Watch TV online... LEGALLY
That's right, you can watch a downgraded version of tv online with similarly downgraded commercials.
Trust me, it's good like TV. And legal like TV.
www.hulu.com
CAN YOU RESIST IT!?
Friday, March 28, 2008
Hulu.com
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Gibson Sues Harmonix Over Patent Infringement
Today on Reuters it was announced that Gibson, a prominent guitar company, is planning to sue Harmonix, the makers of Guitar Hero 1 and 2 along with Rock Band, over patent infringement. Gibson claims it violates a 1999 patent they filed for a "technology to simulate a musical performance." Activision, makers of Guitar Hero 3, have made a preemptive strike against Gibson's patent so they themselves are not affected. Harmonix believes the lawsuit is bunk and intends to fight it for all they're worth.
So in this future trial, we have two sides. In one corner, we have Gibson. Assuming they were right, then they would be hurt by Guitar Hero. In the other hand, we have Harmonix, who if they were right, would be unfairly hurt by Gibson. It does not seem likely that losing an expensive lawsuit would hurt either company very much, as Gibson is an industry giant and Harmonix has partnered with MTV.
Personally, I think Harmonix is in the right for this one. Why haven't I heard about Gibson releasing their "technology to simulate a musical performance"? Also, this lawsuit reeks of someone trying to make a quick buck off of someone else's success. There was a similar story with the Wii when a man claimed he invented the positioning system in the Wiimote first.
Source
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Wrong Righted in Morocco
So a man, in Morocco, makes a Facebook account for the reigning prince.
Then he gets thrown into jail because he's supposedly usurping the prince's identity.
But he says he did it out of admiration for the prince.
He's in jail for a month.
Then the prince gives him a pardon.
You don't always get happy endings like this when you restrict free speech.
Source
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Funny Video SOMEONE ELSE Made
So yeah, I'd like to keep this blog full of my own stuff.
But I'm kinda busy today. So here's a funny video I found that SOMEONE ELSE made.
Well, I guess it's back to the 'ol essay.
Tomorrow's looking good, though.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
It Works! It Works!
Yes! So I finally got the Digg Button to work! The great Digg Button debacle of 2008 is finally over! Whoo hoo!
Digg_Button_Small
Okay, since uploading to Comcast and Google hasn't woked, let's try Flikr.
And if this doesn't work... I'm running out of options.
My Personal Digg Button
This is my new Digg button.
Clicking on all of them except this one will post things to Digg.
Or add ratings to things that have been posted to Digg.
It's cool, okay?
V for Victory
So I googled myself again. Just connor smith, no quotation marks.
I'm on the front page. And it's all thanks to my comedy show. Best idea I've had in a while. Well, that and Expo TV.
So yeah. Connor Smith the famous collegiate offensive lineman, your days at the top of Google searches are numbered.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Verizon Not Antagonistic Towards FIlesharers
As it stands today, people who fileshare are usually hurt by their Internet Service Providers. ISP's usually take steps to slow down or otherwise cripple filesharing, usually with reasons cited such as "slowing things down" and "uploading illegally." Verizon, however, is planning to work with filesharers to speed filesharing up. Verizon is planning on using a system that downloads and uploads more often to people nearby, reducing overall stress on the system and improving times significantly. This P4P, as Verizon deems it, may be ready by next month.
This is important firstly because it's a shift in attitudes towards filesharing. Verizon is the rebel ISP who decided that filesharing is actually a good thing. This could lead the other ISP's to promote filesharing. This will make filesharing much easier, so the average person starts to get into this "filesharing craze." This means that many, many, many new things will be shared. This could revolutionize content as we know it. Of course, Verizon is putting itself out on a limb, a little bit. They're being the ISP that's different. This is bad, because if consumers for some reason decide they're against filesharing, then that would affect Verizon negatively. Additionally, this is not a system that works well for cable-based Internet providers. So if what Verizon is doing takes off, then that could either put cable-based providers out of business or change it. Putting it out of business won't be so cool in the middle of what is practically a recession.
Personally, as someone who is technically invested in filesharing, this sounds very cool. In addition, because I have Comcast as an ISP - a company notorious for being anti-filesharing - this looks doubly appealing. Plus, it's making the whole system more efficient so that more can be done at the cost of less. The good outweighs the bad of this.
Article
Cyberathlete League is Down for 2008
Although, surprisingly, not due to lack of interest. In fact, it's because so many other video game leagues and such are cropping up.
So, the official deal is they're not having events for 2008. Unofficially, it's not looking too good for them.
However, with the advent of other leagues, it's not as though people are being left in the cold.
In fact, with more leagues means a higher chance to get spotted. So perhaps someone's dreams of being a professional video game player are still feasible. Only the future can tell.
Article
Friday, March 14, 2008
Man Paints His Car like a Policecar for Son; And It's Okay
So long as he doesn't pretend to be a policeman.
To all you people who think authority is unnecessarily restrictive; you're wrong in this scenario.
This is all from my source, by the way.
So, this man paints his car like the police car in the transformers movie. This is all for his son. And the local police or government doesn't care. So long as he doesn't pretend to be a police officer.
The best part? There's a law that prevents this sort of thing. But the police decided to be lax about it. Of course, it helps that they have to sell their cars to the public and don't repaint them. Also, the guy took a few liberties of the design to match the transformers car.
But still. News isn't all murders and death.
