “Corporate Transit Center” on the eastern edge of the site. From there a walkway, flanked by two Apple Store-white staircases, will lead into the mothership itself.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can have a look inside the new Apple campus, and make sure to check out <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/17/apple-cfo-oppenheimer-says-new-carbon-balanced-campus-2-will-foster-collaboration/">Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer’s presentation</a> after the approval of the campus, and/or Steve Jobs’ initial presentation to the city of Cupertino.</span><br />
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Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-47092620779673894342010-06-13T07:21:00.000+10:002010-06-13T07:21:41.173+10:00Twitter milestone - 2 billion tweets in one month<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #292929; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 1px;">I <i>understand</i> Twitter. Twitter is not chat or IM. Twitter is not a replacement for email. And Twitter is not the end of SMS.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3380/3242600086_d155a1ef7c_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3380/3242600086_d155a1ef7c_o.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 1px;">For the month of May 2010, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jasonmcintyre">Twitter</a> officially had 2 billion tweets per month. According to <a href="http://www.pingdom.com/">Pingdom</a> ...</div><blockquote>Back in December 2009, the number of tweets per month on Twitter <a href="http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/02/10/twitter-now-more-than-1-billion-tweets-per-month/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: none;">reached 1 billion</span></span></a> for the first time. Now in May, we reached yet another milestone: 2 billion tweets per month (or to be precise, 1.99 billion, which is close enough).</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 1px;">Ezra Gottheil said “... <i>that’s promising for Twitter</i>”, an analyst with Technology Business Research. “<i>Fads tend to accelerate upward and come crashing down. It looks like people are finding real uses for Twitter… I don’t have the data, but I think there’s been a shift in usage.</i>”</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/TBP1kWYF2WI/AAAAAAAAAnY/J7C1LJqCW0U/s1600/twitter-bird-5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/TBP1kWYF2WI/AAAAAAAAAnY/J7C1LJqCW0U/s200/twitter-bird-5.png" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/TBP1ig56QKI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/Xwjf0PbsjfA/s1600/twitter-bird-6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/TBP1ig56QKI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/Xwjf0PbsjfA/s200/twitter-bird-6.png" width="200" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 1px;">The percentage of Twitter accounts currently tweeting with any regularity is approximately 17%. That’s a really low number. But Gottheil perhaps describes this as: “<i>You can have a lot of people trying Twitter and lose most of them but still increase both the number of users and the level of use.</i>” </div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 1px;">Pingdoms describes the 2 billion tweets as ... “<i>Maybe Twitter won’t quite be able to reach the almost 6 billion tweets per month we’ve predicted for the end of the year, but it’s clear that the Twitter platform is still growing at a healthy pace. Close to doubling the volume of monthly tweets in the last six months is no small feat.</i>”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 1px;">Twitter is still innovating - a partner ad platform and usability enhancements - my prediction (June 2010) is that Twitter will be acquired and morphed into a new Social Media platform in the next 2 years. But now it continues to grow at a fast pace.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 1px;">Twitter is has gained critical mass and is going to disappear anytime soon. According to <a href="http://www.twitterholic.com/">Twitterholic</a>, <b>Britney Spears, Ashton Kucher, Ellen DeGeneres, Lady Gaga </b>and<b> Barack Obama</b> make up the top 5 most followed people in the world using twitter. These 5 people have more than 20 million people following them. Maybe Twitter will morph into something else in a few years. But this is the internet – that’s practically a given. In the meantime, I am happy to tweet every whimsical thought I have.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><br />
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</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-68489527747854383632010-05-26T16:45:00.001+10:002010-05-26T16:49:32.138+10:00Nokia and Yahoo team up against GoogleIt has been said that Nokia and Yahoo make perfect mobile partners. Countering Google and fast track the Nokia's move into web services. The two companies are expected to get closer this week, with Yahoo holding a press conference today hosted by CEO Carol Bartz. This will showcase "an exciting announcement about providing global consumers with rich online and mobile experiences, and bringing forward a new era in keeping consumers connected."<br />
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According to sources, this will be a partnership with Nokia, somewhat on the lines of Yahoo's recently extended alliance with Samsung to bring a host of mobile services to the Korean giant's phones, spanning various operating systems. In Nokia's case, the collaboration is called 'Project Nike' (after the Greek goddess of victory, not the sportswear firm) and will bring Yahoo search, email and applications to Nokia Symbian and MeeGo devices. This will see these apps preloaded on various Nokia products, and even a fully Yahoo themed handset, somewhat like Nokia's lower profile Skype and Facebook gadgets.<br />
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The opportunity to team up against Google is obvious. Yahoo is becoming intimate with the companies who control almost 60% of the world's handsets (even on Samsung's Android range, Galaxy). There is a conflict of interest between Nokia and Yahoo - in particular, Nokia wants to build up its own software brand <a href="http://www.ovi.com/services/">Ovi</a>, even while it also needs to have big name services on its phones, and become a serious mobile application player quickly. These dilemmas explain why sources say the two firms have been in on-off talks for years.<br />
As for Samsung, the Korean firm will preload branded Yahoo apps including Mail, Messenger, Front Page, Search, Flickr and News, expanding a three-year old agreement.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-53942461284782806272010-05-05T21:09:00.000+10:002010-05-05T21:09:10.554+10:00The end of Flash according to Apple and MicrosoftOn the same day both Apple and Microsoft made announcements that signify the end of Adobe Flash. Microsoft's Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager for Internet Explorer, announced that <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2010/04/29/html5-video.aspx">IE9 will use <em>only</em> the H.264 standard</a> to play HTML 5 video. Microsoft seems to have become very committed to HTML 5, while <b>Flash loses even more ground</b>. The announcement came the same day Steve Jobs detailed why <a href="http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/">Apple does not accept Flash on iPhone and iPad</a>.<br />
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Microsoft is taking HTML 5 very seriously. Hachamovitch stated: “<i>The future of the web is HTML5</i> ... <i>HTML5 will be very important in advancing rich, interactive web applications and site design.</i>” Many wondered what is Microsoft going to do about HTML 5 and, if they start integrating it, what video standard is it going to use? Microsoft has already started implementing some of the HTML 5 features – history, inline editing, web database – but they still have to catch up with the other browser vendors which have many more feature implemented like Canvas, Drag&Drop, Messaging, Video, Audio, Workers and others. But IE9 will certainly contain many of these features, Microsoft being known of advancing quickly on something after they have set their mind on it. For example, the IE team demoed recently <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2010/04/09/Benefits-of-GPU-powered-HTML5.aspx">IE9 running HTML 5 video on GPU</a>, a step in front of other browsers by using hardware acceleration.<br />
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Steve Jobs in his post on Apple said "<i>I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true.</i>" <br />
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He closed his discussion about the future of platforms with "<i>Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short."</i><br />
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<i>"The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games."</i><br />
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<i>"New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.</i>"Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-28458336026985027852010-04-13T23:01:00.000+10:002010-04-13T23:01:13.052+10:00Apple iKey - unlock you car and pay for the bus<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
<div class="first" style="line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px;">Apple is set to revolutionize the traditional door key with introduction of a hi-tech alternative nicknamed the '<i>iKey</i>'. It means people can stop carrying around a set of keys, and use a single electronic device to unlock their car, front door and gain access to their office.</div><div class="first" style="line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 17px;">The technology may require the user to enter a pin code and wave the device over an electronic pad fitted beside a door to open it. A newly published patent application, filed with the US Patent Office, contains the details of the new technology. It is speculated that the next model of the iPhone will contain this feature.</div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 17px;">The application states: "The device can communicate with an external device to open a lock. By way of example, the electronic device may be a model of an iPhone. "The external device may be any suitable electronic device such as a portable media player, personal data assistant or electronic lock that may be used to access a door, car, house or other physical area."</div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 17px;">For safety purpose, the device may be attributed with a feature to encrypt any information that passes between the iPhone and the computer-controlled lock, preventing hackers from listening. If this is true, it is a very big deal. As well as opening doors and unlocking your car, it could also turn your iPhone into an electronic wallet and ID card.</div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://gizmodo.com/5488271/apple-ikey-places-a-combination-lock-on-your-wallet">Gizmodo</a> have sketch how this device embedded within your iPhone could work. "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"><i>At its surface, a recently uncovered Apple patent application describes a Motion Based Input Selection. But a closer look reveals that Apple wants the iPhone to become your life's omnitool.</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">" The picture below from Gizmodo shows how moving your phone can unlock your front door.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><br />
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</div><div style="line-height: 17px;">This is massive for Apple ... you could be able to pay for buses and trains, your morning coffee and groceries by swiping your iPhone on a pad, and the price is electronically deducted from your account.</div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 17px;">If granted, the application filed at US Patent house will offer Apple legal protection from other companies copying its ideas and technology. Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, said: "<i>We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">"</span></i></div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-19774767290987254532010-04-03T08:25:00.000+11:002010-04-03T08:25:38.626+11:00redbubble - a quality site with real valueYesterday I came across a new site called <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/">redbubble</a>. A web site dedicated to promoting local and overseas artists. Amazing, simply amazing. The quality of the art work I found was as diverse and it was inspiring.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/S7ZgKAU22UI/AAAAAAAAAlc/f97eXHqV_RQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-04-03+at+8.21.48+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/S7ZgKAU22UI/AAAAAAAAAlc/f97eXHqV_RQ/s200/Screen+shot+2010-04-03+at+8.21.48+AM.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />
I was looking for something special and within a few minutes I found it - a card by a local Melbourne artist. Then I kept going and each click revealed a new piece of work. Some of which you can watch for sometime revealing new elements you previously overlooked.<br />
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<object height="300" width="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.redbubble.com/swf/redbubble.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param NAME=FlashVars VALUE="url=http://www.redbubble.com/melbourne-art-writing/featured_works.atom&mode=slideshow"><embed src="http://www.redbubble.com/swf/redbubble.swf" FlashVars="url=http://www.redbubble.com/melbourne-art-writing/featured_works.atom&mode=slideshow" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="360" height="300"></embed></object>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-19375523164589905632009-10-04T18:31:00.004+11:002009-10-04T18:38:09.322+11:00Bing makes ground on GoogleGOOGLE released search engine refinements recently as Microsoft begins to lure people to <strong>Bing</strong> and <strong>Twitter</strong> heightens appetites for real-time updates and news. <br /><br />Google modifications include tools that let people limit online searches to only serve up results from the past hour, or by specific date ranges. <br /><br />Patrick Riley, Google engineer said, "this can be particularly helpful when you're looking for the freshest information. If you have an idea of when the information you're looking for may have been published to the web." <br /><br /><h3>Bing's making ground</h3> <br /><br />The Bing search engine Microsoft launched in May was designed to intuitively understand what people are seeking online and challenge Google. <br /><br />The US software colossus described Bing as a "Decision Engine" aimed at online shoppers trying to make buying decisions, plan trips, research health matters, or find local businesses. <br /><br />Bing posted a slight increase in its share of the US search market in August, <i>the third month in a row of gains</i>, according to online tracking firm comScore. <br /><br />Bing increased its market share to 9.3 per cent in August from 8.9 per cent in July and 8.4 per cent in June, comScore said. <br /><br />Google remained the overwhelming leader of the lucrative US search and advertising market in August with a 64.6 per cent market share, a dip of 0.1 per cent from July. Yahoo!'s share was unchanged at 19.3 per cent in August.