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For a long time there have been disagreements of where the line is drawn between communities who produce software and companies who invest in those communities and their software. Based upon a shot suggestion from Félim Whiteley, Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore where the line could be drawn, the challenges in attitudes that we face and whether we could ever find inner peace between community and company.

Remember, you are the next step in the conversation and we are absolutely gagging to hear your thoughts! What do you think? Can a fair balance be drawn between community and company? Can companies do the right thing? Do communities give companies too much of a raw deal? Are all companies fundamentally evil? Should there even be a line? Share your thoughts in the show comments below…

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Bugs are part and parcel of software: human beings make software, and human beings make mistakes. Handling this influx of defects, errors and oopses is a complex job in itself, but the real challenge is how we bridge the gap between developers and users. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore the nuances of how we bridge this gap, whether it is possible and what opportunities we face if we get it right.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are the very start of the conversation, so let’s dial up the heat and make this a rocking conversation by you good folks sharing your thoughts on how we bridge the bug gap. What do you think? What is your experience with bug reporting, how do you think it can be improved? What are your observations on the cultural differences between developers and users? Join the conversation in the shot comments below…

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In a world overflowing with data and networks in which information doubles in size seemingly every day, programming has had to change, banishing conventional procedural programming for asynchronously written apps able to handle information whenever it arrives without causing problems. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore how important async is, and why it is just so confusing to so many coders.

Remember, we are just the very start of the conversation! What do you think? Is async really that hard? Is it really that important? What is your experience with going async? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

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With the Open Source world riddled with opportunity for building software solutions for all manner of problems, Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore whether there is a market for hobbyist plug and play hardware projects that don’t require you to string together capacitors and resistors but can do genuinely cool things such as the BaconSinkVision.

Remember, we are the very start of the conversation! What do you think? Do you have similar needs to Jono? Do you think it would be fun or useful to be able to build these kinds of home-brew projects? Do you think a market exists for this kind of need? Do you know of a company who is already doing this? Do you want to build Jono the BaconSinkVision because he isn’t clever enough? Share your thoughts in the comments below…

balpha has created a winning page that outlines his/her success in including a Shot Of Jaq easter egg in an app. From the page:

Unicornify is a little fun project of mine that works very much like Gravatar’s identicons or monsterids. Given an MD5 hash, usually of an email address, it creates a random picture of a unicorn. Although it’s random, it will always be the same one each time the same hash is passed.

So here’s the easter egg: When you pass the hash b29b9f53a6358fae8f59237c182a45fb, which happens to be the MD5 hash of the SOJ feedback email address, you will not, as in any other case, have a picture of one unicorn, but two. And those are the unicorns created from the hashes of Jono’s and Aq’s addresses. Here’s a high-quality version of the picture — which you can’t get through the web service, but I can.

balpha even includes a code snippet as proof. Rocking work balpha, and great to see another shot on the Publicity Bingo Grid!

Inspired? Do you want to show off your kudos to the Shot Of Jaq community and succeed in acheiving one of the Shot Of Jaq Publicity Bingo Stunts? Well, go to the Publicity Bingo Grid, pick something, rock it and let us know!

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Within the hidden war inside software companies between agitated sysadmins and frustrated developers, Paul Hammond and John Allspaw from Flickr want to stop the madness. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore whether two old warring enemies can find peace and what needs to be done.

Remember, we are just the very, very start of the conversation! What do you think? Are you a sysadmin? Are you a developer? How do you think we can help code writing and server deploying friends seek peace, or don’t you think a problem exists in the first place? Do you think it can be solved or will the personalities never meet in the middle? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

For the last few months Alistair ‘b1ackcr0w’ Munroe started work on putting together 100 ambitious, fun, and slightly bonkers ideas for spreading awareness of Shot Of Jaq and our wonderful community. The idea is simple: pick an idea, do it, share your idea and have a tonne of fun in the process.

Well, the final list of ideas is complete, and we are now looking to you good people to check it out, pick one and rock it. Each idea that is completed will get a blog entry on the Shot Of Jaq homepage. We can’t wait to see how you all get on.

We already have two ideas complete before the announcement:

• Name a family pet “Shot of Jaq” – claimed By B1ackcr0w
• The Shot of Jaq Big Screen Challenge – won by fanatikjim

Great work, folks!

Go and pick an idea here!

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In our fourth Jaqback, Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge read out your letters, share your Shot Of Jaq ideas, and discuss other happenings going inside the awesome Shot Of Jaq community.

Remember, we are the very first part of the conversation. What do you think about the opinions and ideas shared from the Shot Of Jaq listeners in this show? Share your thoughts in the show comments below…

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Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge get their hands on some Google Nexus One phones and feed them into the brand new Review Of Jaq reviewing machine. We take Google’s new device through a Krypton Factor-esque set of challenges over the course of the week and report back with our verdict.

