Show #51

[Download Show #51 as MP3]

News

• The Halo Movie is Dead
• During an interview, director Neill Blomkamp stated that the "entire project is dead."
• This is mainly due to the fact there were two studios (Universal & Fox) trying to make the movie together and they were not getting along
• It could also have something to do with the fact that the director attached (Neill) had no prior movie making experience and only a huge endorsement from Peter Jackson (creator of the Lord of the Rings movies) and that because of that neither studio really wanted him to make the movie.
• RIAA Wins First Jury File Sharing Case
• In a shocking ruling the jury, in a case where the question of file sharing equating to piracy is actually put on trial, awarded the RIAA $222,000 dollars in damages
• The RIAA was specific in their instructions to the jury. In these instructions they used the phrase "to make available" thus negating their need to have to actually prove that the defendant actually upload files to people. There is some debate over this issue and I am sure that we will see it come up in appeal. Keep in mind that previous decisions on this issue have been split fairly down the middle in past rulings.
  
• This is the first win, but will this help the RIAA in future trials?
• Defendant plans to appeal the decision
  
• Microsoft Announces New Zunes
• New Zunes come in 80GB (Hard Drive), as well as 4GB & 8GB (Flash)
• New Zune pad for navigating. Videos show it being touch/slide sensitive
• DVD quality video via TV out
• H264 Video codecs
• Podcasting support
• Older 30GB Zunes will receive a firmware update that will give them the same exact features as the new models (at least software wise)
  

Software / Hardware / Power Web Picks

• Social Networks
• What is a social network?
• Wikipedia defines a social network as social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, idea, financial exchange, friends, kinship, dislike, conflict, trade, web links, sexual relations, disease transmission (epidemiology), or airline routes.
• An online social network is that principal, just put into an online form.
• There are hundreds of social networks all with specific purposes. Everything from a Star Trek to Bruce Springsteen has some form of an online social network. Not all social networks happen on the web either. They can happen in chat rooms, game systems (Xbox Live), or even newsgroups. Where ever people gather with a common interest, that can be described as a social network.
  
• What are some popular online social networks?
• MySpace
• What is it? - A website started by a guy named Tom that has turned into the largest social website, and actually the largest number of hits on the entire Internet. Myspace is used as a promotional tool for everything from music to comedy to movies to television. If a company wants to promote something they can use MySpace and guarantee that then will have large exposure.
  
• Who is using it?
• Bands, Comedians, Movie/TV Studios, and normal folks
• Many independent bands are using MySpace to find a national/worldwide audience (like some of the bands you have heard on our program)
  
• Pushmonkey
• Anberlin
• What is Cool About It
• The fact that as a starting out band, musician, comedian, or even film maker you have a place to post your work and create a website for practically free. You can easily create a website that allows you to interact with your fans without having to build your own site or paying someone to do it for you.
  
• What is it NOT good for
• Networking at a business level
• This is largely because the pages can be customized on a large scale.
• People are not forced to use their real names
• MySpace has become a haven for profile spamming
  
• Facebook
• What is it?
• Facebook is a social networking site that originally only catered to college students. It eventually was opened up to high school students and finally everyone.
• Facebook has really taken off lately because it forces a slightly more professional profile and the mini-applications that you can customize your profile with. These mini applications help you create a one stop "home page" as it were.
  
• Who is using it?
• Everyone from professionals to high school students. It does not have quite the same reach as Myspace, but it does have a nice market share of the social networking internet.
• People who want something different then MySpace
• What's Cool About it?
• Some will say that what is cool about Facebook is that "it is not MySpace"
• The mini-applications that you can customize your profile with, or write yourself if you want to do that
• What is Not Good About it
  
• LinkedIn
• What is it?
• A social networking site geared strictly towards professionals. Chances are someone you work with is on this site
• This allows you to grow a professional network of contacts that you can use to help you find a job, get a recommendation/reference, or just to catch up with old co-workers
  
• Who is using it?
• Business professionals who want to keep track of who they know and where those people are.
• People looking to get a new job and they want to know who is where.
• Professionals looking to fill position in their current company from the outside.
• What's Cool About it
• The fact that you can see how you connect to someone is pretty cool
• What is Not Good About it
• The idea of "begging" for a job or help in getting a foot in the door can be something that eerks people
  
• What about offline social networks
• Meetup.com
• Not quite entirely offline, but the meet ups take place offline
• There is a "meetup" for just about every interest
• You can search the meetups by local area
• You can create your own meetup
  

Security & Privacy

• Protecting your privacy on a social network
• On a social network, there is the temptation to give out a lot of information. The more information you give out, the more likely someone you know will be able to find you on the site.
• You have to maintain a certain level of caution when deciding what information you wish to show the public as a whole.
• Facebook gives you several levels of security you can choose when deciding how much you want to show to different kinds of people
• MySpace allows you to make your profile public
• LinkedIn allows to decide to show things only to your contacts or network as a whole
• Also, remember that employers Google potential new hires and your Myspace, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages can show up high on the results list. If you have anything potentially unprofessional on some of these pages, it could harm your chances at getting a job.
  
• For instance, Michael's LinkedIn page comes in as the 4th main result
• It is also good to keep in mind that Google remembers a lot of stuff. The cache that google maintains can hold older versions of your page, or a page that you no longer have that could contain hazardous information.
• Use common sense when deciding what information to post about yourself on the internet. You never know who might find it one day.