bookmark_borderWeb Services

So AudioScrobbler is in the midst of some Planned Downtime (as is ‘sister’ site Last FM) and HaloScan is currently having a few issues since introducing a new server. Blogrolling seems to be the most stable of the bunch now, but then there is a business behind that service.

One thing that everyone who uses these things (and this harks back to the initial BlogShares offering as well) needs to clear on is that, on the whole, they are NOT being run by large, funded corporations. In fact they aren’t being run by small, un-profitable companies.

AudioScrobbler has been asking for donations (although I’m not clear on exactly who is behind them and if there is a business model), and by his own admittance, HaloScan is NOT a business it is run by a full time college student (I often wonder if Jeevan has a life at all as he’s constantly answering questions in the forums).

The obvious downside of these scenario’s is that, whilst they appear to be a ‘product’ that has been researched, designed, planned, and is being maintained, and whilst they appear to be complete and fully functioning, they are not. What they lack, and what a business plan would’ve accounted for is scalability. It’s a common theme and completely understandable.

scenario: You come up with a ‘killer’ idea for a web-based thingymejig, you ponder it a bit, maybe code up a demo to see if the idea works, then you polish it, publish it and announce it to the world. You are working alone and do all this when not working/studying. Naturally you do wonder what would happen if hundreds of thousands of people started using your new thingymejig, and you probably have an idea of what server load will be required to handle all that traffic. In fact you may even have a highly detailed plan of how to scale your new thingymejig but that doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s only you. You aren’t going to spend too much of your own hard-earned cash on this are you? You don’t even know if it will catch on, so you try and attract people to your new service and spend the next year firefighting. /scenario

OK, I’m making several assumptions but you get the idea. None of the people involved in these services wants to let people down. They are, rightly, proud of their creation and want it to grow.

Now, take a ‘funded’ web service. Let’s take something well-known and widely used and backed by a few billion dollars – MSN Messenger.

Ever tried to sign in and not been able to?

My point is this: web services fail sometimes. Ranting and raving about it won’t stop that happening. Granted the ‘small guys’ suffer more failures than the big guys (I don’t ever remember Google giving me a 404) but when you use their services you need to buy into the idea of the service as much as the implementation. Support the little guys, for one day they may be bigger than you.

bookmark_borderSony misses the point

Via Light from an Empty Fridge (initially) comes the announcement: Sony unveils online music service.

He points out the kinda obvious flaw in their press release, namely that the service will sell files in a proprietory format – ATRAC3 – which is only usable in Sony ‘devices’.

Now I, sorry Louise, has an iPod. I love it. So does she when she gets a chance to use it. It’s provided party music, background music, commuter music, and sunbathing music so far.

But I’m not tied to it. If another “better” (quantify that!) player comes along I’ll happily switch. On one condition (one of my quantifiers): it MUST support the file format I choose to work with.

Before iPod came along I was already ripping tracks to MP3 thanks to the joy that was Winamp (and still is if you ignore the version 3 debacle). I know it’s not the best format, Ogg Vorbis offers better compression for example, but I already have a large legacy of files that I use and will continue to want to use. So, ultimately, Sony can take their new “music service” and shove it in their patented “Memory Stick” slot!

bookmark_borderUnclean!

I’m getting slightly hooked on Breedster, so much so that the email I received today has left me feeling decidely queasy:

A pathogenic agent was found in your food.
The pathogen lives in your digestive tract and affects your metabolism:
every hour 10% of the food is digested but it will increase your energy level by just 5%.

Your excrement will be contaminated.

Ick.

How absurd.

(Even more absurd is that I had to check the spelling of “absurd”. You know that way when I word just doesn’t LOOK right, even though part of your brain is telling you it is correct… very.. absurd.)

bookmark_borderMetro-tastic

This morning’s delayed train allowed me the luxury of reading the entire paper (Metro). As a source of ‘snippet’ information it is wonderful. None of the articles are particularly in-depth allowing the reader access to the facts and for your own opinions to be formed. I’m not for a minute suggesting that the Metro is flawless, as is evident by the fact that it is fairly obvious the bulk of the articles are… let’s say “repurposed” (seriously, say it, what a dull word. Probably something to do with the aural pattern you use to when saying it, in fact I was reading an article about that kind of thing last week, ver interesting… will try and dig it out). However as a paper based ‘newsfeed’ it certainly does the job. Metro is the Kinja of the print world.

It covers current news topics, quirky tech and scientific stories, general “human interest” quirky stories, sport, celebrity interviews, and the inane ramblings of the masses (also known as the letters page). It has wonderful quotes like this one in today’s paper from a story about Madonna’s legal battle to limit public access to the grounds of her 1,200 acre property:

“There is no exception to prevent public access to land owned by those who, perhaps through their talent, become famous”

Brilliant.

I love the Metro. I just wish it’s website was a little bit… better.

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bookmark_borderGrown up

Should I be worried? Should I care? Should I make some changes?

I don’t feel grown up. I have a mortgage, a car, a garden to tend. I enjoy a quite night in with a bottle of wine, and a noisy night out in a pub. I enjoy watching cartoons. I don’t follow politics as closely as I should (but close enough thanks), I do enjoy a good cup of coffee.

But, seemingly, I’m not ‘grown up’ because I wear boxer shorts.

My darling wife made this comment (I’m paraphrasing) the other day. She said that she, and her friend, had been discussing an appearance by Julian McMahon on Nip|Tuck, clad in nothing but a pair of dark briefs (he was, not them). She said he looked like a man, but she didn’t see me that way. Her friend said the same about her partner, I’m not sure if her friend said the same about me.

Now I know I can be childish, immature and have a tendency to use humour as a defence mechanism – so much so it’s spilled over into a natural reaction in a lot of scenarios – but I AM A MAN!

So, this weekend I’ll be changing my underwear. Er…. that is, I’ll be buying some new underwear (I was brought up well, I change my underwear everyday… mostly..). The only question is whether to invest in a pair of speedo’s as well…