Daniel Hardy

On Demand has Arrived

When I was growing up I remember seeing commercials by AT&T that showed all kinds of “future” technology like the smart fridge or the automated home.  The point of the commercial was that AT&T was the company that would enable you to enjoy this type of connectivity.

The one commercial that I remember being most impressed by showed two children selecting a movie from their TV.  Once the movie was selected it instantly started playing.  At the time (guessing 1996-8) there was nothing like this.  There was no Youtube or iTunes.  There was really no media streaming to speak of.  The average home was just starting to get online.

Fast-forward to present time and it appears AT&T’s commercial is now a reality.  Cox Communications recently launched an on demand service.  This is true on demand television. Simply pick out the show you wish to watch and hit play.  The show starts instantly.  From here you can fast-forward, rewind and even pause.

The system works pretty smooth overall.  This is not to say that there isn’t room for improvement.  There is no search functionality and the navigation is slow and ugly(8 bit).  Both of these could easily be resolved and may be related to my older cable box.  It would also be nice if the shows would remain available for an indefinite amount of time.  Currently they are available for a set period and after that they are replaced by newer programming.

Even with its short commings it is definetly worth a try.  If you are a Cox digital tv subscriber simply turn to channel 01 and enjoy.

WordPress 2.5 Upgrade

I decided to take a minute and update my WordPress install to the new and improved WordPress 2.5.  I must say I really like the new look and feel.  It is light, clean and appears to run a bit faster.  It is clear that they had input from a usability expert as it utilizes many techniques I employ daily.

The only change that I am not sold on is the idea of having the categories located below the post.  To me this just makes it easier to forget to adjust/add the proper categories for each post.  For many users this information will be below the fold making it difficult to find.

One area major advancements where made in is the handling of pictures and other media types.  There is a new multi-file uploader that is simple and easy to use.  It even gives you a preview after the upload allowing you to verify that the proper files where uploaded.

If you are a current WordPress user or are considering starting a blog, I highly recommend upgrading to the newest version.

[Update] Blacklisted by Microsoft

I recently wrote a post discussing the strange behavior of Live.com.  It appears that the search results for “Daniel Hardy” have changed again at live.com.  They have returned to there original state.

This really makes me wish I would have taken a screen shot.

Blacklisted by Microsoft

When I started this blog I paid careful attention to my search rankings at the big three search engines (google, yahoo, and live.com) for the term “Daniel Hardy”. Shortly after its inception I was able to snag the #1 slot at Live.com, #3 slot at yahoo.com and #4 slot at google.com. Today the picture has changed a bit with the most interesting jump coming from Live.com.

It appears that I am no longer listed at Live.com. I am not sure how this works as my rankings on the other two have increased to #1 at yahoo and #2 at google. The conspiracy theorist in me (while small) thinks that perhaps all the discussions of Ubuntu are at the root of this decline. More likely this is a great demonstration of what a difference there is between these search providers.

Personally I find this difference to be extremely valuable. It is like a second opinion or another perspective on a given topic. Unfortunately one of these companies may soon be broken apart and melted into one of the other two. Hopefully this will not be the case but it is a tough world and Google is a monster of a competitor.

Site Change

Well, I said a while back that I would be changing the theme. Over the last several months I have struggled with creating a theme that I felt was good enough and fit my personal style. Today I have finally given up. This theme could be considerable better on multiple fronts and doesn’t fulfill the previous statements but I decided it was finally time to just post something. I am not sure how long it will stick around for but at least I got it up.

The power of Apple shows up on Digg.com

Last week Apple announced several new iPods and of course Digg was yet again consumed by the mighty Apple. As I was surfing I noticed that the “Top 10 in All Topics” was displaying a majority of Apple related articles. You know your company has a loyal following when you can occupy a majority of top articles at one of the biggest social media sites in the world by simply announcing a few new products.

Pushing the limits

Every once in a while when I need some creative inspiration I will go out and look for something that is unique or different in music. I have compiled a short list of several acts that push the envelope of their given instrument or genera. I hope you enjoy their talents and unique style as much as I do. In no particular order…
Flutebox: Inspector Gadget Remix

Andy Mckee: Drifting

Jake Shimabukuro: While my guitar gently weeps

Paul Date and inka one: Violin Hip-Hop

Alex Depue:Owner of a Loney Heart & Smooth Criminal

Back From the Great Wide Wilderness

I made it out of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness alive. I have upload a few pictures to my Flickr Account from the trip in case anyone is interested in what it is like to “rough” it.

Let me know what you think of the new site

Let me know what you think of the new site. It still has a ways to go but I think it is certainly more entertaining that previous versions.

For those of you in IE6 or less please use a better browser ;) as it will significantly change the viewing experience.

New look and feel

Well I decided I would launch my new look and feel. It still has several small problems and I haven’t got a chance to go through it with Microsoft Internet Explorer (one of the perks of using Linux ;) ). Never the less let me know what you think. Also keep and eye on the site as I am going to be adding several subtle features.