Archive for November, 2005
November 30, 2005 at 7:36 pm · Categorised under Blog
As you may have noticed I have added an orange button to my blog for those who may want to subscribe to my feed using RSS. For those who want to know all about RSS (what it is? why is it useful?) go and check out a comprehensive tutorial by Les Bain.
I don’t use any of the feed readers out there as I think it removes the personal touch of many blogs thus giving an almost sterile approach to the content. Moreover, I get bored very easily if everything looks the same. However, I won’t stop you though if you want to subscribe to my feed so you get updated whenever I post something.
The main advantage for those that I know who use RSS is that they usually are subscribed to hundreds of feeds and therefore don’t need to visit each site individually. I usually just load up all my bookmarks which I have split up into a “Usual Dig Around” and an “Every now and then” folder. So usually depending on how much time I have to scour the net…I load up the folder.
What I would love to see is some sort of highlighting extension for Firefox that basically goes away loads the page in the background and generates a hash for the page. If the hash is the same as the last hash of the site when the user accessed it then it would leave the bookmark as it is. However, if the page has changed…and thus the returned hash is different then it should colour it so that the user can easily see what has updated since last checking it. It would also be better than manually loading the page since only the HTML would be loaded hashed…the actual images, ads, etc would not be accessed and so bandwidth would be saved (although not as much as would be saved with RSS).
This would only be useful for blogs and sites that perhaps only update once a week or less frequently. Otherwise you would have to manually open everything to check if anything new has come up. An extension to this would be that it generates some sort of smart bookmarks folder where all updated sites are stored.
Even better would be RSS Stylesheets. A way of combining the natural feel of a blogger’s site with a standard RSS reader. I know you can have XSL stylesheets for XML but I have no idea how they work or if they work to any advanced level other than just font styles. I would like to have a way to differentiate each RSS item for each author so that different sites look different but we still have all the benefits of RSS.
One of the major reasons for my not using RSS readers is that some of the sites I use only offer partial feeds (they want you to visit their site - ad revenue is better I expect) or that they strip out images. I found it very annoying when I tried it out and so I stopped using RSS readers and went back to just loading a bunch of bookmarks into tabs.
· Posted by Utills
November 29, 2005 at 11:06 pm · Categorised under Blog
With tomorrow being wednesday there have been mutterings that Google is to release a calendar very soon. As noted by several people the calendar site of google redirects to their homepage.
The main reason why I have written this post is just to add my thoughts to what Google may bring to the table with a Calendar application. Being an AI company who excels in the mathematical side of AI (bayesian inference, evolutionary algorithms, machine learning, etc) I think that it may be something more to do with task scheduling rather than simple text searching. If google is able to create the right sort of tool to learn from what a user finds to be important then they can easily have an AI based todo list. They may even link this in with Gmail in that deadlines and meetings from emails can be sent directly to the calendar program. The idea I have in mind here is like the Google Maps integration where an address in an email allows one to find it on the map.
Since social tools are all the craze at the moment with RSS being part of it I guess people would be able to subscribe to other people’s todo/wish lists and generate some sort of group calendar. I don’t actually use any calendar applications so I dont know too much about this subject. I use post-it notes to do my calendaring 
and so a simple todo list app with Gmail integration would be fine for me.
More importantly integration with some sort of mobile interface would be a good idea and since Google have been looking for Mobile Developers then I’m guessing that mobile is the next platform they want to target.
· Posted by Utills
November 29, 2005 at 7:48 pm · Categorised under Blog
I got my copy PES 5 for PSP this morning. I took it on the train to Uni to get a feel for how it plays. I’ve read some mixed reviews online and so I wanted to test it for myself to see how it is.
Ok…so it has no Master League or commentary. Oh yeah…and no infrastructure mode either…but the rest of it is brilliant. All the tension and excitement from the PS2 is here. The crowd even gets more excited as chances are created. Its a shame really that they didn’t try to put in any sort of commentary but I guess there just isn’t any space in memory to do it. I found the controls really easy to use with intricate movements being recorded really well. The game itself has got more complex this time round with passes and crosses requiring the player to turn in the necessary direction before they can be pulled off.
It is an absolute pain to put this game down. I could have played it for hours had I not had to get off the train and walk home 
! I don’t have PES 5 for the PS2 and so I can’t talk about the PS2 Link Cable to copy across PES5 data from the PS2 version to take away and play with a customised team. I also have to test the wireless gameplay, once my mate gets his copy, but that aside I think its an excellent game to kill time on the train. It’s one of those traditional handheld games which can fit into a small time frame whilst waiting for the train or just generally sitting around.
The graphics are very good for a console with the players easily recognisable and the action fast and furious. With Pro Evo 5 there are much fewer in box opportunities with most of the play taking place in the middle of the pitch. But that’s football for you…and it does feel much more realistic this time. More will come as I play it but this is from a hours worth of gameplay and so I haven’t explored all the features like the training or league etc.
