Google Buzz

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-11-08T05:55:37.279Z

Orcas in San Carlos - igroklinux's YouTube Activity - I favorited a YouTube video: Friday Nov 4, we were aboard the Ocean Spirit (owned by Ocean Sports). We were right off Tetakawi outside of the marina in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico in the Sea of Cortez. Our captain Ernesto spotted several Orcas. We were having a great encounter...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-11-08T05:55:17.561Z

Orcas and dolphins - igroklinux's YouTube Activity - I favorited a YouTube video: Orcas playing in the wake of the Ocean Spirit. (Off Tetakowi in San Carlos, Mexico) Then the dolphins come into range and the orcas take out after them. The dolphins jump out of the water en masse, look closely towards the shorline. There are hund...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-11-07T20:10:19.921Z

Catherine Austin Fitts : Deliberate Implosion of the U.S. Economy (FL-HQ) - igroklinux's YouTube Activity - I favorited a YouTube video: http://www.infowars.com/catherine-austin-fitts-the-looting-of-america/ http://solari.com http://www.prisonplanet.tv (56 Minutes) Former Assistant Secretary of Housing under George H.W. Bush Catherine Austin Fitts blows the whistle on how the f...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-10-25T02:18:06.000Z

Testing... 1... 2... 3... Mason Pirk and Bailey Bootthanoo report the option to access buzz is gone for them. Did this post?

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-10-24T07:11:18.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Designed Obsolescence vs. 100 year life cycle of HumanCar - "The next electric car"

@abpccpba I hear they have a highway safe version now. See this video:
Search YouTube for "Human Car Discussion Series part 4 On board generation system & E4 Sedan" in the humancar section. I cannot paste the url here.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-10-24T07:11:17.366Z

Designed Obsolescence vs. 100 year life cycle of HumanCar - "The next electric car" - igroklinux's YouTube Activity - I commented on a YouTube video: @abpccpba I hear they have a highway safe version now. See this video: Search YouTube for "Human Car Discussion Series part 4 On board generation system & E4 Sedan" in the humancar section. I cannot paste the url here.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-10-14T15:30:48.653Z

Hot off the KEXP live performance podcast feed. For a Minor Reflection plays some awesome instrumental tracks at this years Iceland Airwaves festival.
This is one you will want to upload to Google Music ;-]

For a Minor Reflection (Live at Iceland Airwaves) - KEXP Live Performances Podcast

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-09-30T20:41:45.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Tales of the Tube, Episode 4

Thank you for doing this.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-09-30T20:41:41.406Z

Tales of the Tube, Episode 4 - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-08-22T04:52:03.038Z

Google+ Update: Verification Badges for Profiles - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-08-22T04:52:02.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Google+ Update: Verification Badges for Profiles

@geraldtpokemon - yep, me too. I like normal or typical a lot better ;-]

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-08-21T21:30:13.172Z

Google+ Update: Verification Badges for Profiles - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-08-21T21:30:12.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Google+ Update: Verification Badges for Profiles

@geraldtpokemon I have my verified name status back, and I am pretty ordinary.
;-]

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-08-21T21:27:13.908Z

Google+ Update: Verification Badges for Profiles - igroklinux's YouTube Activity - I commented on a YouTube video: @koya25555 in Buzz, Google "offered" a way to get verified by credit card (your "verified" name had to match that on the card). A person could link their Gmail username with Google's knol site. This site offered a name verification process with Go...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-08-21T21:27:12.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Google+ Update: Verification Badges for Profiles

@koya25555 in Buzz, Google "offered" a way to get verified by credit card (your "verified" name had to match that on the card). A person could link their Gmail username with Google's knol site. This site offered a name verification process with Go...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-08-21T16:56:34.000Z

I favorited a YouTube video - Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world

http://www.ted.com Kevin Slavin argues that we're living in a world designed for -- and increasingly controlled by -- algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine: espionage tactics, stoc...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-08-21T16:56:33.319Z

Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world - igroklinux's YouTube Activity - I favorited a YouTube video: http://www.ted.com Kevin Slavin argues that we're living in a world designed for -- and increasingly controlled by -- algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine: espionage tactics, stoc...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google chat status

2011-08-15T16:12:24.000Z

O... M... G... Google bought Motorola. That is so cool.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-07-27T19:49:24.825Z

O'Reilly OSCON Data 2011, Steve Yegge, "What Would You Do With Your Own Google?" - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-07-27T19:49:23.000Z

I favorited a YouTube video - O'Reilly OSCON Data 2011, Steve Yegge, "What Would You Do With Your Own Google?"

O'Reilly OSCON Data 2011, Steve Yegge, "What Would You Do With Your Own Google?"

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-07-23T21:18:12.180Z

RUN FROM THE CURE - Full Version - igroklinux's YouTube Activity - I favorited a YouTube video: The following presentation of RUN FROM THE CURE: The Rick Simpson Story was made possible by Rick Simpson and video producer Christian Laurette... made for free to teach YOU how to heal yourself of disease and illness using cannabinoids. Commen...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-07-23T21:18:11.000Z

I favorited a YouTube video - RUN FROM THE CURE - Full Version

The following presentation of RUN FROM THE CURE: The Rick Simpson Story was made possible by Rick Simpson and video producer Christian Laurette... made for free to teach YOU how to heal yourself of disease and illness using cannabinoids.

Commen...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-07-14T23:35:38.720Z

Spaceshipone flight - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-07-14T23:29:51.000Z

I favorited a YouTube video - Spaceshipone flight

Compilation of the two flights which won the X-Prize for the Scaled-Composites team.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-07-08T19:17:40.984Z

Climb Dance (High Quality) - igroklinux's YouTube Activity - I favorited a YouTube video: This award winning short film documents Ari Vatanen's record-breaking run at the 1988 annual Pike's Peak Hill Climb Event in Colorado. The film was created by Jean Louis Mourey and captures Vatanen climbing Pike's Peak in a four wheel drive, four ...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-07-08T19:17:38.000Z

I favorited a YouTube video - Climb Dance (High Quality)

This award winning short film documents Ari Vatanen's record-breaking run at the 1988 annual Pike's Peak Hill Climb Event in Colorado. The film was created by Jean Louis Mourey and captures Vatanen climbing Pike's Peak in a four wheel drive, four ...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google chat status

2011-06-29T04:14:00.000Z

Holy crap, Google+ and Circles is friggin' huge. Add Yahoo and Hotmail friends to Circles. I told you!

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Mobile

2011-06-28T19:26:55.000Z

I love the Washington department of licensing. Walkers, a free clerk said "May I help you? "

Handed her the title on the fj40 that has been unregistered for 2 years, gave her my license, and had tabs and new plates in under 2 minutes. $72 this year because I had to buy replacement plates. Quick and affordable.

That is speedy service. Hat/ tip!

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-28T09:20:51.000Z

Craig Chaquico /tʃəˈkiːsoʊ/ chə-kee-soh (born September 26, 1954) is an American guitarist of Portuguese and Native American descent. He has had over thirty years of success in a variety of genres: in the 1970s with the post-Summer of Love Jefferson Starship,[1] in that band's 1980s incarnation, Starship, and in the 1990s and 2000s as a contemporary jazz and New Age solo artist.

The track that will bring back memories is the Find Your Way Back. A killer acoustic remix of the Starship hit sung by Grace Slick.

How the heck did the goo dot gl link get converted into whatever that language is? LOL

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-28T06:36:03.000Z

Full screen text and video chat tabs - Google Chrome 13.0.782.37 Chrome OS 587.43 (Official Build) dev-channel x86-mario.
Pics or it didn't happen...

I was like Why can't I open a chat tab with Bailey Bootthanoo? Duuuuh... What is that tab with the green chat dot labeled Bailey?
/headsmack

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-06-28T06:23:48.000Z

Chromebook

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-06-28T06:17:29.000Z

Chromebook

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-06-27T19:53:57.000Z

The new back fence

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-06-27T19:17:57.000Z

The new back fence

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-06-27T19:16:10.000Z

1965 FJ40

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-06-27T15:59:34.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Janelle Monae performs Tightrope live at Glastonbury 2011

I was first introduced to Janelle Monae at the 2010 Pop conference in Seattle. Her speech and how she approaches music blew me away. So much given back to the community..

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-06-27T15:59:27.058Z

Janelle Monae performs Tightrope live at Glastonbury 2011 - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-06-27T03:55:28.000Z

1971 FJ40

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-06-27T03:36:46.000Z

The new back fence

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-06-27T03:30:48.000Z

1971 FJ40

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-26T21:48:44.000Z

Film Info and Reviews - Chrome Webstore. This extension was created by my friend Vigneshwaran Raveendran, and when I saw it, I was more than happy to buzz it. This one might be a good choice for stephanie wanamaker.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/0FQnCwKE79pWKJUJtczvW-r-fszSH1dBsVLcXm11j3RL5Pb4oWk3pIuT9y0u8aOOMoMhwF1O=s400-e365-h275

From the install page:
Currently 10 sites are supported:
1. IMDB...........................................(user reviews, ratings and various info)
2. Wikipedia.....................................(full info and summary)
3. RottenTomatoes............................(critics reviews)
4. Roger Ebert @ suntimes.com.........(Top critic)
5. Flixster.........................................(Ratings, reviews and trailers)
6. Allrovi...........................................(info and reviews)
7. Metacritic.....................................(Reviews and Ratings)
8. Netflix..........................................(Watch online or rent for $$)
9. BoxOfficeMojo..............................(Release and Box office details)
10. MovieReviews.............................(Yet another review site)

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-26T19:05:52.000Z

Google Ads, Antitrust, and Sour Grapes

http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000874.html

A couple of days ago, in "'J' is for Jealousy: FTC Investigating
Google" I suggested that the recently announced FTC antitrust
investigation of Google is being largely driven essentially by jealous
competitors, and that plenty of competition -- trivial to quickly
access -- is available if Google is not your choice
( http://j.mp/ms1nQz [Lauren's Blog] ).

Today in part two on this topic, let's look at the issue that
generated a number of angry "But what about Google Ads? That's where
the money is!" retorts in my inbox.

Google's ad serving infrastructure is indeed by far the primary
revenue source for the firm. Google pioneered the entire concept of
automated Web ad auctions, placements, and associated search and
keyword based ecosystems.

So let's explore some of the "popular" accusatory complaints regarding
Google and advertising.

--- Complaint: "Google favors its own products in search results" ---

This actually breaks down into two areas -- paid ("Ad") results and
natural ("organic") results.

When it comes to Ad placements, it seems completely reasonable that
Google would wish to promote its other products and services. The
last time I walked into a Home Depot or CVS, their promotions were all
for their own array of goods and other offerings, not for competitors
such as Lowe's or Walgreens!

So an ad text box at the top of specific, relevant search results
noting that, for example, Google Maps is available, doesn't strike me
as inappropriate or unfair, so long as other well-placed ad slots are
available, and natural search results are honest and fair -- and
Google makes an enormous effort to assure the legitimacy of their
organic results, even in the face of continuous external "black hat"
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts by other firms to manipulate
them.

And as far as natural results are concerned, how can we blame Google
if their products organically rise to the top?

For example, I just did a simple, no Web History, not-logged-in query
for "maps" on Google Search. The top natural result is Google Maps,
followed by Yahoo! Maps and MapQuest, with no paid ad above at all.
If I do the same search on Google News, the top result at the moment
is a political story about North Carolina, with a paid Bing Maps ad
above the natural results.

Now let's go over to Microsoft's Bing and do the same search. The
organic results: Google Maps on top, then Yahoo! Maps, then a Bing
Maps image of Santa Clarita, California (not where I am!), then
MapQuest.

Notably, Google Maps is (at this moment) the top natural result for
both Google Search and Bing Search. Since Bing seems unlikely to
favor Google Maps for any nefarious reason, the conclusion seems clear
that for the rankings right now, Google Maps comes out on top, even as
determined by Google's main search competitor.

Google, Bing, and other major search engines work diligently to assure
the veracity of their organic results. To not do so would be
enormously risky and self-destructive. Claims that natural, organic
results are inappropriately favoring Google (or Bing for that matter)
are just patently unreasonable and untrue.

--- Complaint: "Google collects too much information from their ads
and keeps it forever" ---

The nature of Web and Internet technology dictates that servers are
provided with significant data related to user connections and
activities. Google's services cover a wide range, and so Google does
receive a great deal of data.

Of course, your ISP has access to every unencrypted byte that you send
or receive, including commonly unsecured file transfers, P2P
activities, Voice over IP calls, and everything else, including in most
cases knowledge of every Web site and every URL that you visit.

The few giant, dominant U.S. ISPs have access to vastly more
comprehensive data on most Internet users than any single other firm,
including Google.

Ultimately the issue is, do you trust any given entity to handle your
data appropriately? Finding ISP policies on deep packet inspection
(DPI) and related data retention issues can be a challenge.

On the other hand, Google lays out very clearly how long they retain
various kinds of data, and (in direct challenge to the "they keep
everything forever" meme) their schedules for data anonymization and
deletion, which generally seem to strike a good balance to both
protect users and allow for reasonable use of data for security,
quality assurance, and R&D purposes.

If you want something to worry about, spend some time thinking about
governments' efforts around the world, including here in the U.S., to
mandate non-anonymized data retention for "on demand" access by law
enforcement and other agencies.

For that matter, it's certain large ISPs, not Google, that have been
found in the past to be providing user data to various government
organizations on a "nod and a wink" basis, while Google has openly
battled overly broad and legally suspect government data demands.

Now, if someone is going to simply assert that Google is outright
lying about how they handle data (which would be an incredibly stupid
thing for Google to do, and Google people aren't stupid), I'll gladly
point you at conspiracy-oriented Web sites that you might enjoy,
explaining how the moon landings were faked and the concept of
transistors was stolen from a crashed UFO. Happy paranoia.

--- Complaint: "Google Has a Web Ad Monopoly" ---

Google serves a lot of ads on a lot of sites. But a monopoly? Uh,
no. In fact, even a casual look around the Web, including major sites
of all sorts, shows an incredible array of dedicated and shared ad
availabilities and ad networks that are totally unrelated to Google.

Google doesn't have a gun to anyone's head, forcing them to buy or use
Google ads. The fact that so many Web sites and parties wishing to
place ads have chosen to use the Google ad networks is a function of
the perceived value of those ads and conscious decisions to not
similarly patronize other ad systems and networks. If ad buyers chose
to focus their advertising dollars elsewhere, Google competitors would
grow even larger.

In other words, advertisers perceive the Google ad systems as
providing the most "bang for the buck" and as being the most
desirable, and specifically choose to buy Google ads tied to various
Web sites and/or Google search results, instead of buying particular
ads from the many available Google competitors who can also provide
excellent advertising opportunities on a vast array of sites.

Then, because so many advertisers have made the same choice -- because
everyone naturally wants to be top dog -- we hear loud "sour grapes"
complaints since obviously not every advertiser can have their
listings and ads at the apex of results for any given Google search.

Just as users can instantly switch between the Google and Bing search
services, advertisers can similarly "vote with their dollars" and use
non-Google ad services. Those Google competitors run enormous numbers
of ads and they'll be happy to work with you. If you're concerned
about Google having too large a chunk of the ad market, then support
those alternatives.

I can't help but sense an undercurrent of greed in many of the
complaints about Google that have led toward the current FTC
investigation.

Some Google competitors are upset because users and advertisers have
simply found Google's search, ads, email, and other services to be
superior. Perfect? Of course not. On the scale that Google
operates, even a tiny percentage of users having problems is going to
be noticeable, and Google still needs very significant improvements in
its user communications and support structures.

But to an extent unparalleled in the history of human knowledge and
commerce, the ability of persons to easily and quickly choose among
competing services, literally with a few quick finger movements on a
keyboard and mouse, is a major part of what makes the Internet such a
marvel.

The vast majority of Google users of all stripes are extremely happy
with its services, and those who aren't can switch with ease.

The jealousies and sour grapes of Google competitors, other
adversaries, and in many cases greedy advertisers, are the driving
forces that appear to have been the primary triggers behind the FTC's
new investigation of Google.

That this has occurred in today's toxic political environment is
discouraging, but unfortunately not at all surprising. The weaponry
of economic and political destruction is all too easily wielded now,
with little concern for potential collateral damages.

In the case of FTC vs. Google, we will see if saner heads prevail in
the end.

-- Lauren --

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-06-26T18:17:32.298Z

AT120 vs stealth - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-25T03:34:05.000Z

We’re increasing Gmail storage for our Google Apps for Education users from 7 GB to 25 GB.

