freemind

SXSW 2007 Interactve Conference - Tim Farriss from fourhourworkweek.com

2008-01-06T00:53:09+00:00

Expand - Collapse

SXSW 2007 Interactve Conference - Tim Farriss from fourhourworkweek.com
- questions
  - how do your priorities and decisions change if retirement will never be an option?
    - if you are going to have to work all the time. not retire
    - eg would get bored if not working
    - avoid being unable to fill the void if work is your identity
  - scalability
    - is your business scalable
    - is your career scalable
    - is your lifestyle scalable (most important)
    - and if it isn't, when are you going to face a bottleneck
- are you in a game worth winning and is it scalable
- principles / commonalities of people who design ideal lifestyles for themselves
  - 3 currencies (in order of importance)
    - time (non renewable)
    - income
    - mobility
  - structure
    - definition
      - determining what it is you want to create from a lifestyle pov
      - and how much that costs - what are the financial realities of designing an ideal lifestyle
      - define 3 things
        
        what you want to do
        
        what you want to be
        
        what you want to have
      - what portion of your efforts are producing that result
      - 80/20 principle (paradores principle)
        
        20% of your input / actions should produce 80% of your results
        
        what 20% of my activities are producing 80% of my desired outcome
        
        then (ruthlessly) eliminate the rest which is taking up time
        
        limit the tasks to only the important
      - parkinson's law
        
        introduced by Ed Shough (?) from princeton
        
        a task will swell with perceived complexitity and importance in direct correlation with the time that you allot it
        
        limit the time to what's really important
    - elimination
      - batching
        
        eg email
        
        set an autoresponder on email
        
        to manage other people's expectations
    - automation
      - outsource anything that can be done for less than $X a day (ie less than your hourly rate)
        
        eg to India - virtual assistants
        
        eg internet research, spreadsheets
        
        rules you can set for yourself instead of responding in a culture of urgency
        
        your man in india
        
        brickwork
    - liberation
      - first step is creating mobility
        
        hourglass approach
      - take advantage of the time you have when u get it
- timferriss@gmail.com
- http://www.fourhourworkweek.com
- http://2007.sxsw.com/interactive/programming/panels/?action=show&id=IAP060286
- http://audio.sxsw.com/podcast/interactive/panel/2007/SXSW07.INT.20070312.TheFourHourWorkweek.mp3

XML course notes

2006-11-24T16:47:04+00:00

Expand - Collapse

XML course
- http://www.vtc.com/products/introtoxml.htm
- self describing markup language
- XSL - extensible stylesheet language
  - XSLT
    - translations
    - query against original data
  - XSL-FO
    - formatting options
    - will take over from css
  - XPATH
    - language on how to write the queries
    - lets us parse through the documents
  - XLINK
    - link to a document
    - link back to original doc
    - link within current document
  - XPOINTER
    - link to a position in a file
    - eg like a href # in html
  - refer to www.w3.org to see specs on each of these + new developments
- XML basics
  - - definition and spec version
      - attributes such as:
      - encoding="unicode"
        
        unicode is default if encoding character set is not specified
      - standalone="no"
        
        means this doc cannot be viewed on it's own. a translation document is required also to interpret this doc
      - standalone="yes"
        
        means the browser can display this document as is without requiring another document to translate it
    - is a processing statement, the application or browser will process this instruction
  - - root element
  - Mark
- xml editors
  - notepad / text editor
  - XML Spy
    - www.altova.com
  - XML Writer
    - www.xmlwriter.com
  - editiX
    - www.editix.com
  - morphon xml editor
    - www.morphon.com
  - emile (mac)
    - www.in-progress.com/emile
- 5 basic rules to make a well formed document
  - 1. tags are case sensitive
  - 2. opening tags must have closing tags
  - 3. tags must be properly nested
  - 4. attribute values require quotes
  - 5. root element required
- element
  - an element is a complete description of a piece of data
  - consists of the start tag, the data and the end tag
  - empty element
    - eg
    - or
- attributes
  - eg
  - could also represent this using elements rather than as an attribute:
    
    Mark
    45
    yes
- values
  - make each element represent one piece of data/value only
- special characters
  - common symbols
    - < <
    - > >
    - " "
    - ' '
    - & &
    - use decimal values
      - & = &
    - CR, LF, TAB from version xml 1.0
    - xml version 1.1 can use all the ascii codes except for NUL
- comments
  - comments may be displayed or dropped from the browser or application. this is correct as per the spec
- schema
  - describes the structure of the document
  - usually the schema is a separate document
  - what data is allowed
  - what data is required
  - how data is organised
  - checks the structure of the data not the actual value of the data
- DTD or XSD
  - DTD - document type definition
    - not XML based
    - de facto standard
    - defines the XML document structure
      - defines what elements can/must appear
      - defines what order the elements must be in
      - information about the data the elements contain
      - element attributes information / requirements
      - DTD does not determine what the root element is
      - DTD does not show the number of instances of elements
      - DTD does not include the data types
      - DTD does not include the symantic meaning of an element
        
        eg whether data is a name or a date
    - can be defined inline or in a separate document (external)
    - DTD elements
      - elements are the allowed / required tags
      - created with an element declaration
      - 4 types of elements
        
        empty tag - does not contain content
        
        element-only
        
        contains only child elements
        
        mixed
        
        combination of child elements and character data
        
        any
        
        any content allowed
      - DTD element options
        
        * means can appear zero or more times
        
        + means one or more times
        
        ? means zero or one time
        
        | means or
        
        no symbol means the child element must appear only once
  - XML Schema
    - XSD - XML Schema Definition
    - RELAX NG
    - W3C XML Schema Language

TED Blog - Kevin Kelly - mind map summary of his video lecture

2006-11-19T10:20:03+00:00

here's a freemind mindmap summary (exported to xhtml using javascript) I made after watching the TED Talks Kevin Kelly presentation.

attached is the TED_Talks_Kevin_Kelley.mm file.

click on Expand or Collapse links (above) to navigate the sections

Expand - Collapse

TED Talks
- Kevin Kelly
  - what does technology want?
  - what are the long term trends in technology
    - turns out it it the same as in biological evolution
    - drift towards specialisation
    - diversity
    - towards ubiquity
    - drift towards complexity over time
    - increasing sociability
  - machines are becoming biological
  - technology is the 7th kingdom of life (phylum)
    - old technology is the base of new technology
      - one difference between technology and biology
      - technologies don't die
        
        you can delay technologies but not kill it completely
    - culture is the accumulation of ideas
      - so ideas don't die out
  - life hacking
    - the infinite game
    - the singularity
      - using technology to progress evolution
  - Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World

Watch the video @ http://tedblog.typepad.com/tedblog

Wired Editor-at-Large Kevin Kelly on TEDTalks

the software I'm using most often these days

2006-03-03T15:37:24+00:00

This is a reply to a post on Stealth board listing the software I'm using most often these days.
http://www.stealthmag.com/board/viewthread.php?tid=6461
yeah gimp is good. the interface isn't as nice as photoshop but it's free / open source and has many of the same features for image editing & conversion. if u were a graphic designer u'd probably go with photoshop cs or similar but for simple resizing/cropping and converting gimp does the same job.
http://www.gimp.org
here's a list of my fav s/w atm (at least what I'm using most these days). I've been playing with a bit of videoblogging so a lot of this is video related. (not in any order)
isadora : http://www.troikatronix.com/isadora.html
it's really cool for realtime video processing. so u could spend hours using it. even if u don't have a camera yourself, just download some quicktime movies from one of the videoblogging sites and do a cutup remix or something. the demo version (which I'm still using) only lets u save 5sec, so to make anything longer, u can just save 5sec at a time then past e them altogether in quicktime or another editing tool. some of the effects are similar to jitter (the video add on to max/msp) but they're all prebuilt so u don't have to write the code. just connect the patch cords.
http://www.troikatronix.com/isadora.html
max/msp http://www.cycling74.com
- it's great for writing realtime music. generally used in art / sound art installations or universities and experimental performances. jitter is the video processing as mentioned above. easy to spend hours using it. though the learning curve is a bit steep until u get the hang of it. I did a course which was helpful. has a 30 day demo. I bought the student price which is $59 for 9months licence so handy if you're doing a project.
http://www.cycling74.com
quicktime pro - www.apple.com/quicktime
if u pay the $30 to upgrade to quicktime pro u can then do video editing in quicktime. it does interactive video as well. and you can add text tracks, html links, link the whole video movie.
www.apple.com/quicktime
freemind mind mapping software
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
- this is great for writing all those ideas down and collecting your thoughts & brainstorming
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
drupal - www.drupal.org
- I use this every day. it's a CMS (content management system) and has features such as blog, rss, chat, forums, user access, stories, project management, images, videoblogging & podcasting support, + a heap more. basically it creates your website then you can start posting information up and sorting/catergorising it
www.drupal.org
if u don't have a website, setup a blogger.com account (free) and start posting info and your creations and let us know the links.
avid free DV - http://www.avid.com/freedv/index.asp
- it's a cutdown version of avid's non-linear editing software. perfect for home use. has the same interface as the versions used in professional video editing houses so good to learn if u hope to work in that field one day.
http://www.avid.com/freedv/index.asp
skype - www.skype.com
- for chatting to your friends for free. good for collaborative projects also.
www.skype.com
eZediaQTI - http://www.ezedia.com/products/eZediaQTI/
- for creating quicktime videos / videoblog movies. easy to do text and tracks and interactivity if you don't want to do it manually in quicktime. demo version limited to 5 objects but that's usually ok for small projects
http://www.ezedia.com/products/eZediaQTI/
itunes - www.apple.com/itunes
- for listening to music and podcasts. ipodder/lemon also good
www.apple.com/itunes
audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
- for audio recording and basic processing. u could do a track for the stealth remix thread in this!
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
hiphopstarz - www.hiphopstarz.com
- free, basic sequencer for creating beats. it's a very simple interface. looks a bit dodgy but works ok for beginner level stuff. doesn't have all the features of cuebase etc, but it's free. if anyone has another good free /opensource replacement, let us know!
www.hiphopstarz.com
fireant - http://fireant.tv/download
- great videoblog aggregator / viewer. you can also use itunes or just view in the web pages, but this is a separate app which does it also. they usually recommend some good videos to watch / subscribe to.
http://fireant.tv/download
if I had a mac I'd be using quartz composer for video also. but I don't so I can't :(
ourmedia - ourmedia.org + Internet Archive - www.archive.org
- I use this to upload video and audio to IA. it's also a blogging site similar to blogger but looks different. if u need hosting space, this could be an option for original works ie don't upload your mp3 collection or u'll be banned. but if u make a track or a video they'd love u to upload it (free)
www.ourmedia.org
some of the producers here could possibly recommend better audio software. but have a play with video - it's fun. combines everything!
microsoft visual c# - www.microsoft.com
- if you want to try programming, c# is probably good to start with. it's a bit like c and java, but you can use the IDE and create windows/web apps pretty easily.
www.microsoft.com
flickr - www.flickr.com
- upload all your photos. it's social software, so you can add friends and tags, and see when your friends upload new pics, and they see when u do. also good for hosting your images. u can get a free account or upgrade to a paid account if u have lots of pics
www.flickr.com

