As some of you know, this blog is also hosted at 22ellitrym.blogsome.com but I am slowly setting myself up to have my own Wordpress running in order to take advantage of the plugins and customizations that are not avaible through blogsome. Don’t get me wrong, they are doing a great job but there is so much you can get for free, right ?
So this podcast is the first of many I hope . It is using a plugin called Audio Player by Martin Laine. All sound editing was done using Audacity, and the intro/outro is a royalty free composition by Kevin MacLeod .
This is not much, just a first attempt at podcasting…
Posted on February 16th, 2006 by marjorie. Categories: marjorie.
I have been a Linux desktop user for the past 4 years. My Hubby on the other hand despise Linux because he just does not have the patience to fiddle with the OS when he has serious, and not so serious, tasks to do. But really, his main reason is the lack of up-to-date support for all his external computer toys. As for me, I ditched Microsoft for Linux. The only thing I really miss is Microsoft Outlook and a few games. Currently I run SuSE 9.3 on my HP laptop, but in the past I was using Red Hat. And now, here I am, at a cross road ,wanting to switch, yet again to another Linux distribution… well not so fast…
There is a big buzz surrounding Ubuntu: Google employees uses it, the Ubuntu support community is friendly compare to the RTFM you would find elsewhere and it is a Debian-based distributions which makes update and software installation pain free. But all of this got me to think about Xandros. When Xandros came out, I quickly installed it on my laptop as a dual boot with SuSE and gave it a fair try but decided to stick with SuSE. From what I can see Ubuntu and Xandros are essentially the same: A Debian based distribution with a pretty interface. But why do people like Ubuntu so much ? Okay Xandros does not use clever names for its releases and does not talk about humanity on its website and yes I’ll admit it, Ubuntu sounds cooler then Xandros but they both offer up-to-date packages, the installation is easy in both cases, the user interface face is clean and pleasing in both cases (one uses Gnome, the other KDE), Xandros has some part that are proprietary but the free version allows the same flexibility as Ubuntu (I am talking from a desktop user point of view not enterprise) So what is it then?
“Flock the social browser” what is that suppose to mean anyway? I hate empty slogans.
Nonetheless I have installed ‘Flock the social browser’ sometime ago but never managed to use it on a daily basis. Last month though, while playing with WordPress and Flickr I thought that I should give it another try, since it was design specifically for that purpose. Well, where do I start….It would be unfair to knock Flock down at this stage of the game, because the developers never claimed that the current version of Flock was ready for prime. BUT I think the integration with WordPress or any other blogging tool needs WAY more work. Reason is : why should I use Flock instead of my regular blogging interface ? Also why should I give away all the usernames and passwords to my blog, Flickr and Delicious account? What if someone gets an hold of this sensitive data and changes my passwords or worst delete my blog ?
While Flock seems cool enough and the idea behind it is good, security seems to be an issue, they need to give the user a sense that their sensitive data is protected. But how can they do it when they have VC money in their bank accounts? They now have a duty to make this browser profitable, so how do you think they will they do it ? Data mining. Targeted marketing based on your interest found on your blog, your del.icio.us account and flicker account to which you gave them the username and password. Good for them, but not good for me !
In the end, I decided to stick with my old ways of posting messages. Not only because of the security issues that I perceived, but also because the drag and drop Flickr feature was very buggy and slow for me, it only worked after several failed attempt. When multiple tabs would be opened the bowser would freeze for 3 to 4 minutes . Another thing was the performance of my favorite extensions, adBlock for example. I had to completely remove it in order to use Flock and was displeased see tons of advertisement on my favorite pages. I am not sure I see the benefit of posting using Flock versus accessing the admin interface of WordPress to do the same task. Flickr integration you might say ? I personally o not use Flickr as my main repository for my pictures and now that it is own by Yahoo! I will definitely not use it, since they will ask me to pay eventually. Del.icio.us bookmarking then ? I have an account , I admit it, but I feel that this Del.icio.us thing is just a trend that will soon fade away… So what’s left ?
Firefox.
