Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Mike's Manic Minute 10 Jan 06 Skiing in Hades. . . Well, it's frozen over hasn't it? Steve Jobs today announced that Apple is shipping Intel-based Macintoshes include an intel-based MacBook laptop.   http://www.apple.com http://news.com.com/Macworld+2006/2009-7354_3-6001841.html?tag=cd.lede   The POD people have finally woken up. . . In this case, I mean Apple.  The newest version of GarageBand, just announced today, has specific built-in podcast production support.   It includes sound effects, audio processors to make your cheap mic sound better and automatic "ducking". . . the "when you talk the music turns down automatically" feature.   Podcast of the day. . . Kattywompus Folk Studio http://kattywompusfolkstudio.libsyn.com/   Folk music artists and how-to's.  If you record at home, check this out.   And that's your Manic Minute for January 10th, 2006! 5:31:53 PM    comment []

Mike's Manic Minute 09 Jan 06 Mercury to buy Systinet. . . Systinet, a company I almost joined in 2002, is being bought by Mercury Interactive. Systinet makes web-services products and is an offshoot of the same team that built the Java IDE called netBeans.   http://news.com.com/Mercury+buys+registry+maker+Systinet/2100-7345_3-6024366.html?tag=cd.hed   From the what will they think of next department. . . http://www.infoworld.com/article/reuters/2006-01-10_KWA076743.html Denim giant Levi Strauss said it has designed jeans compatible with the iPod music player, featuring a joystick in the watch pocket to operate the device. The Levi's RedWire DLX Jeans for men and women, which will be available this fall, also have a built-in docking cradle for the iPod and retractable headphones. Pricing was not immediately available.     Podcast of the day. . . Visibility 9-11 http://visibility911.libsyn.com   A podcast that examines the events of 9/11 from the point of view of the US Government's own changing story.   And that's your Manic Minute for January 9th, 2006! 5:31:11 PM    comment []

Mike's Manic Minute 08 Jan 06 Automating development tools. . . I've been a development-tool-automation junkie for more than 25 years.  The Pascal/MT+ Speed Programming Package had an extensibility feature.  Today Microsoft is promoting a new package of tools aimed at helping people build extensions for Visual Studio 2005.  The "Visual Studio 2005 Automation Samples" are available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads   http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=79C7E038-8768-4E1E-87AE-5BBBE3886DE8&;displaylang=en     IT Conversations becomes the Conversation Network http://www.rds.com/blogs/doug/index.php/archives/2006/01/09/the-conversations-network-new-site-is-up/ One of the most inspirational events of my podcasting experience was when I helped Doug Kaye webcast/podcast the BloggerCon in November of 2004.   Doug had engaged a team of free-lance helpers to expand IT Conversations and now take it to the next level and makes it a paid-membership site, although Doug says payment is not a tool-booth to the content.   Podcast of the day. . . Bent Ears Audio Podcast http://ablethevoice.podomatic.com/   A small recording studio with a big plan. . .puts their audio in-progress on the web!   And that's your Manic Minute for January 8th, 2006! 5:30:19 PM    comment []

Mike's Manic Minute 07 Jan 06   Longhorn. . .the code name that will never die Part of the changes for 2006 for your's truly is that I'm now part of the Evangelism team that supports Windows Vista (aka Longhorn).  http://www.longhornblogs.com/ is a web page that aggregates people who are blogging about Longhorn development, deployment and debugging (hey it's beta, right?).  Check it out.   From the "How long does it take for Detroit to wake up?" department. . . Chrysler has announced full iPod integration as an option for most of it's 2006 models.  Why don't auto manufactures just give us a mini-phone jack as standard equipment !!!     Podcast of the day. . . Infoworld Daily Podcast The big boys are starting to take up podcasting as journalism.   http://weblog.infoworld.com/daily/rss.xml   And that's your Manic Minute for January 7th, 2006! 5:29:35 PM    comment []

Mike's Manic Minute 06 Jan 06   Podcasts. . .under water? A final year design student at Brunel University (UK) has created an underwater MP3 player. The underwater music machine, dubbed 'Soundwaves' has won inventor Sam Jones an AOL Broadband Innovator Award. Soundwaves uses 'bone conduction' technology, which when placed on both temples allows sound to be heard inside the users' head in all conditions, including when fully immersed in water. Vibrations from the MP3 device are passed safely through the skull to the inner ear, bypassing the outer ear.   It happens to us all. . . http://blogs.zdnet.com/Gillmor/?p=201 Steve Gillmor recorded a podcast with Adam Curry done with Skype and forgot, as we all have, to click a crucial button and ended up with an interview recording that featured. . .only himself!   I'm struggling trying to find a solution to doing a good "traditional" telephone recording using the digital telephone instruments we have here at Microsoft.  Gone are the "good old days" when you just stuck a microphone on the back of the handset with a suction cup!     Podcast of the day. . . Decoder Ring Theater http://decoderring.libsyn.com/   More serial-drama old-time-radio stories!  The latest story line is called Black Jack Justice - Justice Served Cold   What will happen to our hero this time!?!   And that's your Manic Minute for January 6th, 2006! 5:28:34 PM    comment []

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