Whether you are using Avira, AVG, Kaspersky, Norton, ESET, Avast, Comodo and etc, all of them slows Windows down and that is a fact. Most Windows users needs an antivirus because it can protect their computer from most viruses that are spreading through network, internet and USB flash drives. Without an antivirus, the user can [...]
So I’ve been looking around the internet for different things recently, using StumbleUpon, which if you haven’t used before, I have to say, is a great waste of time. But one of the things I’ve been noticing is when it comes to security, and especially passwords, is that it’s not as good as people think [...]
In my line of work, I find myself constantly producing PowerPoint presentations. Sometimes these are individual slides (like a diagram or case study), sometimes they are templates, & sometimes they are whole, individual presentations. Most of my PowerPoint work is done at my day job where I am an in-house designer, but my freelancing adjust ego occasionally comes across a client needing some presentational pickup. Over the years, I have built & edited hundreds of PowerPoint files.
I do know lots of people think PowerPoint is the devil incarnate, but in the corporate world, it is an ubiquitous wicked. To shake a quantity of the negative stereotypes, I apply traditional design principals to make my company & clients look better than the competition. They go to 120 trade shows a year, & they present at every single one. They also use Macromedia's Breeze for hundreds of online demos. Our PowerPoint is often the first thing a feasible customer will see from us, so it is critical (& simple) to make a lovely impression before they even get a brochure. PowerPoint is used by sales man on the planet, with a whole industry of accessories built around the presentation guru / road warrior idea. It is employed for downloadable or live web demos, & it is even used (or abused, depending on your point of view) to pass along copy, ideas & notes between internal team members. With this volume of use, PowerPoint slide design becomes another facet of a company's identity program. From Chuck's Neighborhood PeeCee Warehouse to Apple Computer, the local cafe with the brilliant bagels to Starbucks Coffee, every business benefits from a unique identity, a glance & feel that separates them from competition. The company logo is only a tiny part. Corporate colors, type treatments, illustration styles & repeated graphic elements are all parts of the greater whole. This identity is carried through to stationary, trade show graphics, packaging, marketing & yes, PowerPoint. The application has become so ubiquitous that I think about it part of a greater paradigm shift in mainstream communication. The only issue is that this evolution is delaying communication. Like text messaging or 200-pixel banner ads, the information is compressed to a set of key buzzwords, crippling the message by stripping the skeleton of any meat. Bullet points become rapid-fire metadata. I give you the words "purple" & "fish" -- you figure out what I am trying to say. * Leverage your existing expertise * Recognize fast ROI * Streamlined implementation Is about as significant as: * Parsed cabbage flux capacitor * Disco glitter manifestation * Expressive giraffe BLT Perhaps a hundred years ago those phrases denoted something, but by sheer repetition & abuse, the PowerPoint generation has crushed the meaning like 200,000 people at a Stones concert trampling through a flower garden. In the same way a lovely logo supports a successful identity program, lovely PowerPoint transcends half-assed bullet points & reinforces the speaker -- their character, message & purpose. It doesn't recycle the same, worn out messaging over & over. Not only does it look awesome, lovely PowerPoint hammers home the presenter's message with unique phrasing, fascinating design elements & a sure disregard for the established order bullshit buzz-speak. All the flashy backgrounds, painstaking animations & intense clipart research are for nothing if the message has been gutted from the shell. So while I "design" PowerPoint, I design for the audience because I am focused on how they will react to the information.
If you are interested in looking for a job or an internship involving multimedia, take a look at the 20 opportunities highlighted on the Interactive Interactivity blog. This list is featured monthly.
