Com 597 - In Vino Verde

Class 8 Reading Ah-Ha, DRM

2006-07-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

"Protecting the rights of the content owners to ensure that they get a fair return on their assets is paramount; otherwise they will not make content available. However this protection should not be at the expense of the fair-use rights of the consumer (p.312)." This is a simple summation of the complex and ever-evolving battle between software owners and users. I am probably not in the majority of techno-savvy individuals when I say that I tend to side with the argument put forth by the content owners; user should have to pay for the software that they use.

It seems that in the auro and creation of the Internet, we have birthed a society of innovators who are constantly trying to break the codes, to copy and re-use, to download, to distibute for free. Of course, I have done this in the past and I still do but I also would like to be on the business side of the Internet making money and in order to this ther has to be reliable ways established to distribute content without constnatly getting ripped off. I think there should and can be a middle ground where users and content owners can both get what they want. But DRM is and will continue to be increasingly inhibiting to the average user as long as people can find ways around it.

I guess I am at the standpoint of many people who have a scope on the industry right now,;I am not quite sure how DRM issues will work themselves out but I do not that their is a dark cloud looming over this issue and something has got to give.

Class 7 Reading - Video on the Web and Mobile Devices

2006-07-13T16:31:00.001-07:00

Head is spinning, head is spinning. No, I actually do understand much of what is going on in these chapters about streaming video on the web and on mobile devices. There seemed to be a lot of discussion about the use of plug-ins and the difference between the EMBED and the OBJECT command and in reference to Windows. I am not entirely clear about how to use/obtain/code plug-ins but these seem to be the solution for playing video on a player that is not installed on the hard drive.

Delivering streaming media to mobile devices such as phones seems like a hard sell to me right now. I am personally not to excited by the prospect of watching video on my cell phone, with the low bit rates required and the tiny screen, I just really do not see the intrigue. I am slightly more interested in ideas like the ESPN phone that connects to nearly all-encompassing, wireless sports service which provides up-to-the-minute scores, news, opinion columns, audio and video. This might be worthwhile to look at every once in awhile, especially since the duration of the content provided would be short.

Class 6 reading Ah-ha - Windows Media Player

2006-07-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

Ah, this is home for me. Windows Media Player (with a smile). But wait, does Windows Media Player 9 suck like Wooten says? Well, he doesn't neccessarliy say it sucks but he does challenge the usefulness and capabilities of WM9 about 1,000 times more than the following chapter on Quicktime.

Some of Wooten's criticism's may not just be cynicism for the monopolistic grandeur of the Microsoft software platform. It seems obvious though that the WM9 codec may not perform as well on a Mac OS and is currently not supported in Linux (apparently no one does), but honestly WM9 (and 10 I guess) is a broad market version that will reach the largest audience effectively - that cannot be denied.

The whole battle between H.264 and the VC-1 platform for adopting a codec standard is interesting and could be another battle for Microsoft. In the end, it seems that Microsoft always wins out even if the H.264 came first and has been more well received in the beginning stages. We'll see, my money is always going to be on Microsoft and not just because they have the industry share and dollars, but because I like their products and they serve a broader audience.

Brightcove Content Owners

2006-07-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

DLife.com

The first site I explored was dlife, dedicated to living with diabetes. The dlife TV videos were intriguing to me especially the first two with Kendall Simmons of the Pittsburg Steelers and Adam Morrison, first round draft pick in the 2006 NBA draft.

I was intrigued with this site because I am a diabetic and I often feel like diabetes is portrayed in popular media as a disease for fat people or unhealthy people. The main spokespeople that I see on TV for diabetes are old, overweght actors or singers such as Patty Labelle, Wilford Brimely, and BB King - like I want to take advice or inspiration from these people. I like the fact that the dlife site is utilizing the Brightcove technology and server to provide a unique and fresher viewpoint for diabetes and the links within the page provide a plethora of useful and most importantly up to date information about diabetes.

