by Rick Landers.

Slash poses with new Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop signature models

Slash…the name alone conspires to attract and enthrall a cult following of guitarists and fans. Add the nonchalant tilt of a black top hat, a skull and bones talisman, a classic Les Paul, exotic good looks and voodoo charm with monster music talent and you’ve mixed the cauldron with a roll of the dice to conjure a rock god.

Oh, okay, so during our interview I suggested he joined the “soccer mom” league, not with disrespect, but to highlight the tectonic life altering shift he's experienced from that of a singularly focused rock star to husband and father. Life changes and Slash [Saul Hudson] is now the father of two boys, London Emilio and Cash Anthony, and married to the lovely Perla Ferrar. His paternal love shone bright in his recent autobiography Slash, and it seems he’s handling the father-rock god balance with finesse.

There’s plenty of ink written about Slash, so let’s run through a short list of some of his awards and honors, to highlight his legacy. In 2005, Esquire magazine honored him with its Esky Music Award for “Best Guitarist.” He joined other guitar legends with his own star planted on Hollywood’s Rock Walk of Fame (2007). That same year, at the 4th Annual Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards, he was awarded the title of “Riff Lord.” His guitar solo on the amazing “November Rain,” garnered him several honors including the song being listed at number 6 on the “The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos,” by Guitar World magazine. His work with Guns n’ Roses, Velvet Revolver and Snakepit have all been coveted by rock guitarists and highlighted by bullets running them up the charts.

And now a new book, Reckless Road: Guns n’ Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction, shows Slash’s life from the early days to today, written by his long-time friend, author and rock photographer, Marc Canter.

“Slash is in a great place in his life. He has accomplished so much with his music, guitar playing and tone, the spirit in his guitar solos and the coolest rock image on the planet. He’s been a monumental influence on guitar playing, leading to a huge wave of people picking up guitars and learning to play. And his love of Gibson’s Les Paul guitars has been a major factor in keeping it the guitar of choice for guitarists around the world. He brought the axe back in style with his heavy handed riffs that rock! He’s a great friend and wonderful father to his kids. Over two decades on the scene and Slash’s music is a gift that continues to inspire, making a deep impression. Slash has helped change Rock ‘n’ Roll forever.” Marc Canter

When Modern Guitars spoke with Slash last week, we talked about recent happenings in his life, along with his thoughts on guitar legend and innovator, Les Paul, Slash's musical career, his new recording project and the new Limited Edition Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul Goldtops that bear his name and embody his musical inclinations.

Slash. Photo credit: Jack Lue.

Rick Landers: Before we start talking about the new Gibson models, I've got a couple of other questions to preface those. How about telling us a little bit about your contribution to the new CD, Les Paul and Friends: A Tribute to a Legend, how that came about and why you chose "Vocalise," as your contributed song?

Slash: I actually was working with the guys who played the rhythm section for that particular song, Abe Laboriel Jr. and Abe Laboriel Sr. Are you familiar with those guys?

Rick: Yes, I am.

Slash: It's a take on a classical piece. I can't remember the composer. It's sort of an, almost improv, but based on that feel. It was picked out by Bob Cutarella who is basically the producer on the record. We got together and he showed me some different bits of what he had going on and chose that one. It sort of just took on a life of its own. So, one evening and we're jamming.

Rick: Okay, thanks. I've met Les a couple of times, he's a great guy. Beyond guitar playing, how has he influenced you as a person, not so much as a guitarist, but as a person?

Slash: Aside from the obvious guitar stuff, and also him as a technician and tinkerer and all that stuff, as a person, it's hard to separate the person from the stuff that he does. I've never really hung out with Les outside of a musical environment, you know? So, I always see him as a musician. But at the same time, as a person, he's great because he's full of energy. He's one of those people who doesn't take "No" for an answer. He's a bit of an adventurer, you know, a little bit of a maverick. He's well-mannered, very astute, very loving, good sense of humor, but definitely a caring guy. And at the same time he's a little tough guy, too, when it comes down to it. [Both Laughing]

I just love him to death. We met a long time ago and it was in Fat Tuesday's in New York. I got up to play with him for the first time ever and he basically wiped the stage up with me. I used that experience as a bar, so that any time I've ever played with him since then, I could always use that bar to see how much better I've gotten as a guitar player.

Rick: You must feel especially honored to have your name associated with Les and with the Gibson family. Wasn't there a 1988 Slash Les Paul model?

Slash: There was. It wasn't available commercially. No, wait, that wasn't 1988. There was one in 1990, roughly 1990. In '88 was the first guitar that Gibson ever sold me directly and it was just a typical 1988 Les Paul standard. I've been using it for so long that they finally came out with a guitar called an 'Inspired By', which is basically an identical replica of that guitar.

Rick: Okay. Much different, I guess, than your first...

Slash: Over 20 years difference in the finish...

Rick: Probably much different than the Les Paul copy that you started with.

Slash: Yeah, very different.

Rick: How did you collaborate, how did the collaboration begin with Gibson, and what level of involvement did you have in helping create both the Epiphone model and the Signature Goldtop Gibson model?

Slash: Do you want me to go back to the beginning and how our relationship developed or just over these guitars?

Rick: These guitars...

Slash. Photo credit: Marc Canter.

Slash: Obviously we've had this relationship for a long time and I'm constantly going to them at the beginning of the tour cycle or whatever and going, "I need a guitar for this. I need a guitar for that," and when Velvet Revolver first started, I'd wanted to take my 1988 Les Paul and retire it. So, I went to Gibson and they built me sort of a Slash model, let's say. It sounded amazing, so I had a couple of those and did the first Velvet Revolver record with that particular guitar.

I think they sold a couple commercially. But, it wasn't like a big launch like this kinda thing. It was a very limited edition. And then at the beginning of this next tour that we did for the Libertad record last year, I went to them, I said, 'I need another guitar.' I specified what I wanted and you know, because Les Pauls are pretty much perfect right out of the box, I don't have a lot of things to have to tweak on them.

I'd like to make sure that it's a particular size neck that I feel comfortable with and I put the Alnico pickups in them. I usually choose old-looking hardware, just because it looks cooler to me. I'm very particular about the finish, if I have a choice, right?

That's basically how it starts and when we did these Goldtops, we took it a little bit further. We redesigned the tone pots so that they wouldn't diminish volume or presence when you turn them all the way down. Because one of the great things about the Goldtop is, on the rhythm pickup, if you turn the tone down or are using a Marshall with a certain amount of gain, you get one of the sweetest, creamiest lead sounds, which is great for blues or any kind of long-sustaining notes that you wanna do.

Basically the Goldtop is a reissue of the 1991 Goldtop I got from them back then. And I used it for the whole two and a half year Guns N Roses "Use Your Illusions" tour. That was the guitar I did all those real epic solos for, or epic songs rather, like "Sweet Child of Mine" and "November Rain" and "Estranged" and "Heaven's Door." And all of these had these very melodic, sustaining solos. That guitar was just perfect for it. It got stolen in 1998 or '99 along with a bunch of other guitars. I got everything back, except for the one guitar.

Finally, I went to Gibson and said, "Could you check your logs and see if you can find the specs for a 1991 Goldtop?" And they did and so they built me one. They said, "Oh, this is a great guitar. Maybe we should put this out commercially." So, here we are.

Rick: I'd think there would be more demand than the numbers of models that are gonna be produced. I think there's gonna be 2,000 Epis and 1,000 Gibsons. Once those guitars are sold, will there be any follow-up production of those models, or are they limited?

Slash: They are limited. They're not gonna be like a regular season-long kind of production. As far as I know, it stops there.

Rick: And the information I have says that the Epi comes with a personally-signed certificate by you. Does that mean that you signed 2,000 certificates for the Epiphone?

Slash: I'm actually sitting on the same couch right now where I actually signed all 2,000. It's a bitch to sign 2000 certificates! Let me tell you, you do it in increments of 500!

Rick: Will the Gibson also have a signature?

Slash: The Gibson does as well, yeah.

Rick: So are your hands okay?

Slash: Yeah, yeah. They're fine.

Rick: [Laughs] Okay. I understand that you've also got a new book coming out by Marc Canter. Can you tell us a little bit about the book?

Reckless Road: Guns n’ Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction

Slash: Yeah, that's Marc's book. Mark is a really close friend of mine from way back in the 5th grade and when I first started playing guitar, he used to just bring his camera. He used to shoot a lot of rock concerts. He used to sneak cameras in and shoot from Judas Priest to Aerosmith and whoever else you can think of. So, he's pretty handy with a camera.

When I first started in my first band and what not, he used to always come and take pictures and physically record the shows. When Guns first started, I guess he saw something in Guns that we, maybe, didn't necessarily see at the time. But, he really thought it was gonna go somewhere.

He started shooting all the shows, recording all the shows and never missed one. Really, for the whole time that we were a club band up, until the point where we got signed. So, this book is really, really candid stuff from all these different dates, backstage and some other casual stuff.

But, it's the kind of pictorial history that most bands don't have because they either weren't fortunate enough to have somebody that saw more in them than the band itself saw or, you know, just having somebody around with a 35mm on a regular basis. But, it's really a cool, cool book. It's probably the coolest rock and roll table book I've seen in a long time.

Marc Canter poses with Guns N' Roses in 1987. Photo credit: Robert John.

Rick: You and Anthony Bozza came out with the autobiography, Slash by Slash about a year or so ago.

Slash: Marc's books is almost the pictorial...like the picture counterpart.

Rick: That last book was kind of fueled by the sex, drugs and rock and roll theme. But near the end, I got the impression that you were beginning to side a little bit more with soccer moms, and you were looking at yourself more as a real father and family man. Is that the case?

Slash: Yeah, I mean, all things considered, it goes through all the basic craziness and then, somehow, towards the end of it, I ended up married and now with two kids. So, having this sort of rock and roll craziness and domestic life sort of mixed, sort of getting rid of all the real hardcore stuff that I used to live on. You know, it all sort of works together. It is what it is. I guess you get the idea from reading it.

Rick: Yeah. Now, London and Cash are your sons. Are they following in your footsteps as far as music, or do they have other artistic endeavors?

Slash: Well, they're four and six. One of them, the six-year old seems to like sports more than anything, avoiding girls and that kind of thing. And then the younger one is probably the one that seems the most artistic, because he does a lot of drawing and he plays his piano, and is attempting to learn how to play the guitar. So, he seems to be going in that direction.

Rick: I've heard that you're working on a new solo album. Is that true?

Slash: Yeah.

Rick: And that you plan on having more than one lead singer?

Slash: The plan at this point is where I'm just using different singers for every song. So it'll probably be...if there are 12 songs, there will be 12 singers, put it that way.

Rick: I'll ask you a coded question: Will there be a rock 'n' roller who is really good at golf on that album?

Slash: Actually, to tell you the truth, I couldn't tell you. [Laughing]

Rick: Okay. I was thinking Alice Cooper.

Slash: Yeah, I know you were. He's the only rock 'n' roller that I know who's really good at golf. I just played on his record. Most of these people are people that I've worked with in the past.

Rick: Did you? What's it called?

Slash: His new record's called Along Came a Spider and I did a song on there called "Vengeance is Mine." We just did a video for it, so I don't know exactly when it's supposed to come out.

Rick: Okay, thank you. Over the years, have you found that you prefer to be working in an ongoing group, or is it more fun for you now to work with various artists on various projects?

Slash. Photo credit: Marc Canter.

Slash: My core is definitely group-oriented. I've always been in a band ever since I first picked up the guitar. Within the first six months of learning how to play guitar, I was in a band, and I'll always be a band guy. But, I also love the experience of going and doing sessions with people I've never worked with or people that I really admire that I grew up listening to or whatever, and learning how to adapt and sort of think on my feet. I do that a lot.

Working on a solo record, which is really my first solo record where I'm not using a fixed band, has just been a new experience for me because I don't have to answer to anybody.

And, you know, it's a little liberating in a way. But, at the same time, while I'm doing that, I'm still in Velvet Revolver and we're still looking for a singer, and we're still writing every day as a group. I like to be able to do it all, you know?

Rick: Yeah. Have you found any performer that you've worked with that wasn't part of your regular band that has particularly impressed you when you first met them, that you really weren't expecting them to be that good or that unique in their style or playing ability?

Slash: I know what you're saying. I don't know if I come into a situation in that kind of a judgmental...you sort of, you go in and I have been pleasantly surprised with 90% of the people that I've worked with. But, you know, like I did a tour with Ronnie Wood, and this was a few years back. I was really amazed at what an amazing musician Ronnie Wood is, because he doesn't always give the impression of being that good [Both Laugh].

Michael Jackson amazed me, even though I've always thought he was great, to work with him in person was a phenomenal experience. And it goes the other way. There can be guys like Bob Dylan, who was extremely difficult to work with. But, working with Iggy Pop was a great experience and I had no idea that working with Iggy could be so inspired and cover so much ground musically, you know, in just a couple of days.

And so, they're all different. Everybody's got their own really cool characteristics that identifies them as being unique.

Rick: One of our columnists, Billy Morrison, you know Billy?

Slash: Yeah.

Rick: He's got a group, I think he's still got it, called Camp Freddie. Have you played with Camp Freddie?

Slash: A dozen or so or more times.

Rick: How is that type of experience when you're going on stage. Are you playing almost impromptu or what?

Slash: It's very impromptu. The first time I ever played with Camp Freddie, I was like, "Oh, this is dynamite!" Because they have all these guest people come up and the first time I played with Camp Freddie, I got up there and was doing "Whole Lotta Love" with...oh, man, I always forget this guy's name...born in the same town as me in England. He's a real huge pop guy in England. But, he's never broke over here. Maybe it'll come to me. He was on stage and then also I was playing with Macie Gray. That was like two people I'd never played with before. So, the experience with playing with Camp Freddie is you can get up there and end up working with somebody on one or two songs that you might never have expected to work with.

Rick: I saw Billy play at the Gibson NAMM party with sort of the same kind of group. I don't think it was called Camp Freddie, but it was a Gibson group, and it was just pretty amazing how a number of different artists who weren't a band, could basically get on stage and just crank out some great rock 'n' roll.

Slash: Yeah, I think that's one of the great things, one of the things that's very important as a musician, to be able to pull together to work with people you've never worked with at the spur of the moment and be able to go up there and make music together. I think that's one of the things that makes music such a wonderful experience. When you, as a player, can get together with people. It really shows how music brings people together.

Rick: Yeah. I think that's true. I've got one last question and it's a question that I asked Les Paul last time I met with him. I want to see how your answer compares to his and, then I'll tell you what his answer was when we're finished. I asked, "How do you think you'll celebrate your 100th birthday?"

Slash: [Both Laughing] My 100th birthday. Oh, Christ.

Rick: You know, he's getting close.

Slash. Photo credit: Marc Canter.

Slash: That's a lot to ask. [Both Laughing] Let's leave it at that. If I have my druthers, though, it will probably be doing a jam somewhere like I did on my last birthday and that's probably the most fun I could have on a birthday is if I just have a gig. So, I'll probably be doing a gig with some other people that I've known all that time, you know? It'll still be festive and it'll probably be in Las Vegas or something.

Rick: Okay, well his answer was, "Well, I think I'd celebrate it very much like my mother who was glad to be here on earth." He said he was very grateful and you've got to be very grateful and to celebrate would be to say, 'Hey, you know, I'm gonna keep going until the time comes and when I'm not supposed to be here, and none of us know that answer.' It's a little convoluted. But then he says, "We only know that we all have the same ticket." [Both Laugh]

Slash: Yeah, that's probably true.

Dress above + bag below = perfection

Update: Suzy Menkes says that, even though the concept was good, a live show of the Dutch duo is much better. What she doesn't realize is that most of human beings can't make it to one of their shows, and in a way that's the point of the online performance. Internet is democratic and brigns evertything to everyone. And it has to be fast, they can't "waste time" zooming in details, as she suggests, since speedy Internet users would just surf somewhere else.

Situated on the shores of Como Lake (a.k.a. Lario Lake), Como is a small city full of charme, able to enchant visitors from all around the world. Its history is connected to the Duchy of Milan and later on to the Austrian Empire, until it was liberated by Garibaldi, in what was to be known as the San Fermo's battle.

Partially enclosed among old medieval walls, the city is a shopping heaven and - in the meantime - it is full of history, as the Dome, the San Fedele Church, the Broletto and the Casa del Fascio (to name but a fews) show.

The city and its region are worldwide famous for the villas which dot the landscape and which host famous personalities, such as George Clooney.

The lake and its small villages in the Come area are a vacation must for a lot of people (mainly English and German), who spend their Summers with the feet in the crystal clear water of the lake, fascinated by the beauties of places as Menaggio, Bellagio and Cernobbio.

Among many beautiful locations and sightseeing you can also enjoy a nice view on George Clooney's Villa Oleandra in Lario.

Hiljattain ilmeni tarvetta siirtää polkupyörä paikkakunnalta toiselle. Omasta mielestäni ehdottomasti helpoin tapa tähän siirtoon olisi käyttää VR:n palveluja. Katsoin firman kotisivuilta, kuinka homma käytännössä onnistuu. Kaikki tuntui yksinkertaiselta: InterCity-junissa olisi pyöräpaikkoja, joiden käyttöön oikeuttavan lipun voisi ostaa asemalta ennen matkaa. Pyörä vain mukaan ja lippuja ostamaan. Pyöräpaikkamaksu on yhdeksän euroa, mikä tuntui hieman korkealta hinnalta, koska varsinainen matkalippu välille Pieksämäki-Jyväskylä maksoi opiskelijalle 7,80 euroa. Opiskelija-alennusta pyörälipusta ei siis saa. Pyöräpaikkaa ei voi myöskään ostaa netistä.

Juna odottelikin jo asemalla ja pääsin sovittelemaan pyörääni sen kyytiin. Olin jo valmiiksi kääntänyt ohjaustangon kuljetusasentoon eli pyörän rungon myötäiseksi. Pyöräpaikkoja vaunussa oli yhteensä kuusi, kolme normaalia (pyörä vaaka-asennossa) ja kolme ns. tankopaikkaa, joissa pyörä ripustetaan tangostaan roikkumaan. Minulle oli varattu tällainen tankopaikka, mutta paikalle sattunut konduktööri kehotti vain laittamaan pyörän lattiapaikalle, olihan se paljon vaivattomampaa. Koska pyöräpaikkalippuun merkityillä paikoilla ei tuntunut olevan mitään väliä, luulin olevani ainoa pyöräänsä tässä junassa kuljettava. Konduktööreillähän täytyy olla tieto jokaiselta asemalta mukaan tulevista pyöristä, koska liput on ostettava etukäteen asemilta. Tähän mennessä siis kaikki hyvin ja saatoin mennä omalle paikalleni istumaan. Koska olin ostanut paikkalippuni ennakkoon netistä, istumapaikkani oli vaunussa kaksi fillarini matkustaessa vaunussa kolme. Ilmeisesti normaalitilanteessa, kun liput ostetaan samaan aikaan asemalta, pyörät ja niiden omistajat ovat samassa vaunussa.

Matkan aikana tein sotasuunnitelman fillarini ulossaamiseksi junasta: junan tullessa asemalle singahtaisin ensimmäisten joukossa ulkokautta kolmannelle vaunulle. Jättäisin matkalaukkuni asemalaiturille (mikä sinällään on hiukan häiritsevä ajatus kaikenlaisten rosvojen aikakautena) ja hyppäisin junaan irrottamaan pyöräni telineestä. Näin teinkin, mutta pyöräpaikoille saapuessani kaksi muutakin henkilöä oli jo irrottamassa pyöriään ja pari uutta pyörää odotti asemalaiturilla sisäänpääsyä. Rohkeasti menin avaamaan lukkoja, ja toinen pyöränomistaja saikin jo pyöränsä ulos. Tankopaikassa pyöräänsä irrottelevalla naisella oli sen sijaan ongelmia: kiinnitysmekanismi on sellainen, että toisella kädellä pyörää pitää nostaa ja toisella kädellä pitää lukitussalpaa auki. Salpa on yli puolentoista metrin korkeudessa, joten jokainen voi kuvitella, miten operaatio onnistuu 160-senttiseltä ja pienikokoiselta naisihmiseltä. Tarjosin apuani ja nostin rouvan pyörän alas. Sitten vuorossa oli vielä oma pyöräni. Lattiapaikoilla pyörä lukitaan pujottamalla eturengas koukkuun. Pyöräilijää tällaiset kiinnityssysteemit hirvittävät, koska etupyörän pinnat ovat vaarassa vioittua. Pahimmassa tapauksessa pyörää tönäistään ja etuvanne vääntyy. Sain kuitenkin pyöräni ulos ilman vaurioita.

Kunnollisella suunnittelulla pyörien kuljetuksesta voisi tehdä aika lailla helpompaa. Ensinnäkin olisi kätevää, jos pyöräpaikan voisi tilata netistä. Myös junien suunnittelussa polkupyörät pitäisi ottaa paremmin huomioon: nyt tilat ovat ahtaat (lattiapaikalla olevan pyörän takapyörä tulee osittain junan ulko-oven eteen!) ja pyörä vaurioituu helposti. Kaikki eivät myöskään ole fyysisesti niin voimakkaita, että jaksaisivat nostaa pyörän paikalleen. Myös konduktöörit voisivat olla avuliaampia: Jyväskylän asemalla minä matkustajana olin se, joka auttoi muita, kun konnarit katselivat vain vaunun ulkopuolelta vuoroin kellojaan, vuoroin meitä pyöriään irrottavia ihmisiä.

Junalla on helppoa matkustaa, mutta pyörän kuljettamisessa tarvitaan kärsivällisyyttä.

I did get to go to one of the concerets and it was amazing. All of the idols have improved a ton both with prefoming and their wonderful talent of singing :)

BBC NEWS | Technology | Ultrasound to give feel to games.

The power of ultrasonic waves has been harnessed to produce "virtual" objects in mid-air.

The field of haptics - integrating computing and the sense of touch - has been around for some time but has required gloves or mechanical devices to impart a sense of feeling.

Now, a team of Japanese researchers has developed a system that uses focused ultrasound to do the job.

Its inventors may soon commercialise the approach.

This is possibly the coolest thing I've seen in a long time.

I've long struggled for a solution to the problem of touch in computing, as an intellectual exercise, and as a problem it's long seemed insoluble, in practical terms.

And now I have to have a Thomas Huxley moment: how stupid not to have seen it sooner! It's one of those solutions which seems so simple after you hear it, which seems to just slot into place.

I predict that this will revolutionise gaming and the development of viable virtual reality systems. The next big challenge is to realistically approximate a local environment in visual terms, without having to wear a neck-breaking helmet. My guess is that it will come in the form of some kind narrow picture beam projecting directly onto the retina from a short distance, although tracking the position of the iris might be a little more complicated.

Anyway, this is some excellent, very cool news. It just illustrates in a nutshell why computing and the related science are still things to be excited about.

Huomasin, että leikkivaunu tavallista täydempi. Lomat ovat alkaneet ja VR meitä hienosti kuljettaa.

Sää on lämmin ja pilvinen. Junassa tukalaa.

Iso, lihava mies tuli viereiselle riville maiskuttamaan pastilleja.

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2.6.08 IC RMK-HKI Klo 11.15

"Tampereen käräjäoikeus on tuominnut 21-vuotiaan turkulaismiehen 8 kuukauden ja 15 päivän ehdottomaan vankeuteen, sekä 13 500 euron korvauksiin. Tuomio koskee 23 vahingontekoa vuoden 2006 maaliskuusta vuoden 2007 tammikuuhun. Maalia pintaan oli saanut Tampereen kaupungin, VR: rata Oy:n, VR Oy:n, Tiehallinnon ja kolmen asunto-osakeyhtiön omaisuus. Aamulehden mukaan kyseessä on ensimmäinen kerta kun Tampereella on tuomittu ehdottomaan vankeuteen graffiteista." -Takku.net

Kumma kyllä linkkiä ei löydy enää oikeastaan mistään.

Tässä ainoa:

• http://takku.net/article.php/20080904204723709

Toronto, ON September 22, 2008 – DATATEL INC. a leader in IVR Hosted and Managed Services, announced today that it will be launching a new portfolio of  IVR hosted services, tailored to Canadian businesses and organizations.  

Datatel provides services that help businesses and organizations automate a wide range of telephone interactions with customers and employees. These include IVR Surveys, Order Processing, Lead Generation, Contests, Promotions, Payment Processing, Billing, and 100's of other business applications, in a hosted, managed environment.

“Until  today if you were a Canadian businesses you had very few IVR vendor options to choose from, and had to work with providers south of the boarder who usually charge premiums for IVR traffic originating in Canada. This Canada focused program will provide Canadian businesses and organizations, with solutions tailored to the realities of the Canadian marketplace.”, said Barnard Crespi, CEO at Datatel.

With a significant Canadian infrastructure and professional services footprint, Datatel can service clients anywhere in Canada, and receive traffic from any Canadian carrier, can link to Canadian payment processing providers, interface with Canadian mobile operators, and provide solutions tailored to regional needs.

As a hosted solution, customers avoid the risk and expense of large capital investments in custom development and software. In addition to cost savings, customers also benefit from having access to the latest technology and dedicated support – without maintenance or obsolescence worries. By avoiding the time commitment of dedicating development resources, hardware purchases and configuration, customers enjoy rapid solution deployment, and lower costs.

Datatel offers a free guide which helps companies through the IVR vendor selection process, and can be downloaded at: http://www.datatel-systems.com/IVR-GUIDE

About Datatel

Datatel provides services that help businesses and organizations automate a wide range of telephone interactions with customers and employees. These include Surveys, Order Processing, Lead Generation, Contests, Promotions, Payment Processing, Billing, and 100's of other business applications, in a hosted, managed environment.

 For over 15 years we have helped businesses and organizations successfully execute their IVR strategies, by delivering superior know-how, hosting and support services. We have refined a service delivery process that guarantees your successful IVR project execution.

Our quality people, people who take responsibility, plus superior service and technology, guarantee that your IVR goals are met, and that you are fully satisfied.

Company Web Site: www.datatel-systems.com

###

Contact
Barnard Crespi
CEO
416-444-9172 x 251

There's a perception, dating from earlier days of interminable vaporware projects and over-hyped research, that Microsoft's advanced efforts don't make it into their products - or more likely, get stripped of features and dumbed-down to fit into a different lowest-common-denominator product.

Here's one that didn't get that treatment: Photosynth. When I was in government and saw last year's TED Conference demo of this remarkable immersive visualization software, I was amazed - and I admit I thought to myself, that will never see the light of day at Microsoft.  Wrong: it is being released today, for free, worldwide.

One of my first friends at Microsoft, Gary Flake - another recent recruit to the company who leads the Live Labs team - explains in an interview today this new rationale:

The decision to release an advanced new technology first in the form of a free consumer service marks something of a break with Microsoft’s past. Traditionally, the company would have first used the technology to create new services for big corporate users, said Mr Flake. Instead, by opening it up, it hoped to expand the potential reach of the technology rapidly before narrowing in on any one commercial application, he added.

Financial Times, "Microsoft Unveils Fruits of Online Shakeup," Aug. 21, 2008

Best of all, the Photosynth release is just an early example of what will be many more . And it's not the first one - I've been a big fan of Popfly, which also has been released, for free use, with no commercial big-bang play, but a real groundswell of adoption because it's powerful and cool.

There are other projects which are being slated for the same treatment; I started internally recommending one this week myself.  I'll keep you posted.

From the Photosynth FAQ:

Q:  What is Photosynth? 

A: Photosynth is an entirely new visual medium. Photosynth analyzes a set of photos of a place or an object for similarities each other, and uses that data to estimate where a photo was taken and build a model of the subject. It then re-creates the environment and uses that as a canvas on which to display the photos.  Photosynth is available for free at photosynth.com, where you can explore creations from users around the world and build synths of your own ... with nothing more than a few dozen photos of a place or object.

Q: How does Photosynth work?

A: Photosynth experience begins with nothing more than a bunch of digital photos. They might all have been taken by one person, or they might be a mixture of images from many different cameras, shooting conditions, dates, times of day, resolutions, and so on.

Each photo is processed by computer vision algorithms to extract hundreds of distinctive features, like the corner of a window frame or a door handle. Photos that share features are then linked together in a web. When the same feature is found in multiple images, its 3D position can be calculated. It's similar to depth perception - what your brain does to perceive the 3D positions of things in your field of view based on their images in both of your eyes. Photosynth's 3D model is just the cloud of points showing where those features are in space.

Your brain knows that your eyes are about two inches apart. But when Photosynth does its magic, it doesn't know where the cameras were, or which way they were pointing. Fortunately, when there are many cameras, and many features in common, the algorithms behind Photosynth can figure out not only where the features are in 3D, but where all of the cameras would have to have been, and which way they were aimed, consistent with the features they "saw".

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Juodessamme eilen iltateetä juttelimme muun muassa lemppariurhoistamme, VR:n Kivimiehistä. Kävi ilmi, että herrojen suosio on lyömätön myrskylyhtyjen mittaisessa väestössä. Neiti Taiteilijan äiti toimii nimittäin päiväkodin johtajana, ja kun pikkuväki teki retken pääkaupunkiin, yksi tärkeimmistä kohteista oli Helsingin rautatieasema ja sen valolyhtyjä pitelevät patsaat.

Mutta voi surkeutta! Kivimiehet vain nököttivät paikoillaan eivätkä lausuneet sanan puolikastakaan, vaikka lapsilla oli kymmenittäin kysymyksiä ja paljon kerrottavaa. Siinä oli päässyt poru pariltakin tenavalta, kun totuus paljastui.

Minusta tarina on liikuttava. Samalla se on puhutteleva esimerkki siitä, miten vahva median vaikutus voi olla. Lapset eivät todellakaan aina erota, mikä televisiossa esitetyissä ohjelmissa ja mainoksissa on totta, mikä taas silkkaa fiktiota.

Aikuisin silmin katsottuna VR:n Kivimiehet-kampanja on loistava. Idean takaa löytyy mainostoimisto Dynamo. Kehunsa ansaitsevat myös patsaille äänensä luovuttaneet näyttelijät: Tommi Korpela, Janne Reinikainen, Petteri Summanen ja Jani Volanen, Studio Julmahuvilla läpimurtonsa tehnyt ryhmä, jonka rautainen ammattitaito ja erinomainen nyanssien taju herättävät Kivimiehet eloon.

