Here’s an interesting site, in which you shouldn’t click (and they almost laugh at you if you do!)
Scary robo-felines
If you ask me, cats are scary enough, but the robot variety freaks me out. The movie for Nocoro’s felines should give you an idea what I mean ;)
Go George!
In any case, nice one George – I hope they make the mistake of continuing to persue it!
Firebox VoIP Cyberphone
While snooping that slightly mad Phobile Handset over at Firebox the other day, I noticed their VoIP Cyberphone, which seems to answer my previous question on what’s out there in the Skype phone world. Anybody tried this out?
Phobile Handset review
Pocket Lint has a review of the quite cool (IMHO) Phobile Handset from Firebox. I have to say I don’t think it’s as ironic and throw-away as both the review and Firebox themselves say. Like most people I know I never use a landline, so at home it’d be pretty useful to have a “large-format” handset. Of course, this is all academic when you use Skype for all your calls, but for the incoming it’s quite nice.
Listen to Bootsy
I’m not given to going into Hard Rock Café, but I can’t disagree with this.
Pigeon-Empowered Wireless Internet
pasta and vinegar reports (via RIM – Ami Ben-Bassat’s Blog) how Dr. Yossi Vardi, with Ami Ben-Bassat, a science writer, and Guy Vardi, “the CPO (chief pigeon/technical officer)” ran a test of Pigeon-Empowered Wireless Internet to “try and improve Wi-Fly – pigeon-empowered wireless internet and to confront this technology against ADSL”.
Looks like it worked. Nice one. Not sure if the design of the pigeon graphic was meant to look like a peace dove, but it’d be nice, wouldn’t it?
Why, Madrid?
That’s how the BBC News website put it, when trying to be polite about Madrid’s Olympic website. I feel kind of bad for them, even though I’ve not exactly been forgiving myself, when commenting on the state of Web Española.
Unfortunately, there’s no arguing with the BBC’s point of view (“Right from the start, the technology breaks down.”) The fact that this is highly representative is frankly depressing. I still haven’t worked even once for a local internet client who had the right perspective: cheap is king here, thinking small the norm. Currently I’m working for a Spanish company but not one member of the staff, founders included, is from anywhere near Spain (I’m from the closest location, come to think of it – it’s only a thousand miles to Manchester!)
And that’s the way it is. When I came to Barcelona in 1999 I was mildly surprised at the state of affairs, but then again that’s why our Barcelona-based client had chosen a London agency to take it into new web territory. I kept telling myself and others “oh, it’ll catch up, things’ll even out.” I still find myself stuck with that mantra, although I don’t bother to trot it out anymore. I don’t think things will catch up or even out. When the opportunity to make some strides came, in the shape of the high take-up of mobile here, I had believed this might be it. But no, it’s been the same old story: no imagination.
[Update 2005-05-25: looks like they actually took the time to listen to some opinions as the site has been slightly spiced and they seem to have got rid of the “Why Madrid?” slogan… doesn’t anybody involved with their campaign speak English?]
Subversion
Livin' La Vida Loca!
The Death of Dynamic Range is an interesting piece about how dynamic range has been progressively more and more mashed in modern music production in the recent years. While this in itself isn’t exactly news, it’s interesting to see the examples and discussion. It’s also interesting to see how the same sound gets maximised quite differently for different formats and/or markets.
The article’s main point is that crushing the dynamic range into (or past) the clipping limit of the medium is destruction of the sound. Of course, it is, but so is using a distortion pedal. That said, it’s not such a “musical” usage of the effect and applying something to the whole mix isn’t the same as applying it to an element to create differentiation in tone colour. Anyway, it’s an interesting page.