Tom McMahon

Color Select Studio: Add A Splash Of Color To Your Digital Photos

Color Select Studio: Add A Splash Of Color To Your Digital Photos

1. Take a color photo.
2. Turn it into black-and-white
3. Select the area you want to be in color
4. That's it. Under $20

Foto Sketcher: St. Maarten

Foto Sketcher: St. Maarten

Done with the free program FotoSketcher. (Thanks, Mark!)

Fulfillment By Amazon

Fulfillment By Amazon

I bet you already know somebody who could use this service.

Flying Logic: Software For Visual Planning Support

Flying Logic: Software For Visual Planning Support

A summary:

Flying Logic is a highly visual, easy to use software application that does for reasoning what spreadsheets do for numbers. Just as you would not do detailed financial projections in your head, you need Flying Logic for all nontrivial planning and reasoning endeavors. Project management software won’t help you when you have no idea what part of a complex system needs improvement, or what that improvement might look like, or how to cause that improvement. Answering these questions is a critical and often-overlooked part of the planning process, and this is where Flying Logic shines. Flying Logic diagrams are not static images— they are working models of your reasoning that you test as you build and that stay “live” as you share your reasoning with others. ...

By providing a clear, visual language of causes and effects, Flying Logic encourages detached, rational thinking. By removing constraints around re-working the diagram, Flying Logic encourages people to painlessly consider every factor that really matters, and address every blind spot as it comes up. A good analogy is spreadsheet software— before spreadsheets, people still did financial projections, but they were laborious, error-prone, and there was a great deal of resistance to rework. After spreadsheets, people take many more factors into consideration and easily explore many more alternatives in their financial planning.

Just as a spreadsheet allows you to play “What if...?” with numbers, Flying Logic lets you play “What if...?” with plans, arguments, and ideas.

Why I've Switched From Bloglines and GreatNews To NewsGator Online and FeedDemon

About six months ago I wrote about the GreatNews RSS Desktop Reader and how I liked that it synchronized with Bloglines -- that is, if I read an item in GreatNews then it marked that item as read in Bloglines. I installed GreatNews on my USB drive, and pretty much only use Bloglines if I don't happen to have my USB drive with me. Using a desktop RSS reader is much quicker than using a web-based RSS reader, so I've been quite happy with this arrangement.

Here's the problem: If I want to delete a feed in GreatNews, I also need to delete it in Bloglines. Same if I want to add a feed. I have a lot of feeds, so after a while this gets to be more and more of a problem.

With the web-based NewsGator Online and the desktop client FeedDemon, if I delete a feed in one, it automatically gets deleted in the other. Neat. And both are now free. FeedDemon has a lot of features too. And NewsGator/FeedDemon will import your Bloglines feeds to get you started. Give it a try!

Linksys Draft-N Wireless Network Installed At Our House

Saw it at Sam's Club and figured heywhattheheck. About $300 for a router, a USB receiver, and two notebook cards. What I've noticed:

• It's about 4x faster. Nice. You really never believed that 12x figure they put on the box, did you?
• The network now reaches from one side of our ranch house where the router is to all the way down to the basement on the other side of the house. Better connection, and we don't need a repeater.
• Less interference from our G-Network neighbors.
• Much more reliable. The network drops out a lot less.

I had been waiting for the final N-Standard to be adopted, but that looks like it still may be a while, and I figured that even though this equipment is Draft-N if it's all from Linksys it should all work together, which it does. I bought Linksys because:

• It was what they had for sale at Sam's Club
• It's the most popular brand
• I had had their B-Router and G-Routers, so I was used to them.

There may be better brands, but for me Linksys is good enough. The bottom line: I'm happy with my purchase, and would do it again.

Stickman: A Windows Program That Lets You Create Animated Cartoons

Stickman: A Windows Program That Lets You Create Animated Cartoons

The summary from SnapFiles.com:

Stickman enables you to create animated cartoons, without the need for any drawing skills. Instead of drawing, you can choose from a collection of enhanced stick figures that look like cartoon characters, and can be animated in the same way as stick figure animations, using control points. You can use full color backgrounds and choose from a variety of characters and objects that can be used in your animation. The program also includes a character editor (Elemento) that allows you to design your animation objects. Stickman supports multiple layers, adjustable camera angels, and more.

The Logitech Wireless Laser Mouse That Lets You Leave The Tiny Receiver In Your Notebook All The Time

The Logitech Wireless Laser Mouse That Lets You Leave The Tiny Receiver In Your Notebook All The Time

One less thing to keep track of. Around $50.

Two Cheap Ways To Transmit Your Music Library Around the House: The Logitech Wireless Bluetooth Music System and the C. Crane FM Transmitter

The Logitech Wireless Bluetooth Music System

Just so you know, the Logitech Wireless Bluetooth Music System is an orphan -- Logitech doesn't list it on their website any more. But that's probably why Tigerdirect has it for just $60. I just added a pair of cheap powered speakers and I was good to go. Sound quality was much better than I expected. The nice feature about this unit is that you can skip over a song you don't like, or pause it to take a phone call.

The C. Crane FM Transmitter

The C. Crane FM Transmitter will set you back about $70. Yeah, I know there are much cheaper FM transmitters out there, but most of those only let you chose a couple of FM frequencies -- the C. Crane unit lets you choose any frequency you want. The advantage of this approach is that you broadcast to every FM radio in the house (the Logitech only broadcasts to its one receiver). The downside is you can't pause or fast forward.

Any other cheap solutions out there?

One Laptop Per Child, Or Let Them Eat Cake

It's suddenly dawned on me that I've been reading computer and tech columnist John C. Dvorak for 25 years now. I can't think of anybody else I've read this consistently for that long. Why? These excerpts about the OLPC will give you an idea:

"Sir, our village has no water!" "Jenkins, get these people some glassware!"

Throughout the decade, more than 100 million children will die from illness and starvation. The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well fed, one-third is underfed, and one-third is starving. Since you've entered this site, at least 200 people have died of starvation. One in 12 people worldwide is malnourished, including 160 million children under the age of 5. Nearly one in four people, or 1.3 billion—a majority of humanity—live on less than $1 per day, while the world's 358 billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45 percent of the world's people. Let's include Negroponte and the Google billionaires. ...

Apparently, saying anything negative about the OLPC XO-1 computer amounts to heresy in this community. You may as well promote NAMBLA or the KKK. People don't want to consider the possibility that their well-meaning thoughts are a joke and that a $200 truckload of rice would be of more use than Wi-Fi in the middle of nowhere. There seems to be a notion that the poor in Africa or East Asia are just like the kids in East Palo Alto. Once they get a laptop, there will be no digital divide, will there? People can say, "I did my part!" ...

Some readers will just perceive these complaints of mine as coming from a grumpy old man who doesn't like anything. Fine. Stay optimistic. Buy ten. All I can tell you is that, personally, I have never seen such a cavalier and pompous assuredness in my life. As if this whole OLPC scheme is anything other than a naïve fiasco waiting to unfold. I'll donate my money to hunger relief, thank you.

Pushing Daisies: The Only TV Series That Offers A Comic Book Recap Of Previous Episodes

Pushing Daisies: The Only TV Series That Offers A Comic Book Recap Of Previous Episodes

They use Skitch and Comic Life from plasq. Based on still images from the show, the comics help viewers catch up on missed episodes and relive the live show. Skitch is used to capture images from a DVD stream. The resulting images are placed into a Comic Life template, filtered, mixed with speech balloons containing key plot points, then shared on abc.go.com

Asus eee PC Subnotebook Computer Running Linux For Under $500

Asus eee PC Subnotebook Computer Running Linux For Under $500

Built-in Ethernet, wireless, USB, SD card reader, etc. Uses a Solid-State Drive (SSD) so there are no moving parts on this thing. Built-in applications galore. Some links:

• Eee PC Makes Hot Debut
• Asus Eee PC First Thoughts
• ASUS Eee PC Hands On Preview
• Asus launches tiny PC

Happy Drooling, Geek Boys!! ;-)

Radio Shark: Record Broadcast And Internet Radio On Your Computer

Radio Shark: Record Broadcast And Internet Radio On Your Computer

Blurb excerpts:

You can record while you listen, or you can set up recordings to occur later, or according to a repeating schedule. You never have to miss a favorite show again. Recordings are saved to your hard disk, and can be added (automatically!) to your iTunes library for listening on your iPod. . . . Along with the usual fare of AM/FM talk shows, call-ins, top-forty, and easy (and sometimes no-so-easy) listening, you get to browse the ever-expanding world of Internet Radio. . . . Plug the radio SHARK "fin" into your computer's USB port, load the software, and start tuning in.

Alumz.com: A Free Alumni And Reunion Site Service. An Alternative To Classmates.com

The story:

Mark Connell said he was frustrated at having to pay Classmates.com to find the e-mail addresses of his friends from the class of 1982 at Ringgold (Ga.) High School.

So, in a weekend in 2001, he created a free, interactive Web site for the school. In February, he took Alumz.com national and now has created sites for 800 high schools in 35 states.

"Everything you could do, you had to pay for," he said of the 10-year-old Classmates.com. "I had been doing (Web site) development a long time, and I thought, ‘Why make everybody pay?’ So I took a weekend and launched it. I did it out of frustration."

On Alumz.com, people can have sites for their high school or college classes, their families or their businesses. Alumni directories, contact information, full biographies, message boards, scheduled chats, class stories, memory boards and reunion news are all free.

DailyLit: Read Book Via Email And RSS

From their FAQ:

1. Why read books by email?

   Because if you are like us, you spend hours each day reading email but don't find the time to read books. DailyLit brings books right into your inbox in convenient small messages that take less than 5 minutes to read. This works incredibly well not just on your computer but also on a Treo, Blackberry, Sidekick or whatever the PDA of your choice. In the words of Dr. Seuss: Try it, you might like it! (Oops -- it would appear that the actual quote from Green Eggs and Ham is "You do not like them. So you say. Try them! Try them! And you may.")

2. How long does it take to read a book?

   That depends on three factors. First, on how many installments are in the book (shown when you browse for books). Second, on how frequently you choose to receive emails. Third, on how often you read more than one installment (by using the "send me the next installment immediately" feature). So here is a typical example. I am currently reading Dracula, which has 187 installments and I am receiving installments on weekdays, i.e. 5 days/week. So at most it will take me 187/5 = 37 weeks. But when I am on the train or waiting, I often read more than one installment, so I usually wind up reading about 10 installments/week. This means I will finish Dracula in about 19 weeks or 5 months. If that seems long to you, try something shorter!

The TypeMatrix Keyboard

The TypeMatrix Keyboard

The Latest New Words From Word Spy

WordSpy is devoted to lexpionage, the sleuthing of new words and phrases. These aren't "stunt words" or "sniglets," but new terms that have appeared multiple times in newspapers, magazines, books, Web sites, and other recorded sources. Some new words for 2007:

• Potterhead n. A person who is a big fan of the Harry Potter series of books.
• floordrobe n. A pile of discarded clothes on the floor of a person's room.
• carbage n. The garbage that accumulates in some cars, particularly in the back seat.
• checkbook environmentalist n. A person or company that contributes to the protection of the environment solely by donating money to environmental causes or by purchasing carbon offsets.
• locavore n. A person who eats only locally grown food.

Also check out WordSpy's Top 100 Words.

