Paul's Blog

In a recent article over at Blogma, there was discussion about whether or not the Page View and Stat Counter are dead items. In some ways, I think this is true, in others, not really. One has to look at the different ways the numbers are counted. If you have some strictly written HTML and nothing dynamic (like AJAX), then page counters and view counts seem to work pretty well (with the exception that people hitting Refresh seriously boosts your numbers). When you move on to technologies similar to AJAX and other dynamic page functions, you loose the sense of what's going on.

Blogma: Page views, along with unique-visitor counts, are currently the main way to measure Web site traffic. But new technologies like AJAX allow users to get more information from a Web page without reloading, which can throw off traffic data. Now, some industry figures are calling for new metrics.



"The bottom line is that the page view has outgrown its usefulness. The industry needs to embrace change and develop new metrics that measure this new world more accurately," Peter Daboll, Chief of Insights at Yahoo, wrote on a blog.

So the question that Blogma had, and I have too, is this:

Is it time to move on from page views? And if so, what comes next?

[Via: Blogma]

Given the watch lover that I am, I would - of course - request a watch for the holiday season of gifts. My loving wife would - of course - grant my request based on whichever watch I gave her the picture to see. ... and some link to something like Amazon. Well for a mere $3200.00, on Amazon, you can grab this beauty.

The Tag Heuer Monaco has that true classic look for men. It actually got a bit too popular, as prices came down under two grand. But there is a way out of this. Have a look at this limited Edition Tag Heuer Monaco watch.

Check out the Angry Fan Boy! The call this dude made to these guys is just hilarious.

Someone buy this dude an XBOX 360!

Via: [ ytmnd]

Every once in a while, I have to give my personal opinion on something... *cough!*

Well, I've been reading articles for weeks and have been so utterly annoyed with Digg. It's the new Slashdot... filled with people repeating SERIOUSLY OLD news, over and over again. I call this type of news "Yawn-worthy." Part of that definition, to me, is the reporting all of the same stuff that everyone else has.

One of the reasons I don't update my blog so frequently - as I had early on - is because I've grown tired of writing the same silly stuff that everyone else has. I'm most certain that people don't read my blog, and only my blog, for their singular source of news. In fact, I'm not sure ANYONE reads my blog... ;) But for those of you who do, I am truly greatful that you find this little tiny space in the blogsphere to be useful to you and worthy of your eyes.

So, what's going on with Digg, people? I've gotten so tired of looking at sites like that since all they do is work their way through the same old stuff and it's just everyone and everybody doing it. There's nothing wrong, to me, with reporting that something exists and you give it your little slant to maybe point of something none of us have said or considered. It's boring to read a one-liner about "the first web page" for the 800th time, or what Bush has on his iPod...

So, I'm pushing for the quality of news and information in these areas. Someone thought to challenge Slashdot and others with the creation of Digg.com for those reasons, I'm sure. Anyway, my point? I don't remember... just, let's improve the quality of what it is we're writing and reporting. There's a reason why sites like Engadget have such a great following amongst the industry leaders and blog-readers: Up-to-date, non-repeating, blog-worthy news.

Since the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated, I thought I'd make a quick post and update any people STILL reading my blog, and hoping for more, with some information on what's kept me from writing.

The biggest thing is always my real job. I enjoy writing here and bringing people useful (hopefully) information about technology and other nonsense. The unfortunate thing for me is that I really do need to feed my family, so my day-job takes over.

On the other side, for over the past month, I've been having my basement finished. This process (which I was told would take 2 weeks (HA!!)), has required me to stay on top of contractors (different ones for different aspects of the job), just to make sure everything is getting done right. Just as a note, things are looking really good. Maybe I'll even take some pictures of my recording studio and media/kids room when everything is done.

With those two things and my normal life going on around them with trying to keep up with family and friends, yearly doctor's visits, and the holidays around us, I've decided to set this blog aside a little until I can focus, again.

My up-coming articles are being prepared (so I'm not slacking, just busy!). Here are the topics I plan to cover:

1. Homeseer Automation 2.0 - product review/interview
2. HomeHub Automation - product review/interview
3. What one might see at CES
4. A ponderer's guide to creating a Windows Media Center PC that won't anger the spousal unit!

Stay tuned, and don't give up on me!

Scientists know that the representation of three-dimensional objects on a surface so as to produce the same impression of distance and relative size as that received by the human eye is a practical definition of perspective.

"Standard flat-screen applications can display a field of view (FOV) of no more than 60°. The Elumens VisionStation allows for a fully immersive display of 160°. The VisionStation's ultra-wide FOV creates an amazing sense of space and depth, without need for goggles or glasses. The large size of the VisionStation screen (1.5 meters) also helps promote an excellent sense of immersive 3D."

If you happen to be in the Atlanta airport, you may notice something interesting from the eZoom Shop. It's a vending machine with iPods in it; like Shuffles and stuff. Now, this may seem like something cool, 'cause while you're waiting at the airport, thinking about flying all the way home to the west coast, and you're about to leave, you say: "Hey, I'm gonna buy an iPod for my flight home!" Of course, you've forgotten on thing: there's no music on the iPod!

Yesterday, Gizmodo posted about the new Vodafone vending machines that are popping up over the UK. They are prepaid cell phones and that makes some sense. Today... we have iPods in a vending machine. OK.