The Songs You Never Heard (part 4)
The "Save An Artist From Obscurity" project continues with Black And White World and their eerily enjoyable song Elvis.

Part skatePUNK, part homage, part social commentary, part creepy vocals, party on...this song is one of my all time favorites. I think I like this song so much because it is almost an antidote to all the Elvis-ness that permeates Memphis culture. Give it a listen and see if you like it as much as I do. It will be available for one week only. Act now!
posted by Eric J | 7:18 PM

A game of tag
Having just spent a couple weekends cleaning up the music collection on my computer, I appreciate the value of good ID3 metadata tags on my MP3s. To me, a well-organized music collection is a key to nirvana (the place, not the band). Apparently other people agree. Musicbrainz is a free, open-source service that helps you properly tag your music files with independently verified data. You can download their Tagger application and run it against your local MP3 or Ogg Vorbis files. It identifies them from the Musicbrainz database, assigns a proper ID3 tag, then creates an "acoustic fingerprint" which it adds to the collection in the database so other people can identify their files in the future.

How is this different from services like Gracenote or freedb that look up track information? First of all it's free. Anyone can download the application and use it. Secondly, you can run it against your existing music collection, not just while ripping new CDs. You can also browse the central Musicbrainz music database and fine tune the track information, resulting in a community effort true to the open-source spirit. Musicbrainz also has plans for adding other information to the database, such as related artists, influences, alternate cover versions of songs, etc.

Right now the Tagger application is only available for Windows. But they are begging someone to send them some Apple hardware so they can create an iTunes plug-in. Again, in true open-source fashion, they are operating on a shoestring budget and need all the help they can get. So make a PayPal donation or send in your old iMac...this is a great project.

(originally from Wired News)
posted by Matt Wood | 11:11 AM

Why Blogger looks the same.
As regular Blogger.com visitors know the design of the site has not changed as promised. I did a brief Googling and found that yes, Kevin Conboy is real and he explains why Blogger looks the same and also indicates that if Evan Williams gives the thumbs up he will display what Blogger would have looked like had they used Kevin's design instead of getting bought by Google.

Evan, please give dude the permission. We are all dying of curiosity.
posted by Eric J | 8:04 AM

I have a confession
I must confess, I'm not a big fan of The Onion. I feel almost un-American when I hear myself say it but there is something about the site that I just don't like. Don't misunderstand, I "get" the humor and when I read stuff from The Onion I almost always smile and sometimes even emit a soft chuckle.

I know I'm in the minority. At work The Onion is always read with hillarious results which often leave co-workers rolling on the floor with tears streaming from their laugh-squinted eyes. Meanwhile, I'm only able to manage a small grin.

I can't put my finger on why I'm the only Webhead (I think I just made up that word because it sounds better than Netizen) that doesn't get a comedic thrill from The Onion. I have a sense of humor. I know this because sites like PerversionTracker, Crazy Apple Rumors Site and I am better than your kid leave me laughing like a fool.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a Humor Specialist to determine if I have some sort of affliction that prevents me from enjoying The Onion as much as it should be enjoyed. Thank God for modern science.

---

UPDATE: I saw the Humor Specialist today and he assured me that I was fine and possibly suffering from a bit of satire overdose. The way he explained was that since I have rabidly satirical tendencies the satire of others often seems tired or ineffective to me.

This makes sense. I like The Onion and even enjoyed reading it today but most of what I read seemed so...so...predictable. One of today's headlines was "Orange Alert Sirens To Blow 24 Hours A Day In Major Cities." Yeah, that was funny, the first time we said that in the office... about 4 weeks ago.

However, this headline did induce a chuckle: Report: Al-Qaeda May Be Developing 'Dirty Soldier'. Now that was pretty funny.

Anyway, I am glad to know there is nothing wrong with me. I think the occasional reading of The Onion is probably best for me. Daily doses just seem a bit much.
posted by Eric J | 6:26 PM

Three degrees is really cold
Not to be outdone by AOL, Microsoft unveils threedegrees which will (according to Newsweek) "allow young people to express their social graces, and sometimes disgraces, among friends and lovers."

One cool feature is that you are able to "broadcast" your own tunes to your friends. You drag an mp3 onto the threedegrees icon and it plays on all your friend's computers (assuming that they want to hear the tune). It's a nifty way around the whole copyright thing since it's assumed you own the music and your friends are merely listening to the song, not copying it. You are a "mini-virtual deejay."

It only runs on XP so I won't be using it any time soon but it's a pretty cool application, especially for the Instant Messenger addicted teens. Now, AOL and Microsoft have new music related apps. Wonder when Apple will join in and develop or embrace something like iCommune?

posted by Eric J | 1:15 PM

MusicNot
From the New York Times today, AOL is offering a new music service called MusicNet which allows users to download and stream music for a fee. While this is a step in the right direction for the music industry's outdated distribution model, they still don't get it.

The basic service costs $8.95 a month to download and stream an unlimited number of songs. But the files are encrypted so they can't be sent to other people or copied to a portable device. For $17.95 a month, you get up to 10 unprotected files. And of course, all songs are part of a limited catalog of major label artists and select independent labels.