videoblog mind map

2006-02-06T03:23:15+00:00

There's been lots of discussion on the vlogtheory yahoogroups list about videoblogging - debates over content, medium etc. I've done up a quick mind map (using sourceforge freemind) to try to collect my thoughts. it may not be completely in line with the ideas of the group, but could be useful as a starting point to capture thoughts, for me at least. I haven't included everything yet, but it's a start.

current version :
( see http://www.aliak.com/files/videoblog_v02.mm attached )

Expand - Collapse

videoblog
- content
  - personal
    - head shot
      - conversational
      - commentary
    - video diary
      - commentary
      - travel diary
    - camera-stylo / visual thoughts
      - including narration
      - without narration / interpretive
  - 'old media' / tv
    - news programme
    - drama
    - comedy
  - corporate
    - promotional
    - informative
  - tactical media
    - citizen media / citizen journalism
    - vlogumentary
  - visual art
  - experimental
    - avant garde
    - film theory based
  - grassroots organisaion / diy
    - promotional
    - activist
    - informative
  - documentation / archive
    - organisation based
    - topic based
  - theatrical
    - improvisation
    - scripted drama
- process
  - create / collate source materials
    - video
      - make new recording
      - find existing video
    - sound
      - record live sound on tape (SOT)
        
        sounds at the scene
        
        live voice over / commentary
      - post-record voice over for v/o overlay
      - music
        
        create original music
        
        source existing music
    - text
      - embedded text track (QT)
      - images of text
    - images
      - create original images
      - source existing images / photos
    - scripts
      - interactive scripts
      - website scripts
    - hyperlinks
      - text based clickable links
      - whole video links
  - edit / assemble video
    - edit decisions
      - editing style
        
        planned
        
        storyboard / plan
        
        select source material
        
        apply transitions
        
        apply effects
        
        assemble
        
        freeform
        
        no editing
        
        use single shot piece
        
        simple cut / paste editing
      - timeline
        
        timeline based
        
        non timeline based
        
        interactive
        
        include interactive components
        
        test
    - editing system
      - computer based / software
        
        operating system decisions
        
        pc based
        
        mac based
        
        pozix based
      - editing hardware
        
        camera
        
        edit suite with machine based editors
    - save final video
      - format / codec
        
        quicktime
        
        windows media
        
        avi
        
        H264
      - compression / filesize considerations
        
        low
        
        medium
        
        high
  - publish video
    - upload finished video
      - ftp to your isp / webspace
      - upload to public shared webspace
        
        eg archive.org / ourmedia
    - edit blog entry
      - create links to external or local video
      - add text entry
- medium
  - internet blog
    - text component
    - video component
      - embedded video
      - externally hosted video
    - comments
    - trackback
  - rss distribution
    - rss web based aggregator
      - web browser plugin
        
        eg sage for Firefox
      - standalone application
        
        eg fireant
    - rss device aggregator
      - proprietary broadcast device
        
        tivo
        
        broadcaster STB
      - consumer device
        
        video ipod
        
        psp

or below is a screenshot of the mm/pdf file.

if you cannot read the text in the image, try opening the larger version @ http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=96141734&size=o

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

click 'read more' for initial version & previous versions: