A Landslide Rant

I was watching Paladium TV earlier this evening where Fleetwood Mac played "Landslide" on stage. The song reminded me of when I played the song for my grandmother on the guitar shortly before she passed away. Since then the song belonged to her and my fond memories of our time together. Before the song was over I downloaded it from iTunes and synced it to my iPod for my drive to work tomorrow.

What does this have to do with technology? I say plenty in an age where music and other artistry is reduced to bits that can be transferred without regard to copyright or other ethics. I believe that if we expect to continue to listen to great music we need to support those artists who create art that we understand, appreciate, and relate to.

The Internet is bringing us closer to artists and other content creators on a more personal level than ever before. The faceless corporations who contract these artists are being replaced by Internet tools and services that will spread thoughts and ideas better than any music label ever could.

Unfortunately on the other side we have peer to peer services that help people steal this content, robbing from those who are due a royalty for creating great content. The only ethical thing to do is support commerce and the artists you appreciate by purchasing your music in a respectable manner.

My iPad Predictions

As we get closer to the release of the iPad, I thought I'd go on record with my predictions as to the impact of this highly anticipated Apple product. First, I think the iPad will be a success. I believe Apple will reach their benchmarks and celebrate the iPad's first year. Small crowds will form around those lucky few with the device while showing off the thousands of apps already available for it. This will truly be Apple's day in the sun and they deserve it.

Unfortunately Apple is going to have to work to keep their market share in the niche category they created. Coming out soon is the Joo Joo, a similar device scheduled to ship later this month. I'm not sure of the price, but the rest of the specs look to strike directly at the iPad with many of the same features. I would also bet Google is working on their version of the iPad that would work with their upcoming OS (Chrome) and leverage their own app store for their Nexus One phone.

In the end the winner will be the consumer. With so much competition it will be interesting to see who comes out ahead in the next couple of years. As far as I can see, it looks to shake out like the cell phone wars with Apple becoming the leader everyone chases.

Why I Will Never Buy A Nexus One

A few months ago I responded to a promotion Google had prior to Christmas. The offer included a cool EyeFi memory card if you purchased 200GB of cloud memory space from Google. It's now March 28th and I haven't seen the card yet. Further I tried to contact Google and EyeFi to inquire about my card and I've received no response. It's like calling into a black hole with no one there to listen to you.

I've heard of similar problems from other people complaining about the lack of customer service from Google. I can only imagine what would happen if I had a problem with my Nexus One phone. Further I don't trust Google very much when it comes to my data. What would happen if my Youtube account was suddenly suspended? Or my Blogger account? The truth is Google can do whatever they want with my accounts including my Gmail. Luckily Google did begin a new project called the Data Liberation Front based on the idea of freeing your data from any one service or provider in the event you become locked out of your accounts.

Party Photos Using Animoto

I can't tell you how much I love Animoto. This convenient service allows me to make eye-catching videos with my still photos in a matter of minutes. All I have to do is choose my photos and select my music, Animoto does the rest. Below is a short video I sent to a few family members who couldn't be there.



Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.


The cool thing is you are not limited to the video's uses. Animoto has a business application that is perfect for wedding photographers, allowing you to further customize the look and length of your video. I've used Animoto a number of times for my wife's SheBloom website. Here's a sample:



Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.