WinAmp, one of the first MP3 players, shuts down after 15 years

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Stefano

winamp stefano paganiniAfter 15 years, the final curtain falls over WinAmp, one of the very first MP3 Players.

I still remember quite well the first version I used on my back-then brand new notebook (a Pentium 120 MHz-based, Windows 95 behemoth): WinAmp 1.04 (or something like that) did consist of a 400-Kbytes single file.

On January 1998 my friend and computer geek Silvia handed me a single 3.5″ floppy (1.44 MB) containing both WinAmp AND one (very low-quality) song.

I’ve been using WinAmp quite a lot since then on all of my Windows PCs but, as most users, I switched to iTunes or Firebird and VLC: WinAmp has become a very niche player and that’s maybe why NullSoft has decided to axe it after all those years.
WinAmp small footprint was one of its best feature and provided hops-free music playing even on very old hardware; plug-ins and visual effects were quite common although unstable and mostly boggling your PC.

WinAmp path has a lot in common with Gnutella, the early Peer2Peer network client, that used to be the main source for providing MP3 music (along with some legal problems about DRM…): developer team is the same!

Posted in Digital life, Digital media, Digital music, Software, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Homebrew Computer Club turns to Kickstarter for reunion

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Stefano

Steve Wozniak image courtesy ZDNetNovember 11th: a historic event will take place, the Homebrew Computer Club reunion.

Yes, the venerable old HCC is reuniting at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

Thanks to a successuful Kickstarter campaign, at least 25 original members of the club are expected to attend the event, including Steve “Woz” Wozniak; Ted Nelson, the father of hypertext; club co-founder Gordon French; and Lee Felsenstein, who designed the world’s first mass-produced portable computer, the 8080-based Sol-20.

first homebrew computer club newsletter
The first Homebrew Computer Club newsletter, 1975 (Source: Computer History Museum)

“It was the most important thing in my life, and every two weeks I lived for it,” Wozniak told CNET in 2005, speaking of the Homebrew Computer Club. “I was too shy to even speak at all. The only two times I ever spoke were to introduce the Apple I and the Apple II.”

Thanks to the Kickstarter campaign, full photo coverage will be issued after the event.
(Note that Facebook is among the sponsors 😉 )

Posted in History, Homebrewing, Kickstarter, Museum, Retrocomputer, Retrogaming, Social initiatives, Tech industry, Technology, Youtube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Facebook drops Thumb icon, chooses Like and Share buttons

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Stefano

facebook thumb icon

It’s been three years since the Thumb Facebook icon was introduced, on Wednesday Facebook Ray’s post on Developers’ blog stated this:

Today, we’re introducing a new design for both Like and Share to help people share more great content across the web. We’re already seeing a favorable increase in Likes and Shares with the new design and will be rolling these buttons out to everyone in the coming weeks. If you are currently using the old Like button, you’ll be automatically upgraded to the new design as part of our roll out.

So long Thumb? Not entirely.

The thumb isn’t completely gone. It still shows up in versions of the Like button that also display the number of Likes.

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From 128 Megabytes to 256 Gigabytes in less than 9 years: a USB-drive story

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Stefano

Can’t remember when I first bought my first USB pendrive.
I presume it was something like a 256 Megabytes, acting as an MP3 player and costing some 70 euros (about 90 USD).

Back then, it seemed as a lot of space available and so comfortable to bring along with you.

USB 256 Gigabyte hard drive

Enter Summer 2013.

I’ve been given a brand new 256 Gigabytes USB pendrive from a friend: it’s a no-brand, made in China and very low-cost (about 9.95 euros).

Check the photo: it’s compared to a colleague’s 128 Megabytes old pendrive.

This is how far IT and storage has gone: 1.000 times the storage in less than 10 years (and about 1/7th the price)!

So funny, today cloud storage and ubiquitous wireless connection has made less convenient USB drives swapping for almost everyone.

What am I going to do with this hefty USB drive? It’s going to be a perfect companion to my trusted Raspberry Pi! Small server with huge storage!

Posted in Electronics, Hardware, Media, Storage, Tech industry, Technology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What if Wi-Fi was visible? An artist illustrates an unusual world

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Stefano

What if you could see Wi-Fi?