This service is a good start; the music industry at least acknowledges that things have changed. But like other services such as PressPlay and Rhapsody, it's still overpriced, doesn't have enough selection, and places too many unreasonable restrictions on the user. Let's do some role playing:

Music Fan: "You want me to pay $17.95 a month for music that I can only play on my computer, can't copy to my iPod, and can't trade with my friends?"

AOL Exec: "But you can do whatever you want with 10 of them."

MF: "Dude, I can buy 10 songs on a CD at Best Buy for less than that."

AE: "But you get any song you want."

MF: "Oh really, cool. Do you have the new Zwan single?"

AE: "No."

MF: "Alright, how about the song from the 8 Mile soundtrack?"

AE: "Yes, but you can't copy it."

MF: "Okay, what about that old James Brown song, you know, from the car commercial?"

AE: "No."

MF: "Fuck this, I'll just use Kazaa."

UPDATE - Lively discussion about this going on over at Slashdot...
posted by Matt Wood | 9:46 AM

Safari declared the Best Browser on the Planet
Safari kicks booty. I just read that this great Apple Browser will soon have tabbed browsing. It's times like this that I am so glad to use Mac OS X. (link via kottke)
posted by Eric J | 9:34 PM

Get a freaking clue you boneheads
I just got an email from my father. The subject began with the dreaded "FW: Warning" and I feared the worst. When I opened it up and read the email I realized that it was far, far worse than I had imagined. I half expected some goofy joke email or maybe even the Klez virus but instead it was...well...read for yourself (my comments in italics):

Subject: FW: Warning - rampant virus circulating among e-groups/networking groups

-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXX@aol.com (of course it's an AOL account...aren't they the root of all internet evil?)
Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 12:14 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Warning - rampant virus circulating among e-groups/networking groups

Sorry Folks, but I received this warning about a virus which quietly attaches itself to your address book and causes damage 14 days later. Instructions to remove it are simple and are at the end of this page.

Please read this entire message and follow the directions to the letter. Let's save all of us some grief. Thanks,

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> > BAD NEWS, I was just informed that I was sent a virus. As a result, so
> > has yours because your address was in my book.

I FOUND THIS VIRUS IN MY DATA BASE and deleted it and
> > I have the current Norton Anti-Virus 2003 edition.

THIS IS NOT A JOKE. You could have it also. The virus is called
> > jdbgmgr.exe.

It cannot be detected by Norton or McAfee anti-virus programs. It sits quietly for 14
> > days before damaging the system. It is sent automatically by messenger and address book, whether nor not you send e-mail. The good news is it is easy to get rid of. (I'm sure it is...wait...let me guess...I delete some file from my hard drive right?)

I just did it and so can you. Here's how:
> > 1. Go to Start, then Find or Search
> > 2. In Files/Folders, write the name jdbgmgr.exe (Ah, the virulant Microsoft Debugger Registrar for Java)
> > 3. Be sure to search in your "C" drive (make sure to
> > search your entire C drive)
> > 4. Click Find or Search
> > 5. The virus has a teddy bear logo with the name
> > jdbgmgr.exe - DO NOT OPEN
> > 6. Right click and delete it
> > 7. Go to the recycle bin and delete it there also IF

> > YOU FIND THE VIRUS, YOU MUST CONTACT EVERYONE IN
> > YOUR ADDRESS BOOK.
> >
Sorry for the trouble, but this is something I had no control over. I received it by being in someone else's address book. (yeah sure punk)

The reason this has so royally pissed me off is that this is 2003 and the general public is STILL being duped by emails like this. While this file isn't all that important the fact that my parents probably fell for this does not bode well for technology and more specifically the Internet.

When something so simple as a poorly worded email can cause the average user to start screwing around with their computer files then we are in trouble. This is the problem Web professionals, software developers and network specialists need to work to solve. It's ultimately about usability. Most people (my parents included) don't use the Web often enough to download the latest plug-in, browser update or virus definitions and shouldn't have to worry about that when all they want to do is check some emails and read an obituary or sports scores.

It is times like this when my pessimism sets in and I think that the Web will never achieve its full potential until we begin to address some very fundamental problems with the Web in general.
Hoax info
More hoax info
Still more hoax info
posted by Eric J | 3:22 AM

ESPN Motion Sickness
ESPN.com redesigned their homepage and added a spiffy new feature called ESPN Motion, which the site promises will deliver the "world's first integrated news and video site". That is, if you have a broadband connection, Windows 98 or greater, IE 5+, Windows Media 7, Flash, and are willing to download client software over which you have no control. On top of all that, the site now defaults to the Motion promos, assuming everybody who doesn't have it would rather sift through advertising clips than read about sports, the ostensible purpose of the site.

I tried ESPN Motion today, and it's just a bad idea all around. It's tricky to install, and once you get it running it doesn't produce anything of value. The few video clips I bothered to watch were rehashed from the morning's SportsCenter. The website takes years to load once you restart your browser. And obviously, it sucks bandwidth like crazy. They've managed to managed to produce a product that pisses off every possible type of user: casual users who are awed by streaming video but don't have broadband, average users with broadband but no confidence to install all that software (assuming you even have Windows), and tech-savvy users who love sports but hate pop-up multimedia and unnecessary software.

I feel bad for ESPN...almost. Earlier today there was a link to some message boards from the Motion help page. Of course the first post said "I love ESPN Motion!", but most of them bashed it unmercifully. My favorites were "Make the music stop...", "Worst idea since ESPN Magazine", "If I wanted ESPN Motion I'd watch ESPN the Channel", and "ESPN MOTION IS PROOF THAT YOU HATE US". Strangely enough, the link to the message boards is gone. Who would've guessed?
posted by Matt Wood | 9:02 PM

Ch-ch-ch-changes
Everyone please give a warm welcome to Matt Wood, the new webraw.com producer. Matt will be working with content production, site development, editing and other ultra-important stuff as well as adding to the daily ramblings here on webraw/blog. He is a "systems analyst by day, wannabe writer and web designer by night" and has recently made the "switch," thus joining the Mac tribe.

Over the next few weeks you will begin to see more changes at webraw and we are glad to have Matt working with us during this exciting time. When asked what he thought about joining webraw Matt said, "It's the most thrilling thing that has happened to me since breakfast. Wait, I got a package at work so then I guess it's the most thrilling thing since that, yeah, since the package."

Well, back to work. Stay tuned.
posted by Eric J | 2:53 PM

A pretty good name for a blog
A couple of weeks ago I found PerversionTracker linked from the Crazy Apple Rumors Site. I fell in love. PerversionTracker is named in the spirit of VersionTracker which is a site that I've stumbled across a few times but never really cared much about.

Anyway, both sites track Mac software but (obviously) PerversionTracker features slightly odd products. In fact, the software (all real apps I think) is so bad, so stupid, so pointless that it's a laugh riot (what exactly does laugh riot mean?).

The best thing about PT is the name. PerversionTracker. Bring it up in casual conversations. It gets the best reactions.

"I was reading PerversionTracker the other day and..."
posted by Eric J | 10:29 AM

Taking on the Civil War
I live in the South. I grew up visiting famous (Southern) Civil War battle fields and while in the Boy Scouts I witnessed a reenactment battle in Shiloh, Tennessee. My cousin, an Illinois resident, participates (or used to) in reenactments as a Union soldier. I played Civil War games growing up and read a few Civil War childrens books (amazing as it sounds, it's true).

The recent theatrical release of Gods and Generals has brought all of these memories flooding back to me and I sit in wonder at America's fascination with the "War between the States."

Do any other countries celebrate their civil wars in this fashion? Do the Spanish, Somolians or English display the same sort of passion for the history of their civil wars? Are there reenactments in other parts of the world? Is the American Civil War culture a uniquely American experience?

I don't know the answer to these questions but it has always struck me as odd that this particular event in American history generates so much dramatic interest. I realize the ENORMOUS historical, social, economic, racial, political and personal effects the war had on our country and the world but really, was WWII or the Civil Rights Movement or the Revolutionary War any less important?

Anyway, I found that this site did a pretty good job of describing why the Civil War Sucks.


posted by Eric J | 8:47 PM

Hey buddy, do you have the time?
I've just tried out the super fabulous Konfabulator and it's ultra-cool. I talked about it earlier but only just tried it out today. It's got these things called Widgets that do just about anything like tell time...or...show the time...or display a clock...or let you know what time it is at this very instant.

At last count there were 10 (count 'em) clock-related Widgets available for download at the site:

• Hexxed Clock
  
• FanZ Clock 1.1
  
• Text Clock
  
• Squiver Clock
  
• Apple Clock
  
• Ice Time
  
• Skeleton Clock
  
• Fullscreen Clock
  
• SImple Clock
  
• Apple Newton Clock
  

Now this is all in addition to the very functional clock that came with OS X (did I mention Konfabulator is a Mac OS X app?).

There are 119 other non-clock related Widgets available but many of those have to do with calendars or reminder lists or something to organize task lists. My impression is that a.) Mac users are extremely punctual, organized and goal oriented or maybe b.) Mac users are NOT punctual, organized and goal oriented and need this plethora of clocks, task lists and calendars to get them to show up for work on time.

Who knows. I do know that I think I'm going to either wait for some more Widgets or figure out some good ones to build myself before I plunk down my cash for Konfabulator. If you know of some kickin' non-organization/time oriented Widgets shoot me a message. I'll be punctual with my thank you.
posted by Eric J | 9:54 PM

Nod (as in nodding off to sleep) Blog

My very first NodBlog

Welcome to NodBlog, the new audio Web tool recently launched during the Big Blog App Conference in Highland, CA.

NodBlog was developed to meet the needs of bloggers on the go, enabling the mobile individual to instantly post audio blogs directly to the Web from any phone.

"We realized that most blogs are just a bunch of rambling, personal opinions that nobody really cares about and we wanted to give those ramblings a voice - literally," said NodBlog CEO James Jeffords.

Jeffords continued, "My favorite NodBlog posts are from a 19-year-old guy named Ricky who just goes on and on about the injustices in American colleges. It puts me right to sleep every time. Did I mention I have insomnia?"

The name NodBlog is derived from Nod, as in "nodding off to sleep" or referencing "the land of Nod" and then Blog, which is from the popular term referring to Web logs.

Jeffords says he has an application pending with the FDA to certify NodBlog as a non-addictive sedative and sleep aid.

Try NodBlog out today, it's fun and free! And listening to one just might put you to sleep.

A parody of AudBlog
posted by Eric J | 10:03 PM

Blogs latest product of words' evolution
A column (email registration required) appears in today's Kingsport Times-News that discusses blogs, or more specifically, the word blog.

It's written by a blog-newbie (my aunt) and it's proof that blogs are entering the awareness of the general public. It's a good read and a fresh perspective on Web logs. One thing I may do is reconsider my devotion to the word "blog" and possibly use Web log or (ugh) Online Journal. It may just break down the language barriers enough for people actually pay attention to my "blog-evangelism."

However, one of the great things about "blog" is that it doesn't have it's own ready-made definition. Web log isn't quite right and Online Journal sounds too much like a diary. Blog has the perfect fit because it is slipping into its own definition, even if it does put some people off initially.

Anyway, go read the column. It's a fresh perspective.
posted by Eric J | 8:01 AM

Another Song You Need To Hear
The "Save An Artist From Obscurity" project continues with this week's entry: Don't, This Way by the Seventy Sevens.

The linear notes describe this song as "Maybe the saddest song I've ever heard." While I can think of much "sadder" songs by Joy Division and The Smiths it is a really solid song with a built-in sadness.

It's really a great tune and the most polished featured so far. And remember, each song is ONLY featured for ONE WEEK. After that week the gig is up (to quote Styx).
posted by Eric J | 8:44 PM

Interesting video
Got a link in an email today. It was described as a short film about the life and sad demise of an idea. I don't have much else going on today and I kind of liked the video so check it out. It does a great job of demonstrating what happens to ideas.

http://www.ihaveanidea.org/bessies/bessies.html
posted by Eric J | 10:45 PM

Feet firmly planted in the Web
As if I needed any further proof that the Web is somehow part of my DNA, last night I told a homeless man that he needed to start a blog.

I was in Downtown Memphis taking pictures and a man named Ronald walked up to me and explained his "situation." He was from Texas, homeless and needing money. I won't go into my whole history with panhandlers but I don't usually give them any money and Ronald was no exception. What I did give him was a five minute explanation of blogs. I even told him to check out Kevin's site for inspiration.

What is odd about this to me is that I didn't really think that this encounter was a bit strange until today. At the time it seemed perfectly natural to tell Ronald about blogs. For some reason I see myself as a blog-missionary destined to spread the good word to all who will listen. Even a self-proclaimed homeless panhandler named Ronald.
posted by Eric J | 1:11 PM

Watch this video
Saw this video of Johnny Cash singing "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails about a month ago and meant to blog about it but never got around to it till now. It's powerful. Extremely powerful. Proves that Johnny Cash has still got it.

I saw Nine Inch Nails in concert during the Downward Spiral tour back in the mid-90s when a little known band called Marylin Manson opened for them (Manson was horrible at this concert by the way). This particular song was the highlight of the entire concert. If you've ever seen Trent Reznor in concert (or even from some of his videos) you'll know that he likes to jump around and slam things (his big keyboard) but this song had more energy and emotion and power than any of the so called "power-songs" (Piggy, Head Like a Hole, etc.)

All this is to say that with all the raw emotional power generated from that live experience it was nothing compared to what I felt seeing this tiny little QuickTime movie of the Man in Black singing those lyrics over a collage of perfectly selected images. Mark Romanek is a genius and Johnny Cash is a living legend. Do check it out.
posted by Eric J | 9:26 PM

Web Log Jeopardy
Answer: The Blog Trifecta.

Question: What is the phrase that refers to having your Web log SlashDotted, Memepooled and Farked all on the same day?

posted by Eric J | 1:56 PM

Mom and Pop and Blogger and Google
Since June, 2002 (that's when I discovered blogs), I've had to explain the term blog to almost everyone I interact with and this includes Web professionals. I even began saying Web log hoping that it would make just a bit more sense but I still got nothing but blank stares and head scratching. Inevitably these conversations took place AWAY from a computer so I'd have to go into my whole verbal explanation of blogs which was never very adequate.

I'd say something like, "You know what instant messaging is right?" and that usually got people nodding and smiling. Then I'd say, "Well, it's kind of like that, only very different." Note to self: that's a bad way to explain something.

I usually would launch into the whole online journal or diary thing and a glimpse of understanding would flash across their faces and then I'd say, "No, no, it's much more than that too." Mentioning Dave Winer, Dan Gillmore, Lawrence Lessig, etc. means very little to those outside the blogging realms so I'd just say, "go check out my blog" as a way of hopefully explaining blogs but they never did check it out and just went on their merry way wondering what the hell I was talking about.

