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Chris

Microsoft Does Something Else Interesting

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Well, if you think touch sensitive tables are interesting, that is. Really, I kinda do. Although, Surface, as its called, seems to work much like the screen of the iPhone so I wonder where they got the idea? Maybe it was the movie Minority Report that inspired them? Sure, that could be it. Whatever it was that made them think of it, the technology is pretty cool so check it out.

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Word Press Update and Other Stuff

Well, I’m going to attempt to update Word Press tonight so if this blog goes away in the near future you’ll know why. Hopefully, all will go well and there will be no glitches whatsoever. But if history has shown me anything, its that that just doesn’t usually happen. Oh well, I guess we’ll find out soon.

Also, as some of you may know I recently switched hosting providers in an effort to consolidate my sites and save a few bucks. This move has not been without its minor issues but for the most part has been pretty smooth. Recently, however, it seems like I have been experiencing more and more little glitches and minutes or longer of downtime relatively frequently. I’m not worried yet but I am still, in the back of my mind, looking for an even better solution.

Maybe I just need to get my own server and co-locate it somewhere? Or, move back to my original host and just keep things the way they are? I don’t know but if you happen to know any really good web hosts . . .

Fixed

Ok, this is odd but now, simply by changing back to default style of permalinks, all the catagory and archive links have fixed themselves. Interesting. I really need to learn more about this stuff. I know quite a bit about some things but always relied on others for most of the web stuff. Now, I am going to learn it if it kills me — and it might.

Another Test

Just another test to see if the archives, categories, etc. work. So far, they don’t so don’t try to use them.

New Post — Same as the Old Post

Just want to see if this thing is working. There are one or two odd things that I am dealing with but everything else seems ok so far. I guess we’ll see what happens as we go on, won’t we?

Moving Again

No, I’m still sticking with WordPress but I’m moving to a new host that will give me better control over the site. WordPress is a great program and I will continue to use it over at the new host.

For the next day or two we may experience some issues as the URL of this here site changes hands to new hosts. I appreciate your patience and promise that this will be the last time I move this site around. Well, probably the last time anyway.

In the meantime, check out my article at LAist concerning the new AppleTV. Should you get one? Read and see.

Obama or Clinton? Chris Rock Helps You Decide. Plus, A Great Commercial

It’s not a secret how I feel about our current President. If you’re not sure, let’s just be polite and say I think he’s not doing a very good job at all. In fact, I think he’s probably one of the worst Presidents we’ve ever had and will go down in history as one of the key reasons this country went from world leader to world joke. Well, maybe ‘joke’ isn’t the right word (we are still well-reagrded in some circles) but we sure don’t look as good as we used to.

The real question on my mind now is who the heck do we get to be our next President when we have our election in only eighteen months or so. We need someone who can help restore the world’s faith in our country and help us reagin our standing as the world leader we should be.

I pretty much know how I’m going to vote but its always good to hear other opinions. Following that logic, here’s what Chris Rock has to say on the subject:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/1RlVtsAvKfs]

Also, if you’re a fan of interesting commercials (and great ones from the past), politics and the Mac as I am, then this next bit of video should be right up your alley.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/6h3G-lMZxjo]

I really like some of the more subtle updates to the add — especially the inclusion of the iPod on the hip of the hammer-wielding woman. From a technical standpoint, also very well done. (Actually it occurred to me later that the person making this video probably used the updated version of the commercial already featuring the iPod and didn’t add it himself/herself. Still, a great job.)

Lastly, I’ve been thinking about how to reform our government and the election process and have some ideas. But for now, just enjoy the video. We can get into massive change later.

Video Questions, SXSW and the Busy Tony Pierce

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Oddly enough I can’t embed a video here from a site called Jumpcut. Even though the video is an interview with WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg conducted by LAist head honcho and all-around cool guy Tony Pierce. You would think they would make an exception this time, but no.

So, I can only link to LAist where the video is for you to have the opportunity to enjoy it. I find the whole situation pretty ironic. Oh well, at least Matt seems like a nice guy even if I sometimes don’t quite understand the rules around here — as in why YouTube videos are ok and Jumpcut videos are not. Still, glad to be here and: Go WordPress!

Tony was very busy and also got several more interviews while attending SXSW in Austin this week. Some of them include the guys who started Web 2.0 “it” site of the moment Twitter as well as and interview with Mary Colvig of Mozilla. Some interesting stuff — especially if you love the tech like I do and are also super-jealous of Tony for being able to attend SXSW this year. Next year, dammit, I’m there for sure.

Oh, the picture has basically nothing to do with this post at all. Its just something I used over at LAist for a recent Tech News post and I liked it. Happy weekend all.

300: Made on a Mac + The Screaming Death Monkey

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Over at this site they have an interesting bit of info on the film 300 and how the Macintosh was a very big part of getting the film done. Some of the Apple tech that was used to make the film possible include Final Cut Pro, Shake and Quicktime. Even though the film was primarily edited on an AVID system, the filmmakers said they prefer to use Macs running Final Cut instead of AVID. Interesting bit of info. And, if you want even more, head on over to the FX Guide site. Even more bits of interesting info there including the above mentioned ‘Death Monkey.’

While we are on the subject of 300, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the film. As I usually do these days, I went in with almost no expectations and as open a mind as I could possibly muster. Fortuntely, the film more than lived up to the hype and I was rewarded with a great experience. Sure, the film isn’t perfect but its a visual treat that should not be missed. Obviously, I’m not alone here because the film made over $70 milion in the first weekend — the third biggest opening weekend for an R-rated film of all time, btw. So, get a babysitter and go out and see the movie if you haven’t already.

Also, got some new stuff up over at Cinematical — including details on Frank Miller’s career aspirations, Michael Eisner’s new venture and the YouTube saga — as well as a brand new ‘Ask the MACist‘ over at LAist. Plus, I should have a couple things coming out at CBR in a few days as well. And, possibly something new and cool I’m not at liberty to discuss just yet too. You’ll just have to chcck back to find out, sorry.