Web Notes Online

Saturday, Dec. 2 in Centreville Maryland, they held the 10th annual “Heck with the Malls” which featured artwork by local artisans. The idea was to offer an alternative to the crowded malls for Christmas gifts.

I am sure the artists offered many unique items for people to give loved ones in an atmosphere far calmer than the typical mall yesterday.

But I am afraid during the same 10 years the “Heck with the Mall” has been around a competitor has been taking a larger and larger bite of the holiday season business.

I am, of course, talking about the Internet. It has become increasingly popular during the past decade to the point where it has become a major force in many business’s revenues. The influence of the Net can been seen in how shopping patterns have changed in recent years.

The Monday following Thanksgiving has been considered the peak day for online shopping after people had competed for the Black Friday sales in the stores. This year businesses found that many online buyers were flooding their Websites.

The Walmart Website was down for eight hours Friday. Unprecedented volume that overwhelmed the company’s servers was given as the reason. Other business sites experienced sluggishness as their servers were stressed by volume.

Use of the Internet for shopping is becoming increasingly accepted by the public. This week we have a poll question (first one in a long time) on stardem.com asking if you plan to increase your use of the net for shopping this holiday season. The poll question is located on the lower right side of the home page. Check it out and vote.

The Internet is a great way to do comparative shopping. You can search for an item and find the best price and where it is available. You are interested in a new digital camera? Type the brand you are interested in into a google search and you will be amazed at the number of responses you get. You can then either order it online or call the business you locate and place a telephone order.

The Net helps you find presents you might never find anywhere else. How about a USB Missile Launcher. It conveniently hooks into a USB port on your computer and is powerful enough to launch a barrage against the guy in the next cubical. It can fire foam missiles in an arc of from 5 to 8 feet. Why put up with his rubber-band powered paperclips when you can retaliate with missile power. It requires 3 AA batteries and only works with Windows XP so check your system before you order. Don’t believe me? Check out the ThinkGeek website and look for USB Missile Launcher. It sells for $39.99. Every cubical should have its own missile defense system.

Looking for something a bit more old-fashioned? You might consider another cubical defense device—the tabletop war machine. It is a desktop catapult based on an ancient design that will launch your favorite projectile into the adjacent cubical. The notes on the catapult suggests that little mints are especially good for this task. This device is less pricey than the missile launcher. It goes for $34.99. It can also be found at ThinkGeek.

But say you are more a traditionalist when it comes to cube warfare. The site also offers a firewheel rubber band gun. It can carry a load of up to 10 rubber bands and have a range of approximately 25 feet. If the guy next door has one of those missile launchers, you’ll need something for protection. This device will only set you back $24.99. It also is available from ThinkGeek.

Do I see a pattern here?

More on the holidays next week.

As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.

This week I’m going to talk a little about computer security and turning your home computer into your home entertainment hub.

The Mid-Shore Computer Users Group will meet again this Thursday, Nov. 16. They will feature a presentation by John Terebey on “How to bullet proof your home computer.” That is important information for anyone with a home computer, especially with our new, fast Internet connections.
The meeting will be in the Talbot Tourism Office on the second floor of 11 South Harrison Street, Easton. It will start at 7 p.m. and should end by 9 p.m. As the meeting notice says: “Bring your questions – get answers.”
For further information you can call 410-822-8118 or 410-745-9932. All are welcome.

