Microsoft is broken

Or at least their OPML feed is.  I have tried importing their MSDN feed into at least 5 different clients, including Google Reader and Internet Explorer, with no luck.  Giving up on trying to catch up with MS developers for now... 

What's an OPML feed?  It's a way grouping a set of RSS feeds into a single package for importing/exporting.   Don't ask what an RSS feed is...

Downloading the MSDN blogs OPML, with it's 8000+ feeds was never much useful anyhow, since it doesn't allow you to filter by language or search terms... however reading 50-100 feeds gets a pulse on what is happening at MS.  Great crowd research.  Since MiniMsft is not around what else is there?  Silverlight, where did the buzz on that one go?  PerformancePoint?  Windows 98?

Well, I'm a couple years late finding about the expiry of Windows 98 support, though this is probably good news for Microsoft developers who have had to support the platform with non-breaking new releases.  Now they can release breaking releases without fear of violating support agreements.  I hear Windows 7 (Vista SP3) is smaller and better, though there are the usual driver support issues, and now red screens too. 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! . I spent 2-4 h every night in last  4 months maing silverlight document editor. I drow tre roulers manualy, coded every single  letter behavior and integrated control into framework throught System.Reflection so that user can add functionalty without coding throught admin wizard by connecting silverlight famework objects properties. And now my work goes to trash because Microsoft is about to realise this. Genaraly I like microsoft products, but sometimes they kill me.

That's about how I felt when I found out Microsoft PerformancePoint Planning was being displaced by.... nothing.

The activity of reading blogs seems to have been displaced recently by Twitter.

Dave Winer, the godfather of RSS, has an OPML Editor called TwitterCalendar that archives twitter posts for you and the people you follow. 

I still haven't figured out what the need is to post a staccato version of my inner voice, links about Twitter, TGIF, and what I'm doing at any particular moment as a series of ADD one-liners. The 3 minute MTV generation is turning into the 15-second texting generation. 

Pretty soon neuro-texting will be all the rage.  Why not just upload your raw thoughts out to Amazon S3 for all to see?   Just stay away from Facebook.

If I could get my OCZ NIA to do more than make Nomad hop around shooting randomly in Crysis, or if Emotiv decides to send me one of their EmotiveEPOCs, perhaps I could wire something up to Twitter...

source howstuffworkscom

Most of the messages would probably be aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaa and those suction cups would probably take some skin off but it's a start. 

Anyway, if you feel that you want to capture a history of Twitter for fun or blackmail, perhaps Dave has the tool for you.  Or maybe it's Chris Pirillo with The Easiest Way to Archive A Twitter Thread.

Apparently Robert Scoble, geek blogger, is broken too, even though he hasn't been at MS for awhile.  I would think that not blogging for 2 weeks for him would be like MS not releasing a security patch on Patch Tuesday.  Why on earth would you release a set of security patches on the Most Productive Day of the Week has always been a mystery to me.  I hope they can do-away with the whole practice in Windows 7 and just start mailing out CDs like AOL used to do. 

Scoble doesn't seem to twitter as much as I thought he would either.

When the President of the United States of America is the second-most followed person on Twitter, I think a twitterintervention is in order.

Pointing my rss reader to http://twitter.opml.org/calendar/ and waiting for my teeth fall out.

YouTube - Advanced Dungeons And Dragons For The Intellivision

One of my favourite games of all time.  The snake always made me jump.

 

Time to crack out my Intellivision...

OS Khang: Microsoft Is Ruining Music Now, Too

This is horrible.  How did MS Research end up building a karaoke music generator anyway?  MySong comes to life as Songsmith.

Get back to business and leave the entertainment of the world to the XBox team guys.

My old Casio SK-8 keyboard did a way better job at accompaniment.  Plus it could playback belches in different octaves.  And it had that gunshot and ricochet sample.

The Metallica track does sound better than some of their more recent stuff, though.

Should have plugged some Soundfonts into the app instead of the cheesy 80s MIDI samples.

 

Everything needs more cowbell too.

 

OS Khang: Microsoft Is Ruining Music Now, Too

Book burning on the internet

A 62 pound "velvet and marble" book would be pretty tough to burn, not that you should ever to burn a book, much less a $100,000 book on Michelangelo.

"I love books," Marilena Ferrari, the Italian publisher who produced the extravagance, said in a telephone interview from Bologna, Italy, where she's president of a company called FMR, which publishes fine books about art.

"Books are being destroyed by the Internet, they're losing their identity — it's the modern, Internet version of burning books," she said. "Today, things last so little before they disappear. "

Most expensive new book arrives in NY from Italy - Yahoo! News

UNESCO tracks the number of books published per year per country to measure "an important index of standard of living and education, and of the country's self-awareness."

It looks like Harry Potter has the US beat, in 2005 at least.

United Kingdom (2005) 206,000 ^[2]

United States (2005) 172,000 ^[2]

China (1994) 100,951 ^[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_published_per_country_per_year

If they included e-books or blogs in their count what would change?

New York Slideshows - Spoofing Shepard Fairey's Obama "Hope" Posters - Village Voice

Get out and vote.

Image 14 of 26

New York Slideshows - Spoofing Shepard Fairey's Obama "Hope" Posters - Village Voice

I-Tech's Virtual Keyboard - A laser projected full-sized virtual QWERTY keyboard

The $200 laser.  Want.

I-Tech's Virtual Keyboard - A laser projected full-sized virtual QWERTY keyboard

Dark Roasted Blend: Castles That Will Inspire and Haunt You

A few places worth a visit.

Dark Roasted Blend: Castles That Will Inspire and Haunt You

cat caused screen to flip upside down : screen, flip, upside, down

icanhas CRT disaster.  Sometimes I wish I had an Experts Exchange membership.  Not very often though.

MY cat "Bandit " version 1.0 walked across my laptop keyboard and now the screen is upside down and I cant firgure out how to revert it to normal > I have tried to replicate the scenario by haveing him walk back over it to no avail

cat caused screen to flip upside down : screen, flip, upside, down

Windows software on Wakoopa

Tracks installs of software and provides lists of what’s popular. 

What should you have on your PC?

1. Firefox-

2. Windows Internet Exp...-

3. Google Chrome-

4. Windows Explorer-

5. Opera+1

6. Windows Live Messenger-1

7. Microsoft Office Out...+15

8. Microsoft Office Word-

9. Microsoft Office Excel+10

10. World of Warcraft-3

Windows software on Wakoopa

Needs More Cowbell

This is just genius.

	Make your own at MoreCowbell.dj

LostCircuits, Tech Advice Guide

A review of the OCZ along with a really interesting background on the device.

Being able to measure a brain transfer function led to the development and running of another research effort from 1986 to 1990. The transfer function output was used to control an F16 roll-axis flight simulator. It was hypothesized that the person might more effectively control the transfer function output if they were immersed in the tracking task. Control of the F16 roll axis was compelling. Tests were successful. People were able to successfully control the roll of the simulator using EEG signals from the back of their head. However, control was difficult to achieve and it was difficult to obtain the EEG measurements from the back of the head.

Dr. Junker left the US Air Force research labs and moved to the island of St. John in the Caribbean to undertake private research. He was living on a sailboat and decided to incorporate ideas he had previously discovered with a new approach that he developed in the aft cabin of his sailboat setup as a laboratory. The idea was to build an interface to control his sailboat as a proof of concept; this time using signals from his forehead detected using a headband with three sensors. This new approach became the foundation for the technology that became known as "Brainfingers".

LostCircuits, Tech Advice Guide

NIA Resources & Downloads - OCZ Forum

From the OCZ Forum, tools for the OCZ NIA.

OCZ Tools

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/be_pagegen.php?id=tools 

NIA Resources & Downloads

---

Official Drivers and Downloads:
Downloads Page: http://www.ocztechnology.com/drivers...ulse_Actuator/
1.009 Patch: http://www.ocztechnology.com/drivers...ta32_1.009.zip
1.007 Patch: http://www.ocztechnology.com/drivers...ta32_1.007.zip
1.007 CD Rip: http://www.ocztechnology.com/drivers...7_cd_image.zip
CD Rip from RyderOCZ - Unknown Version: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/st...cz/nia/NIA.zip
---
Brainfingers Site:
Downloads Page: http://www.brainfingers.com/downloadNiaSoftware.htm
1.010 Patch: http://www.brainfingers.com/nia_driv...ta32_1.010.zip
1.009 Patch: http://www.brainfingers.com/nia_driv...ta32_1.009.zip
1.007 CD Rip: http://www.brainfingers.com/nia_driv...7_cd_image.zip
1.007 Patch: http://www.brainfingers.com/nia_driv...ta32_1.007.zip
---
Original Brainfingers Device:
Online Manual: http://www.brainfingers.com/cyberlink.htm
Downloads: http://www.brainfingers.com/downloads.htm
---
Reviews/Articles:
http://www.lostcircuits.com/advice/ocz_nia/
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14957
http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/...ter_Interface/
---
Practice Games:
TankHunter: http://www.javagameplay.com/tankHunterb.html
SkateGirl: http://www.brainfingers.com/skategirl_game.zip
Helicopter: http://www.addictinggames.com/helicopter.html
Addicting Games(Java/Flash): http://www.addictinggames.com/index.html
*** Latest Files are RED ***

__________________
-TFB
http://code.google.com/p/nia-remdreamer/

NIA Resources & Downloads - OCZ Forum

A visit to Casa Bonita restaurant in Denver - Boing Boing

One attraction I’m kinda glad I missed in Denver.

 

A visit to Casa Bonita restaurant in Denver

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, September 8, 2008 1:49 PM | permalink

A visit to Casa Bonita restaurant in Denver - Boing Boing

popculture Tshirts and Tees - PleaseDressMe

PleaseDressMe brings web 2.0 and t-shirts together...

