Popdeck is an ongoing skateboard deck design contest. Just like Threadless.com (and others) anyone can submit a design, then the website members vote for their favorite designs. The design with the most votes wins $200 (currently) and gets a free deck. I love the concept of popdeck and that business model in general.
I just got my invite to the latest entrant in the Music Discovery/Community web world, called Jango.com. At first glance it seems to be a cross between Pandora and Last.fm but with a lot more Ajax and a really nice user interface. The jury is still out on the music selection though. They don’t have a lot of the artists that I like, instead they tend to have more main stream popular stuff. Hopefully that will improve over time. They are in invite only Beta now, so you’ll have to work a little to get your invite. You can go to the jango.com homepage to signup for an invite or give inviteshare a try.
You can read more about jango at readwriteweb
Early last month Flock released the latest version (0.9) of their browser. This release moves them “significantly closer to their 1.0 release”. Some of the features that’s included with the 0.9 release are:
The Flock browser has gotten a lot of media attention since day one and I’ve been a frequent user of their browser since early on. When this latest release came out I was very excited about the new feature and the possibility of switching from Firefox permanently. At first glance the Flock browser looks great and all of the unique features are easy to figure out. I really like the Media MiniBar as it’s a great way to see my friends Flickr photos and video. Additionally, I really like the convenience of the uploader tool which makes it real easy to upload your latest photos to flickr. Now I know that this is not their 1.0 release and that they’ve come a long way since their first release. But, I’ve been using this browser “full time” on my laptop for more than a month now and have threatened every day to move back to Firefox becasue of how incomplete this version is. First of all, I use two different computers everyday and if I’m going to use the Flock browser I’m going to need some sort of way to sync the two. As you might imagine, it’s pretty frustrating when you save something on your laptop but when you flick on your desktop computer you have to start all over. I would be happy to signup with Flock for an account and sign in to my browser just so everything can be synced. That shouldn’t be to hard, should it? The other feature that needs some work is the “star this page” or favorites. I use Del.icio.us for my bookmarks, which Flock favorites is integrated with however they’re lacking in execution. For example, you have to many steps (2) to enter a Del.icio.us tag and you don’t get a list of the previous tags that you’ve used. The most frustrating thing about the favorites is actually trying to locate one of your saved Del.icio.us bookmarks. If they were to copy how del.icio.us does it then it would be perfect. Another feature on Flock that will need more attention is the RSS reader. It’s fully integrated with the browser and is a great feature, however there are a few improvements that should be made that would make it even better: For example when you add a new RSS feed to the reader you don’t have any option to organize that feed. You have to wait untill it’s added to the list and then find and then drag it to the folder that you want. Additionally, there’s no way to edit the feeds. The last thing that I’m going to bitch about is the Blog Post tool. I can’t use it until it has a post to draft.
All in all I see a great future for Flock but I think they still have a ways to go before I can make the switch. As of writing this post I’m switching back to Firefox and will be anxiously awaiting the next release of Flock.
With all the hype on being “green” these days, it’s no surprise that someone has stepped up and started blogging about the Tech companies that are in that space. Gigaom launched Earth2tech.com this morning
“a site devoted to the business of clean technologies, its innovations and everything else. While there are many sites that help consumers live “greener,†we are focusing our energies on the business of clean and green.”
I’m looking forward to adding Earth2tech to my daily reading.
I think it’s pretty cool when you take a concept from the “main stream” and apply it to a niche market such as skateboarding. However, not as niche as it once was, with XGames and the like putting skateboarding in front of people that normally wouldn’t be exposed to it. Skateboarding is a billion dollar industry just on the hard goods side of the business, so there certainly is room for a company like Boardpusher.com. Boardpusher is company that enables you to add your own design to your skate deck. Additionally, in the spirit of Cafepress, Boardpusher gives you the tools to roll your own company. You can upload all of your company designs and make your own skate shop. The only downside to this is that boardpusher charges you a monthly maintenance fee ($5/month or $50/year), which in the grand scheme of things is not bad considering that it would cost a lot more to do a run of decks and then wait for them to sell. Boardpusher.com gives you a good way to get a one off deck or start your own company. Great idea.
