Recently the high school I attended was named by Newsweek as a “public elite.” (Press Release) The Gatton Academy is a public residential high school in Kentucky for students who are highly gifted in mathematics and science. Essentially, the students at Gatton are given the opportunity to enroll in University two years early.
Newsweek does a yearly review and ranking of public schools in America, and compiled a list of some of the best. Gatton was excluded and instead named a “public elite.” Why? Because they’re one of the few schools in the U.S. that are too elite to be ranked. The students’ test scores and qualifications are so above average across the board that it’s unfair to rank them with against other public schools.
I’m proud of Gatton and its staff. They’ve done a wonderful job in the Academy’s first two years, and obviously great strides have been made. The Academy has a very cool future ahead of it, and I watch it with interest.
Note: I no longer recommend the use of this particular plugin, as the brilliant Understudy plugin has integrated Hulu Desktop support. You can still use Frulu, but Understudy gives you more options.
The popular media website Hulu.com did something awesome today: they released a desktop client. Why is this cool? It’s full-screen, it’s got a gorgeous interface, and it’s compatible with remotes. It helps bridge the gap between TV and Internet video, by providing an almost DVR-like experience.
I thought it might be nice to be able to access Hulu’s new desktop client from within Apple’s Front Row, so I hacked together a quick plugin I call Frulu to make it happen. It’s based on the work of John Sutherland, who wrote the FrontBoxee plugin for Front Row.
I hope it’s useful and accelerates the rotting of your brain. I have not performed terribly extensive testing, so I offer no guarantee of quality. If you have any feedback, requests, awful bug reports, etc., leave ‘em below.
For the manual installers: Place the bundle in /System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/, kill your Front Row process, and restart the app. You should be good to go.
As the Geekier among you may already know, there has been a bit of controversy in the blogosphere as of late (Arguments on the Internet? Crazy, right?) about the so-called “Imax Experience.” In a nut shell, Imax has installed their sound and video equipment in theaters across the nation and has begun showing regular feature films on said screens. The picture quality is fantasmic, the sound quality is superb. So what’s the problem?
The screens are absolutely minuscule compared to the Imax screens we’re all so fond of, and we feel cheated. These are not the Imax screens we have all come to know and love. They’re hardly bigger than a normal theater screen. My girlfriend and I pre-ordered tickets recently to see Star Trek on an Imax screen at AMC Theaters, and upon walking in we thought we might be in the wrong theater. After verifying that we were indeed in the correct place, we felt rather cheated. AMC fleeced us out of an extra $10, on top of the already ridiculously expensive tickets.
How can the extra $5 per ticket charge possibly be justified? As I pointed out earlier, these “Imax Experience” theaters deliver high-quality sound and video reproduction tuned to perfection by the expert engineers at Imax. That would be fantastic if the difference were discernible to Joe Everyman, or if Joe even cared. Frankly, I noticed no major differences in quality in the Imax theater as opposed to a normal theater screen. Only experts will be able to tell the difference. Besides, when I pay extra to see a movie on Imax, I am not primarily seeking a bump in quality. What am I seeking? A huge, mind-blowingly intimidating screen that forces me to physically turn and pivot my head to see the corners. I want the screen to scare me. That is, and always has been Imax’s selling point. Without the God-screen, they are nothing.
Imax, your arguments are doing nothing but increasing the Internet’s anger. Stop now. Admit that your new theaters have no real mass appeal, lower the ticket prices significantly, and stop marketing these faux-Imax screens as “Imax.” I can say with certainty that I will never make the mistake of buying an Imax ticket again, and I expect that ticket sales will decline steeply once people realize what it is they’re paying for. An average screen with marginally better projectors does not a true “Imax Experience” make.
I became interested in computers, technology, and the Internet at a fairly young age. Although my family did not actually own a computer until late 1999, I grew tired of performing “normal” user tasks a couple of years before this. Having a computer in our home opened up opportunities for me to learn, in detail, about the machine and its software. I picked up some technical books and programming manuals to aid me in my self-education.
Upon obtaining a decent, if basic, skill set, and becoming knowledgeable enough to stumble my way through most things, I immediately began attempting to commercialize on my work. Why? I lived in a rural town, I was bored, and I was tech-motivated/obsessed. It was something to do. Here’s what I learned from my early endeavors, documented for other young would-be entrepreneurs:
GASoftware
This was my first “company”. Technically, the name stands for “George’s Amateur Software”, but in sixth grade I thought it was funny to have “gas” in the name. Through GASoftware, I released several freeware utilities, a couple of programming tutorials, etc. The only for-profit part of the operation was the custom programming service I provided under the name. I got a few local clients, for whom I built simple database front ends, etc.
Writing and distributing software, even free software, is a valuable learning experience. I highly suggest that any programmer who wants to start an indie software company try releasing and supporting free or open source products first. It teaches you how to make stable, tested releases and how to support customers.
GASoftware was actually fairly successful. My software, while primitive, was typically well-received and oft-downloaded, and my tutorials and other content were appreciated. It definitely provided me with a foundation for future endeavors.
HostShuttle
My second attempt at a commercial tech-business was HostShuttle, a Linux web hosting service. I leased servers from a large, well-known data center and partitioned off the resources to resell, providing server support and management.
This particular business attempt taught me quite a bit, but I also bit off a bit more than I could chew. Being young and unemployable due to my age, I had little startup capital, so I needed to make a profit fairly quickly. This was my first big mistake. Profit rarely appears in the company coffers immediately.
My second mistake was my pricing model. I priced HostShuttle’s services very competitively, but they could only be profitable if I had fairly high sales volume. This strategy, while great for attracting customers, does not work if you don’t have enough startup capital to endure an initial drought of sales.
Eventually time constraints and the fact that I was just breaking even discouraged me enough that I decided to throw in the towel and sell off what I could. (Keep in mind I was quite young and immature. Obviously I would not have given up as easily, had I been older.) I took care of my customers, though, notifying them well in advance, obtaining accounts for all of them with another quality host, and migrating all of their data for them. I also continued to provide support for them until the hosting period they had paid for expired.
I learned a lot from HostShuttle, including some important economic principles which should be heeded when starting a business. As has been recommended countless times by others, don’t start a business unless you can afford to support it for its first year. I also gained valuable insight on business management and client relations.
There were several things I handled well in this venture. My customer support was lauded, my prices were attractive, and I created new, custom services for a couple of niche markets. Several of my clients asked me to contact them if I ever decided to host again. While I decided to shutter the business, I do consider it to be a personal success.
AttachéSoft
AttachéSoft was my second attempt at forming an indie software company, this time primarily for profit. I was much better equipped to build this startup. I had a simple business plan with low operating costs, enough startup capital, and a business partner to help me out (whom I will call John).
John was also young, a year older than me. He had some coding experience, but his role at AttachéSoft lay primarily in web design, website management, marketing, and customer support. My role was that of the lead developer and business manager. The division of labor worked out quite well, and the venture was relatively successful. We began to turn a profit almost immediately, despite the simplicity of our products, and our income showed signs of steady increase.
Since our business was doing well, despite its infancy, I approached John with an idea to expand our services. Initially, he agreed and thought it was a great idea, but he later began to lose his enthusiasm. Before the product was finished being developed, John contacted me, informing me of a questionably true personal issue which would impair his ability to continue in the venture and he dropped out.
With John gone, my work-load doubled, I was less motivated, and I was much more distracted. Eventually, I made the decision to shelve AttachéSoft, as it was hard to adequately support the project while keeping up with my “real-world” responsibilities.
If there’s a lesson in this particular anecdote, it’s that the previously mentioned principles, when heeded, can produce success for young startups. Obviously, you should also make sure that your employees/partners are reliable and share your goals. If you happen to lose someone, replace them with someone you can trust as quickly as you can.
A Bit of Advice
I have owned a couple of other websites/venures, but these initial three were the biggest learning experiences for me. Looking back, all of these businesses seem rather trivial to me, and when I revisit my older work I can’t help but chuckle at its simplicity.
