Podcast Research Update

September 26, 2007

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Well, I've finally decided to move my Podcast Research webpage into "Phase 2." What this means is that you can now select a podcast in the database that you like and see recommendations for other podcasts from people with similar interests. Now, I'm not very confident in the data coming out of this system right now because the number of people who have filled out the survey thus far is nowhere near what I had hoped for. I was shooting for 500, and as of now only 114 surveys have been filled out. The other problem is that just about all those people who filled out the survey came from MyExtralife.com and as a result the surveys are a little skewed towards Scott's podcasts. Now, this is okay with me because I like Scott's shows, but I don't think it is good for the "Podcast Relational Database Project."

I originally planned on pulling down the survey when I moved to Phase 2, but because I didn't get the response I wanted I'm going to leave it up for now. Hopefully, the fact that I have delivered something will entice more people to want to contribute to the cause. If you haven't filled out the survey yet, and you listen to podcasts, I would highly encourage you to please go fill out the survey. If you have already filled out the survey and are looking for podcast advice, go ahead and check out the first deliverable from PodcastResearch.org.

I would also appreciate it if you tell other people about the website and encourage them to fill out the survey. the more people who fill it out, the more valuable it gets. Once I start getting more submissions I will start development on the second part of Phase 2: user accounts. The full functionality of this hasn't fully formed in my head yet, but what I'm thinking is that you will be able to login and adjust what shows you listen to and get recommendations that are not just based on one show. I am also considering setting it up so that you will have a one stop shop to see when shows you listen to are updated (a master RSS feed?), and maybe even setup a community where you can suggest shows to other users. Another thought I had was that you may be able to sign up for a periodic e-mail that would let you know when a new show was added to the site that fits your profile. I really think that if people are interested and use this site that it could become a neat and powerful tool.

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This is pretty cool news: Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii is going to support online play. What this means is that you can battle your friends over your internet connection, or pick a fight with a random stranger. After Nintendo decided not to include online play with Metroid Prime 3, I was afraid that online support for Wii games was going to be few and far between. Thankfully, I was wrong. I wasn't really planning on picking up the new Smash Bros., but I definitely want to get it now. What's better in life than remotely kicking you're little brother's butt with a little yellow rodent? Super Smash Bros. Brawl is supposed to be released on December 3rd, 2007 (Just in time for Christmas). There's a lot more juicy information about Brawl's online play on the Smash Bros. Dojo website.

Weird Al Is A Fricking Genius

September 10, 2007


I won't say that I identified with this video, because I don't want to risk getting myself in trouble ;-) Definitely worth a watch, though.

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I've mentioned before that I listen to a lot of podcasts. It's true, really. Anyway, my favorite one definitely has to be ExtraLife Radio (ELR). The ELR show is hosted by Scott Johnson, and before Scott was creating podcasts he was writing and drawing a webcomic. He still has a webcomic, and one of his recent drawing projects has me extra excited. He's calling it "The 56 Geeks Poster." I'm not sure why he settled on the number 56 (isn't 42 geekier?), but he's making a poster of 56 different types of geeks. I love the idea, and the images he is churning out are cracking me up. If you want to see what he has already produced, you can visit his Flickr set.

So far he has created 35 geeks, and once he is done he will start selling them in poster form. I talked with Scott, and his original goal was to sell them for less than $30 depending on what kind of deal he could get from a printer. He is taking pre-orders at the price of $33.99 including shipping to the continental US. As long as the quality of the print is good, I feel that $34 is a fair price. If his next 21 geeks are anywhere near as great as the first 35, I am definitely going to get one of these posters one way or another. If anything, I should help compensate him for all the great free content he provides and I consume.

If you can't tell, so far my favorite is the Tron Geek based loosely on this guy.

Holy Crap I Want One of These

September 5, 2007

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So, Apple announced new iPods today and I really want an iPod Touch. I have mixed feelings about the new iPod nano: it seems a little too fat and the screen is still too small to watch videos, but the price drop is nice. They also dropped the price of the 8GB iPhone to $400 and dropped the 4GB iPhone completely. The new "iPod Classic" received a new look and a storage bump to 80GB and 160GB. All in all, though, I'm the most excited about this new iPod Touch. It comes in 8GB and 16GB sizes (flash memory) for $300 and $400 respectively. It has the same touch interface as the iPhone, has WiFi built in, and has the accelerometer just like the iPhone so it knows when you put it on its side and changes the view of the display accordingly. So, if you want to make my birthday/Christmas, buy me an iPod Touch ;-).