Category: 2008

Upcoming Conferences/Events for August 2008

With July coming to end soon, I want to take another moment to go over the upcoming conferences and events I am either attending or planning to attend in August.

They were getting to the best favours online, wearing swim trunks, a leather jacket, and a Village People-style cap, arrived in a raft and crashed into the wedding party. He was unceremoniously dumped back into the sea by Anderson’s unamused security detail.

iPhone Dev Camp 2 — August 1-3: San Francisco, CA

Next Generation Data Center 2008 — August 4-7: San Francisco, CA

Linux World Conference & Expo — August 4-7: San Francisco, CA

The Start Conference — August 7: San Francisco, CA

User Experience Week 2008 — August 12-15: San Francisco, CA

Lunch 2.0 @ MySpace San Francisco — August 14: San Francisco, CA

New Media Expo — August 14-16: Las Vegas, Nevada

WordCamp San Francisco, 2008 — August 16: San Francisco, CA

An Event Apart San Francisco 2008 — August 18-19: San Francisco, CA

Search Engine Strategies San Jose Conference & Expo — August 18-22: San Francisco, CA

WhereCamp 2008

Every year, with this year being the fourth in succession, there is Where 2.0 Conference by O’Reily. And every weekend after the conference, there is WhereCamp. Here is an excerpt from O’Reily’s website that describes the Where 2.0 Conference:

Now in its fourth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. In the O’Reilly conference tradition, Where 2.0 presents leading trends rather than chasing them.

At Where 2.0, you’ll find source mapping tools, open standards for data and location web services, and sensors for obtaining location data. We’ll learn how the established geo industry is reacting to the first businesses making money from their grassroots geospatial projects. There’s no better place to meet the people behind the mash-ups, the people behind the platforms, and the people looking ahead to the future of geospatial. Join us at Where 2.0 to debate and discuss what’s viable now, and what’s lurking just below the radar

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Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it to Where 2.0 Conference, but able to make it to WhereCamp! Originally, I was supposed to head to TiECon in Santa Clara, but didn’t have a ride to there, so I convinced my parents to let me go to the GooglePlex in Mountain View, CA, where WhereCamp 2008 was held. We spent night atthe GooglePlex, where they were handing out tents for those who didn’t have money to spend on lodging. Who knew that I’d be sleeping under the stars on the premises of my favorite search company?

Me at GooglePlex!

I got there at around 8:00 PM, and met up with two people, Robert Scoble and Rex Pechler.

At around 10:00, I started talking to the Poly9 folks. I met the CEO and Chief Architect. Then, without me even knowing, a much younger man (but still older than me) comes and sits next to me and Poly9 folks. We started talking about Press and Media Badges, when the CEO of Poly9 asked who he was. He had a Google badge on, so we though he was a Google Employee. The Poly9 CEO (Greg) quickly googled his name, and his blog, On the iPhone, comes up. We all looked at each other, and said in awe, that he was the first to unlock (to allow a phone to operate on a network that’s not the phone’s distributing carrier) the iPhone! George Hotz was sitting next to me and chatting with me for about 20 minutes before we realized who he was. Greg quickly asked him to sit down to talk, George sat down, and we ended up talking for about 8 hours, from 10:30 at night until about 6:30 in the morning. This had to be one of the best nights of my life. We were all asking questions, and of course, Qikking. Here is Rex’s and my stream:

This was such an amazing night. For more Qik Videos, please either go to my channel, or Rex’s. To conclude, here’s a photo with George and myself:

Me and George Hotz (iPhone Unlocker)

Daniel’s New Toy

Daniel has a new “toy”. Daniel likes his new toy. Daniel will take his new toy to many places. Daniel needs to stop talking in the third-person now.

After tweeting and recording a Qik video about this, it is time to announce my new toy. My school isn’t the richest school in the world, but we do have great sports, music, and of course, academics. One thing that our school does lack is a laptop for every student.

If you remember, from a very long time ago, on the Apple Universe Podcast LIVE event at my high school, the computer lab aide, Mrs. Bandong, joined me to talk tech. I came to the computer lab, like I regularly do at school, and noticed a tablet-like computer on her desk. My curious self brought me this machine.

The little handheld computer is called the Nova5000, and is made by Fourier Systems. The Nova5000 runs the Windows CE operating system, and includes an absolutely amazing plethora of ports! Here’s a list of the Nova’s external connections:

  • Ethernet port 10/100-Built-in WiFi 802.11g
  • 3 female USB 1.1 ports, for connecting a keyboard, mouse, flash drive, etc.
  • 1 male USB port for Microsoft ActiveSync (to synchronize the handheld with a desktop Windows computer)
  • CompactFlash memory card slot
  • Headphone and microphone jacks
  • Built-in audio speaker (Mono)
  • 12-bit / 8 input scientific probe sensor interface
  • VGA monitor port

Now you are thinking about what this has to do with me, Daniel. Well, Mrs. Bandong was incredibly generous and actually gave me the Nova5000! I would like to thank Mrs. Bandong very much for donating this handheld to me.

Since the Nova500 has both a mic and headphone jack, I might use it in taking podcasting on the road with me, but we’ll see what happens. I managed to get a number of good pictures of the Nova handheld, which are posted here for your perusal:

Nova5000

Nova5000

Nova5000

You can find the rest of the photos over at my Flickr account.

Video on the Web

I recently wrote a post for the British Users of Mac Podcast about video on the web. I wanted to share it with my blog readers too, so here’s the original post:

I have done a lot of video work in these past year. I have learned a lot, and been upset about the outcome, but this is all a learning experience. British Users of Mac Podcast is a great podcast, but I want to see more video conversations (which is why I am writing this post), and I also want to show you another side of Apple. We all know about video, and all that good stuff, but the real question is: Do you know how to maximize it?

Trust me, I have asked myself this question numerous times! As of now, I don’t have a definite answer to this. There are so many services on the web that incorporate this, but don’t necessarily maximize video. One of my favorite streaming companies on the web is UStream.tv, which is a live interactive video broadcast platform. It enables anyone with a web cam and a fast Internet connection to quickly and easily broadcast to a global audience of unlimited size. In less than two minutes, anyone can become a broadcaster by creating their own channel on Ustream, empowering them to engage with their audience and further build their brand. I have worked with UStream.tv in many ways, from blogging to podcasting and even working! UStream.tv is just as great a service for “desktop streaming.”

In my opinion, one of the best companies is Qik, who enables you to share moments of your life with your friends, family and the world – directly from your cell phone! Keep your world in the know, share a laugh, tell engaging stories. Just point your cell phone and stream video live to your your friends on Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, etc. OR use your cell phone like a camcorder and stream hours and hours of video without worrying about storage on your cell phone. The things that Qik does are amazing, not because I work there. I’ve held that belief ever since my friend and top blogger Robert Scoble showed Qik to me. Qik really maximizes video from cell phones, and I can’t wait to see where this takes me and Qik!

Now, Apple also has a say in video. Probably not a front-end view, but surely a back-end view. Most of us know Apple because of their amazing hardware and outstanding operation systems, but they also have amazing software. Here is some of Apple’s Video Software:

  • Final Cut Express 4
  • Final Cut Studio 2
  • QuickTime 7 Pro for Mac OS X

(Editors Note: iMovie)

I use two of these three applications:

QuickTime Pro for recording my videos, and starting soon, Final Cut Studio to edit the footage.

Most Apple computers that you can buy from Apple’s online store include an option to buy Final Cut Express 4 and/or Logic Express 8 (Logic Express is Apple’s semi-pro digital audio workstation application).As you can tell, Apple has a nice presence in the video community, but I want to see more! This was my rant about video.T ell me what you think by either leaving a comment, or send an email to daniel@bumpodcast.co.uk.

~Daniel Brusilovsky

Producer & Host, Apple Universe Podcast

Also, remember that Apple Universe is re-launching on Saturday February 16, 2008 at 8:00 PM PST! We will be streaming on Ustream and giving away software, games and having a great time!

Apple Universe Launch!

