Microsoft makes patent claim for "sparklines in the grid"!! Via Waxy.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind
| Law | Microsoft | Patents | Tufte Alert
Light posting of late as I'm getting over a virus -- of the digital kind. This one was particularly nasty. Our PC wouldn't boot at all in any mode (just giving us the lovely Blue Screen of Death) and, after running numerous diagnostics, I decided to re-install Windows. (Fortunately everything is backed up in the Amazon cloud -- thank you, JungleDisk!)
My bleary eyes lit up with success when I finally heard that XP Startup Sound
Hold on there just a minute. I don't have a program called Security Tool. The malware was camouflaged as an anti-malware program. We're through the looking glass here, people.
It was also blocking my AVG anti-virus, and any other process it didn't like. I'd tussled with spyware this belligerent before, so went to get Malwarebytes which took care of the problem. Nice. I now have it in "Protection mode" all the time. It was certainly worth the $22.45.
Creating rhyming couplets from Twitter:
I am such a sucker, and I'm always the last to know.
Just two more months and then I'll only have two months to go!
night all. sleep well my kings and queens of all things fermented!
Cold sheets and pillows are the greatest thing ever invented :D
I can't decide if I want to rap this page or set it to some folksy guitar.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Poetry | Twitter
Games --> Wikipedia:Category:Paper and pencil games --> Tic-Tac-Toe --> "COMPUTER RECREATIONS: A Tinkertoy computer that plays tic-tac-toe," A. K. Dewdney --> The Planiverse: Computer Contact with a Two-Dimensional World, a very cool book about life (and physics) in two dimensions I read when I was 11 --> Flatland --> The Original Flatland Role Playing Game --> Games
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | History of Computing | Physics | Role-Playing Games
Visualizing the evolution of Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Via Waxy.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Tufte Alert
Containing a capital letter or two. From the person who showed us How Your Blog Can Get You Fired.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | How To | Twitter
How Internet Works. Via Gadgetopia.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Cartoons
Cross-posted from my Social Actions blog.
We here at Social Actions have been hard at work this summer trying to improve our serve. Not the tennis kind, the volunteering kind! And if you haven't heard already, it's time to sign up for a great opportunity to improve your serve -- Mozilla Service Week!
During Mozilla Service Week, tech-savvy volunteers all over the globe are going to help meet the technology needs of individuals, schools, community groups, and non-profits. If you're reading this on the web, you're qualified to help out. Teach your grandma how to use the Internet. Refit that old laptop in the closet with Linux and open source software and donate it to your local community center. Get together with your friends, find out what help non-profits need, and pledge your support!
Another way you can help is to spread the word to people and groups who might need technology help, so they can post a volunteer opportunity.
We've helped Mozilla bring together an amazing group of Friends to ensure the success of Mozilla Service Week:
Join in and improve your serve!
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | MozService09 | Social Actions | Volunteering
Cross-posted from my Social Actions blog.
Lots of links relating to social media, social enterprise, and the non-profit sector. I hope that some are new and useful to you!
| Social Actions | Social Enterprise | Social Media | Social Software
I had to evaluate Seesmic for a client, and I really like it. It's a desktop app that pulls in your Twitter and Facebook updates into a single stream. You can manage multiple accounts, update from the app, and make lists. So it's a lot like Tweetdeck, except with Facebook too. I likes.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Facebook | Twitter
Most expensive javascript ever? Via Gadgetopia.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Opera (Browser) | Programming
Cross-posted from my Social Actions blog.
I've worked in a lot of non-profit organizations, and one thing that most of them have had in common is the lack of an IT department. As a geek-in-residence, I've done double duty as LAN administrator, PC repairman, software trainer, and help desk. (Then there's the time when I was removing bugs -- real bugs. Roaches like the nice warm motherboard to snuggle up to.) In addition to, you know, my regular job. So I've picked up a few things here and there.
One thing that is often overlooked is the importance of off-site backup. Let's face it, most of us know that it's important to backup, but how often are you actually doing it? And even if you've got your files automatically backed up to the network, what happens if the building burns down? You need to back up your important data off site. Think of it as Data Insurance.
Personally, I've been very happy with Amazon's service. You download an app called JungleDisk, tell it which directories you want to back up, and it sits silently in the background making sure your data is backed up (and encrypted) to Amazon's servers. You're charged based on how much you back up. And they support Kiva!
Another outfit I haven't tried is DigitalBucket. They're offering 5G of free storage to 501(c)(3) non-profits in the US and registered charities abroad. See their offer here.
Now go forth, and back up!
posted this | this entry's link | 1 comment | Backup | DigitalBucket | Digital Tools | Free | Social Actions | Social Enterprise | Storage | Unasked-for Advice
Pandora, I just found a site called Pandora...
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Parody | Web 2.0
I use PasswordMaker so many times a day it's a wonder I haven't written it up yet.
I can't tell you how many times someone who's tech-savvy has admitted to me "I use the same password for everything." Or someone who gives me a password that's straight out of the dictionary. At my last job (a dot-org!) some of our admin accounts had easily-guessable passwords -- I remember when I raised a hue and cry someone said it was unlikely that anyone would even bother to try cracking our site, so what was the big deal? (It's since been fixed.)
People, let me make this plain: you must not use a password that can be guessed. Especially in this age of identity theft. (Is your password on this list [warning NSFW language]) The problem, of course, is that un-guessable passwords are nearly impossible to remember. Hence the use-one-pass-everywhere strategy (do I need to point out why this is a bad idea?), or using something like "8675309", or writing it down on a post-it on your monitor, or storing it on a usb-key you might lose, etc.
Enter PasswordMaker. It takes the URL of the site you are logging into, combines it with your easy-to-remember password, and spits out a password like "Gj4=:QdA". Unlike most random password generators, PM will create the same password every time, given those two inputs (and the same parameters). So you just have to remember your master password. (For a little extra security, I take the nth letter from the URL and append it to my master password.) It takes about 15 extra seconds for me to log in when I use PasswordMaker.
There's an online version and a Firefox extension so you're always covered. And it's free.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Digital Tools | Essential Tools | Freeware | Identity Theft | Passwords | Security
I need a new USB extension cable. (I stepped on the last one, crushing the female lead.) I go to Newegg (best computer hardware store in the known universe) and find this user-written review of the BYTECC 6 ft. Type A Male to Type A Female USB 2.0 Extension Cable Model USB2-6MF-K - Retail:
You complete me.
Reviewed By: Andrew on 4/15/2009
Rating + 5
Pros: It works.
Cons: Someday it will die, like everything else in the world.
Other Thoughts: Ah, beautiful USB extension cable,
You complete my connections.
When I am over here
And my flash drive is over there
You bring us together.
When I am over here
And my iPod is over there
You bring us together.
When I am over here
And my Flip Ultra video camera is over there
You bring us together.
Everything I ask of you,
You provide.
Because of you, I no longer reach around to the back of my computer
To unplug something else in my USB hub
Drat! Knocking down the beverage on my desk
Cascading water like tears on all my worldly possessions.
Because of you, I hot swap.
Because of you, I am charged.
Because of you, I run at high speed.
Blessed USB extension cable.
Well now I have to buy it.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Reviews
Anatomy of Social Media Marketing presents an interesting analogy: the social media as a body. The Website is the Heart, with your Email Listserv as the Blood. The Blog is the Stomach:
We have to "feed" our blog new content. The blog then breaks down the content and turns it into things like loyal followers (people who regularly read your blog), happy search engines (search engines love new content and good keywords), greater credibility, and increased traffic to your website - just as our stomachs break down our food into the essential nutrients our body needs.
And Social Networks are the Hands and Senses:
Social networks are a lot like our hands because connecting is one of the main functions - we grab onto new contacts and hold onto existing contacts. They are our mouth because they are forums to share our message and tell others about who we are and what we do. Lastly, they are our eyes and ears because if you are active you will definitely get feedback - particularly if you're doing things wrong (bad social network etiquette).
Of course, according to Everett's Law of Pareidolic Comparisons, All Analogies Are Fatal, since we tend to focus on the aptness of the analogy itself, and because an analogy encourages us to read too much into the analogized relationship. ("If Facebook is your hands, is Technorati your ears?") But I liked the way this puts together the various pieces of the internet puzzle. (There I go, analogizing again!)
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Social Networking | Social Software
"Even before the data banks had been connected up it had started from 'I think therefore I am' and got as far as the existence of rice pudding and income tax before anyone managed to turn it off..." Via Kerim.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Mad Science | Physics
| Lists | Reputation | Search | Twitter | Web Tools
Not a search engine, it's a computational engine.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. And check out this great customizable Mother's Day video -- which is, also, a very clever bit of political viral marketing.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Mother's Day | Political Ads | Viral Advertising
