The 1880

Pages x 100

What an internet we have here.

As you famously tech-savvy stoodints know, every Emerson kid gets 250MB of webspace accessible anywhere on their pages folder. What’s that you say? You’re not a New Media major with unlimited web space on the newmedia.emerson server? No problem. File Dropper, a webspace service has apparently completely lost it and is giving a free lifetime account with a whopping 250GB of space to those that sign up before May 15th. Just sign up for the File Dropper special and start dumping files. Keep your giant final projects safe - you’re almost done and we don’t want you to freak out and call the help desk crying. No, we can’t get your footage off of your busted drive or suck your paper on how cool it would be to go drinking with Baudrillard and Jameson out of that damn Porsche LaCie disk. Sorry.

Moving Review: Bolt Bus (UPDATED)

The Bolt Bus in all its glory in South Station.

I took the Bolt Bus from Boston to New York City and here is a diary as to what went down. Hopefully I’ll have a full review to be read in the near future.

Boston -> New York

2:30 PM
In South Station. Only one person in line. A little bit of me is afraid that I will have the same driver from last time.

3:00 PM
Well, I just boarded the one-and-only Bolt Bus (I’m using their wi-fi as I write this!). I mentioned it in a previous post, and now I’m on my way to New York City.

The line was short until about 10 minutes before, when a bunch more people joined in the line. I paid $1.00 for my ticket, and I think it’s already been worth it. The bus is brand new (it has that new… bus smell) and the driver, Daniel, is fresh and excited to drive (complete with a playful welcome). I was able to join the (read: free) Wi-Fi right away, and the first thing I did was take a speed test. 317 kbps down, 133kbps up. Better than I was expecting.

4:40 PM
All’s well on the bus. The wireless has been very consistent save for one connection drop for about two minutes. It’s been great to browse craigslist and IM and what not. Sent a couple photos (including the one in this post) over the wireless without worry. Passing through Hartford– traffic seems decent and I’m assuming I’ll get into NYC at the scheduled time (7PM).

I’ve noticed the power plugs, on the back of the aisle seat, are a little awkwardly placed. Luckily there’s nobody sitting next to me, so I can let the power cable dangle as much as I want. Whatever the awkwardness, it’s worth it to have some juice.

7:32 PM
We arrived 32 minutes late due to traffic (not due to BoltBus, of course). As we got into the city, our driver Daniel was honking like a maniac at a bunch of different intersections. Not sure how much I liked that (again… one dollar.). Our drop-off point was outside as I expected, right by Penn Station. As we pulled in, some guy in the seats said “let’s have a round of applause for the driver for the best dollar we’ve ever spent,” and everybody clapped. I felt awkward joining in… I guess this is what separates bus travel from all others. Besides, he’s getting paid a flat hourly rate– he has nothing to do with the dollar fare.

New York -> Boston, 3 days later

The dismal “bus stop” from within the bus

9:10AM
“We treat everyone as first class citizens,” says our driver, Kenny. The bus is about 10 minutes late, and I can see how they save a lot of their overhead– their stop in NYC is on the side of the road. And that’s pretty shitty when it’s rainy and wet outside (i.e. NOW). While I was waiting I met with an older couple who had also already taken the bus and asked what I paid for my ticket. $7 I told her. She paid $10. Right before we get on the bus as it arrives, she lets me know about MegaBus and their $1 service (nevermind their creepy-looking mascot). There are not many people on the early Monday bus– there are a few empty rows. Kenny is just as excited as the last driver. He’s explained that they picked the best drivers from both Peter Pan and Greyhound. “We know that Greyhound has a bad reputation. There’s no yelling,” he says, “unless you’re disrupting others on the bus!” He laughs. Yeah, I’ve had a bad experience on the bus before. The wi-fi works right away (as I write this), and we’re off.

1:40PM
We’ve arrived back in South Station. We’re 40 minutes late, but that’s because of the crappy weather and the quick stop (that I was thankful for) 3/4 of the way through.

Conclusion
All in all, I feel like the experience I’ve had with Bolt Bus has been a positive one. They have brand new buses, excited drivers, free wifi & outlets, and very competitive pricing. However, it should be noted that having an actual spot in Port Authority in New York City instead of outside on a street corner would be nice, but this I’m sure would increase the ticket price.

What also sucks is that if you go to their website to buy tickets, you can find that almost every weekend (Fri-Mon) ticket through August is at least $7, and usually $10. Looks like it’s going to be hard to pick up that elusive $1 after all; it would be nice if they didn’t sell their tickets so far in advance so that people could actually have a chance of getting them. I wouldn’t be surprised if one person just went through and grabbed every Fri-Mon $1 ticket through August. After all, it would only cost them 24 dollars.

Would I ride on it again? Sure. Is it better than the train? It’s not as on-time or comfortable, but they do have onboard wi-fi, and that’s a BIG plus. Will they eventually lose exciting and friendly service and get worn down just like the other bus lines? Probably, but $1 is inexpensive enough to double check down the road.

Hype-rdrive

Fact: "I've heard of them" adds nothing to conversation.

I love Pandora. Really. Last.fm is great too. The only beef I have with those types of services is that sometimes I just don’t know what I want to listen to. I’d rather just have someone serve me stuff they really like. I’m a sucker for the curative aspects of music sharing. Mixtapes are laborious, and iTunes playlists aren’t as accessible as I would like them to be. There has to be a better answer somewhere on this big Internet. People all over the wold run music blogs, where they offer up what they like in hopes that you will like it too. The Hype Machine is exactly the type of thing I have been looking for. It aggregates music blogs from all over and presents them in a nifty player using what I can only imagine to be some RSS voodoo.

