Registered for Northern Voice 2006

Post ImageI finally got around to registering for Nothern Voice 2006, taking place in Vancouver on February 10th and 11th. The second day is a “regular” conference day with scheduled sessions and speakers while the first day is called Moose Camp, a self-organized conference (attendees plan the day). I am really looking forward to the conference for two main reasons – last year was great, and the list of attendees already looks amazing. Moose Camp should be pretty interesting too, and am I hoping to take part in some fashion.

Megan and I are returning attendees, and this year Dickson is joining us too. The three of us will be in Vancouver from the 9th until the 12th. We don’t really have any solid plans for evenings or the 12th, so if you want to get together let us know! Worst case we’ll do “the tourist thing” on Sunday like we did last year.

See you there!

Read: Northern Voice

Podcasting at the University of Regina

Post ImageThis is just too cool for words! Via Tod Maffin’s wonderful blog I came across what might become the world’s first university course on podcasting! It seems that Michael Bell from the University of Regina’s School of Journalism really likes podcasting and wants to take such a course:

When I first made the decision to come to j-school, I was excited about the possibility of combining my interest in practicing podcasting with my studies of journalism. Especially enticing was the impression I got from j-school instructors that it would indeed be possible to podcast within the j-school’s program of study. But it has to start somewhere, right?

Via this proposal, I hope to outline a way to continue to study journalism and combine my study with the practice of podcasting.

Michael is a full time student, not a teacher, so the idea uses something called “directed study”, which he explains is a way for a student to gain credit for learning something of interest. There is an instructor to suggest readings, assignments, etc. His entire proposal is pretty interesting and worth a read.

I think a course on podcasting (and blogging for that matter) would be a really unique offering at my own school. I admire Michael for taking the initiative to get something started. I’m definitely going to have to look into this “directed study” thing – I wonder if we have something similar at the UofA?

Read: Podcaster Canadiense

PlaysForSure

Post ImageI had my first “PlaysForSure” experience last night with Windows Media Player 10 and my Creative Zen Touch. I was browsing the downloads available for the Zen Touch the other day and came across a firmware update that added support for Microsoft’s PlaysForSure. What exactly is it? Here is the marketing fluff from Microsoft:

Choose your music. Choose your device. Know it’s going to work.

When your device and music service are compatible with each other, all you have to do is choose the music that’s compatible with you. Look for the PlaysForSure logo on a wide selection of devices and music stores.

Essentially for me it means I can plug the Zen Touch into any Windows XP machine and not have to install any drivers. Additionally I can use Windows Media Player 10 for transferring music and playlists, meaning I no longer need extra software. Considering I only use WMP10, this is great!

Everything worked perfectly for me. The only complaint I have is about transferring playlists – it is not immediately clear that you need to setup a sync for playlists. When WMP10 opens up, your media is on the left and your device on the right. Choosing a playlist and clicking Sync does not create a playlist on the device, it only copies the music! You need to setup the sync in order to have playlists transfer as well – minor step, but not immediately intuitive.

Seems to me that Microsoft has made excellent progress on the software side of things. Now if only they (and their partners) could produce a device as desirable as the iPod!

Read: PlaysForSure

NHL coming to iTunes?

Post ImageEarlier I mentioned that Apple would be making SNL skits available via iTunes for customers to download to their video iPods – but that’s not the only iTunes news of the day! Apparently the NHL is close to reaching a deal to offer video via Apple as well:

According to Sports Business Journal The NHL is very close to reaching agreements with Apple Computer Inc. for video downloading. “It would be fair to say we are close,” said Doug Perlman, NHL executive vice president of media.

Considering the NHL lost many of its American viewers with last year’s strike, this can only be seen as good news for the league. I wonder if they would offer entire games, or just highlights or something?