I believe, however, that my most useful asset in all of these ventures was my written communication skill. Since I was a decent writer for my age and since I was socially competent, I was able to interact with clients in professional situations, despite my age. Most of my clients never realized that I was still in school, and would be for years to come.
Besides the above advice, potential young entrepreneurs should heed this warning: do not start a business or offer a service trivially. You must be willing to see the effort through, and to accept what comes of it, good or bad. No matter what happens, you must avoid affecting your customer base adversely at all costs. You will have a commitment to your customers, and you must fulfill your obligations. If you get started and find you can’t handle the work, make it right with your customers in whatever way is feasible.
Keep in mind also that legal issues are a concern. Minors cannot enter contracts, and are limited in other ways when it comes to business operations/employment. Always be careful and make sure you’re not operating illegally.
That said, I would encourage any young person who feels they have an idea for a viable entrepreneurial venture to go for it. Worst case scenario, the project will fail miserably but you’ll have learned a lot.
A few months ago, I attempted to introduce my mother to Twitter. She’s certainly not a technophile, she only recently learned the ins and outs of web browsing. Previously she was limited to email. I never expected her to fully embrace the offering of the service, but I thought that she might enjoy following my most recent “tweets” on her iGoogle homepage. I assumed correctly; she loved it.
She was content only in her passive use of the service, however. She would not retire her regular one-sentence emails in favor of tweets, nor was she interested in the community and social networking aspects of Twitter.
About a week after her account was created, I noticed that she was no longer following me.When I asked her about it, she reported that my tweets were no longer visible on her homepage, either. In the course of the conversation, the word Twitter jumped her memory.
“Oh, yeah! I found them (Twitter) and told them to remove me and stop harassing me,” she said. Turns out she had her account removed, because there were “strangers on the Internet” wanting to follow her Twitter account. She interpreted this almost as a form of harassment. Obviously she did not understand the concept of social networking services.
I explained to her in the best way I could what Twitter was, and why being followed is not a bad thing. The Internet people were not scary stalkers (probably). Her response?
“Why in the world would those people be interested in what I have to say, and why would I want to talk to them? This whole thing is shady and creepy.”
There you have it. Twitter, and social networking in general, is creepy. I do think that there is a generational gap at play, here. Not only are there misunderstandings about social web technologies among the older generations, there is a genuine feeling of fear and unease. Granted, perhaps my mother is an extreme case, but the overall unwillingness of older people to join in on these trends cannot be denied. Although they are comfortable consuming static content on the web, producing or interacting with that content is often a strange and foreign concept.
This is brilliant. The Coen brothers, well-known for their films Fargo and No Country for Old Men, among others, created this short PSA for ThisisReality.org.
This Is Reality is an environmental group which tries to offset some of the big-coal propaganda about clean-coal technologies.
It could be argued that Neil Gaiman’s Coraline is a throwback to the childrens’ tales and literature of old. The novel is dark, it is creepy, and it is strange. Mr. Gaiman’s work almost seems more at home among the pages of a Brothers Grimm anthology rather than in the hands of our modern, over-sheltered children. After all, we wouldn’t want to offend their delicate, young, American dispositions.
The movie faithfully portrays the book, in this respect. There were several scenes, including the very first few minutes of the film, which made the hairs on my nape stand tall. The tense, awkward feeling persisted throughout most of the movie. I think this is intentional, as it is a recurring property of Henry Selick’s films (Nightmare Before Christmas).
Just as the literature of the Grimm brothers and the fables of Aesop were not intended to be taken at face-value, I believe that there is more to Coraline than the mere story. It is a metaphor.
My interpretation of Coraline is, I admit, a bit typical of me. I am obsessed with dystopian literature, privacy and censorship law, etc. I think that Coraline is a warning against accepting authoritarianism.
One of the most important, and most quickly introduced symbols in the film is that of the doll. Traditionally dolls are comfort toys, not unlike a child’s safety blanket. Dolls offer a feeling of security to children. They are friendly, they are bright, they are commonplace. In this context, the doll has a more sinister purpose. The doll which is given to Coraline was made by the Other Mother with the express purpose of spying on and copying her world. It is an extraordinary intrusion of privacy, wrapped up in a familiar, comforting, and safe package. Parallels could be drawn between the doll and things like CC cameras, phone tapping, internet monitoring, etc.