Example shops hosted by Boardpusher:
Note: I haven’t tried their wood so I’m not sure the quality of the product, but they state that their decks are 100% Canadian Maple. If you’ve tried one, let us know what you think.
A few weeks ago I went to a DemoCamp here in Austin. One of the presenters there was Mark Phillip who was talking about his sports community called AreYouWatchingThis (RUWT?). There are a lots of Diggs, Myspaces and youtubes out there but there is only one RUWT. I call RUWT a sports community but it’s more than that. It’s a sports lovers dream. What the hell is RUWT you ask, well it’s a community of sports lovers and one robot who all rate games based on how exciting they are. Then based on what level of alerts you want and how you want to be alerted (email or Text Message) you’ll be sent a message alerting you to an exiting game. Marks has developed something he calls the RUWTbot which basically watches all the games for you and then will alert you when the game gets good.
Doing Laundry. Raking the leaves. Went to sleep early. Are any of these
worthwhile reasons for missing the next instant classic? No, we didn’t
think so either. Sign up for our free alerts and RUWTbot will hit you up by email or text message with the score, time left, and channel you need to turn to to catch the game.
Additionally, there is human interaction via a Digg like voting system. The community activity seems to be pretty small now but I think that’s going change soon as more people take notice. Mark just got a write up in ESPN magazine, so it want be long before the sports fans start signing up. RUWT has plans to get in with the TIVO’s of the world so that your game can automatically start recording when the game gets good. Until that happens RUWT offers an API that will allow enterprising programmers the opportunity to do it themselves.
I can’t wait for basketball season to start up again so that I can use RUWT to it’s full potential.
Veoh.com which is a popular destination for watching video clips, downloading and uploading them as well. It’s a youtubesque site but with longer format content that you can download. Check out a profile I did on them last year (”Veoh: the next internet star“). So, last week they announced a new product called VeohTV, which is a downloaded media player that allows you to watch video content from just about any source on the web. It’s basically the beginning piece to what I see happening with TV in the near future. Anyone can be a content producer, thanks to the internet. Now with VeohTV, that content can get equal billing and be available to anyone at any time. I haven’t really dugg around to deep into Veohtv just yet, but have played with it enough to know that I like it. You might recall that I did a post on on the (”Top source online for free movies and television“) . Now with veohtv I could have rewritten that post and named it “the 1 source online for free movies and TV”. It really is that good. I suspect that as Veohtv becomes more popular, more companies will make sure that their content will be found on Veoh. Go here to sign for a VeohTV invite. I hope to do a more in depth look at Veohtv in the near future.
Technorati Tags: veohtv, veoh, TV, video, youtube
A few months ago I decide to get rid of my cable tv. It’s been a financial savings and has helped me be more focused and productive. But, sometimes it’s nice to sit back and watch a movie or favorite tv show. So far, thanks to the internet, I haven’t been missing anything except live sports. Everything else is readily available online and in most cases is perfectly legal. Below is a list of my top 12 sources for watching tv and movies, either online or downloaded straight to my computer. I’m sure most you’ve heard of these but chances are, some of you haven’t. Let me know if you have favorites as well.
 Out of all the online offerings from the major networks, ABC is probably the most advanced. The picture is super clear and is, well, “streaming HD”. Actually it’s not quite HD quality but it’s good enough for your laptop. ABC offers pretty much all of their prime time shows online, free for your viewing pleasures. I’m a big fan of Lost and as much as I shouldn’t admit it, I like Ugly Betty also. I’m usually not around to watch the shows as they air, so I almost always watch them online at ABC. It’s a brilliant strategy for the bigs to move their shows online after they air, and they usually do it within a few hours. The online shows are very sparse with advertising and you always know when the ads are coming. I’m a big fan.
check my earlier posts on ABC, here and here.
If you’re a fan of Heroes, The Office or My Name is Earl, then NBC.com is a must. Just like with ABC.com, they show their programs just after there original airing and the advertising is clearly marked. The quality of their player is great and almost never fails. In additions to the regular shows, they usually have extra content as well. You don’t need regular tv when you have “on demand” tv. It works with your schedule, an not the networks. NBC.com is great.
This is definitely my favorite source for originally created content. Vbs.tv is an extension of Vice magazine and they act as a hub for fringe content. One of my favorite shows is called Epicly Later’d which is a show hosted by skateboard journalist Patrick O’Dell. Most of his shows are a kind of “day in the life” of pro skaters and skateboard personalities. Another show I like is called “Balls Deep” which is a guy who’s dropped into some weird spots and does interviews with people like a Gay Leather Daddy or a “sewer rat” in Bogotá Colombia. There is lots of other great content to been seen on VBS.tv and look to them to be a very popular content destination in the near future. The only downside to VBS is that in there full screen mode doesn’t look that great. Either way, the best produced content online.
I know this online channel want be as high up on most peoples list as it is on mine. But, it’s here for only one reason: Rob and Big. I love that show and without MTV.com I’d never get to see it. Thank ya MTV. Actually, the quality of their streams are not very good and is usually pretty jumpy but they have a nice selection of content that includes some extras like behind the scenes and bio’s etc. I guess some folks could be into the other shows on MTV, so if you are, then check out MTV.com. Oh, and if you haven’t seen Rob and Big, you should check that out as well. Rob Dyrdek is a bit nuts and also a very smart guy. He’s a pro skateboarder, company owner, investor and tv reality star. I’ll do a post on him at a later time.
Is the newish p2p on demand tv from the guys behind skype and Kaza. Joost is a downloadable app that lets you watch licensed content from networks like Comedy Central, Warner Brothers Records, Adult Swim and many smaller providers. One of the features of Joost that’ll be a big hit if joost takes off, is the community features. They offer chat, program ratings and instant messaging which can be cool if your friends are on joost. So far the quality and content selection is not good enough for me to use joost on a daily basis. However, I do open joost up a couple of times a week to just to check for new content. Joost is on my list because it has potential for the future. By the way, joost is currently in invite only Beta. But if you need an invite email me with your name and email address and I can send you an invite.
Check my earlier post on joost, here and here.
Is another p2p on demand tv that’s a lot like Joost but with more limited content. I like babelgum’s UI better than joost but that’s about it. I think they’re going to have a more difficult time of getting traction unless the can get some sort of angle with their content. Joost has been making the big deals for content and babelgum hasn’t made any big deals yet. Maybe they can brand themselves as the goto spot for independent content. Either way, babblegum is on my list because I think they might have something up their sleeve. I usually check out babelgum 1-2 times a month just to see if there’s anything new.
This is one of my favorite channels to browse around when I’m dreaming of travels to some tropical destinations. Lonely Planet content comes from Lonely Planet TV and independent travelers. It’s a lot fun to watch some of the shows from the amateurs as they cover some of the really cool locations. If you’re planning a trip or just day dreaming, Lonelyplanet.tv is a great place to research or just be entertained.
This one is a relatively new addition to my regular play list. On Networks is a production company that produces original shows, just for the web. Most of their shows are lifestyle oriented, like Cocktails on the Fly, Diner with the Band or Budget Health Nut. All of their content is well produced and if you’re into this kind of stuff then it’s definitely worth checking out.
This is another one of those online channels that satisfies my gay gene. For some reason, cooking shows are fun to watch. I guess it’s because I like to cook and I like variety in the foods I eat. So I’m always looking for recipes that look interesting. Tastetv has great quality content that’s produced very well. They have shows that are based on recipes from different areas of the world like Latin, Asian, French and Italian. They also do shows that review restaurants in major areas around the world. Tastetv is a great on demand channel for getting all of your information about food. I usually watch it a couple of times a week.
