We Feel Fine

I think Jonathon Harris did good job promoting the project through his talk, but I myself find it to be a little pointless. While it is an interesting concept, I don't think you're finding out how the world is really feeling (and I also don't know why you would want to know). This may be fun and interesting for a short while, but in the long run, I don't see this being useful in any way. On the other hand, the system of pulling a keyword and its context out of a blog is a very interesting idea. It could be put to use in other, more helpful, ways. Off the top of my head...I can't think of anything...but it seems useful! Well, say you are a company that wants to hear your customers' opinions on your latest product. You could use the WeFeelFine system to search the world's blogs for the product name, pulling out what people have said about it. With this you could then update your product to suit your customer's wants. I think this would be great, because not everyone who has an idea for a product will voice it to the company, but they may do so on their blog.

$2000 to Spend...What to Buy?

I would choose to buy simply from Dell, as I have done in the past and had a good experience with. They have always been fairly customizable, and the last time I built my own computer, it didn't end well. My specs are as followed:

Processor - Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)

Operating System - Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD

Memory - 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 DIMMs

Hard Drive - 500GB - Seagate 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache

Optical Drive - Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

Video Card - Dual 256MB nVidia GeForce 8600 GTS

Sound Card - Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

Media Card Reader - 13 in 1 Media Card Reader

TOTAL: $1909

I know that a few items are missing, such as a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers; the reason for this being that I already own them. I don't know if this is cheating, but I'm fine with my present 22-inch flat panel Dell monitor, my wireless mouse and keyboard, and my Logitech 2.1 (yes, lame) speakers. You might also wonder, "Why only a 500GB hard drive?", but that is also because I already own a TB in external space.

My uses for this computer would vary, from video editing to gaming. I believe that this is sufficient enough and will suit my needs for a while (maybe 6 months as technology is always rapidly changing XD).

DRM

Steve Jobs presents a convincing argument against DRM (found here) that I wholeheartedly agree with. As DRM has been a big topic on Digg for a while now, I have been following the debates and I must say that DRM just seems ridiculous. As Jobs said, 90% of the music industry's songs are being sold DRM free on CDs, so why do they stubbornly refuse to allow songs to be download DRM free. While it is designed to prevent piracy, in my eyes it seems to be encouraging it. Why should I pay to download music that I will not have complete ownership of when I could download it for free and get the benefits of owning it completely. To stop piracy effectively, a system needs to be developed that will encompass ALL forms of music, not just online store-bought versions.

Net Neutrality

A topic of heated debate for some, while just an obscure term to others; the issue of net neutrality is now beginning to make it's way onto the minds of internet users. What does this mean for the average web surfer? Some say it will be a tragedy, though others claim it will be helpful. I may not be as adamant as many others, but I believe that it will do no good for the internet. The internet has always been a place of freedom and equality. All people have the chance to view and share whatever they so feel like doing without it being censored or controlled. Although it may not be completed censorship, the option for an ISP to even just degrade a web site due to a business relationship with another is just preposterous. Others argue that in some cases, especially dealing with video, that this will actually be helpful, allowing popular sites like http://www.youtube.com/ to have a faster connection speed. This may be true, but what about the smaller companies and individuals who use the internet now due to it's freedom and ease of use. ISP's need to remember that the internet was created with the intent that content could be shared and accessed by all; unlike television, which requires money and connections to make your way onto.

While I may be against ISPs interferring with internet access in general, the recent censoring of Eddie Veder's anti-President Bush comments are a seperate issue in my opinion. From the information I have, it seems that AT&T muted the anti-Bush lyrics on their http://www.attblueroom.com/. I do not think they should have censored this, but this doesnt not relate to net neutrality. AT&T's censorship occured on a website owned and operated by themselves, and therefore they have the right to choose what to do with their content. Now if AT&T had ensured the anyone using their ISP did not hear these lyrics, regardless of the website, then net neutrality could be discussed.

My Intarwebs Usage

How do I use the internet? It might be easier to ask "How don't I use it". Ever since I can remember, I've been using the net for a variety of things. To download, shop, talk, read, search, digg; I've been using the internet almost every day for the last 8 or so years. I get most of my music and videos from the net, use Facebook to stay in contact with friends, and shop from Amazon and Woot. I frequent Digg for news and being an avid multimedia creator, I find the latest programs and tutorials to further that hobby of mine. And of course I know that Wikipedia is 100% accurate all the time.

Frequented Sites
http://www.gmail.com/
http://www.digg.com/
http://www.vegapunk.com/
http://www.facebook.com/
http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.wikipedia.com/

and recently...
http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/index.html
http://www.starcraft2.com/

Teh one blog to rule them all

Lawlerskates