I work with Andy here at DVFilm. He's a budding director. He recently showed me a music video he shot in California. It looked great. I guess I can say I helped a smidgen. Before he shot the video, he practiced on me to try out some new equipment. Click HERE, right click on burning.mov and download the file before playing . I'll just sit back and wait to be discovered now!
Check out Andy's Braveheart 2000 Trailer which did well in the Unnecessary Sequels contest.
If I needed proof I have too much technology in my home, my 10 year old made it crystal clear this evening. Cassidy wanted to watch a TV show in my office on our Samsung. I have it set to cycle through the High-Definition stations only with the antenna setting set to over the air. You have to switch the antenna setting to Cable to get all the stations available in our other rooms that are connected to our basic cable. Anyway, she couldn't find the station she wanted. She DID know how to use the XBOX360 connected to the Samsung to access Windows Media Center on my PC. So she fired THAT up, selected My TV and promptly began streaming Live TV from the PC (with a TV tuner card) to the XBOX so she can watch it on our HDTV which is also connected to cable! Caramba!
In light of this weeks announcement about the new XBOX Elite, I thought I'd post about my recent XBOX 360 experience. I picked up a used XBOX 360 on Craig's list about three weeks ago. It was a bundle with tons of accessories and I have been extremely pleased with the system.
The system is a Core with a hard disk added. It included component cables, a wireless adapter (though I have the box wired to my network), a plug-and-play adapter for the wireless controller, an extra wired controller, a Microsoft wireless headset, 2 64mb memory cards, a Microsoft Driving Wheel, about 9 months left in a Gold Live account, an extra 1-year subscription to Live, a Gears of War branded hard carrying case, and 5 games (Gears of War, Rainbow Six Las Vegas, Need for Speed Carbon, Tiger Woods Golf, Tony Hawk's Project 8).
I was unable to get the component cables working to my HD TV for a while. My first calls to Microsoft and Samsung, did not result in a solution, though access to their Tech support was good and the technicians were friendly. After buying a component cable for my DVD player to rule out any problem with the TV, I called Microsoft for a second time. Again, I was pleased with the access and this time they were able to solve the problem. My TV was saying the signal from the component was unrecognized. I was unable to try changing the HD setting on the XBOX because no picture would appear, and if I used a different connection from the XBOX, the HD settings were disabled! Seems the key was to plugin the component but ALSO plugin the yellow composite cable so the XBOX detected component, enabling the HD settings, and I could get a video signal to the TV using the yellow composite cable. After changing the HD setting to 720p or higher it worked.
I always said I wouldn't buy an XBOX 360 until I could hook it up to a HD TV. Boy, was I right. HD gaming is beautiful and the only way to go.
Gears of War has been a blast. Again, playing the campaign co-op with David is a huge bonding experience and the game is terrific. BTW, there is a setting to turn off Extreme Content. It earns it's M rating with extreme violence (what do you expect with a chainsaw attached to you rifle?) and mature language (several F-bombs). We also hook up with Ed in the evening. Being able to play co-op with a friend online using headsets is a great experience as well since there is no split-screen. Co-op only works with two people. I wish it supported more.
So the XBOX Elite has been officially announced. I think the price is great if you're buying new. For an extra $80 above the price of the premium you get the bigger hard drive ($179 sold separately), you get new HDMI cables (not that big a deal, though there is disagreement from some, consensus is that it is equivalent to component), and you get a transfer cable to move your content between the old and new HD. The console itself is black and I'm sure it is sweet. There is really no new features, it's all packaging and accessories which I could get for my 360 so in that respect, current owners shouldn't feel left out. It's silly to whine about being left behind. There is ALWAYS something better around the corner in every electronic device you buy. The fact they did not lower the price, but make the new skew a great bargain makes this announcement a win win for old and new fans alike.
Aaron talks about and points to a good article about Lifestyle Businesses.
How much money does a person need after all? After a few millions or even 12 million (for a 50k monthly income at %5 return) as mentioned in the article, it seems you're just greedy to go after more for yourself. Now making more for your employees is another thing. I think the disparity between the lowest paid employee and higest paid is obscene in most companies.
My recent experiences with Craig's List and Austin FreeCycle make me yearn for an opportunity to develop a swapping service that I've had on the back burner.
Online classifieds work. And people don't necessarily need to make money off of their possessions they are willing to part with.
I was shopping for a loft bed for Cassidy and Craig's list delivered a resident here in Austin that was willing to sell me her gently used one for 40% of the cost of a new one. I loved it so much and it worked out in Cassidy's room so well that I bought a SECOND one, on Craig's list for again, roughly for the same discount. I even negotiated $50 off the price by agreeing to disassemble the bed myself.
More recently, I used Austin FreeCycle to get rid of an old Sony 32" TV that I no longer wanted. It worked but was falling apart and I didn't care to take the time to fix what was wrong with it. Austin FreeCycle delivered eight interested parties within 12 hours.
All this took some time and travel (contacting and waiting for replies, coordinateing schedules, borrowing pickups, driving across town). How wonderful would it have been if I could have scheduled the same transacations in my immediate neighborhood.
I learned of a recent campaign by Microsoft, to encourage bloggers to write about Windows Vista, from Joel. Specifically, they sent new high-end laptops loaded with Windows Vista, to selected bloggers asking them to try the OS and laptop out and blog about it. The recipients were free to keep, return or give away the laptops afterward. Apparently, Microsoft adjusted their offer and asked for the laptops back.
Since laptops were sent unsolicited, I don't automatically conclude that the gesture was unethical and that any blogger accepting the laptops are unethical for not immediately returning them.
When I get an unsolicited survey with a "dollar" included in the envelope, I don't bother to mail it back. I also don't fill out the survey.
Even if no quid-pro-quo is formally required, the gift creates a social obligation of reciprocity. This is best explained in Cialdini's book Influence (a summary is here). The blogger will feel some obligation to return the favor to Microsoft.
Certainly, the blogger MAY feel an obligation and with full disclosure the reader can decide for himself whether to give the blogger's review any credence. But to assume a gift recipient's review will be biased is unfair. Otherwise, it would seem to follow that no public official should accept any non-anonymous donations otherwise the donation could be seen as a bribe.
Having said that. Anyone that takes the stance that Joel has taken to eliminate any appearance of favoritism, by refusing any "gifts" has my respect and their opinion will be more highly regarded by me.
Related: A Sell-Out's Tale
The fact that I got better with beer proves that bowling is not a sport.
Good thread discussing what to do when asked about "salary requirements"
Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy posts his rules to work and live by