Well, now all that will change. Not immediately but slowly. I remember having to explain instant messaging to people. Not anymore. I remember having to explain Peer to Peer networks to people but Napster did a much better job of that even if people still don't understand the details. The deal with Google will accelerate the mainstreaming of blogs. If you think blogs are mainstream you're wrong. If you think one day Mom and Pop will know what a blog is then you are right. If you think that day is suddenly much closer than it was 48 hours ago then you are right again.

Bloggers, welcome to the future.
posted by Eric J | 1:38 AM

One more link to the big news
{Update 3: Evan goes into more detail and assures us all that it's a 'good thing' and I think I agree, for whatever that's worth.}

{Update 2: Every day I seem to like Dave Winer more and more. He continually says what I would like to say if I had his skills, knowledge and talent. Basically he says that the Google/Blogger deal is a good thing and I agree. I still want to see that new Blogger design. Wonder if Kevin Conboy is going to get some extra money now that Google has figured into the mix?}

As I'm sure every blogger on the planet is doing, I'm linking to the BIG NEWS that Google just bought Blogger. My immediate reaction is "now all my blogs should get an even better page rank." My secondary reaction is, "Oh crap, I have this bad feeling that this is not going to be good."

I'm a pessimist I guess but for some reason I don't like the idea of Google owning Pyra. However, I must admit it's much better than say Microsoft, AOL-TimeWarner or Apple owning Blogger. I've just walked in the door so I have no idea what the blog world is saying about this. I did notice that as of this writing nothing is posted on Blogger.com. The only quote from Evan Williams is:

"Holy crap. Note to self: When you get off this panel, you should probably comment on this."

{Update: Evan Williams says more. It's actually a neat little story.}

I guess the big question on everyone's mind is how this will affect blogging in general. Will mom and pop suddenly start blogging? Does this really mean blogging is headed for the mainstream? I do hope so but we'll just have to see. It's an exciting time. Watching blogs begin to come into their own and shake up the Web is like watching the birth of the Web all over again.

Good luck Blogger. Now with all that extra money let's try to output some valid RSS feeds ok? Good.

posted by Eric J | 2:14 PM

Now that's what I call a rap video
Reuben Fleischer is apparently the buzz right now and rightly so. He makes ultra-cool videos like this one and this one. Actually, check out all his videos.

Whether you like the music or not you can't deny his videos are definitely more interesting than the usual crap featured on MTV.

So, who is Reuben Fleischer? Yeah, that's who he is.

link via the paragon
posted by Eric J | 8:42 PM

Happy Valentines Day
Well I guess it's time I chimed in on V-Day. Have a good one. I've never really gotten into this holiday and not sure I fully understand its significance. Maybe that's the point, it's insignificant. I do know that women love flowers and cards and candy and all that crap. To this day I still don't understand the magical powers of a dozen red roses. My wife has tried to explain but I can't remember anything she said past, "You know honey, flowers...." I still dole them out but only do so out of duty. I know how to be romantic and all that, I just rarely figure flowers into the equation.

Anyway, as I've been known to do I started Blind URL Hopping on the subject of Valentines Day and apparently Sony is producing a movie called I Hate Valentine's Day. Or maybe someone at Sony just wanted to buy that domain.

Just so you know, I already checked all the other major U.S. holidays such as www.ihatechristmas.com and www.ihateeaster.com and none of them go to Sony Pictures, or anywhere else for that matter. The Web is a wonderful thing.
posted by Eric J | 9:27 PM

The Photobloggies screwed up
In the rich tradition of Blog-related awards the Photobloggies have omitted an excellent and most deserving site: boxercox.

I admit, I'm not up on my photoblog sites and Jen's is about the only one I regularly visit but really, it's a stunning site. She lives in Spore (Singapore) with her husband Simon. She travels a lot so many of the photos are of simply stunningly exotic locations. Anyway, the fact that this site was not included in the official list of nominees is frustrating. I guess you always root for your friends but seriously, check out her site and tell me it isn't deserving of a nomination. Or tell me that the ones nominated are that much better than boxercox.
posted by Eric J | 10:12 PM

More songs you've never heard
The next featured song on the "Save An Artist From Obscurity" project is The Bomb by the infamous L.S.U. Lifesavers Underground. Mixing a skate-punk sensibility with innovative lyrics and a fresh, straight forward rock sound this band continues to incite the occasional, spontaneous lip-snarl ala Billy Idol. Other great tracks include "House of Love" and "Touch."

This project continues to generate interest. Take a minute to download the song and then tell us what you think about it in a comment or email. If you have a song or know of one that you'd like to have featured then let us know about that too.

Enjoy.
posted by Eric J | 8:39 PM

The Bourne Identity Security Breach
I don't get many opportunities to sit down and watch movies so tonight I had a little time and I rented The Bourne Identity from Hollywood Video. I like Hollywood because every single rental is for 5 days. Anyway, imagine my frustration when, with my son finally in bed, I sit down to watch this movie and realize I can't open the blasted DVD case.

Hollywood has a feature where the video is locked inside the plastic case and when you pay for your rental they are supposed to unlock it. Well they didn't. I was furious. I called and asked if there is some way I could jiggle it open or something and they just said to bring it back up there. Whatever. With kids it's hard to just run around town at 10 p.m. when they are in their pajamas.

