New Hippo Techie: No ads for you
Posted: May 17, 2012 Filed under: Techie, Writing Leave a comment »Ads are part of the deal whenever we get something for free, whether it’s a television show, an article on the Web, a downloaded app, or even this very paper. Even things we pay for — cable TV, daily newspapers — use advertising to defray the costs that subscribers could never hope to cover.
But what exactly is the deal?
Read the rest of this week’s column at The Hippo.
I really do want your thoughts on this topic. Comment here or tweet @CitizenjaQ.
How Not To Use Craigslist
Posted: May 15, 2012 Filed under: Random, Writing Leave a comment »
Yesterday I snagged a good deal in the Electronics section of Craigslist. Ten minutes after the item was listed, I e-mailed the seller and made clear I could buy it and pick it up within hours.
Yes, I did everything right. It was the seller who did everything wrong.
By “wrong” I really mean “unsafely.” The deal went down without a hitch, but as often happens, the seller sacrificed some prudent precautions for expediency and convenience.
First, the seller replied to my inquiry by immediately providing her address, driving directions to her house, and two phone numbers. A cell phone conversation is sometimes the best way to arrange a transaction, but going to a neutral, public location is far better than inviting an Internet stranger to your home.
When we talked on the phone, she said she’d leave the item on the porch – presumably so I’d know I was at the right house? Sure enough, there it sat when I pulled up at the prearranged time, just waiting for me to skip out on payment and grab it.
But I am a man of honor, so I rang the doorbell and waited until the woman, apparently home alone, answered the door. She wore only one shoe, her left foot encased instead in a cast. Definitely not the state in which anyone should invite a stranger home.
Her one smart move? Leaving her dog outside. Her big, friendly, licky dog. Which she apologized for.
Craigslist has its own list of common sense precautions its users should take, as do many other sites. It’s good advice.
Browser Branding
Posted: May 14, 2012 Filed under: Random, Writing Leave a comment »What does your choice of browser say about you? Realistically, probably about as much as your choice of soft drink or department store. In television land, though, the branding of Internet Explorer and Chrome couldn’t be more different.
The music is the first thing most people notice about the IE9 commercial.
Read the rest of this entry »
New Hippo Techie: Get used to Chrome
Posted: May 10, 2012 Filed under: Techie, Writing Leave a comment »As soon as I decided to cover browser market share this week, my brain interrupted me. “Dude,” it said, “you just wrote about browser competition. Get over it.”
So I checked, and sure enough, I had written about the four browsers installed on my computer — in 2009. Also known as three years ago, two jobs ago, and before my dog was born. Things tend to change in the tech world in that amount of time. And yes, they have.
Read the full article at The Hippo.
What Happened to Keane?
Posted: May 9, 2012 Filed under: Music, Writing 1 Comment »
Once I knew of the release, I employed my standard strategy to get the best price: check the flyers in Sunday’s paper. This may seem archaic, but if anything, I would think bands that have been around since before music downloading was a thing would be more likely to hit emphasize the traditional retail channels.
Not so, apparently. Not a single local store was advertising the new Keane CD. Target had some guy calling himself Tank with an album title truly dizzying in its straightforwardness, This Is How I Feel. Best Buy featured a duo named Karmin and the even more mundane, but I’m sure secretly deep, title of Hello, along with Neck of the Woods by Silversun Pickups.
When I ambled into Best Buy – shut up, it was convenient – Strangeland wasn’t even on the New Releases shelf, unlike several albums already out several weeks. Only a single copy was available deep in the Pop/Rock rack.
Am I old? Keane was never the very hottest group on the charts, but have they fallen so far?
The Myth of Doing What You Love
Posted: May 5, 2012 Filed under: Random, Writing 1 Comment »Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow.
The title of that 1987 book by Dr. Marsha Sinetar has become mantra among a certain segment of creative people. Follow your bliss, the thought goes, and you can’t help but become successful and happy.
The best of the anecdotes espousing this theory come with a healthy dose of humblebragging, describing just how busy the authors are and how, nevertheless, they found the time and energy to be amazing. Take Jason Halstead, writer friend of a writer friend on Twitter: Read the rest of this entry »
Zco blog – Avengers and Men in Black Take Full Advantage of 3D Animation
Posted: May 4, 2012 Filed under: Writing, Zco Leave a comment »No one can deny that computer animation in movies has come a long way since 1995’s Toy Story. Aside from looking more realistic by itself, today’s 3D animation is often tough to distinguish from the live actors, props, and sets with which it shares the silver screen.
Marvel’s The Avengers has already earned a huge $185.1 million internationally, and it opens in the United States tomorrow, May 4.
Read the full post at the Zco blog.
New Hippo Techie – More electronics recycling
Posted: May 4, 2012 Filed under: Techie, Writing 1 Comment »A few weeks ago, I answered a reader question about getting rid of old electronics responsibly. Little did I know the flood of additional suggestions that would generate.
Turns out, in addition to city dumps and big box stores, there are a ton of local places to take old computers, monitors, phones, and other gadgets — especially this weekend.
This one is of interest mainly to local (southern New Hampshire) readers, but it never hurts to check with your municipality to see where and when you can safely dispose of your old computers and electronics. Read the full column at The Hippo. (For reference, here’s the previous column on computer disposal.)
Creativity vs. Copyright
Posted: April 29, 2012 Filed under: Music Leave a comment »
I am about to get a schooling in copyright and licensing law from a giant corporation.
Back in November, I found the spot on the CBS Web site where one requests permission to use their intellectual property in one’s own work. (I’d link it for you, but darn if I can find it again.) Specifically, I wanted to use one frame from the Star Trek episode “The Cage” as part of the album cover for my EP, The Women!
When I didn’t hear back from them a month later – my self-imposed deadline for releasing the EP – I figured, screw it, I’m much too small-time for them to care. I wasn’t selling the album, and the argument could be made that the clumsy image editing I did to the shot made the cover a fair use “derivative work” anyway. I’m not quite sure the argument would fly, mind you, but it could be made.
Then on March 28, I received an e-mail from the Licensing Manager at CBS Consumer Products Inc. Here’s what she said.
Hi John,
I received your licensing inquiry from the CBS Consumer Products web site.
Please reach out to me directly to discuss this opportunity in more detail.
Helpful, no? Whatever. Approximately nine people have downloaded the album since November, so a per-unit licensing deal would net them less than the manager’s time to type two sentences costs. A blanket licensing deal would likely bankrupt me.
But today I wrote her back. Under the theory that music gets more exposure when you ask folks to pay for it, I’m putting it on iTunes and Spotify and the like soon. Either I get the right licensing in place or I change the cover somehow.
Now, granted, a good portion of the Internet economy runs on blatant copyright infringement. The Star Trek Facebook page frequently links to fan-made stuff and says, “Hey, cool!” with no mention of impending legal action. And the old saying does go, “Better to ask forgiveness than permission.” But old sayings are no more true than new ones, and “forgiveness” in this case might be “thousands in punitive royalties.” So I’ll go the safe route here.
Does Your Phone Need Antivirus Software?
Posted: April 28, 2012 Filed under: Writing, Zco Leave a comment »Android’s app market, Google Play, doesn’t have the stringent guidelines Apple does, so it’s generally regarded as more vulnerable to attack. In truth, both operating systems have built-in safeguards, but malware has a way of learning and spreading its tentacles. Even if your phone itself isn’t brought down, it can be a carrier for desktop infections.
Fortunately there are a number of apps specifically made to combat this kind of nastiness.
Read more at the Zco blog.
