Get Joost Up

A few weeks ago, Joost came out of it's invite-only beta and went public. I'm only getting around to blogging about it now because I was having problems signing up because of avast!, my antivirus software.

I think Wikipedia puts it quite well: Joost is a system for distributing TV shows and other forms of video over the Web using peer-to-peer TV technology. What this means is that you can get some pretty nice looking video playing fullscreen on your computer minutes after you sign up. There's lots of interesting content on the Joost network, I found Numb3rs to be quite interesting, and CBS has put more of their shows up for streaming too. While I much prefer Miro, I like Joost as well for it's legal, good quality, and interesting content. There's something for almost everyone on Joost, and it's free, so why not give it a try? Go check it out now. I'd usually write more, but I have to finish watching the latest episode of Numb3rs.

Joost

-James

New Google Ads, but only for things I like

Uh oh, 4 days since my last post. I should talk about some of my changes. First off, I've put up a Google AdSense block at the bottom of the right nav column, the kind that tell you about cool Google things. This is really cool for me, as I get to have links to things I like to use on every page, and I get money when someone clicks on it. I've gone through the motions of looking for things other than Google's stuff in the selection of ads, but there is nothing there. I decided to settle on just a few of Google's products because, despite the very large selection, everything else kind of... sucked.

But anyway, if you see an ad that interests you, that you really feel just from the ad that you might use whatever's advertised, click it. I get money, and you get something awesome. And as much as you like me, don't click ads solely to give me money, not only does it make Google unhappy, but our advertisers too.

I will also be adding some contextual links too, so if you're reading an article about a game, there'll be a nice link directing you to where you can buy it, etc.

More to come,
James

Let the coolness begin!

Hi, welcome to the Blog of Cool Things. I'm James, and this is where I talk about everything cool and interesting. This is my second blog, I ditched the first - Game Day Blog - after I realized I wanted to blog about more than just gaming. (However, I did repost my entries from Game Day - they're tagged 'Repost'.) Now, everything I want to talk about goes here, and it fits fine. But this is all very boring, and, ultimately, not cool or interesting in the least. So, let's move on.

Here, you can find a wide variety of... well, stuff that I like. I'll write up articles about everything I find noteworthy enough for my readers. In the coming months, you'll see a great deal of articles on dozens of sites, games, programs, and more. I hope to provide interesting news, reviews, tips, downloads, solutions, advice, videos... whatever my userbase wants to see this site grow into. Since I currently have no one to define what they want, I'm going with a general category of topics to attract the right first users to shape this into something of quality. (Seeing me struggle to dispense women's fashion tips doesn't seem very interesting, now does it? I need people interested in things I know) From there, we'll move forward either through your clicks, seeing which topics are most interesting to you, or through votes, letting you change what topics I focus on most as you see fit.

Soon, I'll have lots of great services available on my site, letting you communicate with me and your fellow users, get the latest thing I'm talking about, suggest future topics, and much, much more. And if you're really into it, hey, who knows? I just might let you put up some posts of your own.

The initial slurry of topics will include most of the things I'm into; here's a general list with some examples:

• Sites and services, like Digg, Stumbleupon, and GrandCentral (and that's just a few)
  
• Images (though I'll try to keep those to a minimum, it's a slippery slope to post a funny image instead of write actual content)
• Gaming - reviews, news, downloads, me pleading for money (for, alas, I am poor)
• Videos (No, not that kind of video)
• Programs (only the coolest)
• Humor - I'm not talking lame or silly jokes, I'll take this seriously. I might not post Humor often, but when I do, it'll be because I got at least a full laugh out of it.
  
• Misc. - A catch-all for anything that doesn't really fit above.

In addition to these categories, I'll tag all my articles with relevant terms, so you can look for lolcats, or Halo 3, or IRC clients - you get the idea.

I want people to love this site, so if you want something, ask. Don't be afraid to email me or post to the forums asking if I could put up a media streaming system on the site, I can. Games? Okay. Host a file for you? I'll certainly consider it. Ask and ye shall receive.

Welcome to the Blog of Cool Things, ladies and gentlemen. We've been waiting for you.