Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has thrown our city’s hat into the ring of cities courting Google to test their new fiber network with the launch of a site, a Twitter page and a Youtube video.

“Google’s “Fiber to the Home” experiment would deliver the Internet at speeds 100 times faster than what most people now have access to, with blazing download speeds of 1 gigabyte per second.”

His YouTube pitch is a bit dry, but the last part is actually very cool, utilizing a bit of Google Earth video.

Get Googling Orlando.

Dear Andy-

I read your blog entry “A Fond Farewell” today with great disappointment.   The day Hulu launched back in March of 2008 was the day I canceled my DISH Network satellite service.  Like many other people, I’ve enjoyed the content you’ve provided.  I’ve seen the changes you’ve made…some good, some bad.  I understand that you have a business to run and that content licenses are sometimes complicated and change over time.

Yesterday, March 2nd 2010, you announced that “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” would no longer be distributed on Hulu.  You said, “After a series of discussions with the team at Comedy Central…we ultimately were unable to secure the rights to extend these shows for a much longer period of time.”

It is no surprise to me, however, that you’re suddenly having difficulty negotiating with Comedy Central (or any other content provider for that matter.)   Why?

Because March 2, 2010 was the day you started producing your own content.

March 2nd, 2010 was the day you stopped being simply a content distributor, and became a content producer.

March 2nd, 2010 was the day you became competition to ALL of your content providers.

And for what?  So you can start streaming YET ANOTHER mindless, Simon Fuller-produced, “I Can Dream” REALITY TV SHOW?

Andy, you and Hulu are shooting yourselves in the foot.  You yourself said that quality content like the award-winning “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report”  are consistently two of the top-watched shows on Hulu.  Why are they watched?

BECAUSE THEY’RE GOOD.  They’re NOT reality television.

You’re taking a huge step backwards.  HUGE.

Stop producing your own content.  Take the money that you’re throwing away at Simon Fuller’s idiot dreams project and hand it to directly to Comedy Central.  The Comedy Central shows are ANCHORS.  They will be with you for years to come. Focus on what Hulu does well:  simple interface, solid streaming technology, and distributing quality content…OTHER PEOPLE’S CONTENT.

Mark my words:  Unless you change this quickly, you’re going to lose the streaming online content race.  Heck, I’m not even in your business and it’s blatantly obvious to me.  Strategically you’ve put yourself in a terrible position.  Your other content partners will see you as competition and do the same thing Comedy Central has done:  Leave.

Sincerely,

Johnny Diggz
Hulu fan from Day 1

It was a short and torrid love affair, but another social network has come to an end.

Today I received this message from Tipjoy:

Hello Tipjoy user,

As you probably now know, Tipjoy commenced shutting down operations in August 2009.  As of December 2009, the company has voluntarily elected to wind up its affairs and dissolve Tipjoy.  We are now in the final stages of winding down the company.

Our records indicate that you have a positive balance of $2.66 in your Tipjoy account.

Notwithstanding our the terms of Tipjoy’s’ Terms of Service that you agreed to upon opening your Tipjoy account, we are allowing you to reclaim the above amount from your Tipjoy account.  Due to certain timing and processing concerns and pressures, we must limit this offer to Friday, February 26, 2010.  This email is to notify you that you have until Friday, February 26, 2010 at midnight PST to visit http://tipjoy.com, sign in and cash out your funds.

After this deadline you will have forfeited these funds.

Thank you for your support of Tipjoy.
Best,
Abigail Kirigin
CEO, tipjoy.com

I think I’ll let them keep it.

In his article, The Human Shuffle, in New York Magazine, writer Sam Anderson wrote:

I got off the ChatRoulette wheel determined never to get back on. I hadn’t felt this socially trampled since I was an overweight 12-year-old struggling to get through recess without having my shoes mocked.

So this site randomly hooks you up with other users.   You see their video, they see yours.  You hear them, they hear you.  You can communicate or move on to the next victim.

I haven’t tried it.  I’m not sure if I ever want to.

I’m sure.

The 24 Best Chat Roulette Screenshots [NSFW]: Pics, Videos, Links, News.

Kodak has been widely criticized by environmentalists and researchers as one of the worst corporate polluters in the United States.

Now it wants to take your iPhone away.  I hate Kodak.  Patent hoarding anti-competitive evil company.

PR Spin that one, Kodak.

iPhone Banned in the USA – If Kodak Had it Their Way.

I never understood why they made band-aids flesh colored.   Who are you kidding?    Did they really think that camouflaging a wound was somehow better?   Wouldn’t it be better to make them BRIGHT ORANGE like traffic cones to serve as a warning:  HEY, DON’T BUMP HERE!?

The same theory has gone for years in hearing aid design.  They try to make the hearing aid flesh-colored so you can’t see it.  But you can see it.  Everyone can see it.

So why not make it look cooler?

Bluetooth Hearing Aid Design for the Hearing Impaired to Enjoy Music Too | Walyou.

So I’m into day 4 of my Twitter exile. Sometime late Sunday I was actually on the Twitter website, logged into my @johnnydiggz account and the website logged me out mid-session.

When I went to log in again it said “Wrong Username/email and password combination”

This struck me as odd because I hadn’t changed my password and my browser was set to auto-log me in. I retyped my username and password several times to no avail. So I tried the next step: Twitter’s password recovery tool.

