Reality TV or Glorified Karaoke Competition? [INFOGRAPHIC]
Cami Hadley and the team over at Cable.tv have created an excellent infographic that summarizes the state of Reality TV singing competitions:
11 Ways To Be Remarkably Exceptional
Here’s an opposite take on the excellent “11 ways to be unremarkably average” comic by Gavin Aung Than (aka ZenPencils), which was itself inspired by and borrows from a quote by Chris Guillebeau. The funny thing is, if you reverse these warnings and follow the opposite of the steps outlined in that Guillebeau quote, hidden within is perhaps the secret to true happiness or in the very least a guideline on how to live a unique and truly free lifestyle.
Without further adieu, we give you “11 Ways To Be Remarkably Exceptional”:
Popcorn.js + Embedded Video = Semantically Enhanced Video Content
Popcorn.js is an incredibly useful framework for adding timing-based events and/to Semantic metadata to rich content.
Tear gas used against OWS protesters - Image via Wikipedia
According to Mozilla: “Popcorn makes video work like the web. We create tools and programs to help developers and authors create interactive pages that supplement video and audio with rich web content, allowing your creations to live and grow online.”
With it, you could even re-create VH1′s famous “popup video” or MuchMusic’s Video-on-trial effect.
Microsoft’s Skype Acquisition
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
The web has been set ablaze over the past two and a half days since Steve Ballmer and gang announced their $8.5 Billion USD acquistion of Skype.
Many have fear the worst for the Luxembourg-based VoIP leader, ever since a slew of outages and downward slides via customer-infuriating changes to the much-loved Skype Interface. Some are calling this the final nail in the coffin for the company.
While I won’t go so far as to say I will never use Skype again, I have swiftly cancelled my Skype PRO subscription after the news, pending more indication that Microsoft is taking the company in a direction I approve of. Skype still has, to the best of my knowledge, the best free desktop screen-sharing tool of any of the VoIP or Videoconferencing solutions I’ve used.
So, I may be looking for alternatives over the next few months, but will also give ol’ “favorite to pick on” Microsoft the benefit of the doubt for at least making a forward-looking purchase of a truly innovative company for once.
So far, I can recommend the following alternatives:
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Interactive Web Graphics: A look at HTML5 Canvas .vs. SVG .vs. Flash .vs. Silverlight .vs. Unity .vs. Java .vs. VRML
Image by tonynetone via Flickr
Something has happened recently on the World Wide Web that really impresses me. The web has finally begun to come alive with rich, interactive, high-performance, animated graphics. Not only are these graphics becoming comparable to any previously achievable only in a Desktop Application running on the OS, but they are also pushing the boundaries in terms of what’s possible in UI design, HCI and Data Visualization. From graphs and plots for mathematics to 3D maps and models for architecture, and from immersive panoramic real estate tours to high fidelity gaming engines for emergency healthcare scenarios, the possibilities are endless.
This all serves to help in bringing about a ubiquitous Semantic Web not just for document archiving and sharing information, but for the development of a shared understanding (Knowledge Base), that has long been envisioned by the World Wide Web’s founders. These new interaction platforms offer an incredible venue for cutting through immense amounts of data and explaining complicated ideas in an easy to comprehend manner. Now is the time to take stock of the leading technologies and attempt to make sense of which technologies will be most useful going forward towards a 3D Web. The obvious leaders are Canvas, SVG, Flash, Unity, Silverlight, Java and VRML.
Side-by-Side Comparison
BC$ = Behavior, Content, Money
The goal of the BC$ project is to raise awareness and make changes with respect to the three pillars of information freedom - Behavior (pursuit of interests and passions), Content (sharing/exchanging ideas in various formats), Money (fairness and accessibility) - bringing to light the fact that:
1. We regularly hand over our browser histories, search histories and daily online activities to companies that want our money, or, to benefit from our use of their services with lucrative ad deals or sales of personal information.
2. We create and/or consume interesting content on their services, but we aren't adequately rewarded for our creative efforts or loyalty.
3. We pay money to be connected online (and possibly also over mobile), yet we lose both time and money by allowing companies to market to us with unsolicited advertisements, irrelevant product offers and unfairly structured service pricing plans.