Web Design & Development

The Beet: VideoEgg Focuses on Ad Network

Heather — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:55:19 -0500

This week on Beet.TV, Andy Plesser interviews VideoEgg CEO Matt Sanchez about the company's plans going forward, after taking down consumer content this weekend.

Breaking Stuff You Like

Todd — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:47:42 -0500

Gruber linked to an excellent post today written by John August on his blog (a ton of useful information about screenwriting), which was a response to a question asked of him by a reader of his site who is a working screenwriter who felt like he was running into a wall with his sense of story, and was worried about continuing to "get better" at his craft. I'm not keen on this post for the screenwriting related reason necessarily... I'm keen on it because of the answer that John gives him, and how the technique offered can apply to EVERY craft - especially in media and art, where there are thousands of other good examples out there of people doing stuff well, and stuff that we like (and don't like - just as valuable!). Break it down, take it apart, learn from what you see there.

Mac OS X - 10.5.3 Update Released

Todd — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:19:04 -0500

Yesterday, Apple released the 10.5.3 update to Mac OS X Leopard. You can update your OS by running Software Update from the system preferences pane, or you can download the full combo updater directly from Apple's website. Sometimes, downloading and running the updater from the website, rather than using Software Update can provide a more complete and well-pruned update. The jury is out on this practice being truly viable, but for those of you who like to do a backup, wipe and re-install for each new update (not a horrible idea, albeit somewhat time consuming), it's good to be able to download the full package. Then you can run your Leopard install DVD, and lay this combo updater over the top of it in one fell swoop, eliminating the piecemeal step by step that running Software Update each time provides.

The update focuses on the following items (listed on the Support Site at Apple.com) and is recommended for all users of Mac OS X Leopard.

What's included? ...

SuperLame! Isn't

Heather — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:52:58 -0500

SuperLame! is not going to revolutionize the net. But it might make it a little more fun.

SuperLame! is a "photo balloon engine" that's handy for when you need to add a little something to, say, your buddy Syed's Facebook photo:

The Beet: Veveo Mobile Video Search

Heather — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:53:24 -0500

This week on Beet.TV, Andy Plesser interviews Veveo VP Daren Gill about their new mobile tool, vTap.

VTap brings live video search to mobile devices. Daren demos a search for "Beet TV" on a Nokia E51, with pretty great results.

Adventures in WeeWorld: Part One of One

Heather — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:12:44 -0500

On what was feeling like a slow news day, I decided to follow through the link from Mashable and explore WeeWorld, a virtual social environment that utilizes avatars called WeeMees.

The Beet: Magnify.net Video Search-and-Post Plugin

Heather — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:24:51 -0500

This week on Beet.TV, Magnify.net CEO Steve Rosenbaum discusses the company's new video plug-in for Movable Type and WordPress, Magnify Publisher.

Google Announces FriendConnect Social Tool

Heather — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:44:01 -0500

Google's FriendConnect is generating a lot of press for a site that doesn't exist. Or at least, that's the case now on Monday afternoon, when google.com/friendconnect returns a 404 error for anyone attempting to see Goog's latest goods.

That hasn't stopped top tech bloggers from evaluating it as much as they can.

The Beet: Seesmic Video Comments to be Adopted by TypePad and MovableType

Heather — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:20:15 -0500

The Beet: Seesmic Video Comments This week on Beet.TV, Cathy Brooks gives Andy Plesser the scoop on Seesmic, a video comment platform that's recently been adopted by Wordpress and MyBlogLog, and will soon be available for TypePad and MovableType.

Why Apple TV Needs a Subscription Offering

Todd — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:37:54 -0500

I experienced a total case in point for this last night. I have an Apple TV 160G, and it's been great. I actually love the thing. "iTunes for the living room" is exactly what it is. That said, there are three or four little things I'd change or enhance... not the LEAST of which is the ability to use a bluetooth or even USB keyboard, ad hoc, while you configure your network or log in... it takes me about 5 minutes to key in my network password with the remote, which makes me cranky and is some major wear and tear on that little plastic remote... it's tedious, like the method used in the coin-op dominated arcade game-laden 80s when you got a high score and had to enter in your three initials for the scoreboard with the joystick, moving a little selector all around the alphabet grid chasing down that damned 'm' or something... even that took a full 30 seconds, and my network password has 20+ characters in it. But that's not what this post is about... I just wanted to take a moment to toss my slip in the ol' suggestion box. USB or bluetooth keyboard extensibility = easy to implement, and a dyed-in-the-wool good idea.