Well, seeing how it's their fault for leaving my movie locked and I never signed anything holding me liable to damage to the CASE of a DVD I turned out my old friend -- Mr. Flathead Screwdriver. Pictured here is the result of my successful efforts to liberate the DVD from its plastic prison.

Eric - 1. Hollywood Video - 0.
posted by Eric J | 11:07 PM

And the winner is...
Hey, I'm not complaining at all. I like the current Blogger design but does anyone remember this?

And the winner (of the Blogger redesign contest) is... Kevin Conboy! We are very excited to work with Kevin to implement his design concept over the next weeks (we're going to keep it as a surprise)....

– Ev. [11/25/2002 12:44:41 PM] +

I mean I understand that these things take time but it is February 13 and still no word on the redesign...unless I missed something and I do miss quite a bit. Now I'm not trying to start any rumors here but does anyone else feel just a tad suspicious that Kevin's last name is Conboy? I'm sure all is well and that Kevin is just spending the time being extra sure that every details is just right. I bet the new design will blow everyone away...literally. Wait, not literally. You get the point.
posted by Eric J | 11:04 PM

Yet another reason Mac OS X rocks. Konfabulator!
"Konfabulator! lets you run Desktop Widgets that can do whatever you want them to do"

The same people who brought you Kaleidoscope now bring you Konfabulous. It's something that basically allows anyone to build applications to do just about anything. From pulling down headlines and weather to a clock to a system tracker to whatever you can imagine. Heck, WIRED does a better job of explaining it anyway.
posted by Eric J | 1:49 PM

NetNewsWire is out
Hmmm. I'm using the new NetNewsWire's Weblog Editor to post this. Hope it works. Aha, it does work. Still has some things I must figure out, but I'm optimistic. The fact that I can use it to post to Blogger is great. I'll be spending the $30 for this baby for sure. Oh yeah, it still has an awesome news aggregator (with webraw/blog as one of the default blogs under the O-Z category) and I'm having fun just looking at all the new, expanded features. Really, if you don't have NNW yet and you're running OS X.2 then get it now.

Update: Ok, I can't post titles on Blogger with NNW.
"Notes on editing
When editing, you’ll note that the Title and URL fields are disabled. This is because the Blogger API doesn’t support sending titles and URLs, just descriptions.
That’s true even with Blogger Pro.
A new Blogger API is being developed by Pyra, so this situation may change."

Please get this developed Pyra. I so very much want to post via NNW. Thanks.
posted by Eric J | 10:14 AM

Contributions
Hi, just a reminder that if you have an inclination to have an article, commentary, tutorial or rant published here on webraw just send me an email and we'll get you set up. Really, it's painless and quite fun. Don't be shy. Only requirement is that the topic be remotely related to the Web and that you at least try to use a spellchecker.
posted by Eric J | 11:59 PM

Curt is blogging at the Lab!
Spotted: A blog type post deposited on Lab property. Said post was replete with the requisite details of a personal experience, links to sites affiliated with individuals or subjects mentioned within the post and dated for posterity. Curt has been quoted as saying, "I'm not too big on the blogging community, I must confess."

Notedly absent: Permalinks and comment tools.

Wait, false alarm. There is a cleverly worded "disclaimer" hidden in plain sight that we neglected to immediately recognize and therefore went ahead with this alarmist blog post right here on this very site. "[lab404 disclaimer: any similarities between this post and a web log (aka "blog") entry are purely coincidental. move along.] "

Well, as the man said, move along. Nothing to see here. Break it up. Get back to your homes and whatnot.
posted by Eric J | 11:41 PM

Billy's Back with Zwan
Just spent the last hour rocking out to Zwan, Billy Corgan's new band. Back in "the day" I was a fan of Smashing Pumpkins but, as with many bands, grew tired of their sound and attitude and just tuned them out. After listening to most of the Zwan album I can say that I've missed that whole guitar driven rock sound and it's good to hear Corgan's voice put to good use again. The Zwan site is really pretty cool and I heard that they are encouraging bootlegs ala The Dead and Phish and any other band that wants a clever, fan-friendly marketing strategy. Anyway, Zwan is a good listen but I doubt I'll buy the album any time soon, I still haven't figured out what all the fuss about Sigur Ros is about.
posted by Eric J | 12:40 AM

The Cult of Thomas Kinkade
I wandered into a Thomas Kinkade "gallery" several months ago just to see what all the "fuss" was about and was greeted by the "gallery" proprieter. She was a short woman with wire-rimmed glasses and looked as if she rarely missed a meal. However, what I first noticed about her was the way her nose angled upwards, which is the customary snout position among "art connosoisseurs." Feigning genuine interest in the Kinkade art I convinced her to go into her coached sales pitch about how Kinkade is the "Painter of Light" and how he is so great and has cured cancer and liberated Chinese dissidents.

Seriously, as our conversation continued I realized that this woman was not spewing some script she'd rehearsed in training sessions but that she really believed, in her tiny heart, that Kinkade was the answer to all the problems in the world. When I mentioned the Kinkade critics or suggested that maybe people are taking him a bit too seriously she almost screamed with indignant objections.

