dep

I think it will, given time, succeed, and succeed quite well. There is something extremely viral about Google Wave. Talking about the product with others stirs excitement. It has an extremely high level of novelty at this moment, even before launch. Things that work and work well have a history of spreading. Word of mouth was much of what was the success of sites like Twitter. People just started talking about it. And it was an open platform, so people started using it in a variety of ways that weren’t even considered by the original creators. That’s because a well designed flexible framework like Google Wave will inspire user interaction. People will say “Hey, we could totally use Google Wave for this” much like small companies slowly said “Hey, we could use Basecamp for this.” And more and more, felt themselves coming back for more. Things will just start to “make more sense” to do in Google Wave instead of email or IM. Or twittering @ someone.

What’s crucial for Google Wave, I think, it that the user’s FIRST EXPERIENCE has to be a good one. Has to be like that moment you log in to Gmail after using hotmail and saying “Yeah. This makes sense. This is better.” Or creating a Facebook account back in the day after being abused by MySpace for so long. “Wow. This is MUCH better. It just makes sense.”

I think new users will stumble upon and reveal functionality as they use it. Like, “oh I just replied to this person —- WAIT! I can see what they’re typing!?!? WOW!”

Not since the days of ICQ were you able to actively watch your friend type. And I think that was actually one of the biggest draws to ICQ. you could see it happen. And someone’s typing has a way of body language that emoticons do not. Pauses, rephranes (sp?) , these things give away subtle hints of someone’s feelings about something, and I believe it will add an additional element of emotion to email and instant messaging. Building image galleries, inserting games, and loading up invites to parties through the yes no widget will become “team building” because never before have we been able to, as a one to many interaction digitally, been able to build things together visually in real-time!

Think of how fascinating this will be to use!!

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dep: a live album has been released

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:45:14 -0500

12 tracks compiled from live performances are packaged here for your listening. Available for free at http://www.justdep.com/ Tracklist.

Download the entire album in MP3 format as a single ZIP file here.

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dep @ Rotofugi, Toy Karma II

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:40:22 -0500

Music from dep can be gotten here:
http://www.justdep.com/

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Major release: Instructions for Flying

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:03:19 -0500

Hello! I invite you to please have a listen to my latest musical release, Instructions for Flying. It has been over a year in the making and I’m very excited to release it today.

This music is dedicated to my friends and family. A big thank you goes to my brother Bobby for contributing the acoustic guitar to track six. Much gratitude goes to Derek for making the beautiful artwork and case design. Thank you for listening.

Get the entire album in ZIP format here:
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/36612/dep/iff/zip/dep_iff.zipAlso visit http://www.justdep.com/ for more information.

all the best,
dep

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33 pictures for you

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:59:16 -0500

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Top 10 Crasher Squirrels (via feedly)

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:06:21 -0500

Top 10 Crasher Squirrels

It all started so innocently when an aspiring young ground squirrel stepped into the family photo of Melissa Brandts in Alberta, Canada’s Banff National Park, seeking fame and fortune. After showing up on National Geographic’s web site it was picked up by The Interwebs, and the rest, as they say, is internet history.

Squirrels are now bombing everywhere, clogging the tubes and interrupting many a classic moment. There’s even a Twibbon to help you show your support for the venerable portrait-crashing rodent.

We picked ten of our favorites (so far!) to show off, starting with the original Crasher Squirrel whose visage will now live in infamy.

The Original Crasher Squirrel

[Via National Geographic]

10. Putin Petting Zoo

Nothing like a furry friend to keep you calm in a high-stress profession.

[Via Tarik D.]

9. Heads of State

Proving his non-partisianship, Crasher Squirrel is a true citizen of the world.

[Via URLesque]

8. The Fab Five

Finally: the identity of the fifth Beatle!

[Via Rob H.]

7. Crasher Squirrel Shot Lincoln

John Wilkes Booth and Stephen Sondheim are both gonna be royally pissed.