This is awesome news indeed. You know kids never delete anything these days... I may need it someday...
;-]

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-24T23:35:10.000Z

Oooh! Shiny! My new Chromebook is on the way.

Dear Steve Pirk,

Thanks for coming out to Google I/O this year. We’re excited to pass along details about the Chromebook gift for I/O attendees.

Samsung is pleased to be able to provide each of you with an Arctic White Samsung Chromebook Series 5.

Please log into the Google I/O website by Friday, July 8, 2011 with the confirmation number below and your Google I/O password to receive details on how to receive your Chromebook.

The Samsung and Chrome teams

I should have it by Tuesday, so expect a first look report then. I am totally jazzed it offers full dev mode. w00t!

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-24T20:43:28.000Z

Dev mode available on the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook. w00t! Now you have no reason not to buy a Chromebook Thomas Morffew... Full shell access, ssh, and dual boot.
;-]

Entering Developer Mode

You might want to enter developer mode if you're following the instructions in the Chromium OS Developer Guide, or if you just want to get access to a shell on your device to poke around. Developer mode on the Samsung Series 5 has two levels of access, "dev-switch on" and "dev-mode BIOS". With the first level you enable a command line shell, which lets you look around inside the GNU/Linux operating system, but does not let you run your own versions. The second level of access installs a special BIOS component that provides the ability to boot your own operating systems from either removable (USB/SD) or fixed (SSD) drives. Both levels of access are completely reversible, so don't be afraid to experiment.

omgomgomg....

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-24T04:07:20.000Z

Google Music Manager on Linux. I knew Bailey Bootthanoo could do it. These kids are smart!

I heard the god that we all call Google part is an inside joke, so, nothing to see here... move along...

Mason Pirk - I was just getting ready to tell you to go check code.google.com for any music stuff... Honest! ;-]

p.s.Tracy Crawford - I told you I could teach in a new way ;-]

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-22T07:47:16.000Z

No Buzz for you! Looks like Google Apps Early Adopters do not get Buzz or Profiles on this next round of service additions. Damn, I was hoping some of us could get in on the beta.
[note the highlighted section on Features not available ;-\

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-17T22:10:17.000Z

Shervin Pishevar, founder of the OpenMesh Project on Humans Are The Routers, a look at how the OpenMesh project got started. We need this people. Hat/tip -> Carl Levinson for the original tweet.
;-]

On January 7, 2010 I was ushered into a small private dinner with Secretary Hillary Clinton at the State Department along with the inventor of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google and a few others. We were there to talk about technology and 21st Century Diplomacy. As we mingled I noticed next to me the small table that Thomas Jefferson wrote the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence. I was inspired by the history around us as we discussed the unfolding history before us. I was sitting in front of Secretary Clinton and when she asked me a question I said, “Secretary Clinton, the last bastion of dictatorship is the router.” That night seeded some of the ideas that were core to Secretary Clinton’s important Internet Freedoms Speech on January 21, 2010.

Fast forward almost exactly one year later to January 25, 2011—a day that shall live in history in the company of dates like July 4, 1776. Egypt’s decision to block the entire Internet and mobile telecommunications network was one of the first salvos in a war of electronic munitions. In this new frontier humans are the routers and armed with new technologies they can never be blocked or silenced again.

I was staying up for days sharing and tweeting information as they happened. I had two close personal friends of mine in Egypt who were passing me information when they could. The day Egypt blocked the internet and mobile networks my mind went back to what I had said to Secretary Clinton. The only line of defense against government filtering and blocking their citizens from freely communicating and coordinating via communication networks was to create a new line of communications technologies that governments would find hard to block: Ad hoc wireless mesh networks. I called the idea OpenMesh and tweeted it.

Within hours through crowdsourced volunteer efforts the OpenMesh Project was alive complete with domain name, website and forum. One volunteer, Gary Jay Brooks, a tech entrepreneur from Michigan, stepped up to lead the effort as a volunteer Executive Director. Another company from Canada volunteered to donate their specs for a tiny mobile router, that could be hidden in a pocket, and would cost only $90 per unit for us to make. Another well known communications pioneer stepped up to donate some important patents in this space.

We will be establishing, building, maintaining, and distributing a common Open Source Mesh software/firmware that will allow citizens of the world to commonly communicate without telephone or cable companies. The raw product OpenMeshProject.org will free to download and free of charge. The technology will be released and maintained as Open Source GPL V2 project. This means that anyone can use or change the software. Our job as a community will be to maintain this project. We will help to build standards. We will help communities build mesh networks. We will lobby equipment manufactures to join the Open Mesh Project initiative. The idea all revolves around wireless technology that will allow us to connect and communicate with each other without telephone lines, cable, or fiber. We will build private networks that can span countries. We will empower the citizens of tomorrow. At the end of the day a grandmother might find this disk on the street, walk into the house, install a CD on her laptop and join the mesh cloud with 2 clicks. After joining the mesh she starts to see others in her network, clicks to call others in the mesh, joins group calls, or searches for friends online to dial. We as the OpenMeshProject.org community will facilitate the building, offering, and support for this project. We will all build 1 common mesh. We invite people to participate and to offer new innovations. Working together we can secure tomorrows communications needs.

Free communications is an essential human right. The 21st Century will be defined by the idea that no Government, no power shall ever block or filter the right of all men and women to communicate together again. It is my dream that within my lifetime that dictatorship shall be banished from this planet and unfiltered and true democracy shall flourish everywhere. It is time that our Faustian bargains with brutal dictators for short-term concerns end and a new covenant directly made with citizens everywhere seeking freedom will take its place. OpenMesh is a first step to help create a world where such a covenant can take hold in a world where brave people armed with new electronic tools can never be blocked or silenced ever again.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-17T04:57:00.000Z

Google Music Instant Mix explained. I wondered why it was able to correctly build instant playlists from music that had like zero mp3 tagging info.

