Terrified of Qik
@ 2010-06-29 22:00:18.554564
Filed under: Personal Tech
For those who don't know what qik is, it's a mobile application for taking videos and uploading them to the net as well as a "live" stream service from your phone for people to watch. I put live in quotes as, since one would expect, there is a delay depending on bandwidth, processing and other factors (it seems to be between 10-20 seconds usually). It's quite an interesting idea and seems to work decently well. For many phones this is a downloadable app but for us Evo users it is preloaded an, without hackery, can not be removed. Of course, this is par for course when it comes to bundled apps, but it's still no excuse as to why the practice is still done.
Anyway, I've noticed quite a few odd videos showing up online through qik. Now, a lot of these videos show up in the recent videso section and then disappear off the site 15-60 minutes later. Some you really can't tell WTF is going on (like in this). While others seem like accidental recordings. Take this video for instance. A few seconds of a steering wheel while you drive? Kind of odd. Or this and this ... odd as one usually tries to record something when they record. This is a guy telling someone else how to use it as he reads the instructions on his phone. How about this one which is in someones bag or purse. Then, just for fun, take Monk's sarcastic didn't mean to record video.
While some of the videos are just odd I tend to think a number of them were accidental. Why would you record 15 seconds of your phone moving around in your bag? Why record nothing but a few random words and no image? Why else would the videos have default names such as "A qik snippet of my life"? Have I convinced you at least some portion of these were accidental recordings? Good. We can move to the next step ...
Where do people use their smart phones? At the airport? Yes. Walking down a hall? Of course. At a restaurant? Sure ... but let's think of where else many people use their phones ... the bathroom. Now before you start running off stating that no one does that or you don't do that just think about it. Not much else to do but read or get that phone out and be productive! If you go into (almost) any decently sized company and hang out in the stalls you will end up hearing the beeping, keyboard/feedback clicks and alerts from smart phones (assuming you don't get kicked out for being creepy).
One more thing before we bring this all together. Having a forward facing and a rear facing camera is common on this new generation of phones. Both cameras tend to be at least webcam quality if not much better. For instance, the rear facing camera on my EVO is amazing while the forward facing one is in the better than average similar to iPhone range.
So here it is, why I'm terrified of Qik: With Qik and the ease of accidental recordings it is quite possible that one could record themselves in the bathroom and have it uploaded to the net for everyone to watch without the user realizing it for 15-60 minutes (which is my very unscientific estimate for how long it takes someone to tell someone else they posted a recording they don't think was meant to be posted). This is very close to the dream many people have when younger: going to school naked. Sure, in this case you are not naked, but everyone gets to see you in a bit of a compromising position. To make it worse, there is an automatic "good job" post that happens on some videos as if to encourage you to make more ... if you accidentally posted yourself in the bathroom and were told good job .... yeah.
So I leave you with the closest video to what I've described. No, this person is not in the bathroom but it kind of seems like how the video would end up looking:
EDIT
I lied ... this one is closer (but done on purpose) and kind of creepy:
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iPhone4 vs HTC Evo or She Doesn't Care @ 2010-06-29 09:59:43.261656
Filed under: Philosophy Comedy Tech
Warning: Strong Language
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I Am No Longer F**kn' Up @ 2010-06-26 18:09:49.637923
Filed under: Linux Tech
After waiting what seemed like forever I was able to finally get an HTC EVO. Unless you wear iBlinders (seen below) you have heard of the HTC Evo. It wasn't very long ago that I found out I was "f**ckn' up" but not having one (see this). I am proud to say that is no longer the case!
iBlinders(R)(TM)(Patent No 1234567)
So here is the deal. About a week and a half ago I finally put myself on the Evo waiting list at the local Sprint store. I was told there was about 50 people in front of me. I went online to look to see if I could order direct from Sprint but they stopped taking orders until they could fulfill the current back orders (or so the graphic seemed to indicate). The only place I could find selling Evo's were Amazon and brick-and-mortar Sprint stores. Just to be safe I put in an order on Amazon -- it would take about 2 weeks to fulfill and I figured if one came through I should be able to cancel the other one.
Fast forward to today. I decided (on a whim ... I think) to drop in to the Sprint store and find out where I was on the waiting list. The friendly fellow behind the podium stated there was no more waiting list. Hmmm ... I thought about that for about 5 seconds and then responded saying that I never received a call over the last week and a half. He then informed me that if I could just hang out for a bit they could hook me up with one as 5 showed up not much sooner before I dropped in.
I stood awkwardly at the back of the store hoping that this would not turn out to be a mistake. I then saw a manager like fellow walk out of the back with an Evo box and take it to the guy who was behind the podium (now at a register helping a lady). I watched as he started to ring her up for an Evo when he called the manager back over and pointed at me.
Podium Guy: That guy over there is waiting on one too. He said he was on the waiting list but didn't get a call.
Manager: He is wrong. Everyone was called.
Podium Guy: Well, he didn't get a call.
Manager: Then he wasn't on the list
I started to get a bit frustrated. I was on the list ... or at least I was told I was on the list when I stopped in during my lunch break a week and a half ago. I stood there thinking that maybe I would have to fall back on my Amazon order and wait another 5 days before I would get my hands on the device.
The manager came back out from the bowels of the store (or maybe the left arm, it's hard to tell) and called me over. He asked me if I was waiting for an Evo and I told him that I was and that I stopped by a week and a half ago and got on the list but didn't get a call. His response was a friendly "If you were on the list, you got a call already and if you don't pick up then we take you off the list." I thought about arguing that point. I have a phone. It keeps track of who called me. They are Sprint. They can see who called me. I didn't get a call. I decided instead of getting upset I would give him a nugget of information so he knows I'm not trying to MBA (like BSing but being an elitist too) him out of a phone. I told him that I had come in a week and a half ago and was told there was about 50 people ahead of me on the list and that it was first come first serve. I also told him that the guy who took my reservation wrote my information down on a yellow legal pad and I'm not sure if that was the official list or a temporary one. I'm assuming something I said in there clicked with him because he told me not to go anywhere and he would go pull one of the last two out of the back for me ... and within minutes I was in process of getting my plan moved over for the new phone.
I've only spent about 30 minutes with the phone so far, but I am impressed. While the UI is not as polished as the Palm Pre, it is a very fast phone with a ton of options and abilities. It's also got some impressive hardware!! So far the only semi-negative experience I've had would be in getting the phone ... but then again I can't complain, I didn't get iPhone'd (or -- waiting hours if not days in attempts to get the hardware you preordered a month ago to work and then hopefully just work after that).
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Python RPM Specs Needing a Loving Home @ 2010-06-22 16:37:30.688423
Filed under: Linux Code Tech Fedora Python
I found myself in need of some (currently) unpackaged python libraries and tools so I decided to do some quick packaging. If you are using these libraries (or want to) on a Fedora, RHEL or CentOS system and want to start packaging in Fedora then one of these could be an easy jumping in package. Note that they are not perfect so they still need a bit of love before getting them approved but it's (slightly) easier than starting from scratch!
django-picklefield.spec: provides an implementation of a pickled object field
python-amqplib.spec: Client library for AMQP
python-anyjson.spec: Wraps the best available JSON implementation available in a common interface
python-billiard.spec: Multiprocessing Pool Extensions
python-carrot.spec: AMQP Messaging Framework for Python
python-importlib.spec: Backport of importlib.import_module() from Python 2.7
python-celery.spec: task queue/job queue based on distributed message passing (requires all of the above)
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Comments: 0
Why I Am Buying An HTC Evo @ 2010-06-16 16:55:05.879065
Filed under: Comedy Tech
The most obvious answer is that it looks great. A friend of mine (monk) got his late last week and just being around the device makes me want it more. Even with the awesome factor and gadget peer pressure there was still a slim possibility that I could pass on it and wait .... but then I watched a review the solidified it for me. The review is actually good but one specific section was what told me I need to buy it: 9m11s to 9m21s.
So let me break this down ,,,
"If you are a dude ..." Yes! I am a dude!
"... walking around ..." Yes! I do walk!
"... with a bunch of phones and electronics and all that ..." Yes! I carry phones and electronics!
"... and you got Sprint ..." Correct! I do have Sprint!
"... and you don't got this ..." Right! I do not have an HTC Evo!
"... your f*ckn' up ..." NO! I don't want to do that!!!!
Evo here I come!!
(Seriously though, the review is pretty good. Check it out)
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ma.gnolia
Comments: 0
Filed under: Personal Tech
For those who don't know what qik is, it's a mobile application for taking videos and uploading them to the net as well as a "live" stream service from your phone for people to watch. I put live in quotes as, since one would expect, there is a delay depending on bandwidth, processing and other factors (it seems to be between 10-20 seconds usually). It's quite an interesting idea and seems to work decently well. For many phones this is a downloadable app but for us Evo users it is preloaded an, without hackery, can not be removed. Of course, this is par for course when it comes to bundled apps, but it's still no excuse as to why the practice is still done.
Anyway, I've noticed quite a few odd videos showing up online through qik. Now, a lot of these videos show up in the recent videso section and then disappear off the site 15-60 minutes later. Some you really can't tell WTF is going on (like in this). While others seem like accidental recordings. Take this video for instance. A few seconds of a steering wheel while you drive? Kind of odd. Or this and this ... odd as one usually tries to record something when they record. This is a guy telling someone else how to use it as he reads the instructions on his phone. How about this one which is in someones bag or purse. Then, just for fun, take Monk's sarcastic didn't mean to record video.
While some of the videos are just odd I tend to think a number of them were accidental. Why would you record 15 seconds of your phone moving around in your bag? Why record nothing but a few random words and no image? Why else would the videos have default names such as "A qik snippet of my life"? Have I convinced you at least some portion of these were accidental recordings? Good. We can move to the next step ...
Where do people use their smart phones? At the airport? Yes. Walking down a hall? Of course. At a restaurant? Sure ... but let's think of where else many people use their phones ... the bathroom. Now before you start running off stating that no one does that or you don't do that just think about it. Not much else to do but read or get that phone out and be productive! If you go into (almost) any decently sized company and hang out in the stalls you will end up hearing the beeping, keyboard/feedback clicks and alerts from smart phones (assuming you don't get kicked out for being creepy).
One more thing before we bring this all together. Having a forward facing and a rear facing camera is common on this new generation of phones. Both cameras tend to be at least webcam quality if not much better. For instance, the rear facing camera on my EVO is amazing while the forward facing one is in the better than average similar to iPhone range.
So here it is, why I'm terrified of Qik: With Qik and the ease of accidental recordings it is quite possible that one could record themselves in the bathroom and have it uploaded to the net for everyone to watch without the user realizing it for 15-60 minutes (which is my very unscientific estimate for how long it takes someone to tell someone else they posted a recording they don't think was meant to be posted). This is very close to the dream many people have when younger: going to school naked. Sure, in this case you are not naked, but everyone gets to see you in a bit of a compromising position. To make it worse, there is an automatic "good job" post that happens on some videos as if to encourage you to make more ... if you accidentally posted yourself in the bathroom and were told good job .... yeah.
So I leave you with the closest video to what I've described. No, this person is not in the bathroom but it kind of seems like how the video would end up looking:
EDIT
I lied ... this one is closer (but done on purpose) and kind of creepy:
digg it
seed it
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ma.gnolia
Comments: 0
iPhone4 vs HTC Evo or She Doesn't Care @ 2010-06-29 09:59:43.261656
Filed under: Philosophy Comedy Tech
Warning: Strong Language
digg it
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ma.gnolia
Comments: 0
I Am No Longer F**kn' Up @ 2010-06-26 18:09:49.637923
Filed under: Linux Tech
After waiting what seemed like forever I was able to finally get an HTC EVO. Unless you wear iBlinders (seen below) you have heard of the HTC Evo. It wasn't very long ago that I found out I was "f**ckn' up" but not having one (see this). I am proud to say that is no longer the case!
iBlinders(R)(TM)(Patent No 1234567)
So here is the deal. About a week and a half ago I finally put myself on the Evo waiting list at the local Sprint store. I was told there was about 50 people in front of me. I went online to look to see if I could order direct from Sprint but they stopped taking orders until they could fulfill the current back orders (or so the graphic seemed to indicate). The only place I could find selling Evo's were Amazon and brick-and-mortar Sprint stores. Just to be safe I put in an order on Amazon -- it would take about 2 weeks to fulfill and I figured if one came through I should be able to cancel the other one.
Fast forward to today. I decided (on a whim ... I think) to drop in to the Sprint store and find out where I was on the waiting list. The friendly fellow behind the podium stated there was no more waiting list. Hmmm ... I thought about that for about 5 seconds and then responded saying that I never received a call over the last week and a half. He then informed me that if I could just hang out for a bit they could hook me up with one as 5 showed up not much sooner before I dropped in.
