Doriano Carta

TweetChat has released a new beta version of their chat room environment for Twitter.
This one allows you to login without entering your Twitter username and password each and every time as before. Here’s what you’ll see when you access the new TweetChat:

Once you allow TweetChat access to your tweet account (one time deal) then all you do is enter the Hashtag for the topic or chat room you want to enter. For example, AmericanIdol.

You’ll then wind up in an auto-updating TweetChat room with every tweet that refers to that hashtag. Also, the hashtag is automatically added to your tweet whenever you post something from the TweetChat room.

That’s all there is to it really. Quick and dirty chat room for twitter hashtags.

Microsoft and Apple have been battling it out for over 30 years in the marketplace and on the television screen in commercials. Here are are old spots for Windows and the Mac.  Also included are some Mac ads with their familiar mudslinging at Windows.

Old Windows commercial with Steve Ballmer in 1986!

Windows 95 Start me up commercial

Mac started picking on Windows a long time ago

Here are 12 old Mac Commercials

Here are 15 short Mac vs PC ads from Apple

Microsoft’s brilliant I’m a PC promotion which finally fired back at all of those I’m a Mac commercials that mocked windows users with that stereotype “i’m a PC” character that wasn’t representative of the average Windows user. They even used the web to allow everyone to upload their own video and statements of “I’m a PC”.

Final Thoughts

I think competition is always good. Microsoft and Apple need each other and their success is proof poisitive of their reliance upon each other. Let’s hope they keep pushing each other for many years to come, even if it means more button-pushing in commercials.

Here’s another tribute to the 1980s. Mark Wills and “19 Something” which includes many of the cheesy things from the 80s. Funny stuff.

I saw Star Wars at least 8 times
Had the pac-man pattern memorized
And I’ve seen the stuff they put inside
Stretch Armstrong
I was Roger Stauback back in my back yard
Had a shoebox full of baseball cards
And a couple of Evil Kinevil scars
On my right arm
Well, I was a kid when Elvis died
And my mama cried
Chorus:
It was 1970- something
In the world that I grew up in
Farrah Faucett hair-do days
Bell bottoms and 8-track tapes
Lookin’ back now I can see me
And oh, man did I look cheesy
But I wouldn’t trade those days for nothin’
It was 1970-something
It was the dawning of a new decade
When we got our first microwave
And Dad broke down and finally shaved
Those sideburns off
I took the stickers off of my Rubix cube
Watched MTV all afternoon
My first love was Daisy Duke
In them cut off jeans
A Space Shuttle fell out of the sky
And the whole world cried
Chorus:
It was 1980-something
In the world that I grew up in
Skating rinks and Black Trans Ams
Big hair and parachute pants
Lookin’ back now I can see me
And oh, man did I look cheesy
But I wouldn’t trade those days for nothin’
It was 1980-something
Now I got a mortgage and an SUV
But all this responsibility
Makes me wish sometimes
Sometimes….
chorus:
It was 1980-something
In the world that I grew up in
Skating rinks and Black Trans Ams
Big hair and parachute pants
Lookin’ back now I can see me
And oh, man did I look cheesy
But I wouldn’t trade those days for nothin’
It was 1980-something
1970-something
Aw, it was 19-Something

Bowling for Soup’s version of “1985″ is a blast for anyone who misses the 1980s!
The music video is especially big fun as it shows many of the icons of the era.
The image of Tawny Kitaen sprawled across the jaguar in WhiteSnake’s “Here I Go Again” was a signature moment for the decadent decade of big hair and spandex. The woman in this video does an excellent job in her homage to Tawny’s performance.

“1985″
[Originally by SR-71]
Woohoohoo
Woohoohoo
Debbie just hit the wall
She never had it all
One Prozac a day
Husband’s a CPA
Her dreams went out the door
When she turned twenty four
Only been with one man
What happen to her plan?
She was gonna be an actress
She was gonna be a star
She was gonna shake her ass
On the hood of white snake’s car
Her yellow SUV is now the enemy
Looks at her average life
And nothing has been alright since
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she’s uncool
Cause she’s still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
Woohoohoo
(1985)
Woohoohoo
She’s seen all the classics
She knows every line
Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink
Even Saint Elmo’s Fire
She rocked out to Wham
Not a big Limp Bizkit fan
Thought she’d get a hand
On a member of Duran Duran
Where’s the mini-skirt made of snake skin
And who’s the other guy that’s singing in Van Halen
When did reality become T.V.
Whatever happened to sitcoms, game shows
(on the radio was)
Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she’s uncool
Cause she’s still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
Woohoohoo
She hates time make it stop
When did Motley Crue become classic rock?
And when did Ozzy become an actor?
Please make this stop
Stop!
And bring back
Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she’s uncool
Cause she’s still preoccupied
With 1985
Woohoohoo
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV (woohoohoo)
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she’s uncool
Cause she’s still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985

It’s no coincidence that “Don’t Mean Nothing” by Richard Marks sounds a little like an Eagles song. He got the Eagle’s Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmidt to play and sing on the record!

