We just got reviewed on the KillerStartups.com blog. Check it out here.
So last week we tried to film the second episode of our show “This week on Baduku” but unfortunately we ran into a number of technical difficulties. As you might have noticed, during our last show we had issues with the wireless microphones so I had to hold one microphone thought out the show while Jessie had the other lapel mic.
It wasn’t easy and sometimes the sound would go in and out depending on how I would hold it so we returned that Wireless Sony mic system and is time we have a Hisonic 4 Channel VHF Wireless microphone system. This system allows us to each have our own microphone signals which allows us to adjust the volume individually for each person.
Every thing seemed to be working fine before we started filming, but there were some initial hurdles. The mic system had 4 individual line outputs and 1 mixed out. At first we tried using a splitter on the mixed output so that we could send one to the our camera (Kodak zi8) and the other one would just go to a headphone so that our camera/sound/producer Matt Brechbuler could listen in. However, when we split the output it seemed that somehow the output itself was cut in half and we could barely hear anything. So we had to forego the splitter and Matt just had to hope that the sound would come in correctly.
After our continued sound checks, we assumed it was ok, although our only form of testing the sound was to preview it through the dinky speakers on the Kodak camera. For some reason Jessie sounds just fine but we sounded slightly lower than him but not enough to think it was the microphones when in fact it was. Additionally on top of that problem, the camera was running low on battery power and we were unaware of it. As the power continued to drain, it was actually affection the sound input. We started recording anyhow and then just as we were starting on the 3rd topic, the camera turned off. So we had to take a break to check the recharge the camera. The problem with that camera was that we always assumed that the camera could be charged through built-in USB connector however as it turns out that port recharges really slowly so we had to start looking for the wall adapter and finally found it and that actually recharged the camera at half the speed.
That unexpected interruption made us lose track of what we were saying so it took a few minutes to figure out just were we left off and resume. We finally finished the taping and everything was great but when we looked back at the recording, that’s when we found out that the sound was messed up. It’s too bad since many of our comments and interactions were genuine and on the fly but I’m sure we’ll do just fine again next time.
So in light of these problems, we’ve bought some new items to help us with better production for our next taping. After testing the Hisonic system to see if it was mic system or the camera it turned out that the system had on bad channel that could have been affecting the other channels. Luckily Hisonic’s HQ was only a half hour away so I went to their offices where their technician Kelly personally confirmed that the receiver was broken and then tested another system before giving it to me as a replacement. Secondly we also got a 10 channel Behringer mixer so that we don’t run into issues in different channels and Matt can also listen to our audio though his headphones. Also another new addition to our show will be the awesome new green screen that we’ve added. This will let us show videos in the background while we are discussing topics. It’s probable going to be just like The Totally Rad show on Revision 3 but we’ll be discussing Baduku topics instead.
Hopefully it all turns out well so we will be filming next week on Wednesday and if all goes well you should see something up on itunes by Friday.
Recently HP announced that it would stop the development of its HP Slate computer which was touted by Microsoft’s Steve Balmer at C.E.S. Their explanation was that they didn’t fell the Windows OS would be profound enough to continue development. This was later followed by Microsoft’s own announcement that they would stop development of the even more hyped and much anticipated Microsoft Courier which thus far has only been relegated to concept art and vaporware. However even so it offered numerous novel and interesting concepts for how users would interact with the beautifully designed dual screens.
Some users have argued that Microsoft’s OS is just fail for tablet computer while others have gone as far as saying that people in general don’t want tablets and that Microsoft is honing in on this direction. I have to completely disagree and I’d have to just point at the relatively successful sales of Apples iPad as validation that there is a market for tablets. I think that there has been and continues to be a market for tablets and until now it has been pretty much an elusive dragon that no one was able to match reality and expectations. I think the difference really is that iPad set it’s expectations very clearly, even with the lack of multitasking support it said to the world this device is for casual computing needs, browsing, entertainment and communication.
The problem with previous tables, such as motion computing M100, HP TC-1000, AT&T EO communicator, or the plethora of other convertible tablets from Toshiba and others were all trying to be more computers than portable. People don’t want laptops with a touch screen, they want an improved mobile computing experience and that’s what the ipad offers. This isn’t to say I don’t want hard core computing to do stuff like design and programming. I think the future will offer some form of modular computing that offers computing on demand. Something where when you get home you plug your tablet into a dock that adds parallel processing, better graphics and functionality to the device.
That’s what MS is doing, they realized that they need to exceed the expectations of consumers by identifying iPads short coming and clear a product in production a year before iPad can’t account for all the problems iPad will face in the upcoming months. That is the time for MS to not just regurgitate but improve.
Episode 1 – Apple iPad Pre-Launch, People who camp out for new products, Kate Gosselin on Dancing with the Stars season 10, Chatroulette, 24 Hour Fitness
I recently finished listening to the Audible recording for Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier. [Baduku Review] and I have to admit I enjoyed it thoroughly. This doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with it completely but the convincing tone and the unwavering commitment to their dogma comes off as something definitive, as if it’s the only way to do business. Here I’ll make some arguments about why you should read it but don’t drink the kool-aid just yet.
It reminded me of the absolute power that Al Reis’s 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing or Branding had over the way I approached marketing and branding. There were countless times in brand strategy meeting when people would reference a quote from that book as if it were the unquestionable final word. Read more
In this undated publicity image released by Fox, "American Idol" judges, from left, Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson are shown. Texan Lacey Brown was the first contestant eliminated from season 9 of the show March 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Fox)
So last week, Baduku.com conducted a short study titled “How Accurate Are Social Networks For Predicting American Idol Voting Results?” which gathered total fan count from major social networks to see if total fan count was a reliable predictor for contestant ranking from voting. This would in turn allow us to predict which contestants were more likely to be eliminated if fan count was directly correlated to votes. Based on the first week’s results, it turned out that it was loosely correlated but far from perfect and hardly accurate.
While we had hoped to collect an entire season’s data to see if there truly was a relationship and additional if the relationship became more robust as the season progressed. However, American Idol has decided to cancel all individual contestant pages. Some assumptions are that American Idol felt the social networks interfered with the suspense of voting. If they had looked at our results from last weeks statistics, they would have seen that it’s not all that accurate and doesn’t necessarily make voting behavior so predictable. Read more
