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Fourth Annual Web 2.0 Summit 2007

By StrangeWork.com: Yesterday kicked off the start of the Fourth Annual Web 2.0 Summit 2007. Web 2.0 Summit focuses on emerging business and technology developments that utilize the Web as a platform and defines how the Web will drive business in the future.
Web 2.0 Summit 2007 LogoI was disappointed that there are no live streams of the event that I can find. I was able to find a few live bloggers including Bobbie Johnson of The Guardian, Mitch Wagner of Information Week, and Paul Miller at Nodalities.

The Summit is literally a who’s who of the internet industry. Speakers this year include Steve Ballmer (CEO, Microsoft), Jay Adelson (CEO, Digg/Revision3), Mark Zuckerberg (Founder and CEO, Facebook), and Evan Williams (Co-founder, Twitter) and many many more.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on the news coming from the Summit as many companies love using these conferences as announcement platforms. I hope to attend next year in my orange tuxedo! That should get some attention!

ScrollTalk.com: Dynamic Chat Rooms

By StrangeWork.com: Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending Startup Weekend in West Lafayette, Indiana. After many hours of chewing over ideas we decided on one: ScrollTalk.com.

ScrollTalk.com LogoScrollTalk.com is the next generation dynamic chat space, ranking conversation relevance. ScrollTalk.com is basically a tag based chat room. The user is able to select tags from the conversation which link you to related conversations based on those selected tags.

The site was created and launched in one weekend, but the overall concept is an original idea with plenty of room for growth. Not to mention Indiana was the first Startup Weekend to launch by the end of the weekend. Hoosiers rock!

The ASP.NET 2.0 Anthology Book from SitePoint

By StrangeWork.com: Yesterday I received my new book from SitePoint.com, The ASP.NET 2.0 Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks.ASP.NET 2.0 Anthology Book

After skimming through my new read I must say, SitePoint can write some amazing books! I love how each section is prefaced with a question:

“How do I read data from my database?”
“How do I use source control?”
“How do I require users to log in?”

This method seems to flow easier for me in understanding new development techniques and code.

If you are interested in learning ASP.NET 2.0 using C# or just looking to refine your ASP.NET 2.0 skills then this is a must read.

10 Reasons why I’m buying a 2nd Generation Zune over any Apple iPod

By StrangeWork.com: After a lot of research and a lot of debating I’ve decided to purchase a 2nd Generation Zune instead of any Apple iPod currently on the market. Here is a list of the top 10 reasons why I made this decision.

2nd Generation Zune Family of Products

10. Display – The Zune display is 3.2 inches, which is slightly smaller than the iPod Touch 3.5 inch display, but much larger than the iPod Classics 2.5 inch display.

9. Video Out – The new Zune will have a video out resolution of 720×576 maximum. This is for TV output and easily beats the original Zune’s 320×240 output.

8. Wi-Fi – The Zune features 802.11b/g wireless networking allowing the ability to download music and sync quickly and easily from any Wi-Fi network.

7. Wireless Sharing – will let users share full-length songs, albums, playlists, pictures and even audio podcasts from one Zune to another. Shared songs can be played up to three times with no time restrictions, Microsoft said, and shared songs can also be pass along to other Zune users.

6. FM Tuner – The new Zunes will feature an internal FM Tuner allowing you to listen to local radio stations directly through the Zune. This is a feature that has been lacking on iPods since the beginning. Of course Apple will be happy to sell you an FM Tuner for a small fee of $49.99.

5. Landscape Mode – A feature missing from the classic iPod, Landscape Mode allows you to view videos and images in a nice widescreen format.

4. Zune Social – A new Zune social network will allow members to share their playlists and samples of the songs on their Zunes. Any Zune user will be able to can create a free, customizable Zune Card that automatically updates to reflect the music they are listening to on their Zune or with Zune software on their computer.

3. Zune Marketplace – One major reason the iPod has been so successful is because of iTunes. Until now there hasn’t been a great competitor software package available. The Zune Marketplace is changing that notion. The Zune Marketplace update will offer podcasts and the Music Store will offer one million DRM-free songs.

2. Wireless Sync – The Zune, both 1st and 2nd generation devices, will have the ability to wirelessly sync your music library from your PC using a Wi-Fi network. Imagine a world with no cords!

1. It’s not Apple – Apple has let their success in the past few years go to their head. The iPhone is a great example of Apple’s proprietary vision of what all their devices should be.

Zune Logo

I know this post will generate some controversy so let me go ahead and defend some of the comments I expect to receive:

To anyone that mentions the iPod Touch – Apple’s iPod Touch costs $50 more and has an 8GB hard drive, compared to the 80GB hard drive in the new 2nd generation Zunes. Do you want to store 20,000 songs or 2,000 songs? Next!

To anyone that mentions Microsoft – Yes Microsoft is big, we all know this. Most people are scared of big companies, we know this as well. Why don’t I care? Microsoft has done an amazing job at integrating all of their devices together. My Vista Media Center PC can talk to my Xbox 360 who can then talk to my Zune who can then talk to my Vista PC. My media is instantly shared throughout all of my devices. Make my life easier and I will love you forever!

To anyone that mentions slow Zune sales – According to Wikipedia, Apple sold 376,000 iPods in their first year of production. Microsoft sold 1 million Zunes in their first year of production. Now I understand comparing iPod sales from 2002 to Zune sales from 2007 isn’t apples to apples (pun intended), but it’s a good gauge as to where Microsoft stands. Nobody, including Microsoft, expected to sell 50 million units in one year.

Conclusion – Overall the 2nd Generation Zunes are a pretty amazing mp3 player. Microsoft listened to what people wanted in an mp3 player and incorporated those features in the new Zune.

That is why I will be at the store on November 13th to purchase my brand new Zune!

BlogRush.com: Not Ready for the Blogosphere

By StrangeWork.com: I’ve decided to remove the BlogRush.com widget from my sidebar. If you read my earlier post on BlogRush then you’re familiar with what BlogRush is.

BlogRush.com LogoI gave BlogRush 2.5 weeks to show me some results. What did I get you ask? 3 hits. 3 HITS!

Now I understand I don’t post as much as some of the bigger blogs out there, but 3 hits seems a little low for a “Rush” of blog traffic.

I also was not a big fan of their dashboard. For almost a week the dashboard page had “under construction” banners everywhere. I think overall BlogRush isn’t quite ready to be a mainstream widget. Will they get there someday? Maybe, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Looking for a good alternative? Jeff did a great write-up on CLIQin.com, which now has real estate on my sidebar.

Startup Weekend Indiana: West Lafayette Style

By StrangeWork.com: StartupWeekend.com is coming to Indiana this weekend! If you are unfamiliar with StartupWeekend.com, be sure to read my previous posts. This fast paced weekend begins at 5pm on October 12th and concludes 54 hours later at 11pm October 14th.

StartupWeekend.com LogoIf you are interested in joining us for the weekend be sure to get registered. According to Indiana Business: Ice Miller and Pearl Street Venture Funds are partnering to bring the event to West Lafayette and will both be contributing staff to help work with the new company from its inception.

We are going to have a great time and I’m really looking forward to meeting other innovators in the area! Be sure to check back this weekend as I livestream the event!

Fright Gauge: Are You Scared?

By StrangeWork.com: My web buddy Jeff sent me a great link the other day, Fright Gauge! Halloween Fright Gauge

Fright Gauge is designed to measure your visual acuity. Studies have shown that sight plays a major role in our ability to sense the weird, strange, and supernatural.

People with higher-than-average perception skills studies show, are more likely to notice paranormal phenomena.

Are you scared? BOO! Test your visual acuity.

WouldYou72.com: What Would You Do?

By StrangeWork.com: A new site boasts the question “What would you do for 72 hours straight?”. WouldYou72.com is a 72 hour internet game show. If the contestant can withstand a grueling, no sleep, 72 hour session of some predetermined activity they will win the prize of their choice.
WouldYou72.com Logo
The show is underway with one contestant playing Halo 3 for 72 hours straight. If he can succeed he will win a copy of Halo 3 and an Xbox 360.

WouldYou72.com is a tough challenge. No sleep for 72 hours is hard enough, let alone having to do an activity during that time. It will be interesting to watch this game show evolve as more contests start. Would You 72?

Win a Bloody Wii in the Rockstar Manhunt 2 Sweepstakes

By StrangeWork.com: Rockstar has just announced a new Manhunt 2 Sweepstakes giving you a chance to win a 50″ Plasma TV and a Manhunt 2 Branded Bloody Wii! The contest is free to enter, but you do have to provide name, email, and mailing address. I have to be honest, if they sold this Wii in stores I would go buy one today! But sadly they do not so I will just have to enter this contest and hope for the best.

The entry deadline for the contest is November 20, 2007 so get entered today!

Win A Bloody Wii from Rockstar Games

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Brad Williams Blog

WordPress and the Web

Who is Brad?

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Brad Williams is a computer programmer and tech junkie who enjoys exploring technology and sharing his knowledge and experience with others.

 

CEO of WebDevStudiosMaintainn, and Pluginize. Co-author of Professional WordPress and Professional WordPress Plugin Development.

 

Brad resides in Philadelphia.

 

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