[Via Comedy Central]

6. Crasher Squirrel in the Womb

It’s a b… g… wait.

[Via ‘len]

5. Serving Its Country

Crasher Squirrel in the line of duty. Is that a Canadian invasion?!

[Via LadyDuoMaxwell at DeviantArt]

4. On the Green

Helping Tiger line up a shot. Now we know why he’s so good…

[Via Rob H.]

3. Star Trekking

Finally making it more difficult to play “spot the alien”…

[Via Benjamin B.]

2. The Last Supper

Maybe it wasn’t Judas after all…

[Via Warren Kinsella]

1. Moon Landing

That’s one small step for man, one ridiculously large leap for squirrel-kind.

[Via Anselm H.]

Reviews: deviantART

Tags: crasher squirrel, internet memes, memes, photochop, remix culture, squirrel bombing

[link to original | source: Mashable! | published: 21 min | shared via feedly]

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Augmented Reality Twitter is the Coolest Thing Ever (via feedly)

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:56:56 -0500

Augmented Reality Twitter is the Coolest Thing Ever

…but unfortunately not available in the iPhone App Store just yet.

It all started last month with TwittARound, an application for the iPhone 3GS that uses the GPS, compass and camera to show where Tweets are coming from. As the stunning video below shows, Tweets are overlaid on the landscape, augmenting your view of the world.

Twittaround hasn’t made it into the iPhone App Store yet: the iPhone SDK doesn’t provide public APIs for manipulating live video. In other words: the app is using parts of the software that Apple hasn’t opened up yet. Neither is there an unofficial version of the code available at this point, although there is an open letter that begs Apple to open these parts of the SDK.

A New Player Enters the Market

And yet augmented reality Twitter apps may be coming to your phone soon enough. Local Twitter search provider Tweetmondo is teaming up with augmented reality service Layar, the company has announced on its blog, bringing augmented reality Tweets to phones running Google Android. Later, they plan to bring the service to iPhones. They’ve also posted the video below demoing Layar’s existing technology.

So while it’ll be awhile coming, augmented reality Tweets might be headed to a phone near you soon.

[via Venturebeat]

Reviews: Twitter

Tags: Augmented Reality, iphone, twitter

[link to original | source: Mashable! | published: 1 day ago | shared via feedly]

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I Quit The iPhone (via feedly)

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:55:16 -0500

I Quit The iPhone

I have loved the iPhone, but now I am quitting the iPhone.

This is not an easy decision.

I was there in January 2007 when it was announced and I bought the first iPhone as soon as it was available. I happily bought the iPhone 3G a year later. I’ve proudly yelled “I Am A Member Of The Cult Of iPhone.” I’ve been an unabashed cheerleader for the device to all who’ll listen. And I’ve scoffed at developers who said they’d abandon the platform.

But I’m not going to upgrade to the iPhone 3GS. Instead, I’m abandoning the iPhone and AT&T. I will grudgingly pay the $175 AT&T termination fee and then I will move on to another device.

What finally put me over the edge? It wasn’t the routinely dropped calls, something you can only truly understand once you have owned an iPhone (and which drove my friend Om Malik to bail). I’ve lived with that for two years. It’s not the lack of AT&T coverage at home. I’ve lived with that for two years, too. It certainly isn’t the lack of a physical keyboard, that has never bothered me. No, what finally put me over the edge is the Google Voice debacle.

Most of you won’t know what I’m talking about, so I’ll explain.

Google Voice is a call management service that lets you determine what calls get through to you based on who’s calling and what time of day it is, among other factors. It has amazing features, like automatically transcribing all your voicemails. And you can forward calls to any other phone easily and automatically. Here’s an overview of the service if you aren’t familiar with it.

I’ve always wanted to use Google Voice but there’s a big switching cost - changing your phone number. Too many people have that phone number and use it to call in great stories. There’s no way I’m giving that up. And there’s another problem with Google Voice. When you make outbound calls from a phone, it (obviously) doesn’t use your Google Voice phone number, so recipients don’t know it’s you calling. Those were two hurdles I wasn’t willing to jump over.

