Mark Watson's opinions on Java, Ruby, Lisp, AI, and the Semantic Web

I have blogged about Joost a few times before, but the system now works even better than before: better looking video, very few pauses in video stream, and more interesting material.

One thing about Joost: the commercials are short and unobtrusive. I actually wish that they would include more commercials to ensure that as a company they stay in business. Good stuff!

I think that ABC also does Internet video very well (on my MacBook, they is a one time Java plugin installation). However, I like the more "Indy" style material on Joost. I also prefer Joost's technical approach of using a "rich client": not everything has to happen in a web browser. That said, I would hope that all major networks follow ABC's lead.

Labels: media

A reader of my blog sent me a Joost invite (thanks Ugo!)

Joost is still in beta with a few rough edges, but generally I think that it is awesome! My wife Carol took one look at it and said "I want that!"

The Max OS X client takes over the desktop (if you want), and provides a nice viewing experience. My favorite feature is remembering (an optional setting) which program you were watching and restart the video feed right where you left off.

While I am a huge supporter of Open Content (I was the CreativeCommons.org commoner of the week several years ago for my free web books) I also like to see more commercial material available on demand.

Labels: media

ABC has done a good job presenting their TV shows at ABC.com - I don't like their shows, but they do a good job of presenting them with few commercials. On the other hand, Comedy Central has lots of material that I like but their web portal lacks the usability and polish of ABC's portal (but I use it anyway). The screenshots on Joost.com look great but I am still waiting for a membership invite.

I don't blame content owners one bit for protesting if their material appears on YouTube or other user oriented video sites if they are not compensated. Although user driven sites like YouTube and Google Video (where I post my personal videos) are fun and popular, I suspect that video portals that are partnered with quality content providers will gain market share. BTW, it is probably time to roll out 100% IPv6 to support video multicasting (and confounding port scanners as an extra bonus!)

Labels: media

I have had computers either break or I reloaded the operating system without de-authorizing the computers from Apple's iTunes music store. There is a limit of 5 authorized computers per account, so I was in the position of not being able to play some TV shows that I purchased. It turns out that all you need to do is visit Apple's support page for iTunes that starts the iTunes application, allowing you to de-authorize all computers. Then you can re-authorize just your currently working computers. You can de-authorize all computers once per year.

Labels: media

I have blogged several times on how much I enjoy Apple's iTunes store, always burning any songs I buy to a CDR as MP3 as backup. I just did get burned by Apple's DRM however. This was partially carelessness on my part and partially some bad luck with hardware. You can only "authorize" 5 computers at once to work with your iTunes store account. I had a disk go bad on a Mac and had to re-install OS X without first unregistering the computer with the iTunes store. I had a similar experience recently with a Windows laptop: re-installed Windows without remembering to de-authorize that computer with the iTunes music store. Now I can't watch several Battle Star Galactica videos I purchased on my laptop. Oh well, no great loss.

(Un)Trusted Computing is a bigger deal: if I buy a computer, I want control over:

• What software gets installed on my computer
• When I buy a license to run an operating system, like Windows, I want to be trusted as a customer, and not have my computer (partially) disabled if Microsoft makes an error

I am currently running Windows 2000 on my laptop, and I am happy enough: I still can get security updates, my system is stable, and I can run Windows-only VPN software that my customer provides me. My experience with Windows XP was less happy, but still reasonable. While Microsoft Vista's (Un)Trusted Computing might appeal to unsophisticated computer users, Vista does not appeal to me, and I am hoping to permanently avoid Vista.

Richard Stallman and Eben Moglen of the FSF.org have been warning about loss of freedoms for computer users for many years, and unfortunately some of their dire predictions seem to be coming true.

What I think is important is that people who want Microsoft's Vista should have the right to Use Windows. Same with Apple users. People who want to use these proprietary systems will certainly be able to get "locked in" all they want.

The problem I have is for the 1% to 2% of computer users (like me!) who appreciate the advantages of running Linux, even without having access to media like DVDs, etc. I want to be "left alone", and be free to set up my Linux computer as I like it. In regards to patent issues: I see great hope because large companies like IBM are sharing part of their protective patent "umbrella" with the Linux community. Good going IBM - I will certainly give them my business when I can. Also, I hope that the courts take a fair approach to enforcing patents: patent holders like Microsoft who might want to legally attack Linux users should be made to publish which patent violations Linux is supposedly guilty of, and I believe that the Linux community will quickly get rid of any legally offending code if any such code exists in Linux.

Labels: IT, media, open source

I am a bit biased, having worked on two Nintendo U64 games (mostly game AI). That said, Nintendo seems to be doing everything right:

• Concentrate on game play: Shigeru Miyamoto (who was at Angel Studios the first morning that I started there - many years ago) felt that the key to better game play was a new controller metaphor, not expensive graphics hardware. Start with a concept (game play/controller vs. graphics hardware) and carry that through from development to launch
• Profitable console! Compare to > $200 loss on selling PS3 console.
• Launch with sufficient units: satisfied Nintendo customers vs. many disappointed Sony customers

Well done Nintendo. While I sometimes enjoy gaming on my Sony Portable Playstation, I was disappointed by the very high cost of movies in the UMD format. While I am tempted to buy a Wii (my stepson, son in law, and grandson will all be visiting for Christmas, and a new gaming machine would be fun for us!), I am not inclined at all to buy a PS3.

Labels: media

A very good start: check it out.

My favorites so far are Sarah McLachlan's "World on Fire" and an Aikido training video. I like this idea: using Bit Torrent, the nonprofit Participatory Culture Foundation helps publishers distribute their content inexpensively. I keep wondering why more TV material (with commercials for profit) are also not published this way. I would like to see more Indy SciFi movies and TV shows, and Bit Torrent distribution with embedded advertisements would greatly reduce costs over traditional broadcasting.

The client software is written in Python and C and is GPLed.

Labels: media

Slashdot has a discussion on Microsoft's "free" PC and XBOX 360 game development kit. There are also other good low cost alternatives for Indie development like Torque.

I spent a few years doing AI game development at Angel Studios (2 Nintendo games, prototype networked PC hovercraft game, and a VR system for Disney) and although I have been working more on 'practical' AI applications since moving to Sedona 7 years ago, I still have a keen interest in gaming and AI for games. A few years ago I thought of setting up a cooperative game development community for fun and maybe some profit, but my consulting business keeps me too busy, at least for now. Another thing that keeps me from making a large investment in an independent game making co-op is thinking how much money was spent writing commercial games at Angel Studios: teams with dozens of professional artists, programmers, a few musicians, etc. are expensive. That said, game AI programming is great fun and surprisingly difficult.

Labels: AI, media

I just spent some time uploading more travel pictures to my Flickr collection and uploaded to Google Video several short videos clips that I took in Africa and India several years ago:
Samburu dancers, Kenya Africa
Samburu school children singing, Kenya Africa
Elephants, Kenya Africa (30 seconds before a male elephant charged us)
Crocodiles being fed chickens, Samburu Lodge bar, Kenya Africa
Dancers in Kochin India

While I appreciate the free services, where is the profit? I do understand the value in collecting information on people, but I wonder if some web services like Google Video and Flickr will always be loss-leaders.

Labels: media