Disqus - Latest Comments for Offbeatmammal

Re: I want a gym buddy

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:21:08 -0000

really hope we can make something happen... Issues like this - http://bit.ly/48nkBP - seem to be a blocking factor getting everyone to play nice.

Of course that doesn't mean I don't want to see something like this!

Re: Webcams and the command line

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:16:27 -0000

just realised there's a typo above (remove the "l" after the {userid})

mplayer.exe http://{userid}:{password}@{camera_ip}/img/vide... -frames 1 -vo jpeg:quality=100:maxfiles=1

also check that you can connect to the stream with Windows Media Player (open the URL http://{userid}:{password}@{camera_ip}/img/vide...) to make sure that the camera is streaming correctly

Re: I want a gym buddy

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:58:55 -0000

CSAFE exists but is it really that wide spread? FitLinxx and others have talked about it for a while but I've yet to visit a gym or health club on my travels that has equipment where I could take advantage of it...

A standard is only worthwhile if there's enough people using it that it's no longer niche but becomes a default on every new device...

I suspect Nike+ and Apple will end up setting the standard

Re: Can I have a notepad computer?

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:55:00 -0000

I like the S7 - looks like it may be a good stepping stone.
There's no harm in wishing for the "ultimate" device though if it helps OEMs realise there is demand for it...
I hope the coming crop of tablet devices will really start to push the state of the art - especially when it comes to software that's optimized for that format.

Re: I want a gym buddy

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:14:38 -0000

Looks like the technology is starting to get there - http://newteevee.com/2009/10/27/my-treadmill-is...

I wonder if they could integrate http://gtFtr.com :)

Re: Using a RegEx (Regular Expression) to read a CSV (Comma Seperated Variable) file

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:27:52 -0000

awesome, thanks :)

Re: New API and Partner Integrations

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:07:59 -0000

would love to see an RSS feed / blog widget that allows me to post my "recently bit.ly'd links"

Re: The Top 10 Most Watched Web TV Shows

Offbeatmammal — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:41:14 -0000

without a doubt Dr Horrible and The Guild rock this space.
I liked Gemini Division but the webisodes were too short and unbalanced by the intro/credits. Dr Horrible gives you enough meat that it's worth spending time with (and buying the DVD!)

Re: Michael Jackson’s Memorial: The Biggest Web Event in History?

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:12:19 -0000

The real challenge is going to be HD quality content... MSN Canada have a live stream that looks amazing http://tr.im/MJinHD

Re: Michael Jackson’s Facebook Fan Page Surges to #1

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:54:52 -0000

Watch the funeral live in HD thanks to MSN Canada http://tr.im/MJinHD

Re: Michael Jackson Memorial: Where to Watch It Online

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:53:26 -0000

Streaming live in HD - Worldwide availability via MSN Canada at http://tr.im/MJinHD

Re: Standard connectors on cellphones... Part II

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:47:55 -0000

Good to see the EU is making Mini USB a standard for smartphones http://bit.ly/ax2U0

Re: Building Collapses in New York: Google Street View Shows Crack

Offbeatmammal — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:49:56 -0000

not sure why Google should get any credit for this - apart from the sheer amount of invasive imagary they've collected and geotagged.
Are there no pictures on Flickr or TwitPic or Photobucket showing this crack?

If someone had been doing real time analysis on the images in Streetview and running predictive algorithms to highlight potential areas of concern then it would be a cool tech story, as it is all seems a little random.

Re: http://venturebeat.com/2009/05/15/next-new-biz-free-computers-for-small-businesses/

Offbeatmammal — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:58:26 -0000

there was a company in the UK who (IIRC) tried this a few years ago. I couldn't find any reference to them now so maybe the model wasn't right then (as stated the hardware was expensive so to make money you'd need to shift a lot of software)

I agree that vertical is the way to go - and it gives more opportunities to differentiate and offer a good fit for software... small medical practices have different needs to an architects office for instance (though there are signifiant areas of overlap which would help FreeOffice scale)

At the same time bundling with good on and off-site support and web services ( eg http://tr.im/OBMWeebly for easy getting started websites) that encourages an on-goign relationship would help with both long term monetization and reference business

