I recently launched a video site (yes, yet another video site in the world) that required a flash media server to record video from webcams.  The concept is simple:  Record 6 second interviews/answers to questions asked by people around the world.

I had two awesome experiences during this web dev experience .. Learning Flex, and working with Wowza Media Server.  Both of which are a breath of fresh air in terms of code/deployment

Wowza offers its media server in two flavors .. Self hosted or licensed through Amazon EC2.  I'm already a gigantic fan of Amazon's S3 (I'm practically a tech evangelist for S3!), so naturally EC2 should be awesome, right?

Well ... IT IS AWESOME!  EC2 awesomeness is a whole other post, though ...

Getting started with Wowza Media Server Pro on EC2 is simple.  First you sign up with their Amazon link.  Then you launch an instance of the Wowza Media Server machine image in the EC2 panel.  Done.  The server is up and running!

Granted, you need to setup the proper application on the Media Server to be able to record vid, but that's a simple xml document.  On top of that, if you suddenly need another media server ... you just LAUNCH iT!  EC2 is beyond awesome.

The site I used the Wowza Media Server on is: GrokFlok - Check it out and let me know what you think

Teft

Zeep Mobile - Cool SMS gateway, that's free!  Recently I had to build a web app that utilized SMS messages to cell phones .. The client was on a shoestring budget and needed an a gateway that wasn't going to cost anything to get up and running.  Luckily, he found ZeepMobile.

It's a really cool system, and simple API if you understand how to use cURL in PHP.  Setup is a snap .. You enter a unique name for your app, which is used for mobile users to send messages to your server end point, and then you get your API key and secret code.  Oh, you also setup your mobile urls for (more...)

Ever wanted to draw on somebody's web site? Do a little virtual graffiti? Tag a page with your logo? Now you can! Drawhere.com has created a cool, dead simple tool that allows you to draw on any page. Is it Photoshop drawing? No. Windows Paint? More like it. But still, draw on any page?

You can view other people's drawings and who's got the top draw. I have no idea how they calculate that ranking, but who cares! Check out my drawing ... I tagged my last blog post, oooooh living on the edge! (I did not have my Wacom Tablet hooked up)

For some reason, though, I can't save my drawings. (more...)

Last.FM has created a very cool social network around music. You discover new artists around other poeple's music compatibility. If you listen to a lot of Daft Punk, then it will recommend what others have listened to after Daft Punk. How cool is that!? Then, they compile a chart based on the number of listens for the week. Is this the future of radio charts?

One problem ... Last.FM was acquired by the media giant CBS!!! NO!!! Last.FM didn't observe the day of silence to revolt against the rate charges for online radio performances. The internet was suppose to be the frontier to free us from radio consolidation!

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A few days ago my post on the song "This Old Heart" brought down my hosting plan. Dead in the water. Server not responding. I had no choice, I must upgrade my hosting plan! Shared hosting sucks ... it's great for budget setups and low traffic sites. But, when the traffic hits hard, the shared hosting plan sinks deep below the water. So I decided it was time to get a dedicated server.

I prefer FreeBSD because I've got most of my experience with that OS, plus it generally comes locked down in the security world. You only open up what you need to have open. I decided to write a quick basic beginners guide on getting a FreeBSD machine up and running so you can run a WordPress installation.

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Over the weekend Apple made a killing with half a million iPhones sold! Let's see 500,000 x $600 = $300 Million! 700,000 units sold at $200 million profit! Way to go Steve Jobs! With that many sold, somebody in my family HAD to buy one .... no it wasn't me ... My sister and her husband sunk cash into two iPhones! The pic to the left is my sisters iPhone.

After playing with it for awhile I feel like it's luster and beauty is seducing me into spending money on an iPhone (and 2 year contract with Cingular/At&t). You see, it's not just another Palm Treo, or some hot shot “Black Jack” phone, it's a seduction machine with style and finesse.

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Ok, so I signed up for RawSugar, created an account, and started submitting some URLs. I've used Digg for awhile and recently starting using Reddit, but I haven't really explored the social bookmarking services. Delicious seems to be the biggest, with StumbleUpon being a runner up. I saw RawSugar from Add This's widget off of TechCrunch. I see these new bookmarking services as opportunities to get in on the service early and become an early adopter.

Sounds good so far ... (more...)

I was "digging" today and found out about this photo editing tool called "Picnik". It's completely Flash based (from what I can tell) and allows you to do basic post processing of photos. Control the white balance, saturation, contrast, exposure, sharpness, etc. Pretty cool. To the left is a picture from Death Valley at Zabriskie Point that I took last May, edited in Picnik! They've also got a feature to edit your Flickr photos (or any public Flickr photo). Even better!
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I gotta say, I've been using StumbleUpon for last three or four days and I'm impressed. I've "stumbled upon" more time-eaters than EVER before! But it really makes me think: Why would I come back?! I go to google to find/research info. I go to slashdot for some tech news (and digg). But what would I go to stumbleupon for?
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Hey! I got an idea ... do an Internet startup based around a really cool search technology and then name it something that only 5% of the population will be able to remember after hearing/seeing it! Brilliant!! Fund this puppy NOW!!! (more...)