I’ve been very curious about HTML5, because despite being completely lacking in tech skills, and despite having zero artistic or design talent, I’m still fascinated by and want to keep up with tech trends. Even though I’m in the sunrise of my old age!
I know. We can argue that another time. 57 is the new 45, I hear. Well, tell my dysfuntional back that! I’d be back at school teaching if that were the case. No matter.
So. In my quest to keep abreast of what’s new, I happened across a gem at Wired.co.uk. It’s a mixture of the music of a Canadian-American indie-rock band called Arcade Fire, Google, the Chrome browser and me. Or you.
I know, it sounds crazy. But somehow they’ve mashed the whole production together with our own social media, (and it keeps pictures of us—I’m in there now, I’m told), and then, using HTML5 (the new and improved web experience), images and messages appear and disappear, come and go, in and out. Whoa. Starting to sound sexy here…
Anyway, it all comes together and rather resembles a bit of your life. From a satellite. With your Facebook stuff. (And some music I really don’t care for.)
Clear enough? You get it, right? Yeah, I didn’t either, until I tried it. I thought it was very, very cool! But my buds at Wired.co.uk, where I came across it, didn’t agree. They had plenty of derogatory things to say about it.
Here it is, in case you don’t care to read any further. (But I found the whole deal with all the greed and possessiveness and soap opera crap fascinating! Especially since I used to be part of several indie bands…But that’s a story for another day!)
Such as, it’s not any-browser compatible, which is why HTML5 was developed, apparently. Not to mention the fact that the indie-band isn’t really indie because they have gone with a label and continue to make products, such as CDs and mp3 downloads, for money!. In other words, they don’t just stream for free. Gasp!
Having been a musician for years whose band did NOT pull in stadium-sized crowds (hell, we were lucky if our 20 regulars showed up! And often they didn’t!), I am in complete sympathy with the bands that Wired disapproves of.
But back to the biz at hand!
I guess that stuff is a big drawback to Open Source types, but for me, the casual ignoramus, it doesn’t really matter a whole lot.
It doesn’t play in Internet Explorer (What? <shock> <horror>), but I think the reason for that is pretty clear. (For the sake of my readers who aren’t crazed like me: It’s made by Microsoft. Microsoft and Open Source are diametrically opposed in religion, as open source believes in the freedom of the individual and the wire, and Microsoft believes in money.) Hell, I’d believe in money too if I had any.
I don’t know if I have that quite right, for like I said, I’m a tech-know-nothing, and that’s not the stuff I pay attention to.
So Open Source stuff can be changed and diddled with by people smarter than me, folks other than the original creator(s). Other brilliant minds take the code for something and improve, reuse, repurpose, and mess with it in all kinds of cool ways that would make me faint and lose the vision in my remaining eye if I tried to have even a glimmer of understanding.
And it is so very free that it makes hummingbirds seem like houseflies on a pile of dog poop.
Onward: So here we have the meet-up of new technology, an old-school-band, music that the kids seem to like, as it sold out Madison Square Gardens (I’m surprised, but then, aren’t I always?), and the bits and pieces of everything going on this moment on your Facebook page and on your Tweetdeck!
Oops, pardon me. Or Hootsuite. Those are the two platforms currently in vogue for Twitter. (They’ll probably not be by the time I finish typing this up, as that’s how quickly things change in our spanking new world, but hey…)
So despite the fact that it doesn’t utilize bandwith wisely <damn them!>, and the people who make the music are quite avaricious* and want to earn money, if I read Wired right, it is nonetheless, they say effusively, “rather pleasant.”
I differ. I was blown away! For me, it was like the first time I got on 14,400 dial-up and saw my first internet screen fill up with clip-artsy, blowsy, splashy banner ads! True joy!
I admit, I’m a sucker, and I have bad taste. To this day!
But that was Some Day. 1994, I think? I still smile. I smile still.
Nonetheless I think some of you will quite enjoy it. It’s called “The Wilderness Downtown.” You must be willing to give it your Facebook name, and Twitter too for the full effect.
Without it, it’s pretty much nothing. You will possibly even be asked to jot down a quick note or two during it. As a teacher, that pleases me. No, there isn’t homework.
Oh, yeah. Last but not least? It wants the address of your childhood home. Yeah, I know. Overkill. But hey—I really had a good time! Yeah, I gave it up. Figured it couldn’t kill me, since I had about 6 different addresses.
You may like it too.
Meet my first interactive web toy:
Warning: Digitizor.com wants you to know: This video is very resource intensive! Are you sure you’re ready???? That sounds pretty damn ominous. Here goes.
Wait! I meant to tell you. Right after this I’m going to go to my WordPress dashboard and whoop up a page of vibrant, pulsating HTML5 glory. (O, I am so not.)
OK, play the damn thang.
fingers tapping at a keyboard in the sunset
*Additional snarkiness on Arctic Fire: Wired claims that they took part in this Google experiment not to advance technology and the beauty and innate kindness that is mankind, but to promote themselves. Must be true, because Wired got “a nasty feeling” about it. Ooh, sickening, huh?
So there, Arctic Fire! A gimmick! I’m appalled. In this golden, altruistic age, when the wealthy are sharing with the poor, and all’s right with the world? Pure #shameonyou.
Even more snappily, their management has allegedly attacked fansites for posting news before the official announcements!
This is disheartening indeed.
I can’t believe anyone would even publish news of this rotten group of scoundrels. Wired was wrong to even—
Never mind.
Well, what did you think? I’d really love to know.
(I’m an affiliate where they have their record. My bands from the olden days are on CDBaby, and I’ll have a little cozy love forever.