"In the second decade, people will not search for new technologies allowing for even easier, faster and low-priced content production. Rather, appropriate reactions to this media revolution are to be developed and integrated politically, culturally and socially. The concept "Slow", as in "Slow Food" and not as in "Slow Down", is a key for this. Like "Slow Food", Slow Media are not about fast consumption but about choosing the ingredients mindfully and preparing them in a concentrated manner. Slow Media are welcoming and hospitable. They like to share." -Slow Media Manifesto
I especially liked #5 of the Slow Media Manifesto:
"5. Slow Media advance Prosumers, i.e. people who actively define what and how they want to consume and produce. In Slow Media, the active Prosumer, inspired by his media usage to develop new ideas and take action, replaces the passive consumer. This may be shown by marginals in a book or animated discussion about a record with friends. Slow Media inspire, continuously affect the users' thoughts and actions and are still perceptible years later. "
I'm putting together information for my next post about the evolution of 3D technologies and thought I'd go ahead and share this press release about 3D video streaming. I'd love to see this in action!
The beauty of this news is that NVIDIA has worked in collaboration with Microsoft to develop streaming content using Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming so people can watch stereoscopic 3D content from their PC's.
COMPUTEX 2010—TAIPEI—May 31, 2010—NVIDIA today demonstrated 3D video streamed live over the Internet using an NVIDIA® 3D VisionTM PC, Microsoft Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming technology. The demonstration, which streamed the music video "We Are the World" 3D, at a press conference at Computex, comes at a time when consumer interest in seeing 3D movies is at its highest level ever.
"We've been collaborating with Microsoft to enable 3D in an Internet browser so that it's very simple to use," said Phil Eisler, General Manager of 3D Vision technology at NVIDIA. "Just click on a 3D video and it plays in 3D, using the latest 3D Vision Silverlight-based video player and NVIDIA 3D Vision. Internet users can now enjoy 3D video content streamed in high-definition (HD) quality and viewed at full resolution. This is another great benefit of having a 3D PC."
To take advantage of this technology, consumers will need an NVIDIA 3D Vision-based desktop or notebook PC equipped with the latest 3D Vision drivers and the Silverlight browser plug-in. Once these are installed, consumers can then navigate to any Web site hosting 3D Vision-based content.
For content owners, this milestone provides a secure path to distribute and monetize 3D video over the Web with Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming. Movies, trailers, sports and any form of 3D video can now be hosted and streamed over the Internet to a growing market of 3D PCs, most of which ship with Windows 7.
"Customers have a peaked interest in 3D entertainment experiences, and Microsoft is looking forward to working with NVIDIA to bring these experiences to users through their PCs," said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Division at Microsoft Corp. "Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming together deliver the highest quality HD video experiences over the Web and, with NVIDIA 3D Vision, will now provide consumers with a way to watch their favorite movies, sporting events, music videos and more, all in 3D from their own computer."
For more information on how to use and install 3D streaming capabilities on 3D Vision PCs visit http://www.nvidia.com/get3D
Now a days we are handling so many shortened URL's in emails, websites, social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook etc. If the origin of the shortened URLs is from a trusted source, you don't need to worry about it. What if you are getting an invitation to click on the shortened URL from an unknown source ? How can we know the actual location which pointing the shortened link ? It is not advised to click on a shortened URL without knowing the full URL. Here I am introducing one Firefox Addon which can show the full URL without click on the tiny link.
Last week one of my friend purchased Reliance Netconnect from a local dealer. Reliance NetConnect is a wireless broadband Internet service from Reliance which offer download speed upto 3.1 Mbps. Reliance modem installation and activation are done by the technicians from the local dealer and offered their help in any future issues too. In the ads Reliance offers 3.1 Mbps speed but we are not getting speed more than 1 Mbps. Though it is lesser than they actually promise we know the real download speed depends upon multiple factors like total number of Wireless Internet users, area etc. I have my Tata Photon Plus Modem and its speed is around the same speed of this reliance modem.
Recently, I’ve noticed that I’ve been listening to a lot of music while sitting at my laptop, ever since I had to send my MP3 player to be repaired. Because of this, I’ve been kinda stuck with sub-par speakers on the laptop, especially because my good headphones were on loan to my sister to use [...]