This one is new for me but is starting to become part of my daily play. Rooftopcomedy.com is a comedy video site. It’s not like youtube where anyone can submit there own video or something that was found on the web. Actually, rooftopcomedy has relationships with comedy clubs all over America, where the set-up cameras and record the shows. Then, rooftopcomedy’s producers go through all of the recorded content and make clips of the best stuff and then make it available online. They currently have comedy clips from over 1,200 comedians. I had no idea that their were 1,200 comedians. Check these guys out, as they have some funny stuff.
I’m sure most of you have heard of Veoh, which is similar to youtube but allows you to upload longer format content and download any of their content. One of the cool things about veoh is that they have a really nice downloadable player that also manages your content and downloads. Like I said before, veoh lets you upload long format content, as a result, you can find some pretty good stuff. A lot of the content on Veoh is not exactly legal, so if you’re looking for something specific, veoh would be a good start. The only downside to veoh that I can see is that the quality of the downloads are pretty shabby, at least in full screen.
- I’m sure most of you have heard of this one because of all the press they’ve received over the years. Piratebay is a bittorrent depository tracker. This is where you can find just about any movie or tv show that you could be looking for. Keep in mind that downloading copyrighted material is illegal in most countries. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way. I have “friends” that use thepiratebay on a regular basis to download shows like the Sopranos and recently released movies. From what I’ve been told, the quality of these movies are pretty darn good and if you have something like LinkTheatre, you’ll be able to stream your newly downloaded movie straight to your tv and it’ll be just like watching a DVD. That’s second hand information, so you’ll have to see for yourself. Anyway, I guess the only real downsides to thepiratebay and bittorrent files are that it’s illegal and it takes lots of time to download files (so I hear).
Technorati Tags: joost, p2p, cbs, tv, nbc, movies,thepiratebay
It’s a little late in the snow season for this post, but it’s still worth mentioning The Block. The Block is a boutique Hotel chain, currently with locations in Big Bear and Tahoe that caters exclusively to the Snowboarding set. Founded by Marc Frank Montoya and Liko Smith, and with investors like pro snowboarders Travis Parker, Mikey LeBlanc, Joni Malmi, Jussi Oksanen, JJ Thomas, Kurt Wastell, Chris Coulter, and Devun Walsh, and pro skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. The Block is unique in many ways and gives it’s guests a place to chill after a long day in the powder. The Block features “Signature Suits” designed by companies like Zoo York, DVS Shoes, Spy Optic, Nikita Clothing and even a Vivid room. The rooms feature PS2’s, boot/glove warmers, FREE PBR & energy drinks, FREE DVD, Video-game and porn rentals, flat screen TV’s and many others. They also offer really cool amenities like a waxing room (for your snowboard), a lounge , a poker room and a BBQ deck. With plans to open up in mountain resort communities like Breckenridge, Vail, and internationally in spots in Canada, Switzerland and France. Keep a look out for The Block.
Tags: snowboarding, hotels, theblock, bigbear, tahoe
I just discovered Zonbu and am looking forward to trying one out. Zonbu is a tiny PC that comes pre installed with a bunch of opensource and free software (openoffice, firefox, skype etc.) and uses 1/10th of the power of a “typical” desktop computer. Zonbu’s business model is to charge a nominal upfront fee ($99 and $249) and then $12 - $20 for a monthly subscription. The subscription includes software upgrades, hardware, replacement, support and online storage and backup.
Zonbu is a compact, ultra low power mini with all the bells and whistles:
- Intel-like ultra-low power CPU
- 512 MB RAM + 4GB flash-based local storage
- Graphics up to 1400 x 1050 (16 million colors).
Hardware graphics and MPEG2 acceleration- PC-compatible ports for keyboard and mouse
- 6 USB ports to plug-and-play all standard USB accessories
- Broadband ready: 10/100MB Ethernet built-in.
Zonbu is $99 with a two-year subscription plan. With month to month plan, Zonbu is $249.
As soon as I can get my hands on one, I’ll give a complete review.
Technorati Tags: zonbu, green, PC, opensource, computer
