Archive for the ‘irishblogs’ Category

Do not go Gentle into the Darklight

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Worst blog pun ever. And there have been many. Derek McChancer told me to pimp da shit out of the Darklight Film and Art Festival and not just because I’m on one of the discussion panels. (I’m talking about privacy on Friday morning)

Anyway TRON!!!!
Tron is being shown as part of Darklight.

Blurb:

Screenings on Sunday 29 June

Screening:
Tron

Steven Lisberger//U.S.A//1982//96 mins

Irish Film Institute, 2 p.m.

An unmissable big-screen outing for the original CGI classic! Computer programmer Jeff Bridges hacks the mainframe of his evil ex-employer… And finds himself beamed inside the computer by a power-hungry master control program! Tron is a true cult sci-fi classic, a visionary work of considerable beauty, a true style icon – and one of Darklight’s very favourite movies.

This screening of Tron will be introduced by Professor Ken Perlin.
We are delighted to be joined by effects wizard and Oscar winner Ken Perlin, Professor Of Computer Science at New York University; Ken worked on Tron, and since then has been developing new computer graphics techniques widely used in the motion picture special effects industry. Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy a rare audience with a true FX pioneer.

tron cycles
Photo owned by blackdudemedia (cc)

Check out the Darklight blog to get more updates and gossip.

Fluffy Links – Wednesday June 4th 2008

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

In Galway this afternoon til Friday afternoon, keeping with the blogging will be light theme. Shush Rick.

Cybercom are looking for a copy writer and also a search marketing manager.

Getting some nice case studies/endorsements for Business Blogging now, have you got one?

It’s Blackhat SEO right? Making up a fake news story that gets everyone a buzzing and getting loads of inbound links? Will there be a Google penalty for fake news? It’s hardly new though is it, eh PR people?

Yes, no, yes, no, yes. Postcodes are back on again for Ireland?

Well done again to Steve Moore, addicted to organising great events.

Another free memory improvement tool, for those without Nintento DSs.

Lisbon campaigners should latch on to this. Cameras on every plane seat to monitor you for terrorist facial expressions or something.

I’m going to be in Berlin for the launch of this beautiful thing, I wonder is it really a competitor to the Air?

Another day, another T-Shirt I want.

Is 8 quid the standard price for album downloads?

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

Sigur Ros are releasing four versions of their new album. Probably to cater for super-fans, fans and followers. There’s the normal CD version for £12, there’s the CD and DRM free mp3 download for £14, there’s mp3 only for £8 and then there’s special edition album, download and DVD (to be released later this year) for £60.

Clever. Very Radiohead. This is the fanclub email that was sent out. Fans get the album before others.

Sigur Ros

Pre-Order Now

Several Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust pre-order options are now available exclusively from SigurRos.com. Click here for more detailed information and pricing specific to your country*.

Here is a summary of the offers:

CD Album + Album Download (*price £14.00)
Receive the album download + bonus videos a week early on 16th June
CD will arrive the week of 23rd June

CD Album (*price £12.00)
CD will arrive the week of 23rd June

Album Download (*price £8.00)
DRM free 320kbps mp3’s available week of 23rd June

Deluxe Edition (*price £60.00)
Pre-release album download + bonus videos available on 16th June
CD will arrive the week of 23rd June
Deluxe Edition will arrive mid-September

192-pages. 300 mm x 240 mm. Includes CD of Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust and exclusive DVD.

This exquisitely presented deluxe edition is a unique document of the creation of Sigur Rós’ fifth album in film, photography and music. Given unprecedented access to the final stages of the making and release of the group’s new album, photographer Eva Vermandel and film-maker Nicholas Abrahams create an intimate and revealing portrait of the Icelandic quartet at work on their most immediate record to date. Housed in a large-format, fine weave cloth-bound hardback book, the deluxe edition comprises nearly 200 pages of fine art photographic images, as well as an impressionistic film portrait of Sigur Rós, as they record, mix and master Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust. Locations include New York, London, Mexico, Reykjavik and beyond, and take in the filming of the “Gobbledigook” video, tour rehearsals, the early shows on the tour, as well as exclusive band interviews relating to the record. Each edition is individually numbered and includes a unique strip of 16mm film taken from the video “Gobbledigook” as well as the DVD and album.

Fluffy Links – Tuesday June 3rd 2008

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

This week is going to be quite busy for me so blogging will be on the seriously light side. We’ll all survive, right?

May Blog Post of the Month announced here later today.

Heard the one about the French banning online sales of wine? Except it’s not a joke.

Yes indeed. The other John Waters is doing a show.

Paddy Considine is doing a workshop at the Darklight Festival.

The IIA are setting up a social media working group. They’re looking for applications now.

Nick Wall has compiled a list of 50 favourite songs by 50 of his favourite Irish artists.

What a clever piece of art.

New blog by Gavin and Ciara.

I want ALL of these t-shirts.

Via Emmet, Snakes on a building:

Bon Iver – Flume

Business Blogging – Irish Case Studies

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

I’ve gone on about it enough at this stage but as I seem to be giving more and more private and public training classes on Business Blogging (there’s an additional afternoon course on in Galway on Thursday now by the way 🙂 ) I thought I’d try and create a public page of testimonials/case studies where those that have Business Blogs can tell others what the advantages having a blog are. What advantages have you seen by having a business blog for your business?

Chicken Salaryman
Photo owned by alisdair (cc)

Sunday Morning fluffy bits and pieces – June 1st 2008

Sunday, June 1st, 2008

Before the LOL – Footage from ROFLcon

All in One SEO pack.

Nice presentation on the role of positioning and PR in this new modern/open age of communications.

Aggregating (by hand) movie reviews on Twitter.

On the Media talks books.

Five people who can cheer us up about the future.

Told you so – Uimhear a do

Friday, May 30th, 2008

Four days ago. Today:

Ilac Opinionator

Jonathon Porritt talks about developing a sustainable economy

Friday, May 30th, 2008

I got to see a very engaging, very funny and massively clever Jonathon Porritt give a talk yesterday on how we can develop a sustainable economy. It was organised by Minister Eamon Ryan and the DCENR who gave a very nice intro to Jonathon and the topic and he spoke unscripted, something you rarely see from a Minister. Hopefully the video will go up on his YouTube channel in a bit. I’d have live blogged it but there wasn’t any wireless broadband in the building…


Photo owned by bfick (cc)

Not that there was room to whip out my Macbook Air, the place was packed. Note: The Macbook Air is a green machine, sure it’s called the Air because that’s what it runs on, right? The room in No. 8 Stephen’s Green was full of people from many industries, Liz McManus from Labour was there too, ComReg were present too as well as the Energy Regulator. You’d have seen less suits at a funeral actually. Most of the Greens were there too including my fav blogging politician and the founder of the Eamon Ryan Facebook group too. No dinosaur though.

Overall Jonathon’s talk was eye-opening and you can tell he could talk for days on the subject without getting monotonous. I learned a good deal too. Only place in the world with a real Carbon Tax? British Columbia, money from it replaces lost revenue from corporation tax which they reduced and money from it also goes into health insurance I believe. People directly see where the carbon tax money goes. Clever. Very clever. Hopefully the slide deck for the talk will be made available too. Capitalism: As if the world matters is Jonathon’s latest book.

Green Indeed
Photo owned by Orin Optiglot (cc)

I didn’t have time to stay and mingle and enjoy the carbon neutral elderberry wine as I had to leg it back to the hotel and change and head to the awesome SoundCheck but next time if I’m accidently invited to another event like this I’ll definitely have to say hello to Ciarán and others.

Jim Corr on Lisbon, 9/11 and the New World Order

Friday, May 30th, 2008

On TodayFM yesterday:

Update: Reuploaded to YouTube, it gets slightly cut off due to YouTube 10 min limit:

Comments closed. Plenty of other places to wear tinfoil hats and talk about the secret rulers of the earth.

ComReg bitch at eircom for playing within the rules

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

The Irish Telcoms Poodle (yes I’m bringing it back) yesterday made shapes in the press about eircom and the time it takes them to install phonelines and fix them. ComReg are telling eircom enough is enough.

In relation to installation times, ComReg’s concerns include the welfare of customers who are having to wait more than 6 months – and in some cases over a year – for connection to the public telephone network; targets have therefore been set to require all installations to be made within 6 months, and 80% of all requests to be met within 24 hours or 2 weeks, according to the type of request.

Shelby
Photo owned by Warchild (cc)

But. ComReg changed the rules of the game about 3 years ago when they extended the install time eircom were allowed to have for phonelines. Before they were allowed a maximum of 6 months and after the USO decision they were allowed 12 months. Now ComReg are saying it’s too long and take eircom to task IF they do it in future. How long have ComReg had the new powers to prosecute and how many customers got screwed over since? Did ComReg measure it, did they care?

This is what Comreg said in 2005(PDF doc):

ComReg recognises that meeting the timescales should not cause undue pressure on eircom. ComReg would expect that the targets will be exceeded in most cases and that the vast majority of requests would be completed within an eight week period. ComReg would not consider it unreasonable for longer periods to be involved where requests involve connections in some situations such as where there are difficulties or delays in obtaining way leaves access for infrastructural works etc. However, ComReg would consider that such longer periods would be the exception and reporting against indicative targets will increase transparency on performance in meeting the Universal Service Obligation.

And then says they’re not going to do anything if eircom go over the time:

ComReg has considered making performance targets mandatory but without the possibility of penalties in the event of failure to comply, such mandatory targets would be meaningless. It should be noted that while the obligation to provide access to the network is a requirement of the Regulations, there is no provision in the Regulations for penalties in the event of a breach.

This is what IrelandOffline said in 2005:

The proposals from ComReg allow eircom to take 4 weeks to install a line for 50% of applications and up to 12 months to install a line for 5% of consumers.

And this is exactly what happened. ComReg created a ruleset that practically encouraged eircom to worry less about connecting lines to their network and the quality of it and thus allowing it to get worse, not better. Back then they had plenty of cash to spend on the network to up the quality and install times, now they’re strangled in debts. The new rules are meaningless and are all a show and nothing more. There will be the usual “reasonable” loophole for all of this.

ComReg’s paymasters at the end of the day are eircom, Vodafone, O2 et al. They take a percentage of their profits as their special tax to run their org. The more eircom and other telcos make, the more ComReg can take off them and pass whatever is left to the Department of Finance. Why would they make life tough for the telcos?

So if eircom don’t meet these new obligations, ComReg will do what:

failure by Eircom to achieve any of the targets as set out in the Decision Instrument in Appendix A would be considered by ComReg to be non-compliance by Eircom with its regulatory obligations and would have the potential to attract enforcement action by ComReg in accordance with the procedures provided for under Regulation 32 of the Universal Service Regulations.

In summary, these procedures would involve ComReg notifying Eircom of a finding of non-compliance with its obligations imposed under Regulation 10 (4) of the Universal Service Regulations and if appropriate, ComReg applying to the High Court for all orders appropriate by way of enforcing compliance by Eircom with its obligations.

Amongst the orders that ComReg could apply for would be an order for the payment by Eircom to ComReg of a financial penalty. ComReg would also expect to seek a declaration from the High Court that Eircom had breached its obligations, orders directing Eircom to comply with its obligations in the future and any further ancillary orders and conditions that should be attached to such orders.

Do you honestly see ComReg taking eircom to Court for any breach? Going to the bloody High Court to fine eircom a few quid? Not going to happen.

More on my views on ComReg.

It is curious that ComReg announce all of this on the day of eircom’s results. Spoiling the party no? Even though the reality is lame, even ComReg getting bolshy in the press with eircom is an interesting departure. Maybe the Minister is applying pressure? Is someone up for reelection as Commissioner?