Since the first time of its invention, computer has already become something that is really crucial and very important for people's life since it influences every aspect of people's lives. Many people recognized that the computer is really important for their lives, because it will make them doing their works easily and quickly. Not only that, they will be able to connect with the other people in around the world easily and very quickly. Besides that, you will be able to get the best internet connection for your life, so that you will also get the most useful knowledge that has been provided in the internet.
www.supportsquad.com is one of the best site that will provide you with so many useful information that later will give you so many easiness in using your computer. In this site, you will also get so many tips and suggestions about what to do relating to the computer and its processor. If you have so much trouble in this kind of thing, maybe like the connection problems, the hard drive problems, and even the software problems. You will be provided with so many tips and evaluation about all of those things that later will help you in dealing with your computer.
There is one thing that you will be able to get in this kind of thing is that you will be provided with the best service of the Computer Repair Service. In this option, you will be able to get the best products of your computer, so that your computer will run very well. In this site, you will also get the best service from the best customer services that will guide you to get the best products including the price and friendly ever. If you use this site tips, you will be able to get the best computer services in the entire world, and this site will be the best solution for your computer problems.
I was fortunate to see some of these interaction techniques and interfaces when I attended CHI 2010 this past April, and plan to share some of my photos and video clips from the conference on this blog soon.
Totally Unrelated
Online connection for foodies Eatocracy is a new website within the CNN pages that provides news- and more- about all things related to food. The categories on the site include "main", "news", "bite", "sip", "make", "think", and "buzz". The best part, in my opinion, is the heirloom recipe collection index, where people can upload and share family recipies and the stories behind them.
Here is the description of Eatocracy from the website:
Eatocracy "is your online home for smart, passionate conversation and information about food news, politics, culture. We'll highlight regional and family recipes, dive into restaurants and food shopping, chat with celebrity and local chefs, and show you what's for dinner around the world tonight. Grab a place at the table and read with your mouth full."
As I took a peek at Lieven's video links, I noticed an interesting video mash-up Lieven created from the open-source code from the RadioHead's House of Cards music video and his One Million Particles app. I'll post them soon.
I'll try to get video, pictures, and commentary about EVA 2010. EVA stands for Electronic Visualization and the Arts. "Electronic Information, the Visual Arts, and Beyond.
FYI
I'm in the process of sorting through and re-organizing my blogs, which have been around for over four years! During this time, my blogs have attracted a growing number of readers. Because of this, I'd like to make things a bit user-centered. So expect to see little changes here and there. I promise I'll give my readers warnings in advance if I make any serious changes!
If you are new to this blog, you should know that my blogs started out as on-line filing cabinets, open to the world. Although there is a bit of overlap of material and some cross-posting between the blogs, they are arranged to serve as a paper-less way of keeping track of things that I've learned through my coursework, conference attendance, readings, and research. Since emerging technologies are high on my list of interests, I also use my blogs to share interesting things that cross my path.
I changed the name of my World Is My Interface blog to The World Is My Interactive Interface."Off-the-desktop natural user interfaces, interaction, and user experience" are the main topics of the blog. It sometimes includes information about ubiquitous computing and DOOH, otherwise known as Digital Out Of Home.
I plan to tinker with my TechPsych blog later on. It focuses on topics that are useful to psychologists, educators, special education teachers, speech and language therapists, health and wellness professionals, and parents.
Feel free to leave comments, as I welcome your input.
At last India Government decide to set a Standard Symbol for Indian Rupee. As per the latest news 5 designs have been shortlisted. Most probably the new Indian currency symbol will be from one the five symbols shortlisted. The new symbol for Indian Rupee should show the culture and the economic growth of India plus some thing easy to remember and write, that's what my wish. Anyway the short listed symbols are shown below.
What is your thoughts ? Which one would be the Indian Rupee symbol ?
To know more details about this contest please follow the links below.