The search functions are great too. Only want to listen to one band? Search and all of their results pop up. Like a particular blog? Every player links to the relative post on the site that accompanies each piece. The “Most Searched” sections put your finger right on the way- cool pulse of the rest of the music world, positioning your tastes precisely three years ahead of the sad blokes that wait until Pitchfork craps onsomeone’s album before claiming “I heard it wasn’t that great.” Alternately, sometimes people just post old stuff they have just found or feel in the mood to listen to, which oddly enough can be the most refreshing aspect of the whole thing

Hype Machine is a great little Internet tool that just contributes even more to the whole Internet roolz radio droolz ethos. Cept for , WERS and WFMU, ‘acourse.

PS: MGMT is pretty good. Thanks, HypeM

Dammit, Outkast: A Photoshop Tutorial

Fruit of Polaroided labors.

Hey kids, I’ve got some bad news. I don’t mean to rain on your kitsch parade, but a few months ago Polaroid stated that they would no longer be producing film for Polaroid cameras. A few individuals to whom I explained this decision were totally dumbfounded, until it was explained that when a company produces a product that no longer returns on investment, it is discontinued. In our lifetimes we’ve seen the end of life for a ton of lower profile, but much nicer film stocks. You can’t buy any Agfa, Fuji Velvia, or GAF stuff anywhere anymore. It really isn’t a surprise that Polaroid has kicked it.

But never fear! With a little perseverance you can make your own pictures look just like those instant ones. Almost every machine on campus has Photoshop, and you might too if you’re some kind of unscrupulous piratical mofo. A little computer magic can give you the same wack colors and square framing you expect from your terminally ill instant camera.

I’m fairly certain this will work in every version after Photoshop 6 or so. I’m going to err on the side of over explanation, so if your experience in Photoshop is limited, you should be able to follow along with great results. Even if you think you’re a Photoshop god, stick around and I swear I’ll teach you at least one new thing.

Load up your image…

Read the rest »

NYC and back for (sometimes) the price of a subway fare. Thanks, BoltBus.

Go Go BoltBus!

I go down to New York City quite a lot. To get there, I used to use Amtrak. However, due to their exorbitant rates (~$100 roundtrip), I decided to give the bus a try. However, if you follow the Boston Globe, you’ll know that it didn’t go so well for me (nevermind the disgusting emo picture). After that incident, I was back on the tracks again with Amtrak, paying a good Benjamin to get down to the Big Apple and back.

Then, along came BoltBus. A subsidiary of Greyhound (which happens to be “in an alliance” with Peter Pan– watch out for hostage situations!), BoltBus started service between only NYC & Washington, D.C.. However, on their site, they’ve been hinting at the idea of a Boston & New York connection, and sure enough, it’s launched. I’m going to NYC again in three weeks, so I thought I’d check what the fares were like.

How much did I pay? Eight dollars. And that’s on the expensive side– if you get it early, it can cost as little as $1 each way. To make things even better, they have free wi-fi on board for the ride.

First, I must point out that not everybody gets that $1 fare. BoltBus offers at least one seat on each bus for that rockbottom price. Then as seats start to fill up, the price goes up.

If you are, say, the fourth person to book a seat, it might cost $7. Wait a little longer, maybe $10 or $15. The top price is $20 if booked online, $25 if you buy your ticket last-minute from the driver. (There is also a 50-cent surcharge for booking online.)
–Scott Mayerowitz, ABC NEWS

How the hell can BoltBus sustain such low fares? The answer is simple: the interwebs. Instead of having to pay for facilities in bus stations or hire people to answer phones and sell tickets, BoltBus keeps all their business online– who needs a person to help you when you have a website?

In three weeks, I’ll be boarding this bus, and I’ll be sure to update then how the trip was. Will it be better than Amtrak? Probably not, but it’s 7% the price of the train. I’m assuming it’ll be a bit more than 7% the quality. Or at least, I can hope.

READER PARTICIPATION: Registration NIGHTMARES!

They’re on their way.

I thought instead of explaining the registration nightmares I’m having, I would open up the discussion to discuss how registration is going for you.

However, possibly even more importantly, if you could respond to this message with this information:

1. What grade you’re going to be in next semester (1st or 2nd semester as well!)
2. Whether or not you’re a transfer student
and
3. What day/time you have slotted for your registration
and, if you’d like
4. What you’ve experienced so far in the registration process

By knowing this, we can really see what’s going on with registration and its crazy order. I’m not sure about all of you, but I’m registering a full two days after some of my peers that will be seniors. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an upcoming junior who registers before me.

So, come on, participate!

Spring Fever

Patience, friends. Spring will be here soon.

April 1st. It’s 62 degrees outside. I’m wearing bermuda shorts in the most fantastic plaid, filps flops, and my size-of-a-small-window sunglasses. I am ecstatic with the weather. Guess where I am?

You’re right. I’m in class. As I write this. I’ve been in class since two this afternoon–I had just long enough to stroll down Boylston after lunch between morning and afternoon class, and I’m headed straight to tech rehearsals after this until 11 p.m.

So do me a favor and get outside! Take advantage of what I can’t and get some fresh air. Coming up soon I’ll be highlighting some of the best things about the outdoor Boston scene, but until then, help me out! Do some adventuring on your own, and tell me about it. Find a great park, rooftop, cafe patio, or clever street corner locale, and up your endorphins with some sunshine. If you have any great suggestions or particular places you’d love to share, drop me a line or a comment and I’ll investigate. Any and all of the surrounding area is welcome. So if you’re feeling cabin feverish and claustrophobic between buildings, keep an eye out for some awesome places to get away from the asphalt and exhaust. And if you’ve already got the inside info on some sunny places, be sure to let me know!