This Connor's Thoughts Blog; Better than Leading Alternative
So, I did a Google search for "Connor's Thoughts." Apparently I'm the first one you'd get.
I also checked out a few of them, and consider myself the best in that regard as well.
So take that, other Connors. With thoughts.
It also means I'm going somewhere. So, on to the future.
Now I need to edge out that star college lineman named "Connor Smith" for the first Google result on my name...
Video Game Sales Still Strong
So according to this source, the United States games industry is doing pretty well.
This is cool because the video games industry produces my favorite hobby.
This is also cool because the United States is practically in a recession.
But wait, you say, "We don't know we're in a recession." Well, if in a stock simulation you can make tons of money by short selling, then you're probably in a recession.
So yeah, in a recession (which means you're doing bad) it's cool to have an industry that's hitting all time highs.
Perhaps video games are the wave of the future.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Israelis Want Laser Defense, Suing Government For It
So, here's the article. It's an article on slashdot. Which is commenting on a wired blog article. Which is commenting on something that happened. Alas, the daisy chain continues.
So, the gist of it is, the Israeli government developed a moderately successful laser defence system that apparently runs on harmful chemicals. Then they scrapped it, possibly because it was moderately successful and ran on harmful chemicals.
So now some residents of some town in Israel are suing for laser protection.
They're apparently unaware of the fact that its moderately successful and runs on harmful chemicals. But hey, when your town continuously gets bombed, I'm sure you'd want a reprieve too.
Still, bothering the government about the laser is probably not the way to go.
Here are some crazy other possibilities.
Move the town underground
Make peace with the terrorists
Bomb them back as a "warning."
Make friends with China and have them do something
Send jets to intercept the rockets
Abandon the town
Not all of those (or necessarily any of them) are possible, but they're about as likely to happen as this laser defense thing.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Debates Are Not the Way to Convince
So you've heard about debates; spectacles where two people sit across from each other and take turns yelling at each other. For some reason, debating has become the established method of convincing someone of something. Which is funny, because they don't convince people at all.
Click here for more
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Vietnam to "Ban" Hamsters
Yes, the sale and trading and owning of a hamster will be met with a fine.
Now, they want to eliminate possession of hamsters because they're likely imported from China. And we all know what happens to things from China. Seriously though, they're likely to carry diseases. Which is bad.
Of course, this begs the question of what will happen to all the current hamsters? According to my source, they've got no mass hamster killings planned. Which is good. Because they're actually pretty cute. Then again, diseases, remember? But still, don't you wonder what'll happen to all those hamsters that people supposedly own?
I'm assuming that most people, while loving their hamsters, love their money more. So they'll release these hamsters. Which means the hamsters that supposedly have horrible diseases will be let loose on the world. Which makes the fine for owning hamsters quite problematic. But hey, it's their country.
The most interesting thing about this whole thing is that the Vietnamese love their hamsters. There are even hamster clubs. In real life, no less.
It's the Hamtaro craze that never happened. Which is funny, because I don't think they have Hamtaro over there. Anyone want to introduce Hamtaro to a country obsessed with hamsters but struggling over legal ownership of said hamsters?
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Personal Relfection
So I made a personal reflection. It's called, "Secretly Self Absorbed."
While it's not that good, it is something I made.
...And I made money off of it if you click it.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
How the Mightly Have Fallen
So I was reading this article a while ago.
I find it hilarious that the writer has to refer to the Patriots as the defending AFC champions. Apparently the concept of winning all your games except the superbowl is too new.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Time Divided on the Internet
So a person calling themselves Nailo says,
This is just a snap shot of what websites Americans spend the most time on as of dec. 2006. Myspace gets 11.9% of total time, yahoo 8.5%, MSN 3.7%, ebay 3.7%, Google 2.1%, AOL 1.7, pogo.com 1.6%, facebook 1%
All I've got to say is, if you think people just spend 1% of their time on Facebook, then you obviously haven't accounted for how much time I spend on Facebook.
And another thing; where's Wikipedia?
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Old People Love AIBO as much as Leading Competitor
According to an article at Wired, a study shows that old people are able to form relationships about as well with AIBO as they can with a real dog. Then the article talks about how this is a big surprise and that someday we will form relationships with robots.
Keep in mind this is after that one guy wrote a book on robot love. I think 'early bird' points go to the guy.
Still, yes, people and robots. All I know is that I like people, and that I suppose I could learn robots. But I sure won't hold my breath; this is a science that's not going anywhere significant soon.
Netscape Navigator to Come to an End
From a wikinews article, it seems that Netscape Navigator will stop getting support. As in, there will be no new updates nor new support. Basically this means the product's days are over.
For those of you who don't know what Netscape is, I'd certainly ask where they'd been for the past years. In the beginning of the Internet, which was around the time I was born, there was pretty much one online browser. Netscape. That was it. Netscape was the Internet to people.
Heck, I even remember using Netscape. Of course, over the years it's become progressively crappier in comparison. Still, nostalgia is nostalgia.
So, Netscape, I bid you farewell. I may have hardly known ya, but I liked the part I saw.
Grand Central
Now, I can't really take credit for finding this. It was on the blogger front page, after all.
So from what I gathered, Grand Central lets you receive and send voice mails on your blog.
Based on everything I know, this'll just let your friends bother you a little more, but pretty much not amount to anything. But who knows. I bet people thought Youtube would fail at first.
Link to Grand Central Beta
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