I went to that page, filled out the form and got this message:

Ok, we’ve sent the instructions to your email. Go check it!
You can keep this page open while you check your email. If you don’t receive the instructions within a minute or two try Re-sending the instructions

The problem is I never received this email. So I waited a day and tried it again…no dice. I tried logging into ANOTHER Twitter account…worked just fine.

Then I noticed this post on PCWorld Twitter Password Resets Linked to Torrent Sites. Was my account somehow part of this reset? The timing seemed about right, but I don’t belong to any Torrent Sites. This made little sense, but it was all I had.

THEN I went to Twitter’s support page and saw this: Reason #4132 for Changing Your Password. Okay…so something’s going down with Passwords. I get it. Whatever. Can I have my Twitter account back now? Where’s my password reset email???

Now it’s DAY 4. I’ve tried resetting my password, I’ve tried contacting Twitter Support (there’s an oxymoron for ya!) to no avail. I did find this post Unable to receive password reset emails that seems to describe maybe what’s happening.

Finally…after many attempts, I finally got some support from Twitter, in the form of an email (see…I told you my email was working!). Here is what they had to say…after 3 days…

Hi JohnnyDiggz,

Thanks for contacting us about your login issue. We have received your message and will respond as soon as possible.

Thanks!
Twitter Support

—–

I really wish I could Tweet my frustration. Perhaps someone would listen. If you’re out there in Twitter Land, please RT this.

*** Update DAY 6 ***

I’m still locked out. No additional responses from Twitter Support. I enlisted the help my friend @JeffPulver to see if he can help and I’ve noticed a bunch of people have been retweeting this post and even started a hashtag #lockedout. Thanks for your help…especially @PurpleCar @pfmonaco @Jfavreau @JadoreAlmore @pfmonaco

@PurpleCar Know anyone who has been and is currently locked out of Twitter? Let’s start a hashtag, maybe Twitter will notice. http://is.gd/7NEeX #lockedout @johnnydiggz

*** Update DAY 7 ***

I’m back in! I just tried the password reset tool for the umpteenth time and this time I received an email! I’m back in Twitter. Still no word from Twitter Support.

If half the things they say about Spray-on liquid glass are true, then it’s the best thing since sliced bread.  Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products.

MEDICAL APPLICATIONS: A year-long medical trial of the spray discovered many applications including coatings for equipment, medical implants, catheters, sutures and bandages.

NO MORE GRAFFITI: The war graves association in the UK is investigating using the spray to treat stone monuments and grave stones, since trials have shown the coating protects against weathering and graffiti. Trials in Turkey are testing the product on monuments such as the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara.

HAVE YOUR WINE BEFORE ITS TIME: Trials in vineyards have found spraying vines increases their resistance to fungal diseases, while other tests have shown sprayed seeds germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds, and coated wood is not attacked by termites. Other vineyard applications include coating corks with liquid glass to prevent “corking” and contamination of wine.

NO MORE CHINESE SECRETS: The spray cannot be seen by the naked eye, which means it could also be used to treat clothing and other materials to make them stain-resistant.

BYE BYE DAWN: In the home, spray-on glass would eliminate the need for scrubbing and make most cleaning products obsolete. Since it is available in both water-based and alcohol-based solutions, it can be used in the oven, in bathrooms, tiles, sinks, and almost every other surface in the home, and one spray is said to last a year.

Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything.

I’ve heard quite a bit of ruckus, both positive and negative since Obama’s State of the Union announcement that Central Florida would be receiving $1.25 Billion in Federal funding to connect a high speed rail between Tampa and Orlando.

Initially I thought this was awesome…but as the details unfold, I became less enthusiastic about the project.   Primarily because it doesn’t really connect Tampa to Orlando…it connects Downtown Tampa to the Orlando International Airport (stopping in Lakeland, Disney and International Drive).

Downtown Orlando, which is a good 25 minutes from the Orlando International Airport is not part of the equation.   This troubles me greatly…. because that’s where I live.

AND, there are no plans to connect the recently approved SunRail Commuter train to any of the stops on the proposed HSR line.

Hopefully this is just a temporary disconnect.  I don’t think the SunRail designers knew that the HSR would be approved.  But is it too late to do anything about it?

High-speed rail: How will downtown Orlando fit into high-speed rail – OrlandoSentinel.com.

I just downloaded this RedLaser iPhone App (Search for Occipital in the App Store).  It’s $1.99 but already I can see its value.

You hold anything with a UPC code up to the camera on your iPhone, and it will search the database of over 400,000 products (and growing) to find your match.  Then it gives you the results of the item in Google Product Search and TheFind.   It will also show you prices and the nearest store where you can buy the product.

After installing it, I literally grabbed the closest retail product with a barcode on it, a can of Lemon Pledge.  In a relatively dark room it correctly scanned the item in seconds, and told me that I could buy  it from the Walgreens 2 miles away for $5.79.

That’s pretty slick.  And that’s just scratching the surface of this app.  After receiving the comment below from Vikas Reddy at Occipital, I grabbed the nearest book, scanned the UPC and got this:

Occipital RedLaser iPhone UPC Code App