Re: Windows 7 themes and “Cube Grenades”

Offbeatmammal — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:06:20 -0000

here's a picture of it in action: http://twitpic.com/58cla

Re: Opting-out of TechMeme (Scripting News)

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:31:00 -0000

Techmeme has just become an RSS feed for TechCrunch and a couple of other places. TechFuga is doing a good job of widening the conversation but just shows how narrow the echo chamber is - they would be better if they de-duplicated articles and included more sources (trending URLs from twitter, facebook etc)

Re: Ping.fm / Uploaded Image from Nameless

Offbeatmammal — Sun, 03 May 2009 02:02:20 -0000

.. and you don't need Apple approval to install apps on these ;)

Re: Could Photosynth change the face of classified advertising?

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:18:01 -0000

thanks ;)

I agree that there's some work to do with Photosynth to make it really intuative - I'd love to see the team add the ability to provide hints where in a 3D space photos should go so you can control the flow around a synth better... but that's what feedback at the http://photosynth.net forums is for ;)

I've not found a service providing this for eBay or Craigslist yet - though you can link out to a synth from a listing. I'd love to see an enterprising 3rd party develop an eBay app to wrap a synth so you can embed them directly in a listing like some of the other slideshow / image viewers

Re: Can I have a notepad computer?

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:43:16 -0000

I wonder how close Apples rumored "Media Pad" will come? Not sure I like the idea of Apple defining this space - while they were ahead of the time (and technology) with the Newton the iPhone/iPod Touch platform has some flaws I'd not like to see replicated...

http://pages.citebite.com/w1d4q2u6y2lsi

Re: Could Photosynth change the face of classified advertising?

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:47:36 -0000

hey - I may work at MS but there's no way I can afford a 911 ;) The Mustang appealed to me because it's a great car, an American classic (although I'm a Brit I love the heritage and history of the Pony Cars) but most of all it's great value. I got it second hand - just before the gas prices went through the roof - and I use the bus most days for work.

Will be interesting to see if anyone tries this out for real...

Re: Could Photosynth change the face of classified advertising?

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:16:12 -0000

Pathetic. why? I work there and was messing around to create this synth to see how easy it was.

Re: Can I have a notepad computer?

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:31:51 -0000

I suspect the price will be driven down - compare a netbook today with a laptop of 5 years ago... comparable capabilities for less then the price of a smartphone. If there's enough standardisation hopefully the component costs can be driven down (esp if these devices have an extended usage model that allows them to replace other devices - PND/SatNav/GPS in the car (and maybe the heart of the A/V system there) to eBook reader to music device and even home automation control panel... Of course I may be dreaming ;)

Totally agree on a screen that can be read outdoors - something my phone isn't very good at either.

Re: MIX09 in 6 and a half minutes

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:29:31 -0000

The folks from PASV.com who do a lot of the logistics set it up (but it's not too complicated to repeat the process)
- A digital camera with a wide angle lens is used with a programmable intervalometer. The digital camera is inspected each morning and the files are removed for editing.
- To capture the most amount of action, we set the camera to take a shot every minute. This would give flexibility to slow down or speed up based on the visible action.
- Once the files are recovered it is imported into a video editing program where it can be played back in sequence.
- Once all of the files are imported the speed of the overall timeline can be manipulated to create a desired total length.
- The final process is to export the timeline with the desired compression to a WMV file.

Re: Webcams and the command line

Offbeatmammal — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:19:30 -0000

pretty sure that wouldn't work as MPlayer wants to attach to a video stream
there are probably samples out there to write a VB app that grabs a frame from a USB image source and lets you drop it in the database... check somewhere like http://StackOverflow.com at a first guess

Re: Webcams and the command line

Offbeatmammal — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:25:00 -0000

if you are hitting a camera like the one I used then you do need the IP address, password etc to get a screenshot (as you're connecting to the video stream that it's pushing out)

if you just want to grab a still from a normal USB webcam then have a look at the FWink software I'm using in this example - http://blog.offbeatmammal.com/post/2008/12/18/S...