GoodBlimey - Home to 2,748 mashups!

Unlimited Cloud Storage from Google and Amazon

Matt — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:36:47 +0000

Apple’s “cloud” service has spurred Amazon and Google in providing unlimited storage, for free, with restrictions. In Google’s case, if you have a Google+ account you are given unlimited storage for pictures and videos on their Google Photos (formerly Picasa), as long as they aren’t more than 2048×2048 in size and videos are under 15 minutes. For most people this isn’t an issue; there’s little rssaon to have photos larger than 2048 in width on the web.

Amazon has changed their policy in regards to their Cloud Player that now gives unlimited storage to upload all your MP3′s to their service, as long as they don’t have DRM on them. This means that if you bought songs on the iTunes Music Store then they won’t play on the Cloud Player unless you strip the DRM from them using an app.

However with these new services people will have to pay close attention to the terms of service to see what happens when they copy over their data to these services. Already there’s some apprehension about Google’s copyright policy when you upload pictures to their Google Photos service. This article outlines those issues.

With this in mind, why use these cloud services at all? There are a number of good reasons, namely as a backup source, to protect your precious photos, music, home videos, etc. in the event of a hard drive failure, fire, or other means of losing your data. Another reason is for convenience; to access and share them across multiple platforms. For example, listen to your music on any device without taking up space on your device’s limited drive, or show friends your photos without having to load them on your laptop.

There’s no set definition on what exactly the cloud is. To numerous people it means different things. One of them is basically storing your data on the internet using the variety of services such as YouTube and Flickr, for example. By uploading your files to these different services, you’re no longer constrained to having to access them on your own computer but can access them from anywhere, using any device, so long as you have an internet connection.

9 Video Mashup from Ithaca Audio

Matt — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:44:00 +0000

via YouTube – Don’t hold back, just push things forward.

Gawker Media’s Redesign Across the Network

Matt — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 07:32:57 +0000

The sites within the Gawker Media network, sites such as Gizmodo, Kotaku, and my favorite, Lifehacker have all seen a new design take place today. It’s an unconventional design, using modern technologies such as HTML5 to employ a more interactive interface. They claim it is lighter and faster, and they’ve written up a post on how to use the site.

The problem is, I hate it. Apparently I’m not the only one, as the web is abuzz with negative feedback on the redesign. You’d think as a web designer myself, that I’d support it. I’ve done my fair share of trying new, unconventional tricks on websites over the years. Yet I’d do this on my own personal sites, as a way to learn and find new, possibly better ways to present content. For Gawker Media to do this, where money is at stake, is inexcusable.

It’s just a bad business decision to try new ideas and then not test them before making it live. If it were tested with user feedback, I’m sure they would’ve seen the kinds of challenges visitors would face with the new design. Then they would’ve seen it being a bad idea in the end. Unfortunately, it is possible that someone’s ego got in the way of common sense, and usually this person is high up with the kind of power to not care what others think about the idea and the subsequent new design. This is something that needs to be looked at and considered by anyone who is hosting a website or doing any blog hosting. The feedback that you get from your users is very important and can often make or break your website or blog.

Normally I’d just find myself simply not visiting the sites in question. It’d be easier to find alternative websites with similar content and interests and just move on. However, one of my most favorite sites to visit happen to fall under that bad design — Lifehacker. I visit and read the site multiple times daily. I love their content, and make use of many of their tips and tricks to find ways to improve my life and make it more efficient. I’d really hate for this new design to hurt the site in the end, and cause it to fall apart.

As someone else said, perhaps this was inevitable. With the arrival of HTML5, many websites are now going to try to find new ways to present content to readers that, hopefully, benefits both parties; the website owner and the visitors. This had happened with the advent of XHTML and CSS, and we’re likely starting to see it happen with HTML5. It’ll just be a shame for good sites like Lifehacker to end up being a victim of it.

Breakdown of Mashups

Matt — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 02:20:54 +0000

MashupBreakdown.com is where you can see how mashups break down to the individual tracks, and how they mesh together. While it sounds simple, it does require a certain level of skill and an ear for details to make them blend together wonderfully.

Using The Kleptones “A Night at the Hip-Hopera, check out how mashups break down.

Girl Talk’s New Album, All Day

Matt — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:52:45 +0000

Girl Talk has released a new album, All Day. Girl Talk mixes a collection of mashups from different artists to create a whole new sound and message.