Diabetes technology is rapidly improving so I think it is a natural fit to have an interactive website utilizing streaming media to convey a current message about diabetes. The dlife site is all about communicating a message and the use of Brightcove is a good fit.

KidzBop.com

This site has a much different purpose than the dlife site. Kidzbob is all about entertainment for kids age 5-10. The layout and navigation is simple so that kids can use it, which actually I prefere this style as well. When I started to get in to the content, I was actually kind of interested - I like the fact that you can scroll through so much content quickly and the player loads almost instantly, which for kids with short attention spans is perfect.

I think this site would be a great tool for active young kids who like to mess with the computer and it could also serve as a timely aid for babysitting.

Class 5 Reading - QuickTime, QuickTime, QuickTime....

2006-07-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Wooten has many good things to say about the QuickTime player and promotes its nonlinear playback and capability to support open standards formatting. Is it just me or does it seem like this chapter was ripped from the QuickTime owner's manual?

QuickTime and MPEG-4 wil cooperate well together especially since MPEG-4, as it is described in this chapter, is based on the QuickTime file format. The ability to adjust the layout of the QuickTime player is described as a unique and 'tricky' capability. But, I would really like to see where this can be useful, or I guess better put more functional. I suppose the moto and much of the selling point of Apple formats is tailored to the design savvy user and therefore functionality is not a main concern.

My favorite term from this chapter is definitely "re-skinning a QuickTime player."

Assignment for Class 4, Use of Flash in Website

2006-06-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Website: http://www.krystal.com/

The Krystal burgers website utilizes a great deal of flash for an interactive experience. I found this website because the Krystal square-off is one of the major competitions on the competitive eating schedule which I am a part of. The site seems simple when you first arrive, but as you scroll around and start to click, you quickly see the depth of the website with the use of flash you feel as though you are in a restaurant, a theatre, and an arcade all at once.

I really like the front page, as I mentioned you are immediately thrown in to an interactive experience with "Krystal," your virtual host who gives you a quick video introduction about what is available in the site. I also am very impressed by the quickness of the flash operation. When you scroll from left to right on the front page, the sounds change when you scroll over the 'lounge', the 'restaurant', and the 'square-off', to make you feel like you are there.

There are some things that can be improved. When you start to dig deeper, especially in the lounge section and the square-off section, there are some problems with the links. in the lounge section in the theatre there are items that seem like you should be able to click on but there is not link available. In the Square-Off section, the one I am most interested in, the links are really incomplete and everything seems to move a bit slow. The most important thing to me is that if you are going to have things on the screen, you should make sure the links work and that everything has a purpose otherwise all the work that was put in to creating the site is wasted by poor management.

The purpose and message that the flash and the website provide is that Krystals is an upbeat, edgy and fun place to eat and visit. I think the utilization of flash and the interactive video within the website is very effective for communicating the Krystal brand. I think that maybe they should just manage the upkeep of the website so that it is more professional and so it doesn't distract from the message.

My computer is a Boeing issued Dell Latitude - 2GB hard drive.

Ah-ha From Reading Class 3

2006-06-28T03:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got my book so I don't have to scroll down my computer screen to read the chapters. Anyway, the chapter on digital image formats seemed packed full of technical jargon (not unlike the rest of the book). I had to read many sections 3 to 4 times before i could really grasp the concept of the imaging and display examples. I am still not quite sure about how all of these things are important and relate. When Wootton starts describing the use of Pythagoras theories and DPI conversion ratios my brain really starts to hurt. I am sure the information provided and especially the tables would be more lucid and helpful if I was actually experimenting with the examples and experiencing the results of the different image display formats.

In the beginning of chapter 6 (6.3) it is mentioned that computer video displays were originally implemented by plugging in domestic TV monitors. It goes on to describe how computer monitors evolved and became more specialized; i wonder why TV monitors did not follow the same path?

Overall, I think the most coherent and possibly useful information stated in the chapter (atleast for my current experience) is to not rely on pre-set defintions of screen size, to verify the x and y values to help avoid confussion with compression software.