In his video blog below, Richard explains how a rookie neophyte in 1987 got legends of rock to play on his song. It’s still a wonderful tribute to the struggling musician that tries to keep their integrity while trying to get a record deal.

Here’s the music video (The beauty in the song became Richard’s wife. Cynthia Rhoades was famous for her dancing in Toto’s video for “Rosanna” and her manhunt sequence in “Flashdance”. She was also in a later edition of Animotion.

Don’t Mean Nothing

Wel’come to the big time.
You’re bound to be a star
And even if you don’t go all the way,
I know that you’ll go far
This race is for rats, it can turn you upside down
Ain’t no one you can count on in this sleazy little town, oh no
Lots of promises in the dark
But dont you open your heart
Chorus
Cause it dont mean nothin
The words that they say
Dont mean nothin
These games that people play
No, it dont mean nothin
No victim, no crime
It dont mean nothin
Till you sign it on the dotted line
The director smiles as you walk in the door
He says, I love your work, babe but
Youre just not what were looking for
Its never what but who it is you know
So easy to get stuck in all that california snow
Take a good look around and youll find
People tryin to mess with your mind
Repeat chorus
Hollywood can be so lonely
Make you the winner of a losing fight
But the party is never over
Cause stars are always shining
Doesnt matter if its day or night
The producer says, let me change a line or two
And a little bit of something can look awfully good to you
And you want to scream, but you gotta keep it all inside
When youre trying to make a living,
There aint no such thing as pride, no
Lots of promises in the dark
But dont you open your heart
Chorus
It dont mean nothing at all. . .

I’ve shared a couple of my favorite XTC songs and music videos on here before with “Dear God” and “King for a Day”. Here’s another one that I really like  called "The Mayor of Simpleton”. I especially enjoy the music video which is an homage to Emma Peel and the Avengers TV show. It’s such a good feeling song and video.

Never been near a university,
Never took a paper or a learned degree,
And some of your friends think thats stupid of me,
But its nothing that I care about.
Well I dont know how to tell the weight of the sun,
And of mathematics well I want none,
And I may be the mayor of simpleton,
But I know one thing,
And thats I love you.
When their logic grows cold and all thinking gets done,
Youll be warm in the arms of the mayor of simpleton.
I cant have been there when brains were handed round
(please be upstanding for the mayor of simpleton),
Or get past the cover of your books profound,
(please be upstanding for the mayor of simpleton),
And some of your friends thinks its really unsound,
That youre ever seen talking to me.
Well I dont know how to write a big hit song,
And all crossword puzzles well I just shun,
And I may be the mayor of simpleton,
But I know one thing,
And thats I love you.
Im not proud of the fact that I never learned much,
Just feel I should say,
What you get is all real,
I cant put on an act,
It takes brains to do that anyway. (and anyway…)
And I cant unravel riddles, problems and puns,
How the home computer has me on the run,
And I may be the mayor of simpleton,
But I know one thing,
And thats I love you (I love you).
If depth of feeling is a currency,
(please be upstanding for the mayor of simpleton),
Then Im the man who grew the money tree,
(no chain of office and no hope of getting one).
Some of your friends are too brainy to see,
That theyre paupers and thats how theyll stay.
Well I dont know how many pounds make up a ton,
Of all the nobel prizes that Ive never won,
And I may be the mayor of simpleton,
But I know one thing,
And thats I love you.
When all logic grows cold and all thinking gets done,
Youll be warm in the arms of the mayor of simpleton.
Youll be warm in the arms of the mayor of simpleton.
Youll be warm in the arms of the mayor.
(please be upstanding for the mayor of simpleton.)

