GigaOM » Watercooler Clip

Watercooler Clips: Sales Guy vs. Web Dude

Liz Shannon Miller — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:22 +0000

Need a quick break from the grind? WWD sister site NewTeeVee Station brings you Watercooler Clips, a selection from our collection of what’s good, interesting and/or of note in the online video world — whatever the web is talking about at the virtual watercooler.

Today, we offer The Website is Down‘s dramatization of that most epic of clashes — the sales guy versus the web dude. Told from the perspective of the Web Guy’s monitor, this breakdown of office relations will seem all too familiar to those on either side of the screen.

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Watercooler Clips: The Great Office War

Liz Shannon Miller — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:37 +0000

Today, it’s a look at the harsh realities of office politics — what happens when the tension between IT and sales departments explodes into an all-out battle? Runaway Box’s The Great Office War brings that conflict to life. With Nerf guns.

And if you’ve got more procrastinating left in you, come by and check out what else we’re watching at the Station!

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Watercooler Clips: George Carlin, Remembered

Liz Shannon Miller — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:57:00 +0000

Need a quick break from the grind? WWD sister site NewTeeVee Station now brings you Watercooler Clips, a selection from our collection of what’s good, interesting and/or of note in the online video world — whatever the web is talking about at the virtual watercooler.

Today, we remember comedian George Carlin, who passed away last night. Not with a moment of silence, but a collection of his finest rants. Below, please enjoy his somewhat NSFW take on the plight of the average worker.

And if you’ve got more procrastinating left in you, come by and check out more of what we’re watching at the Station!

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Eee to Eee Skype video with ThoughtFix

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:23:46 +0000

Last night I had the pleasure of what may be the first Eee to Eee Skype video chat with none other than ThoughtFix! We were both in our home office settings and therefore on a dedicated broadband connection. Using the new Skype for Linux 2.0 beta and the integrated cameras and microphones on the Eee PC works well in general, but the video framerates aren’t up to par with the Windows and Mac versions. Those machines get a generous 25 fps (and VGA resolution), but on the Eee PC, I’d estimate we were in the range of 5-10 frames per second.

When you watch the video, you’ll notice a few glitches: camera freezes and restarts, plus a complete application crash on one of the Eees. I’ve been spoiled by my PCs and Macs, but that doesn’t make the Eee any less fun to use. At $399 and on Linux, it’s amazing to me that we could even have the video chat! I’m looking forward to more stability in this beta version of Skype for Linux but until then, I’m having fun with it. Thanks for hosting the call ThoughtFix!

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Logitech G5 Laser Gaming Mouse

Jason Terhorst — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:00:44 +0000

I’ve never really liked the Apple mice that I’ve gotten with my machines, and I usually try to get something a bit nicer, like a Logitech or even – *cough* – a Microsoft mouse. These 3rd-party devices feature more buttons with more customization, and better ease-of-use than dealing with the annoying touch-sensitivity of Apple’s recent offerings. Most of the time.

Compared…

I replaced my Logitech MX310 with a nice G5 Laser Mouse. When I looked at the box initially, I was surprised to see something pretty weird: the box copy said something about weights, and some kind of cartridge to place them in. What on earth could that be for? Well, that’s one of the key physical features of the mouse – the mouse is initially very light, and you add any combination of weights from the included tin into a plastic cartridge, which then “snaps” into place in a slot underneath the mouse. I have a minor dislike for the fact that it doesn’t have a “door” over that slot, but it’s not a big deal. It seems to be held in there fairly securely.

Custom Weight system

The weights are available in 1.7g and 4.5g measures. You’ll get 8 of each – so you can fill all eight slots in the cartridge with the same weight (make it really heavy or really light – your choice), or mix and match to find exactly the weight that works for you. This helps to allow you to customize the mouse to your liking. If you’re one of those hardcore gamer types, this could definitely help you in keeping the precise control you need to get that smug satisfaction of beating the foul-mouthed 13-year-old from Toledo.

Improved Build Quality – Doesn’t feel cheap like a Blackberry

I also love the nice build quality of the G5; it’s something new for Logitech, and it shows that they’re getting better. When you combine the solid feel of the mouse with the weights, it feels like a mouse that will last. There’s some nice textured feel to the mouse as well, not like the weird cheap feeling that my 310 had. My hope is that the paint job will last longer, but only time will tell. I’ve only had my 310 for a year, but after moderate use, the coloring has worn off of the plastic.

Software is Windows only

Now the bad news: on the box, I noticed that it only mentioned Windows. Logitech usually has decent support for OS X. But not this time. Since it is a gaming mouse, I guess we should expect that. The mouse still works, of course, and you can even use the nice horizontal scrolling (tilting the scroll wheel left and right), but the side buttons and clicking the scroll wheel does not work. Also, the advanced precision control of the laser, as well as speed customization aren’t configurable in OS X. The CD that comes with the mouse is useless in OS X.

Custom “speed” control

You can still control the “speed” of the mouse cursor with the buttons on the top face of the mouse, but I found them annoying, since it only speeds it up from my comfortable setting that I chose in System Preferences. However, it was useful when I was playing a few FPS games, because I could move my player a bit more quickly by bumping up the setting.

In a nutshell…

All in all, this mouse isn’t quite as useful to Mac users unless we boot into Windows. However, if you’re looking for a mouse that you can scroll with in four directions, adjust the speed, and has a nice build quality with customizable feel, then this mouse could work for you. It’s currently priced at $57 on Amazon, so I’d recommend at least trying to boot into Windows to get some use out of the extra buttons to get the most value from it; then, it’s sure to be an awesome mouse. At the very least, it serves as a nice alternative to the annoying (IMHO) Mighty Mouse.

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Revolution will not be TiVo-ed

Om Malik — Wed, 17 Nov 2004 21:50:17 +0000

There was a time, when a small company made everyone on Madison Avenue sweat. It gave consumers powers to skip through commercials and record television shows, freeing them from the tyranny of a time-bound television experience. It was TiVo, the Che Guevara of the consumer electronics. It started a revolution, which forced companies big and small, from Comcast to Microsoft, to change their digital media plans. It inspired copy cats, and for the first time created a “user defined” technology experience.

It never made money…. infact, it lost money…. tons of it. Still, the TiVoted never stopped loving the cute TV with Antenna ears. Till today. In a desperate bid to stay alive, TiVo which was born out of scorn for commercials sold its soul for a few pieces of silver.

The company is going to insert interactive banner ads when you fast forward through recored television shows. So what they are saying essentially: our ads are better than “networks” ads. Which is baloney. I had been contemplating buying a TiVo this weekend, but I guess my money is going to Microsoft when I do decide to buy a DVR.

I think this is a dark day for TiVo, and this new feature is aimed at pleasing TV Networks and advertisers. I doubt a single customer would ever ask for this kind of feature, and that it happens while you skip commercials just drives the point home. TiVo is no longer TV your way, it’s TV their way. (PVR Blog)

My point exactly: even the lame Comcast VoD service is better than a TiVo with commercials popping up. Next year TiVo plans to help you buy stuff from these commercials. Not a chance. A couple of million TiVo users, I hope will find other options. It is time for the company to start counting its breath. A long time ago, I said, Ta-Ta TiVo. This time the whole planet might agree with me.

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