Monthly Archive for March, 2008

Top 10 April Fools’ Day Joke Web Sites

Published on March 29, 2008 in Computer News and Recommended Web Sites. 0 Comments

From ABC News:

What is it about April Fools’ Day jokes that we love so much? Perhaps it’s that, in the midst of the crushing influx of information that many of us cope with daily, a well-constructed prank provides a welcome break. For a moment, we smile, even when the joke is a tried-and-true chestnut.Google has a strong tradition of sublime hilarity each April 1. Last year, the company announced two faux products designed to elicit a chuckle from unsuspecting (and suspecting) readers: Gmail Paper (6GB of messages, rendered as hard copy) and Google TiSP, a plumbing-based Internet Service Provider dedicated to harnessing the underutilized potential of the nation’s “dark porcelain.” (See PC World Senior Writer Tom Spring’s complete slideshow for a retrospective of Google’s April Fool’s and other fun inventions over the years.)In recent times, many other sites have pulled our collective leg with April Fools pages marked by realistic graphics and ridiculous but deadpan copy. Here are ten of our favorites.

“Modder” turns hobby into career

Published on March 29, 2008 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From Reuters:

If you ever thought it would be cool to have an Xbox laptop, or wished those old Atari games in your attic could be reborn on a retro handheld device, you might want to talk to Benjamin Heckendorn.

Better known as Ben Heck, the 32-year-old Wisconsin native has attained legendary status among “modders”, hobbyists who tinker with video-game hardware to make it do things the original designers never intended.

Technology Web sites enthusiastically track Heckendorn’s latest projects, which are marked by workmanship that makes the finished products look they rolled off a factory line instead of a basement workbench.

Other options for Macro Photography – Choosing a Macro Lens Part 2 – Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published on March 26, 2008 in Digital Photography Tips & Info. 0 Comments

Last tip I talked about choosing a macro lens. There are other ways to do macro photography without a dedicated macro lens though. Bellows and extension tubes enable you to move your lens further away from the camera body which in turn enables you to focus closer and get in tighter to your subject resulting in increased magnification. Close up filters attach to the front of your camera like regular filters and also allow you to focus closer and get larger magnifications in your images. Reversing rings let you stack two lenses together, front element to front element. This procedure will also give you some level of magnification though at the cost of ease of use. The options listed here decrease in cost with the bellows costing the most money (without purchasing a dedicated macro lens) and the reversing ring being the least affordable. Flexibility and ease of use decrease in the same manner.  For a more detailed explanation of these items, visit http://potd.chrisempey.com/tips/archives/2008/03/other_options_for_macro_photography_choosing.php.

Until next time, happy shooting.

Top 10 travel photo mistakes

Published on March 26, 2008 in Digital Photography Tips & Info. 0 Comments

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Howard Hillman is a well-known travel writer. He has a web site called Hillman Wonders of the World where many of the “wonders” of the world are ranked. As I was browsing the site, I came across a section called “Top 10 travel photo mistakes and camera tips for avoiding them“:

I wrote my 23-page Photo Tip guide to help you take superb travel pictures with your compact or SLR digital camera. By learning my tips & insights, you won’t make common mistakes made by others. I hope you come home with exciting travel photos.

The main page that I link to lists the 10 tips, but then each tip has a detailed section you can view that explains more.

What’s that song?

Published on March 26, 2008 in Recommended Web Sites. 1 Comment

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One of the most popular posts on my site is the What’s the name of that song? post from over 2 years ago! So far it has over 120 comments. Recently, someone left a comment about a helpful site called WatZatSong.com:

What’s that song?
Do you have a song stuck in your head but wonder “what’s that song”? Record a short sample of the tune online anonymously on WatZatSong. The WatZatSong Community will listen and tell you what song it is!

Bad times are good for online coupons

Published on March 26, 2008 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From SiliconValley.com:

About nine months ago, Steven Boal, founder of Coupons Inc., began to see the fabled hockey-stick-like growth that has made fortunes for so many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

That’s when he knew a recession was coming. The last time Boal saw this kind of growth was in 2001, after the dot-com collapse. Back then, his company, which provides technology to manufacturers and supermarkets who want to offer online coupons, was still too small to take advantage of the surge in scrimping.

Create strong passwords with Password Meter

Published on March 25, 2008 in Recommended Web Sites and Security Tips. 0 Comments

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A couple of weeks ago I shared a link to the Microsoft Password Checker. Well, a couple of days ago Download Squad mentioned another, better site, Password Meter:

This application is designed to assess the strength of password strings. The instantaneous visual feedback provides the user a means to improve the strength of their passwords, with a hard focus on breaking the typical bad habits of faulty password formulation. Since no official weighting system exists, we created our own formulas to assess the overall strength of a given password.

I tested a couple of passwords I use regularly. One scored over 70 but the other one was barely 60. I guess I should come up with something more secure.

A Push to Limit the Tracking of Web Surfers’ Clicks

Published on March 22, 2008 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From the New York Times:

After reading about how Internet companies like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo collect information about people online and use it for targeted advertising, one New York assemblyman said there ought to be a law.

So he drafted a bill, now gathering support in Albany, that would make it a crime — punishable by a fine to be determined — for certain Web companies to use personal information about consumers for advertising without their consent.

And because it would be extraordinarily difficult for the companies that collect such data to adhere to stricter rules for people in New York alone, these companies would probably have to adjust their rules everywhere, effectively turning the New York legislation into national law.

Texting and Walking: Dangerous Mix

Published on March 22, 2008 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From Time magazine:

You might call it an avocational hazard. A recent ITN News video in the U.K. shows that some London pedestrians have become so preoccupied with e-mailing and text messaging on their BlackBerrys and cell phones that they can’t make it down a city block without crashing into lampposts or trash bins. One of the most hazardous streets for “walking while texting,” according to the Monty Python–esque video clip, is East London’s busy Brick Lane, lined with trendy boutiques and curry shops, where people have been filmed walking head down, ricocheting off various stationary sidewalk objects. The solution? Wrap Brick Lane’s lampposts with fluffy, white rugby goalpost cushions.

Making millions when the boss isn’t looking

Published on March 21, 2008 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From the Globe and Mail:

It’s one of the fastest-growing, most lucrative departments at CBS Corp. right now. But the company’s president, Les Moonves, has a far more blunt way to describe how the network has turned March Madness basketball into an Internet gold mine.

“People sit at their computers and waste away their afternoons watching basketball games while their bosses are looking the other way,” Mr. Moonves told analysts recently in New York.

When asked about the advertising dollars CBS expects this year from online broadcasts of the annual U.S. college tournament starting today, Mr. Moonves simply added: “We are having our best year, by far. Ever.”