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-71070550395774034022009-04-11T22:57:00.006+10:002009-04-19T11:24:12.715+10:00Apple giveaway for 1 billion apps downloaded<strong>Apple</strong> is approaching the 1 billion mark for applications downloaded from the iTunes App Store. The Billionth customer will recieve a swag of Apple gear.<br /><br />Update: The number of downloads is about to hit 980 million.<br /><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 182px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SeCUhqfGWKI/AAAAAAAAAHA/ZaDivlCm7mc/s400/apple-billion.jpg" border="0" alt="Apple 1 billion downloads" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323418065613248674" /><br /> <br />Apple put up a countdown on their WEB site on Friday. As you can see there has been over 933 million applications have been downloaded from the App Store since it went live last July. Whoever manages to download the 1 billionth application will come away with a pretty good collection: a MacBook Pro, a 32GB iPod Touch, a Time Capsule, and a $10,000 iTunes gift certificate.<br /><br />More than 32,000 applications have been added to the Apple App Store. Along with the promotion, Apple released some stats on the top downloads in both the paid and free categories: Facebook has been downloaded the most times among the free applications, while Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D has received the most downloads among paid applications.<br /><br />A link to the count down page can be seen <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/billion-app-countdown/">here</a>.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-78446356604265419532009-04-10T08:34:00.004+10:002009-04-10T08:49:03.581+10:00SEO and Matt Cutts Happy 404 DayOn the 4th April <a href="http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/happy-404-day/">Matt Cutts</a> celebrated 4.04 day (ie 4th of the 4th). He said "... <em>it’s a perfect day to learn what a 404 status code is. Essentially, a 404 is a way for web server to return a <strong>Page Not Found</strong> error when a browser requests a web page that the web server doesn’t have.</em>"<br /><br />I embellished Matts art work a little ...<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322825473915421410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 206px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/Sd55kSYhAuI/AAAAAAAAAG4/IpMGUbVappk/s320/Happy404Days.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />Matt posted a collection of handy links to make the most out of 404 errors on your site ...<br /><br /><br /><ul><br /><li>Maile Ohye organized 404 week - <a href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/08/its-404-week-at-webmaster-central.html">Link</a></li><br /><li>What is a 404 Error - <a href="http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=40132">Link</a></li><br /><li>How to make 404 Error pages more useful - <a href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/08/make-your-404-pages-more-useful.html">Link</a></li><br /><li>Find out who is linking to your 404 Error Page - <a href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/08/farewell-to-soft-404s.htmlLink">Link</a></li><br /><li>Flickr pictures of 404 errors - <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=404+error&m=textLink">Link</a></li><br /></ul>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-39481027731920792322009-02-24T20:37:00.003+11:002009-02-24T20:44:36.401+11:00Viral marketing done well - Uniqlo JapanI saw a recent episode of BBC Click and they presented this Japanese viral website <a href="http://www.uniqlo.jp/uniqlock/">uniqlo</a>. Uniqlo is a Japanese clothing chain and created a very clever screensaver / flash time clock.
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<br /></object>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-62199803558062029732009-02-03T22:39:00.009+11:002009-02-09T21:01:47.871+11:00Schmedley and G.ho.st - an evolution for web applicationsEveryone has heard of cloud computing ... applications moving to the WEB and beyond. Google and Microsoft are doing it with their office suites and Chrome, Google's browser wasn't developed to provide "<em>yet another one</em>". Considering how fast everyone is moving from local applications to WEB based services, we can expect a new operating system. In the next ten years. I have used two of the better web based OS environments ... Schmedley and G.ho.st. both described as your complete Virtual Computer (VC) in the browser.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SYgwjQm5lqI/AAAAAAAAAGE/sqSm06g0EJI/s1600-h/schmedley.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298538343913068194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 167px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SYgwjQm5lqI/AAAAAAAAAGE/sqSm06g0EJI/s320/schmedley.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote>Your free G.ho.st ("ghost") Virtual Computer (VC) includes a desktop, file storage and applications. Your VC lives securely in the internet cloud and is accessible from any computer or mobile phone in the world via this Web page</blockquote><br /><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SY_-CIgKUXI/AAAAAAAAAGM/Pt81jqW9VnE/s320/ghost-2.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300734599033934194" /><br /><br />When people consider good looking operating systems they usually think og Mac OS X or Microsoft Vista. Schmedley has a Mac style dock, and I think even my mother could use it without getting a headache. In the end, that's where we should arrive one day - using a computer should be as easy like using a hammer, but without any painful outcomes, of course!<br /><br />Why should you set Schmedley? Google Chrome ... <strong>YouTube</strong>, <strong>Google</strong>, <strong>RSS feeds</strong>, <strong>sticky notes</strong>, <strong>Amazon search</strong>, and the chance to create new tabs to populate whatever you like. If we have to choose between widgets on the desktop and on my virtual desktop, you will always choose the later - its like having a roaming profile available across the internet.<br /><br />I won't get much into this, since you can take advantage of the Schmedley private Beta invitations we got from Dustin(thank you very much!) just for you, and try this online gem for yourselves.<br /><br />Some new features that we would like to see included are ... a bookmark manager / integration with <a href="http://www.delicious.com/">delicious</a> and a way of exchanging data with your browser, as well as opening files from your hard drive(for example, using Schmedley to open a text file and place it on your virtual desktop as a sticky note), a widget for file uploads, just like the one leading to Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo Mail. Ghost has more advanced features but with that comes an overhead. It is slower to load and feels less like a set of browser "<em>applets</em>". I am not saying this is a good or bad thing, just different.<br /><br />For now, we're still talking about a Gamma version (pre <em>BETA</em>), so some problems may still turn up, but that's what makes it interesting.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-80743581306429319562009-02-01T09:00:00.001+11:002009-02-02T09:04:05.468+11:00Apples new productivity suite - iWorks 09 (documents, spreadsheets presentations)<img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SYYYvc5E7eI/AAAAAAAAAFk/yNpb7DwJWh4/s400/iworks.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297949215136476642" /><br /><a href="http://www.apple.com/iwork/" target=_blank>Apple's iWork '09</a> is a great suite for Mac users who are after a well designed and easy to use productivity suite. iWork doesn't offer an integrated business e-mail solution like <a href="http://jasonmcintyre.blogspot.com/2009/01/microsoft-media-and-digital-convergence.html">Microsoft</a> Outlook, it does include a core group of applications; <strong>Keynote</strong>, <strong>Numbers</strong>, and <strong>Pages </strong>. The number of intuitive features is impressive, including things like interoperability across apps to make that absence easy to overlook. Apple has significantly updated all three products to enhance and streamline workflow with numerous interface tweaks and feature enhancements. iWork files are fully compatible with its Microsoft Office counterparts looking after the Windows / Mac interchange.<br /><br /><h3>Cool Benefits</h3><br />This software is very flashy, making it very easy to create eye-catching presentations. The iWork suite play well together with added interoperability across all applications. Intuitive interface design and easy access to useful features make iWork the best office suite choice on the Mac. Though it lacks some of Microsoft Office's advanced options, iWork '09 is an emerging powerhouse in its own right. <br /><br />I have my own copy of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac and I know I will be using both product suites. The fact that they <em>file formats</em> are interchangeable is good news.<br /><br /><h3>Hardware Requirements</h3><br /><strong>OS Required</strong> - Apple MacOS X 10.4.11 , Apple MacOS X 10.5.6 or later<br /><strong>Software Requirements</strong> - QuickTime 7.5.5 or later <br /><strong>Minimum Processor</strong> - Intel Power PC G4 , Intel Power PC G4 Power PC G5 - 500 MHz <br /><strong>Peripheral / Interface Devices </strong> - DVD-ROM <br /><strong>System Requirements</strong> - Apple MacOS X 10.4.11 - PowerPC G4 - RAM 512 MB - HD 1.2 GB<br /><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 57px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SYYblRdYbcI/AAAAAAAAAFs/vH4_EQJaQpI/s400/iworks+banner.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297952338803715522" />Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-60891194838612406082009-01-17T21:36:00.005+11:002009-01-17T22:13:11.467+11:00Microsoft, media and digital convergenceRecently Steve Ballmer at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas keynote speech, said technology was converging upon three screens - the computer, the phone and Television. The internet and software would allow all three to talk to each other seamlessly, with consumers able to access their content on any device. Regular readers will know that I am passionate about <a href="http://jasonmcintyre.blogspot.com/2008/04/digital-and-mainstream-media.html">digital convergence</a>. This new announcement by Microsoft will help to accelerate media convergence.<br /><br />Ballmer said, "<em>We're on the verge of the kind of technology transformation that only happens once every 10 or 15 years ... In the next couple of years the computer will be able to hear you and see you. Speech, gestures, handwriting will become a normal part of the way we interact with computers, with TVs and with phones</em>."<br /><br />New features announced in Windows 7 to support this vision include:<br /><ul><br /><li>The ability to move between running programs using a simple preview pane that pops up along the bottom of the screen.</li><br /><br /><li>Seamless access to photos, music and videos stored on all devices on a network.</li><br /><br /><li>Users can pin frequently used applications on to a redesigned taskbar for easy access.</li><br /><br /><li>Right clicking on applications in the taskbar brings up a <em>Jumplist</em> of commonly used tasks associated with that application, such as recently viewed documents in Word.</li><br /><br /><li><em>Play to</em> allows users to stream video, music and photos stored on the network to other devices such as the TV and Xbox 360.</li><br /><br /><li>Touch support is built into the operating system to support touch screen applications. Multitouch is supported, allowing people to use gestures to zoom and tilt the screen.</li><br /></ul><br /><br />I recently read on a few blogs that television companies are scrambling to ensure that all of there content has digital presence. More and more we will see the integration of TV downloads and movies on demand. Currently Apple is at the forefront of digital media through iTunes. Combine this with Microsofts focus on cloud computing and SaaS, I see this as a very exciting time for us all.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-84835312381900406132008-12-28T18:38:00.002+11:002008-12-28T19:12:22.224+11:00Tapping the Power of PodcastingEvery day companies strive to share their message whether it is a marketing messages or client and staff communications. “Rising above the noise” can be a real challenge. The Internet has made a huge difference in the way you market your services. And now, there’s yet another arrow to add to your marketing quiver: the relatively new medium, podcasting.<br /><br />Podcasting is now an adopted phenomenon. Podcasting is the broadcasting of audio over the Internet specifically to be downloaded into and played from an MP3 or other audio player or on your computer. Apple's iPod is the most well-known audio player. Because these players tend to be highly portable, they provide a unique opportunity for anyone to listen to anything (including your audio message), anywhere, anytime.<br /><br /><br />Podcasting enables you to:<br /><ul><li>Reports on various statistics to your clients<br /></li><li>Descriptions of new services<br /></li><li>Create unique introductions of you and your company<br /></li><li>Custom audio newsletters or articles within your newsletter<br /></li><li>Weekly podcast “radio” shows that include phone interviews with guests<br /></li><li>Create a custom relationship with your clients</li><li>Reach a far-flung workforce</li></ul><br /><br />Your voice can be a powerful marketing tool. Oral communication can be more expressive and compelling than mere words or images on a piece of paper or computer screen. Also, when clients and customers hear your podcast, they may be more likely to perceive you as an authority.