휴대폰으로 아름다운 피아노 연주를 할 수 있게 되었습니다. 빠른 곡이나 어려운 곡은 연주하기 힘들겠지만 휴대폰으로 피아노 연주를 할 수 있다니 참 신기하네요.    

UCC is all the rage these days. In Korea, 37% of college students watch more than 30 minutes of UCC videos daily and half of Internet users have said they've made UCC (UCC is almost synonymous with online video in Korea, but I guess in this case it also includes blog posts).

The UCC craze is also spreading to electronic hardware. Last week, Samsung released a new cell phone dubbed "UCC폰" (제품명 SCH-B750). In addition to being able to record videos in a slightly higher resolution (CIF 352x288) than most other cell phones, it features a basic onboard video editor. Users can shoot, edit and upload in three easy steps. It's supposedly tightly integrated with PandoraTV, Korea's number one video sharing site, making it easy for people on the move to bypass the computer altogether.

Nokia popularized this technology a while back with their N93 line of camcorder-equipped cell phones. And they're making a comeback in this area by having recently purchased a good media storing and sharing site called Twango. (Why can't we have more of these sites that combine diverse media storage with social networking? Even if you use only one company like Google, you still have to keep your photos in PicasaWeb, your videos in YouTube, and your writings in Blogger.)

I think we will see more video phones like these connected to web services in the future. Soon, instead of teenagers taking photos of their favorite singer at a concert and then coming home to upload to their homepage, they'll be able to broadcast a live concert for their friends at home using nothing but their cell phones.

Advances in video technology are nothing short of amazing. There are now hard disk camcorders than can record over 40 hours of video and HD (hi definition) camcorders that cost only a fraction of what they used to cost just a few years ago. To show just how far and fast we've come, here's a look back at a Kodak video projector ad from the days of black & white TV - this is how people used to watch home videos before VCRs and DVDs, and now Web video.

[video from Stage6.com]

Daum is trying to create a stir these days by prominently featuring the term UCC all over the front page of their portal. There are links to 유쾌한 UCC 검색! (their search engine),  와우! 동영상 UCC (their TVpot video site) and UCC 투데이 (a new service dedicated to all things UCC called Daum UCC세상). They also overhauled their blog and cafe platform not so long ago by introducing the UCC Edition emphasizing photos and videos. Naver, too, introduced Season 2, Episode 2 of their popular blogging service, finally introducing the long overdue html editor and enabling better photo and video blogging.

Daum's TVpot is also attracting a lot of users these days, perhaps even overtaking PandoraTV in visitors numbers/video plays according to some statistics. It might partly have to do with the numerous UCC contests they're rolling out. Major portal sites are not alone in sponsoring UCC contests. The Ministry of Culture recently had a UCC contest. And right now (July 25-26), an institute called 국가기록원 (in conjunction with Cyworld) is having a contest called 기록 愛 UCC 공모전. I'm embedding their promotional video below because the topic seems interesting. (I hope they don't mind my "borrowing" their video - it's for educational purposes and I'm giving them free promotion)

I found it odd that the contest categories are digital videos and images relating to the theme of 기록 and yet the people featured in the video all use analog formats of recording: letters, diaries and newspaper clippings. I was also reminded that log in the word "blog" (web + log) means record or 기록 in Korean, and that a blog can encompass diverse text records such as diary entries and news clippings, as well as multimedia recordings such as audio lectures, vacation photos and home videos. There will always be people who cherish the analog world, but the human passion to create and collect that also drives our digital life doesn't seem all that different.

'2주동안 20만대가 팔리면 실패, 30만대가 팔리면 성공' 이라고 했던 애플 아이폰이 무려 33만대가 팔리는 대성공을 거두었습니다. 출시되는 29일 전날부터 미국 전역에서 아이폰을 구매하기 위해 몇일 전부터 기다리고 있었던 사람들도 있었습니다. 첫번째 구매자가 되기 위해서인듯...29일에 애플스토어 앞에는 사람들이 간이의자를 가지고 판매시간을 계속 기다리고 있었습니다. 이 모습을 사진으로 보면서, 한국지폐가 새 지폐로 바뀌어서 판매되었던 날이 생각났습니다. 전국에서 신권을 구매하기위해 5일전부터 한국은행 앞에서 진을 치고 수 많은 사람들이 줄지어서 기다리던 모습이 떠올랐습니다. 하지만 전 세계적으로 이슈를 부른 애플아이폰에도 결점은 있다는 기사가 나왔습니다. 디자인과 마케팅은 그야말로 일품이지만 기본적인 기능 중 약점이 많다는 것입니다. 뉴욕타임즈에서는 아이폰은 "Design of God", "Jesus phone"이라는 타이틀 뒤에 아이폰은 싸구려 휴대전화도 가진 기본적인 기능을 갖추지 않았다고 비판했습니다. 애플 iPhone이나 애플 i-pod(MP3)의 단점은 내장형 배터리의 수명이 짧고 교체가 어려우며 터치스크린에 필요한 기능이 빠져있다고 합니다. 애플 i-pod MP3 player배터리는 내장형이라 400회이상 충전을 하게되면 수명이 다한다고 하는데 매일 충전을 한다고 가정하면 1년 조금 넘게 쓸수 있다는 것입니다. 만약 iphone도 이렇다면 배터리 교환을 위해 본사에 찾아가서 배터리를 교채해야 하는 1주일 이상의 기간동안 핸드폰을 쓰지 않을 사람이 있을까요?  There is no rose without thorn. 오직 신만이 완벽한가 봅니다...^^