It was very surreal and as I exited the "gallery of light" I nervously glanced over my shoulder, half expecting some Kinkade Cult goons to swoop from behind the curtains and drag me back into some ante-chamber, shave my head and shine lights on my face at different angles and intensities.

One day Kinkade will control the world, of this I'm convinced. I'm ok with this I guess, I'll just refuse to drink any Kinkade KoolAid.
posted by Eric J | 8:00 PM

Dear Mr. Jobs and Mr. Gates
Hi, I have a PowerBook running OS X Jaguar. It works fine thank you. I also have an old PC running Windows 98 SE. It works fine too, thank you. My Epson printer is connected to the PC. It works fine thank you. The PC and PowerBook are connected wirelessly to an Airport Base Station, it too works fine. Thanks.

All I want is to know, in plain, simple terms, how to print from my PowerBook without having to plug the printer into it and without buying DAVE.

Please get back to me ASAP.

Thanks much,
Eric J.
posted by Eric J | 9:45 PM

Songs You've Never Heard
Welcome to a new project at webraw called the "Save an Artist from Obscurity Project." The project will feature a variety of obscure music for download in mp3 format. Each song will be accompanied by a brief description of the band or artist, any related album art and the ability to comment on that particular song here on the webraw/blog.

Each song will be available for download free of charge for one week. After that week the song will be removed from the server and unavailable from webraw.com.

This week's featured obscure artist is Breakfast With Amy, an "art/punk" band from Southern California in the early 90s. They never had any breakout hits but generated modest buzz with their unique (some would say awful) style of music. Give it a listen.
posted by Eric J | 12:06 AM

DVD and Theater flicks we look forward to
THE ANIMATRIX on DVD.

Kill Bill in theaters.
posted by Eric J | 8:42 PM

It never seems to end...
A bad case of DVD rot eats into movie collections - smh.com.au.

Not two months after I get my first DVD player I find out that something called DVD rot destroys the lovable little discs. All I can say is WTF?!? I can tell you this, if any DVD I now own begins to rot I will raise some Holy Hell...ok...who am I kidding. I will post it here and then buy a new one. Goodness, they just keep finding ways to screw us consumers. I still can't tell the difference between DVD and a good VHS.
posted by Eric J | 8:03 PM

My Browsing Buddies
On my Mac I routinely deal with a motley band of browsers while trying to satisfy all of my Web surfing desires. It's frustrating at times because there is no one specific browser that meets all my browsing needs so I often find myself using 3-4 browsers at once creating a sort of browser hybrid conglomerate. However, they don't really work well together so there is lots of cutting and pasting and bookmark swapping with some level of general confusion.

At any given time during the day I have no less than three browsers fired up on my PowerBook. The usual suspects are Internet Explorer, Safari and Chimera (Navigator). I don't use these to the exclusion of all others but they are the most used of my motley band of browsers. Each has its strengths and each has its weaknesses but this isn't a call for an Uber-Browser, (note: I wouldn't mind an Uber-Browser) instead it is just an observation on Mac browsing habits.

The Big E - Internet Explorer 5.2 is a fine browser. It gets standards right most of the time and has a familiar interface. However, it is prone to suddenly crashing so much that it's been dubbed "Internet Exploder" around the office. Also, bookmark management leaves something to be desired.

Safari (the Jungle Cat) - Safari is FAST. That's F A S T. I mean Steve wasn't kidding when he said it is fast...it is. That is Safari's main strength. Ironically, the main weakness is a feature that Steve also touted during MacWorld -- bookmark management. Beyond sticking bookmarks in the top browser bar (which IS simple) there is no method for placing them easily on other spots. Fix this please.

Chimera - Strength: Tabbed browsing. Weakness: I have found that it often fails to refresh pages, even after the browser is Quit and reopened...days later. One of my daily reads seemed to be uncharacteristically stale with no new content when I viewed it in Chimera for about a week. However, a viewing in Safari revealed that the fault was Chimera, not the site. A hard refresh (shift + refresh) solved the problem in Chimera but seriously, that's a bad cache issue.

I also use OmniWeb on occasion and rarely use Opera. Netscape is too bloated to use and it offers nothing I can't get with Mozilla and America Online is only for emergencies..such as when...uh...the America Online Nazis come over for dinner. Ok, I never use AOL.

My main point for sharing this is to illustrate that Macs have more browsing options and for this I'm grateful. However, there should also be some way to either make them all work together better (a centralized bookmark tool) or an Uber-Browser. However, one positive result of using multiple browsers is that I get to regularly view sites in multiple browsers and inconsistencies are quickly evident when one browser properly renders a page while another butchers the code beyond usability.
posted by Eric J | 8:55 AM

Pardon the Interruption
There is something very comforting about laying on the couch and letting my 3-month-old basset hound puppy lick my bare feet while I check the news on my PowerBook. There is also something extremely disturbing about it too. I probably should have just kept that little tidbit to myself. Oh well, she (the puppy) seems to enjoy it. First person who says "TMI" in a comment is cursed for life.
posted by Eric J | 2:53 PM

AutoDave
If you like Dave Barry check this out. Even if you don't like him you might like the AutoDave.

link via slashdot
posted by Eric J | 9:48 PM

Embrace file-sharing, or die
Salon.com has published this paper where "a record executive and his son make a formal case for freely downloading music. The gist: 50 million Americans can't be wrong."