If the doll represents the initial “plant” of an authoritarian surveillance society, the Other Mother most certainly represents those who wish to implement such things. She is kind, she is generous, she is resourceful, and she is loving. She crafts the world around Coraline, meeting all her needs and wants. Additionally, Coraline is given what she most desires: attention. Initially, that is.
The fantasy world appears to be perfect, until Coraline notices that there is nothing beyond the garden. The Other Mother was willing to tell Coraline anything to gain authority over her. She advertises incredible things, but the rest of the world is non-existent. It is merely an exaggerated pipe-dream. Perhaps “the party” can offer the citizenry some fairly beneficial things. But one has to realize what one is giving up by accepting them.
Coraline, the protagonist of the film
It is important that Coraline be depicted in the film as a child. Coraline is humanity, naive and trusting. She wants to be safe, secure, and well-cared for, hence she neglects to carefully analyze her decision before accepting the offer of safe-haven from the Other Mother.
What of one of the most prominent and most oft-repeated symbols in the film: buttons? The purpose of a button is to fasten two things together; in this case, the Other Mother is binding her victims to herself in order to gain authority over them. Natural, functioning eyes represent insight and the ability to think for oneself. If this is true, then the Other Mother, in sewing buttons over the eyes of her “children,” is blinding them; she is limiting their vision, or insight. Buttons, then, could represent indoctrination, brainwashing, and propaganda. Only by returning the original eyes of the ghost children is Coraline able to set them free. In other words, by ensuring that her subjects are uneducated and blinded by propaganda, the Other Mother has completely disabled them.
Throughout the film, there is only one character clever enough to escape the Other Mother’s snares: the cat. The cat won’t accept the witch’s lies, and remains in complete control of his own affairs, even in her world. The cat could be regarded as an educated, independent thinker. He represents wisdom, the ability to see through the propaganda and resist. The cat warns and instructs Coraline of the dangers she faces, and she is eventually able to resist the power of the Other Mother and escape.
While I don’t have the gall to suggest that my interpretation of Coraline is what was originally intended by Mr. Gaiman, I think it still has some validity. Some say I’m reading too much into the story and that it’s meant as a simple fantasy tale. In any case, we as a society may want to consider our next steps carefully when we are offered a doll with button eyes.
Want to argue with me on the Internet? Leave a comment.
While I understand the right’s opposition to the new presidential administration’s economic stimulus bill, it’s inevitably going to pass. When attacking the bill and deciding which parts of it to senselessly cut out, why is it that educational funding and broadband communication development were the first things to be sacrificed?
This is getting a bit ridiculous. Even those who hold traditionally fiscally conservative political views would agree that it is highly beneficial to the country to put funding into scientific research, education, and utilities infrastructure. I suppose we’ll be lagging far behind the rest of the developed world in communications for a bit longer.
Of course, our Internet access is still adequate enough to enable our still-undereducated masses to leave asinine comments on asinine YouTube videos. I guess that’s what matters.
A video on Senator McCarthy that I made for an AP History class in my junior year of high school and posted to YouTube has just been removed because I used “Naima” by John Coltrane as the background music for a portion of it. The video had been up for nearly a year and a half, and had well over 11,000 views.
So, music industry, just how much piracy of Jazz is there? I bet it runs rampant on the intertubes, seeing as it’s such a popular genre now. (Note that I’m a huge Jazz fan, it’s just not as appreciated anymore.) We should probably just shut the whole blagonet down so that people can’t steal things on the napsters.
Honestly, the worst that could have happened is that Mr. Coltrane might’ve gathered a bit of exposure in an under-cultured younger generation. It’s been said before, and it will be complained and whined about in the future, but I suppose I’ll say it again.
A video on Senator McCarthy that I made for an AP History class in my junior year of high school and posted to YouTube has just been removed because I used “Naima” by John Coltrane as the background music for a portion of it. The video had been up for nearly a year and a half, and had well over 11,000 views.