Gio Gutierrez

Geek Artist Making $50 Caricatures Over FaceTime

// Monday, July 19th, 2010 10:01 am GMT -5 // No Comments » // Design, Random

Dlanham Portrait

Does your Twitter/Facebook/IM avatar suck? The answer is likely to be a resounding “probably”. You need a custom caricature, and being a proper geek, you should get it not from the dodgy street-artist with the portfolio of sample “work” downloaded from the internet, but over the actual internet.

That’s just what Dave Lanham, artist extraordinaire and designer at the Icon Factory (the people behind Twitterific and a lot more besides) is doing. Dave is holding FaceTime calls with his iPhone 4 and drawing the portrait of the person at the other end. The hi-resolution Retina display no doubt helps him to see deep into your soul.

The fun started when Dave broke his foot and was left lounging around the house. His friend Gio Gutierrez (right) volunteered for a portrait and then things just got bigger and bigger. Dave is charging $50 per portrait, which you can then use as your online personality (or print on a T-Shirt, we guess, if you are really narcissistic). The demand is likely to be huge, so even if you can’t get on his list, you should check out Dave’s website, which has time-lapse videos of his work being made.

FaceTime Portraits [Dave Lanham on Flickr]

@dlanham [Twitter]

Dave’s website home-page [Dave Lanham]

[Post from Wired by Charlie Sorrel]

Power to the people – publishers take notice!

// Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 01:50 pm GMT -5 // No Comments » // Random

Michael Lewis’ latest book - The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine was published recently and the book’s reviews are extremely negative. Most of these reviewers haven’t even read the book! Reviewers are irate due to the fact that publisher WW Norton has decided not to release a Kindle version (nor Nook) of the book at the same time as its hardback release. Example review:

“I’d like to add my name to the list of people who are very disappointed that this book does not have a Kindle edition. No, I haven’t read the book, but I want to — on my Kindle! If all these one star reviews lead to fewer sales, I think that would be a great result and an excellent lesson for the author/publisher.”

I support these efforts 100% because publishers delaying Kindle releases to protect hardback sales is bullshit. Similar to what movie publishers are doing with Netflix, this is only pissing off consumers like myself whose spent hundreds of dollars on a Kindle and its books because we want our media in a different, arguably better format. Publishers should be embracing technology, not hinder it in any way.

At the time of this post, there are 70 one star reviews (more than all others combined) sending a clear message to publishers – we want digital versions now. I’m glad people are doing something about this although it sucks for Michael whom I’m sure has no word on this. Please don’t take it personal Michael, your just the “Rosa Parks” of the digital book revolution.

PS. Had to throw this funny review:

I cannot believe that Mr. Lewis and his publishers have the nerve to produce a book and not simultaneously produce a Na’Vi Audio Version. After watching Avatar, I only speak Na’Vi now with my friends and we wanted to listen to this audiobook – in Na’Vi – while on our summer roadtrip to Pandora. Avatar is the most successful movie ever by some measures. It’s not like we’re asking them to produce one in Xhosa.

Chat Roulette Craze

// Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 11:01 am GMT -5 // No Comments » // Random

I’m sure you’ve heard of Chat Roulette by now, but if not, it is this site where you randomly and (NOT SO) anonymously connect to strangers for video chat. This simple concept by a 17 year old boy leads primarily to perversion, but also creates an entirely new way to interact with people that wouldn’t normally take place. For those more socially or creatively inclined, these new outlets and restrictions can lead to amazingly entertaining results. Case in point, this talented musician improvising songs to what he sees when he gets connected. Or this guy tricking people into thinking his eye is a vagina. Simply the best uses of Chat Roulette I’ve seen yet, and clearly the perfect reason to support its continued open existence.

Jay-Z Song Turned Into A Geek Anthem

// Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 01:54 am GMT -5 // No Comments » // Random

Some think of “The New Dork” as the “ultimate geek/dork/tech-junkie’s anthem.” I think of it as one of the more amusing parodies of Jay-Z & Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” and love the geeky shout outs crammed into it.

If you want to sing or rap along, here are the lyrics:

Now I’m in the blogosphere,

Now I’m in the twitterverse

Fans get so immersed, But I’m a nerd forever

I’m the new Zuckerberg, And since my website

I been cookin dough like a chef servin killa-bytes

Used to be the basement, Back at my mom’s place

Buildin web traffic so that we could sell an ad space

Make way for the, One man businesses

Bail outs finished with, White collar criminals

New sega genesis, Entrepreneur time

Makin big plans, To dominate the online

Yeah, I’m on YouTube, this is one man

Sharin’ google revenue, With songs on my webcam

Science is the new art, Databases day to day

Geeks spreadin’ sheet smarts, Hustle, make the data pay

I could be in Valleywag plus Geekologie

Tell from my avatar, That I’m most definitely

The New Dork,

Social networks – what dreams are made of,

There’s nothing you can’t do

Now you’re the New Dork

This V.C. money is brand new, The geek is now damn cool

Let’s hear it for new dorks, new dorks, new dorks

Catch me up in Techcrunch, Right on the homepage

Hell, I’m on Gizmodo, In a photo bout a phone craze

And Im up in Mashable, weekend trip to New York

Bar pitty, 1oak, parties full of New Dorks

Now I’m pitchin business plans, From the backs of napkans

Micro-lend to Africans, Monetize Kazakastan

Catch me up on linked-in, Dog, C.E.O.

You can see where I be, With the I.P.O.

Now I’m up in skinny jeans, Now a hipster’s lurkin’

Used to be a reject, But now I’m steady jerkin’

Now my glasses mainstream, Now the girlies eyein me

Popular kids copy me, The new swag is irony

Comin’ from the small time, Girls couldn’t find me

Now I scale models, Like I climb on top of Heidi

Start big trends, with tweets that I pass on

You should follow me, cuz I’m friends with Ashton

CHORUS

via This Is How To Turn A Jay-Z Song Into A Geek Anthem – New dork – Gizmodo.

The “Unofficial” iPad Experience

// Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 10:14 am GMT -5 // No Comments » // Random

Scott Dadich, Creative Director for Wired describes the “revolution in the way people consume journalism” (well said) allowing consumption in many different places, “paper, mobile devices, iPhone, iPad…”, and that’s his whole list. (more…)

Public transportation, how I love thee.

// Friday, February 19th, 2010 12:52 am GMT -5 // No Comments » // Random

I’ve had a few myself, mainly back in the high school hay days. Nothing quite as glorious as this. May I present the 67 year old man vs. young punk. Enjoy. (Be warned, there is bloodshed.)

How to use Facebook Chat with iChat

// Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 09:33 pm GMT -5 // 1 Comment » // Random

Step 1: Find your facebook username by going to: http://www.facebook.com/username/

Step 2: Open iChat Preferences in the menu under iChat > Preferences and click on the accounts tab

Step 3: Click on the + (plus) sign below to add an account.
• Choose Account Type as Jabber Account
• Account name is username@chat.facebook.com and your password
• Click drop-down arrow to reveal Server options. Enter chat.facebook.com as the server name.
• Enter 5222 as the port. Hit ‘Done’

Click done and you are good to go

3 things Apple needs for iPad

// Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 11:02 am GMT -5 // No Comments » // Personal, Random

So I’ve come to the conclusion that not only do I want an iPad, but I need one. Yes, I’m a card carrying Apple Fan Boy. With that being said, here are the 3 things Apple needs to implement right now. There’s a good chance some of these wishes will have to wait until iPad 2.0, but we’re hoping Apple has some cards to play and will further enhance its device before the March launch-date.

1. Printing from iPad

The brief iWork demos showed how capable these apps are, but no mention was made about printing. We’re hoping there’s direct network printing from iPad apps, because without this functionality, iPad will sit squarely in the ‘peripheral’ category.

PS. I know you can print now from an iPhone but you need to install an app on your Mac/PC as well as the iPhone. This should be native using existing technologies such as Bonjour/Wifi/Bluetooth.

2. A front-facing iPad camera

Only crazy people want to be able to use iPad for taking photos. A 10-inch flatscreen device is more than a little unwieldy for such endeavors. However, we already know a number of people that consider the lack of an iPad webcam a deal-breaker. Video chatting never became ubiquitous in the manner shown in sci-fi movies, but it’s popular with some, especially anyone with friends and family overseas via Skype, iChat etc.

3. Wireless device syncing

If you’ve got a Mac or PC, you can back-up your iPad to it via a sync, just like an iPod/iPhone. Big hard drive space is now very much needed as your main computer has to store backups of these devices. There needs to be a optional way to backup wireless via MobileMe at prices similar to Amazon’s S3 storage.

Japan, WTF… Seriously?

// Thursday, February 4th, 2010 08:40 am GMT -5 // No Comments » // Personal, Random

Wow… Japan never ceases to amaze me. Seriously, here’s some DVD for sale of women crying. I’m sure it’s some sick masochistic fetish to some but as a DVD for sale it’s well… unique and brilliant. I hope they make millions so please buy yours here: Crying Girl DVD Helps Men Feel Strong.

Straight from product page:

It may not be The Crying Game but “Crying Girl” (Nakigao, in Japanese) from Amuse Soft Entertainment has its fair share of crying. In fact, it’s almost ALL crying. One after another, 11 minor female celebs shed real tears as they recount some of the worst days of their lives.

The “11 stories of people crying in earnest”, as the DVD’s tag line states, include some that really don’t seem so terrible but instead reflect the rigors of being an up & coming model in Japan’s fiercely competitive “idol” culture:

• Marika, who was yelled at by her manager.

• Risa, who had been jilted by her boyfriend.

• Nana, who saw a bad picture of herself in a magazine.

• Shiho, who cried when her boyfriend said goodbye.

• Mai, who cried “touching the loneliness of the city”.

• Yutaka, who has a friend with breast cancer who’s engaged to marry.

Weekly Digest for February 3rd

// Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 09:00 am GMT -5 // No Comments » // Random

	Tablet day Tablet day. I’m kinda pumped. I won’t be annoying about it, but I’ve been a fanboy since I was a child & YES I’ll be buying one! [giovanny]
	I thought you might like to know "How to Recognize a Gay Terrorist" http://twitpic.com/100thk His name is "Yomama Bin Shoppin" [giovanny]
	iPad!!!!!!! [giovanny]
	Epiphany: The problem with newspaper is the word "paper". Not news anymore by the time it gets printed. Just NEWS, on paper, on iphone, etc. [giovanny]
	iBooks… Awesome except it’s ripping off "Classics" GUI. (sorry @phillryu) PS: I have Kindle for sale if anyone wants it. [giovanny]
	This dude looks like a pedophile holding a picture of his object of affection http://twitpic.com/101e4c [giovanny]
	The Apple iPad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFNQE_TzQNI&feature=player_embedded LOL [giovanny]
	What are people gonna do in boston when they order the ipod… ipad. Mass confusion and riots. (via @joesawesome) [giovanny]
	First thoughts on the iPad http://www.giogutierrez.com/2010/01/first-thoughts-on-the-ipad/ [giovanny]
	Shared Office Snapshots » Advertising Agency.
	Liked iPad size comparison: DS, PSP, Kindle and more.
	First thoughts on the iPad http://bit.ly/90SMZG [giovanny]
	Hitler responds to the iPad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnT0zp8Ya4 (thx to @Michelle_ ) [giovanny]
	Liked 2 videos.
	I checked in at Mr. Yum (1945 SW 8th St) on#Yelp http://bit.ly/a6rQAP [giovanny]
	Falling asleep to new Sade album. Good night twitterverse! [giovanny]
	Queued The Ugly Truth.
	Olllie the Twitter Bird Toy http://flic.kr/p/7zfXEG [giovanny]
	Super Mario’s New Suits: http://www.geekologie.com/2010/01/die_bowser_mario_suits_that_sh.php [giovanny]
	Wow! The pic attached is vector. Don’t believe me? http://egba94.deviantart.com/art/Angelina-Jolie-Vector-151635462 [giovanny]
	Liked Hey! Leave that car alone! [PIC].
	Liked Curious Chimp is Curious (Video).
	Queued Wall Street.
	Web Stats From State Of The Union http://bit.ly/c8C4c0 [giovanny]
	Queued Transsiberian.
	Queued Public Enemies.
	Just had a delicious brunch at @Giovanny and @wiifitgirl http://twitpic.com/10qnmi (via @missprism) [giovanny]
	Round 1 http://flic.kr/p/7zJ9Ma [giovanny]
	Didn’t care for Pink’s song but her performance was spectacularly HOT! [giovanny]
	Liked The Coolest Twitter Avatars Ever [PICs].
	Liked Newly Discovered Amateur video of Challenger explosion.
	How can people not think Marilyn Manson when watching Lady Gaga http://twitpic.com/10vtqs [giovanny]
	Shared iPhone CSS—tips for building iPhone websites — CSS Wizardry—CSS, Web Standards, Typography, and Grids by Harry Roberts.
	Why iPad will rule supreme: "NPD: 90% of $1,000+ PCs Sold in Fourth Quarter 2009 Were Macs http://bit.ly/9UVPEo" (via @MacRumorsRSS) [giovanny]
	Queued Michael Jackson’s This Is It.
	BOOKMARKABLE: This HTML5 Video Player looks as slick as a Flash video player: http://bit.ly/6xbBIZ (via @dimensionmedia) [giovanny]
	It is "la Chandeleur" today, which is – all you can eat "crêpes"- So, this afternoon, we’ll have home made warm crêpes in the kitchen. [giovanny]
	The Kid Cudi remix of Dan Black’s "Symphonies" music video is even better than the original. http://bit.ly/9YYZwJ (via @vultureblog) [giovanny]
	Liked Kinekt Design’s Gear Ring.
	Crepe Time! http://flic.kr/p/7Aig91 [giovanny]
	Shared How to Create a Gallery of Members’ Avatars in BuddyPress – WordPress MU and BuddyPress plugins, themes, support, tips and how to’s.