My favorite quote: It’s a first step in creating a platform that gives users a range of compelling music experiences.

Music Beta by Google was announced at the Day One Keynote of Google I/O 2011. This service allows users to stream their music collections from the cloud to any supported device, including a web browser. It’s a first step in creating a platform that gives users a range of compelling music experiences. One key component of the product, Instant Mix, is a playlist generator developed by Google Research. Instant Mix uses machine hearing to extract attributes from audio which can be used to answer questions such as “Is there a Hammond B-3 organ?” (instrumentation / timbre), “Is it angry?” (mood), “Can I jog to it?” (tempo / meter) and so on. Machine learning algorithms relate these audio features to what we know about music on the web, such as the fact that Jimmy Smith is a jazz organist or that Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade are similar artists. From this we can predict similar tracks for a seed track and, with some additional sequencing logic, generate Instant Mix playlists from songs in a user’s locker.

Because we combine audio analysis with information about which artists and albums go well together, we can use both dimensions of similarity to compare songs. If you pick a mellow track from an album, we will make a mellower playlist than if you pick a high energy track from the same album. For example, here we compare short Instant Mixes made from two very different tracks by U2. The first Instant Mix comes from "Mysterious Ways," an upbeat, danceable track from Achtung Baby with electric guitar and heavy percussion.

U2 "Mysterious Ways"
David Bowie "Fame"
Oingo Boingo "Gratitude"
Infectious Grooves “Spreck”
Red Hot Chili Peppers “Special Secret Song Inside”

Compare this to a short Instant Mix made from a much more laid back U2 cut, "MLK" from the album Unforgettable Fire. This track has delicate vocals on top of a sparse synthesizer background and no percussion.

U2 "MLK"
Jewel “Don’t”
Antony and the Johnsons “What Can I Do?”
The Beatles “And I Love Her”
Van Morrison “Crazy Love”

As you can hear, the “Mysterious Ways” Instant Mix is funky, with strong percussion and high-energy vocals while the “MLK” mix carries on with that track's laid-back lullaby feeling.

Our approach also allows us to create mixes from music in the long tail. Are you the lead singer in an unknown Dylan cover band? Even if your group is new or otherwise unknown, Instant Mix can still use audio similarity to match your tracks to real Dylan tracks (provided, of course, that you sing like Bob and your band sounds like The Band).

Our goal with Instant Mix is to build awesome playlists from your music collection. We achieve this by using machine learning to blend a wide range of information sources, including features derived from the music audio itself. Though we’re still in beta, and still have a lot of work to do, we believe Instant Mix is a great tool for music discovery that stands out from the crowd. Give it a try!

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-17T00:22:56.000Z

A present for @djkevincole - Dick Dale slams the recording industry on kexp.org. A 5 minute segment of the interview and live set that changed the direction of my life a bit.

Ping me for the entire session in case y'all don't have a copy.
Thank you Kevin. Hat/tip!

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-16T18:32:10.000Z

Heckler shouts "Your'e only resigning because you have less than 7 inches..." during Weiner resignation speech. LOLOLOLOL

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-16T01:17:45.000Z

Maybe I won't need to find a UK proxy after all... Spotify coming to the US? Shiny!

iCloud threat

It has been a long-standing ambition for Spotify to launch in North America, but those aims now seem to have a little more urgency following the launch of iTunes Match and iTunes in the Cloud last week.

Also in the hunt for Spotify's space is the Amazon Cloud Drive and Music Beta by Google, although its arguable that the Swedish streamers offer a much better service than the big three.

Those cloud-streaming portals don't allow users to listen to any music that they don't already own, whereas Spotify has proved to be a magnificent music discovery tool for members across Europe.

I don't know if Spotify can beat out Google Music... It may be a while befor Warner folds, so the ~~proxy~~ snipe hunt continues.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-13T17:47:05.000Z

You want affordable electric vehicles that can also power your home? Well, no one seems to be writing about the Human Car Imagine PS NEV which will be the first production version of the original FM4 human powered prototype.

This video got me really excited, because Iit was the first taste that the E4 Sedan was going to be more than an open bodied roadster. I doubt my pre-order of the Imagine PS NEV will result in a sedan type car being delivered, but at $15,000 MSRP, I will happily take delivery of the open bodied prototype.

The FM4 is 100% human powered [shown in the second video], but the Imagine PS will be an electric/human hybrid. You pump the handles to generate power for the batteries instead of direct drive to the powertrain. The second video was probably the first one I saw, and I think I pre-ordered one that night ;-]

HumanCar - Politics of Carbon Hybrid Human Auto

The Imagine PS NEV is due out this year, maybe by summer. We will see what gets delivered. I am psyched!

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-12T22:22:21.000Z

Apple Accused Of Swiping Student's Wi-Fi Sync App For iOS 5 - I did not see this in a buzz search, so maybe no one has posted it yet. If it is a duplicate, please forgive in advance.

After he put it on an Apple app aftermarket, he sold over 50,000 at $9.99 a pop. Think Apple would have offered a half million for his code? Naaah!

He submitted his wifi sync app to Apple in May 2010.
;-]

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-12T18:34:32.000Z

0x7-LEB-gingerbread, the new release of 0xdroid. 0xLab released it June 9th. For those out there that would like to start messing with Android on embedded systems like the Beagleboard or the Pandaboard, this is the ticket.
------

Hi List,

/* 0x7 and LEB */

0xLab is glad to announce that we have new release of 0xdroid - 0x7.
This release is based on LEB (Linaro Evaluation Build).

