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A break from work – Ultravox!

 Do you ever think what the heck am I going to listen toooo now. Crunching code and creating web pages sometimes gives you a headache. I couldn’t think of anything new I wanted to wash my brain out with, then I remembered an album from 1977 (or 78) called Ha! Ha! Ha! by ‘Ultravox!’. Now before you panic the vocalist on this early album is John Foxx and not Midge Ure. This album is so very different to the Ultravox of the 1980’s. Worthy of listening to –
 Despite being dropped by their record label at the beginning of 1979, Ultravox undertook a self-financed tour of the United States in February, which was successful in terms of crowd enthusiasm and ticket sales. During the tour, the band performed two new songs, “Touch and Go”, which Foxx later recorded for Metamatic, and “Radio Beach”, which was never recorded in the studio.

The band came to a parting of the ways during the tour, Robin Simon deciding to stay on in New York and Foxx announcing his plan to go solo upon returning to England. Without a lead singer, the band went into hiatus, Billy Currie joining Gary Numan’s touring band and contributing to his highly successful 1979 album, The Pleasure Principle.  The burgeoning popularity of synthesizer music at this time, and Numan’s oft-quoted praise for the Foxx-fronted lineup and song-output of Ultravox, helped revive interest in the band. Billy Currie rejoined the group, while John Foxx was replaced as lead vocalist by Midge Ure, of The Rich Kids, Slik and Thin Lizzy. Ultravox then built on some of the ideas explored on Systems of Romance, achieving huge worldwide success with the album Vienna in 1980, after which the band released a series of popular albums and singles. Midge Ure was active in organizing, and Ultravox performed at, Live Aid in 1985, and at subsequent Live Aid events. This Ultravox lineup lasted another nine years , overshadowing Foxx’s concurrent solo career.

John Foxx. (2010, July 6). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:28, July 30, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Foxx&oldid=372085144

By phone, laptop, computer

Sometimes the words just flow and copy just appears on the page. We can create pages using different methods of creation: by phone, laptop, computer etc. Each method of delivery has a different way of understanding  grammar and spelling, making suggestions for words and sentence construction. This can be seen as a useful tool for page or text creation. Sometimes it can be extremely irritating, incorrectly correcting words, making sentences meaningless.

This is a Disclaimer

This text is subject to prescriptive/predictive rules of a system aesthetic. This text has been written on five computers, three of which are on a network and two of which are stand-alone systems. Four computers are running different versions of a Windows operating systems, (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows XP) and one is using Linux. The text is written in Microsoft Word, three are using version 2000 and one is version 97. Three versions are operating with an English dictionary and one (v.2000) is using an American/English dictionary. The Linux machine is using OpenOffice.org. This text has been written in several locations including, Bromsgrove, Wolverhampton and Woolacombe. This text has been subject to 100’s of system protocols, however the structure of the text is predictable; each computer has its own subtle nuances and offers syntax and grammatical recommendations. I am not completely responsible for this text. My main contribution is editing and using the cut and paste facility. If I had attempted to write this in its finished running order, it would have taken me longer to write…my spelling is appalling and my grasp of grammar is minimal…the written word is not my preferred method of expression. This text would not exist without the existence a system. The aesthetics of the system is responsible for the proliferation of the written word; this is a double-edged sword.

Predictive Text

This is a Disclaimer

This text is subject to prescriptive/predictive rules of a system aesthetic. This text has been written on five computers, three of which are on a network and two of which are stand-alone systems. Four computers are running different versions of a Windows operating systems, (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows XP) and one is using Linux. The text is written in Microsoft Word, three are using version 2000 and one is version 97. Three versions are operating with an English dictionary and one (v.2000) is using an American/English dictionary. The Linux machine is using OpenOffice.org. This text has been written in several locations including, Bromsgrove, Wolverhampton and Woolacombe. This text has been subject to 100’s of system protocols, however the structure of the text is predictable; each computer has its own subtle nuances and offers syntax and grammatical recommendations. I am not completely responsible for this text. My main contribution is editing and using the cut and paste facility. If I had attempted to write this in its finished running order, it would have taken me longer to write…my spelling is appalling and my grasp of grammar is minimal…the written word is not my preferred method of expression. This text would not exist without the existence a system. The aesthetics of the system is responsible for the proliferation of the written word; this is a double-edged sword.

Is the conversation over?

The conversation is dead long live the conversation.
A conversation is communication between two or more people either in person, over a telephone or via the Web. It is a social skill that is not difficult for most individuals but what happens if you have nothing to say or communicate.
Conversations are in many respects the ideal form of communication, since they allow people with different views on a topic to learn from each other. It is the ideal way to sell a product or service.
A speech, on the other hand, is an oral or web presentation by one person directed at a group or a prospective audience.
For a successful conversation, the partners must achieve a workable balance of contributions or one party must learn something. A successful conversation includes mutually interesting connections between the speakers or things that the speakers know. For this to happen, those engaging in conversation must find a topic on which they both can relate to in some sense. This is a fundamental strategy in the art of selling. Those engaging in conversation naturally tend to relate the other speaker’s statements to themselves (I really must buy this product). They may insert aspects of their lives into their replies, to relate to the other person’s opinions or points of conversation. Conversation leads to sales and conversions of clicks into profit. Try it sometime.

Conversation. (2010, July 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:34, July 28, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conversation&oldid=375523426

Crystal Set – who needs the internet?

Complicated concepts when explained in a simple way make things easier to understand. Knowledge enables understanding, a schematic plan, a diagram or a map, is a key or a link to this understanding. A site map in simple terms enables search engines to gain an easy understanding of your web site. Search engines seek information, this gives them power.

Information = Power (an unclear definition)

Knowledge gained through study, communication, research, instruction, factual data. To have the right, authority and ability to take some action or accomplish something, including demanding action. Ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something. The possession of control or command over others; authority; ascendancy: power over men’s minds. Knowledge derived from experience.

New innovations appear for all things Internet – just get noticed and become visible.