Blog 500

I was just reading on tech crunch that Microsoft is getting ready to open a Windows 7 Cafe in Paris France. They will have all sorts of toys to play with, but they will be selling nothing but drinks and snacks, and only remain open for a few weeks.

It’s actually fairly cleaver on the part of Microsoft, as their strong-hold on International markets is not as great as it is here. They can also control the environment in which people view their OS, making it a little easier sell because it won’t be running slow. Besides that, the know that they can get the geeks hooked with offerings of coffee. Nicely played, Microsoft…

Here are my screen shots for looking for info for my presentation.

I had to adjust it because the advanced search wouldn’t allow the “~”.

Got it all set up in my alerts.

I came across this awesome interview with Jeffry Zeldman (okay, I found it on twitter), but he makes a great case for twitter helping web designers to write more effective content. It’s a great read,  so I thought I would share it.

I couldn’t wait to start the humor wiki, so I’m just going to share it with you now. Enjoy!

Just thought that I would share this. HTML is a new web standard, which specification is being drawn up for right now. I’m really excited about a lot of the new features.

Here it is, I set up my podcasting layer (a.k.a. my home office) to start my first podcast. I got my new microphone, and built my own pop screen. I built the pop screen for under $3. I went to the fabric store and picked up a a stretch frame for needle point work, and a brass doll stand. I stretched out fabric from an old t-shirt over the frame, screwed it closed, and tied the frame to the doll stand with a piece of string.

The setup worked out great! I was really proud of it. I used my iMac G5 to organize my notes and display websites with information that I planned on talking about. That way I could organize my notes without printing, and I also would not have to work about the mic picking up the sound of paper rustling. I then used my MacBook Pro for recording.

I used Garage Band instead of Audacity for recording. I was really pleased with the tools that Garage Band had for recording podcasts. Garage Band actually had a preset configuration for podacasting that had levels set, channels set, and a whole bunch of presets for equalization. I was also able o load my show’s set list into iTunes and drag the songs onto my timeline from my iTunes playlist. It all worked beautifully.

I decided that my podcast would be musical because I’m in a band, and love it when my band gets played. I want to give other bands the opportunity. Also, music is a big part of my life, so it just seemed logical to do a music podcast.

I signed up for a music alley producer account, so I chose a selection of podsafe music from their lineup. This means that I have the privilege to play all of the music I played on the show, with no royalty fees.

I really enjoyed the experience, and I plan on doing more episodes. I hosted my podcast on podbean, so please subscribe.

I just got my research topic approved for my first presentation in ACSG 500. My topic title will be “Facebook Takes Over the World… of Search.” Here’s a brief synopsis of what it will entail:

Facebook is attempting to de-thrown Google as the leading source of where people get their information online. The presentation will consist of how Facebook plans on doing so, and how their plan compares to buisness models of the past, where people provide the information on queries over machines.

If you have any links that I should know about, please post them in the comments. So far, I’ve found a really good article on Wired. I will post it, along with other items I find, later.

I love following the TED conference every year. They always have the coolest technology that won’t be in practical use for another 10 -20 years. If you don’t know of the TED conference, you should check it out. It’s the conference where Microsoft’s surface first appeared, as it was actually created by MIT researchers and not Microsoft.

This year they came up with something really cool, wireless electricity. It has been done in the past, but this shows practical application, such as powering TVs and charging cell phones. Imagine the possibilities, like driving into your garage and having it power your electric car. Fantastic!

Here it is! The maiden post of Blog 500. This is my blog about my graduate studies at SXU in the fields of Applied Computer Sciences and Business Administration. So basically this is going to be all things “nerd.” I will also try to post some tech news that I find interesting, and other fun stuff along the way. Enjoy!