WebAdmin

So, I saw this commercial for the “KGB”. It’s basically a company that has setup three services… A wiki like service, where you can go to their site and look up information via the web, a mobile service which you load a program on your smart phone and ask ANY question and it’s answered within 10 minutes (or it’s free), and a SMS text version similar to the mobile version.

Interesting business model but no one really cares, everyone wants to see the commercial, which is freaky. Unfortunately, you can’t use Google to find it, since it’s been spammed with squatters and trojan sites to try to steal traffic. I find it interesting that such a huge marketing campaign can’t get the top search slot on Google. Then again, I guess it’s competition…

Anyways, here’s the commercial:

Knowledge Generation Bureau (KGB) Commercial

Long time since a post, apologies all around. Work has been hectic. Implementing a CMS at an entire university is no small feat. Mission accomplished though!

So, now I FINALLY have a 3G T-Mobile smartphone!!!

I’ve used the T-Mobile G1 for afew months now, and I’m loving it.

And now, I’m totally hooked on Geocaching! Thanks to a free app on the Android Market called Geodroid.

I’m not sure what the developer’s name is, but his apps are by “Clinkybot”.

Lots of love to Clinkybot for developing this app! It’s the best (and, as far as I can tell, only) Geocaching software out for Android.

Go! Try it! Join the hunt!

I may regret this, but I’ve created a comprehensive Beijing Olympics TV schedule for the United States, stuffed into a nifty PDF format! I couldn’t find one anywhere online, so I fired up excel, and went to town. For some stupid reason, NBC released a “list” formatted schedule, which is impossible to read, and has not released a grid-layout of show times. My interpretation is below.

2008 Summer Olympics - TV Schedule - Eastern Time

I just made an eastern time one, since most people can add and subtract.

If you find any errors, just hit up the comments, and I’ll make changes.

Keep in mind, all times are subject to change, and I do not guarantee the accuracy of this document. Check your local TV listings for the most accurate and up-to-date show times. I’ve licensed this file under Creative Commons. Information can be found at their website.

I just got a brand new DirecTV HR20-700 (well, they’ve been out for awhile, but it’s new to me!)

To frame this for those who aren’t aware; the DirecTV Plus HD DVR (HDDVR) originally allowed you to use a Intel ViiV computer to stream media to your TV via the HDDVR. Now, a few software updates later, it now plays nice with any windows media compatible sharing software. Now, the HDDVR brand includes -several- models of DVR’s, and I don’t feel like listing them, so…. if you have VOD and an ethernet port, you know who you are… Besides, if you got here, you’ve probably already found the feature, but found that stupid X next to all of your media.

So the question is, how do I get my favorite DIVX avi file to play on my wide screen!?

Using your favorite tool (I use ffmpegX) you’ll need to re-encode your video and audio. On a fast machine, this only takes 10 minutes or so.

The video must be encoded using MPEG-2 Transport (known as MPEG-TS in many applications) and the audio must be MP2 encoded (mpeg1-layer2).

Re-encode, and just drop the file into a shared folder, and wait…. and wait…. and wait… (seriously, I don’t know what makes the HDDVR refresh, because I’ve waited from 2 to 20 minutes for it to finally find my file). I’ve heard you can turn off and on your media sharing app, but that doesn’t always work for me, and sometimes has the side affect of causing it to lose my shared folders for several seconds.

Keep in mind, it filters on extension, so be sure to use .mpg or .avi (both seem to work for me).

I know someone will ask, so before I close, yes, you do need a “media share” application, like the eyeconnect software for OS X.

UPDATE: I -finally- found some documentation via DirecTV’s website, buried in a FAQ. The “officially” supported format is MPEG2 video +AC3/MPEG1-Layer2 audio only. I tried this out, and it does indeed work, although not well (some functionality is missing, specifically fast-forward) and sometimes it loses the stream and errors out (which sucks without fast-forward -_-). This does however produce a smaller file than the transport flavor. Another format that works? DIVX! But only some, and I can’t tell you which specifically work. I’ve tried matching the encoding, and have yet to produce a file that works. I’ll let ya’ll know if I get it working.

