News 2.0: Because yesterday’s newscasts didn’t jump out of the TV and demand your undivided attention

I read an absurd story (here) today about how CNN will use advanced holographic technology to present election night coverage, allowing Obama and McCain strategists to appear to be in a room with Wolf Blitzer, when they are really in two separate cities.  This will either be remarkably cool, or bafflingly pointless.  We will find out.  One thing I do certainly find cool, though, is MSNBC peddling of what it calls ‘Newsware’.  This is not new (it started earlier this year), but today I very briefly tried out the ‘Spectra’ web browser-based news visualiser, and the ‘NewsSkimmer’ news screensaver.  They are both rather impressive, with nifty 3D animations, and, thankfully, a very minimalist and generally well-designed look.  Unfortunately, my 1.67 GHz G4 PowerBook, with 512 MB memory, isn’t fast enough to play the animations smoothly, but its still rather nice.  More info, and free downloads, at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23781733/

Filed under: News, TV, Technology, US , CNN, election, MSNBC, NewsWare, TV, Uncategorized, Wolf Blitzer

Decision ‘08 Presidential Results

Hmm…

Filed under: Uncategorized , Uncategorized

A Technology-related Post Cleverly Disguised as a Photo Gallery

More photos.  Meanwhile, in other news…

This is perhaps a little too tech-related, but the new software for the Apple iPod touch has been released, meaning that, for about €8.00, I have what is essentially a new device.  The software update provides a number a new features which are worth noting.

The App Store

The App Store is a new service provided by Apple, which basically allows the user of an iPhone or iPod touch to download and install small applications written by third-parties, either through iTunes on a Mac or PC, or directly on the iPod touch or iPhone using wifi (or the 3G network, if you are that way inclined).  This means in practice that there is a theoretically unlimited variety of programs to increase the functionality of the touch/iPhone, some of which at no extra cost (while some require a small fee).

The Apps Themselves

For a while now, it has been possible to use specially designed websites, which fit the size of the touch/iPhone screen.  These are called ‘Webapps‘ and are good, but are just websites (admittedly clever websites, but websites nonetheless).  These new apps which are now available from the App Store ‘feel’ much more robust and more persistent.  What’s more, Apple has complete control over which apps, from which providers, may be installed on the touch/iPhone.  Whilst this appears a rather closed system, it has a number of advantages in my view.  Firstly, it makes the touch/iPhone much more secure, by allowing Apple to screen any app which is proposed for deployment on the touch/iPhone to ensure it is not a virus and is not harmful.  Secondly, the nature of the system (as far as I understand) encourages the adoption of an ‘Apple-like’ attitude to design, ie. clean, uncluttered and functional interfaces.  Some of my favourite apps so far are the Apple Remote app (which allows the user to control the iTunes music player on a computer using the touch/iPhone as a sort of remote control on steroids), the Facebook app (which is a little limited, but is rather elegantly designed) and Twitterrific (a [perhaps the] Twitter utility).  I’m also looking forward to the purportedly imminent release of an official WordPress app for mobile blogging.

The Whole Shebang

One thing which really comes across when using the new software is that I no longer feel like I am using the Internet when I am using apps such as Facebook and Twitterrific, which are outside of the web browser.  The user is separated from address bars, login names, passwords and bookmarks and the apps form a perfect interface between user and network.  Another thing which I should also mention under this fairly general sub-heading is one small but incredibly clever function which I suspected might exist and only discovered because I tried it out.  It relates to photos.  The iPod touch (unlike the iPhone) has no built-in camera, so, on the face of it, the only way to get photos onto the touch is by connecting it to a computer and downloading them using iTunes.  As it turns out, with the version of the Safari web browser which is part of the new software, if you tap and immediately hold an image in the browser, a menu will appear, offering the user the option of saving the image directly onto the iPod touch.  If I were American, I suppose I would call this ‘neat’.

So that’s my patchy overview of the new iPod touch/iPhone software.

Filed under: Uncategorized , App store, Apple, iPhone, iPhone 2.0, iPhone SDK, iPod touch, Photography, Safari, twitter, Uncategorized

In God We Trust

Looks like Gordon Brown’s problems are far from over.  A comment made by Health Minister Ben Bradshaw on Friday’s edition of the Today programme, the day after Labour lost the Henley by-election (and when I say lost, I mean really lost), probably didn’t help.  Audio of the interview can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7476000/7476833.stm.  The good bit starts around 3:22, when James Naughtie asks him a question about the apparent failure of Gordon Brown, in the eyes of political commentators.  In answering the question Bradshaw directly implies that David Cameron has proven himself a highly capable leader, and therefore the media have been proved wrong in the past when it comes to the viability of party leaders.  At this rate, come 2010, the Labour Party will probably just concede the election before the people go to the polls, with Gordon Brown endorsing Cameron and campaigning on his behalf.  Or maybe not.

 

On the subject of the elections in Zimbabwe, I find it difficult to know what to write.  I will mention, though, firstly, a petition which can be signed on the subject, and also a rather interesting BBC News article about the possible scenarios which could play out as a result of the current crisis.  It seems that, given the apparent inability of the international community to effect real change in the country, it really will take divine intervention to change things for the better.  On that front, however, I hear God already has his hands full stopping the Democrats from letting the Republicans win again, in November.

Filed under: Uncategorized , BBC, by-election, David Cameron, election, Gordon Brown, government, Henley, prime minister, r4today, UK, Uncategorized, Zimbabwe

Triangular Kiwi

Here is a cross section of one of the kiwis I bought today:

A triangular kiwi.  Hmm…   Genetic modification?  Seems unlikely, especially since the packet said that they were organic.  I don’t know much about kiwis, so perhaps this is just a variety I’ve never come across before in Albert Heijn.  (Wait a minute?  According to Latin, shouldn’t kiwi be the plural?  That would make the singular ‘kiwus’.  Perhaps not…)

I recently joined twitter and what struck me most about the site was something which also struck me about vimeo.com.  Far from exhibiting the predilection for point 9 font in the name of elegance, both these sites have clean, elegant, appealing designs, with a large font sizes.  This makes them much easier to read and significantly more user-friendly.  Furthermore, the skillful use of colour really helps in improving usability in both cases.  Contrast these two sites, then, with myspace.com, which is the embodiment of unnavigable clutter.

Meanwhile: the BBC has discovered that Gordon Brown personally telephones people who send him letters.  That must have been difficult for Downing Street to own up to.  (Stand clear of the copious sarcasm.)  Especially as the government is currently trying to promote the idea that Brown ‘listens to the people’.  Wow!  What a coincidence that this comes out so close to the Crewe and Nantwich by-election.  You could almost suggest it was more than a coincidence.  Nah!  That’s about as unlikely as coming across a triangular kiwi.  Oh… So… that would be ‘quite likely’ then.

Filed under: Uncategorized , BBC, font, Gordon Brown, kiwi, myspace, telephone, twitter, Uncategorized, vimeo, web design

Ceci n’est pas un blog post

Finally: the opportunity to post returns once again. On Wednesday, I completed my final examination for the International Baccalaureate Diploma, meaning I have now (theoretically) finished my secondary education. I do not, though, recieve the results until early July.

I was listening to a podcast today called New Kids on the Blog, originally broadcast in December last year on BBC Radio 4, about the revolution taking place in the news media due to the power of the internet and ‘user generated content’. The whole programme was generally interesting, but perhaps the best quote was a comment at the end of the programme made by ABC’s Charles Gibson. Warning of the dangers which arise as a result of the media and bloggers attempting to grab attention and distinguish themselves from the crowd by providing opinion and being “shrill” rather than providing journalistic reporting, he said “it leads to people being sort of spring-loaded in the pissed-off position”.

With that in mind, let me now turn to another podcast, but one which moderately annoyed me at times. A couple of years ago, the BBC broadcast a programme called Humphrys in Search of God, in which John Humphrys (BBC Radio 4 presenter) interviewed three prominent religious figures on the subject of faith and the existence of God. It was a really interesting programme, but was, at times, bemusing. Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury) had the first go at converting Humphrys from agnosticism to religion. The following is an extract from the interview, with my emphasis added (the full text is available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/misc/scripts/humphryswilliams.html)

…

Rowan Williams: Putting myself in that position, it’s a very difficult question, actually. I think I might say maybe you should ask somebody who does believe in God, and see what it sounds like. Not, I think, entirely irrelevant, as belief in God appears to come more naturally to children than to adults. And you can take that in one of two ways, can’t you? You can take it as saying belief in God is one of those things like belief in Santa Claus that every sensible person…

John Humphrys: Just what I was about to say.

Rowan Williams: Indeed. Or you can say there’s something instinctive about belief in God which life educates out of some of us in ways that are not always positive or constructive.

…

BBC Radio 4. “Dr Rowan Williams – broadcast interview.” 31.10.06. Humphrys in Search of God. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/misc/scripts/humphryswilliams.html] (23.05.08).

Eh? Clearly, this is not a case of Rowan Williams having missed the obvious, since he acknowledges that there is an opposing view to the belief that children possess an innate understanding of the existence of God (the opposing view being that they are effectively “indoctrinated” with a belief which eventually fades away), but then simply presents it as an inferior explanation. (This is clear from the context of the quote as well. See the full text for the interview). Rowan Williams’ explanation of how suffering in the world can be reconciled with the existence of an omnipotent (and, perhaps more importantly, benevolent) god is also rather unimpressive (to me at least).

Also today, I would like to point any travellers within the blogsphere who may pass this way towards the BBC blog of Mark Kermode (BBC film critic, whose weekly film review radio programme bears almost religious importance to me). This week he has posted a daily video diary from the Cannes Film Festival, which are all the more entertaining given his intense dislike of the festival itself. However, although site visitor numbers are not readily available, judging from the number of comments, it looks like his blog could do with more search traffic. Perhaps, to this end, he should take a leaf out of this blogger’s book and replicate his humourous (but apparently effective) tactics designed to increase site traffic. As for as my posts are concerned though, I’ll probably just stick with the short, vaguely obscure titles I have always given my posts, even if it is at the expense of my popularity amongst the gullible-link-clicker demographic.

Filed under: Uncategorized , BBC, blog, Cannes Film Festival, Mark Kermode, Religion, school, Uncategorized

Video meliora proboque deteriora sequor

Having not posted here for a while, I should start by directing the reader’s attention to a number of videos I have uploaded recently. They are a mixture of footage and photography, accompanied by original music uploaded to the site ‘vimeo.com’. Below are a couple of the lower resolution videos I have made so far.

From my vimeo profile page (at http://vimeo.com/refuge) my HD photography slideshows can also be viewed.

On the subject of internet new media (<– stand clear of the unnecessarily unwieldy segue), BBC News has finally finished revamping its website. The BBC homepage had already been redesigned, however the News section of the site was, until recently, still working under the old design. Details on hows and whys of the new layout can be found in this entry on the BBC ‘The Editors’ blog. I’m personally a big fan of the new design, and not only because it allows me to witter on about a subject which is far less controversial than the current affairs reported on the BBC News site itself (Tibet/Zimbabwe/The Apprentice UK).

Finally, as regular readers will be aware, I cannot end a post without mentioning (read: ‘ranting about) President George ‘Dubya’ Bush. Today’s mention comes in the form of a video from the American television news programme ‘Countdown with Keith Olbermann’ presented by… well, Keith Olbermann (the antidote to Bill O’Reilly). The fun part begins around 0:45 in, when the phrase ’stay the course’ comes under discussion.

Filed under: Uncategorized , BBC, George Bush, Iraq, Uncategorized, video, vimeo

Field

Here’s something fairly wacky: an audio track I created using GarageBand on the Mac. Its called ‘Field’. (I should emphasise that it does not include any pre-created loops/audio clips, so it’s my own work.)

Filed under: Uncategorized , Junk, music

Sunrise

These photographs I took this morning show the sky in The Hague:

Filed under: Uncategorized , Photography, The Hague

Out of the picture

The last time I wrote a real blog post (rather than copping out by posting photos), I mentioned George Bush. Not terribly surprising you may say, this being a place where I tend to rant, and him being an easy target for a simplistic youth like myself. But, is it just me (since it usually is) or has Bush been somewhat out of the picture, in terms of news coverage, at the moment? Of course, the US elections of 2008 have been the focus of much of the media’s reporting on America, in Europe at least, but he must be feeling a little injured at being so ignored.

On the other hand (and I’m not often the one to so willingly consider the counterargument, so, intellectually, this is really pushing the boat out), it may not be such a good thing for the leaders of our world to attempt to grab media attention, especially if it means following the path chosen by a certain Nicolas Sarkozy. It’s not that I particularly object to the manner in which he conducts his private affairs, it’s more that I don’t care and feel uneasy that we are being made aware of it at all. In the end, I think it says much about the way politics seems to work nowadays (the importance of image in the mind of the electorate, etc.).

And image looks to be very important in deciding who will replace ever-diminishing George Bush. I was looking at the homepage of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign today, and it seems that he wishes Americans to ‘believe’ in the change he will bring. As an as yet unconverted atheist, I am slightly suspicious of anything that invites the support of the participant based on faith alone. Though I’m sure he does have concrete policies, there is also the issue of candidates needing to please everyone, in order to get the widest possible vote, and them using meaningless language to achieve this. But if all else fails, Obama could always ‘utilize’ the famous disenfranchise-the-opposition’s-voters ploy that has worked so well for the current occupant of the oval office (allegedly).

Filed under: Uncategorized , Barack Obama, election, George Bush, Nicolas Sarkozy