Amir Chaudhry

thoughts, comments & general ramblings

Did Google+ Hangout just kill Skype?

Google-plus

Disclaimer: I still haven't tried Hangout, not enough people in my circles yet.


Skype has been great for conference calls and video calls but it's nearly always been a hassle with more than 2 people. It's analogous to the way in which phones work i.e great when only two people need to talk but confusing to set up if there are more.

Although it's different, Hangout might obviate the need to use Skype video again. Having multiple people, with cameras, all in one 'room' and effectively with one-click sounds fantastic. Of course, I haven't tried it yet but I can imagine not needing to use Skype video again.

Skype will still have it's place (for now) since I find it useful to see who's online and ask quick questions via IM. However, even that benefit might disappear in time.

I'm curious to know what other people think.

Edit: Some discussion now on Hacker News.

This time-lapse montage will blow your mind #fb

What? Were you trying to use your brain for something right this moment? Please stop that. Stop your multitasking, your conference calling, and your SMS messaging for 2 minutes and 24 seconds, just long enough to enjoy this fantastic time-lapse montage from Mike Flores. It’s worth it.

The video was shot with a Canon 5D MKII and various lenses, including the Canon 16-35mm f2.8 II, Canon 14mm f2.8 II, and Canon 24mm f1.4 II.

via geek.com

It's the audio that makes this work so well.  The scenes with people in aren't that spectacular so they're a little distracting, when compared to the epic nature scenes.

Woah! Drinking tea prevents testicle shrinkage. Are you getting enough?

Qi

Wow. Random fact of the day.

Apparently the recommended daily amount of Manganese is around few milligrams per day (some sites say up to a max of 11mg per day). The average cup of black tea has 0.2-0.8 mg of Manganese. Other sources of the mineral include soy, rice and beans and coffee (though I couldn't find how much there was in coffee)

I guess I'm going to have to play Starcraft 2

Paul-starcraft2-detail_2707101
Had a slightly bizarre experience at lunch today. Pretty much everyone I sat with was talking about games they’d played in Starcraft II (see below). Words like fast expand, Cruisers and Zerg were being bandied about and for several minutes it felt like a different language (the terminology gets even more odd with things like cheese tactics).

I mean, I speak English so I knew all the words but the order they were strung together in was alien to me. Direct peer pressure rarely works on me (and they’ve already tried) but apparently being part of a conversation where I’m failing to understand anything is like crack. I have to go off, google stuff and try and get a basic understanding. In this case, if I want to continue having lunch with these guys I’ll probably have to start playing. Given my tendency for getting addicted to (good) computer games, this could end badly for everyone.

Luckily, (this time) the conversation did move on to other topics, including male nurses and how PAs could take over the world. Epic stuff.

Amir

(folks were: @plc, @leemallabone, @rahulvohra, @matclayton, @robbiethng)

What the Facebook Phone would look like

Media_httpwwwesarcasm_jteso
via esarcasm.com
"Not surprisingly, the phone is designed for a world in which "sharing is the social norm." Not only will you be able to scroll through your friends list and call people by tapping a button, Facebook will also record who you called, what you said, and what you were wearing at the time. This information will only be shared with law enforcement agencies and carefully selected advertisers"
Edit to add:
Also found the following more recently (Oct 2010)
Media_httpseanperciva_rdfhe
via seanpercival.com