YouTube - Turns 5

YouTube's first video, Me At the Zoo, was uploaded on April 23rd, 2005 at 8:27 pm. I don't think anyone at YouTube knew the revolution they would spark or how much YouTube would change the internet. It's really surprising when you realize that they weren't the first to do video, even Broadcast.com wasn't the first; but none of them up until YouTube would capture the imagination of the world the way YouTube has done and continues to do. Part of the success is the simplicity of the website (not unlike Google - which bought YouTube in 2006); but the true ingredient to their success is far simpler - it's content created by us, average folks. It also owes it's success to being in the right place at the right time, not an unusual ingredient to success. The wide adoption of digital video cameras, the ease of uploading to computers, the availability of inexpensive editing software (for those that wish to edit) and of course the ever increasing speed of our access to the internet - for watching and uploading videos. All of it came together around 2005 and all YouTube had to do was light a match.

The use of YouTube has shot through the stratosphere too. The best way to illustrate this is to look at the top videos and how many times they have been viewed. The first thing you will notice is that there are 10 videos with more than 100 million views, several of which are either personal videos or new media videos. If you look at total views something interesting becomes apparent. Currently the number one video (Lady Gaga's Bad Romance) has 186 million views, number two (Charlie Bit My Finger) has 183 million and number three (Evolution of Dance) has 142 million. While those numbers are astonishing, what's more astonishing is that Lady Gaga's video was uploaded on November 23, 2009 while Charlie Bit My Finger was uploaded on May 22, 2007 and Evolution of Dance was uploaded on April 6, 2006. Evolution of Dance reigned supreme for years, and was then quickly overtaken by a little kid who was then overtaken by a music video.

Two points come to mind to me. One, more and more people are turning to YouTube for regular entertainment; two, old media is seeing this trend and moving in for the kill. While they fight over what goes on YouTube, they have realized that people like to watch YouTube. The smart ones, like Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus, are taking advantage of YouTube. The others, well, my grandkids won't know who "they" were; but something tells me they will remember Lady Gaga, and maybe even Evolution of Dance.

Below, are links to the top 10 Videos on YouTube as of April 25th, 2010.

• 01 - Lady Gaga - Bad Romance - 189,933,428 Views
• 02 - Charlie Bit My Finger - 182,889,941
• 03 - Evolution of Dance - 142,066,505
• 04 - Pitbull I Know You Want Me - 116,936,742
• 05 - Miley Cyrus - 7 Things - 116,645,862
• 06 - Hahaha - 116,463,786
• 07 - Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA - 112,074,029
• 08 - Jeff Dunham - Achmed the Dead Terrorist - 110,913,292
• 09 - Lady Gaga - Just Dance Ft. Colby - 107,902,852
• 10 - Lo que tu Quieras Oir - 100,519,782

iPhone 4G? Is It In The Wild?

This story (link provided) has been bounced around quite a bit today, and as the moon rises the verdict still seems to be out. The question? Well, are the photos you see actually photos of the next version of the iPhone; call it iPhone 4G (for 4th Generation, not 4G Mobile speeds).

From the looks of things Engadget broke the story, and from what I've read in the story the iPhone that was supposedly found in a San Jose bar inside an iPhone 3G case. When the phone was inspected it was found to have an 80 gig storage capacity and a decidedly new iPhone OS. Currently the phone doesn't seem to be working as it will not boot. The question then is simple: Is it real? If it is real then is it a prototype or a pre-production model. Most seem to believe that it isn't real, if only because it seems unlikely that Apple would allow it to stray so far from home.

Personally, I don't see Apple moving away from the current form factor, at least not to the degree these images indicate. The iPhone has a very distinctive look, that this model is lacking. Also, a MicroSD slot on it? I just don't see Apple doing that. Front facing camera - maybe. Camera with flash, possibly. High resolution screen - without a doubt. Personally, I say we just wait till July. We will know by then.

The photo below is from a TwitPic that apparently appeared back in February. This photo is again making the rounds.

iBookstore Walkthru - For iPad

Check out the linked linked walkthru to The Apple Blog's walkthru of Apple iBookstore and the iBook application. This is a pretty detailed walkthru and basic review of the application, store and experience on the iPad. Later this summer the iBook application will also be released for the iPhone and one would think the Mac can't be far behind.

I've actually had a chance to test drive the iPad and the iBookstore. I was very impressed. While I've not used a Kindle or a Nook, the experience of reading on the iPad (for a few short moments anyway) was very enjoyable. As stated in this article eBooks have some definite advantage over printed books, two of the coolest are searching and bookmarking. Both work very well on the iPad. You can read the book in either portrait or landscape mode, each giving you a difference experience.

Don't take my word for it, read the article. Better yet, hand down to your local Apple Store or BestBuy and take one for a test drive yourself. As an e-reader, I think the experience is exceptional. Don't forget, the iPad does far more too. So if you are thinking of getting either the Sony E-Reader, the Amazon Kindle or the Barnes & Noble Nook - do yourself a favor and check out Apple's iPad.

Winscape Intro - A Window to the World

Okay... TOTALLY COOL! I twitted this earlier, but this is one of those must adds to my website. Basically the video below shows you a way to have a window into many different places right in your living room by seemingly looking through a window. I came upon this on TUAW (Mac's are used to run the software and drive the 2 HD plasma TVs). You can find more information on their website at RationalCraft.com. There you can find more videos, including their HowTo. This isn't a simple or inexpensive project, but it sure is one hell of a cool project.

As you watch the video, the first scene is cool, but when they show the windows looking into the world under the sea, that's incredible. Just check it out. Youtube offers this one up in 1080p, so choose that and go full screen!!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqu9NuINKbc (iPhone Friendly)

Winscape Features:

• Custom Winscape software with configurable screen parameters
• Two HD plasma displays for great contrast and wide viewing angles
• Video playback resolution of 1920x1080 with sound
• Still-image resolution of 4096x4096
• Fully embedded in the wall for aesthetics and silent operation
• Tracking of one person in the room for proper perspective presentation
• Scheduled on/off
iPhone and web control of sleep/wake/scene selection

Printing from an iPad

You said it couldn't be done, but it can! If you want to print from your favorite iDevice, Apples iPad, all you need is an MFP. See the photo below for simple instructions on how to "print" from you iPad. (Thanks to TUAW.com for bringing this little "undocumented feature" to the attention of the masses. There story here.) If only there was a standard way of printing from a computer or handheld. Shame no one has come up with that, other than this creative solution. Oh well, IT WORKS!

MacBreak Weekly - 188

This is one of my favorite podcasts, I watch or listen every week. If you use or covet Apple devices, then you need to checkout MacBreak Weekly. The show is corny, funny, informative and I even learn something from time to time. It's a great highway podcast. It's hosted by Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay and Andy Ihnatko. All of whom are long time Mac users, and not afraid to say something negative about Apple or Mac when they don't like it.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty6Hjs0NpDs

iPhone Friendly

MoxieMo Show 139

Okay, I should give a shout out to my fellow TU Alumn - Jeff McCord. He's been doing his own video podcast on tech for some time now called the Moxi Mo Show. A product that is really cool is "MOXIE!" While I've watched and listened, I haven't posted any of them here. BAD KELLY! BAD ALUMN! Anyway, as I was checking news on the iPhone 4.0 release and what do you know... I tripped over this week's episode. You should really check out his earlier stuff... he's come a very long way. Check it out... It's very Moxie!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5FLVXztnYg

iPhone friendly version

Don McAlister on the iPad

YTC018 - iPad2
Interesting take on the iPad from Don McAllister.