Linaro is a NFP (Not For Profit) organization that aims to make embedded
open source development easier and faster. Linaro distributes LEB which is
tested, optimized and benchmarked. Namely, LEB collects Linaro's effort
on Android.

In this release, 0xLab made an attempt to merge our effort to LEB.
We hope this release provides you both of improvements of 0xLab and Linaro.

/* Details */
Date: 2011.06.08
Codebase: Gingerbread
Target Board: Pandaboard, Beagleboard-xM
Rebase Kernel to 2.6.38
Enable Software cursor
Compute cursor dirty region aggressively
Replace Launcher2 with faster and powerful ADW.Launcher
Improve efficiency of SoftKeyboard
Integrate zlib NEON improvements
Merge Linaro Cortex String Routines 0.1.1 into bionic
Include improvements of previous release

/* Where to Download */

Beagleboard
http://downloads.0xlab.org/release/0x7-leb-gingerbread-beaglexm/boot.tar.bz2
http://downloads.0xlab.org/release/0x7-leb-gingerbread-beaglexm/system.tar.bz2
http://downloads.0xlab.org/release/0x7-leb-gingerbread-beaglexm/userdata.tar.bz2
Pandaboard
http://downloads.0xlab.org/release/0x7-leb-gingerbread-pandaboard/boot.tar.bz2
http://downloads.0xlab.org/release/0x7-leb-gingerbread-pandaboard/system.tar.bz2
http://downloads.0xlab.org/release/0x7-leb-gingerbread-pandaboard/userdata.tar.bz2

/* Installation or Source code */

To get more information, please take a look of this wiki.
http://code.google.com/p/0xdroid/wiki/0x7_leb_gingerbread

Best Regards,

-Ju1ian

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-06-12T17:06:25.411Z

"The Fabric of Human Car" Politics of carbon documentary excerpt - next electric car - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-06-12T17:06:24.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - "The Fabric of Human Car" Politics of carbon documentary excerpt - next electric car

@HumanCar I got audio in the left channel only, but worked by default. I will test some other recent uploads.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-12T01:52:40.000Z

GM's EN-V was so impressive at Google IO, I felt I had to post about it again. If you search GM EN-V, you will find some EN-V videos that really explain things in detail. I have heard, read and seen about what the Google robotics team is up to with their autonomous vehicle testing, and it make me sort of assume it is Android based. This ties in well with Robert Konigsberg's post about the pedestrian, bicycle and auto dance that takes place in every intersection in NYC.
;-]

I added video one of three of a series uploaded by gmblogs where the director of the project discusses the thinking and the philosophy behind the EN-V program.

These vehicles are real, I saw them being driven at IO. Too friggin' cool.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-11T18:50:27.000Z

OMG... a BMW powered Twin-Rotor Hoverbike.Thank you for the link in your newsletter Mike Elgan!

Every once in a while something comes along so crazy, so unearthly cool, we have to shout it from the rooftops. Today just happens to be that once in a while, so feast your eyes on the BMW boxer engine powered Hoverbike. Framed around an 1,170cc 4-stroke BMW boxer engine that powers the twin rotors, the Hoverbike was the brainchild of Australian inventor, Chris Malloy. Malloy claims that the Hoverbike’s thrust to weight ratio should enable it to elevate to 10,000 feet and reach a speed of 173 mph (this begs the need for a good parachute and industrial strength body armor). Yowza. The rest of the Hoverbike is a Kevlar reinforced carbon fiber and foam core frame and exotic Tasmanian oak propellers. All controls are handlebar mounted, including speed, pitch, turning, vertical and horizontal travel. Using most of his hard earned funds to build this atomic salad shooter, Mr. Malloy is looking for investors and fluid dynamics engineers to bring his dream to production. In the meantime, we’ll be holding out hope for a test ~~drive~~ flight. To see more photos of the prototype he’s developed so far, keep reading on the next page.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-11T01:09:40.000Z

Hmmm... This could come in handy! Shiny new transfer document ownership via the admin panel in Google Apps. I know someone that could have used this a while back...
;-]

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-10T06:28:00.000Z

Can you stream internet radio on a Chromebook? Yep!

I ran across this on the Cr-48-test-pilots mailing list. Even though it talks about Android and other mobile phones, clicking the listen link of the station you want to listen to pops up a nice little html5 streaming aacPlus streaming web player. It shows up in the lower right of the Chrome browser.

This should work fine for streaming thousands of Icecast/Shoutcast servers on any Chrome browser without needing any plug ins. Rest assured, when Chromebooks go on sale in 11 days, you will be able to stream internet radio on one. Of course, it might not work on Windows systems... he he he

It is amazing how good this sounds. I connected to the kexp.org 128k mp3 stream and it sounds as good or better than it does using mplayer on my Linux box, and it is only 48kbps!
;-] w00t!

Hat/Tip Deidre!

From the youmuze.fm FAQ:

How does Yourmuze transcode streams?
Yourmuze transcodes virtually any kind of internet radio streams (Shoutcast, RealAudio, Windows Media, etc.) into aacPlus (HE-AAC): aacPlus over RTSP for 3GPP compatible phones, aacPlus over HTTP ('HTTP Live Streaming') for the Apple iPhone and Flash streaming (flv wrapped aacPlus over HTTP) for web users.

What is aacPlus and why is this best for mobile streaming?
aacPlus (also known as HE-AAC) is the ideal streaming format for internet broadcasting, offering near CD quality at half the bandwidth of MP3 or other popular streaming formats. At bit rates of 24-48 kbps aacPlus produces better sound quality than any other codec.
A 48 kbps aacPlus stream will sound as good as an MP3 stream at 128 kbps. aacPlus is therefore the ideal choice for listening to audio on a mobile device where bandwidth is limited. Technical information on the HE-AAC / aacPlus standard can be found here.