But now Google is planning on rolling out number portability, so I can move my mobile phone number to Google. None of my friends, family or contacts have to store a new number.

That still leaves the problem of outbound calls, though. I can move my mobile number to Google and then get a new iPhone account, but outbound calls won’t be identified because they are on the new number. Google has a solution for that too, though. They are releasing apps for a variety of handsets that effectively take over the native dialer, address book and call log. Problem solved. I can use any phone I like, or a bunch of phones, and just choose the one that makes sense at any time. I never have to be tied to a carrier and their restrictive contracts again.

Or so I thought. Apple and AT&T are now blocking the iPhone version of the Google Voice app. Why? Because they absolutely don’t want people doing exactly what I’m doing - moving their phone number to Google and using the carrier as a dumb pipe.

So I have to choose between the iPhone and Google Voice. It’s not an easy decision. Except, it sort of is. Google isn’t forcing the decision on me, Apple and AT&T are. So I choose to work with the company that isn’t forcing me to do things their way. And in this case, that’s Google.

So what phone will I use next? Well, that decision is easy, too. I’d move to the Palm Pre because I believe it is the best phone out there other than the iPhone 3GS. But Google hasn’t created an app for the Palm Pre yet, just Android and Blackberry phones. So for now I’m going to use the new Android myTouch 3G along with the Google Voice App. As soon as something better comes out, or Google makes an app for the Pre, I’ll switch. And keep the same phone number. No long term contracts for me.

And Apple, if you ever decide to put the hammer down on AT&T and do the right thing for your loyal users, I’ll consider switching back. In the meantime, I’ll just use one of many iPod Touches laying around our office to test out new apps.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

[link to original | source: TechCrunch | published: 10 hours ago | shared via feedly]

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How To Disappear Completely. (via feedly)

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:31:58 -0500

How To Disappear Completely.

via http://antoinetta.tumblr.com/post/56185193/luxembourg-getthefuckoutrightnow

[link to original | source: FFFFOUND! / EVERYONE | published: 1 day ago | shared via feedly]

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Electromagnetic sensitivity: British DJ claims to be allergic to Wi-Fi (via feedly)

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:21:10 -0500

Electromagnetic sensitivity: British DJ claims to be allergic to Wi-Fi

A British DJ (well, ex-DJ), Steve Miller, claims to be allergic to Wi-Fi. As such, he’s had to spend recent days hiding away in his house, away from any and all Wi-Fi signals. Supposedly he’s one of the 2 percent of people who suffer from electromagnetic sensitivity.

Never mind that Wi-Fi runs at 2.4GHz, the same frequency as Bluetooth, cordless phones, and a whole host of other household appliances.

Never mind that this study has been carried out in the past:

Yes, they’ve tested it many times. No correlation found. The way they tested it was easy. They wheeled a scary looking device covered in antennas, and the people reacted in pain whenever the green light came on. The only trouble is, it was a big inert piece of metal. The only electronics in it were, well, the LED to show it was “on”. Meanwhile, under the dropped ceiling there was an actual massive wifi antenna that would randomly blanket the room in “evil radiation”, and they were completely unaware. In other words, they only react to wifi at all if they “know” it’s there, even when it isn’t.

Now, it could well be that Mr. Miller suffers from sort of psychological condition, in which case his complaints could well be valid—whenever he’s near Wi-Fi, it pains him. There’s no physical reason for his reaction, in other words.

Or, perhaps, he’s the first man on earth with this condition, for real. A “Steve Miller Disease,” if you will. In that case, Godspeed.

[link to original | source: CrunchGear | published: 1 day ago | shared via feedly]

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dep

more house pictures!

Untitled

Living luxuriously.

VennDiagram of Jesus

Afghanistan, October, 2009 - The Big Picture

The Daily What

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