commandN #151 (October 3, 2008)

Downloads are here!

• H264
• MP4
• AVI
• WMV
• iPod

headLINES

• Men happiest online
• NPR builds online community
• MI6 recruits on Facebook
• YouTube launches more analytics
• Letterman bashes McCain
• VoteForChange
• Twitter launches election site

techTIPS - Web Video Format Picks

• Flash
• H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC)
• Windows Media Video (WMV)
• MPEG-4 Part 2 (ASP)

webPICKS

• Facebook 2.0 on iPhone
• iPhone icon coasters

Other sites where you can see commandN

YouTube, Yahoo, Metacafe, DailyMotion, Crackle, Imeem and Viddler

Comments

[Sgt Ret]

Waiting up for the OJ Verdict, commandN popped up on RSS Feed, so I couldn't go to bed without catching it. No direct downloads available I watched it from the site. The difference in quality between watching it online and seeing it h264 viewed with VLC is amazing. I'll wait for the direct downloads next time.
Please tone down the explosions between sections. With earphones on they are still uncomfortable.
The rest of the show was spot on!

[Ira]

"...After much soul-searching (it's not you, it's me), for personal reasons, Techspansion is closing its virtual doors."

Techspansion created the wonderful video and audio conversion applications VisualHub and/or AudialHub. I first learned about VisualHub

Best of luck to you Tyler Loch (Techspansion's founder) in your future endeavors!

[Amber Mac]

Before anyone mentions it, I realize I said M16 vs. MI6. I think I had violence on my mind ;).

[Jim Williams]

I am getting sick and tired of you guys talking about our countries politics on your technology video podcast. Would you please stop.

[Jeff MacArthur]

IRA: Yeah, that's sad about Techspansion. Kinda wish they at least had the final version up somewhere for their great apps (VisualHub/AudioHub especially).

Jeff

[Philip Roy]

Jeff, if you are a registered user you can email and get a final copy (I did), but too late for those that aren't. It was useful for me, as my version has been auto-updating, so I didn't have the very last disk image.

Also, the VisualHub forum is open and a few of us have started posting in there hoping the developer will make it open source, so go to the forum and join the call if you wish.

Cheers, Phil

[Amber Mac]

Thanks fora ll the feedback! @Jim - obviously any political mentions will stop very soon ;), but we do get a lot of emails/links from folks who are interested in this topic.

[Sonny Bui]

I have been unable to get commandN over to my 80 GB iPod Classic, since episode 148. What's going on? This is just a bummer.

[Fibonacci]

Totally dug the hair on this episode!

Just want to offer an argument for the keeping the political stuff. So much of the direction of technology depends on the political atmosphere that not covering it at all would be an omission. I don't want to direct anyone to vote a particular way, although I am heavily invested in my candidate, but I do think as technologists in one form or the other we ALL have a responsibility to understand all the issues and choose the person we think best capable to navigate those issues in a complex world. Most folks don't understand the technologies (online or off) and how easily they can be taken away or altered. As folks who do understand these technologies we should talk about politics from time to time. That is all.

Thanks for all the episodes! Keep 'em coming.

[Chris]

Hey Sonny,
What format are you sending to your iPod... is it the iPod format, the mp4 or the h264?

[Sam]

M sixteen? Really Amber? Did you ever watch the Bond movies? It's M.I. 6 As in the Letters M and I as in Iowa. Made me laugh hard. Your make-up looks great this episode. Keep up the great work.

[Sam]

BTW It's not just Bond movies: http://www.sis.gov.uk/output/sis-or-mi6-what-s-in-a-name.html

[ChrisM70]

There is nothing wrong with Canadians or any other foreigners voicing their opinions about American elections - it's called FREEDOM. Amber, Jeff, Will, or any other non-American... feel free to say anything you want! You may not live in the U.S., but American leadership effects more people than just those inside our borders.

It's just unfortunate that Americans don't take as much interest in learning about foreign countries and their issues. How many Americans could say they know who the leader of Canada is or that there is an election coming up in a few weeks?

Americans should spend a little more time paying attention the rest of the world, or we might start making mistakes, like thinking that Spain is located in Latin America.
(oops... John McCain already did!)
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2008/09/john-mccain-thi.html

[Jeff MacArthur]

I think the important thing to keep in perspective is that commandN doesn't cover ANY news to further a political end.

There are lots of other places for direct political discourse - when we cover something that has any political dimension, we're covering the technology, or the use of the technology, not the ideology of any particular party or person.

And, of course, "the opinions expressed are those of the individual in question, not of commandN" :-) .

Thanks for watching!

Jeff

[kingsun]

When do we get the "Amber" ringtone or an "Amber ft Merlin" remix?

Keep up the great work.

[Hooner]

I'm surprised that you guys openly asked for suggestions on what dances we'd like to see. I'm even MORE surprised that no one has made any suggestions yet!

I think you should keep it simple and do the sprinkler for your next webisode. If you guys did that and dedicated it to me, that would be pure gold!

[Amber Mac]

@Hooner - you're going to have to send us a video for the sprinkler...not sure I'm familiar with this dance ;).

[Sonny]

@Fibonacci, first of all, thanks for responding. Sorry for not checking back sooner...work and all...My subscription to commandN in iTunes shows MPEG4. This is the same subscription I've had up until episode 148 at which time I was no longer able to syn this show to my iPod. The episodes that I download through the iTunes subscription show as (info)MPEG4 video file with Video codec as H.264.

[Sonny]

Sorry my bad, that last post was suppose to be @Chris.

[Greg]

@Sam - commandN was not commenting on the election, they showed a clip that, in the US, had been shown during the morning news shows, the mid-day news shows, the evening news shows and nearly every news and/or entertainment talk show. Point being, WE'RE SICK OF IT! This election has been going on for how many YEARS?! It has invaded every aspect of our culture and we can not seem to avoid it. And lets face it, this is nothing more than an exercise in narcissism for two men who are spending over a billion (with a B) dollars to win a job that is both very limited in actual power and only pays $400K per year.

That said, the effect of politics on technology should be discussed. It should probably have its own segment from week to week. I would just ask that it not be about the US Presidential election. Or more to the point, not about what comedians are saying about the election. A better story than the Letterman clip would have probably been this...

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/not-for-publica.html

[Amber Mac]

@Greg - thank you for the comments and link.

[Chris]

@Sonny, try the iPod version from iTunes, it is an m4v file and should do the trick... Or just grab it from the above links... That may work for previous episodes as well :)
Let me know what works and what doesn't at christopher@commandn.tv

Thanks
Chris

[lt3ag4s]

This is a tech show and technology is changing how we get to perceive the canidates. You would think that more third party canidates would be having a voice.

Nice rendition of Rockit, Amber? I havent heard that tune in ages.

[Sonny]

@Chris - Thanks. I'll try that. I'm curious, what changed? I compared your file format to a few of the other video podcast that I subscribe to, like dltv and Techzilla and they look the same, but I can't transfer your file to the iPod. I'm curious.

I'll let you know if the change resolves anything. Thanks again for the help!

[Sonny]

@Chris - it worked! Thanks again Chris! Question, checking info for both files and I don't see any difference other than the bit rate and the overall size of the file. Do you know why there is a compatibility issue? They are both MPEG4 Video Files with H.264 Video Codec.