A recent study on “cyberslacking” (CNN’s words, certainly not my creation) had some interesting findings. It turns out that web browsing at work can be constructive. Of the 1024 surveyed, almost all browsed at work, including everyone from “from senior managers to entry-level employees”. Duh. The study then claims that management’s use of filtering to clamp down on browsing at work is not only hypocritical, but likely will just lead to reducing job satisfaction and thus productivity. Having friends that work at companies that lock-down their internet access, I sure hope that managers take this to heart. Link to the full article below. Speaking of which, I better get back to work…

The biannual list of the fastest computers in the world was release today at the International Supercomputing Conference, and it’s no surprise that IBM’s Roadrunner at the NNSA-run (National Nuclear Security Administration) Los Alamos laboratories in New Mexico has seized the number one spot.

IBM currently hold’s the top three spots for fastest computers in the world, with the Blue Gene/L system and the Team Blue Gene/P taking second and third respectively.

The fastest computer in the world is using some pretty interesting processors, utilizing 12,240 IBM PowerXCell 8i chips (a high-performance cell processor, similar to (but much more expensive than) that used in the Playstation 3) and 6,562 dual-core AMD Opteron processors. So is it odd that our home entertainment centers are using supercomputer parts, or that our supercomputers use entertainment center parts? Jump over to InformationWeek for more info at the link below.

IBM Roadrunner Judged World’s Fastest Computer

Yeah, I got my hopes up reading the subject line too. Looks like the FCC has posted some fresh pics of the T-Mobile branded Sony Ericsson TM506. It’ll be sporting GSM/EDGE 850/1900 and WCDMA 1700/2100 which makes it compatible with T-Mobile’s 3G. Apparently T-Mobile isn’t aware that their customers want 3G smartphones. Nope, they think we’re waiting for some ultra-fast SMS, flip-phone action. Could you please join the decade T-Mobile? You know, before it’s over. More details for the four people that are interested after the break.

FCC Spills Details on 3G Clamshell for T-Mobile

It’s nice to be home again! I just got back from a CMS conference in Atlanta, which I was expecting to boring as hell, but actually turned out very interesting. It’s not hard to figure out what CMS I’m speaking about, but I haven’t decided if I want to disclose the name of it because I’m not sure how it’s going to work out. Everyone knows I’m opinionated, however I don’t want this to turn into a rant blog and as it is, I will wait until I’m sure where this thing is going before I commentate.

While I was in Atlanta, I stayed at the Sheraton Buckhead. It was going well until Tuesday afternoon, when the power went out and stayed out until well past midnight. No air conditioning, no Internet…. well, that’s basically all I give a damn about! Luckily, the bar was open, so my good friend and co-worker Jonathan and I hung out playing some DS and drinking a very good micro-brew.

A good friend of mine told me that the sushi in Atlanta was really good. This didn’t seem logical to me, considering Georgia’s further from the coast than most cities you’d consider as good places to get sushi (San Francisco for instance). But what the heck… I went to a place called Hashiguchi Junior, and it was amazing. If you’re ever in the Atlanta area, you should definitely try it! My recommendation: try the White Tuna.

One Vote

So how many times do you get to vote in an election? Well duh, one person, one vote. This concept is lost on the Texas legislature, who ignore the principle and instead play a modified game of musical chairs, where the winner gets their law passed. Trust me, this video will majorly piss you off.

Peace out ya’ll.

Yeah, I know. Sorry. I’ve been busy load testing, as previously posted. I also got burgled, and have been dealing with insurance. It seems there’s a crime wave going on. I’m still sitting on glass in my car, as I can’t seem to find every piece.

We launched our beta website finally. I can’t link to it, because it’s a “private beta”. We don’t want too much traffic of course. But, considering I work for the University of Houston, I don’t think you’ll find it hard to locate the beta site if you’re persistent.

The MySQL Conference has made a “Call for Papers”. I’m considering sending something, but I haven’t decided what to speak about. When I figure it out, I’ll share it here for feedback.

Well, have a good week everyone. More on the beta website later.

Many people use Mozilla, and I would daresay most of them don’t think about all the time and effort that goes into a piece of software. Well they should! Don’t forget, Mozilla is provided at no charge for the betterment of the Internet!

So please, support Mozilla by purchasing some really awesome Mozilla gear like:

and:

And if you haven’t used Firefox before, you should give it a try!