Phil Windley realized that podcasting “is likely the largest application of the occasionally connected computing model.” He and Curt Allen considered the potential impact in developing nations and remote education.
I’ve been thinking more about the hybrid MP3-player and mobile-phone devices I’m sure we’re about to see on the market. Mobile streaming is a real pain in the ass, particularly over current cellular connections. If there’s a glitch in the connection, you may have to start streaming from the beginning. And what happens when a call arrives just as you’re near the end of a one-hour podcast. Ouch!
But if you podcast (download) to a mobile device, you can just pause the playback and pick it up later. As Phil pointed out, streaming isn’t occasionally connected.
Day 2 of the Mill Valley Film Festival: The Beautiful Washing Machine was, I’m told, the first feature-length film from Malaysia, made in 1998. It’s a slow-paced intentionally surreal picture slightly reminiscent of a David Lynch movie. There’s not quite as much going on as in a Lynch film, however. (That’s right; it’s even slower.) There’s a sense of circular or asynchronous time, plot and character relationships. From the four of us who saw it together, it received three thumbs down and one thumb up (mine), but even then only marginally. I was in the mood for something like this. Tim was bored and Carrie fell asleep.
What have you started, Steve Gillmor? Okay, I’ll go back to the old theme music for The Gillmor Gang. To explain, the original music was by an L.A. band named Tanj. My son is the bass player in addition to his other gigs. I switched to One at a Time by Burnshee Thornside, a Magnatune band because the quality of the Tanj track, Kielbossa, wasn’t very good. Lots of hiss and noise.
Steve said people complained to him about the new music at the Web 2.0 conference, and tonight I got email from a listener who agreed. Alright…I’ll switch back. My son will be both flattered that you like his music and pissed at me for switching in the first place. What kind of a father am I anyway?