Of course, we are the very, very, very beginning of the conversation, and we are looking to you good people to share your thoughts on the Google Nexus One. Have you got one, and if so, what do you think? Are there any unanswered questions that we didn’t cover in the shot that we can answer in the comments? Share your thoughts in the comments below…

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At the heart of the success of many communities are loud, public and well known voices that sometimes take on an almost celebrity like status among fans and contributors to the community. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore whether these denizens of the cult of personality really bring value to a project, what opportunities they bring and what risks they face.

Remember, we are just the start of the conversation! What do you think? What are you experiences with the cult of personality in the communities you are interested in? Do you think these personalities are critical to a community’s success, or do you think we should get away them altogether? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

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When Google Wave was first announced back in May 2009, the hype-o-meter almost went off the scale. While bollocking Google is the new black, Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge have a play with wave, explore it and talk about whether the hype is justified, what it’s opportunities are and what Wave needs to do to succeed.

Of course, we are the very beginning of the conversation. What do you think? Have you played with Wave? What did you think? Did you use it for anything other than type ‘here is a test of wave’? Do you think Wave will change the way we communicate? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

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In recent years we have seen more and more focus on The Pirate Party, with particular growth in Sweden and significant progress being made in the areas of copyright. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore the rising popularity of The Pirate Party, discuss whether single issue groups are more effective as parties or lobbyist groups and whether the focus on changes in copyright law should be focused on content owners or government.

Of course, we are only the very beginning of the discussion. What do you think? Are The Pirate Party fullifilling a valuable role as a party? What do you think they could and should be doing to help their cause? What do you think of single-issue parties and lobbyist groups? What can be done to create better and fairer laws around copyright? Let us know your thoughts in the show comments below…

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Towards the latter part of 2009, everyone’s favorite database MySQL was embroiled in controversy as it’s co-founder Michael ‘Monty’ Widenius opened a can of Finnish whoop-ass on Oracle trying to block it’s acquisition of Sun and subsequently, MySQL. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore Monty’s approach, assess allegations of hypocrisy and discuss possible causes for Monty’s dissent of Oracle and their future stewardship of MySQL.

Of course, we are only the start of the discussion. What do you think? Was Monty hypocritical in his approach or was he genuinely acting on a possible threat to MySQL? Was differences in business culture at play, paranoia, money or something else? Let us know your thoughts in the shot comments below…

Two pieces of fun Shot Of Jaq news to share with shotters everywhere.

Firstly, we have our very first Shot Of Jaq merch action shot, shown above on the left. This was sent in by Julie Bernstein who snapped herself up the Shot Of Jaq Tank Top. It is awesome to see folks supporting the show buy grabbing some cool merch. T-Shirts, Mugs, Stickers and more are all at the Shot Of Jaq Store. Importantly, when when (not if) you buy something, don’t forget to add it to our March Action Shots Scratchpad Page!

Secondly, a mysterious Shot Of Jaq fan has proposed a little fun competition for us to play called T5. The goal is simple: display the Shot Of Jaq logo on the largest screen you can find, take a picture and submit to the Scratchpad page. Treenaks has the record right now with the Shot Of Jaq logo on a 42″ flat panel (shown in the pic above). Can you do better? More details of how to get involved are here.

While we are at it, don’t forget to add your ideas for shots to this Scratchpad page and add your ideas for sublime, fun and ridiculous publicity stunts to this Scratchpad page. Fun times, friends!

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When we are pumped up and excited about what we are doing, we get lots done and enjoy doing what we do. This is known as being in the zone. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore what the zone is, how to get in it, and how you figure out what gets you in the zone to have a more fun and productive experience doing what you are doing.

Remember, this is the start of the conversation! What gets you in the zone? Follow our little game that we outline in the shot and let us know what you find out! what are your experiences of getting yourself in the mental headspace to be your most creative and productive? Let us know in the shot comments below…

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In the follow up to our previous shot about life online Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge continue the discussion about how to manage a seemingly endless array of data online from email to micro-blogging to feed readers to documents and more and the many and sundry privacy and convenience issues that are involved. In a world filled with detail, can we strike a balance between safe and simple?

Remember, this is the beginning of the conversation, and we want to hear your thoughts! What are your views on the privacy, freedom and convenience issues surrounding online web services, and how do you feel we get a good balance? Should we bypass the web in search of local fat clients, and what solutions could resolve these issues? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

With the Shot Of Jaq community growing more and more with every shot, we have had some requests for merchandise. As such, we have now opened up the Shot Of Jaq Store where you can get your hands on some official Shot Of Jaq gear. This is a great way to show off your Shot Of Jaq cred and support the show with a small donation from every sale.

