Musings from the High Castle

Holy Zombie Jesus

2009-11-10T14:22:00.004Z

Came across this quote and felt the need to re-gurgitate, word for word

Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.

Someone's not going to like me for that...

How to Present Like Steve

2009-11-05T17:35:00.001Z

There is a great article up on Businessweek that gives some great tips on how to presents sales/pitch slides, outlining how Steve Jobs goes about presenting. If you have to present often, especially sales presentations, then I highly recommend reading the article and getting the accompanying book (from Amazon, no less).

What do Zombies, Frankenstein, Dracula and Jesus have in common?

2009-11-03T12:28:00.002Z

Sweet Zombie Jesus…!

Are Motorola back?

2009-11-02T22:51:00.004Z

Whilst suffering from a bad case of Man Flu, I chanced upon a BGR poll asking users which mobile device they're most looking for. The devices in the poll are:

BlackBerry 9700

Motorola DROID

HTC Droid Eris

Samsung Behold II

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X3

Palm Pixi

Nokia N900

So, naturally I submitted the SE X3 device, which just keeps on looking better and better, especially with a new UI video being leaked. I expected that perhaps the 9700 would be tops of the polls list, considering most of the users are Americans who prefer QWERTY devices and that BGR favours RIM devices, but I was shocked with the Motorola Droid device coming in first with a whopping 47%.

Motorola seem to be coming back with an exclusive device available on the Verizon network that is Android 2.0 and will be able to have the Google Navigation app on it. Coupled with the MotoBlur service available on the device, it does look like the device will be appealing in the States.

There has been alot of Droid advertising in the States and when on holiday last week I saw alot of the Droid ad's on telly, creating a feeding the frenzy without being specific at all in the adverts.

Motorola new set of devices seem to be receiving some very positive press, with T3 magazine stating that the device has great software, but clunky design. This seems to be the case across European journo's, with the American press being more forgiving. It seems that Moto's marketing across Europe is alot more sedate in comparison to what our Yank friends are being subjected to, and perhaps this is the problem. Moto need to create the same buzz across the pond, and they're not

So, will Motorola be back to their fullest - let's hope so: we need more competition out there, and Moto could be the team to bring it back. It seems a shame that Europe won't be as forgiving as the Americans.

New layout, looks purty

2009-11-02T17:17:00.002Z

Props to Vikiworks for the original template

YouTube embeds don't look that good though.

So, what is Google Wave

2009-11-02T17:13:00.003Z

I'm quite curious to find out how Google Wave will actually help productivity overall. Lots of people are talking about it, and only a few people have invites - so how good is it?

Basically, I want an invite. Anyone got one?

Apple Software: A hackers dream

2009-03-03T21:59:00.004Z

Hackers have deemed Safari "easy pickins as usual" in describing how simple it is to hack, as it has always been to hack Apple software

Personally, I'm not that surprised as despite investment in the webkit browsing platform Apple may not have the software chops to create a secure application system that is open to other code. They create very usable and pretty software and hardware, but outside of that they perhaps don't create efficient applications. Perhaps I'm jumping on a bandwagon to gun down Apple software, but I've had to rebuild my iTunes library after the music management software killed it twice in one week, causing problems to my beloved iPhone, which in turn has made me slightly resentful of Apple software in general.

Personally, I say stick to Firefox - a much better secure browser.

And I quote from the above article:

"Every feature an application has is another spot a vulnerability may lay," he writes in an email to The Register. "These features are why I like Safari, but, the drawback is it has a large attack surface."

Eeekk!

So, you know that joke about doing the ironning whilst your phone rings

2009-02-07T21:17:00.001Z

Denial Fail

2009-02-07T21:14:00.001Z

Seriously, it's because of people like this that most American's get a bad rap

The Watchmen: the online hype machine begins

2009-02-05T10:07:00.001Z

With cool videos and the http://www.thenewfrontiersman.net/ The New Frontiersman site launching, the Watchmen hype is looking pretty cool. The old shots in the video of the 1930's costumed adventruers and the Owlship quelling a riot is awesome.

This reminds me of the online marketing that was presetn prior to the Dark Knight. That's what gives me hope about the Watchmen - it'll be a damned good flick.

It's been a while

2009-01-28T13:35:00.002Z

Lots happening in RL at the moment, what with the possibility of a new job soon enough, and a wicked trip to Australia under my belt, I've not had much chance to blog. Until I saw this.

http://www.quagmire-it.com

The site allows you to view any wep page through the eyes of Glenn Quagmire.

Giggity, giggity...

About time...

2008-11-05T12:06:00.001Z

Batman R.I.P.

2008-09-03T20:47:00.001+01:00

I'm a big comic book fan - have been for many years, with Batman being my favourite character. I first picked up Batman when I was very young in India, no less. My gran had a stack of old books and magazines from when people who had visited from abroad had left behind, and one of them was a Batman graphic novel. I read the book from cover to cover and was hooked. I'm watching Batman: Gotham Knight in HD as we speak.

The point behind the above: Grant Morrison is currently penning a Batman story in the funnies called Batman RIP. It's supposed to turn the Batman mythology on it's head, something that's so shocking it reaches to the core of the Batman over the past 70 years - since Bob Kane wrote the origin story where Bruce Wayne's parents were killed in front of him.

Grant Morrison has done a fantastic job in reinventing and adding new life to comic book franchises, especially with the X-Men and Superman, so I have full faith that what'll happen in Batman will be interesting. However, I don't think what'll happen will be good for the Batman franchise and will result in another reboot 5 years from now.

So, the basic plot behind Batman RIP is that there is a new big bad in town who is tormenting Batman at both an emotional and physical level - very similar to Bane when he broke Batman's back about 15 years ago. Very similar executions to break the Bat, but different motivations. It's unclear who the Black Glove is, but I think that the big revelation will be that Thomas Wayne was shot but never killed - for some reason. This will cause major repercussions for the extended Bat family, with Nightwing becoming Batman, Jason Todd becoming Red Robin, and the DC universe heading one step closer to the future that was penned in Kingdom Come - especially with Magog coming back in the latest JSA funny book and Final Crisis stating that evil has won, creating a bleak DCU.

We have a couple months to go before we get the final outcome, but I think when the big reveal is shown then it'll make the news. And I wonder how this will affect the Batman movie and TV franchise - it probably won't, but we'll be stuck with 2 different versions to the origin of the Bat, something that'll probably confuse any nippers I will have, as they'll be baby comic book geeks.

Will Adobe convert users away from MSFT to Linux?

2008-08-21T15:03:00.002+01:00

So, John Dvorak reckons that if Adobe were to port it's Creative Suite across to Linux it would be a shot across MSFT's bow and cause users to switch to Linux.

What the hell is he smoking, cos I want some. What absolute crap - articles like this aren't well thought out and are generally great for creating some form of buzz around Dvorak.

Idiot 1: Dude, did you see, Dvorak reckon's Microsoft can be sunk.

Idiot 2 : Rightous ma, now hand me the bong...

Let's rewind the clock. Adobe used to only create it's software for the Apple platform, as this was the platform of choice for designer (general comment on high level view of the situation as I wasn't really around). But then something changed and they started to develop for Microsoft - most probably as more and more companies were rolling out PC's across their workforce and these were invariably we're on the Windows platform. So, designer and creatives were slowly being made to move from Apple and PC. You'd have thought this would cause an uproar, but generally most of my creative friends don't mind using a PC. Some use a mac, but are happy to create using either platform.

So the question is, would a creative move towards using Linux as a platform for their day to day work AND to create using Adobe's newly ported wares. I don't think so, as they'd have to get used to using the entire platform - new way to deal with email, word docs, etc, and I don't think that the mainstream are ready for that. Sure, you'll have some l33t creatives who'll want for this port and will jump on that bandwagon, but these early adopters will be a small segment of the general population

Now, if Adobe could work with Ubuntu and A N Other set of corporations to have solutions in place to replace Office, networking, etc for the Ubuntu platform and make it even easier to use and roll it out, then they're on to something. But in the mid to long term, they haven't got a chance in penetrating Microsoft segment. There are companies like Pixar that need high-end computing to create digital effects use Linux as their base os, but again this is a niche market and these companies use bespoke software (I think) to create the visuals, something that Adobe can't do as yet.

Suggesting that Adobe Create an near-dedicated machine for creatives and designers alike to use and then suggest that this strategy would keep Microsoft of it's tail: Dvorak is smoking something else

Time to shift allegances: from Star Wars to Star Trek

2008-08-19T16:31:00.001+01:00

(image courtesy of http://hijinksensue.com/ - very funny webcomic)

So, there's a new Star Wars film out in the real world. And no-one gives a damn. Seriously. In the real world. How did this happen...?

When the original trilogy was re-released, I remember geeks and newbies to Star Wars foaming at the mouth, ravenous to see Lucas transforming his original opus with new special effects to the big screen. Aside from Greedo shooting first, the movies were well received - and why not? They were the classics with new special effects, worth going to the kino to see. Personally, I'm a bigger fan of the original but I can appreciate what was done to the original trilogy to re-image it and to test the waters to see if a prequel trilogy would work. And for Lucas to get richer through merchandising.

Then the prequel's came out. I went to see the Phantom Menace all in the cinema. I even bought the John Williams soundtrack for Phantom Menace. I could look past Nute Gunray, fucking Jar Jar Binks, the "whoopee's" from Jake Lloyd, the stunted dialog, the lack of whismy in the story - the Force is really midichlorian's, fuckin' come on: give us a break - because it was Star Wars. It was a dull story which plodded along, but I could see this was building to something.