The free download includes individual tracks or seamless, with the latter being recommended to fully appreciate the work done by Girl Talk. Options include MP3 at 320kbps and FLAC coming out within 12-48 hours of release.

Their previous album, Feed the Animals, was critically acclaimed and even reached the mainstream to much success.

Stayin’ Alive In The Wall Mashup

Matt — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 17:00:05 +0000

Pink Floyd vs. Bee Gees Mashup by Wax Audio:

Titan Quest Fan Patch Fixes Game

Matt — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 21:56:13 +0000

A group of dedicated community members of the game Titan Quest and it’s expansion, Immortal Throne, has created a patch that fixes numerous issues. Since the original developer is no longer around (bankruptcy), the community has decided to fix broken quests, masteries, zones, NPC’s, and so on. If you’re a fan of the game, and even plan on playing it again, this patch is a must-have.

Be sure to also check out my gameplay video of the game in action at MattPlays.com.

Jello Shots are Lame. Get Gummy Shots.

Matt — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:22:08 +0000

There are jello shots, and then there are gummy shots. With a catchy song like this, how can you not use gummy shot glasses?

Build a Website (for Beginners)

Matt — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:33:31 +0000

Not everyone has the time to learn HTML and CSS, the code that are used to structure and design websites. Many people just want to put one up with no fuss and be done with it. Fortunately, today there are many options to create and build a website without any technical knowledge at all, just a little bit of time and motivation is all that’s required.

There are 3 different options to choose from when you decide you want a website. The complete site building service, the web blog service, and the hire a web designer service. Many of the services in the first two categories I list below as options are free.

Site Builders:

Site Builders allow you to create a complete website, allowing you to focus on creating the content, choosing a look (theme) for your site, and arranging the different elements as you see fit. Many offer more advanced features if you so choose to use them, and some require payment to use certain features. Which one is the best? That’s up to you and what you’re looking for; so check out each one and see which fits your goal best.

Weblogs:

Weblogs, or more simply just blogs, are the popular diaries and journals of the internet where people post about just about anything. Blogs are handy in providing an outlet for anyone to get their word out there for friends, family, or strangers to read. It’s a great way to share travel stories, personal hobbies, thoughts about your favorite team, and much more. Blogs also let you share photographs, music, videos, and other rich multimedia on the web. Visit the Wikipedia entry on the subject to understand what a blog can encompass. Below you will find many services that offer blogs, many which are free and easy to use.

Hiring a Web Designer:

Hiring a web designer, while it can be expensive, can go a long way towards a strong internet presence. A good web designer creates a clean, usable website that is naturally optimized for search engines such as Google. They focus on standards-compliant coding, proper use of whitespace, make sure their site is accessible (for disabled people using assistive devices), and know how to use typography and bold to highlight content.

Unfortunately finding someone such as this is difficult in a sea of bad web designers who think if they just know a little HTML and CSS that that is good enough. Turning to your uncle’s friend’s former roommate for a website design just because it is convenient and cheap can be more harmful than good in the long run.

This is why, when it comes to your money, it is a good idea to shop around and find someone who is good at his craft and is good with working with people who aren’t so knowledgeable when it comes to websites. If you decide to go with this option, do your homework and don’t be afraid to ask for examples of past work. Most web designers love to proudly show off their portfolio. See if their style is good enough for you, and then go from there.

Recommended Google Chrome Extensions

Matt — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:34:58 +0000

Now that Google Chrome supports extensions in the latest builds, we can now extend and make the best and fastest browser on the planet even better. Below is a list of extensions that I recommend and personally love:

AdBlock: Blocks ads on websites.
AutoPager: Popular sites with pages are all put on one page so you don’t have to constantly click to go to each page.
Better Gmail: Features to make Gmail … better.
Clickable Links: Text with http: and mailto: are made clickable if they’re not already.
Google Quick Scroll: Quickly find the passage you were searching for on Google.
IETab: For those websites that only works in IE (banks and government sites for example)
LastPass: Securely save and generate passwords to sites. Stores in the cloud.
Slinky: Google image links go straight to the image, instead of the frame/website.
Xmarks: For bookmark backup and syncing.

Be sure to check out all the other Google Chrome Extensions for others that fit your personal preferences.