GreatNews, The Free Desktop RSS Reader Client That Synchronizes With Bloglines And Works With iRider

GreatNews, The Free Desktop RSS Reader Client That Synchronizes With Bloglines And Works With iRider

Advantages:

1. Because it's a desktop RSS reader, it's much faster than reading Bloglines on the web.
2. It syncs with Bloglines, and marks the online entries as read.
3. GreatNews is to Bloglines as Outlook is to Yahoo!Mail.
4. If you're at a different computer, you can still read Bloglines on the web.
5. But GreatNews installs and runs on a USB drive, so you can take it with you.
6. If you've set up iRider as your default browser, then clicking an entry in GreatNews will open it in iRider.

Getting Disconnected From Your Wireless Network? Maybe It's Time To Change Your Wi-Fi Channel

Wi-Fi Channel Map

An excerpt from The Digital Inquisition:

Two WiFi networks operating on the same channel are forced to share bandwidth, as they can't "talk" simultaneously, which halves each network's bandwidth. In order to evade this effect, you need to change your access point's channel, but taking the adjacent one won't do it, as WiFi channels are arranged in an overlapping pattern, as you can see from this scheme.

Channel 1 overlaps channels 2 to 5, which therefore may not be used for a neighbouring WiFi network. If channel 1 is used, you should switch to channel >=6. There must be a spacing of at least 5 channels (or more) between each WiFi network in order to avoid interferences.

I ran into this problem at home when a couple new networks popped up on channel 6 and channel 10. I was getting disconnected from the internet every 5 minutes or so. Then I changed my Wi-Fi channel to Channel 1 and the problem was solved!

Online Forensic Art: Age Progression and Regression

Phojoe.com has a service where you can upload a photo of a child and they will age-progress that photo for you. It seems to be used a lot by grieving parents. There's a place where the sun is always shining and no tear will bend the eye. This, however, isn't it:

...I'm 78 and would like to see what my son would have looked like before I die. He was 2 when he was killed and would now be in his 30's...Wow, When I first saw the photo you did, I was floored, it was just shocking as if I was looking at the real thing. A tingle went through my spine. You really captured my son. Harry G - Lacey, WA

If you've ever wondered What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?, well a number of them have visited this page. Hankerchiefs and tissues at the ready? Now go see the rest . . .

WordWeb: Freeware, Except For SUV Owners

WordWeb: Freeware, Except For SUV Owners

It's a nice piece of software nonetheless.

Factbites: Where Results Make Sense

Factbites: Where Results Make Sense

The first three results on Rupert Murdoch from this off-brand search engine:

• Murdoch's parents were born in Australia, but emigrated to Mordor after their extended family were killed by evil bloodsucking communists.
• Rupert Murdoch would like to see the reinstatement of the death penalty, flogging, the whip, the chain, ballgags, PVC catsuits and much more discipline for naughty, naughty people.
• Rupert Murdoch's sexuality has come under some scrutiny of late, given his interesting relationships with seagulls, and his more recent love affair with a giant, 8ft tall wookie known to many as Queen Elizabeth II - a.k.a Chewbacca.

I think I'll stick with Google.

Xingtone: Make Ringtones From Your CDs And MP3s

Xingtone: Make Ringtones From Your CDs And MP3s

Easy-To-Read Computer Keyboard

Easy-To-Read Computer Keyboard

For Boomers and Beyond, as they say.

Tidy Start Menu: Two Great Ideas

Tidy Start Menu: Two Great Ideas

Great Idea #1: A nice little program that clears up the clutter of your Start Menu.

Great Idea #2: A promotional concept for shareware that I've always wondered why it isn't used more often:

You can get the Pro version of the program completely free of charge. To do it, just tell people about the program in your blog. We do not require that you say good things about the program or say anything you do not want to say. Just tell your readers what you personally think about Tidy Start Menu, how it helped you or how it did not help you.

I really like this little program. Simple, easy-to-use, and solves a real problem. What's not to like?

Intocartoon: Turns Your Photos Into Cartoons

Intocartoon: Turns Your Photos Into Cartoons

I had to compress this one, so the originals look better than this.

Sima Hitch: Transfers Files Between Two USB Devices Without A Computer

Sima Hitch: Transfers Files Between Two USB Devices Without A Computer

From Gadget Lab:

It took me a few minutes to understand what the Hitch does, after which I realized this could be a pretty handy item. The device, produced by Sima (the folks behind the amazing Inflatable Home Theater), essentially serves as a bridge between any two USB-equipped devices. Possible uses include plugging a digital camera in one end and a thumb drive in another, to free up your camera's memory card. Plug in two media players to swap songs from one to another (without all those pesky Zune restrictions, like having to own a Zune).  Or transfer photos from your digicam to your iPod.The Hitch also juices up USB-powered devices. And it runs Linux, earning the user geek cred. List price is $200, but a number of retailers have 'em marked down to $70 or less.

I've Joined eMusic

J-Walk writes about it every month. $20 for 75 songs a month (other plans available). I downloaded songs by Big Kahuna And The Copa Cat Pack, Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Harry James & His Orchestra, Jerry Butler, Leon Redbone, Lou Rawls, and The Spinners. One of the reasons I hadn't joined eMusic is that I thought they only had music for hippie Democrats, but they music for regular Republican folk as well. Send me an e-mail and I'll send you an invitation that qualifies you for 25 free downloads. Actually, you get 25 free downloads regardless, but if you let me send you an invitation, then I'll get 50 free downloads myself.

Bar Of Pie Charts

If you have a cluttered pie chart like this:

A Cluttered Pie Chart

Try using this type of chart, called a Bar of Pie Chart:

An Uncluttered Bar Of Pie Chart

I never heard of this type of pie chart. Click on a link to have J-Walk explain it all to you. 

Green Bay Packer Game Countdown Timer

Green Bay Packer Game Countdown Timer

I haven't tried it, and I don't know if it works in the off-season. Requires the Yahoo Widget Engine.

What Was The Weather Like On The Day You Were Born?

You can find out, if you were born in the USA and aren't older than say, me or J-Walk. Here's the weather for St. Louis on August 18, 1965, for example. For other locations, just enter the four-letter airport code, which just adds a "K" to the three-letter airport code you are familiar with. So O'Hare is KORD instead of the ORD you're used to seeing. The O'Hare weather records only go back to 1958, but other airports can go back to 1940 or so. More weather history data here.

Internet Radio

Wikipedia has nice articles on internet radio and on standalone internet radio devices. I think I'd rather get one of these than an HD radio (they're about the same price). See my previous post on the Acoustic Energy Wi-Fi Internet Radio.

NetZero, AOL, And Other Scam Sites That Won't Let You Cancel Your Account

A nice little bit of investigative reporting from PC World. An excerpt:

It took me less than 5 minutes to sign up for a NetZero dial-up Internet account. But after canceling that account, I spent a week trying in vain to reverse a charge that the service levied after my cancellation request. I had to call NetZero a total of five times, holding for several minutes and then enduring long and fruitless conversations with company agents every time I called. According to the NetZero representatives that I spoke to, I needed to talk to a supervisor to arrange a credit, but none was ever available when I called. In the end, I gave up and let NetZero keep the money.

And a classic AOL experience:

I signed up for a 90-day AOL trial account in Massachusetts in late July. I also signed up for two other ones at roughly the same time, using a friend's address in Colorado and a family member's address in New York. In each instance, I signed up over the phone and waited for two weeks before canceling. The cancellation process wasn't difficult, though when I unsubscribed for the Massachusetts account, the company's rep peppered me with questions about why I was unsubscribing and reminded that I could keep my AOL e-mail account for free. I declined the offer, however, and the rep finally told me, "You will not be charged any monthly membership fees." I had similar experiences in canceling the other two accounts.

Despite the reps' assurances, though, AOL charged all three accounts the monthly fee of $25.90 after I had canceled them. When I called later to ask why, AOL reps told me that I had to ask for a refund or none would be given.

An AOL spokesperson said that, instead of telling me that I wouldn't be charged "any fees," the customer service reps should have indicated that I wouldn't be charged "any additional fees."

Presto: The New Service That Lets Grandma Receive Email Without A Computer

Presto: The New Service That Lets Grandma Receive Email Without A Computer

An excerpt from TechCrunch:

Teasing aside, Presto looks like a pretty cool service for some people (possibly the parents and grandparents of TechCrunch readers). The printer costs $150. Take it out of the box and feed it electricity and a normal phone line. No need for broadband internet service. You are assigned a special @presto.com email address, and when someone sends photos or other content to that email address, it prints out on the printer. The old person user simply takes it off the printer and looks at it. We’ll be getting a test version of the printer and service and will post a more lengthy review after a hands on experience.

The service itself costs another $10 per month, which is where Presto makes their money. HP makes their money off of the ink cartridges that people will buy after using the service.

And from Fortune:

Grandma, meanwhile, can print and hand out cards with her own e-mail address, sure to impress her tech-savvy friends. And you, in between, can manage the list of friends and family who are authorized to send e-mail and photos to the Presto printing mailbox. Any other mail is blocked, eliminating spam and other unsavory messages.

The HP printer uses regular paper, producing photos far short of the quality of a glossy drugstore print but good enough to put up on the bulletin board. Text can be blown up in size to accommodate failing eyes. And if you forget to write - guilt! guilt! - Mom can sign up to receive puzzles, craft and hobby ideas, recipes, news stories, and other packaged e-mail content.

Alas, the Presto printing mailbox is a one-way device. Mom and Dad can receive e-mail and photos, but they have to pick up the phone to respond. Presto says it hopes to add two-way capabilities in its next generation.

The Best Way To Copy A Graphic From A Microsoft Word Document

Save the Microsoft Word document as html. Then go into the folder it creates and grab the graphic you want. I've found this works much better than a direct copy-and-paste from the document itself, especially where you need higher resolution. Try it!

A Great Car Repair Site

At About.com. Lots and lots and lots of symptoms to browse from.

Recolored: Colorize Your Old Black And White Photos

Recolored: Colorize Your Old Black And White Photos

Now at Release 1.0 $29.

SyncToy

SyncToy is a great little free tool from Microsoft:

There are new sources of files coming from every direction: digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store and retrieve files. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to get copies of files from one place; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping a mental card catalog in their heads. Others use one or more applications to provide this functionality for them.

Now there is an easier way. SyncToy is a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP that provides an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without added complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

Laptop PC Explodes

Laptop PC Explodes

A Dell. In Japan.

HovText: A Nifty Cut-And-Paste Tool

HovText is a nifty little Windows freeware tool from Denmark. It does one thing, and it does it well:

"genius - genius (fx a mathematical genius; it requires neither genius nor second sight to prophesy the effects of this policy on the future output of scientists and engineers); a person of superior intellectual faculties. "

Let us say that we need to paste this text into Outlook (into an HTML email). Below shows a not wanted result.

[ Result without HovText ]

Hey boss. As we agreed I hereby send my new title for my business card. I hope you will accept it :-) "genius - genius (fx a mathematical genius; it requires neither genius nor second sight to prophesy the effects of this policy on the future output of scientists and engineers); a person of superior intellectual faculties. " Regards Bend Over / Microsoft

Typical you wish to use the same formatting as already used in Outlook. Below shows the wanted result.

[ Result with HovText ]

Hey boss. As we agreed I hereby send my new title for my business card. I hope you will accept it :-) "genius - genius (fx a mathematical genius; it requires neither genius nor second sight to prophesy the effects of this policy on the future output of scientists and engineers); a person of superior intellectual faculties." Regards Bend Over / Microsoft

Creeping Featurism

Excerpts from John C. Dvorak:

The urge, so widespread during this technological era, to improve things continually has resulted in a weird sort of entropy called "creeping featurism." The term was coined by writer and software designer Jim Edlin in the early 1980s, when the phenomenon first appeared.

