Digital Minute

Messing with Lively

2008-07-10T23:49:00.001-07:00

Check out my room.. pretty good fun

Check out this high quality video

2008-05-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the blog
http://blog.jimmyr.com/High_Quality_on_Youtube_11_2008.php

Top 25 money making blogs

2008-03-26T23:51:00.000-07:00

Interesting comparison of the top money making blogs..
http://www.247wallst.com/2008/03/the-twenty-five.html

Diddy is looking for a personal assistant!!

2007-07-11T22:46:00.001-07:00

P. Diddy is truly a master mind in creating buzz and he is doing it all over again. He is looking for an assistant via YouTube. So if you have it and want to be his assistant create a cool interview video under 3 minutes, tag it "Diddy assistant." and upload it to this group YouTube.com/Group/DiddyAssistant

Video: RSS in Plain English

2007-07-11T00:01:00.001-07:00

I've been frequently asked by some of my friends what is a RSS feed so want to share this interesting video explaining RSS in plain english.

2007-05-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

Widgets Beckon

2007-04-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

Last year I had posted on widgets and how cool they were and today I read this very interesting article by the Washington Post on how Widgets are the new technology wave.

"The new role of companies is not to produce content and spoon-feed it to users," said Hooman Radfar, 25, the founder of Clearspring. "Their new role is to create tools people want and push them out so people can use them however they choose."

This article also emphasizes on how users now no longer want to be spoon fed and want to create widgets that have various uses. Another avenue of the widgets this article mentions is how it has a lot of potential for advertisers.

It's been a while

2006-12-13T16:50:00.000-08:00

Yes I haven't got chance to blog in a while now, a while is an understatement it's been a year! and am going to begin this year by blogging every week and my first blog is going to be this video of Alanis Morissette its crazy, funny, so not Alanis.. but I still love it.. so hit play and enjoy

Mashups go really creative

2006-04-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

Last I wrote about was mash-ups and now recently I have been coming across interesting websites which are some what of a mashups but mainly video based like http://www.videosift.com which is on the same philosophy of digg, you can submit video streams from YouTube vids and Google Video and users vote on the videos. Another interesting site is Google Idol, is based on the popular American Idol sans Simon Cowell but in this competition do don’t have to sing just lip-synch like a pro and submit your video to Google Video and voila you can submit your video to Google Idol to be the next Gidol and yes as in American Idol people vote, so what are you waiting for put your bathroom singing to some good use, record a small video and be the next Gidol. The first Gidols, Pomme and Kelly, received a whopping 50,795 votes in the webcam category shutting out their competition, The Back Dormitory Boys, with a meager 15,159 votes.

The First Gidols Pomme and Kelly

Runner Ups The Back Dormitory

Mashups

2006-03-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

I keep reading about Mashups everywhere these days.
So what is a Mashup? Well for the unfamiliar it is a combination of web technology live content and creativity. It is one of the most happening things on the web right now.
Currently the trend is to use popular websites like Google, Yahoo and Amazon and offering access to their public databases and live content through the use of their publicly available programming interfaces, or APIs. The result is a new breed of hybrid website. So for example http://www.housingmaps.com is a mashup of Google Maps and Craiglist. Looking at these kind of creative it feels like we are on the verge of a new age of creativity and innovation.

Showcase your video online and it can air on VH1.

2006-02-16T23:56:00.000-08:00

I recently blogged about Vlog but recently I also came across IFilm.com so wanted to share it with you. If you have a video you would like to share with the world, ok so you have showcased it to your friends but are wondering how you get it on TV without having any financial backing or connections IFilm.com is your answer. You can upload your video to IFilm and while Google.com takes a long time to approve your video you can have your video on IFilm.com in less than 10 minutes. And if your video is really funny or weird it will be on VH1’s “Web Junk20” your ticket to fame.

Interesting health search engine Kosmix.com

2006-02-16T16:32:00.000-08:00

A very interesting search engine I came across while searching for some health stuff, so during my research I came across Kosmix which was great to search. It categorizes your search and also displays topic wise results. I also just read that Kosmix announced that its patent-pending Kosmix Health Search technology will power a customized, health-only web search tool on The HealthCentral Network which is the world's leading collection of consumer health web sites.

Tips to save your self against Identity Theft!

2006-02-13T17:01:00.000-08:00

Identity theft is something that always scares me, I get so many phishing emails a day and am always warning my friends not to click on them. J wanted to share this ten point guide to protect online identity which was published by British Telecom

TEN-POINT GUIDE TO PROTECTING YOUR IDENTITY ONLINE

Never click on links in emails
Always type the web site (www) address for banks, financial institutions and retail sites into the browser address line or store them using the browser’s favorite’s function.

Never give any online security details to anyone unless it is completely necessary
Be particularly cautious if you share your accommodation with other people. Consider pass wording your computer to avoid unnecessary access.

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is
Don’t open emails or go to sites that claim you have won a prize, unless you’ve entered a specific competition. If an email looks suspicious and is unsolicited delete it and don’t open it.

Question why a Web site is asking for information about you?
Think about whether it is somewhere or someone you want to give your details to. Only use secure web sites and also use common sense when it comes to phishing emails and web sites

Keep your wits about you at all times
Understand the risks and operate on the internet in the same way as you do in the offline world, with caution and appropriate skepticism. But do not be frightened; with simple precautions it is safe to use online banking and traders.

Look after your password
Change your passwords regularly and avoid standard passwords like family members’ names or dictionary words. When creating a password use a combination of letters, numbers and even special characters, like an exclamation mark when possible. This will make your password ‘strong’. Do not use the same password for every secure site you are registered with.

Keep up-to-date
Keep your security software (anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-spyware and firewall), operating system and applications such as Microsoft Office up-to-date at all times.

Remove the spies
Check all files on every computer that is connected to the internet at least once a week using anti-spyware and adware applications.

Keep your connection secure
Make sure everyone who uses the computer understands the precautions they need to take when online. Do not leave your broadband connection switched on if you are not using it and if you use a wireless modem ensure you set it to use at least 128-bit encryption if you are registered for online banking.

Know where to go for help should you be a victim of online identity theft
There are wide range of organizations and groups that people can turn to for advice should they be the victim of online identity theft. These are outlined below, but include the police, industry bodies and suppliers of online services.

If you want to download the full ten point guide click here

Widgets a cool tool

2006-01-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

I just came across this very cool tool called Yahoo Widgets. I always use Post It’s on my Mac for work but I came across this with Yahoo Widgets for Windows and Mac. It has so many widgets like weather, Day Planner, Calendar and many more in their gallery and you can float them on your desktop. I have these cool post it and calendar and weather and traffic on my desktop.

It also has widgets for Craigslist, eBay, so if you are on the look out for something particular to buy from you can monitor right from the desktop without going to the site, that’s handy and something I will use.

I read up about widgets on the web and it was called Konfabulator earlier and used to cost $20 to try but after Yahoo bought Pixoria the maker of Konfabulator it is free, yippee! Ok so I am a bit late in getting this news but it is a cool tool and users can create their own widget. I am going to try and make a Zoroastrian Calendar and if I am successful at it will post here. You can get your widgets here.

Next Generation Blogs - Vlogs!

2006-01-19T23:40:00.000-08:00

Vlogs a short for video blogging, is getting easier and easier. My friends have very frequently asked me how to add video to their websites or blog and I explain to them the various steps of capturing, encoding into the various formats and then uploading the video to a server. So when I used VideoEgg to publish a video to my personal blog, I was like the next time someone asks me about this, I am just going to direct them to VideoEgg, because it has a very easy to use interface. It also captures video from any source like your camera, phone, webcam or even if you have clips on your machine without you really having to understand the techinical aspects of formats, encoders, players and stuff.

Though the video clips are only limited to 2 minutes at this time, I am sure vlogging and publishing video is just going to get easier and easier. Now if you have a Mac you don’t have to worry about the Quick Time format video as well since VideoEgg is also available for the Mac, so both PC and Mac users like me can now easily publish digital video.

VideoEgg is a San Francisco based company which has tied up with Six Apart , maker of TypePad which is the leader in weblogging software, so if you have a Typepad account you just need to log in to http://typepad.videoegg.com/ and upload your video, but if you use other blogging sites then VideoEgg gives you an HTML or JavaScript code to add to your website. And recently VideoEgg also announced a second round of financing from August Capital.

I also downloaded the trial version of Vlog It ! from Serious Magic, it was also very cool and had more features like adding transitions, narration, sound effects but it has a 15 day free trial and then costs $49.95. Though I feel for individuals who just want to add their video to their Blog or website without downloading any software, VideoEgg does the job seamlessly without downloading anything, but both the versions I tried were Demo Versions so lets wait for the real deal.

Guess it wouldn’t be a long time before Blogger has its own integrated Vlogging.
I personally feel 2006 is going to be the year of Vlogging.

Here is a video of us flying over Palo Alto, CA. I am uploading them using both VideoEgg and Vlog It!

If the video does not display properly
click here to upgrade to Flash 8

codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,65,0"
width="262"
height="231"
id="FLVPlayer"
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VIEWASTEXT>

value="&bgColor=0xFFFFFF&configFile=http://easylink.playstream.com/flashplayer.fvss?sname=/Show_2,50,/Show_2,150,/Show_2%26aname=FVSSOD/shenazzack&autoPlay=False&skinName=http://progressive.playstream.com/playstream/progressive/flashplayers/ClearSkin_1&bufferTime=3&autoRewind=true" />
flashvars="&bgColor=0xFFFFFF&configFile=http://easylink.playstream.com/flashplayer.fvss?sname=/Show_2,50,/Show_2,150,/Show_2%26aname=FVSSOD/shenazzack&autoPlay=False&skinName=http://progressive.playstream.com/playstream/progressive/flashplayers/ClearSkin_1&bufferTime=3&autoRewind=true"
quality="high"
bgcolor="#ffffff"
width="262"
height="231"
name="FLVPlayer"
align="middle"
allowScriptAccess="sameDomain"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" />

Movie releases in Theatres, DVD and TV on the Same Day!

2006-01-16T21:50:00.000-08:00

Now that is the day I have been waiting for, I love it that we get the choice whether we want to see a film in the Theatre or on DVD or on the TV with lots of commercials. Rather than oh wait for it to release on DVD and if you did not rent the DVD wait for it to be screened on the TV with lots of commercials in it.

So is the bubble going to pop with the release of ‘Bubble’ Steven Soderbergh’s movie about a murder mystery set in a doll factory. The film releases on Friday in a few theatres and simultaneously on Cable TV and on Tuesday it will be on DVD.

Though Bubble is not the first film to be release in all three venues simultaneously, I personally think it is awesome that I as a viewer get the choice whether I would like to enjoy it on the big screen, which I mostly end up doing rather than wait for it to release on DVD.

Bollywood on demand!

2006-01-15T18:49:00.000-08:00

These days the news is filled with video on demand over broadband well Bollywood is not lagging behind. I just read that Indian Film Distributor Eros International is teaming up with Intel on a digital content portal for movies produced by Bollywood.

This means we will be able to download Bollywood movies at home and not make a trip to the Indian Video store to see that the movie you want to see is already rented, plus no more wait for Netflix to get the latest releases. There is always a long wait for popular hindi films on Netflix, even though has more than 600 Bollywood DVDs, which is twice the size of even their French film inventory

Some titbits about Bollywood. Each year Bollywood makes at least 800 films. Here in America alone, there are 1.7m people who are first or second generation Indians, and Indians love one thing for sure that is Hindi Films, some love to see them, some love to see and hate them, its quite paradoxical.

Some of my favorite Hindi Films

Lorem Ipsum

2006-01-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

Some web designs have a lot of garbled language which mostly begin with Lorem Ipsum. I used to always wonder what language this is, the mystery was solved when a friend of mine forwarded this very interesting website Lipsum.com

Briefly talking about Lorem Ipsum, it is text that has absolutely no meaning and is used as a filler so that the user and viewer focus on the design rather than the data. You can read more about the history of Lorem Ipsum on the site.

Here is my generated paragraph from the website.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nulla congue libero. Vivamus imperdiet sagittis turpis. Duis tristique ullamcorper lectus. Aliquam eget eros. Ut sollicitudin placerat augue. Nulla viverra urna et risus. Nulla facilisi. Ut porttitor lorem vitae risus. Duis pede ipsum, molestie non, nonummy nec, varius ac, velit. Nullam id leo eu dolor volutpat vestibulum. Curabitur nec arcu.

Recently bought a Powerbook now what??

2006-01-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

Every other blog I read these days is talking about the MAC World and the Intel-Mac marriage. So I am wondering and I am sure many others who just recently bought a Powerbook, which is now MacBook, did I make a dumb ass error, should I have waited, but how would they know?

I have been scouring the web to get the answer to this question. On Craigslist’s Mac forum I got a thread, which did talk something about it. So I visited Apple’s website to see if they had any input on that, but no info there, so I decided to call the Apple Store and speak to them, they said they needed my order number, well I bought my PowerBook in 2004 November so I am definitely not eligible, not news to me but the good news to people who bought their Mac’s last month, the customer service rep on the phone that maybe they can exchange or credit but he needed to check the order number and stuff and see details. Well if I get any more details on this I will update.

Most Played Artist

2006-01-05T17:53:00.000-08:00

Yes there is a most played artist across all formats combined and according to Mediabase.com “ Green Day is the Most Played Artist in all formats combined for 2005”.

I heard this on the radio, and I tried to log on to mediabase.com to reconfirm it but MediaBase needs some kind of password and stuff so I checked out Green Day’s website and yes there it was on their news page. I guess now that they are going on hiatus for 2006 after having an excellent year on tour with the album “American Idiot” lets look forward to their next smashing album.

Love the Google Logos

2006-01-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

Check out todays logo on Google it is in Braille, why is it you ask, 'coz today is Louis Braille's birthday.

I love the way Google changes their logos every time there is an holiday or an event. Apart from looking cool these logos also remind us of days which we would have no idea of, like I did not know today is Louis Braille's birthday. And if you want to peek at their previous logos check them out here

Royalty honors iPods Chief Designer

2006-01-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

Now even Royalty recognizes the immense popularity of Apple's iPod's by honoring iPods chief designer Jonathan Ive in the Queen's Honors List.

Ive received the prestigious title ‘Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)’ by Queen Elizabeth II. Really good to know that apart from singers Designer’s too are getting recognized by the Queen and that the Monarchy is not out of touch with modern technology.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2006-01-01T13:46:00.000-08:00

Flickr Slideshow

Emmy for Digital Media

2005-12-23T15:36:00.000-08:00

According to LA times now there is an Emmy for Digital Media. This means any video that has been created for video blogs, web site programs, mobisodes (short episodics created for mobile devices) and broadband videos on demand programs are eligible.

So if you have submitted a video to MTVU or created a video for the Google Video Blog you are eligible. The first presentation of this award will be presented during the 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards airing on the ABC Network on April 28, 2006.