Ben & Jerry’s Pint Lock

Love your Ben & Jerry's? Feed up with others eatting you Ben & Jerry's. You need to lock it up.

Ajax

Updated 2005.11.27
I came across the posting 'The Ten Best Ajax Links: Tutorials, Examples, and History' over at My Gadget Bag. The list has several interesting looking links.

Original 2005.05.30
I have seen several blog postings on Ajax. I figure if I see a technology mentioned on 3 or more different blogs I should look a little deeper into the technology.

Here are the links to three articles I have seen today:

• Desperately seeking: More AJAX developers
• Ajax.NET 5.5.30.3 (cookieless support)
• Cojax, an Ajax style code viewer using Ajax.NET

Firefox Memory Leak

If you are a Firefox user you should know that there is a memory leak in the program.

Skype Phone

I have two articles for you today on phones that are Skype capable. The first is Skype is plans to put out a VoWLAN phone, which will allow customers to connect to the Skype voice network via WiFi. The other is a DIY cordless Skype phone.

.NET Compact Framework Book

Over at Paul Yao's website you can read a book that is being developed on Programing the .NET Compact Framework. The book comes in two versions: one with al thel examples in C# and the other with all the examples in VB.

How to Use Design Patterns

Artima is running 'How to Use Design Patterns A Conversation with Erich Gamma, Part I by Bill Venners.'

Summary
Among developers, design patterns are a popular way to think about design, but what is the proper way to think about design patterns? In this interview, Erich Gamma, co-author of the landmark book, Design Patterns, talks with Bill Venners about the right way to think about and use design patterns.

even Clear Channel is sick of Clear Channel

Check out this article: Radio Free Clear Channel

Clear Channel is setting up a pirate radio in Ohio. I hope they bring it to other states soon. I know St. Louis and Kansas City could use a shake up.

Star Wars Prequel?

Cimematical is running 'Lucas' idea for new Star Wars Prequel?' The idea for the story is when the Jedi wrestled control of the universe Sith about 90 years before The Phantom Menace.

Two articles on BitTorrent

The first comes from Slashdot.org 'Official BitTorrent Search Opens.' The biggest question is how long will it be for the inventor Bram Cohen is sued.

The second comes from Wired News 'U.S. Jacks Torrent Site.'

On Wednesday, visitors to the site were redirected to a new government-hosted page with a stern warning about the penalties for internet piracy: "Individuals involved in the operation and use of the Elite Torrents network are under investigation for criminal copyright infringement."

I love the irony that a BitTorrent search is announced on the same day the Feds shut down a BitTorrent site.

Open and Free Project Management Tools

Here is a list of 'Open and Free Project Management Tools.' Several of these tools looks interesting. Let me know if you have any experiences with any of these tools.

.NET in Samples ebook

Over at skilldrive.com you can get ebook 'NET in Samples'. I have a done a quick survey of the book and I will be spending more time reading it in the near future. The code examples are in C#.

Podcasting Resources

Hugo Schotman blog has several posts about podcasting and how to setup ideas.

Reel Reviews Radio has the post 'Podcast about the Podcast'.

Podcast411.com has several How to's on podcasting.

Cisco Learning Connection

Another cool item from 'In The Trenches' podcast. Cisco has come out with the Cisco Learning Connection. Which is designed to help learn more about Cisco products and technologies.

Kevin said that there is a lot of good information in here.

LikeABike

Looks like I will be getting the credit card out soon. LikeABike is unique vehicle for children between the ages of two and five.

Creative Zen Neeon

The Creative Zen Neeon is a 5GB MP3 player. The feature set includes: integrated FM radio & recorder, built-in microphone for voice recording, Direct line-in recording, works as a plug-and-play removable portable mass storage class drive and 7 user selectable LED backlight colors.

You can get more information from Gizmodo and I4U websites.

A Couple Articles About Podcasting

Article number one is 'The Lowdown on Podcasting' at Business Week Online. This article covers what is podcasting, some issues you should be aware of and where to get more podcasts.

Article number two is 'His Mission: Simplify Podcasting' at Business Week Online. This article talks about a new service that will be coming on-line in the next few weeks to help people to find and subscribe to podcasts. The service should also help people who what to be podcasters get up an running. This will be direct competition to Adam Curry's PodShow.

Gary Cornell On Should you write a computer book?

Over at Ablog Gary Cornell has an interesting post on 'Should you write a computer book-will it pay off $$ wise?' Gary makes a good case that you should write a book but don't expect to make a living just off writting a book. I have a couple of friend who have written books and their experiences seem to line up with what Gary is saying.

176GB Flash Drive

M-Systems is coming out with a 176GB Flash Drive.

