Internet – rgbFilter

Buzzfeed’s Fake News Problem

November 18, 2016April 3, 2017 Doug Groves 172 Comments

If you went looking for a piece of hay in a pile of needles, would you blame the hay if you pricked your finger? That’s what the mainstream media is doing right now by blaming Facebook (and to a lesser extent, Google), regarding “fake news” and the need to crack down on this spam. Besides CNN head Jeff Zucker apologizing for running unedited Trump speeches, which is pretty ironic for a news outlet that needs to have a 24/7 newsfeed, a lot of print and online outfits are walking in…

Gaming Internet

So, two fish decide to play Street Fighter II…

August 20, 2014August 21, 2014 Doug Groves fish fight, fishplaystreetfighter, live stream, Street Fighter, Twitch.tv212 Comments

To be honest, two fish ARE playing Street Fighter II, but they’re oblivious to the situation. They are, after all, fish. Essentially, the tank face has been divided up into a 3 by 3 grid, each representing different game control. As Aquarius (P1) and Robert the Bruce (P2) swim around, they’ll unwittingly activate the controls. No fish are harmed in the process. In fact, according to the Twitch page, they seem to be doing quite well. You can watch the competition all day below, or go to the Twitch.tv page to get…

Arts Computing Internet

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s an interactive videobook

June 4, 2012September 26, 2012 Danny X BooneOakley, Jean-Marie Dru, JetLag, TBWA2 Comments

Interactive videos are hardly all the rage anymore, thanks to YouTube allowing anyone and everyone to clutter up the screen with a pastiche of semi-transparent boxes urging viewers to “CLICK TO SEE MORE VIDEOS”, whichh will in turn be cluttered with semi-transparent boxes. But every now and then, someone comes along and puts a new spin on the whole idea. BooneOakley, the little North Carolina ad agency you may have seen recently on AMC’s The Pitch, is the best example of doing it right I can think of without resorting…

Computing Internet Mobile

SkyDrive updates for PC and Mac / Google Drive launches

April 24, 2012September 26, 2012 Doug Groves cloud storage, google, Google Drive, Mac, Microsoft, OS X, OS X Lion, PC, SkyDrive, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 84 Comments

Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud storage has been around for a number of years now, providing users with up to 25 GB of free storage, with their Live ID login. Yesterday, they updated the service by releasing an updated Skydrive application for both Windows (Vista, 7 and 8 ) and Mac OS X (Lion). Once installed and you provide the proper login, the SkyDrive folder simply appears as another folder in Windows Explorer and the Mac Finder, much like other cloud solutions such as DropBox. The maximum filesize has also recently climbed…

Computing Internet Mobile

The myth of the saturated smartphone market

April 4, 2012September 26, 2012 Doug Groves IDC, marketshare, myth, Nielsen, opinion, smartphone growth2 Comments

Ever since the days of the original Palm Pre, worries about saturated market has permeated many reviews and reports about new entrants in the smartphone ‘race’. A lot of the tech press were raising flags, suggesting Palm was in a “too little, too late” position. Palm was certainly in the “too little” category, I’d argue they were far from “too late”. There were a lot of problems with Palm’s WebOS reboot, few of which had to do with timing. Unfortunately, because Palm (via HP) did crash and burn, it reinforces the idea that “market saturation” is…

Computing Featured Internet Software

Wikileaks launches Spy Files, Rockwell plans comeback

December 2, 2011December 19, 2011 Doug Groves (in)security, AdvancedIO, Sandvine, Spy Files, Vineyard networks, Wikileaks4 Comments

2011 is not turning out to be a good year for those with paranoid tendencies. With the Carrier IQ story gaining traction, it’s interesting timing that Wikileaks and friends have launched a new project called Spy Files. Compiling information from over 280 documents, Spy Files has created an interactive map that shows widespread montioring of just about every electronic form of communication, from the internet to GPS and speech analysis.

Arts Computing Featured Film Internet

Reddit flash fiction Rome Sweet Rome snapped up by Warner Bros.

October 14, 2011October 20, 2011 Doug Groves Film, James Erwin, MEU, reddit, reddit.com, Rome Sweet Rome, time travel, Warner Brothers1 Comment

Rome Sweet Rome, a sci-fi adventure story that first found life online, has been bought up by Warner Brothers, and destined for the big screen. The story itself was penned by James Erwin, who besides writing flash fiction in response to random questions, is a two time Jeopardy champion. The inspiration? So I’ve been watching HBO’s Rome and Generation Kill simultaneously and it’s lead me to fantasize about traveling back in time with modern troops and equipment to remove that self-righteous little twat Octavian (Augustus) from power. Let’s say we…

Arts Comics Featured Internet Show video

Talking with Ken and Alex Steacy at Fan Expo 2011

September 7, 2011September 8, 2011 Doug Groves Alex Steacy, Comics, Desert Bus, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2011, Harlan Ellison, Ken Steacy, Shards4 Comments

Ken and Alex Steacy were manning a table at Fan Expo, showcasing Alex’s project Shards, which highlights the artistic talents of a number of artists. Peter talks with them about the Shards project, as well as a wide range of topics from Ken’s Desert Bus stint, the shrinking role of middle men in the industry and what exactly is the best metaphor for Shards: apparatif, canape or hor d’oeuvres…

Computing Internet

Why I’m quitting Google Plus

July 19, 2011July 21, 2011 Danny X circles, email, facebook, g+, google, Google Plus, social networks6 Comments

Google+ was fun while it lasted, but it contains a fatal flaw that I simply can’t ignore. Because no one in any of my circles can, either.

Computing Featured Internet

Collusion: Do you know where you are?

July 16, 2011 Pete Chapman Collusion, Firefox, Trackers, Tracking, Web Traffic11 Comments

The image and text above tells you just about everything you need to know. It’s from the Collusion project at http://collusion.toolness.org/ . It’s a Mozilla Firefox plug-in that allows you to visualise, either on the site or in a separate tab, a history of your web surfing for that session with lines showing which websites are sharing information about your movements with other websites ( the grey dots) or with dedicated trackers (the red dots). When you first visit the site it will demonstrate this using a pre-set series of…

Computing Internet

Why did I join Google+?

July 14, 2011July 19, 2011 Paul L google, Google Plus, XKCD0 comment

All the smoke clears and then you realise that not only have you, blithe and insane, signed up for ‘Facebook: The Sequel’ but This Time It’s Personal.

Netflix on Boxee Box – Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2011September 26, 2012 Doug Groves Boxee Box, media player, Netflix, Software, streaming video, update3 Comments

It’s no secret that there are Boxee Box fans here at RGB. The coolest looking little media player has proven itself to be a very flexible workhorse. Today, Boxee CEO Avner Ronen posted that the newest update has started rolling out, and with it, the long-awaited Netflix compatibility for both the US and Canada.