So, for most of the last week, I’ve been at EuroPython 2009. The conference was amazing, even if I am still completely shattered.

A lot of people who know me have asked why I went to EuroPython. I know at least one person made the comment “But you’re a PHP Hacker (hiss)”. Yes. I’m a PHP hacker by trade, but I’ve been trying to teach myself Python over the last few months, and I’ve really been enjoying it. I’ve not done much of great interest, but I’ve found that Django is a pretty awesome tool, and lets me build stuff like my Video Site with minimal effort.

Anyway, back to the conference. I got involved pretty simply because I’m a local, and know most of the organisers from my Local LUG. I’m glad I did get involved in it though. I enjoyed it (though, until I got home from it, I hadn’t had time to realise I’d enjoyed it!).

Day 1

I arrived at the conservatoire at about 7:30 am. I was half asleep, and didn’t really know what was going on. I found the registration desk, got my badge, and buggered off to the crew room to get changed into my lovely blue shirt, and then I started off helping set some stuff up (projectors and such)

Knowing that I’d previously lost my Bank Card, and that I’d need cash, I scarpered pretty quickly to the bank, to go get some money for the week. I headed back to the conference for about 10, and then wandered aimlessly around looking at the different stalls. I hadn’t volunteered to do anything till 11:30.

At about 11:15, I headed to the Adrian Boult hall to get ready and Mic up the first speaker I had to work with. This was Simon Willison, talking about CrowdSourcing with Django. A pretty cool talk, which was kind of interesting to me after listening to Matthew Somerville’s talk at my local LUG the month before.

Next up was the talk that had been advertised in all the toilets around the venue. I’ve no idea why it was advertised in the toilets, and I didn’t really watch that much of the talk. The speaker had wanted a screen with IRC in for the talk, and this was where the first major fail came in. Chris Swift’s laptop didn’t like the projector, so I had to dash up and replace it with mine. Unfortunately, for some reason, my laptop didn’t want to work with the projector under Ubuntu, but happily worked with it under vista, so I loaded that up, loaded up putty, and SSH’d into my irssi session. Anyone who saw this will probably agree that I need to be in less IRC channels!

Lunchtime next. I quickly ran off to McDonalds to grab some food (not wanting to have to stand in the long queue!) and headed back to set my laptop up with the projector for the big Twitter screen, which people seemed to enjoy (espescially Fiona!).

After lunch was the first Keynote from Cory Doctorow, who I’ve already mentioned before, is one of my favourite authors. Cory managed to give us a dark perspective on where life in the digital age could be going, and a rallying cry for us to fight against that (though surely,this is reminiscent of M1k3y?? I wonder if the DHS will be after Cory now!). I also managed to snag a copy of “Little Brother”, which Cory asked that we email a copy of the ebook to people after we’d read it. I’ll one up that, and tell you that you should go read it (espescially if you saw his talk!) If you want to be emailed a copy, please leave a comment and I’ll add you to the list I’ll be sending it to!

It was about this point that I started wanting to get onto IRC and chat to people. Unfortunately, my laptop is a right dodgy thing, and doesn’t like using wireless of any kind. Luckily, I had my E71 to hand, and so managed to get online with that (and it shocked me how easy it was to set up in Ubuntu). I ended up using this as my primary means to access the net throughout the conference. I just wish I’d had my E71 Desktop Charger with me, as I’d then have been able to charge my phone via USB at the same time! Unfortunately, it meant that I had to spend my time at the hotel flicking and changing between the charger for my phone and my laptop to try and keep them both going (why a hotel room only has one plug socket, I don’t know!)

Next up was “Mashing up the Guardian” and “Flickr for Formulas”. .. the second talk I don’t actually remember any of. But the first one was pretty interesting. I thought during it “Oh, I could link that up to twitter and generate a personal news feed based upon what they were twittering about. Unfortunately, the last few slides was showing someone who’d done exactly that. I guess my ideas aren’t that original!

Off to the Australian bar for the social, where I got rather tipsy, and chatted to some very cool people (thanks for the link to the Biltong seller Brad!)

Day 2

Bruce Eckel started the day off with the keynote. I was half asleep during this, having been out for most of the day, but I do remember that there were some pretty amusing pictures, and some good commentary. I also enjoyed the talk about unconferences, which led me to thoughts about possibly doing something similar for FizzPOP.

The day dwindled away with me running round until Bea’s talk “We need to fail, and we need to fail fast” – a very good insight into Agile Methodology (some of which we should probably adopt at work!). First barefoot presentation I’ve seen. Bea’s a very good speaker though, you can tell she has a lot of passion about what she’s talking about.

Next was a caged deathmatch. I didn’t really know much about Unit Testing in Python, being a bit of a n00b and all, but the talk was interesting nontheless. Even if I did end up running up and down the stairs like a trained monkey (ah well, I needed the exercise anyway!)

Next Keynote: Bletchley Park. I found this talk had some interesting content, but it’s delivery was a bit dry.

Then it was time for the GPG Keysigning. I’d left my ID in the hotel. What an idiot!

Lightning talks were next, followed by another keynote, followed by a spectacular fail trying to get Guido up on the big screen (10 second delays, him not hearing anything, and then the laptop battery running out). Alex took it in his stride though, the bow with a flourish was certainly amusing!

Off to the conference dinner. Good food, good conversation, good talk.

Day 3

I’m surprised I made it in. I was tired. Too much running around.

Tobias started off the day with a short talk on OSS, BSS, and Python, and then I went to the “Clean Code Challenge” talk, which was interesting, though I’m not too sure about the actual coding bit of it. There were a few things in the talk that I wish has been delivered to my bosses, but I’m not too sure the example “Clean Code” that was meant to be pythonised was the best code to work with.

Another Keynote, lots more lightning talks, and then a prize draw. I didn’t win anything, but I enjoyed myself.

After that, there was a “secret” organisers meal at the Hyatt Hotel. Good food and good conversation again.

And that was it, I headed home, and slept for 16 hours!

Thanks to everyone who made EuroPython a success. All the organisers, all the speakers, and all the delegates.

Though hopefully more people will help out next time. I don’t think Ciaran got to sit down for more than 5 seconds during the day!

Today, Gay Pride. Last week, Glastonbury. Wherever the masses gather, it seems, Sarah Brown is also to be found, smiling for cameras whilst twittering merrily away.

The omnipresence of the prime minister's wife has been startling in recent weeks. Whether at first lady Michelle Obama's side, or posing with socialite heiress Paris Hilton, or updating her 300,000 Twitter followers on her home-grown strawberries, Mrs Brown is everywhere.

"Clearly, they think it is a worthwhile attempt at softening Gordon's image. And they have to do it, because Cameron is so good at this soft stuff," said Danny Rogers, editor of PR Week.

So, has Downing Street unleashed its most effective weapon to save Project Gordon? As her embattled husband's popularity wanes, hers soars. Never before has a No 10 spouse been so, apparently, accessible.

But opinions over her motives are divided. The prime minister's advisers will tell you there is no agenda, beyond promoting her charities. At Glastonbury, with model Naomi Campbell, she was raising awareness of the White Ribbon Alliance, the international charity on maternal mortality. Twitter – her idea – is just one more effective tool.

Friends concur, dismissing suggestions of a "cynical marketing ploy". Kathy Lette, the Australian novelist and a friend for many years, said: "The only reason she didn't tweet before is because it wasn't invented.

"She's a natural communicator. She thinks it's hysterical that I am so technologically retarded and can't tweet. I prefer carrier pigeon.

"So this is not some desperate attempt to make Gordon more appealing. It's just her natural instinct to communicate good positive messages about her charitable passions like maternal morality. The woman should be rushing off for a halo fitting."

Though still short of Barack Obama's reported 1.3 million followers, her Twitter friends include Queen Rania of Jordan, presenters Davina McCall, Emma Freud and Stephen Fry, DJ Chris Moyles, actor Kevin Spacey, and comedian Eddie Izzard.

But no one can forget she is a consummate PR, widely regarded as one of the best before she ditched her career and maiden name to marry the future prime minister.

The veteran PR Max Clifford sees her recent "visibility" as a "deliberate ploy by a very loyal wife". He said: "It is a personal one-woman marketing campaign to get to know the thoughts and feelings of as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, because her husband isn't getting very good advice as to what the public think or feel."

A natural networker, the friendships she has struck with Mrs Obama and Carla Bruni, wife of the French president, could stand her husband in good stead for a job on the international stage. Some believe she is laying the groundwork for a dignified exit from No 10.

Yet, others are bemused by her approach. One in her circle believes her tweets make her come across as an "airhead – which she most certainly is not".

Aside from the charity and issue messages, they reveal very little of the real Mrs Brown. Never unguarded – she has been described as having an in-built censor – little can be gleaned beyond that she likes getting out in the sunshine and trips to the beach in Fife.

She's "excited" about her strawberries, spends time baking and making cookies going to London Zoo, and when she's not telephone chatting with girlfriends she enjoys watching "BGT" – Britain's Got Talent – and the Eurovision song contest.

Anything remotely political is avoided. Indeed she displayed an almost Neroesque attitude to the maelstrom that consumed her husband during his frenetic cabinet reshuffle.

Thus, as the work and pensions secretary James Purnell resigned and the chancellor Alistair Darling contemplated whether he might have need of a removals firm, she was tweeting about going to the cinema – albeit for a worthy screening on the plight of the world's fish stocks – and how much she loved Twitter.

But she has also used it as an effective air-brushing tool. "Finished day with amazing British vets at Arromanches – kept thanking us for coming when we should thank them," she tweeted, ignoring the muffled boos that greeted the prime minister in Normandy on the 65th D-Day anniversary last month.

Likewise her tweet "Quite a moment with the Gurkhas and their families in Downing Street garden out in the beautiful sunshine" belied no hint of the bludgeoning Brown had sustained at the hands of deadly Gurkha campaigner Joanna Lumley.

"She is formidable," said Ross Furlong, digital PR specialist who is still in awe of her performance when she stepped out to introduce her husband at the Labour party conference. "I couldn't work out how he could avoid getting a kicking, then she stepped in."

But, he warned, people want a genuine portrait of a person. "If she is just purely doing her PR spin, then people might start to question it online. In a sense, you can miss a trick by not being personal enough."

Danny Rogers agreed. "These are powerful tools," he said. But she was in danger of trying to be all things to all people, "one minute with Paris Hilton, the next home cooking with the kids.

"My advice to her would be, be yourself, be open and join the conversation. And don't try to be something you're not, because it is an unforgiving medium. People will see through it and there will be a backlash."

Tweet nothings

Sarah Brown may be a regular Tweeter, but she divulges very little about life with husband Gordon inside No 10, as this selection from her Twitter site demonstrates.

· "Have emerged from a weekend of gardening, baking cakes and cookies"

· "Am loving Twitter conversation on Eurovision – almost better than the TV coverage"

· "Peppers and tomatoes are shooting up"

· "Too much girlfriend chatting on phone last night – and BGT (Britain's Got Talent) – and I missed out on Tweeting"

• Twitter
• Michelle Obama
• Politics and technology

Not an Australian railway simulator.

Read more...

The Australian – “A LOVED-UP Kiwi prisoner has been hauled through the courts for using a jail radio to make a “romantic” phone call to the prison librarian. The judge presiding over the case convicted Patrick Cook, 30, but decided the $NZ2.50 ($2) compensation being sought was “unnecessary”.

An Australian company uSocial is offering to get people Twitter followers for a fee, reports BBC.

The going rate is $87 for a 1000 followers.

While Twitter itself has yet to convert its hype into revenues, here is yet another business that's making money off the micro-blogging service.

Read the rest of this story »

Australia - How is this for an innovative social media marketing idea? An Australian marketing company called  uSocial is offering a paid service that finds followers for users of the micro-blogging service Twitter.

read more

p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- Ex-RIAA private ‘investigator,’ MediaSentry, bought by SafeNet for cash and stock worth $20 million in 2005, this year fired by the Big 4 extortion unit and then sold to rival MediaDefender at flea-market rates of $136,000 in cash and a promise of another $800,000, turned up in Australia where it was responsible having a student thrown out of his school dormitory.

Now it’s operating in Canada.

Does anyone know if it’s licensed here?

A ‘foreign corporation’

ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) is apparently ignoring the fact a foreign corporation, MediaSentry, instructed via email an Australian educational institution to terminate an Australian contract between the user of a service and the service provider, wrote Australian economist and p2pnet contributor Tom Koltai in May, going on:

“Not only does MediaSentry not have a registration in Australian as a foreign corporation, it has not, to the best of my knowledge, been given exemption by ASIC to operate in any capacity within Australia, especially in the capacity of a legal investigator.”

Named as MediaSentry ‘enforcement coordinator’ was one A. Kempe.

Now, “I wanted to give you a heads-up that MediaSentry (yes the very same discredited a**holes!) are still up to their old tricks here in Canada  — Ontario at least!” - says a p2pnet reader, including a copy of an email s/he received yesterday.

Under the name of Rogers Cable, and with Apple iTunes included, it goes »»»

Rogers Cable (Rogers) has received a notice stating that activities associated with your IP address are infringing copyright in material(s) owned or exclusively licensed by others.

The full notice is appended to this e-mail below.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Rogers Cable Inc.

RE:  Unauthorized Distribution of the Copyrighted Published Work Entitled The Tales of Beedle The Bard (Document)

Dear Rogers High-Speed Internet:

On behalf of the rights holder for the content listed below, we are writing this letter to state that we have a good faith belief that the unauthorized sharing (distribution) and downloading of this content has occurred by an individual making use of the IP address below at the date and time referenced at the end of this notice.

The Tales of Beedle The Bard (Document)

We also state, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notice is accurate and that we are authorized to act on behalf of the rights owner.  Since you own this IP address, we request that you inform the individual who engaged in this conduct of the following:

Unauthorized file sharing is illegal.  However, we truly appreciate your interest in The Tales of Beedle The Bard (Document).  We are making every attempt to provide this wonderful content to you in a host of legitimate ways, one of which is through the following website:

http://www.apple.com/itunes

If you believe you have received this notice in error, please contact us at CLCopyright@mediasentry.com, and kindly include this identification number xxxxxxxxx, also noted above, in the subject line.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Respectfully,

A Kempe
MediaSentry Operations

——————————

INFRINGEMENT DETAIL
——————–

Infringing Work: The Tales of Beedle The Bard (Document)
First Found: 1 Jul 2009 00:49:28 EDT (GMT -0400)
Last Found: 1 Jul 2009 00:49:28 EDT (GMT -0400)
IP Address: xxxxxxxx
IP Port: xxxxxx
Protocol: BitTorrent
Torrent InfoHash: 4CBDECB81685C5FCD96B5C3B8B8B76970EEFD120
Containing file(s):
young-adult fiction.torrent (409,735,327 bytes)

—-PTCP_67a2bb9903259307d9
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-Printable

=EF=BB=BFWednesday, July 01, 2009

“I wouldn’t touch the kind of trash they are accusing me of downloading with a ten-foot pole, so this would be funny — except for the false accusation part and having Rogers threaten to cut off my internet,” says the p2pnet reader, adding:

“Maybe a few of your readers would like to send MediaSentry a few choice words.  God knows I just might …”

Stay tuned.

Jon Newton - p2pnet

Follow p2pnet on Twitter.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

July, 2009

Tech shows peering, zooming, turning.

An Australian student has been showing off several accomplished head-tracking demonstrations using videogames.

Using Valve's Source engine, Toben Sko can peer around corners by tilting his head, zoom by moving closer to the screen, rotate the camera by turning his head and produce a gun-sight by posturing as if aiming down the barrel of a gun.

The video can be found on YouTube, noticed first by PushingPlay before being picked up by Joystiq.

Read more...