Trudging, Nay Gaily Floating, Through the Internets

I do so love the internet, it gives people a wonderful chance to show genuine creativity to the world, as opposed to just a small circle of friends down the local pub. Of course, like the real world (tm?), there is also a lot of sewage generated too. Personally I long since found anything remotely like lolcatz funny, and even at the start I'm not sure it was that funny. Plus being a dog person, the millions of kitten videos that seem to constitute 30% of cyberspace, also leave me rather cold.

I'm an addict, I like to constantly read, see and play with stuff. I have thirty or so websites I visit every single day, which range from eBay to the intermittently offline spEak You're bRanes. Some of them are communities I either directly belong and contribute to, others are groups I lurk around the edges of. One or two are nothing more than news sites with links to other stuff, whilst a few are rarely updated blogs. All contribute to my daily ritual, and I like to think help enrich my life.

If I spent as much time doing things as I thought about them, then perhaps some of my stuff may too be amusing or entertaining others. Hence this blog entry, which is an attempt to begin a course of regular updates discussing the things I'm thinking about doing and then hopefully kicking myself up the proverbial to actually start, or more importantly finish these precious things.

And in the process, because I know that reading text is somewhat old hat, I'll share a few videos I've come across. That way if you find what I write boring, at least you can watch a bit of Telly instead.

Plasma is Dead, Long Live LCD

Not the first article to declare plasma technology dead, at least with regard to the goggle box, the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/external/gigaom/2009/02/21/21gigaom-pioneers-kuro-killing-a-tipping-point-in-the-plas-18932.html"" target="_blank">is covering electronics giant Pioneer's retraction from the TV set game, aiming to have left it completely by some point in 2010. After initial stories of gas leaking out, and expensive units not being watchable after a few years use, most of which I think were either untrue or issues fixed in later models, the main thing that has hurt plasma sales is the rise of LCD.

If you wanted a huge TV set (ie. not a projector) a few years ago, you pretty much had a choice between back projection units or plasma. Now LCD size has grown so rapidly, and prices dropped so fast, plasma never stood a chance in the long run.

An article on Business Week from 2007 forecast plasma's peak in 2008, so it seems everything should come as no shock to the industry, even if the rate at which it is happening might upset those directly involved. All of this makes the European Union's building interest in banning inefficient TV sets such as plasma screens, rather a mute point.

Videos Worth a Watch

Mash-ups are common on the internet, combining footage from various movies together is a mainstay of YouTube. Most of it involves a nice idea, badly executed, or vice versa. Nearly all go on way too long, but not this perfectly formed alternative ending to the original classic movie Back to the Future.



Original music also gets a lot of outings, again most of it not very good. This piece by Dan Bull is a great urban rap entitled Generation Gaming, featuring high production values and that all important accompanying video. When I think of the work that must have gone into this sort of thing, it really makes me wonder if some people are in the wrong job, or whether they just have too much time on their hands. Either way, I'm grateful.