Spoiler alert: If you really hate reading anything about episodes of Lost that you haven't seen yet--and you haven't seen the episode that first aired Wednesday--you might not want to read ahead.
I know we have more pressing things to talk about these days--the economy, climate change, the new president--but I'm going to barge in this morning with a warning about something a bit more niche.
When you're posting to Twitter about something you're watching on TV, make sure nobody thinks it's really happening!
Background: I've been watching this season of Lost at a local bar that shows it on a couple of massive screens every week. The place is packed full of total fanatics: it's like football, except with flaming arrows in lieu of pigskin. Highly recommended.
So in Wednesday night's episode, something happens. I'm going to be very vague to avoid spoiling it, but basically, there's one point in which a character is holding a gun, and the important part is that we have never learned what said character's name is. There's an argument, and another character, whose name we do know, addresses the anonymous gun-wielder by name. It's a name that would shock even mildly avid Lost-watchers. Most of those in the bar expressed their surprise by gasping, shrieking, or otherwise effusing.
A commercial break followed, and--of course--I posted a Twitter message: "'Put the gun down, [redacted].' OMG WHOA. Whole bar gasped."
Well, a few minutes later I received a direct message from someone I know on Twitter--I'll keep this person anonymous. The message read, "someone pulled out a gun???" Apparently, my Twitter contact hadn't seen the earlier messages that made it clear I was watching Lost and seemed to think I was at a bar where someone had pulled out a gun. Oops.
Luckily, no panic ensued. It was, after all, only a single Twitter post. A few direct messages and a public clarification later, I'd explained the reality of the situation, and my Twitter contact responded with, "There must be a term for this: 'taken out of twontext?'" I'm generally not a fan of corny Twitter puns, but he hit the nail on the head.
I guess putting things into "twontext" is why we have Twitter hash tags, the searchable keywords that many people tack onto the end of Twitter messages, often to tie them to discussion surrounding an event--say, "#davos" for the World Economic Forum or "#inaug09" for this month's presidential inauguration. I typically don't use them unless I'm at a conference where we've been asked to tag for aggregation purposes, but Wednesday night hinted to me that considering how much banter and noise fills up a Twitter feed, it's really easy to get the wrong idea about something.
I mean, goodness knows what might happen on Lost next week.
SendMeHome is a new and free lost and found database. It works by having users register their personal effects with little stickers that have special "phone home" codes on them. If someone finds something you've lost with one of these codes on there they can plug it into the service and get whatever contact information you've left--hopefully bringing you and your lost iPod (or whatever) back together.
Similar programs for bicycles have existed for years, and there is definitely a rate of return, although it obviously depends on what you lost and who has found it. SendMeHome's entire system relies around the stickers, which you can either print out with your own materials or custom order from the service for a small fee. These packs run anywhere from $3, all the way to $17, which includes 60 various sizes you can stick on all your stuff then write the codes on with a permanent marker.
The service is being promoted as a good way to get textbooks back, which in a college campus could be downright worthwhile. Things like personal electronics and valuables are clearly less likely to be returned. One thing that is really nice either way is that it's completely free to register items with the database, so whatever is added will remain there "for life."
Related:
TheFoundBin re-creates the joy and sorrow of losing things
An open-source approach to tracking stolen laptops
You can register your stuff for recovery with SendMeHome, although the crucial part is printing little sticky tags that tell people you want it back.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
Lost: looking good online.
(Credit: 2007 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.)Among the networks, ABC.com has been one of the most aggressive in terms of streaming full versions of its shows online after they've aired on TV. During those quieter moments at work--some call them smoking breaks without the smoking--you can watch episodes of Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and more, right on your computer screen. Until a few days ago, however, the picture was rather small. Now ABC.com has launched a new full-screen "HD-quality" video player, and the "broadcast" looks shockingly good.
Meanwhile, NBC also has spruced up its online video player, and it, too, has added a full-screen option. The big difference is that NBC's video player uses Adobe's Flash Video, while ABC's is built on technology from upstart Move Networks.