Although most people complain about no masterleague in PES 5 for the PSP I think the feature they left out that would have sent the PES up a notch is the infrastructure mode. Imagine sitting in a boring lecture and connecting up to the uni Wifi (they have lots of wifi at uni - don’t know if they block PSPs though), and playing against some random guy on the other side of the globe who is playing on the PC or PS2. That would have been cool and would have given it a greater edge of something like FIFA. I know FIFA sux in terms of gameplay compared to PES but somehow or other they always manage to beat the PES in features and interesting add-ons.
I don’t know if it is possible to update games, possibly adding something on your mem stick? but if it is then I think they need to add in this capability.
· Posted by Utills
November 29, 2005 at 5:27 pm · Categorised under Blog
As you may have noticed I now have a small ad for Firefox on the right hand side of the screen. Please feel free to try out Firefox if you are an Internet Explorer or Opera user. Whether you do so by clicking on the ad or by going straight to the site I don’t mind. However, if you do click on the link then I get some money off Google! :o) …so if you come to my site and want to know what this Firefox thing is about…give it a spin…you’ll like it.
I have to write some stuff about cool tricks in Firefox…I’ll do that soon. Too much work at uni atm….means less time to blog!
· Posted by Utills
November 29, 2005 at 4:59 pm · Categorised under Blog
Firefox is to push its efforts on marketing the 1.5 version browser to new users…the BBC has more info.
Mr Beard said the user base tended to be concentrated among the biggest users of the net but now Mozilla was planning a push to get the software adopted by more consumers.
He said it was looking to work with net service firms and computer makers to get the browser in front of users who had not seen it before.
At the same time, it will step up efforts to spread the word about Firefox and is seeking videos from fans of the ways they use the software. [via BBC]
So it looks like they are trying to bundle the browser in with new PCs and with ISP disks. That may be a good move…along with the ads you see online (like my site) where Google sponsors each new download of Firefox on Windows with $1. Its a big drive to give consumers a taste of what they have to offer…
Other than what they are currently doing or what they are planning, what else can they do? : -
- Add a Firefox CD and tutorial booklet to popular newspapers? Something like the Metro or the Independant would be ideal since most young people or people who commute to work read it.
- Target big businesses with tools to deploy Firefox across the whole company…easy upgrades across a network…and all the other things a big business would want
- Put advertisements in trains and other public transport
- Sponsor Manchester United (err….get in excess of 50 million quid off Google
)
- Develop some kind viral SMS/Mobile advertisement campaign…some sort of cool video that can be transferred across bluetooth would do it
- Sell flash memory sticks with Firefox already on them (not sure if they do it already)
- Give free flash sticks to some businesses
These are just a few random thoughts…please add your ideas.
· Posted by Utills
November 29, 2005 at 12:56 pm · Categorised under Blog
An excellent review of the new PSP firmware that introduces podcasting to the PSP. I haven’t had a chance to update my firmware but read the review by Beattie to form your own view. For me it would be much better if they allowed news and podcasts to be downloaded rather than just streamed…but it seems they like doing things one at a time.
· Posted by Utills
November 29, 2005 at 12:30 pm · Categorised under Blog
According to The Register…IBM, Google and a host of other blue chip companies are looking to sponsor Man Utd. Although this would be an excellent move for Google…i dont think they would look very good on the Man Utd shirt.
That aside…this could be an indirect move at attacking China, Japan and generally the far east. Forming a strategic alliance with the likes of United would give them a good brand to jump onto the back of to win the support of the far eastern supporters. Dont forget that Man Utd is such a global brand that some people give support to the sponsor just because they are fans of utd.
However, it must be noted that sponsoring Manchester United did no good to Vodafone in the far eastern markets…but that was mostly due to lack of understanding of the gadget culture of the far east.
· Posted by Utills
November 28, 2005 at 11:06 pm · Categorised under Blog
How cool would it be if the PSP had a rumble pack at the back. It would add so much to some of the games…like imagine something like GTA…every time you crash or are shot…it would send a small sharp vibrate to the console. Of course it would work better for some games than others…I only mention GTA cos thats the only game that I have at the moment.
Just a thought!
· Posted by Utills
November 28, 2005 at 10:35 pm · Categorised under Blog
Joystiq has launched a site dedicated just to the PSP. It features all the latest info on the PSP with game info… reviews…. previews…. cheats… and all the rest a PSP Fanboy would want.
Cool!
· Posted by Utills
November 28, 2005 at 10:15 pm · Categorised under Blog
An extremely informative blog by a couple of ex-google employees who talk about the ‘old days from when Google was just one of many internet start-ups.
The posts are slightly strange in that….you have to start from the bottom…and work up…but I’ll leave you to it. Most of the posts are long…so go grab a coffee…and start reading!
· Posted by Utills
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As you may have noticed I have added an orange button to my blog for those who may want to subscribe to my feed using RSS. For those who want to know all about RSS (what it is? why is it useful?) go and check out a comprehensive tutorial by Les Bain.
