Ikariam
So evil Joe has introduced me to another time sink, but one right up my alley. Ikariam is a free web-based empire building game, I just started and it looks like a lot of fun. The best part is that it doesn’t look like it takes a ton of time, just a few minutes to catchup and you can ignore it for a few days without much going wrong.
TGISource did a good review of the game:
Essentially, the game is empire-building. You register an account, choose a world (server) to play on, and then you’re plopped down on a random island. A big part of the game involves building up your town, doing research, and managing resources. Which, of course, ends up being pretty fun. Harvesting of materials and research is automatic, and the only decision to be made is how many citizens to devote to each (citizens without specific tasks will generate gold).
The big test will be time and if my interests keep up with the game. Of course, the first time my butt gets kicked might also have an impact.
ThePlanet Pain
Boom went the DNS hosting facility. Looks like my email and site were caught in the current ongoing drama over at ThePlanet.com. I only had my DNS routed through them but that was enough to take it all down. I’m not as concerned since DNS has a nice way to catching up once the NS server is back up, which as of a few minutes ago it was for me. Pretty scary to think of a explosion taking out a few walls though.
Disqus
I’m officially done with dealing with comment spam on this blog, and have moved comments to use Disqus. It helped that AVC once again mentioned the company right when I was thinking about what to do. Disqus was very easy to install on Wordpress, it took all of two steps and 5 minutes.
Wordpress for iPhone
Just added the iWPhone Plugin for Wordpress, that creates a really nice looking version of this blog if you are using an iPhone, like I am prone to do.
Totally easy to install and looks painless so far, took all of 2 minutes and didn’t require me to touch my current theme… beautiful.
1000 True Fans
Kevin Kelly has a very interesting post for artists; blockbuster hits are not necessary, you only need to engage 1000 True Fans.
A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.
I feel this is great advice for any artist that wants to live by their art, and the internet makes this effective. A 1000 is a manageable number and is not too intimidating, easy to wrap your head around.
As for the artists that I am a True Fan (or could be), Big Head Todd does a pretty good job (but direct blogging by Todd would be great), NIN is already a superstar but still does a great job for what I’m looking for, and Pete Miser needs to get with the program (he even works in IT!). And yes, I have diverse music taste.
Thanks to Seth.
Google Hosted App vs. Gmail
I switched over to Gmail from Yahoo Mail years ago and I moved to a Google Hosted App soon after. I have been using it for quite some time but I am thinking it may be time to switch back to Gmail.
- Both are pretty much the same technology and interface
- To use Google Reader I need to use my Gmail Google Account
- I can’t import my contacts into any web service since most only offer Gmail/YMail/Hotmail options
- Gmail gets new features before Hosted
- Hosted is handy to create sub-accounts for my domain but I don’t tend to use this
Granted, I don’t know of any way to merge my two accounts and it’s always a pain to have archives floating in different places. Something to look into.
FriendFeed
One of the reasons I have resisted going too crazy with Twitter et al is the time needed and the danger of “yet another place to update.” I’m actually trying to keep an open mind and see how each of these services can be helpful in their own way.
Latest to the list is a service I have a lot of hopes for, FriendFeed. This is one of the most complete aggregation services that I have seen, and gives a great snapshot of what a person is doing. It’s a snap to add services and the display is pretty clean. Now to run it through its paces and see if it keeps being useful.
The site is in closed beta, but I signed up and got an invite later that day, so they can’t be that restrictive. 
Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook
After much avoiding, I have finally started to checkout some of the “other” social platforms beyond the more typical Myspace and Facebook.
Twitter is a micro blogging platform, allowing for quick Text messages of 180 of less characters. Think of it as just updating your Facebook status. This is especially handy for SMS and mobile phones (but also has Web/IM integration) and for observational posts. You can send a twit to someone by including the @ sign before their nickname, “@acky I am on Twitter!”
Tumblr is more of a multimedia aggregation site, that can pull in your Twitter, Blog and other feeds as well as post audio, video, photos or quotes/links. Right now I have my Tumblr pulling in my blog, flickr, Google Reader shared items, Twitter and my Facebook status. Linking my Facebook status into Twitter was my first question that I have, but it was dead simple to get tumblr to get it.
Updating Twitter with your Facebook status:
Someone has created a php script, Twitterbook that will update Twitter with your status. The instructions were a bit off given that FB has changed its interface since the instructions were written, but someone in the comments gave the correct instructions for finding your FB status feed.
Finding your Facebook Status feed:
1) Go to your profile
2) Under Mini-Feed click “See All”
3) Click on Status Stories
4) You will see a link labeled “My Status” under the View menu
So Facebook will update Twitter that will update Tumblr or Facebook can update Tumblr directly.
So why all the different platforms?
- Twitter for the short obersations and rapid discussions
- Tumblr for the audio, video and aggregation
- Blog for the longer more detailed (and less often) posts
- Facebook for the social and games
[Update: There is also a Facebook Twitter app that will allow you update your FB status from Twitter.
Tech Logo Evolution
A great post from Neatorama on the evolution of some tech companies logos, with an interesting history of them. As you can see by the image, Apple is included, as is Google, IBM, and others.
Rumor has it that the bite on the Apple logo was a nod to Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science who committed suicide by eating a cyanide-laced apple. Janoff, however, said in an interview that though he was mindful of the “byte/bite” pun (Apple’s slogan back then: “Byte into an Apple”), he designed the logo as such to “prevent the apple from looking like a cherry tomato.” (Source)
In 1998, supposedly at the insistence of Jobs, who had just returned to the company, Apple replaced the rainbow logo (”the most expensive bloody logo ever designed” said Apple President Mike Scott) with a modern-looking, monochrome logo.
Thanks to TechCrunch.