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote>To effectively train and communicate with its 4,000 staff members, 800 reserve personnel, and nearly 20 divisions, the Orange County Sheriffs Department found a great solution in podcasts. Unfortunately, it could take weeks for the departments video staff to produce and deliver their podcasts in a variety of formats. Until, that is, Podcast Producer turned weeks of arduous production into mere hours of automated production.</blockquote><br /><br /><h1>Apple Podcast Producer</h1><br />Podcast Producer enables you quickly create audio or video content and deliver it in several different formats.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-66138832710454882002008-09-14T19:13:00.005+10:002008-09-14T19:29:06.952+10:00Apple unleashes Genius Sidebar ... would you like fries with that?Well done Apple ... but don't confuse the Genius sidebar with the Apple Genius Bar (technical support in Apple stores).<br /><br />On Tuesday Steve Jobs unveiled their latest feature for iTunes. Genius. <br /><br />Everyone know that Apple's agenda is to push more iTunes sales. Genius sidebar is the latest arsenal in their toolkit. <br /><br />When you highlight a song, the <strong>Top Songs You're Missing</strong> feature tells you the most popular tracks by that artist that you don't own. This is obvious next step, but very clever. Then there are the recommended tracks from other artists. It's pretty slick, and may make money from people who are keen to extend their collections. <br /><br />It will be interesting to see when Genius extends to movies and television shows. It would be great if it provided music fans with the tools to analyze how their music collection fits together. But it is still a step in the right direction.<br /><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SMzZLLzV9uI/AAAAAAAAAC0/eQsd6nS9nrs/s320/genius.jpg" border="0" alt="Apple Genius Sidebar" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245806452149712610" /><br /><br />I tried out Genius and it worked quite well with rock, but the service seems to stumble with older music including my indie, acid jazz and classical collections.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-34889533187245532132008-08-30T17:20:00.008+10:002008-08-30T18:26:46.598+10:00Melbourne's 10km Nike+ Human RaceOK tomorrow is the big race ... Im running in the Melbourne part of the million people run this weekend. <a href="http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/humanrace/map.jsp">Nike+ Human Race</a> has already started around the world and right now the US, South America and Europe have finished their race and the results will soon be online. Our race is tomorrow morning.<br /><br />So I decided to create a Google map of the course. Tomorrow I will have my running gadgets with me. My new polar watch RS800sd, heart monitor, pedometer and iPod Nano (RED). As part of the race gear we all recieved a RED Nike shirt with our number printed on the front and a digital nike tracker (that needs to be handed in when we finish the race).<br /><br />I took my Polar watch for a test run of the course today, and it has some great features. Heart rate, running speed, distance, altitude and a whole lot more.<br /><br />So on Sunday morning if you see a mass of people running in RED shirts ... then that is us. <br /><br /><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Alexandra+Ave+%40-37.824556,+144.977558&daddr=Alexandra+Ave+%40-37.828304,+144.984617+to:Anderson+St+%40-37.834300,+144.983690+to:Government+House+Dr+%40-37.825966,+144.971288+to:Russell+St+%40-37.814770,+144.969010+to:Gisborne+St+%40-37.809607,+144.975649+to:Albert+St+%40-37.810420,+144.983560+to:Clarendon+St+%40-37.815989,+144.982592+to:Lansdowne+St+%40-37.812208,+144.977937+to:-37.82287,144.971337&hl=en&geocode=17560043247222070512,-37.824556,144.977558%3B16437724076493036112,-37.828304,144.984617%3B2871712388972699909,-37.834300,144.983690%3B2417437671900377023,-37.825966,144.971288%3B12495618948281832488,-37.814770,144.969010%3B2986868431727732079,-37.809607,144.975649%3B14116191916288822857,-37.810420,144.983560%3B7770756775455350605,-37.815989,144.982592%3B1906535079535275883,-37.812208,144.977937%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=9&sz=15&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8&sll=-37.823379,144.980779&sspn=0.020678,0.044546&ie=UTF8&ll=-37.823379,144.980779&spn=0.020678,0.044546&t=p&msa=0&msid=103763259662194171141.00000111b3ac71d88011c&output=embed&s=AARTsJorfR9c2CbpK_mAgXNd3JE_sKQ1aQ" frameborder="0" width="425" scrolling="no" height="350"></iframe><br /><small><a style="COLOR: #0000ff; TEXT-ALIGN: left" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Alexandra+Ave+%40-37.824556,+144.977558&daddr=Alexandra+Ave+%40-37.828304,+144.984617+to:Anderson+St+%40-37.834300,+144.983690+to:Government+House+Dr+%40-37.825966,+144.971288+to:Russell+St+%40-37.814770,+144.969010+to:Gisborne+St+%40-37.809607,+144.975649+to:Albert+St+%40-37.810420,+144.983560+to:Clarendon+St+%40-37.815989,+144.982592+to:Lansdowne+St+%40-37.812208,+144.977937+to:-37.82287,144.971337&hl=en&geocode=17560043247222070512,-37.824556,144.977558%3B16437724076493036112,-37.828304,144.984617%3B2871712388972699909,-37.834300,144.983690%3B2417437671900377023,-37.825966,144.971288%3B12495618948281832488,-37.814770,144.969010%3B2986868431727732079,-37.809607,144.975649%3B14116191916288822857,-37.810420,144.983560%3B7770756775455350605,-37.815989,144.982592%3B1906535079535275883,-37.812208,144.977937%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=9&sz=15&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8&sll=-37.823379,144.980779&sspn=0.020678,0.044546&ie=UTF8&ll=-37.823379,144.980779&spn=0.020678,0.044546&t=p&msa=0&msid=103763259662194171141.00000111b3ac71d88011c&source=embed">View directions of the Nike+ Human Race</a></small><br /><br />Update: The Nike banners are starting to go up and the finish line is up at Linlithgow Ave near the Botanical Gardens. <br /><br />Just visited the Nike+ Human Race web site and it looks great - well done to the designers!<br /><br />I also came across this cool promotion @ <a href="http://theinspirationroom.com/" target=_blank>The Inspiration Room</a> for the Faker at tomorrows event ... <br /><a href="http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/print/2008/8/nike_human_race_faker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/print/2008/8/nike_human_race_faker.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-91582114756134874802008-07-26T11:48:00.008+10:002008-07-27T12:53:29.665+10:00Ideas for my new iPhoneOn Friday 11th July 2008 I put register with Optus to get my new iPhone and Wednesday the following week I got the call to say it was ready to pick up.<br /><br /><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SIvUvCkdq_I/AAAAAAAAACk/ozQ0Vu0gapQ/s320/iphone-aus-launch.jpg" width="150" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227505697102343154" /><br /><br />With the 3G iPhone available in more than 20 countries, it is no surprise that <strong>Apple</strong> has announced that it sold a million phones in the first three days of the product’s release—71 days faster than it took the original iPhone to reach the same number. <br /><br />After using the iPhone for only a week, ideas for business applications are already start to flow. This phone is very intuitive to use.