I've only had time to skim through read half of it but it's very inspiring (from what I read) because this guy, John Snyder, is in the business and he references O'Reilly's thoughts on the issue and seems to grasp what's really going on in the industry. And what is going on is that the industry has failed to deliver what many, many others outside the industry have been providing since before Napster -- Choice. Ok, they provide much more than that even but the thing is that the industry has simply failed to act and so others have filled the void or met the need. And the consumer is happier for it.

Cool Quotes:

It could be argued that MP3s are the greatest marketing tool ever to come along for the music industry. If your music is not being downloaded, then you're in trouble. If you can't give it away, you certainly can't sell it. Daniel Bedingfield recently had a top 3 song on the radio, with "Gotta Get Thru This." However, his music was hardly available through any of the P2P networks. His record lasted on the Billboard Top 200 for less than a month, even though the single had been on radio playlists all over the country for several months. It's also been widely reported that the most downloaded album of all time was "The Eminem Show," by Eminem. It was downloaded so heavily that Interscope took the unusual step of releasing the album a week early due to the rampant online sharing of tracks from the album. Fast-forward to the end of 2002, and "The Eminem Show" is the best-selling album of the year. This seems to indicate the opposite of what the RIAA would have you believe. When people share MP3s, more music is sold, not less.

Now I will read this in it's entirety soon. (Link via daypop.com ... yes, it was actually working for once)
posted by Eric J | 9:31 PM

What does your Web site smell like?
As technology advances the sense of smell has generally been an afterthought as inventors and visionaries try to create products, services and applications that stimulate and appeal to the other senses. Of course there was Smell-O-Vision in the good old days and then more recently Odorama was developed by cinematic visionary John Waters.

Well a couple of years ago sense of smell arrived on the Web in the form of DigiScents. Of course the developers of this technology were very optimistic after winning the Best New Technology award in 2000:

"The retailers have spoken. We expect the iSmell device to be the hottest new product on the shelves," said Joel Bellenson, CEO and co-founder of DigiScents, Inc.

But unfortunately consumers didn't smell a winner with iSmell and the company folded. I am just sad that I missed out on iSmell because now I will never know what webraw smells like. I have an idea but I'd love to KNOW. My guess is that whatever it smells like it is a fresh smell. Or at least a raw smell but raw doesn't always mean a good smell. Hmmmm.
posted by Eric J | 10:14 AM

Oh yeah...I had an idea once
Just remembered about an idea I had a couple of months ago. The IDEA: Create a community Blog where the only requirement for posting priviledges is to have been featured on Blogger's famous Blogs Of Note (BON). I called it Blogs Of Note Survivors. I emailed a few BON folks and a couple now have posting priviledges though as you can see, only I have posted. It's one of those ideas that just sort of fizzled out but seemed pretty cool at the time. Still think it might work but I don't have the energy for it right now.

On that note, if you want posting priviledges to that site just send me an email or leave a comment and I'll add you. May be salvageable after all.
posted by Eric J | 10:55 PM

Am I that old?
I keep seeing this Levis ad that first appeared as one of the Super Bowl commercials. I consider myself somewhat "in the know" about popular culture and what's cool or whatever. However, this ad just has me completely baffled. It makes no sense. Usually I can at least understand what the point is that the advertiser is trying to make or what image they are trying to convey but this ad just defies my comprehension. I guess that means I'm getting old. Next I'll be yelling, "Turn down that music...dern kids." Wait. I already do that.

Dern kids.
posted by Eric J | 8:39 PM

Space Shuttle Disaster News
I work for a newspaper Web site. For people in the news business a disaster is very different than for average citizens. For us a national tragedy is business. Quite often it's honestly very good business. While we get accused of sensationalizing or exploiting tragedies the truth is that most news providers sincerely desire to deliver the best information in the quickest manner possible. At least I do, that much I know.

I spent all day working to gather, format and publish the latest, best and most accurate news possible. What I wanted to do was sit back and reflect and yes, mourn just a bit. I remember Challenger. Now my daughter will remember Columbia in the same way. For me, the tragedy presented its own set of challenges (bad links, missing video plug-ins, misspelled headlines) and emotions (sadness, shock, frustration) while I saw the events unfold and worked furiously to publish the news to our site.

What I realize now is that delivering the news about a tragedy is probably the best way to put it in proper persepective. I can frame it in terms of how it impacts lives outside my immediate community as well as truly understand the important aspects of the event. For contrast, I was at home during Sept. 11. and I reached an emotional level quite near panic. Later that day, after I arrived for work, things began to fall into perspective and I realized that in fact, the world was not ending. While the Columbia accident doesn't compare to the scale of Sept. 11, it illustrates that working during a tragedy, especially working on gathering information about that tragedy, has some definite coping-type benefits.

Anyway, that's what I did the day Columbia burned up. What did you do?
posted by Eric J | 7:51 PM