One thing I love about Linux is it's ability to be modular and customizable to degrees Windows users can only dream of it. The insides of the operating system are available to sift through if doing so peaks your fancy and the source code is free to take and edit. Many Linux Advocates, myself included, assert that our operating system of choice is more than ready for the "general public" or "average user". In recent years it seems the term "user friendliness" has become associated with the exact opposite of what I love about Linux:
Lack of freedom, and customization.
So long as "there is an app for that" it seems it really doesn't matter if your device is controlled by a company that feels it has a "moral responsibility" to filter content to it's users. The numbers speak for themselves, the iPhone has a 25% market share while the N900 had a 96% return rate for Vondaphone.
Is locking down your operating system so a user can't "hurt themselves" with it really the only way to sell a product in 2010?
Google seems to think so. It appears they thought correctly, Android has been rapidly gaining market share - so they must be doing something right. Will other distributions that are hoping to become more mainstream need to follow suit? Shuttleworth seems to think so. With MeeGo handhelds looming around the corner for later this year, I am wondering if they will also go down this path.
Before anyone says anything - yes I know we can jailbreak (or root) iPhones and Android devices, but honestly why should I have to hack at my own device just to have access to all the features it can offer?
What do you think? Is locking down the version of Linux we ship on devices the only way they are ever going to get sales with "Joe Normal"? ~Jeff Hoogland
And it’s another Sunday at Raymond.cc, which means that it’s time once more for games to be played. While I’m still offering games on Sundays, I now am expanding it to free games, not just open source. Since Flash is closed source but free of charge for every operating system, I figured this would be [...]
Technology has had long & wide strides in terms of contributing to the world a lot in both the quality of living & inspiring man to do more. The innovations that have been created are encouraging that increasingly people & groups claw their way day in & day out towards generating new things & ideas that can readily place them in the ranks of the notables. One innovation which is reaching a high-level of confidence globally is the satellite tv.
Through the years, it's improved its expertise in order to give more efficient services to its subscribers. Another brand of development that is linked with it is the idea of satellite TV on PC. Let's take a glance on the way you can get transportable satellite TV. Watching tv has come a long way. In the elderly times it can be a boring task to sit on your couch & change channels that are not worth watching. At present an evolution has taken place. The arrival of regular cable companies & the growth of the satellite TV industry are not to quench the thirst for better entertainment & information access. There is a new revolutionized process in the market. It's come to be known as Satellite TV for PC. Are you fed up & down right beginning to query why you're wasting your hard-earned funds on some sub-par cable service? Then it's time to join the craze & put your desktop computer or laptop computer in to proper use. You only must acquire web connection which is not hard & you're on your way to better TV time. The important thing to think about is this. You work your way in to the office or wherever you do your thing as a professional & when you come home you require to relax & accomplish that well-deserved entertainment. You earn your bucks & unload it to things that matter & one of which is watching your favourite TV programs, shows, movies, & sports. With this in mind, don't let your local cable & satellite TV providers dictate the way you spend your money. Go ahead & try satellite TV on your laptop computer. You can have leisure time while doing business on the net or even speaking together with your relatives & friends. Get it fresh in your own time wherever you are. Satellite TV for PC can give you a wider array of choices in terms of channel line-up as compared to those offered by regular cable TV companies. You don't must content yourself with those boring re-runs & replays of movies & shows. You are not caged in to having only a few channels you can think about as your favourite. The power of the world wide web is in the palm of your hands. Come & take it. Portability & affordability are the two main attraction of this new process. In case you are that sports fanatic & you're team's game is not on regular cable showing or that anticipated fight is way out of reach. Never fear because you have the chance to watch it nice clarity & high quality picture. There is more up-to-date news & weather document & you can have it with ease. The best part of it is that usually you only must deal with one-payment schemes for the program so the every month fuss on your cable bill is gone with the wind. A transportable satellite tv experience is one thing you shouldn't think one time about.