Solid State Hard Drivers Are Here

The Inquirer is running the article 'Samsung ready to release 16GB solid state hard drives.' So far the drives only go up to 16GB. The article says that there is a 10% savings on power comsumption. I would have guessed the number would be higher. It appears we can start looking for the new drives in August. There is no word on price yet.

Where To Submit Your Podcast

Robin Good has this article 'Where To Submit Your Podcasts: Best Podcast Search Engines And Directories.' He has an extensive list of Podcast Search Engine and Directories.

Wiki on stick

I was listening to 'In the Trenches' podcast. One of the items Kevin talked about is a couple of wikis that use HTML, CSS and JavaScript to run on any modern browser without needing any ServerSide logic.

TiddlyWiki
GTDTiddlyWiki

I will be checking these sites out over the next couple of weeks. I can couple of uses for a personal wiki that you carry around on a jump dive/thumb drive.

MP3/Voip Phone

I can't do this any justice. You will need to check it out for yourself.

GB25 EZMP4200P MP3/VoIP Phone

GB25 Hot Item

Google Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to make Google more effective.

Google Help Cheat Sheet

Google Guide: Shortcuts - for finding commonly sought utilities and information.
Calculator
Phone Numbers and Addresses
Street Maps
Stock Quotes
Definitions (Google Glossary)
Travel Conditions
Search by Number
Area Code Maps
Package Tracking
Flight Tracking Information
Vehicle Information
Patent Search
FAA Airplane Registration Numbers
UPC Codes
FCC Equipment IDs

Shooter Buddy Drink Ager

I am not sure what to make of this. I can't rule out that this might be a tin hat gadget.

The Shooter Buddy uses powerful magnets to realign the liquid particles. The claim is that it makes your drinks taste better.

You can check it out yourself at:
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/household/shooter-buddy-drink-ager-104405.php
http://www.sylves.com/shooterbuddy/howItWorks.html

Please let me know if you have any actual experience with this.

New Podcatching Client

PodNova is new Podcatching client that comes in two parts. Part one to sign up on the website. This is where you store you list of url's to the podcasts you want to receive. With a web based system you can update the list from any computer connected to the internet. This will also make administration simplier for those who have multiple computers download podcasts. It also supports that ability to play the mp3s through the website. The second part is the download client. Which accesses the your account on PodNova to get list the url list then it begins its work of downloading.

Haicom GPS Device

Haicom has a new GPS device (HI-305N) that sports a SD card slot.

Personalized Google Home Page

Google is now allowing you to create your own persoanlized home page. It appears that Google is doing a quite release. So far the big news sites don't anything.

History of Programming Languages

I stumbled across this Computer Languages History site a while back and forgotten about it. This site has a nice graphic that shows a time line of when a program language was born. You can also find a link to more information about a specific programming language.

Gadets Underwater

In case you haven't heard Richard Henry is going to attempt to break a scuba endurance record. Richard is planning to take some toys along. You can read more on Engadget or CNet News.com.

Choosing Between a Tablet PC and Laptop

I found this article over on Microsoft's site that may help you choose between a Laptop or Tablet PC. It is an interesting article of how one Tablet PC evangelist helped a couple of friends choose a new computer.

The Inner Workings of Google Maps

Check out this blog entry now how Google Maps works. This is an interesting read.

Help for Science Fiction Writers.

Apophenion's Resourcery: This website is an effort to assist writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy in making personal connections with those who have the ability to support them in bringing their works to the attention of potential readers.

VOIP and 911 emergency service

Site: Wired News
Article: VOIP in Public-Safety Showdown

Summary: The 911 emergency service is not supported by all VoIP services. The FCC will vote on rule changes, which could force changes to how VoIP networks and devices are configured.

Tablet PC: Motion M1400TC

Motion computing is offering an interesting Tablet PC M1400TC. I am not sure that you can really call this a Tablet PC. It runs Microsoft Windows XP Embedded not Microsoft Windows Tablet. I don't see a hard drive in the specs but a 512MB Flash Disk.

This looks to be just PDA with a larger screen and a bit more software. I am also hoping that this is really more a proof of concept of a solid state hard drive.

Shark Story Hoax

Over at SufersVillage.com they are running an article about an Internet story that has been circulated of a large Great White Shark that towed a vessel backwards after being tail looped. The story is a hoax.

Just another fine example of the exceptional journalism.

When is the best time to buy

Fool.com has an article 'Never Pay Retail' on when is the best time of the year to buy an item to get the biggest discount.

Compact Flash Wi-Fi

I am looking for a Compact Flash Wi-Fi card. Does any one have one they like? So far I have my eye on 128MB+ Wi-Fi CompactFlash from SanDisk.

Tablet PC: Fujitsu LifeBook T4010

Gizmodo has a review of the Fujitsu LifeBook T4010 and MobileTechReview also have a review. You can get the spec sheet from Fujitsu website. It appears that it is priced right around $2000.

Hands on Labs for Enterprise Library 1.0

Hands on labs for Enterprise Library from patterns & practices. Includes 8 labs in both C# and VB.NET.

Help with Writting

I am also working on improving my writting skills. Here are a couple sites that offer some help: Common Errors in English and Non-Errors.

Book on how to podcast

Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central has written a book 'PodCasting: Do it yourself.'

Mozilla Firefox 1.0.4 Released

Firefox 1.0.4 is out. This latest update fixes three security vulnerabilities listed on the known vulnerabilities page (MFSA 2005-42, MSFA 2005-43 and MSFA 2005-44) and resolves a DHTML regression introduced in Firefox 1.0.3.

Making a case for Hungrian Notation

Joel Spolsky has posted 'Making Wrong Code Look Wrong'. Joel is suggesting a coding convention that works and explains where we went wrong with Hungrain Notation.

Just when I was getting using to not using Hungrain Notation, I now need to rethink naming conventions.

Blogger and Gmail integration?

InfoWorld is running an article about the Google considering intergrating Blogger and Gmail. It appears that Google will be targeting Enterprise Blogging.

Deep Sea Detectives

It appears that the History Channel has running a 4th session for Deep Sea Detectives.

Free Credit reports not so free

Techdirt is running 'Free Credit Reports Actually Free People From Their Money'. It appears that the 2 out of the 3 credit reporting agencies is charging for a credit report monitoring service. You need take a minute to read the article.

The Science of Star Wars

Forbes.com is running an article on 'The Science of Star Wars.'

Where does crude oil come from?

I was listening to a podcast that was talking about the world oil supply and became curious about where does oil come from. A quick stop at wikipedia.com to search for crude oil turned up the top two theories.

The old theory is that oil comes from organic sources that require a lot of time and pressure. This article from http://www.astronomycafe.net sums up the common thinking. Using this theory oil you can see where the thought that oil is a limited resource and can not be replaced vary quickly so looking for an alternative energy source would be a good idea.

The new theory suggests that large amounts of carbon exist naturally in the planet, some in the form of hydrocarbons. Deep microbial lifeforms convert them into the various hydrocarbon deposits. Here are a couple of articles that support this idea: The mystery of Eugene island 330 and Gas Origin Theories to be Studied. Using this theory you arrive that oil is a self renewing resource.

It should be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.

Oklahoma Scuba Park

Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma is now open to scuba divers.

“Tenkiller Lake is one of the clearest, most beautiful lakes in the State of Oklahoma,” says Park Manager Steve Williams.

The lake offers the perfect environment for every diver from novice to the most adept instructors. There are a few dive shops to choose from to obtain a certification, rent or purchase equipment, or find out where to explore. Tenkiller offers an assortment of wonderful diving possibilities. There are several islands that are superior dive sites for discovering overhangs so dramatic that they could pass for caves or partaking in spear fishing, for any fish that is not a game fish. There have been catfish speared as large as 65 pounds!!! Remember to obtain your Oklahoma fishing license before heading down! - http://www.laketenkiller.com/scuba.asp

I think a road trip is in order.

How Lightsabers Works

Over at HowStuffWorks.com they have an article on 'How Lightsabers Work'.

Wink

Wink is a free tutorial and presentation creation software. The tool can produce the tutorial into several formats like Macromedia Flash, PDF and as an Exe. I haven't used the tool yet but it is now on my list to tools try.

XML Website without any Programming

John Wood has released a tool for creating data-driven websites without any programming or databases.

You can view an example of the results at John's website.

Programmer's Resources

Here are a couple of resources I use.

Samizdat Press
This site is devoted to the free distribution of books, lecture notes and software. I enjoyed the article 'How to be a Programmer'.


Paul Graham's Essays
Paul has several good articles on Lisp and other topics of interest to programmers.

Getting Multiple Virtual PC's to work together

On the blog simon.says has an article how to get multiple Virtual PC's to work together. If you run multiple Virtual PC sessions at the same time you need this article.

.NET Delegates

Chris has this great article on .NET Delegates. I know Chris wrote this awhile ago. I am a little behind on my reading. The article shows how to implement a delegate in C# and the problem with tight coupling.

Podcasting is going main stream

First San Francisco's 1550 KYCY, an AM station, is planning to play listener-submitted content. Now the AP is reporting that Sirius is planning to start broadcasting on May 13. Adam Curry is to host the show.

It looks like the world of podcast is growing up.

A pool side TV

SuperScreen Outdoor Theater System, a 13-foot by 16-foot inflatable screen that includes a portable DVD player, dual 15-inch speakers, and a DLP projector. Now all I need is a pool.

Paint.NET 2.1 released

Paint.NET 2.1 has been released. Paint.NET is image and photo manipulation software.