When I got my first computer, it was more a glorified word processor. It had little capability other than modifying fonts, organizing text and printing out neat letters. An Internet connection wasn’t a consideration.
Now I download songs, videos, manipulate photos, do my taxes, and modify fonts, organize text and print out neat letters.
Your computer will soon, very soon, be doing so much more.
Several months ago I wrote how Amazon.com had launched its own weekly, web-only, show called Amazon Fishbowl staring Bill Maher. It was a summer only show but it gives a glimpse of the future of home entertainment.
The show followed the basic talk show format. Maher gave a standup routine to start He would interview a guest—usually an author and then, the show would close with a musical presentation by guests ranging from Josh Ritter to the Indigo Girls.
What is so unique about this you ask?
While Maher was interviewing Stephen King or Dean Kootz a link to books by the author available on Amazon.com would appear just below the image window. While the Dixie Chicks were performing links to the album would appear. This is true point of purchase sales. The advertiser gets a truly focused audience.
But what if you were watching a television show and you got interested in the strange gadget the hero was using? What if you could pause the video, use your cursor to isolate the gadget and clicked on it so product information, location available and possible shipping methods would pop up? Cool right?
It will be happening soon on a home entertainment system near you. Say you are watching “The Essence of Emeril” show on the Food Network and you fall in love with the knife he is using. Freeze the frame, highlight the knife, get the product information and order it before you can boil water. Or, you right click, bring up the recipe, you computer scans it for items not in your cupboard and you click to order the missing items so they will be delivered or waiting for you to pick up at your grocery store. No, this is not science fiction. It will be common—and soon.
The same could be done with any product in an enhanced marketing system. Someone would have to create an interactive overlay on the video to make it react to your inquiries.
Think of the possibilities if you are a consumer. Think of the possibilities if you are an advertiser.
The remote control and the fast forward feature have numbered the days of the typical television commercial. No advertiser wants you to skip through their pitches. BUT, if the product were a part of an enhanced interaction show, it would be able to take advantage of your basic impulses. Where did he get that jacket? Where can I get those shoes? I want one of those tools used on that home repair show.
More than once, I’ve listened to a podcast and heard a novel or a song discussed and have immediately gone to either iTunes or Amazon to place an order.
This is why television shows, movies and other forms of mass entertainment and communication will be supplied through your computer in the very near future. The business model will drive it.
It will make everything so easy and quick. But we complain about couch potatoes now!.
You’ll order, download and view your movies and shows from the Internet. Choose your merchandize from what you view. Interact with your friends through video chats. If you want exercise, have your avatar run a marathon in Second Life to burn off the calories.
I don’t think so. You had better equip your couch with a treadmill or the only part of you that will get exercise will be your index finger.
Thoughts? You can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.

Blog is a word that has crept into the language via the Internet. It started as a journal or diary on a Website back in the mid-1990s. It originally was called a "web log". That was shortened to "weblog" and finally to simply blog.
The blog can take many forms and use a variety of media. There are vlogs for video blogs, photoblogs for blogs composed mostly of photos, and audio blogs which are often called "podcasting."
It all started as a text entry of an individual seeking to express him/herself to others. Now a typical blog may included a combination of text, video, photos and audio. There are sites that offer space for people to signup and launch their own blogs without the need to have much technical knowledge. There are now many blog hosting services and blog software like WordPress, blogger and LiveJournal. Blogger is a popular site that lets you signup and start your own blog. I have one there I started several months ago.
Blogs have made it possible to anyone to be their own reporter. Many blogs have themes or specialize in certain topics. Politics is quite popular.
The Drudge Report by Matt Drudge was an early political blog. He cut his blogger teeth on the exploits of President Bill Clinton. Even so, blogs didn't really get much attention until bloggers brought attention to the comments made by then U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott when he praised the late U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond. Lott said while honoring Thurmond, that the country would have been better off if Thurmond had been elected President. Critics thought those comments as inferring approval of the racial segregation policy then advocated by Thurmond in his 1948 presidential campaign.
The major media did not cover the remarks at the party honoring Thurmond. The story took life through the writings of bloggers. The bloggers are credited with helping to keep the story alive. It resulted in Lott being forced to step down as majority leader.
Since that time other national figures have run afoul of boggers. Presidential candidate John Kerry had the swift-boaters dog his efforts to use his service in Vietnam as a war veteran. Newscaster Dan Rather found out what kind of fact checkers there were in the blogosphere when documents on President Bush's national guard service came under question.
Once bloggers were considered maverick journalists. Now many members of the mainstream media maintain their own blogs. Many newspaper use blogs as a means to communicate with their readers or as sources of information. As more mainstream people create their own blogs, the more viable they are as a measure of public sentiment.
After falling prey to bloggers in the past, politicians are now establishing their own blogs. It is common for a candidate to include his/her Website in campaign advertisements. Many are turning to their own resources to get their message out instead of relying on the historic mainstream media.
I'll talk more about the media, the Internet and the message, next week after the elections are over. At least I hope they will be over by then.
As always you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.