Archive for January, 2009
Cross-section of a Nikon D3 D-SLR
January 24th, 2009 •
Tags: camera, cross-section, digital slr, dslr, Nikon, photography
This isn’t one of those wimpy illustrated gadget cross-sections. This is the actual camera chopped in half and photographed by Tokyobling. It really is a thing of beauty. The shots are pretty amazing too. This is sure to tickle the photography geek’s fancy.
Video: Google Reader Basics Tutorial
January 23rd, 2009 •
Tags: feeds, google reader, howto, rss, tutorial, xml
This is the first episode of what I intend to be a bi-weekly video show. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think about it. If you have ideas for what you would like me to cover in a show, leave that in the comments as well. Not every episode will be an instructional screencast. I intend to cover much of the same material in the show as you might find on the site. I hope you like it. Make sure to subscribe in iTunes or your podcatcher. You can add either the HD Quicktime format (iTunes) or the iPod format (iTunes) to your podcatcher of choice! Two additional feed options are coming soon: Standard Definition Quicktime and Audio-only MP3.
Have you ever wondered how some people seem to keep track of all the latest news breaking online? How are they able to follow so many web sites? The secret is RSS coupled with a good feed reader. There are tons of options for feed reading including a multitude of both desktop applications and web-based applications. This tutorial focuses on one of the most popular options, Google Reader. Like many of Google’s services it has a simple interface, is free, fast, and available anywhere.
In the video, I demonstrate how to find feeds and add them to the app. Then I show how to use basic keyboard navigation. Here is a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts for you keyboard junkies:
| j/k | item down/up | selects the next/previous item in the list |
| space/shift-space | page down/up | moves the page down/up |
| n/p | scan down/up | in list view, selects the next item without opening it |
| o | open/close item | in list view, expands or collapses the selected item |
| enter | open/close item | in list view, expands or collapses the selected item |
| s | toggle star | stars the selected item |
| shift-s | toggle share | shares the selected item |
| m | mark as read/unread | switches the read state of the selected item |
| t | tag an item | opens the tagging field for the selected item |
| v | view original | opens the original source for this article in a new window |
| shift-a | mark all as read | marks all items in the current view as read |
| 1 | expanded view | displays the subscription as expanded items |
| 2 | list view | displays the subscription as a list of headlines |
| r | refresh | refreshes the unread counts in the navigation |
| shift-n/p | navigation down/up | selects the next/previous subscription or folder in the navigation |
| shift-x | navigation expand/collapse | expand or collapse a folder selected in the navigation |
| shift-o | navigation open subscription | opens the item currently selected in the navigation |
| gh | go to home | goes to the Google Reader homepage |
| ga | go to all items | goes to the “All items” view |
| gs | go to starred items | goes to the “Starred items” view |
| gt | go to tag | allows you to navigate to a tag by entering the tag name |
| gu | go to subscription | allows you to navigate to a subscription by entering the subscription name |
| u | toggle full screen mode | hides and shows the list of subscriptions |
| ? | keyboard shortcuts help | displays a quick guide to all of Reader’s shortcuts |
There are a couple of useful shortcuts that I forgot to mention in the video. The “g” shortcuts allow you to filter your feeds in different ways. Press “g” followed by “a” to go to the all items view; “g” followed by “s” will show your starred stories; and “g” followed by “u” shows an overlay that lists all your subscribed feeds. Start typing the name of the feed you want to view and press enter to show stories only from that feed.
Here are some cool feeds to get you started. Take note that these feeds won’t do much without some sort of feed reader to view them. I am linking directly to the RSS not to the web site.
Tech
Internet
Gaming
Download the podcast
For fans of this site, those feeds will get you off to a good start. Don’t forget to subscribe to the raddevon.com feed! Also, feel free to choose one of the category feeds on the right if you want only one category of posts. Be sure to talk back in the comments. Which other feed readers do you use, and what makes them better than the mighty Google? Until next time!
PC Demo of Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (non-Flash demo)
January 23rd, 2009 •
Tags: demo, games, puzzle, Puzzle Quest
Just days after the Flash demo of the game hit the tubes, a real demo of the game is now available for Windows. I’m confused. Why even release the Flash demo if the true demo was to follow in a matter of days? I haven’t gotten a chance to play yet, but this demo appears predictably more robust than it’s Flash-based counterpart. Pick it up at Big Download.
Jets’n'Guns Gold promo pricing
January 23rd, 2009 •
Tags: Apple, deals, games, mac, Software
Today’s MacUpdate Promo deal is the critically acclaimed shooter Jets’n'Guns Gold. The game is normally $30, but today it can be yours for $10! Mac gamers and shooter fans rejoice. If you happen to be both a Mac user and a shooter fan, you are probably already in some kind of shock coma due to rapture.