To kick things off we have a special incentive for our first merch rock stars. The first three Shot Of Jaq fans to buy a product from the store and send us a photo of you holding or wearing it, will get an opportunity to join Aq and I and listen to a shot being recorded live. This is a great opportunity to experience a shot being recorded and hang out with us in the recording session. So, go and grab some merch ASAP and mail your photos to us at talktous AT shotofjaq DOT org!

Visit the Shot Of Jaq Store here!

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With many of us spending increasing amounts of time plugged into our laptops and servers, in this first of a two-shot series, Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore how we balance our online and offline lives, the heath implications, and the challenges that face us with mobile devices and how to get away.

Of course, this shot is just the start of the conversation. What do you think? How much time do you spend online? How do you get away? Have you experienced depression or burnout from being in front of your computer too much? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

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Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge read your letters, answer your questions and talk about the goings on and news in the always awesome Shot Of Jaq community.

We are always keen to hear your thoughts, opinions and ideas for the show. Be sure to join the conversation in the shot comments below…

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The ‘Open Source Build Your Own Media Station’ world has seen many different incarnations of software to play back media, record TV, and access online content. Unfortunately, said incarnations have been a royal pain the arse to install. One flavour that is shaking things up is Boxee and it’s D-Link hardware Boxee Box. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge take apart the Boxee phenomenon and explore if it has legs to bring the video revolution to us all.

Of course, our shot is just the start of the conversation and we look to you lovely people to continue the discussion in the shot comments below. Does Boxee show promise? How do other DVR software projects compare? What is your experience of Boxee and similar hardware boxes? Where do you see the future of digital video? share your thoughts below…

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With the recent news of Google re-evaluating it’s presence in China, Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge dive into the issue and explore whether Google has unwittingly become a pawn in a global political game.

What do you think? Is Google making a brave or dangerous move with it’s decision? This shot is merely the start of the conversation…share your thoughts below and let’s get to the heart of the issue together…

The whole point of Shot Of Jaq is to build a conversation and collaboration driven community around the show. As we re-iterate in every shot, we are the start of the conversation: ten minutes of short, sharp and fun discussion that we hope leads to continued conversation on www.shotofjaq.org.

Since the show started, some community members have been looking to have a place in which they can work together on projects in and around Shot Of Jaq and we have not had such a resource available. We didn’t want to just throw up a wiki, disconnected and disjointed from the main Shot Of Jaq website…we wanted to re-think it. We now have a solution: the Shot Of Jaq Scratchpad.

The scratchpad works a little like this:

• You can go to the scratchpad and without having to register or login, type in a name for your page into a box and a page will be created for you.
• There, you and other Shot Of Jaq fans can work together to share information, collaborate an otherwise be fun community people. There are plenty of options for adding markup, tables, images and lots more to make your page as rocking as possible.
• Discussion about your project and page is integrated in a special way: when you create the page it will also generate a hashtag (e.g. #soj_h) which you can use on Twitter and identi.ca. All messages on Twitter and identi.ca containing the hashtag will appear in the sidebar on your scratchpad page. Sweet, eh.

The Shot Of Jaq Scratchpad provides a simple way in which you can create content, work together and projects and discuss said content and projects on Twitter and identi.ca and have it all integrated together, right here on www.shotofjaq.org, and none of it require frustrating user accounts, sign-ups and more.

So, with our new feature ready to roll, what kind of content and projects can you use it for? Here are just a few ideas:

• Spreading The Word – we are really keen to help share each shot far and wide. We want people to join us in the conversation, but we need you folks to help spread the word. A page on how to publicise each shot would be awesome, with tips and tricks for our community members to use.
• Transcriptions – for our deaf Shot Of Jaq fans, it would be fantastic to have transcriptions, and fortunately because shots are so short, they are not too much work.
• Outreach Project – we have talked in the Shot Of Jaq Chat Channel about coming up with some stunts and ideas to spread awareness of the show – the scratchpad is a great place to scheme about this kind of thing!
• Resources – want to create Shot Of Jaq website buttons, banners and other material? Add them to the scratchpad!
• Your ideas go here…!

So ladies and gents, rock out with your pad out.

Doing this is dead simple. First go to this Facebook page and you should see this:

Select Shot Of Jaq from the Select a Page drop down box and the second box will have code you can take to plonk on your website.

Don’t forget to join the Shot Of Jaq Facebook Fan Page here!

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The Skype phenomenon has arguably changed the way people stay in touch, bringing people together around the world for next to nothing. With alternatives often requiring users to jump through technical hoops, Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge discuss whether the war is over with the crown presented to Skype.

Remember, we are the start of the conversation. What do you think? Join in the discussion in the comments below…

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Google’s first phone, the Nexus One was released to much pomp and ceremony this week. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge step back from the glossy press photos and discussions of the device itself and instead explore what knock on effect Google’s new offering could have on the cellular industry.