Artist and researcher Nickolay Lamm has put together a very interesting set of images where Washington D.C. shows in full color Wi-Fi fields and rainbows.

Nickolay Lamm Wi-Fi visible

It’s an unusual approach and a very cool one: not only signal intensity is shown with color shades but objects and buildings interference too.

Check his original post on MyDeals.com.

Posted in Electronics, Report, Research, Visualization, Wi-Fi, Wireless | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Star Citizen: probably the very first crowdfunded AAA – high-end – game ever

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Stefano

Browsing Kickstarter project always brings out pretty surprises.
Chris Roberts, creator of the famous Wing Commander franchise, returns with a crowdfunded project that will bring us a great space sim.

In November 2012, Roberts raised more than $2 million (on a $500k goal) to begin development: today, still getting crowdfunded, he reports he raised more than $14 million, allowing game development to go even further and unlocking a whole new world of features for the game.

What is Star Citizen about?

Star Citizen brings the visceral action of piloting interstellar craft through combat and exploration to a new generation of gamers at a level of fidelity never before seen. At its core Star Citizen is a destination, not a one-off story. It’s a complete universe where any number of adventures can take place, allowing players to decide their own game experience. Pick up jobs as a smuggler, pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, or enlist as a pilot, protecting the borders from outside threats. Chris Roberts has always wanted to create one cohesive universe that encompasses everything that made Wing Commander and Privateer / Freelancer special. A huge sandbox with a complex and deep lore allowing players to explore or play in whatever capacity they wish. That universe is Star Citizen.

Check Star Citizen original Kickstarter project and Roberts Space Industries.

Posted in Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Kickstarter, Social gaming, Space, Video, Videogames | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Roswell 66th anniversary (with a tiny HTML5 game)

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Stefano

Whatever happened in 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico, (an alien crash landing or any other controversial event) today, the latest Google Doodle celebrates the 60th anniversary with a very nice HTML5 game.

google doodle roswell start

Think of it as tiny adventure-game, just like Monkey Island, where you’re supposed to solve puzzles, collect (useful) objects and interact with the environment – only on a very small scale.
Just use your mouse and a little imagination.

This is what you get at the end of the game, provided you’ve been able to solve the (very simple albeit) puzzle…

google doodle roswell end

From a programmer’s point of view it’s an HTML5 masterpiece: well done Google, as with all Doodles!

Posted in Fun, Gaming, Google, Google Doodle, HTML 5 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Concept commercial: how Apple though 1997 would be as seen from 1987…

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Stefano

Macintosh ClassicThis is actually computing archaeology…
Here comes a concept commercial (never aired, AFAIK) from Apple with a very curious forecasting of 10 years from… 1987.

This is how John Sculley (along with all the guys running Apple those days) imagined that 1997 (a 10 years forecast) would be.

Macintoshes everywhere (Mac Classic, namely) and several applications that may sound quite familiar to all of us.

Check out the kitchen scene (@ about 4’27”): a kitchen computer connected to some worldwide network (internet?) without too many cables (wireless?)

Please note Woz, very young, and several reference to a lot Mac OSes, even a X version!

There’s a lot to think about… not just different…

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Facebook, the Musical: almost inevitable…

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Stefano

It was almost inevitable: a Facebook musical!

Blame it on AVbyte, a New York, 2011-born web-idea named after its two founders: Antonius and Vijay Nazareth, has been producing musicals on Youtube (dubbed youtubesicals…).

I think there’s a great deal of humour in this video even though it’s so damned true!

Check more about AVbyte on Youtube, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter!

Posted in Creativity, Facebook, Fun, Music, Video, Viral video, Youtube | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wacky Races-inspired TV Commercial Ad by Peugeot 208 GTI

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Stefano

wacky races peugeot tv commercialYou may remember Wacky Races cartoon from the 60s (or you may not).

Now, in 2013, Peugeot Brazil is releasing this Wacky Races-inspired TV commercial ad, made by Young & Rubicam with Partizan advertising agency, for its brand new Peugeot 208 GTI hot car:

Muttley!!!

Posted in Car, Marketing, Television, TV ads, Video, Youtube | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment