Websites Archives - Friend Michael - One Big Experiment

What I use for: Word Processing

michael — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:26:53 +0000

Since my first post on piracy, I've been asked a few times to outline the programs I use day to day. Today I'm covering word processing and notes. I use a mix of online services and desktop programs. It sounds cumbersome, but it is pretty simple as each program has a specific use.

For notes and my blog posts, I use a simple program/web service combination called Evernote. It's a cross platform program with native apps for Mac, iPhone, Windows, and Windows Mobile. It is also accessible through the Evernote web site on any computer. All of these sources sync via Evernote.com, so I'm always up to date, everywhere. Think about that… your notes everywhere you are. The Mac version is my favorite because of the interface design. The built-in spell checking on the Mac is pretty amazing too. The Windows version is fine, but I'm not a fan of interface to the documents. It's like a long sheet with a strange cumbersome slider. Oh, be sure to check out the cool text recognition features of the iPhone app!

While Evernote is great for notes and blogs entries, most people don't use it. When I need to edit Word documents or send them to others, I use either Apple's iWork Pages or OpenOffice. Since all I typically do is read documents, the odd rendering problems I may encounter aren't that important. Compatibility in those applications has come a long, long way however. iWork '09 from Apple is $64.99 at Amazon. It includes Pages (word processing), Numbers (spreadsheet), and Keynote (presentations). OpenOffice is free and can be downloaded from OpenOffice.org. There are Mac, Windows, and Linux versions, all available for free.

For work and when I need to collaborate on documents with others, Google Documents is simply amazing. It's 100% web based, and is great for allowing others to edit and view your docs. There is a revision history so you know who did what and when. It isn't as robust as a stand alone word processing program, but you should at least try it as it will serve the needs of a whole lot of you.

What do you use?

thefives.tv : Five questions to ask a total stranger

michael — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:40:42 +0000

This is an entry I made on the thefives blog. It summarizes everything succinctly.

I wanted to give you all an update on the status of thefives.tv. The support for this project has been nothing short of amazing. We have 5 confirmed hosts, and three referrals that I've yet to hear from. Based on the number of hosts we have, I'd think the audience for thefives.tv is definitely there.

THE GOAL
I've been asked a few times what the goal of the project is. I think it is important that everyone understand what my motivations were for wanting to get this thing off of the ground. I like people, and I like to hear their stories. I like the idea of seeing someone covered in tattoos and learning that they're a brain surgeon. I want other people to know that people aren't what we see, they're people – with different backgrounds, and problems, and families, and ideas – no matter what lives we make up for them. Understanding this may help others to be more respectful of their peers, and may encourage more thought and conversation. That is my goal – thought and conversation. What about you? Why are you involved?

LET'S GET STARTED, NOW!
Let's pick five questions from the list below, then make this thing happen. I envision three or four minutes of interviews, but if they're longer or shorter, they certainly won't be turned away. The idea is to give you the opportunity to talk to as many people as you want, while keeping the length of the production manageable and something fun. Remember, this is all about fun.

I'll take the videos and add pre and post roll branding for thefives.tv. I'll handle the credits, blog translation, and the encoding/uploads of the video to YouTube. If this gets too time consuming I may need some help. I'll arrange storage for these videos and give you instructions for where to upload them when you're ready.

The content will be released under the following license:
Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States .

The tone should most definitely be as playful and fun as the subject being interviewed allows. Take a few still photos of the subject if you can. This will add additional interest to the subject.

EQUIPMENT
I've had feedback that some of you may not have the “proper” equipment to get started. I'm not worried about production quality, but more about the message that the interview sends. So, if you're like Jon Sullivan, you'll use a Macbook Pro's iSight focused on two people or a digital camera's movie mode to shoot. You may have a tripod and a DV camera (they're under $200 at Amazon). Jon and I even talked about doing Skype video interviews with a complete stranger and recording that as content for the project.

Ultimately, as long as we can hear the interview and get some idea of who you're interviewing, make it happen and don't worry about quality right now. The deployment target for this early content is Youtube, not a 100″ HDTV.

THE HOSTS
I'm excited to say that participants are 50/50 on the sexes. The experience of the team varies from professional actors and people that make a living behind a camera to people that just really like to talk to other people. This variety will really add to the feel of the project.

COMMUNICATION
The last thing I want to say is that it is time that we all start the process of meeting each other and working together. I set the domain http://thefives.tv to forward to the Ning site. Each of you need to create a profiles there so we can move these emails to that site. That way things can happen without me.

THANKS!
Without you this thing would still be an idea. Your participation is really appreciated. Thank you.

See the original post here: Project update: thefives.tv

A fun new project… grillm.com

michael — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 07:43:44 +0000

Chris and I came up with a really cool idea for distraction project. We decided to try and build it within 24 man hours… and we did it.

http://grillm.com is a simple social networking site… with a twist. You don't know anyone and the way you get friends is to earn their friendship by asking questions. You click their picture and ask a question. They answer the question and if you like the answer, you ask another and so on.

Eventually you'll decide to add them as a friend, and when you do they'll have access to your full profile. That access grants them the ability to see your myspace, facebook, vox, etc. accounts and to see your grillm.com friends as well. If they like you, then they'll probably like your friends, too.

Remember, you know nothing about these people before you ask them a question… you've only see their icon.

This thing is cool, and if the first private beta day was any indication, we're going to be busy guys keeping up with the requests… and traffic. It is a good thing we have H5's app servers to power it

Thanks to everyone that signed up, you guys ROCK! See it for yourself here: http://grillm.com

Game changers: ustream.tv

michael — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:41:10 +0000

At first glance, ustream.tv looks like another way to stream a live webcam. Look a little deeper and you'll see that they're changing the live broadcast model.

I was introduced to ustream.tv while listening to a podcast called net@nite with Leo Laporte and Amber MacArthur. They mentioned a live video feed, and that feed was done with ustream.

At the time (April 07) ustream.tv wasn't able to keep up with the traffic demands that a Leo Laporte required. Now they've grown and scaled to handle that and more.

As an example, former TechTV show host Chris Pirillo has a live (sponsored) feed from his office. Though the largest number of simultaneous viewers I've personally seen there is tiny (70), they claim they're ready for Leo.

The fact that this company exists was inevitable, but that they started the company in February of this year is nothing short of amazing. Talk about a zero to 60 entrepreneurial experience.

With the new version about ship, I'm positive they're going to play a major role in redefining what live broadcasting is and who has access to it. Their features are geared toward monetizing live video streams and the subsequent archives. Incredibly cool.

Watch for ustream.tv.

Welcome to the new zerologic.com

michael — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 04:24:56 +0000

I know this is taboo and very uncommon in the blogging world, but I'm starting over. I've retooled zerologic.com and am re-inventing everything around it.

zerologic.com started life in the 90's as the website for my company zerologic corporation. It served that duty well until 2001, the year we created HyperSites. Post HyperSites, it really became a personal playground for everything and anything that tickled my fancy.

I blogged about my company and the trials and tribulations of being a dad. Z's photographed history, and even movies were everywhere, and as I moved it more to a professional site, the family content seemed more and more out of place.

Today I'm introducing the new zerologic.com. zerologic.com has always been about being an entrepreneur and doing things that benefit people. I'm launching it with four sections, and may add more as ideas develop. They are: Blog, TV, Zeluco, and Computers.

TV is a live television (IPTV?) experiment that has you as the subject. Think of is as collaborative social media.

Zeluco is a service for Second Life. You've probably crammed for a test… well, this is my way of helping you cram for Second Life: “A month's experience in just one hour.”

I love to build computers and so I've decided to offer that service publicly. It is a hobby, not a business so my pricing is simple, and you're responsible for buying the parts.

Have a look at the home page for details on the sections.