We then had Attack of the Clones. Again, another trip to the cinema, but despite a few flash scene with lots of CGI and explosions, I was beginning to have a sour taste in my mouth over the franchise. Revenge of the Sith, despite having the pay off, just didn't fulful our wants and needs from the guy who made fantastic films in the 80s. And I think it all started with Phantom Menace, with the awful characters. There characters with no character development, shitty stereotypical behaviour patterns and a weak story cobbled together has made me bitter about Star Wars. I never knew this would happen.

We had the Clone Wars cartoon, helmed by the genius Tartakovsky, one which really did further what Jedi's can do with the Force, and a show which I think far outclassed the prequels - in fact, I think's it's on par with Empire. So when I heard that there was a Clone Wars animated movie in the works, I was overjoyed.

However, having read recent reviews of the film, I can see I'm in for more of the same. Stereotypical characters to fit certain demographics - a gay hutt, a Miley Cyrus sidekick to "Sky Guy" - in a story that's predictable and only there to line a hack's coffers. Yes, I called George Lucas a hack - he can't create a decent film anymore, and has pissed on not one, but 2 of his franchises with his recent offerings.

I can humbly state that I'm no longer a fan of Star Wars, just that I appreciate 3 films out of 8 0 I'm guessing you can no longer be a fan of a franchise if you only like 37.5% of it's offerings.

I can see that fanboys across the internet's will be moving their allegance from Wars to Trek in the coming months. One franchise is going down in flames, whilst the other is rising from the flames phoenix like thanks to JJ Abrahms. Will Trek be the new War's? I dunno, but all the buzz around the casting and teaser posters leaves me willing to ditch my lightsabre and pick up a tricorder (but not go the whole hog with the spock ears, I'm a grown up, after all). Will others feel the same way over the coming months? Will Trekkie's come out of the closer whilst Star Wars fans will fade back into the closet? Time will tell.

I still hope that the future of Star Wars is rosy, but I think it needs to lay fallow for a while. It worked for Star Trek... Mind you, The Force Unleashed demo is out on Thursday which looks pretty good - that's something from the Star Wars fold that I am genuinely looking forward too

So very looking forward to the Dark Knight

2008-07-19T00:23:00.003+01:00

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Supposedly, The Dark Knight is the best superhero flick out there. Heath Ledger up for a posthumous oscar? Who knows... but next Friday can't come soon enough

World's highest standard of living

2008-07-13T23:08:00.001+01:00

Apt, considering the news over the weekend

Google Android fun

2008-07-12T22:11:00.005+01:00

Work is good. Had some very productivite meetings with our Android guys yesterday: geek heaven. And now enjoying some much needed downtime.

drunk in tootin'

2008-07-12T22:11:00.004+01:00

blurg

Firefox 3 is out

2008-06-17T21:54:00.001+01:00

What're you reading this for. Click and get the fastest browser out there now
It's a lot more of a fun browsing experience that IE or Safari or Opera. And the add-ons extend your browsing experience.

My car in Chicago

2008-06-11T16:25:00.002+01:00

The last time I was in the mothership outside of Chicago I was given this nippy number. Boot size was rubbish, but boy was it fun driving with the top down. Felt like a million (pink) bucks...!

No fog on the Tyne

2008-06-11T16:23:00.002+01:00

Newscastle truly was stunning. The Thinking Digital conference a couple of weeks ago was a good excuse to drink Newcy brown and talk about the digital mobile landscape with industry leaders. Good networking fun for all. I'll post some links to tidbits I was involved in soon.

The camera phone to get

2008-06-11T10:46:00.002+01:00

With all the hype surrounding the iPhone release, Sony Ericsson has "leaked" images and specs of it's 8MP Cybershot hero product. It's a pretty full featured device

8.1 MP camera with AF with Xenon flash and additional imaging software

Face recognition software
“Smart Contrast”
Image Stabilisation
BestPic
Red Eye reduction

2.4” QVGA TFT display
Accelerometer allowing pictures to automatically display in landscape mode when you tilt the phone
TV-Out
aGPS, which will allow Geo-tagging of your pics
WiFi
HSDPA
DLNA Support - so you can stream to your Xbox 360 (for example)
104 x 49 x 19.5 mm, weighing 136 grams
2GB memory stick bundled

The phone, codenamed Shiho, will be available by early Q4 this year in 3 colours: copper gold, ice silver and night black. No word on price but you can expect it to come in at around $400 at launch with an aggressive price erosion plan to get it into pre-pay by Q4 09.

Looks like SE are going for the converged N95-esque devices in a big way. Its a pretty sweet product, fully featured. Let's hope they get the software right and make it easy to use

Making sense of the Semantic web

2008-06-10T12:01:00.002+01:00

Nova Spivack at The Next Web Conference 2008.

Possibly the best presentation and explanation on the Semantic Web. Nova Spivack (founder of Twine) makes understanding how we get to a true Web 4.0 experience simple

Annnnnnnd that's what I'm going to be working on this afternoon

2008-06-09T22:16:00.002+01:00

Jim tormenting Dwight adds the icing on the cake on the American version of the Office

Is it better than the Ricky Gervais version? I think so, but only because it's had more seasons to develop