Gaming podcasts: What to do in the aftermath of the 1Up Show
January 23rd, 2009 •
Tags: 1Up, 1Up Show, Area 5, Bytejacker, EGM, games, Gameular, Jeff Gerstmann, podcast, Rebel FM, reviews, Totally Rad Show, video podcast
It’s still hard to believe the 1Up Show is gone. Its audio got me through many commutes; its video tantalized me into buying countless games I could not afford. But no more. What the hell am I doing getting sappy about a video podcast? Instead we’ll solve this little problem by finding some excellent substitutes to fill the gaping hole in my soul.
The first show I want to mention doesn’t really replace the content provided by the 1Up Show which only covered indie titles occasionally, but chances are if you enjoyed the 1Up Show, you may also enjoy a little show called Bytejacker. Episodes are short and present a few cool indie titles in rapid succession during the show’s cornerstone segment, the aptly named Free Indie Rapid-Fire. The show offers up two episodes weekly. The first presents three indie titles and asks users to return to the site after playing all of them to vote for their favorites; the second reveals the results. The host Anthony Carboni is great and the entire show is wonderfully produced with a quality not unlike the 1Up video podcast.
The immensely popular and often hilarious Totally Rad Show doesn’t cover the number of games covered by the 1Up Show. It’s probably because they also review movies, TV shows, and comic books. It makes up for the lack of breadth with wonderful style and offers a great time. Like 1Up, the totally rad hosts (Alex Albrecht, Jeff Cannata, and Dan Trachtenberg) cover major releases along with the occasional downloadable title or iPhone game. The hosts each seem to have differing opinions about what they like in a game. So, there’s a good chance you will find one of them whose taste will align more with your own.
If you were paying attention when the Jeff Gerstmann/GameSpot controversy broke and felt the outrage many of us felt, you may be interested in some truly independent gaming journalism. Most everyone from 1Up/EGM is now part of some smaller project which makes me more confident that they will not be pressured to compromise their journalistic integrity to grease the wheels of the ad revenue machine. However, nothing gets more independent than Gameular—a YouTube-like site for game reviews. Watch reviews by other members and post your own. The reviews you see here are less likely to have been bought, but they are also likely produced by someone who is not a professional. In fact, they are most likely far from it.
Last but definitely not least, the best way to approximate the experience of enjoying an hour-long episode of the 1Up Show is by following the makers to their next projects. So far we already have two excellent projects—one audio and one video—from the same tireless individuals that brought you an hour or more of gaming goodness weekly. Rebel FM is an audio podcast devoted to video games, as you might have guessed. The guys seem to have no problem talking about games that aren’t necessarily new releases which makes this feel more authentic in a way. You and I know that the games we play aren’t always those that have hit store shelves within the past two or three weeks. The shows have run about an hour each so far and will be very satisfying to fans of 1Up’s various podcasts. The video podcast, Area 5 will be wonderfully familiar to 1Up Show fans. It is really difficult to tell it from its predecessor. Much of the old gang is here, it is funny, informative, and entertaining. The first episode is currently available at the web site. The guys are also working on some way to make the gig sustainable so there may be money involved at some point, but, to be quite honest, I would much prefer a reviewer take money from me directly rather than from the entities that create the works which they are reviewing.
I hope these options will get you through all the sleepless nights, the boring drives to work or school, the seemingly endless flights with much the same joy as the gaming show we all loved. I think I can speak for most of the gaming community in saying we are glad to have our old show back so soon in some form—in many forms actually—although even the alternatives in this space are no slouches.
Digg founder and CEO address problem of “power users”
January 23rd, 2009 •
Tags: backlash, digg, interview, Jay Adelson, Kevin Rose, reddit, social news
Digg.com is an excellent resource for the hottest content on the web. In recent weeks, there has been something of a backlash amongst the Digg community over a major problem many users perceive: “power users” gaming the system. Digg allows users to post stories. Then other users may vote for a story (“digg” it). As a story receives diggs, it has a higher chance of making it to the homepage where it will immediately see a major traffic surge. As such, front page real estate on digg is a highly valued commodity. This is a highly simplified explanation of how the site works as there is a complex algorithm that determines a story’s front-page-worthiness, but this is the gist of what is happening.
Many users feel that a small percentage of users have a much better chance of hitting the homepage with a story even if another user broke the story first. In my estimation, this is largely true. It seems that some users are able to exploit their networks to force their stories to the top. This brings about a couple of questions. First, is this even a problem? These power users have done something to build the networks they have. Should they not be entitled to use them? Secondly, if this is a problem, how can it be fixed? Is there any way to prevent the system from being abused while also maintaining its democratic nature?
Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson talked to the LA Times and addressed these and other issues. Below is an excerpt from the interview in which they directly address the problem of “power users.”
