Jason Shaffer and I launched a new podcast this week. It’s called Buzzword Bingo and will focus mainly on enterprise-slanted technology trends. But we’ll also cover other Internet-related news and products that we like.

What’s most interesting about this podcast is that we’re releasing it in video and audio forms. I’ll save the details about the show production for a later post, but the video portion is being hosted on blip.tv and the audio portion is hosted on our own server at buzzwordbingo.tv. Both versions are accessible through iTunes as well.

So, check it out, If you like it, please leave comments so that we can make it better.

In the year 2525, people will look back at the music of the 2010’s and know that it all started here. I know that is a bold statement, but I haven’t seen anything so revolutionary in technology since iPhone launched almost two years ago. Nobody would argue that the iPhone hasn’t changed mobile computing forever. Likewise, I believe there will be little arguing that Kutiman hasn’t changed music for at least the next ten years.

The Mother of all Mash-ups

Kutiman took seemingly unrelated Youtube videos of people playing musical instruments and mixed them together to form songs. He didn’t just use the audio, though. That would have been kewl on its own, but not necessarily revolutionary. He also used the video.

If you are familiar with audio sampling techniques, you can apply to same logic to the process. But Kutiman added the synchronized video to the sample. In some cases the samples are very short, like a single note or tap. He used these samples to develop melodies and rhythms that weren’t in the original videos. In other cases, he used long clips of singing, rapping, talking, etc as primary vocal tracks.

The result is a menagerie of sensory disbelief, where amazing songs flow with skips of video from normal people doing normal things together making extraordinary music.

Legal Eagle

I hope he has a good lawyer, though. Like many before him, he is pushing the limits of copyright “fair use”. That might be why his album is free and there isn’t even one ad on his web site. Big media is desperately trying to force consumers into the traditional models of media consumption in order to preserve their dwindling revenue streams. This strong-arm tactic is necessary because they have yet to figure out a business model for this generation of content distribution.

Enjoy it While it Lasts

So, before the cease and desist notices start flying, Go out and enjoy the best example of art and technology that we’ve seen so far this century. Even better, fire up your favorite video editor and do something amazing yourself.

“Remember, the only person who can sit on your ass, is you.” –merlin mann

Next in my iRecommend series is something free (as in beer). I’ve been using Boxee in private alpha for two months now. Boxee turns my Mac Mini and HDTV into a home theater powerhouse without the fuss of many alternate platforms out there.

When I launch Boxee, my Mac Mini transforms into a remote-friendly media center with access to all of my movies, pictures and music without the need for a keyboard or mouse. The content available isn’t limited to just my own digital media. Boxee’s slick interface alows you to play movies and music from many of the popoular online companies like Hulu, CBS, MTV and even….drum role please…Netflix. Yes, if you are a Netflix subscriber (and why aren’t you at a measly $9.95 per month) you can stream any of their 12,000+ titles through Boxee on your TV.

“Look Ma, no computer!”

Before the purists chime in, yes, I know that there are other devices that stream Netflix to your TV without a computer. But Boxee does so much more. Think of Boxee as modern-day “rabbit ears” that are capable of tuning into lots of TV “stations” on the Internet for free! (note: if you are younger than 25, you probably don’t know what rabbit ears are anyway, I apologize for the inconvenience).

But wait, there’s more! In addition to Boxee’s media features, it adds social networking to it’s already impressive line up. Now you can easily share and recommend what you are watching to your friends without leaving the comfort of your couch. Your viewing and listening habits are only shared with those that you have “friended” through the boxee.tv web interface. This of course, is an optional feature that can be disabled in the Boxee settings.

Consumers are quickly embracing on-demand programming on the Internet. Boxee not only makes that easier, but it converges social networking and TV which is the future of consumer entertainment. Enjoy!

This the first post in a new series that I’m calling iRecommend (rss). These posts will have their own category (and therefore a unique RSS feed). The inspiration for this stems from a few of my friends who told me that they would subscribe to an RSS feed of stuff that I thought was kewl. This “stuff” may be software or hardware. It might also be music, books, movies or TV (but book recommendations are very unlikely since I rarely read anymore - sad, i know).

My first installment in this series is an iPhone game called Rolando (App Store link). This was a highly anticipated title that was announced around the time that the iPhone SDK was announced last March. It was finally released last month and it certainly lives up to the hype.

I’m not planning to provide a full review of items in these posts, but the gameplay is simple and uses the iPhone accelerometer effectively. If you are new to iPhone gaming, this title is a great example of the “input via movement” that the iPhone accelerometer provides.

The story isn’t complex, yet fun and you can play this game in short spurts, which is a must these days for me. I don’t have time to immerse myself in a 75-hour game. There are people who like those titles, but I’m not one of them. I want to get into a game, get out when I’m interrupted and resume when I’m ready.

The price is $9.99 which is on the high side for iPhone applications, but it’s a relative steal when you compare that to the price of games on other mobile consoles like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. Plus, this game is every bit as good (if not better).

Recently, I needed an Apache server to test a web application that I’m working on. In times past, that would have been a painful process. First I would have had to pick and install a linux distribution. Then install Apache and MySQL.

Now, however, with the increased popularity of VMware, there are many freely available virtual appliances that can easily be downloaded from the Web. After a little searching I found a LAMP virtual appliance at virtualappliances.net. LAMP stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP, all of which are pre-installed and ready-to-go. The Linux distribution is Ubuntu Server (which happens to be my preferred distro these days).

Once you have the virtual appliance downloaded and decompressed, you will need to install the VMware Tools in order to get decent performance. This was the tricky part with this virtual appliance. Ubuntu Server isn’t one of the officially supported distributions for VMware. That’s fine, though, because the VMware Tools installer will compile the drivers automatically for the installed Linux kernel if you do a little prep work first.

First, you’ll need to install gcc and the other default build tools (like make). The Ubuntu (and Debian) package manager, apt, makes this really easy:

apt-get install build-essential

You’ll need to run this as root (which is the default login for this virtual appliance). This command goes out to the Ubuntu servers and downloads the default build tools that VMware will need to compile the drivers.

apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

This downloads the appropriate linux kernel headers that VMware will need for a successful compile. After those two simple steps are complete, you can follow the standard VMware Tools install process. After selecting Install VMware Tools from the Virtual Machine menu, the process looked like this:

Don’t get hung up on the VMware Tools version, it will probably be different on your system. On most systems you don’t have to create the /media/cdrom directory, but this virtual appliance didn’t include it. That’s it, you now have a working LAMP (no pun intended).

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

As a customer, how do big companies communicate with you? Does that communication feel cold and impersonal?

Massive out-dialing campaigns and email blasts just don’t cut it anymore for corporate communication. One could argue that they have never been effective. But, for many years, there were no other options that scaled well for mass communication.

How can companies communicate with their customers on a more personal level today? Beyond in-person communication, which is still the most effective, in this Web 2.0 world, what mode of communication can actually improve customer retention and brand loyalty?

I’ve recently noticed big companies flocking to Twitter. Twitter is a Web 2.0, social conversation service. It is most effective as a micro-blogging tool where each post has to be summarized in 140 characters or less. So, each post is equal to one (hopefully complete) thought. It is especially effective at simulating water cooler conversations for distributed participants.

On Twitter, you find individuals that are of some interest to you (personally and/or professionally) and follow them. Their posts are then combined with all of the posts from the people you follow into a stream of conversations also known as your feed.

It’s a simple concept, really, but Twitter users don’t limit their posts to corporate jargon. Sure, you’ll find plenty of that. But often, Twitter users’ posts are more personal (in a good way of course). Because of this, you feel more connected to the people you follow than if you were simply reading their blog, listening to their podcast or getting email from them.

So, how should companies use Twitter to communicate to their customers? I see three main tactics that are being used today with varying effectiveness.

Just the Facts Ma’am

Some companies on Twitter use the medium in exactly the same way they use email. Their posts feel like they’ve been through 3 layers of marketing and 2 layers of legal (or maybe its the other way around). There is no personality behind the company, just the cold, hard facts.

Obviously, this isn’t the right approach to use on Twitter. My advice to companies doing this: go back to bulk email and snail-mail. You obviously don’t get social networking and collaboration.

Add the Personal Touch

A better use of Twitter is to put a personality behind the company name. Give ownership of the company’s Twitter feed to an individual or a small group and give them some freedom (this is where all of the corporate lawyers get nervous).

@coldfusion is a great example of this. @mikeysan is a Macintosh/iPhone developer that I follow. He had an issue with Adobe’s Cold Fusion and posted his opinion on Twitter:

@coldfusion responded with this:

You see what happened here? There is a real person behind @coldfusion and their sense of humor came out in the response. I personally found this very funny and it improved my brand awareness of Adobe’s Cold Fusion in the process. This level of intimacy with customers simply isn’t possible with email.

Represent

Another very effective way for companies to use Twitter is to allow individual representation. In other words, allow some (preferably high level) employees to represent the company in this public forum. The reason that high-level participants are preferred is due to name recognition. A John Chambers or Bill Gates are sure to attract a large group of followers. But it doesn’t have to be someone that high up the chain.

Padmasree Warrior is Cisco’s new Chief Technology Officer. She is also on Twitter. Her posts are sometimes personal and sometimes professional (just like many Twitter users). For example, last night, I know that Padmasree had a very long day and she was about to relax and watch the Olympics with a glass of wine:

On the other hand, I’ve actually had a conversation with her on Twitter about what the “next phase of the Internet” really means. You can click ont eh thumbnail image to read the whole conversation if you are interested.

Another note to companies: This is the most effective and appropriate use of Twitter. Customers feel a real connection to your company leaders and it will go a long way towards customer retention.

Here are a few companies that I know about on Twitter. I either follow them directly or I’ve seen them mentioned in conversations from users that I follow.

@comcastcares - Comcast
@Marvel - Marvel Comics
@coldfusion - Adobe Cold Fusion
@ciscoit - Cisco IT
@Cisco_UC - Cisco Unified Communications
@ev - Even Williams (a co-founder of Twitter)
@danyork - (Voxeo CTO Office)
@kevinrose - Founder of Digg
@appleinc - Apple, Inc.

What companies do you follow on Twitter? Are they using Twitter effectively?

There’s a lot of negative press around the iPhone 3G’s battery life. I don’t own a 3G yet, but I’ve carried my trusty 2G for over a year now. Yes, I was one of the Fan-Boys who payed $600 and waited in line for an 8-Gig iPhone. At least I got $100 back from Apple (it’s better than nothing).

There are plenty of battery saving tips published already. I’m not going to re-hash those here. I actually get more than a day out of my iPhone 2G with normal use. That’s as good as any smart phone I’ve ever owned.

I’m concerned about heavy-use days, however. With iPhone OS 2.0 and the App Store, there are a lot more heavy-use days.

So, I bought a mophie extended battery. I heard about the mophie on MacBreak Weekly. If you are a Mac owner and don’t listen to MBW, run, don’t walk to iTunes and subscribe immediately.

The mophie is an extended battery in the form of an iPhone case. It connects via the dock connector and charges the iPhone as if it were plugged into a wall power adapter.

The mophie adds some bulk to the iPhone. When connected, my iPhone feels similar in size to the old Treo 650 I used to carry around.

Actually, the Treo is thicker in some spots. I carried that phone for two years, so the iPhone with a mophie used occasionally is definitely worth the extra bulk.

One nice feature about the mophie is the cut-out design for the iPhone speaker and mic. It simulates what I often find myself doing with my hand. That is: making a cup shape around the speaker so that I can hear it better. With the mophie attached, the speaker volume is much better.

The price is a little steep at $100 and there isn’t an iPhone 3G version yet. According to the mophie web site, they will begin shipping the 3G version in late September. Given the decreased battery life with 3G and GPS, the mophie will probably be an essential accessory when I upgrade.

I’ve had it with my current hosting provider for mylenbusch.org. So, I’m in the process of changing to hostmonster.com. The move will take a few days. Thanks for your patience.

My loathing of the airline industry seems to increase every time the price of oil increases. Airlines continue to cancel flights, delay flights and overbook to extreme excess. Now, many routes that I like to take from my originating city, St. Louis, are being removed altogether. Ironically, I’m writing this on an MD-80 parked on the tarmac waiting for the ground stoppage in DFW to clear. This is getting ridiculous.

For our recent 10-year anniversary trip, I wanted to book our travel from St. Louis to Chicago by plane. It’s only a 5 1/2 drive, but the cost of parking in downtown Chicago added $30 - $40 per day to the already high cost of gas. Plus, I would end up driving and Melody would probably sleep and read.

Plane tickets with two weeks notice were in the $270 range (per person) even on discount carriers! Ouch. At that point I thought about the train. After pricing the trip from Chicago to St. Louis on Amtrak, I was pleasantly surprised. The round-trip tickets were $130 a piece. Nice! But, was this a “get what you pay for” situation?

I have never before traveled by train in the States. I guess there are a few exceptions to that statement if you count the monorail at Disney and the Baldknobber Train at Silver Dollar City. But seriously, it’s never occurred to me as a travel option before.

When I was in Europe, I had a different perspective altogether. Traveling via train was my first choice. My train excursions took me from Brussels to Amsterdam to Frankfurt and then to Munich. The Amsterdam to Frankfurt route was the high speed version. At one point were were moving along at 300 KPH (that’s about 185 MPH). To date, that is the fastest that I have ever traveled on the ground. Unfortunately, high speed trains require upgraded tracks. So not all routes in Europe offer this service.

According to Wikipedia, the only high-speed route in the United States is the Acela Express which services the Northeast Corridor. The Acela Express is operated by Amtrak.

There are a few efforts underway to get some high-speed tracks built in Texas and California. But, even if they are approved, they are years, if not decades away from offering service. If we could have accurately predicted the emerging energy crisis 20 years ago, work on track systems like Acela would have been a high priority item for voters. But America’s love-affair with their cars and the cheap price of gas slowed and in some cases stopped the track upgrade efforts around the country.

Disney vacationers from the Washington DC area have an interesting option. Amtrak offers an Auto Train between Lorton, Virginia and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando). You actually park your car or van on the train and then ride in the passenger cars to Orlando. That way you don’t have to rent a car in Florida. I wish we had that option from St. Louis. Renting a van for a week at Disney costs $500 or more.

We boarded the train at the St. Louis station at 6:30AM. Our coach seats were quite comfortable. In fact, on the train back from Chicago, the coach seats were nicer than the typical First Class seats on my domestic American Airlines flights. They reclined well, there was plenty of leg room and the seats included a leg-rest.

The best part: my Verizon EVDO data card worked almost the whole way. And each seat had a “regular” power jack. So I was able to surf the web and watch movies without battery drain.

Amtrak offers sleeper cars for long trips. Our 6 hour trip to Chicago was enjoyable, but even in a sleeper car, I can’t imagine a 30+ hour ride. Many on board were booked for that or longer. So you probably won’t see me traveling to Dallas or San Francisco by Amtrak any time soon. But I will choose them again for short trips.

By now the storms have passed through DFW and we’re about to take off. Adding together the 1.5 hour flight, tarmac time and airport time, my trip to Dallas will take almost 5 hours. Maybe the train to Dallas is an option after all.

(Flickr: Aaronyx)

This is a chilling image. As a parent of three young boys it actually scares me. It scares me to think about the amount of time they spend in front of the TV. Television is our modern-day hypnotist. It is often a pacifier for parents too stressed to address a hyperactive child.

I’m not suggesting that families go radical and throw away their TVs. But most likely we could all cut our children’s TV-time at least in half. The long-term effects of being “plugged into the Matrix” are probably different for each child, but I doubt anyone would argue that a reduction in its use won’t have a positive impact on their development.

So here’s a place to start. NFLrush.com has a promotion on their site called NFL Play 60. The idea is to suggest outdoor activities that kids can do for 60 minutes a day. I think 60 minutes a day is a great starting point. I’ll bet the average is much lower than that.

I’m going to give it a try, and I hope you will too.