Personal Rating Store
This week I installed the Slacker Android application on my phone. This version gives the user the ability to “cache” stations so you can listen to them when not connected to a network. I really wasn’t using this functionality to handle lack of service coverage, but to save battery, since my phone’s radio doesn’t need to turn on while playing a station.
While setting up and listening to the Slacker stations, I had to mark songs that I liked and didn’t like. This is the same thing that have done on my Pandora and Last.fm stations. Unfortunately, Pandora and Last.fm do not let you export your ratings.
The same problem also exists for video. For example, Netflix has a list of ratings that a user has given to DVDs, and Flixster has ratings that users have given to movies.
This got me thinking that there could be a be a better solution for the user. A user should be able to delegate a “preference service” to maintain their ratings. When a user signs into a service that would like access to a user’s ratings, like Pandora or Netflix, they are prompted to grant permission for the new service to access the user’s ratings. If the user agrees, the user’s ratings can be imported into the service. The user could also grant the new service the ability to update their ratings, so for example if a user gives a rating to a movie in Netflix, it could update the users rating in the rating store.
Since we would want this connection to be easy to setup, the user shouldn’t have to manually setup this linking. One way to solve this is to extend the frederated login services to contain the uri for the user’s rating store. For example, this could be easily added to the OpenID record for the user returned when the user authenticates.
We would have have to agree on the name space for the rateable items. I propose using Freebase ids as the unique identifiers. Then services that use the ratings can map these ids to its own name space.
This idea would allow the user to quickly train new services with their ratings, as well as the ability to export their data.
Smart AC
A while ago, I received a letter from PG&E mentioning their Smart AC program. This program lets customers voluntarily let their air conditioning get throttled when there is a significant energy demand.
The box that is installed on the compressor, has a pager network radio receiver, and when it receives a signal from PG&E, it will throttle the AC back. It looks like it does it’s throttling by cycling the compressor on in 15 minute intervals, when the thermostat tries to turn the AC on. During this time, since the thermostat thinks that the compressor is on, the fan will still be running to help with the cooling of the house. Users also have the ability to opt out of the throttling in 24 hour periods.
In our case, I don’t think that we will be affected, as we hardly have the AC on. But, I figure that we can do our part, and if turning off our AC in 15 minute intervals, can prevent a black out, we can join the program.
Google Wave
Google Wave looks like it could be an interesting way to communicate and collaborate. Here is the video that runs through many of the features.
[via Webware]
tweets of the day
- tweets of the day ff.im/-1GXHI #
- Paul is waiting…. ff.im/-1HyyA #
- Awesome price – Dell Outlet Studioâ„¢ Hybrid desktop PCs starting at $399 – is.gd/oLYD (via @DellOutlet) #
- Paul is at Starbucks with K before picking up M from school. ff.im/-1HPsH #
- Paul is feeling pretty proud watching his kids’ swim lessons. ff.im/-1HRRd #
- Boxee Adds Pandora, PBS, and New API tinyurl.com/cqb2hz (via @Lifehacker) #
- Creme That Egg! ff.im/-1IaD1 #
- RoninRevenge – Playing Call of Duty: WaW; Playing Free-for-All on Dome #
- RoninRevenge – Playing Call of Duty: WaW; Playing Free-for-All on Station #
- RoninRevenge – Joinable – Playing Call of Duty: WaW; Playing Team Deathmatch on Nightfire #
- RoninRevenge – Joinable – Playing Call of Duty: WaW; In Pre-Game Lobby #
- RoninRevenge – Playing Call of Duty: WaW; In a party #
- RoninRevenge – Playing Call of Duty: WaW; In Pre-Game Lobby #
- RoninRevenge – Playing Call of Duty: WaW; Playing Search and Destroy on Knee Deep #
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Insecure wifi
I was at a Starbucks last week, waiting for my appointment at the DMV. This was the warning that Firefox 3 showed me, when I attempted to log on to the wifi network there.
Starbucks and TMobile need to fix their ssl certificates.
GreenDimes
About a year ago, I saw this post the mentioned GreenDimes. GreenDimes is a services that stops junk mail. We donated the $15 (which is supposed to plant 15 trees), and then filled out the postcards that were in the packet they sent. Then when ever we received a catalog, I would enter that information on the GreenDimes web site.
Within a few months, we have seen a significant reduction in the junk mail and catalogs that we receive. I would recommend GreenDimes, as it has been working for us.
Speed Racer
This looks like it will be a fun movie.
New Speed Racer Trailer
Uploaded by spykestar
[via Autoblog]
Google Maps video
This is a pretty funny video about Google Maps.
[via Google Blogoscoped]
Bill Gates’ last day
This is a pretty funny video from Bill Gate’s CES keynote address
Bill Gates Last Day Of Work – Watch more free videos
More MP3tunes clients
In September, MP3tunes announed a contest for developers to create clients to play content hosted in MP3tunes lockers. Today some of the resulting applications were announced. Now you can listen to the music in your locker on a Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3, Windows Mobile devices, Chumbys, and in Eclipse.
I am looking forward to try this on my new phone.