Read: Kukla’s Korner

Henry Blodget on Google

The infamous Henry Blodget took up blogging last year, and regardless of your opinions about him or your memories of the dotcom bubble and subsequent bust, he has some interesting thoughts. His latest focus on Google, which has been enjoying quite a steady ride north on the stock market lately. Here’s what Mr. Blodget has to say:

No one else is writing this piece, so it will have to be me. I should say upfront that I’m not predicting that this will happen (yet), and I’m certainly not making a recommendation. I’m just laying out a scenario that could kick Google in the kneecaps and take its stock back to, say, $100 a share.

Google’s major weakness is that it is almost entirely dependent on one, high-margin revenue stream. The company has dozens of cool products, but with the exception of AdWords, none of them generate meaningful revenue. From an intermediate-term financial perspective, therefore, they are irrelevant.

So, the question is, what could happen to AdWords, and what will happen to the company (and stock) if it does?

It’s a very interesting read, definitely worth it. One of the bigger problems he mentions is click fraud, but Google’s rapidly growing fixed costs are also a big factor. And he nails the biggest problem of all – they need some other revenue generating products! You can’t run a sustainable business when you only release beta products (I recently posted about betas on the Paramagnus Blog).

I know it’s silly to compare Google with Microsoft and Yahoo and any other company, but if Google “loses”, it will be because the other companies all have numerous revenue streams.

Read: Internet Outsider

Apple to sell SNL skits

Post ImageMacworld took centre stage in the world of technology today, so don’t be surprised if you see a lot of Apple-related items as you scan the headlines. One announcement that I found quite interesting is that Apple intends to sell Saturday Night Live skits through iTunes:

Apple is set to announce today that it will sell a limited number of archived “Saturday Night” skits through its iTunes Music Store for $1.99 each, for viewing on video iPods or personal computers.

The offering is the latest expansion of Apple’s iTunes video library, which includes content from television networks including NBC and ABC.

Seems to me this is an excellent idea; it’s exactly the sort of content most people will want to have on a portable device. There’s a theory that the coming battle between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD for the successor to DVDs will be meaningless, because content will be downloaded instead of purchased on physical media by the time all is said and done. I tend to think the theory holds some merit, and announcements like this one from Apple only make it even more likely. Already consumers download a lot of stuff and not just on the computer – take for example movies on satellite or digital cable.

Imagine if we had wireless everywhere! You could be walking to work or school or wherever, and get a notification that a new SNL skit is available for download. You simply say yes (and your credit card is charged), and pretty soon you’ve got a new video to watch! It’s powerful stuff.

Read: NYTimes.com

Winter Term

Yesterday was officially the first day of classes for the winter term, but I scheduled all of my classes for Tuesday and Thursday, leaving MWF free for work. I’m again taking three courses – two Computing Sciences courses and an English course (that deals with computers and literacy). Not much to report I guess…seems that everytime I go “back to school” it’s more of the same, nothing changes. At least the end is in sight for me now!

UPDATE: Turns out I spoke too soon, or posted too soon in this case! I just got back from my night class, the English one, and I realized there are two changes this term. First, I know someone in every class. And not just recognizing a face, but actually having some history and being able to carry on a conversation. Second, this is the first term ever that I have not had to purchase any textbooks. And to clarify, because it’s quite common for me to just not purchase the textbooks, I mean there are no required textbooks of any sort! So there you go, change after all.

Podcasting at IBM

Post ImageI ran across an interesting article today in The Journal News about podcasting inside and outside IBM. Sounds like Big Blue really likes the idea of time-shifted audio:

IBM started to encourage employees to read and create the online journals known as blogs last May. Shortly after, IBM started pushing podcasts — subscription-based audio downloads that can be listened to on laptops, iPods or other MP3 players.

Inside the company, about 50 podcasts have debuted. There have been 15,000 downloads in the past two months.

In addition to making work more fun, there are numerous cost savings that can occur at a company like IBM who adopts podcasting. Take for example a conference call in which one or two people simply dispense information to dozens more, perhaps explaining some documents or figures. That’s the kind of thing that can be very cheaply turned into a podcast, and according to the article, such a podcast saved IBM hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Could 2006 be the year of corporate podcasting?

Read: The Journal News

Notes for 1/8/2006

It’s been a busy week, that’s for sure. Last Sunday was of course New Years Day, bringing us into 2006, and I neglected to post any notes (actually I probably missed the week before that too!). Anyway, here are the first of 2006:

  • I returned from Inuvik on Monday night, and promptly went to Starbucks and then Denny’s. It was a good trip north for the holidays, nice to see my parents and get away from the city for a while. Here’s some pictures I took.
  • Google released a new product called Google Pack. Basically it’s a collection of “important” software that is updated regularly. Google has also been the subject of some interesting stock price gossip as of late.
  • I went to Kim & Mark Corie’s wedding reception last night! They look so great together, it was really beautiful. Megan took some pictures with her new digital camera. Congratulations Mark & Kim!
  • I wrote a guest post for Dave Lucas this week – check it out!
  • My brother arrived back in town on Thursday evening, and we went to the inaugural game for the Edmonton Rush, our new lacrosse team, on Friday night. It was great!
  • Kim arrived back in Edmonton tonight, and has an 8 AM class tomorrow morning – sucks! Speaking of class, I am registered for two so far, and I need to find a third (hopefully a night class).
  • Lots of really great Microsoft rumors lately! First there was Microsoft buying Yahoo, then there was Bill Clinton joining the company!
  • Tom, Sharon, Dickson and I went to the Edmonton Oilers Superskills competition today at Rexall Place. Only $5 for tickets and $2 for parking (unless you get ripped off like Dickson). It was really cool, we were four rows up from the ice. I never would have guessed it with guys like Bergeron and Stoll on the team, but Chris Pronger clocked the hardest shot at 102.9.
  • The coming week is back to school and really, back to work. I can’t believe we’re a week into January already!

Edmonton Rush Inaugural Game

Post ImageMy brother got season tickets for our brand new lacrosse team, the Edmonton Rush, for Christmas so I was lucky enough to go to the season home opener last night at Rexall Place. We had really great seats, so we got to see everything really well (here’s a picture I took with my camera phone). Unfortunately the Rush didn’t win, but it was an excellent game and a great experience:

Fans at the Edmonton Rush inaugural game were treated to an exciting contest as the San Jose Stealth edged the Rush 10-9 in overtime at Rexall Place. Stealth rookie forward Jeff Zywicki notched the game-winning goal at two minutes 59 seconds into the overtime period to secure the win for San Jose in front of 11,385 fans. The contest was a defensive struggle for the better part of the game until the teams found themselves in a shootout in the final minutes. In the final four minutes of regulation, the two teams combined for five goals, including a game-tying goal by Rush forward Brad Dairon with just seventeen seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, sending the contest into overtime.

Entertainment was name of the game last night, and it was everywhere. Here are some of the highlights:

  • They don’t have an oil derrick, but the Rush players did come onto the field with fireworks, smoke and lights!
  • The Rush also have a dance team, called Edmonton’s Crush. That’s hot, as Paris would say!
  • We are the only lacrosse club to have a live DJ playing music, DJ Rush. If you’ve never been to a lacrosse game, and chances are you haven’t, you won’t know that they play music while the teams are playing! It’s great too because when we have the ball, its always loud, powerful music and when the opposition has the ball, it’s quieter music.
  • The Seattle Supersonic’s famous mascot Squatch was on hand to introduce our official mascot, his long lost cousin, Slush. Tom and I even got to “high five” Squatch.
  • Heard of Orange Country Choppers? Sure you have! And the Rush have their very own chopper, and man is it cool. We’ve also got a monster truck apparently.
  • The game did get violent at times, even though there were no fights. Tom assures me there is usually a fight.

There’s lots of tickets available if you want to check out the next game. And if you’re new to lacrosse, here’s a good introduction to lacrosse, including the rules of the National Lacrosse League.

Read: Edmonton Rush