Novel Use of Streaming Media in Politics

2006-06-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

I am particularly interested in the use of stremaing media in politics. In the past four years politicians have been utilizing the powerful communication tools of the Internet to convey their messages. But as a whole politicians have been behind the curve as far as unlocking the full potential of reaching potential voters through the interactive advantages of the Internet. Many politicians now keep up blogs and a rising number of politicians are beginning to utilize streaming media to broadcast and publish live and past speeches.

In the last presidential election, both Kerry and Bush had an online campaign and online campaign managers. Zack Exley, who was the director of online communication organization for the Kerry-Edwards 2004 campaign admitted that the online efforts for 2004 fell short, in part because they failed to embrace some traditional democratic values. Bush's campaign focused on grassroots building and campaign fundraising was more effective and could have played a large role in the eventual outcome. This Harvard Gazette article goes in deeper detail about the issue.

Anyway, back to streaming media and politics. In the upcoming 2008 election, I believe stremaing media will provide candidates with yet another powerful tool to reach potential voters and let their message resonate. I chose one of my favorite Democratic senators from Illinois and particularly well spoken and potential candidate for 2008, Barrack OBama's website. Barrack has a well constructed website with a catalog of podcasts with the subtitle of 'Audio reports on issues affecting Illinois, the nation and the U.S. Senate.' His voice and message is clear in these speeches which cover a varietly of topics. I Look for Obama and other candidates to continue to utilize stremaing media to have a large impact on future campaigns.

Ah-Ha for Class 2 Readings

2006-06-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

The description of how audio is coded and synchronized was very intriguing. I guess I have taken for granted how sound waves are converted by the human ear and coded to create a three dimensional feel. In actuality we receive sound through two one-dimensional signals, our ears, and then the waves are interpreted based on the phasing and time they arrived (I still don't understand exactly what this means) makes the sound seem dynamic.

When the concept of binaural audio recording was described, I could picture things more clearly in my head of how the sound that I hear comes to my brain and why there is so much variance in the way things are recorded. I also found it very interesting that the best way to listen to the playback of a recording would be through a pair of headphones but when considering how the human ear translates the waveforms, it really makes sense. I also gained a little deaper appreciation for the recent Pearl Jam album, titled Binaural after discovering the significance of this type of recording.

Week 1 Assignment - 950 KJR

2006-06-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

The website I am reviewing is Seattle #1 sports radio station 950 KJR . I visit this site quite frequently to listen to the live streaming radio broadcasts and occasionally listen to the podcasts that are loaded on the website. This site has been providing live streaming broadcasts for at least three years, which is a long time considering the streaming technology is fairly new.

As far as the live broadcasts go, i really have a hard time finding anything I would like improved; the streaming braodcast loads very quick on my laptop, it takes one click to listen anywhere in the world. There is no requirement to sign up for membership to the 950 KJR sportsclub in order to listen to the live broadcast. As far as the quality of the sound, the compression is relatively low or atleast it is difficult to detect. There is a slight hollow feeling to the sound of the broadcast, meaning that the highs and lows are dampenened a bit but the clarity is very crisp. It is a bit difficult to listen during the commercials, many of the commercials are blocked likely due to contractual reasons, therefore there is just this repetitive music playing and a voice callout every two minutes or so.

The podcast feature on the website is much newer, it has probably only been available for the past six months. The quality of the podcasts are considerably lower, with the compression much higher. I actually have been on the show with the Groz three times in the past few weeks discussing my competitive eating career and two of the interviews are up on the web (filed under Audio, Groz OnDemand, 'Erick "Red" Denmark' w/Groz 6-2 and 6-5 (they misspell my name)). Anyway, although the quality of the interview sound is not the highest, the podcast feature is very convenient for sharing and archiving especially for me because I can load these broadcasts on my website. I think the podcasts need to be more consistent; some things get loaded, some things don't, but for the most part this is a great feature and once again it is free and very easy to access.