 

popculture Tshirts and Tees - PleaseDressMe

» 30 Essential PDF Documents Every Designer Should Download :: Positive Space :: The Graphic Design Blog

It’s actually 30+ documents, and some are actually templates… nonetheless very useful.

Well it took me a lot longer than I had originally expected but I was able to track down the original links to more than thirty PDF documents that I have collected over the past couple of years. I have personally archived every one of these files due to the high quality of content. No matter what you call them; ebook, white paper, or resource they all contain information that no designer should go without. (In actuality there are more than 30 files however it was a good round number for the title…)

» 30 Essential PDF Documents Every Designer Should Download :: Positive Space :: The Graphic Design Blog

I-CubeX Online Store - BioWave v1.2 : Skin surface voltage sensor

Not the best marketing catch-phrase, and the price at > $500 US (not including the transmitter) gets blown away by the NIA, but this still sounds pretty cool.

We don't care what you think - this sensor is mind-boggling. Developed by the inventors of the renowned BioMuse, it captures EEG (brainwaves), EOG (eye movements) and facial EMG (muscle movements). Includes notch filter to reduce power grid noise (50 or 60 Hz). Here is the user guide. Use the BioWave with a wireless Wi-microSystem in all cases to operate conveniently without tether and ensure electrically safe operation (see application notes below).

I-CubeX Online Store - BioWave v1.2 : Skin surface voltage sensor

Infonec Computers - Computer parts Canada, PC Components, laptop computers, motherboards, processors, CPU’s and much more : OCZ NIA Brain Mouse - USB

Infonec out of Markham has the NIA at a cash-discounted price of $149.00.

Is it worth it for 2-3 keys on an input device?  Or should you just go for a Throttle Quadrant with 350 button positions at $125.00?

  ?

???

Regular price: $153.47. All listed prices are in Canadian fund and before taxes & shipping.

Infonec Computers - Computer parts Canada, PC Components, laptop computers, motherboards, processors, CPU’s and much more : OCZ NIA Brain Mouse - USB

Or go open-source?

http://biomusic.wikidot.com/usb-dux

http://openeeg.sourceforge.net/doc/

http://www.sensorwiki.org/index.php/Sensors#Biosignals

In terms of value for your money and the development effort gone into this, $149.00 seems like a steal.

OCZ NIA Brain-Computer Interface - HotHardware

A very comprehensive review of the OCZ NIA.   Should be interesting for daytraders and gamers alike, and those with repetitive keystroke jobs (enter key anyone?).

According to the article, a grounding strap might be a good add-on.  And a sweatband.

And it isn’t going to replace the mouse just yet.  Like the Dvorak keyboard, it might be more efficient, but if nobody knows how to use it the chances of mainstream adoption are going to be slim.

Overall, the NIA is no where near as convenient as traditional input methods. Often, a significant amount of preparation is required before using the NIA, although setup never took more than 2-5 minutes. We didn't feel the extra preparation was unbearable, but it does become a bit annoying when all you want to do is frag some people with your mind (and face and eyes).

OCZ NIA Brain-Computer Interface - HotHardware

Microsoft Flight Simulator - a knol by Felipe Bachian

What’s a knol?  It’s a new beta application from Google which allows you to be the “expert” on a subject and write an article.  Similar to Wikipedia, though it focuses more on a single unit of knowledge (knol) rather than a comprehensive encyclopedia definition. 

It is also a forum for advertising through creating articles for products or services  (unless you are in Cuba, Iran, Burma (Myanmar), North Korea, Syria, or Sudan of course!)

Here’s a snippet from one knol.

Bruce Artwick developed the Flight Simulator program beginning in 1977 and his company, subLOGIC sold it for various personal computers. In 1982 Artwick's company licensed to Microsoft a version of Flight Simulator for the IBM PC, which was marketed as Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.00. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was fascinated with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Night Flight, which described the sensations of flying a small aircraft in great detail.

Microsoft Flight Simulator - a knol by Felipe Bachian

Product summary - NeuroSky

Another Brain scanner, this one licensed by Sega.

Waiting for Apple to pick up on this one with a brainPod (thinkPod perhaps too close to IBM trademark).

Neurons that comprise the brain work on electrical impulses known as brainwaves. The last century of neurological research has demonstrated that brainwaves of different wavelengths can be indicative of unique emotional and mental states, like a focused awareness, a meditative state, or drowsiness. Brainwaves have been used in medical research and therapy for years. NeuroSky is introducing it to the consumer world.

NeuroSky Inc. has developed a non-invasive, dry, bio-sensor family of products that capture the electrical waves generated by neurological activity and eye movements and translate mental state information into digital signals for simple Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). Our wearable technology unlocks worlds of new applications in consumer electronics, health, wellness, safety, education, training, market research and a host of many more.

Product summary - NeuroSky