<br /><br /><h3>my iPhone in one week ...</h3><br /><ul><br /><li>Made & receive more than 30 calls</li><br /><li>Sent 37 SMS</li><br /><li>Read 15 emails</li><br /><li>Taken 10 photos</li><br /><li>Browsed 8 web sites</li><br /><li>Installed 3 applications:<br /> <ul> <br /> <li>Super Monkey Ball - <em>$12.95</em></li><br /> <li>Lonely Planet - Mandarin Speaking - <em>Free</em></li><br /> <li>Apple remote - <em>Free</em></li><br /> </ul><br /></li><br /><li>Added 5 cities to my timezone and my weather</li><br /><li>Charged my phone once</li><br /></ul><br /><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SIvWv9cmYOI/AAAAAAAAACs/t6QC7wzP84c/s200/iphone-aus-launch1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227507911930306786" /><br /><br />The motion sensors have to be one of my favourite features. We have already joined as an iPhone & Facebook developers. Some this that does concern me is the reports already starting to come out about the <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/134698/2008/07/app_store_developers.html">performance of the AppStore</a>.<br /><br />The iPhone can be <em>programmed</em> by creating web pages that can be viewed on the device. This means you have to ensure your web apps work with the resolution of the screen and with the idiosyncrasies of its browser - <strong>Safari</strong>. <br /><br />Acording to a post on ZDnet<br /><br /><blockquote>Like the Opera-based internet browser on the Nintendo Wii, most developers will look at the iPhone as yet another high-volume consumer-oriented web platform for their pages and applications. As a first pass, it would be a good idea to ensure your apps don’t look like crap on the device. Then if you notice a lot of iPhone traffic or want to target it specifically for some other reason, you can use CSS and user agents to customize your presentation to your heart’s content.</blockquote>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-15575886761223584382008-06-29T19:54:00.005+10:002008-06-29T20:29:27.717+10:00New Google Earth release (version 4.3)OK, this was my 50th post yay. So I thought I would look at the new release of Google Earth. I have to say upfront this release looks great! With Google Sketchup integrated into Google Earth the feature set is amazing.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SGddEH88lrI/AAAAAAAAACc/30RffPHoak4/s200/googleearth.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217241018767546034" />Initially I wasn't sure how to change camera angles. Duh, the navigation tools are in the upper right corner of the map. This release also seems quicker and more flowing than previous releases. The youTube video provides a great overview of new features.<br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tG7cM5Yvhz4&hl=en"></param><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tG7cM5Yvhz4&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />For those who have not used Google Earth then I definitely recommend this release. Google Earth comes jam packed with some great new features including: <br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Light and Shadow </strong><br /><br />The new Sunlight feature is my favourite, where you can watch the sunrise and sunset from anywhere. Just move the time slider to watch dawn, dusk and shadows move across the Earth. <br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Street View </strong><br /><br />This one is great but only major locations have Street View images. Google Earth has received this feature that was available in Google Maps. Fly into panoramic images of select cities and take a 360 degree tour. <br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Photo-realistic Buildings </strong><br /><br />With Google Earth 4.3, see 3D buildings faster and in more cities than ever before. Now you can access hundreds of new buildings from the world's cities, including San Francisco, Boston, Orlando, Munich, Zurich, and dozens more. <br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Swoop Navigation </strong><br /><br />Fly seamlessly through the landscape with new navigation controls. Swoop from outer space to street level and leap from one building top to another. Use the look joystick to view buildings as if you were standing right in front of them. <br /><br /><br /><br /><h3>Download Google Earth</h3><br /><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!--<br />google_ad_client = "pub-6508350307382696";<br />/* Text link, created 29/06/08 */<br />google_ad_slot = "8063318225";<br />google_ad_output = "textlink";<br />google_ad_format = "ref_text";<br />google_cpa_choice = ""; // on file<br />//--><br /></script><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"<br />src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"><br /></script> - it is free! Simply follow the link. <br /><br />Get essential software with Google Pack.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-49310246348336167662008-06-19T19:00:00.004+10:002008-06-19T19:41:48.579+10:00Apple Sydney launch goes crazy!OK so I thought I would drop by and have to queue for a bit to see inside the new Apple store on George Street, Sydney. Instead I stopped across the road and looked into the 3 levels. The queue stretched along George Street up King Street and back down York Street. Apple was giving away bags tonight - but with the amount of hype and publicity in Sydney at the moment they probably didn't have to.<br /><br />It is a pity that you can't see the amazing staircase from the street but the photos I have seen of them look amazing.<br /><br /><h3>From this ...</h3><br /><img src="http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/images/apple-store-sydney-300.jpg" border="0" alt="Apple Store Sydney" /><br /><br /><h3>To this ...</h3><br />This is a cool photo on the <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5017436/apple-store-in-sydney-oi-oi-oi ">Gizmodo website</a>.<br /> <br /><img src="http://gizmodo.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/06/appleaus600.jpg" border="0" alt="Apple Store Sydney" /><br /><br /><br />I am going to buy a new imac so I will try and stop by on the weekend, but with queues this long it may have to wait until next week.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-52705728635030687932008-05-10T21:16:00.002+10:002008-05-23T23:14:24.187+10:00Social Networks and Personal Information (Birthdays)So last month I celebrated another birthday but this one was different!<br /><br />Not including my new Canon EOS40D, the extraordinary thing was the amount of "<em>Happy Birthday</em>" wishes I received this year. In particular the amount from Social Networks like <a href="http://www.facebook.com">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/jasonmcintyre" target=_blank>Twitter</a>. <blockquote>This started a discussion with a wide variety of friends on what can facebook and social networks really do that is valuable!</blockquote><br /><br /><h3>Social Networks</h3><br />Facebook makes it very easy to remember your friends birthdays - its right in front in a news feed. What is also intersting is the amount of friends that regularly log in to facebook.<br /><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SDa3BRSQIMI/AAAAAAAAAB0/j113pZD5Qik/s400/Birthday_Facebook.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203547651920896194" /><br /><br /><h3>Instant Messaging</h3><br />More friends ping me on MSN + Yahoo Messengers.<br /><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SDa3YxSQINI/AAAAAAAAAB8/mULlrPq2XQg/s400/Birthday_MSN_LIVE.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203548055647822034" /><br /><br /><h3>Mobile Phone & SMS</h3><br />Throughout the day my phone would ring with mates wishing me happy birthday - <em>question: what do they use to remind them?</em><br /><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SDa3ZRSQIOI/AAAAAAAAACE/jMFHDda909k/s400/Birthday_Mobile.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203548064237756642" /><br /><br /><h3>Email</h3><br />A few more send me an email wishing me happy birthday.<br /><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SDa3ZhSQIPI/AAAAAAAAACM/pPh-_gU4RgI/s400/Birthday_Email.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203548068532723954" /><br /><br /><h3>Face to Face</h3><br />And then friends I over the week wished me happy birthday. <em>Obviously they have my birthday in a calendar somewhere</em>.<br /><br /><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SDa3ZhSQIQI/AAAAAAAAACU/oD1_RZhdu_s/s400/Birthday_Direct.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203548068532723970" /><br /><br />I know for a long time I tried to store my close friends birthdays in my phone and sync it with Outlook.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-75331079911357346032008-04-30T21:42:00.002+10:002008-05-18T21:56:59.575+10:00Media is now empowering us allEvery telelvision channel is now asking for more and more interaction from us via the internet. From every news channel asking for <em>live</em> reports to lifestyle programs asking for advise and feedback.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.aurora.tv">Aurora</a> Community Channel is asking us to create our own content to display on their DIY TV segments. The following youTube video is a promotion for the Aurora DIY TV.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HsAZmH_KGnM&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HsAZmH_KGnM&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><h3>Internet Empowerment</h3><br /><br />This follows on from my previous posts on the <a href="http://jasonmcintyre.blogspot.com/2008/01/convergence-of-media-internet.html">convergence of television with the internet</a>. Aurora TV is the national community television channel on Foxtel and Austar.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-45441743265305449682008-04-28T10:02:00.004+10:002008-04-28T10:15:21.744+10:00Google announces new mobile phones advertising platform<strong>Google image ads</strong> are now available to mobile advertisers, in particular those targeting US, Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the UK.<br />Previously, only text-based Web ads were available but now both mobile advertisers and publishers can present branded messages to mobile users and have them appear as they would on a desktop. The image ads are keyword-targeted, priced on a CPC basis and must link to a mobile web page. <br /><br /><h3>Google introduces mobile image ads</h3><br /><br />Alexandra Kenin, a Google Mobile product marketing manager said "<em>For advertisers, mobile image ads serve as a branding tool and have shown to have good click-through rates</em>".<br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0SLWIbY5_vU/SBUUw53f9RI/AAAAAAAAABs/WfbUHHwIuFI/s320/google_mobile_ad_formats.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194080575641613586" /><br /><br />Slow and costly device connections and small screens have kept a restricted the development of mobile advertising, but new opportunities arose when <strong>Apple’s iPhone</strong> was release proving what could be achieved.<br /><br />You can find a samples and a demo on the <a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-mobile-image-ads.html">Google mobile blog</a>. <br /><a href="http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9926580-1.html">Crave</a> recently posted ...<br /><blockquote>Apple's iPhone has shown what's possible. Increasingly widespread Wi-Fi makes it possible to bypass mobile-phone network operators. And initiatives such as Intel's Mobile Internet Device and Google's Android could lead to a new generation of devices. <br /><br />During last week's conference call to discuss quarterly financial results, Google co-founder Sergey Brin was bullish about the opportunity to bring advertising to the mobile Web. </blockquote><br /><br />Although mobile advertising is not new, Google's renewed focus on this platform for mobile display ads is generating excitement in the community. There are many more mobile phones with mobile web capability than there are PCs worldwide. The task now is to get consumers and businesses using mobile web. The iPhone is helping to generate interest in this market.<br /><br />Last year I posted about <a href="http://jasonmcintyre.blogspot.com/2007/12/google-to-acquire-motorola.html">Google's Android operating system</a>. Once mobile phones launch with Android as the OS - the mobile web will be is a single click away. You can see Google is lining up all its ventures for the mobile search market with the ability to include mobile ads with each search.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-60771289023378130852008-04-23T20:21:00.004+10:002008-04-23T20:31:53.640+10:00Digital and Mainstream Media ConvergenceI was thinking it is probably too late to write about the convergence of mainstream and digital media in any way other than from a historical perspective. That is how fast the process is unfolding. Digital media has forever changed the way we look, listen and learn. How long will it be until the term <strong>Mainstream Media</strong> means digital media?<br /><br />Recently I made some comments about the <a href="http://jasonmcintyre.blogspot.com/2008/01/commentary-of-australian-media.html">convergence of media in Australia</a>.<br /><br />In the short amount of time between the invention of the World Wide Web in 1990 and today, traditional, or mainstream media, has been turned upside down. Here are just a few examples.<br /><ul><br /><li>You can watch television on the Internet and you can access the Internet on your television.</li><br /><br /><li>Record labels watch recording artists defect to the Internet to sell their music directly to fans, and fans listen to their favorite music on their MP3 players.</li><br /><br /><li>Threatened by the alarming increase in digital music delivery devices, <a href="http://jasonmcintyre.blogspot.com/2008/02/australian-media-landscape.html">broadcast radio stations</a> are busy re-engineering so they can stream their shows and music to the Internet and MP3 players.</li><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.aleron.com.au/10-reasons-your-website-needs-RSS.html<br />">RSS news feeds</a> and blogs have replaced newspapers in millions of homes around the world and now you can watch your television news show in your browser any time of the day or night.</li><br /></ul><br />Traditional media delivery mechanisms, such as the radio, newspaper, television and theatre screen, have been thoroughly changed by the digital revolution. The change is so great, in fact, that many media experts are predicting the demise of the traditional media, or at least the demise of their current format.