I stood awkwardly at the back of the store hoping that this would not turn out to be a mistake. I then saw a manager like fellow walk out of the back with an Evo box and take it to the guy who was behind the podium (now at a register helping a lady). I watched as he started to ring her up for an Evo when he called the manager back over and pointed at me.
Podium Guy: That guy over there is waiting on one too. He said he was on the waiting list but didn't get a call.
Manager: He is wrong. Everyone was called.
Podium Guy: Well, he didn't get a call.
Manager: Then he wasn't on the list
I started to get a bit frustrated. I was on the list ... or at least I was told I was on the list when I stopped in during my lunch break a week and a half ago. I stood there thinking that maybe I would have to fall back on my Amazon order and wait another 5 days before I would get my hands on the device.
The manager came back out from the bowels of the store (or maybe the left arm, it's hard to tell) and called me over. He asked me if I was waiting for an Evo and I told him that I was and that I stopped by a week and a half ago and got on the list but didn't get a call. His response was a friendly "If you were on the list, you got a call already and if you don't pick up then we take you off the list." I thought about arguing that point. I have a phone. It keeps track of who called me. They are Sprint. They can see who called me. I didn't get a call. I decided instead of getting upset I would give him a nugget of information so he knows I'm not trying to MBA (like BSing but being an elitist too) him out of a phone. I told him that I had come in a week and a half ago and was told there was about 50 people ahead of me on the list and that it was first come first serve. I also told him that the guy who took my reservation wrote my information down on a yellow legal pad and I'm not sure if that was the official list or a temporary one. I'm assuming something I said in there clicked with him because he told me not to go anywhere and he would go pull one of the last two out of the back for me ... and within minutes I was in process of getting my plan moved over for the new phone.
I've only spent about 30 minutes with the phone so far, but I am impressed. While the UI is not as polished as the Palm Pre, it is a very fast phone with a ton of options and abilities. It's also got some impressive hardware!! So far the only semi-negative experience I've had would be in getting the phone ... but then again I can't complain, I didn't get iPhone'd (or -- waiting hours if not days in attempts to get the hardware you preordered a month ago to work and then hopefully just work after that).
digg it
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ma.gnolia
Comments: 0
Python RPM Specs Needing a Loving Home @ 2010-06-22 16:37:30.688423
Filed under: Linux Code Tech Fedora Python
I found myself in need of some (currently) unpackaged python libraries and tools so I decided to do some quick packaging. If you are using these libraries (or want to) on a Fedora, RHEL or CentOS system and want to start packaging in Fedora then one of these could be an easy jumping in package. Note that they are not perfect so they still need a bit of love before getting them approved but it's (slightly) easier than starting from scratch!
django-picklefield.spec: provides an implementation of a pickled object field
python-amqplib.spec: Client library for AMQP
python-anyjson.spec: Wraps the best available JSON implementation available in a common interface
python-billiard.spec: Multiprocessing Pool Extensions
python-carrot.spec: AMQP Messaging Framework for Python
python-importlib.spec: Backport of importlib.import_module() from Python 2.7
python-celery.spec: task queue/job queue based on distributed message passing (requires all of the above)
digg it
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ma.gnolia
Comments: 0
Why I Am Buying An HTC Evo @ 2010-06-16 16:55:05.879065
Filed under: Comedy Tech
The most obvious answer is that it looks great. A friend of mine (monk) got his late last week and just being around the device makes me want it more. Even with the awesome factor and gadget peer pressure there was still a slim possibility that I could pass on it and wait .... but then I watched a review the solidified it for me. The review is actually good but one specific section was what told me I need to buy it: 9m11s to 9m21s.
So let me break this down ,,,
"If you are a dude ..." Yes! I am a dude!
"... walking around ..." Yes! I do walk!
"... with a bunch of phones and electronics and all that ..." Yes! I carry phones and electronics!
"... and you got Sprint ..." Correct! I do have Sprint!
"... and you don't got this ..." Right! I do not have an HTC Evo!
"... your f*ckn' up ..." NO! I don't want to do that!!!!
Evo here I come!!
(Seriously though, the review is pretty good. Check it out)
digg it
seed it
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ma.gnolia
Comments: 0