Emme ole Neiti Taiteilijan ja päiväkotiryhmän kanssa ainoat, jotka ovat langenneet Kivimiesten lumoon. YouTubesta löytyy kokonainen sarja patsaiden edesottamuksista ja aatoksista tehtyjä filmipätkiä, joka sanan takaa yksi raina. Ja tuossa viimeisessä tekevät cameo-roolin Remu Aaltonen ja Lasse Norres, sillä Kivimiehet osaavat tietenkin myös laulaa :-D

Fiz duas apresentações muito legais com uma produção linda. Obrigada a todos que participaram! Beijos.

As an Indian user of high technology products to interface with my Top Quality and latest Ubuntu Linux PC Desktop or Laptop Computer from high technology companies - I have started REJECTING those peripherals and those companies which have not bothered to release free and open source Linux drivers for their devices. As with the best printers and high performance graphic cards, it is always best to do some research on whether a foreign company well known for manufacturing and distributing is supporting Linux Ubuntu computers in Indian market.

Many white goods companies are going ballistic in advertising that they sell a ( High Quality ? ) product to Indian users and in Indian markets EVERY three SECONDS. But do these companies sell products that play well with your Ubuntu Laptop ?

Make sure before you buy. Let them WAIT for THREE HOURS before they sell a product to Indian consumers.

Olympus is one of those companies making small and tiny Digital Voice Recorders - (good for sting operations on Indian politicians who excel in buying Votes for Notes for Civil Nuclear Treaty and solving the power and energy crisis of Indians - hamara nara, ghar ghar mein bijli pahuchana .... )

Unfortunately Olympus has not bothered to release free and open source software drivers for their Digital Voice Recorders. As far as I am concerned Olympus Digital Voice Recorder is USELESS till it makes available free and easily downloadable software drivers to work with my UBUNTU Laptop running on BSNL Broadband Internet.

No point buying rubbish electronic junk and e-waste which DOES NOT work with Ubuntu Linux computers in India. And this will be public service of voluntary nature as Indian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has hardly any guidelines for disposing electronic and computer junk and how to penalise those foreign companies which sell outdated technologies in India - Litter packaged up as Glitter . So before investing any rupees in more electronic junk and devices, ALWAYS check if it WORKS well with Ubuntu Linux.

I Colt er vi to ganske ivrige syklister. En ivrig syklist er alltid ute etter gadgets som forbedrer treningen og sykkelopplevelsen. Når været ute er kjipt eller det er mørkt er det forlokkende å trekke treningsøkta under tak. Men hvor kult er det egentlig egentlig å tråkke på en vanlig, kjip rulle der du monterer sykkelen og bare tråkker og tråkker uten å røre seg av flekken? Tacx har en genial løsning for demotiverte sykkelentusiaster. De har nemlig en løsning der man kan koble rulla til PC´en. Med programmet kan du konkurrere mot andre syklister uten å forlate din egen stue. I programmet kan profiler fra etappene i f.eks. Tour de France legges inn. Slår du på stortromma kjøper du i-Magic systemet. Dette er en elektromagnetisk rulle som bremser deg om det skulle komme "motvind", "motbakke" eller "røft underlag". Kult eller hva? For å gjøre det hele ekstra hårete, kan man montere en styringsenhet på sykkelens forhjul. Styringsenheten gjør at du til og med kan bestemme sporvalg når du konkurrerer med andre syklister -pass på å ikke sykle av veien... Hvem sa at dataspill gjør deg passiv?

Click to for Exclusive: Lenny Kravitz Tells RS “No Truth to the Story” About Joining Velvet Revolver

And now I leave you with Velvet Revolver - Fall to Pieces

It has been a while since I have seen something on the Net which has impressed me so much.

LivePlace have created a photo-realistic virtual world, City Space. Its rendering engine is built using OTOY and all computing is done in 'the cloud'. It is claimed that the application will run on ANY browser on ANY spec device (mobiles included) with a plugin.

I suppose the premise is pretty much the same as Second Life etc. A virtual world where you can own spaces, customise them and make friends, but the graphics alone in this video of City Space are so engaging that it far outweighs secondlife. While secondlife brings interaction, City Space adds realism, and I think this is crucial. If we are to adopt virtual worlds, like many believe we will, they need to be erm...real.

Take 15mins out to watch this video. It is worth it.

Full report on City Space from TechCrunch

If this doesn't get your EBIN juices flowing...then I quite simply don't know what will!