A lot of Digg users seem to complain about the high percentage of front-page stories submitted by top users. Should the average user realistically expect to be able to get a story to the front page, or should they understand that it’s way more complex than just pressing “submit” and crossing your fingers?
Rose: You have to realize that out of the tens of thousands of stories that are on the Web, we only promote 100 to 130ish a day. So your shot at getting on the homepage is already pretty small. Then you have to look at, who are the people that are the taste makers and the ones that are living and breathing this stuff, and the first to find a story and submit it -– there’s a certain dedicated core group of users that are out there doing that kind of thing.
But every single day we promote people on the front page that have never had a story up there — people who managed to find a really unique, strange article that no one else has seen before.
Adelson: Or if they break news –- there are lots of first-time promotions from people who found or submitted a story at the moment of publication. If that happens, that person might get promoted first, just because it’s the first version of that story.
But how would anyone notice the submission if it was from an unknown user?
Adelson: They see it in the Upcoming sections. There’s another section of Diggers combing through the new submissions.
Rose: They also get the recommendation based on who that user is and who they’re tied to.
Their friend network…
Rose: Yeah, but even if they don’t have a friend network, it’s linked to their “similar user” network. That’s where the recommendation engine is. So let’s say you’re digging a story on the Audi R8 — and you don’t have any friends on Digg, but you love Audi R8 stories. We’re going to know that and spread that story to similar diggers, and they’ll see it when they go into the Upcoming section.
And that’s where we’ll be going in the future -– we’ll be providing a more customized view of our front page, and promotion at a different level to different interest groups. So if my mom comes in and she’s huge into cross stitch, she should have a place where she can submit a story and it’ll spread to all those similar users. Where we’re going will be a more personalized experience that everyone can participate in -– not just a certain niche like we have today –- we want to expand it into smaller niches.
Be sure to check out the full interview at the LA Times.
It seems to me they don’t really perceive this as a problem at the moment. Hopefully, the new measures to prevent duplicate submission will allow some of us mortal users to get stories on the page when we do in fact submit them first, but I don’t really see the power users digging articles they would rather submit themselves. I think Digg is about power for them, and, even if they see that a story they want to submit is submitted by someone else first, they will be unlikely to Digg since there is no benefit to themselves.
I have actually noticed this phenomenon myself and have moved most of my activity in the social news space to reddit. It seems much less susceptible to these problems. I have had a couple of stories hit the front page there with zero network.
Post your thoughts in the comments. What are your favorite social news sites? Do you believe power users are gaming Digg and ruining it for the rest of us?
Eversave insures you won’t lose your work
January 22nd, 2009 •
Tags: Apple, eversave, mac, Software, utility
Eversave is not a mega-church as you may have guessed. Cult of Mac has caught wind of a cool Mac application which will periodically save open documents automatically. It sounds like a pretty cool idea. I have heard a million horror stories about how people lost 20 hours of work because they hit the surge protector’s power button with their foot. It’s really discouraging to have to start over. I personally have been saved numerous times by Gmail’s autosave feature. Thanks to this app, your documents will be saved whether or not your other applications have an auto-save feature.
Outsmart jerks who won’t reply to e-mail with SpyPig
January 22nd, 2009 • 2 comments
Tags: e-mail, email, read receipt, receipt, spypig
At some point, we all come into contact with someone who avoids our e-mail for some reason or another. They can always deny that they ever received it with a hundred plausible dog-ate-my-homework excuses. “My spam filter must have blocked it.” “My ISP must be blocking incoming mail from your ISP.” “It must have gotten lost in the tubes.” All of these can occur. SpyPig allows you to include an image with your e-mails that provide you with tracking capabilities. When the e-mail loads, SpyPig’s server determined the IP that has requested the image and records the time and date it was accessed. It promptly e-mails this information back to the sender and tracks up to 100 hits on the image! You can even include an image that is blank and white for discreet tracking. The next time someone says they didn’t receive your e-mail, you can reply, “That’s strange. It was opened by someone connected on your ISP yesterday at 7:34pm. Weird!”
White Macbook gets serious upgrades
January 21st, 2009 •
Tags: Apple, Macbook
Apple’s best-selling computer ever has gotten a pretty decent upgrade. The plastic $1,000 Macbook now has a 1066MHz frontside bus, twice the RAM (2GB), and Nvidia’s 9400M graphics processor. The most significant item is the graphics card which will really give gamers a big boost. This leaves the $1,300 aluminum 13″ Macbook very few selling points over the little white book that could.
Thanks to Wired for bringing this my attention.
iPhone games: Rolondo price drop
January 21st, 2009 • 2 comments
Tags: deals, games, iPhone, ngmoco
Easily $6 worth of cute
Take note iPhone gamers: ngmoco’s spectacular iPhone platformer Rolondo has been reduced from $9.99 to $5.99. It was well worth the $10 price and is certainly worth it at $6. Enjoy!