During a "break," CNET editors John Falcone and Matthew Moskovciak huddled around my 19-inch Sony monitor in my office for a quick look at a recent Lost episode and were duly impressed. The picture may not quite measure up to true hi-def, but step a few feet back, and you're looking at a very detailed, sharp image. It's the kind of moment that makes you think that someday you'll be able to ditch your cable or satellite provider and get your content from cheaper sources that also happen to be legal. What a concept.
For a more in-depth story on ABC.com and its video player, go to broadcastingcable.com.
Source: Broadcasting & Cable
Via: AVS Forum
Disney.com unveiled its new look this morning. Announced last month at CES by CEO Bob Iger, the new Disney.com aims to bring more personalization to the site and cash in on provide Disney content to share with others. Funny thing is, you can't even share the content on outside sites like MySpace or blogs.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
It's downright tough to find the new personalized area of Disney.com, but it's called XD. The Flash-based XD interface takes about half a minute to load, and you're greeted to a smattering of widgets featuring Disney content that appears automatically depending on what "channel" you're on. What's strange is that all of the channels and content are kid-centric, despite the Iger's claims that the site would tailor its content by age demographic. Maybe Disney is intending on rolling that out in the future. For now, expect to find out what's happening on That's So Raven instead of juicy details on love triangles and smoke monsters on Lost.
Maybe the most disappointing aspect of the Disney revamp is how long it takes to load. While it looks kind of pretty once it's done, eye candy can only go so far. I can understand the XD features taking a while since it's loading a giant Flash player, but it took around 10 seconds to fully load the home page from a really fast connection. For dial-up users, there's a lite version of the site, but I'm a firm believer in making good first impressions with quick-loading front pages for everyone.
The lack of sharing for the XD widgets is disappointing. It's that same "walled garden" mentality that AOL is just now beginning to let go. Protecting content is one thing, but providing it online for free with such tight restrictions is bad form in the age of widgets and YouTube. Hopefully Disney will open (and speed) things up in the coming weeks.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Everyone's lost something. In most cases, retracing your steps results in either a quick find or the impromptu reorganization of your linen closet. TheFoundBin is a new service that helps both losers and finders come together through the Internet. Craigslist and LostAndFound have been doing this for a few years now, but TheFoundBin has some helpful features and a visual appeal that the others don't.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
TheFoundBin combines Google Maps with some basic form tools to tell people what you've lost or found along with where it happened. You can include any helpful photos of the item, as well as a description with reward information. From there, you can e-mail the item's owner or item poster anonymously (similar to Craigslist), or you can pass the post on to somebody else if you think it would be helpful.
What might be TheFoundBin's best tool is its lost pet service. Registering your pet as lost on the site will have it send out an automated e-mail to registered local shelters with your post. This is handy and takes some work off of the very unfun task of attempting to find lost pets. LostandFound.com has a similar service, but again it's a bit more straightforward on TheFoundBin.
Call me a cynic but I normally assume localized services like this don't work with anything besides pets. People just tend not to be that honest when they find an iPod or a $20 bill on the ground. The saving grace of The FoundBin is its design which is incredibly simple and intuitive, so posting item information is a snap. Geo location and lost and found should have been combined a long time ago, which is where The FoundBin totally gets it right.
[via Lifehacker]
Getting in touch with people from your past can be difficult, especially if they don't show up in a Google search or on popular social networks. The truth is, without a large Internet presence or a last name such as "Einstein," you're going to be tough to find for the casual searcher, which is where Long Time Lost attempts to fill in the gaps. Long Time Lost essentially lets you create a beacon to get the attention of the person for whom you're searching or others who know their whereabouts. This virtual beacon shows up as a result on several major search engines when people search for that name.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
The beacon itself is a small, user-written description of how you know that person, why you're looking for them, and whatever other information you feel is pertinent. You also get to upload any pictures you might find helpful to identify that person or jog their memory as to what you looked like in 1986 (you still wear that Members Only jacket, right?) Clicking on the picture makes it pop up. You can then either provide the searcher with more information or identify yourself as the person they're looking for. Doing so sends the original searcher an e-mail with an update on their search status.
So far, the service has connected 56 people, pretty impressive considering there's only about 600 people listed on the service. Short of hiring a private investigator, there's not really an easy way to track people down, which is where this service might appeal to the casual searcher. I still think once you've finally tracked them down, they might be a little creeped out you gave them their own Google search result. I know I would.
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