Monthly Archive for January, 2007
Introduction
Syndicated feeds or RSS (which stands for Really Simple Syndication in some circles) are a way in which to subscribe to a web site or service and be automatically updated when new content is published. I have composed the following post as a basic guide to understanding what syndicated feeds are, why they are important, and how to make use of them.
Overview
For those that want a quick and dirty explanation of syndicated feeds, check out this clever video by CommonCraft:
For more information, continue on with the rest of this post.
What is it?
The symbol you see below represents a syndicated feed which is powered by RSS technology.
To understand and learn more about what RSS is, read the following articles:
- RSS: Making it Easy to Subscribe by Blogging Pro.
- A Non-Technical Explanation of RSS by Of Zen and Computing
Why should I care?
There are several reasons why you should care about feed syndication. Consider the following reasons:
- It is free and widely used by many web sites.
- It is improving and changing the way in which we communicate and collaborate. You no longer have to remember to bookmark your favorite web sites or manually check to see when new content has been published on them. Once you subscribe to a web site or service, you will be automatically updated when new content is published!
- It provides a platform in which you can share your thoughts and ideas with the world. Just as you would watch TV, listen to the radio, or read the paper, with RSS you too can broadcast information for others to tune in and listen to.
- It is a pull versus push technology. What I mean is that you subscribe to a web site or service for information (pull) which gives you the power to choose whether you want the information or not. This is much different than e-mail, instant messaging, etc. where information is pushed on you whether you like it or not.
- Here are a few other reasons.
How do I use it?
First, start by listening.
You can do this by finding a really good feed reader and subscribing to web sites, services, etc that interest you. There are many RSS readers out there (most of which are free) so find what works best for you.
Second, learn to speak.
Equipped with your favorite RSS reader you are now ready to contribute back. The easiest way is to start writing comments to some of your favorite blogs, wikis, web sites, etc. More often than not, anything you subscribe to will most likely have the ability to allow you to comment and contribute back to the original content.
Another option is to carve out your own space in the world wide web and contribute your own content. There are many free services that will enable you to archive this. For example, here are few:
Of course, should you want to host and own your information you can always do it yourself. Like setting up a Ubuntu server with WordPress. 
Next Steps
The next steps are to start using this technology to enrich your daily and work life. However, before you charge off, armed with your new found knowledge, consider a few more avenues of information:
- Read a few Blogging Guidelines.
- Understand Personal vs. Corporate Blogging.
- Think about using the various Forms of Communication effectively.
- Learn how to be a professional blogger by seeing what others are doing like Blogging Pro and Pro Blogger.
Now get out there, communicate, and collaborate!
For those trying to make sense out of the current high definition video and audio wars, DenGuru has an excellent article on the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface worth checking out. Being a home theatre enthusiast myself, all I can say is that you need to hold out for the new hardware components being released this year. The reason is that the HDMI 1.3 specification not only supports video beyond the 1080p high definition resolution but the best part is that it also supports the high definition Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio formats (both support lossless audio formats)! This is important because we finally get a superior upgrade in audio quality which hasn’t happened for some time (that includes the DVD format as it only offered us more channels but audio that was severely crippled by being compressed).
Stumbled upon a really cool coupon site today thanks to 2 Million. The site is called Slick Deals and serves up a bunch of good shopping discounts and printable coupons. I have seen other sites like this in the past but none quite as good as this one because it does not overwhelm you with information and just kind of trickles in each day (speaking about the RSS feed).
Here are a couple other sites worth cross-checking before you buy anything:
Shop smarter, save money!
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full swing again this year with Apple’s new iPhone generating a lot of buzz. This is a device that not only is a phone, but an iPod, web browser, e-mail client, camera, etc. I recommend following the iPhone link provided above as Apple has done an excellent job of putting together product propaganda that will give you much more of an idea of how the device looks, acts, and performs. Do not get too excited though, you won’t be able to get your hands on this device until June of this year. For more info, go here:
I am currently in the market to buy a new phone and being fan of Skype software I have been seriously contemplating buying a Skype Wi-Fi phone instead of a standard cell phone. The following is a few pros and cons as well as a list of Skype-enabled Wi-Fi phones:
Pros
- You can make phone calls anywhere there is Wi-Fi access (secure or non-secure). For example, it would be easy to use the phone at home, the office, a friend’s house, etc.
- You can easily manage the same contact list at home, work, or anywhere you are connected because your contact list is stored online with your Skype account.
- A SkypeIn phone number, which is a phone number anyone can call you with using any type of connection (i.e. LAN line, cell, VIOP, etc), is roughly $40 a year for a subscription. Oh, and voice-mail is included for free with this subscription.
- SkypeOut calling, which is a call placed from your computer to a LAN or cell phone, used to be free in the United States and Canada but is now moving to a subscription based service where it costs $30 a year to use (although if you sign up before the end of the month you can get a year’s subscription for $15).
- The cost of a standard cell phone subscription is $40/month (approximately). That means that a single person spends a total of $480 a year in subscription fees. However, with Skype (using both SkypeIn and SkypeOut) services you only end up spending $70 a year (or $55 is you act before the end of the month). That’s a savings of $410 (or $425 before end of month)!
Cons
- You can send or receive phone calls only in areas where you have Wi-Fi access.
- Connectivity might be problematic or intermittent due to network traffic.
- Sometimes you can experience delay in conversation due to hickups in the network or connection issues. This is a bit more noticable than cell phone.
- Sometimes you can’t have a conversation with the other person at all due to network traffic and connectivity.
- You can not use Skype in case of an emergency due to the nature of the internet. There are more issues with connections, software, etc. when using telelphony over the internet versus a dedicated LAN or cell line.
Phones
Most manufacturers started developing phones for Skype last year and so this technology is relatively new. Here are a few of the major players:
Sony Mylo - Not only does this support Skype but it supports e-mail, web browsing, pictures, movies, and music. I have to admit that it has my interest and will be keeping tabs on this product. The only thing holding me back is that I wish it had personal information management capabilities like managing lists, calendars, contacts, etc. It does support note taking in the form of text files but that only goes so far.
SMC WSKP100 - A very basic phone with basic capabilities. Nothing to get excited about but is one of the cheaper phones. Supports both 802.11b and 802.11g networks.
NETGEAR SPH101 - A slight improvement over the SMC phone but not by much. Supports both 802.11b and 802.11g networks.
Belkin F1PP000GN-SK - Much like the the SMC and NETGEAR phones but with a better finish and design to the phone. To me this phone does everything correctly. Has all the features needed for using a phone along with the necessary buttons for using Skype, polished and stylized finish, and supports both 802.11b and 802.11g networks. I would buy this phone.
Linksys WIP320 - Similar to the SMC, NETGEAR, and Belkin phones. Supports 802.11b and 802.11g networks.
Conclusion
I have been using Skype for quite a while now and really like it. The ability to chat, call, send files, even share screen sessions with others for tutorial purposes (via a plugin), and host chat/call confererences is really nice. The fact that you can take Skype mobile is even more attractive now that more and more manufacturers are starting to develop new and interesting devices. Obviously, replacing your LAN and/or cell phone with Skype could be a dangerous solution but possibly getting rid of the cell phone and using using both Skype and a LAN phone might work. In my case, maybe I’ll use Skype and the girlfriend can keep the cell phone. Although, I doubt she will find that very amusing…
An interesting spectacle occurred in the sky earlier this morning: