I can't believe I haven't watched the US version of The Office - Jonathan Beckett
Jonathan, if you've seen the BBC version first make sure to stick with the US version through the first season. They start off with a lot of the same jokes/situations but not as funny, IMO. But then they start to diverge on totally different story lines and it's very, very funny. - Paul Reynolds
I love the ones when they side glance at the camera after they say it. - Paul Reynolds
This is WIN, on a scale beyond human comprehension. - Iain Baker
good luck with this, Drew! For some reason I cannot get over the slang implications of the word "poke". I do NOT want to be publicly poked by random strangers. Or even by platonic acquaintances. ewww, just ewww. - Laura Norvig
First twitter, now facebook... OMG she's stalking you Drew!! Go clean your roooom!! - Susan Beebe
I am going to create her account on FriendFeed and then sell it. - Louis Gray
@Harrison - I used to, but now there really isn't one near me. - MG Siegler
MG - I have one near me and go a decent amount, but a good chunk of my spending goes to Amazon too. My Best Buy spending certainly isn't anywhere near the rumored $5000 a year needed to qualify for Premier Black though. - Harrison Hoffman
i got it, but i thought it was best buy spam so i trashed it. - Matt Musgrave
Aw, and I thought Best Buy liked me. I never get invited to the parties since the incident. *pout* - qthrul
This post is dedicated to Daynah, who "nudged" me into blogging more! :) - Veronica
MG, yeah, I'm really hoping to see this soon. Not sure why it wasn't there right out of the gate though... - Veronica
Honestly they need to incorporate this in all 3 areas, the App Store, your own App Folder and the Apps on the phone itself. The Apps store is messy at best, the sub directories or are ok, but really not that useful. Not to mention you cant sort by say, sub directory, free, date and search name. Then like you said, once you have it, its in your apps able to sort them and it sync to the phone. Hurry up and study programing so you can get this done for us quick quick k :) - Socom
The app updating problem on the iPhone (not iTunes) is just sloppy and unnecessary. Very un-Apple. - Harrison Hoffman
I think Apple overestimated how much we all like the apps wiggling when you move them :) - MG Siegler
sigh. friendfeed and twitter not only suck the ideas for blog posts out of my head, they also suck all the comments off the blog post! - Veronica
Veronica, welcome to the power of twitter and friendfeed! :) - imabonehead
Veronica - you have my permission to pretend to be me and republish my comments on your blog if it makes you feel better. the pretending to be me is the key part though. you must be in character when you do so. - MG Siegler
Veronica, that's why I turned off comments on my meager blog. But if you use WordPress, there's a plug-in that will integrate FF comments back into your blog. - Paul Reynolds
Paul, that is an excellent idea. MG, how could I ever POSSIBLY hope to pull that off :) - Veronica
Veronica - it's all about the glasses. that's all you really need. speaking in the batman voice is purely bonus. - MG Siegler
MG - Agreed. I love the icon jiggle as much as the next guy, but this is just ridiculous. :) - Harrison Hoffman
You'll come around eventually. Correct me if I'm wrong but don't some motherboards or Linux distributions allow you to bypass the OS and boot to a browser? - Mitch
Whatever is on the proposed TechCrunch internet tablet is supposedly a boot straight to browser Linux. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)
@Mitch - that still doesn't make it an OS. It's still a browser, or at best, a runtime environment. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Firefox is my OS. I can see Chrome definitely replacing it as it continue to improve. - Sam Harrelson
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@Tina: even for TC's example, that means the browser is a service or process of the OS, not the actual OS. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
@Sam: I promise you, it isn't. To say it is indicates you don't understand what an OS is, or are at the very least misusing the term. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
I think it's because they don't know what an OS does. it's become so invisible for a lot of people. I'm glad that you took the time to set them straight. - ~C4Chaos
not at all. I operate fully within Firefox nowacross computers and traditional "OS's like this Macbook Pro on Leopord or Ubuntu or on the Asus eee. Firefox is the system in which I operate, not on the actual desktops. - Sam Harrelson
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@Sam: The term you may be looking for, then is "meta-desktop" or "cross-platform runtime environment." Operating systems deal with hooking hardware to software. Your browser sits in the application layer, and doesn't have any direct hooks into your input, output, storage or network devices. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
i know the technical definition, but it's just splitting hairs at this point and going forwards as web apps continue to eclipse the hardware-software paradigm. "Runtime environment" is too clunky for non-geeks and those of us existing mostly in the browser at this point. - Sam Harrelson
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What? Splitting hairs? Look, if your soundcard malfunctions and stops working, do you troubleshoot that from your browser, or your operating system utilities? Do you click on the little wrench in Chrome to troubleshoot that? - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Browsers are the operating systems for webapps. It's perfectly analogous. A runtime environment is also an operating system. It provides services and environment for hosting applications. If you're limiting your definition of "operating system" to GNU/Linux, OS X and Windows, look at the words themselves: "operating" "system". It's a very generic term. - ·[▪_▪]·
Maybe the biggest misconception would be the multiprocess approach chrome adopts when handling tabs. But still yeah, I do not call it an OS. :) - Ron
Browsers are operating systems for webapps only if you don't understand what an OS does. Words mean things, and the definition of an OS goes back to before I was born. I could say: "It's limiting to only call the sky the sky since if you go into a cave, there's air above your head and stuff can fly through that air like bats." I'd also be wrong. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Google Chrome is an interface between users and web-centric applications, utilities. Maybe the first browser designed for Web computing http://bit.ly/DwgE3 - Yung-Hui Lim
People call Chrome an OS...because they're stupid. - Art Lindsey III
Most people insist the web and the Internet are the same thing. You gonna correct them? Nah. - Andrew Warner
@Andrew: You obviously don't know me well enough. :-p I'm a guy who thinks words mean things. If a pundit who thinks themselves qualified to pontificate on technology issues on a regular basis, or even for profit, there's no way I'm going to let them get away with mixing up the difference between the Web and the Internet, much less the difference between the desktop, a window manager, a runtime environment and an OS. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
They are only doing it to get on your nerves, Mark. It's a conspiracy. - Rah™
bwahaha. That's fine. I correct them to get on their nerves. It's a symbiotic relationship. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Agreed, not an OS. People being overzealous in the service of Google? :) - Mo Kargas
I think a lot of them mean "Desktop" or "application environment," which is a valid argument, I think (though not one I agree with). A little bit of fanboi-ism, mixed with some definition confusion. I think Google may be going for the "web is a platform" thing, just not with Chrome. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
True it's not an 'Operating System' on paper but then again cloud computing doesn't mean we are accessing our data in the skies above - Joe Dawson
True but it's as you put it a definition of ignorance for the ignorant. It makes it easier for people to understand and relate to the terminology used. If I were to sell the average person an apparatus providing combustion for substance consumption they would scrath their heads but a cooker is much easier to digest! - Joe Dawson
@Joe true, but the cooker doesn't make the meal or does not include the chef or the supermarket access. you still have to go to the (super)market and do the meal before using the cooker. - Olivier
Saying Chrome is an OS is a metaphor I think. People are saying that they don't care what actual OS they are using - if they can use webapps through chrome then they can do their work. - Richard Bradshaw
"Words mean things." I love it. Chrome is an OS because Arrington says it is and what Arrington spake is writ large upon the sky. - Carla Thompson
Carla, never thought I'd read something so poetic written about Chrome :) - Patricia Hanrahan
Thank you, Rizzn. Earth to everyone who disagrees with Rizzn: this is not a matter of debate. The operating system only ever refers to something like Windows, MacOS, or Ubuntu, something that talks directly to all the hardware in/attached to your computer. Period. - j1m
"Earth to everyone who disagrees with Rizzn: this is not a matter of debate" - Appreciate the agreement! Can I just get you to comment that on all my blog posts now? :-p - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
“New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin calls Gustav, "The mother of all storms", urging residents to evacuate. His tone is catastrophic. He says "You need to be scared, you need to get your butts out of New Orleans". It's the "Storm of the century"”
Louis: Agreed. Thank goodness history is not repeating itself - Mona N.
Appears they're doing everything they can this time, which is good regardless of final landing point. For those that don't realize it, parts of New orleans are below sea level and very vulnerable ... seawall or not. - Charlie Anzman
Mona, Louis - Whose to say that people are going to 'listen'?. There's always a fairly significant number that don't. That's my concern ! - Charlie Anzman
we are feeling it here in south florida ... massive storm - Scott Moskowitz
Scott, where are you? I'm in Miami and things are fine here right now. - Corie "Viper" Jones
Mayor Nagin's "900 mile footprint" is overstated. The center of the storm -- with hurricane force winds -- is about 270 miles wide right now. It's a bad one, though. - Chris Baskind
It's better to be safe, than sorry Chris. I was in New Orleans after Katrina for the Red Cross. I do NOT want to see history repeating itself. The scents still lingers and I can still see the city when I close my eyes... - Mona N.
Yeah, I know. It will get bumpy here. ;-) But he was comparing the hurricane-force footprint of Katrina to the total cloud shield of Gustav. - Chris Baskind
...and it's growing. It just hit the warm waters of the Gulf so I expect it to grow - Bwana McCall
Heh, yeah, they fly right in the middle of these monster storms - Bwana McCall
I'll experience the thrill through you Charlie :) - Bwana McCall
http://friendfeed.com/e/39c497... - Live coverage from 4 NO stations.. the weather dude there was still saying they are looking at it possibly being a cat3 by landfall.. not great, but not as bad as a "storm of the century" - Tim Hoeck
Tim, that link was posted earlier in the thread :) - Bwana McCall
Also, Katrina was a Cat 3 at landfall. This storm looks stronger than Katrina. Going from tropical storm to Category 3 in a few hours is something to be concerned about - Bwana McCall
Ray Nagin ain't the brightest of the bunch but I think that he may be right. - Andrew Fielding
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Bwana - Believe it or not, we felt the 'last of Fay' today up here. Scott M - If you're feeling what you're describing (and obviously we're thinkin about you) can't imagine what Havana just went through. Good points here about Hanna. Carlos earlier referred to it as a Hurricane sandwich. My wife "You won't get me to move there either" ... Ughhh! - Charlie Anzman
Even though it will weaken before it actually hits land it will be one hell of a storm. - Mathew Ballard
Gustav was 110 mph last night, 150 mph this morning, 140-170 mph now (gusts 170 mph) http://wunderground.com/tropic... Such a "deja vu". We were here in Maine at dance camp 3 years ago for Katrina (with no TV, and lots of New Orleans people), so we've done the 4-day hurricane watch internet-only pre-FriendFeed. Summize & Twitter are a good addition. 3 years ago, I had to hunt a lot harder for the key New Orleans bloggers with the good info. Summize rocks! - Mitchell Tsai
I've been through 2 category 1 storms, and even they were incredibly scary. All in the threatened areas are definitely in my thoughts and prayers. - Jesse Stay
38 Twitter accounts to follow for Gustav updates (Wayne Sutton's thread) http://friendfeed.com/e/ce2fed... See @MarkMayhew @urbanreporter @ithinkmedia @waynesutton @hillharper at Twitter - Mitchell Tsai
thanks to all ... Mona - arigatoh gozaimasu ... I live on the ocean & my frames were just replaced - from Wilma damage (2005) so what we are seeing is coming off the ocean into the uncompleted frames ... I posted video on what its like to prepare here in south Florida at http://www.youtube.com/mad8in8... re:Fay ... The price of paradise - born & raised here - the anxiety of storms is something we all share (@corie allison, right) but we offer our support to anyone who has experienced natural weather event - Scott Moskowitz
@adriano also the NOAA provides fairly comprehensive data - I posted the link previously & again today for those in south florida ... it is configurable to any location - Scott Moskowitz
I dont think television will be the first to fall...I think that newspapers were the first to fall, even though I still read them daily they are suffering no like other! - Andrew Fielding
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Tom: I think you're right, little buddy. - Jay Tannenbaum
I agree with Andrew, I think newspapers will be the first to fail. News websites are already replacing them. I still watch television for two reasons: news and sports. I don't think that's going to change in the future. For anyone. About radio: Am I the only one listening to it for the entertainment and information, and not for the music? - Alejandro S.
Andrew, I'm not so sure. I read newspapers daily. The only TV I watch is downloaded or (rarely) streamed. Neither option has many, if any adverts. I think the TV model will have to change before newspapers. - Shane Perris
TV media will never fail. Duncan how about.. lets have the NFL supebowl party at my place , we can watch it streaming live to my Computer screen ? I dont think that goes down well with a number main stream viewers. They are MSM viewers because they dont care whats in our echo chamber. What is hurt and really hurting bad is the print shops ! - Peter Dawson
That's pretty bold. I suspect over-the-air TV is going to take a big hit with digital television. And you're right: newspaper can survive as an online medium. - Chris Baskind
Jay, Andrew, Alejandro, read the post. Newspapers will never fall, they are adopting to online by embracing it. Newspapers WILL live on, not in print, but online. Peter, read the post, the internet IS converging with the television set, and there is absolutely no reason why you couldn't be streaming, in full HD, the superbowl or anything else for that matter on your 60" or even bigger screen with the same group of people in 5-10 years. You won't need broadcast tv to watch sport - Duncan Riley
in fact, you won't even need cable. You'll be able to get it online, on demand or live, paid or perhaps free. Peter, when every TV set has internet access, and when getting content on demand, or selectively delivered to you Last.fm style is in every lounge room, broadcast television is over. If you read the post you'll see that I made your exact point on MS viewers. We don't have the ease of use/ full substitution available yet. But it's coming - Duncan Riley
Duncan, my comments were way too long for a blog or friendfeed comment, so I sent you an e-mail. Though I am definitely aligned w/Peter D as far as the Super Bowl party (and sports, in general really). Chris B. How come the New York Times and Washington Post and LA times and Chi Trib are getting hammered even with their online presence? - Robert Seidman
I only watch a couple hours a day max! We're not even watching, it's just on in the background as my wife and I catch up after the kids are in bed. - Damien Franco
Newspapers highest margin revenue business was classified ads -- and that's gone online, and off - Robert Seidman
Robert, on sport, we don't have the substitution equation now, but it's coming. High broadband, better tech, to a large screen. You don't need broadcast TV to watch the superbowl is you can obtain the same game online, on a big screen, in HD - Duncan Riley
Robert, on newspapers, there's a lot of death in that industry left before it settles, and even newspapers know this. If 5-10% of all newspapers today are in existence in 20 years time I'd be surprised. But don't confuse mass consildation and job losses with death. Smart titles are embracing online, and even making money from it. A substitute for classifieds now? no, but eventually some will be big enough to make it sustainable online. - Duncan Riley
need to read this in the morning - early meeting :( - mike "glemak" dunn
the line between newspapers and blogging is blurring as well. We know that big blogs make big $ now online, the big paper sites are making good money as well. Think in terms of an online model, quality name, best practice journalism...there's always going to be a market for it. Maybe not in actual print, but a market none the less - Duncan Riley
Robert: They're online, but I don't think any of the papers you mention have really made the transition yet. I think we're waiting for a device, too. - Chris Baskind
Chris, if the NYT, sold at every starbucks across the country and one of the top news websites seems much better positioned (and are) vs. other newspapers, but financials are still getting hammered. Duncan, I agree with you about consolidation. But then I believe there will always be a video display in our living rooms and that Disney will be around making content for it, just as they are today. - Robert Seidman
TV is already dead...been that way for a while. I ditched my TV 3 times in life and the last time (2 yrs ago) it finally stuck cuz it is really that lame.... I can't stand the force-fed programming....Internet based On Demand is where it's at - but not via cable - via internet tubes! newspaper is something you put in the fireplace or the bottom of a bird cage to catch poop! - Susan Beebe
For the most part, I dumped TV for the interactive screen 15 year ago. Has Ninja Warrior #20 aired, yet? - MiniMage LightBlueRanger
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Duncan - Your last comment is telling. It's quality of content that drives demand now and in the future. Ultimately, the means of distribution (by itself) don't matter more than that. - Tom Landini
Susan, as a product, I want what you want, but a.) it doesn't exist, and b.) there's not actually the infrastructure to support it (across everyone) yet. - Robert Seidman
Robert: True...it's coming though e.g. Hulu, Revision 3, etc.... please somebody make it happen! - Susan Beebe
Robert, I'm not saying there won't be video in your lounge room, nor am I suggesting Disney is about to disappear. Don't mix the end result with the delivery method. Traditional, broadcast television is doomed. The content you see today will be delivered online, not via your CBS affiliate, and you'll get to pick the content or have it custom mashed for you, on demand, live or archived, on your 80" television, phone, computer, car, in HD. - Duncan Riley
Duncan - Good point. I would much rather have 5 great channels than my current 32 mediocre choices. - Russellreno
disney is traditional broadcast television though (ABC). The question will be how the content is paid for. CBS even in the television business is multiple companies. a company that owns stations, has affiliates and a huge content production conglomerate. If two out of three of those go away, you lose the scale to spend mega bucks on content. Where will the good content come from? I'm not arguing this won't happen -- it's just really interesting (to me) stuff to think about. - Robert Seidman
"when every TV set has internet access, and when getting content on demand, " - oj thats now a future assumptions. We may not need tVs in the future, our eyeballs will be protected from UV light and have minature screens that fit onto them eyeball. and watch a program whenever I want by adjusting my wristwatch . Of course the media could be wifi or airwaves.. :)- - Peter Dawson
Robert, I didn't say it was going to die tomorrow, I simply said it would be the first to die :-) Broadband is still an issue, but delivery methods already exist (Comcast on demand is delivered over IP for memory). The difference between now and 10 years from now is that the tech will be mainstream, embedded into TV's (Sony is already doing this, but it's still very Gen 1), low cost, and eventually everyone will have access. It has to kill broadcast TV, the only question is how long will it take. - Duncan Riley
couple this with the change in distribution, particularly given the issues with advertising (hard online, declining in MSM). Production companies are already delivering product direct to internet. broadcast television acts like a middle man in content, but the internet allows you to go direct. As the economics change, more companies will be trying to maximise their profits by cutting out the middleman - Duncan Riley
but however long it takes, the media will not go away. the delivey methods may change, the gadgets that we use to watch may change , but the content will still come from CNN , ABC NBC kinda stations, they too will adopt - Peter Dawson
to some extent we're seeing the same shift in music, but I'll leave that debate for another day :-) - Duncan Riley
Duncan, if you mean over the air, completely agree. But I think we're way far from Internet wins. comcast is ip but it's over their fat pipes between them and my house. the pipe between them and the internet is relatively skinny. I personally don't want comcast and cable cos to win at Internet distribution of video. They're dead set against a la carte bundles. - Robert Seidman
Good post and good discussion here. If we accept the premise that broad content distribution platforms will wither, that leaves the question of how high quality content in that context will be financed and produced. Probably a discussion for another day, but an intriguing one. - Tom Landini
A good percentage of my friends are non-computer people. Check their email every few days, maybe chat occassionally, inactive facebook account - they spend their time watching TV. There are more people like that than there are people who don't.... - George Smith
I suspect all video entertainment will go down the HBO route in the end. People are willing to pay for quality programming and there's always going to be a market for it. - Charlie
Charlie at least in the in the US, the data doesn't support the HBO route. Only around 1/3rd of the homes buy premium content (HBO, Showtime, etc). A lot of the other 2/3rd pay for either cable or satellite packages but not for premium content like HBO. - Robert Seidman
WRONG WRONG WRONG FAIL for so many reasons. - Andrew Feinberg
Andrew, why? All traditional media is changing, that's a given. The question is how much, and when. Robert, re Disney, yes, they own ABC, but don't mix Disney the content creator with ABC as the delivery agent. Disney will move to where the audience is like any other company. If online/ direct/ on demand is the future, they'll be there as well. Disney isn't JUST a broadcast television company after all. - Duncan Riley
I don't mix the content creator with the delivery network. they're synergistic, but opportunistic. Shows produced by ABC production run on NBC, FOX on CBS, etc. But it's the networks that greenlight the production companies and not the other way around. If you say ABC network will be replaced by...Comcast and others, that's still the existing TV model to me. Regardless of the distribution mechanism, it will be transparent to the viewers. - Robert Seidman
Robert, they may greenlight new shows, but they don't necessarily own the rights to those shows either. Think of your American Idol's Big Brother, Survivors...all big shows who go to the highest bidder. As TV network revenue continues to decline relative to view numbers (proven fact), the ability to buy those shows, or to be the highest bidder, diminishes. Not tomorrow, or next year, but the economics of supply and demand in video is changing. - Duncan Riley
There are growing examples of this as well, although we are still very early in the shift. Funnyordie, John Cleese podcast are two sites that spring to mind. Direct to internet, cuts out the network. This downward cycle will result in cut backs in TV spending...it already is, and as I noted in the post, its a cycle, cuts are made, content is lower quality, less viewers, less revenue, more cuts are made an so on. - Duncan Riley
I think the business model will shift. In ten years I think we will have television on demand, and product placement or other integrated advertising methods will be used to pay the production costs. But traditional broadcasting will indeed be very different -- or gone. - David Muir
A very thought-provoking post, but I don't agree with your conclusion. In the UK, viewing figures are going up. The main issue for TV is that this viewing is fragmenting across an ever increasing number of channels. Therefore, revenue streams have to be diversified. Take Heroes as an example of a high-quality programme that is successful and profitable over a number of platforms. The web and VOD will further change the TV market, but TV is an inherently social medium and the living room will remain the hub - Simon
For me, radio will be the first to go - podcasts will be the death knell - Simon
Yeah, I get like that too. One minute I'm tired as lead, I go to lay down in bed and then my brain starts thinking too much about whatever. The worst. - Wensleydale Scoble
Oh, I have a six year old and a two year old. They're like your twins, only more nuanced. : ) - Chris Brogan
My brain is that way most of the time. What I find helpful is to listen to something 1) intellectually stimulating -- so my brain will attend to it, rather than finding other things to think about, 2) which already I've heard -- so I can listen less attentively/won't be kept awake by the novelty of the discussion, and 3) which is relatively even tempo. Segments from the podcasts of Science Friday and Quirks & Quarks work well for me. - Joanmarie
I get up and read. It's not worth the time, lying there wishing you could sleep. Reading clears my head, and after about 15-30 minutes, I'm usually ready to doze off. - Mike Keliher
meditation and yoga, of course, but i doubt you would be interested. - Gregory Lent
simple solution... breath, 8 seconds in, 4 seconds out, count them don't do think of anything else other than the count of your breath...sleep.Also good for combatting stress, puts your breathing in rhythm with your chi - Bryan Thatcher
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