Speaking with Lorne Wilson – A Podcast?

It has recently been requested of me to present a podcast, hmmm I understand that podcasts are the new big thing but to be honest I really don’t get the hype.

First of all it seems the only thing that defines or differentiates a podcast from any other type of media it that it is broadcast through the web…ooooooooh how novel.

So what we have here is a type of media that I could either watch on television or listen to on the radio, but instead I have to invest either in a computer or some other expensive device (coughipod) that will allow me to view/listen to this media.

The only real difference I see is that it caters to the new..’I want it now’ attitude that the web has spawned.

Here’s where I see it going….Right now podcasts are trendy and all that, but just wait. Eventually the majority of content will end-up either being mindless banal crap (a la -facebook) or….the good stuff will become monetized (if it already hasn’t) at which time most will drop it in favour of the “next big thing”.

That’s just my opinion, we’ll wait and see.

Anyway I have interviewed my friend Lorne Wilson who has been a New Media Developer for the better part of ten years now and has always been helpful to me in my pursuit of education and experience in the very same career choice. So here’s a small snippit from the interview. If anyone would like to hear more of it just email me and I’ll see what I can do.

Edit: it seems wordpress wont let me post a small audio file with my 50mb’s of free spac, and I’m not sure I feel like committing cash to my blog just yet. I’ll see if I can find a work-around and get back to you.

Murmur

Class runs late, ok so half an hour to eat and get back to class, great.

Oh wait, even less time as our instructor reminds us there is a speaker we should see presenting in the auditorium hallway. My classmate and I grab some bad chinese food from the cafeteria.

There we are standing in hallway trying to eat slippery noodles and take in a speech in the fifteen to twenty minutes left of our lunch hour.

The presenter is a young man (younger than me anyhow) named Dave Sonny a graduate student from centennial. The subject he is presenting is a project he participated in called ‘Murmur’ (I’ll explain shortly). Unfortunately for Dave it seems public speaking is not his forte’ and he probably should have let one of his taskmates do the speech. It was fairly obvious that Dave was uncomfortable speaking in public and spent most of the time ‘umming’ and staring down at his notes, not engaging the audience…..etc.

Ok, I’ll stop picking in Dave and get to the subject he presented.

Despite the bad speaking (whoops slipped) the subject of ‘Murmur’ was quite interesting. The premise behind the project was to put stations in various cities (Toronto and Dublin to name a couple) at various points of interest with a phone number to call using a cellphone.

Callers would be linked via an entry code to information pertaining to that particular site they were calling from. Kinda neat huh? Ok.. kinda museum info kiosk as well, but here’s the catch. Listeners at each station are also encouraged to leave a message regarding their experience at that site which can also be accessed by future callers. Now it’s interactive!

I can see this being a great way to bring interest to sections of a city that tourists (or even adventurous locals). And help revive points of interest that would otherwise be overlooked because they aren’t near a major tourist trap. Perhaps it will generate more of a sense of community pride for the areas surrounding the sites. Any reaction like that is always a good thing.

More information can be gleaned at www.wirelesstoronto.ca

Thoughts on Kharlo Tawatao

Kharlo Tawatao a tech based designer for Rogers Communications was kind enough present a seminar to the students of IDM 403. The thing that impressed me the most about Kharlo was his candor. Unlike several of the other speakers who have previously presented Kharlo did not just give a presentation and then ask if there were any questions. (no, I haven’t written about many of the other speakers yet, those post will come after this just to confuse things)

Kharlo presented what I personally really like to hear from an industry speaker… the truth. Our conversation covered the ‘nitty gritty’s’ of the profession, we talked about possible wages, tasks that might bore someone, different directions one might go if not enjoying in a current workplace and several other factors that a lot of speakers don’t usually consider speaking about.

For myself I would much rather hear a pro tell me “yes, you are going to have to bust your hump and spend some time in the trenches” than just  present material and say “here you go, this is the kind of work I do and you might be interested in”. Not to say these are bad things but for me, I want to know what goes deeper. 

 The darker side won’t necessarily sway me away from any direction I might go, I just like to know the dark side is there so that instead of fearing it I can embrace it, take a deep breath and jump in head first.

QR Code – The New Barcode

You may have noticed strange symbols popping up on your purchases lately. If you figured them to be the next wave in bar-coding technology you would be right.

What you may not realize is that these new bar codes or QR codes (short for Quick Response code) can handle multiple times the amount of information as the older system of thick and thin lines.

Originally released in 1994 by the Denso corporation this new type of coding holds at least twice the information of its predecessor in one tenth the amount of space.

This density of information is achieved by using a matrix layout as opposed to the traditional linear style. This matrix layout allows QR code to carry information such as customer data, shipper data, product number, quantity, or other data.

Newer developments are even allowing cell phones users to scan the codes and then download product information or be sent to a URL and view a sponsors web site. QR technology could eventually be used to allow a consumer to retrieve product information from locations such as kiosks or vending machines.

This technology allows a retailer (or other source) to compact over 7000 numeric or over 4000 alphanumeric characters of information into a space not much larger than a postage stamp.

The applications of information provided by QR codes seems to be endless. With an alpha numeric count of over 4000 letters or numbers users could easily include a full write-up including product info, the location the product was made, the person who made that individual product, their maiden name, eye color, favourite ice cream….whatever. With the right amount of imagination you could go anywhere with this technology.

Wiki defines it this way http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code

Or for something much more excellent I came across this Pet Shop Boys video on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG8o5uInji

If anyone has a cellphone that can read QR code…please let me know if the ones shown in the video work for you, and of so what info they provide. Post in the comments for this blog.

or here for a bit more descriptive and revealing spoiler http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/08/the-pet-shop-boys-embed-qr-codes-in-latest-orwellian-video/

Microsoft Launch Party

No clever intro this time around . Frankly , I’m wiped. After the build-up and over-drive of the dreaded S1P1 I’m completely tapped, thus the time lapse since my last post.

Where was I… Oh yea Microsoft launch party and Bill Buxton.

I’ve never really been to anything like this seminar before so right off the bat it was exciting for me.

To be truthful, in my mind I was picturing a much larger venue (I hadn’t been in Second City’s new venue so had no idea what to expect). What I was envisioning was a large open brightly lit venue with hundreds of people mulling around. I pictured being lost in a sea of multi-media experts who know a hell of a lot more about the industry than I do at this moment.

I was pleasantly surprised. My classmates and I were greeted by very casual, smiling faces and invited to relax and help ourselves to free beverages and food (yep, free booze, always a good start). We were then shown into the quite small but intimate theater and left to settle in for a bit.

Did I mention as we entered we were handed an armfull of swag and …the new MS media suite! and not the trial version either, this was the real deal. Excellent!

Shortly after our host began mulling about the stage and the speeches began. The first two speakers were fairly engaging but the real event was Bill Buxton. What a treat. Mr Buxton’s speech was clear thoughtful and quite inspirational. The ideas he presented really got my creative juices flowing in a way I haven’t felt since my days in grafic design at GBC. The best part is Mr Buxton’s chat gave me a better perspective into exactly what we are being steered towards here at Centennial. Not that I didn’t know what I was doing here, more just cementing the possibilities and opening doors in my mind that had been closed for a while.

I really wish I could have stayed around after to chat more with our hosts but alas I had to work. Doh.

Heffalumps and Woozles – The GMO Debate

Anthrax curing spinach? Mould resistant crops? How about spider goats? Whats your opinion on Genetically Engineered Organisms?

The all-around: Canadian Food Inspection Agency provides general info on the ins and outs of GMOs. A good source for understanding the lingo surrounding this subject.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/biotech/gen/terexpe.shtml

The Nays: Ok so after numerous searches it was difficult to find any reputable video but here’s two links which I think speak for themselves.

From the BBC report:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgSmt9b6BmA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y1d2-ObxPQ

The Yays: This video is presented by the Monsanto Biotech Corp (producers of ROUNDUP brand pesticide) whose site provides several interviews favoring GMOs. This is just one, but check out some of the others provided on the site.

http://www.monsanto.com/biotech-gmo/asp/experts.asp?id=RuthOniango

So? Have any of these videos changed your opinions on what foods you eat?

Do you think GMOs are a good idea or a bad idea?

What would you do to change peoples opinions either way? (depending on your view)

Why do you think we need/don’t need GMO’s based on what you’ve seen?

Do you think GMOs might be needed in some situations and not others?

Some other links to check out….

Nature.ca.. the Canadian Museum of Natures homesite.

http://nature.ca/genome/03/d/30/03d_31_e.cfm

Wikipedias view on the matter… view with a grain of salt.

Removable Room

A lovely, cool Autumn evening. Perfect for watching a fairly un-engaging art exhibit and getting eaten by mosquitoes. To be fair the blending images projected on two opposing screens combined with eerie rain-forest like sounds was fairly interesting and once the sun went down and the damp set in, it gave the gardens surrounding the aging hotel a very macabre feeling. It was almost graveyard like, yet relaxing like listening to rain on a quiet day.

Since the sounds and images were already running before the two artists made an appearance it was difficult to tell if they were really doing anything other than staring blankly at a couple of minute MACs. Several people I overheard were under the impression the two were representing an aspect of the imagery as opposed to controlling it (which I found out as we left). It turns out the artists were manipulating the images and sounds in real time, but you wouldn’t have known to watch.

Oh well, eye of the beholder and all that.

Communicating with Cleatus!

First contact has been made! Vanessa (my lovely wife) is now midway through pregnancy and has been feeling movement for a while now. Exciting….yes, and frustrating.. you bet! So far this motion has been internal and could not be felt externally on V’s now slightly round tummy. As a father to be this leaves me feeling like more of an observer rather than a participant. As an artistic type I require the tactile and have been anticipating the moment for a while now.

Finally…Contact. With my hand cupped just below her navel Vanessa rolled onto her back (apparently not the most comfortable position for baby) and there it was…a gentle non-rythmic tapping on the palm of my hand.

My heart stopped just for a second.

Squetch!!!

Fun and engaging Flash self promo site. I love Bernard Derriman’s work and if you haven’t seen Bernard’s video for TISM’s “Everyone else has had more sex than me” go there NOW!
The main site itself does not offer a lot of interactivity or information but the “Arj and Poopy” part does. Any flash enthusiast can’t help but be impressed by the talent of the artist, and animation fans will love it as well.
Like Flash? Like great animation? Click here…..SQUETCH!

Samsung Electronics

I like my gadjets and Samsung has some great ones, so I commonly visit their Canadian website in order to download newer drivers and updated software for my toys.

The site is clean, easy to read and has easy links to downloads, product information and recent product news.

Appealing to the tech minded, this site has a good mix of information and graphics, I recommend this to any of you tech-toy lovers.

Here’s the link www.samsung.ca