Technical Happenings

Mino HD Review

I got my Flip Mino HD at the end of March and have been playing with it for a little over a month. I recently took it on holiday and found it a perfect extension to my SLR when I did not have the video camera around; I found it a real moment device, as its fast to get out and use.

Anyway, onto the device which can record an hour’s worth of 720p high definition video at 30 frames per second on its 4GBs of internal storage. It is small weighing in at only 3.3 ounces and no are cables required.

Size
It’s extremely lightweight for its size, and feels fragile, although I’ve not dropped it yet other reviews say it can stand a drop.

The USB connection flips open via a switch on the side and you can plug it directly into a PC or Mac, but I use the cable provided through fear that I will snap it off.

The Flip Mino HD’s form-factor is only slightly thicker than my iPhone and just over half as wide (Measuring only 1.5 inches corner to corner). The lens on the front is small, but shoots well if held still. I tried it out in recording a dodgy guy eyeing up the house next door and did not get beaten up, so its small enough not to get noticed.

The viewing screen is admittedly a bit small and the speakers sit on either side of the screen are not great, but thats not really an issue, although headphone jack for monitoring the audio would be nice

There’s also a plug for the included TV composite cable adapter and a standard thread for attaching to a tripod.

Controls
The controls are really simple and you can just pick it up and go without even thinking about reading the manual,

Video Quality
The Flip Mino HD records in 720p 16:9 aspect ratio video, so it is capable of recording very highly detailed video. But only is you keep it very, very still and there is enough light, as even the slightest movements when filming can appear very jarring. However, don’t be put off as the quality outside is still really good, but a tripod inside is needed to avoid a grainy and slightly red look.

Battery Life
The battery has not let me down yet it can easily last through an hour of recording at HD quality and play back for about 45 mins to the TV.

Bundled Software
The Flip Mino HD mounts as a flash storage device on both PCs and Macs, so getting the video files off is simple. There is some standard software that launches when you plug it in, but I have a mac and it integrates well with iMovie.

Conclusion
Everyone who has seen the camera is impressed, there are some alternatives on the market and more are coming out. But at the moment the size, and charge and go nature of the Mino HD make it a winner. I brought mine at firebox, but its now cheaper at play.com

Cookie Sniffing and Trading

What does that mean?
There are networks of  companies  who create cookies on your machine and use these to track  your behaviour  across multiple websites.
                       
And in English?
You will see ad  based content on one site based on  your activity on another and you won’t even  know it  happened.
                       
Who invented   it?
Netscape invented cookies to allow state to be maintained  between  HTTP transactions. However Microsoft filed for  a patent  in 2000 which  was granted in 2006. So it’s been around for many years.   It’s typically  used to authenticate or identify a registered  user of a website without  requiring them to sign in again, provide a  personalised view of the site or  track pages visited and use this data  for marketing purposes ( that is  refereed to as cookie  sniffing)
                       
What does it mean for my  business (what  are the marketing implications)?
It’s very likely you’re   already using the technology, but are likely not part of a network of   companies who share the  gathered information.  But, be  careful as  storing cookies on a users machine opens privacy issues. So  speak with you IT  team/tracking vendor to get more information   before going for world  domination through a proliferation of  cookies.
                       
What do I need to do  about it?
I you want to  opt out of tracking cookies from some of the  larger players follow the  little advertised link (surprise, surprise) http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
                       
How   or where do I find out more?
Speak to an expert or get talking  to the  players on the list found in the above link.

 Is it a paradigm  shift or just another  TLA?
Its nothing new cookies where  invented partly for marketing  purposes. But, lets face it cookie  sniffing and trading sounds   better.