I was ranting this morning on twitter about how under-achieving Delicious.com has been since Yahoo acquired them several years ago. I was feeling frustrated that it just hasn’t added many cool social networking tools like so many others in their space such as Foxmarks (now xMarks), faves, magnolia, etc.). I think it should give us the option to make it our RSS reader if you want, sort of like Google Reader. We should then be able to share anything we read even quicker and easier with connections to any of our social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. Instead, it’s just save and share. Blah blah blah.

Well, then I was thinking about my recent post called “Fizy and the Power of Simplicity” where I lavished praise on the music video service for its decision to keep it simple, stupid. Why was I bashing Yahoo and Delicious for keeping it simple then? I think it’s because bookmarking is a critical aspect to the web experience. We save and share thing we like or think is important. Delicious can and should do much more than it is doing now because so many others are already doing it. If they were on the ball then Foxmarks/xMarks could never have flourished as they have, nor would so many others.

Anyway, I’ve been a delicious user since they started and will stick with them for now because so many people already use it so that makes sharing bookmarks easier. Here are some tips and tricks for saving and sharing on delicious.

An RSS Feed for Every TAG!

One of the best features on Delicious is the the fact that each and every tag you create for your saved bookmarks gets its own RSS FEED! After clicking on any of your tags look at the bottom of the page for the orange RSS Feed icon. Click it to view your RSS feed for all of the bookmarks you save to that tag. You can share this with others who can subscribe to the feed in their RSS reader as if it were a blog and see updates whenever you add something.
 

Network Bundles are for Group Hugs

You can share bookmarks with individuals one at a time or with groups by creating what Delicious calls Network Bundles (for whatever reason they didn’t like the term Groups).
All you do is create the name and add the people you want to share these bookmarks with. 

The key is that these people need to own a Delicious account. To see a list of your friends on the service go to your network area: http://delicious.com/network and look to the rightside of the screen for Network Bundles, Network & Fans.

Final Thoughts

So, start tagging your bookmarks if you haven’t been doing so and share your Delicious URL for your account, for example, mine is: http://delicious.com/thepaisano . Also, start sharing your RSS feeds for tags and create Network Bundles to share tags with groups. Delicious can do a lot more but these cool features are very nice to have.

The cell phone (better known as a Mobile Device these days) has experienced an incredible evolution in its extremely short life span! Here are some videos that demonstrate the dramatic changes this technology has gone through and continues to experience. The scary part is that some day in the near future they will look back at our modern day cell phone and laugh themselves silly at how ancient and limited our technology was. The circle of life.

Brief History

Some will point to 1908 as the year that the first mobile telephone was born with the invention of what was called the “cave radio telephone”. Others point to 1945 when the zero generation (0G) phones were introduced but they didn’t hop over from one base to another.

Most experts agree that 1973 was the true birth. That’s the year when Martin Cooper patented the “Radio Telephone System”. He is considered the real father of the mobile phone (not the car phone).  Here’s Martin with a replica of his invention which was rather huge by today’s standards.

1983 was another flagship year as Motorolla gained FCC approval that year. The first modern network on digital 2G (second generation) appeared in 1991 with Radiolinga from Finland on the GSM standard.

3G was born in 2001 in Japan by NTT DoCoMo on the WCDMA standard. Blackberries, iPhones and Google’s Android phones have dominated this decade.

1989 Cellular commercial (20 years ago)

Motorolla commercial

1990 Radio shack commercial. Wow look how portable! Hey is that a young Bill Gates with a laptop?

Blackberry stormed onto the scene

and of course we’re in the the iPhone revolution

I really enjoyed “Working Girl” (1988) starring Melanie Griffth, Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver. All three were wonderful in their roles and the two ladies were even nominated for Oscars that year. Even Alec Baldwin shines in his turn as Melanie’s sleazy boyfriend!

The music by Carly Simon “Let the Rivers Run” is a perfect backtrack for this female Rocky in the corporate world tale. The love story triangle adds a lot of interest too.

There are so many things I love about this movie. I think it’s a bit personal for me because I experienced my own version of the story regarding success in the corporate world. After school I jumped into carpentry and construction for the big bucks but soon realized that I wasn’t happy strictly working with my hands. I wanted to use my brains too. I ultimately gave up the cold hard cash and went back to school and took up computer programming and the rest as they say was history! I can so relate to the ending of this movie! I never take it for granted whenever I go to work. I always remember what it was like when I had back-breaking jobs like roofing, ditch-digging laborer, carpenter, etc. I am always thankful and grateful for my career including those tough jobs because it’s made me so appreciative of everything.

Here’s the entire movie in 11 parts.