Hitting Too Close to Home

June 30th, 2008 by James Hearn

Every once in a while someone does something creative that (a) I completely admire and (b) can relate to strongly. The video “Sales Guy VS Web Dude” is an example that hits close to home for me.

It is a 10 minute video between a sales guy (Chip) and someone in the his IT department. If you’ve ever had to call your IT department for anything then I am sure you can relate to Chip and his frustrations with the process of resolving his problem. If you work IT then this will hit home perfectly as Chip’s vague description of his problem results in all hell breaking loose for the IT guy.

ABC’s Lost - Best in Series

June 11th, 2008 by James Hearn

I have never been much of a dedicated TV viewer. Prior to the induction of DVRs I physically just didn’t have the time to dedicate to a show so I never became a did-you-see-last-nights-episode-of-Sopranos sort of person; until Lost came along.

I remember seeing the trailer for the pilot episode of Lost and it didn’t look interesting so I tuned it out. On Sept. 22, 2004 I happened to be flipping the channels and caught the start of the show. I thought, “Ah, what the heck? Let’s check it out”. The show was just interesting enough to leave me wanting for more.

Season one’s flashbacks were a great vehicle for learning more about each character. It’s finale with Locke and Jack starring down the hatch let me wanting more. The opening scene to season two was probably the most impressive deception-execution techniques I’ve seen on TV. That is, until the last scene of season three’s “Through the Looking Glass” at which I recall simply replying, “Woh” in my best Keanu Reeves voice. Season four’s technique of flash forwards was great as it let me formulate my own theories on what is happening; or, what will happen.

At this point in the Lost series we realize that it’s no longer about getting off of the island. There is something much larger at play here. I’ve been really impressed with the creativity that has been put into the production of Lost. I hope these writers and producers will continue to intrigue our minds and leave us wanting more.

Download: The True Story of the Internet

March 5th, 2008 by James Hearn

This week the Discovery Science Channel launched a 4 part mini-series titled Download: The True Story of the Internet. For those new to the world wide web or even for those seasoned veterans I highly recommend checking this out.

From Netscape and Google to Digg and Facebook the audience is given first hand testimonials from the revolutionaries themselves.

The episodes include …

Browser Wars
This is the story of an epic battle between America’s mightiest corporation and a small group of “computer geeks” who created a revolutionary technology.

This was a fantastic episode. It discusses the launch of Mosaic and its transition into Netscape in the mid-90’s. It then discusses Microsoft’s reaction to the phenomena which at the time only added more fuel to the anti-trust ruling that was eventually handed to them on April 3rd, 2000.

Search
In a few short years a new and unique way of finding information revolutionized the Web and in the process created one of the largest companies in the US; Google.

Bubble
In an astonishing journalistic coup, the founders of the Amazon and Ebay, Jeff Bezos and Pierre Omidyar, tell the story of how their business grew from nothing to dominate the global economy and profoundly change the way we live our lives.

People Power
This is the story of how the internet has changed society and how a new breed of entrepreneurs are shaping our digital futures. It all started with Napster; a way of swapping music that was dreamt up by the teenaged Shawn Fanning.

The mini-series is being shown for the next few weeks. The Science Channel has a schedule of the episodes that are being broadcast over the next few weeks. This is definitely an event to record on your DVR.