Who are Yourmuze?
Yourmuze is a major player in worldwide radio to mobile streaming. Our free site Yourmuze.FM (formerly called Moodio) has around 180,000 registered users throughout the world and a choice of over 16,000 active radio streams. Yourmuze is part of Seeas b.v., specialists in open source software solutions.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-09T19:48:03.000Z

For those interested in these kinds of things... Jean-Jacques Dubray posted his notes from the Seattle Android Meetup that hosted a talk by Tim Bray, Google developer advocate.

Very detailed and informative.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-09T15:49:01.000Z

Google? Could you start expanding Checkout a little bit more? I would really like to use that as my bank. Pretty please?
;-]

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-09T15:28:56.000Z

John Richards, the morning DJ at KEXP in Seattle mentioned a bit ago how cool it was that a bunch of Googlers are at the station manning the phones this morning in support of the summer pledge drive going on this week.

Hat/tip -> Google Kirkland - w00t!

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google chat status

2011-06-04T02:11:30.000Z

Email sent. I just pulled the trigger on possibly getting the gapps issues with yensid.com fixed. Fingers crossed.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-06-03T03:03:32.000Z

As much as I love racing, we cannot allow the Bahrain government to profit from the upcoming Formula 1 race. Sign the Avaaz.org petition and send the Red Bull racing team a message.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google chat status

2011-06-03T02:11:09.000Z

Washington (google.com/latitude/t)

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-31T22:43:24.000Z

w00t! Cr-48 dev channel update today! Chrome OS 0.13.558.3 Chrome 13.0.775.2.

Quick word of warning! Disable the experimental multiple profiles flag before upgrading. It looks like that functionality has been partially enabled, but caused all my windows to be "not logged in", and the system was unstable until reboot. Logged in as guest, disabled the flag and all is well.

So far, so good I guess. A couple of rough sessions, but 2 restarts and it is humming along. Off to check the music beta.

Firmware Mario.03.60.1120.0038G5.0018d
Chrome OS 0.13.558.3 (Official Build) dev-channel x86-mario
Google Chrome 13.0.775.2

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google chat status

2011-06-01T03:06:34.000Z

Washington (google.com/latitude/t)

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google chat status

2011-05-30T19:37:55.000Z

Washington (google.com/latitude/t)

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-29T20:07:19.000Z

I totally forgot to buzz this yesterday. Oops. KEXP.org and NPR Music have teamed up to bring you live streams from the Sasquatch festive at the Gorge this weekend... Check it out:

Listen live to Sasquatch!
KEXP is teaming up with NPR Music for a live broadcast from the Sasquatch Festival over Memorial Day Weekend. We are broadcasting live from the main stage and featuring performances from all four stages throughout the weekend. You'll hear live sets by Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, The Head and the Heart, Local Natives, and more! Listen to the live stream on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 12-11PM!

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-29T07:36:33.000Z

Holy autopost Batman! I love the new Picasa share in buzz! Anyway, sorry I was quiet today, but I had me a project that needed doing today, and sometimes; a man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do.

Man, am I beat.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Mobile

2011-05-27T00:36:54.000Z

Google TV $229 at Costco. Run, do not walk. Honeycomb coming this year...

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-23T06:43:01.000Z

For those of you interested, here is a peek at the Chromebook attendees at Google IO will get a voucher for. I know there have been lots of other posts, but this one got me because it looks so much like the Cr-48 it is not funny [ok, the Samsung has smoother, more racy lines.,.]

The specs:

.79 inches thick
A full-sized keyboard
Multi-touch trackpad
Intel dual-core CPU (Editor’s note: Samsung originally listed this as a “1.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo N570 CPU,” then updated with a vaguer “dual core CPU” spec. The N570 is an Atom processor, which leads us to guess this will be an Atom, and that “Core 2 Duo” was a typo.)
A SuperBright display at 300 nits, with a 16:10 aspect (no pixel resolution given)
Instant-on from standby, and an 8-second boot time
HD webcam
Two USB ports
8.5 hours of battery life
SD/SDHC/MMC card slot

I wonder if we can request the 3g version?

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-22T07:30:04.000Z

I have not had a chance to dig into one of these things yet [I have 2], but this is awesome news! Hat/tip -> 0xdroid!

Hello list,

We apologize again for being quite silent for a long time because of
our close development with Linaro[1]. During incoming Computex Taipei
2011 event[2], we are going to release 0xlab's highly customized and
optimized Android Gingerbread distribution based on Linaro
technologies and 0xlab's internal development.

Please check out the roadmap for details: (under construction)
http://code.google.com/p/0xdroid/wiki/Roadmap

Highlighted features:
* Rebase Linaro Kernel tree for consolidation development
* Adapt optimization efforts from Linaro
linaro toolchain, cortex-strings, etc.
* Generic graphics performance improvements
* Usability improvements

Not only 0xdroid would be fully open source'd, but also related
development progress mentioned in 0xlab Technologies[3] goes public.
For example, you can access the kernel source tree for Fast-ON, open
source instant device booting solution.

You can watch the activities at gitorious:
http://gitorious.org/+0xlab

Or, wait for next announcement.

Thanks for your interest!

Sincerely,
Jim Huang (jserv)
0xlab team - http://0xlab.org/

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-21T03:30:51.000Z

Anyone else notice the change to AOL Instant Messenger chat in Gmail? From the Learn more link:

About AIM in Gmail (AIM Federation)
Gmail Chat lets you chat with AIM users even if you don't have an AIM account.

Once you sign into your Gmail account you can add AIM contacts directly into Gmail just like you would add a Gmail or Google Talk contact. Your AIM buddies will populate your Contacts list, and are searchable just like your Google Talk contacts.

To invite them to chat simply type their screen name into your Chat roster's search field (i.e. janedoe@aol.com) and click Invite to chat. Once your contact accepts your invitation you'll be able to start chatting.

Please read if you used the previous AIM functionality:
AOL has created a tool that imports your AIM contacts into your Gmail account so that you don't have to re-add your contacts one by one. Read their blog post to learn more.

I am going to try and log into AIM now. I have no idea what my password or recovery email address is... What the hell... I'm going in!
;-]

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-20T08:32:22.000Z

You know how Picasa offers to scan your disk or other location for possible pictures? I added a randomly built external drive [30+gb?] to my sister's Windows machine... Music Manager scanned and indexed over 3,000 songs on that drive.

It says:
More than 3,000 songs found.
Music Manager will start adding your music now.

Oops.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-19T05:47:25.000Z

Et Tu YouTube? I did not request anything... Shiny!

Congratulations! Your account is now enabled for uploads longer than 15 minutes. Click the Upload button below to select a video.

This could be interesting... ;-]

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Mobile

2011-05-18T16:44:11.000Z

The new office space is shaping up. The 2 small black boxes are external drives. I figure those 2 devices alone have 200 gigabytes of music.

I think maybe a 20,000 songs limit might become an issue after all.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Mobile

2011-05-18T15:18:32.000Z

Max and sam have a squirrel stuck in a tree in the front yard. Too funny.

Poor squirrel, he cannnot figure a way down or to the trees across the yard.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-16T18:50:10.000Z

Remembering fallen journalists on video
5/16/2011 05:00:00 AM
We live in a world that feels smaller every day. As we become accustomed to nearly ubiquitous coverage of the news and events unfolding around the world, it’s easy to forget the price that is sometimes paid to obtain quality, accurate reporting on important stories—particularly in areas of conflict or in cases of government repression of the media. With this in mind, today, the Newseum in Washington, D.C., Google and YouTube are together launching the Journalists Memorial channel on YouTube to remember the journalists who have died in the last year while reporting news around the world.

Their stories are incredible: heading into a street battle with no weapon other than your camera; talking about politics over the radio, only to be beaten to death with iron bars by a group of thugs on the way to work. The risks and sacrifices that many have made in order to provide us with accurate information is remarkable. On the Journalists Memorial channel you can watch a collection of videos representing these journalists’ lives and their work.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-05-16T16:45:18.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Human Car Discussion Series part 4 On board generation system & E4 Sedan

I cannot wait. I pre-ordered one as soon as I head about it. Cannot wait.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-05-16T16:45:11.548Z

Human Car Discussion Series part 4 On board generation system & E4 Sedan - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-05-16T16:38:03.000Z

Google Music Beta

Buzz by Steve Pirk from emlyntestenv.appspot.com

2011-05-16T16:00:14.000Z

Google Music Beta
"Screenshots of the new Google Music Beta"
More: http://goo.gl/FS6vT

"(lh6.googleusercontent.com)"

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-05-16T15:56:24.000Z

Google Music Beta

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-05-16T15:52:45.000Z

Google Music Beta

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-05-16T13:45:48.000Z

Google Music Beta

Buzz by Steve Pirk from emlyntestenv.appspot.com

2011-05-16T13:37:44.000Z

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-16T13:33:40.000Z

Hey all you Cr-48 and Google Music Beta fans... The infamous antimatter16 has done it again. Y'all head on over to the Market and search for an app called MusicAlpha. He has made an app to upload your music from the browser. No Windows or Mac needed.

Ok, so I can now upload from my Cr-48, I am uploading hour long DJ sets, and I get to store 20,000 songs? Google, you rock.

I was uploading more tracks off an external 500gb drive, uploading the screenshots I just took and playing one of the Paul Oakenfold sets all on a cloud device. At the same time. With 60 tabs open. Pretty cool.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-05-16T13:21:43.000Z

Google Music Beta

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Picasa

2011-05-16T13:15:13.000Z

Google Music Beta

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Buzz

2011-05-16T10:50:38.000Z

A lot of buzzards did not make it to I/O, much less I/O Bootcamp, so I thought I would share some goodies. The YouTube link below is a playlist of the lecture session videos. The sessions I attended were great, so there is a lot to learn here.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-05-15T15:17:01.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Google IO 2011 GM EN-V Personal Transport teaser

@Sufiyblog It is a techno/dance remix of The Rolling Stones song "Miss you". I think the music you hear is the DJ music, not what was plying on the video.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-05-15T15:17:00.073Z

Google IO 2011 GM EN-V Personal Transport teaser - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-05-15T15:10:53.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Google IO 2011 GM EN-V Personal Transport teaser

Oops! I think you mean the video on the screen. I thought this was the live shot of the cars in their corral. Let me listen to it again and see what I can figure out.

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-05-15T15:10:51.112Z

Google IO 2011 GM EN-V Personal Transport teaser - igroklinux's YouTube Activity

Buzz by Steve Pirk from YouTube

2011-05-15T15:08:50.000Z

I commented on a YouTube video - Google IO 2011 GM EN-V Personal Transport teaser

Good question. I never thought to ask. I wonder if we could Google the playlist the DJ was using that night?

Buzz by Steve Pirk from Google Reader

2011-05-15T15:08:49.231Z

Google IO 2011 GM EN-V Personal Transport teaser - igroklinux's YouTube Activity