<br /><br />For example, digital cameras and film have transformed the cinema and never before have independent film producers been such a large part of the mainstream. And it is exactly the fact that Indies are becoming mainstream that illustrates my point that the convergence is not just beginning, it is nearly complete.<br /><br />It is only a matter of time, a very short time, until a wireless Internet-connected device, most likely no bigger than an iPod™, will deliver all of the new mainstream media right to the palm of your hand.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-57766800026903703442008-04-07T14:26:00.006+10:002008-04-07T16:48:26.397+10:00New Google Analytics Features (Trends, Internal Search & Outbound Links)I opened Google Analytics last week and was thrilled with the latest release. We can now highlight trends in website performance easily by clicking on the Month link. The <a href="http://analytics.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-graphing-options-by-week-and-by.html">Google Analytics team</a> posted the announcement of a few new features<br /><br /><h3>Google Analytics - Trend Graphs</h3><br />Comparing daily and monthly graphs helps easily reveal trends on your website.<br /><br /><br /><em>Daily View</em><br /><br /><br /><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CkizHsl86-c/R_XXkhQRhKI/AAAAAAAAAC0/HUu4mrdw2LU/s400/trend_comparison-by_day-google_analytics.GIF" border="0" alt="Google Analytics Day View" /><br /><br /><br /><em>Monthly View</em><br /><br /><br /><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CkizHsl86-c/R_XYCBQRhLI/AAAAAAAAAC8/ShseSK1C2pw/s400/trend_comparison-by_month-google_analytics.GIF" border="0" alt="Google Analytics" /><br /><br /><br /><h3>Google Analytics - emetrics</h3><br />Another post by the GA team on <a href="http://analytics.blogspot.com/2007/10/exciting-announcements-at-emetrics.html">emtrics</a> reports that event tracking now enables the capturing of events out of the box. These event reports are available as separate reports compared to pageview reports. <br /><br /><h3>Google Analytics - Custom Search</h3><br />With the GA search tracking you can monitor what people<em> search for on your site</em> and where these searches take them. The google analytics team say that "<em>Site Search reports show you the keywords and search refinement keywords people use, the pages from which people begin and end their searches. You can also see how search on your site affects site usage, conversion rates, and e-commerce activity</em>."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.aleron.com.au/search-engine-optimisation/images/GoogleCustomSearch-Aleron.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.aleron.com.au/search-engine-optimisation/images/GoogleCustomSearch-Aleron.JPG" border="0" alt="Google Custom Search" /></a><br /><br />If you have not included a Google Custom Search on your web site <a href="http://www.google.com/coop/cse">click here</a>.<br /><br />Google Analytics helps complete the information gap revealling what your visitors really want. For me this feature provides a tremendous bonus, as we can now see what our visitors are looking for when they come to our sites. <br /><br /><h3>Google Analytics - Javascript Upgrade</h3><br />In order to have these new features you will need to upgrade your Google tracking code throughout your entire site. The new tags will also enable outbound link tracking more easily. If you have problems with the upgrade, you can scan your implementation of the GA code by visiting <a href="http://www.sitescanga.com/">SiteScan by EpikOne</a>. I have used this site for one client implementation and it works very well. Google partnered with a EpikOne to help anyone diagnose any problems.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15312830.post-4098337773563420292008-03-27T22:07:00.003+11:002008-03-27T22:29:25.764+11:00Apple iPhone release 3G bound for Australia and Spain<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://www.gizmodo.com.au/images/2008/03/iphone.jpg" border="0" alt="" />Rumours are abound all over the web regarding the new 3G iPhone. Even though we still have no idea when it will hit our shores, the rampant speculation about who will have the iPhone in Australia continues. Last week it was Telstra that was the favourite to have the iPhone in Australia, thanks to the news that Sensis is developing applications for the iPhone. This weeks it's Optus, because it appears parent company SingTel has the Singaporean distribution rights for the iPhone sewn up, according to <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna/cgi-bin/search/search_7days.pl?status=&search=iphone&id=336081">ChannelNews Asia</a>.<br /><br />Last year LoopRumours said "<em>Wireless technology company InterDigital announced that it signed a seven-year licensing agreement with Apple, Reuters reports.<br /><br />The deal will provide wireless technology for Apple's iPhone and future mobile devices that the company might release.<br /><br />'The deal covers various 2G and 3G cellular technologies encompassing bandwidth allocation, roaming and power efficiency controls, and most likely also includes some type of packet data coding and delivery,' analyst Michael Ciarmoli said</em>".<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/03/rumor-apple-ord.html">Wired</a> recently posted rumours about Apples order for more than 10 million 3G handsets on top of an existing order for 10 million first-generation models, based on an analyst's anonymous source. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23439926-5014239,00.html">Chloe Lake</a> recently posted an article on news.com.au ...<br /><blockquote>IPHONE rumours are heating up again this week with reports Apple has ordered 10 million new 3G handsets to release in the next few months. <br />The reports suggest Australians may be amongst the first to receive the next-generation iPhone model later this year. </blockquote><br /><br />The founder of Digg a social news site, Kevin Rose, fuelled rumours this week by saying a "<em>source</em>" told him the <strong>3G iPhone</strong> was due soon and would include video calling. Kevin Rose explains the "<strong>iPhone Pro</strong>" rumours ...<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uQ6JEs5swKg&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uQ6JEs5swKg&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />Spain, like Australia, missed out on the original iPhone release last year. If the Telefonica rumour is true, then Spain could be one of the first countries to receive the 3G iPhone. <br /><br />Apple has scheduled an Australian iPhone release for 2008 but has not confirmed if this will involve the new 3G model. <br /><br />Local networks Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone are all in hot contention to be the official iPhone carrier when it is released here. <br /><br />Recent rumours from Singapore indicate that SingTel, the parent company of Optus, will release the iPhone in September. The carrier would not confirm or deny that it had signed an agreement with Apple, Channel News Asia reported.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06184164963461057003noreply@blogger.com1