The time will be arriving soon! Apple Universe is almost ready for launch! The Apple Universe Team is very pleased to announce that on Saturday February 16 at 8:00 PM PST, Apple Universe will open its doors to a new web site, and a wide open future! We have been working very hard on this new site, and I definitely think that everyone will enjoy it.

If you want, check out the countdown timer at www.appleuniversepodcast.com, which will be ticking until right before the launch!

Don’t be mistaken, there’s going to be a great big pre-launch party – I will be streaming the whole day on a dedicated UStream.tv channel at www.ustream.tv/channel/apple-universe-launch, and we will be giving away free programs and games for the Mac!

Once again, I would like to thank the entire Apple Universe Web Team for making this site the best. If you want to follow the launch, visit the web site and subscribe to the RSS Feed when the site is live. The site goes live on Saturday February 16 at 8:00 PM PST, and I hope to see everyone in the UStream chat watching the new beginning of Apple Universe!

Thanks,
Daniel Brusilovsky
Host and Producer, Apple Universe Podcast

The Future of Apple Universe

Apple Universe has gone very far, and something that I noticed as more people listen is that I need to up the ante on my production system. When I was recording on my Windows machine, I did more post production work, and since I moved to the Mac platform, Garageband does the work for me.

That said, from Apple Universe episode number 101 and on, I will be doing a lot more production work using GarageBand, Levelator, and iTunes. Maybe I will even start using Logic Pro, but keep in mind that all of the work that I do for Apple Universe comes out of my pocket. I do have amazing sponsors, like GoToMeeting and BitClamp (and soon to be more), but once again, the new web site was paid for with my own money.

If you know about audio editing programs for the Mac, please drop me a line at info@appleuniversepodcast.com, and pass along a link or two.

Thank you all very much.

Daniel Brusilovsky

Apple Universe Podcast

As you all know, I love podcasting and blogging. One hundred episodes of Apple Universe have been released, and we need to move to bigger places.

One thing that I decided to do is get my own domain name and hosting plan. I think this is a giant step for Apple Universe, and I think this will help.

For those of you who don’t know, Apple Universe now has a domain and hosting service from 1and1, who claims to be the biggest hosting company in the world. The new web site is now and running, so go ahead and check it out! The theme is i3Theme 1.5 (Right Edition) 1.5 by Mickey Cheong. WordPress theme designed by N.Design Studio, columnized by MangoOrange™, supported by Web Hosting Geeks, sponsored by Web Hosting Reviews & Free Coupons and Web Hosting Companies.

We also have new email addresses. If you would like to contact Daniel, please drop a line by daniel@appleuniversepodcast.com. If you would like to contact Richard Escobedo, the designer who customized the theme, send him an email at richard@appleuniversepodcast.com. For all other inquriries, like interview requests, PR, or just saying hello, fire one by info@appleuniversepodcast.com. If you, or your company would like to sponsor Apple Universe, this blog, or any of my other podcasts, please use this email address.

I hope everyone likes the new site, and that it becomes a smashing success!

~Daniel Brusilovsky

Macworld 2007 vs. Macworld 2008

Macworld expos come and go, but the products released at these events stay. In this entry, I really want to stress the importance of these events.

While we were recording Apple Universe episode #100, Shooby pointed out that Macworld 2007 was revolutionary, which made me think. Apple really pushed it to the limit in 2007 when they announced something that will change technology, eventually winning Product of the Year in 2007. That product, of course, is the iPhone, but what people don’t realize is that 2007 was an unforgettable year.

Okay, the MacBook Air is cool (blog post coming soon), and it sure changes people, but the iPhone was revolutionary in its field. Steve Jobs, at the beginning of his 2008 keynote, pointed out that Apple sold five million iPhones, having hoped to ship just one million units by the time of the keynote.

Like many other people, I think that there is no comparison between Macworld 2008 and Macworld 2007. The iPhone got so much attention which even Apple can’t beat anymore. Still, there’s a lot that I’d Apple to release in the next 51 weeks, as Steve Jobs joked about in his keynote.

Keep reading for more news about Apple’s announcements from the Macworld 2008 Keynote.

~Daniel Brusilovsky