I remember the days where my hubby and I would be at opposite sides of the Atlantic and used a QuickCamPro to greet each other, the image was awful to say the least, especially for me where I needed to have a glaring spot light on my face for him to see something other then my teeth…Things are getting much better these days, a friend of ours called us on Skype, and as soon as we answered, we had a crystal clear image of him, the kind of image that they showed on web cam advertisment but that you never manage to get once installed it at home. But this time my friends, QuickCam has the real deal and it is called QuickCam Pro 4000. It has a digital zoom that follows your movements , it also has a built-in microphone so throw away your clunky headset you will no longer be bound by a wire. It also allows you to create 1.3 megapixel videos. This camera was design to be clipped on flat-panel monitors, and laptops. It cost around 100Sfr but can be found on eBay for 70-80Sfr.
Serious video emailing is on its way folks!
The other day my hubby showed me a few episodes of his favorite children animation called, Jim Knopf und die Wilde Dreizehn (Jim Button and the Wild 13) . Jim Knopf und die Wilde Dreizehn is the story of boy named Jim and his friend Luke , they live in a place called Lummerland and travel on a train called Emma. While my hubby was watching Jim Knopf in Germany, I was watching Passe-Partout in Canada. Passe-Partout is said to have revolutionized the world of a generation and it looks like Jim Knopf had the same impact in Germany. Like Jim Knopf , Passe-Partout had puppets, an imaginary world and cute songs. Although the educational messages of Passe-Partout and Jim Knopf were numerous, the key message for both seems to have been : how to live with others. Looking at the current generation of children I wonder about the messages they are getting from the Teletubies and Sponge Bob ?
Currently there is a petition to have Passe-Partout back on the air but luckily Jim Knopf has been revamped for the 21st century and is now touching a new generation of children, this time in cartoon form. Way to go Ki.KA!
As for me, I ditched Microsoft for Linux. The only thing I really miss is Microsoft Outlook and a few games. Currently I run SuSE 9.3 on my HP laptop, but in the past I was using Red Hat. And now, here I am, at a cross road ,wanting to switch, yet again to another Linux distribution… well not so fast…
BUT I think the integration with WordPress or any other blogging tool needs WAY more work. Reason is : why should I use Flock instead of my regular blogging interface ? Also why should I give away all the usernames and passwords to my blog, Flickr and Delicious account? What if someone gets an hold of this sensitive data and changes my passwords or worst delete my blog ?
I remember the days where my hubby and I would be at opposite sides of the Atlantic and used a QuickCamPro to greet each other, the image was awful to say the least, especially for me where I needed to have a glaring spot light on my face for him to see something other then my teeth…Things are getting much better these days, a friend of ours called us on Skype, and as soon as we answered, we had a crystal clear image of him, the kind of image that they showed on web cam advertisment but that you never manage to get once installed it at home. But this time my friends, QuickCam has the real deal and it is called QuickCam Pro 4000. It has a digital zoom that follows your movements , it also has a built-in microphone so throw away your clunky headset you will no longer be bound by a wire. It also allows you to create 1.3 megapixel videos. This camera was design to be clipped on flat-panel monitors, and laptops. It cost around 100Sfr but can be found on eBay for 70-80Sfr.
The other day my hubby showed me a few episodes of his favorite children animation called, Jim Knopf und die Wilde Dreizehn (Jim Button and the Wild 13) . Jim Knopf und die Wilde Dreizehn is the story of boy named Jim and his friend Luke , they live in a place called Lummerland and travel on a train called Emma. While my hubby was watching Jim Knopf in Germany, I was watching Passe-Partout in Canada. Passe-Partout is said to have revolutionized the world of a generation and it looks like Jim Knopf had the same impact in Germany. Like Jim Knopf , Passe-Partout had puppets, an imaginary world and cute songs. 
Although the educational messages of Passe-Partout and Jim Knopf were numerous, the key message for both seems to have been : how to live with others. Looking at the current generation of children I wonder about the messages they are getting from the Teletubies and Sponge Bob ?