The idea is that continually improving things just adds more and more complexity. Eventually there comes a point where a product is unusable except to those people who have kept up with each new change. Anyone trying to start with the program from scratch late in its evolution will find it impossible to understand. ....

When the concept of creeping featurism gets debated, I always like to ask what the Mona Lisa would look like if it were never finished but were continually "improved" with new features. Can you imagine?

Excel Chart Example

Excel Chart Example

From a preview of Microsoft Office 2007 in PC Magazine. (via J-Walk)

The One Stop Site to Find Your Combination Chinese and Western Astrology Signs

At Suzanne White's Horoscopes. I'm an Aquarius Snake. But for all these years I thought I was a Horse, since every placemat at every Chinese restaurant told me so. So I feel Sheepish now! I guess it does pay to go to a professional. Now, if I could only find out whether it matters that I'm on the cusp of being a Capricorn. Hey, maybe I'm a CASH: Capricorn Aquarius Snake Horse. And they said I'd never amount to anything . . .

My Plain Black Desktop

My Plain Black Desktop

I took everything off my PC desktop: Right-click > Arrange Icons By > Show Desktop Icons.

SyncToy For Windows XP

From Microsoft:

SyncToy v1.0 is available as a free download on the Microsoft Download Center. The easy to use, customizable application helps you copy, move, rename, and delete files between folders and computers.

There are new sources of files coming from every direction: digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store and retrieve files. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to get copies of files from one place; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping a mental card catalog in their heads. Others use one or more applications to provide this functionality for them.

Now there is an easier way. SyncToy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP, is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without added complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

I just downloaded it and it's very easy to use. I use it to sync my little memory card that I carry with me with a folder on my computer at work. Nice.

Color By Number Software

Color By Number Software

Takes any photo and generates a color by number pattern for you to color in.

Christmas Carols For Green Bay Fans

Christmas Carols For Green Bay Fans

Holmgren-era hits available on eMusic for immediate download and musical enjoyment (via J-Walk)

Virtual Painter

For a St. Nick's Day present I bought myself a copy of Virtual Painter, a program that lets you modify digital photographs in different artistic styles. I've been playing around with it, and I'll be posting some of the arty photos I've made. Just so you know.

U3: Portable Programs on a USB Drive

U3: Portable Programs on a USB Drive

An excerpt from PC World:

Petite USB drives, already handy for carrying data, are getting smarter: New technology from a company called U3 allows a drive to store and, when plugged into any PC, securely run applications--without leaving a trace of data on the host computer. The applications (which must be U3-compliant), data, and personal settings all reside on the portable drive, permitting you to temporarily turn any Windows 2000 or XP system into a personal workstation without threat to your privacy. ....

The use of USB drives for portable applications isn't brand new. M-Systems XKey drives, for example, let you carry Outlook with you and--when you plug your drive into an Internet-connected PC--synchronize data with a corporate Exchange server. But until now, such functionality was based on proprietary technology. U3, which was formed by M-Systems and SanDisk, will license its computing platform to any developer that wants to distribute an application on a U3-compliant drive. At press time, several dozen companies had either released or announced U3 versions of their software, including America Online, ArcSoft, Cerulean Studios (maker of the Trillian universal instant messaging client), McAfee, Nullsoft (developer of the WinAmp digital audio software), and Skype. In addition to M-Systems and SanDisk, about a half dozen vendors, including Kingston Technology, Memorex, and Verbatim, have announced U3 drives.

IRS Ditches Free e-Filing For Some Taxpayers

From the always-informative Clark Howard:

The IRS has had a deal with several tax preparation firms that allow people to file their taxes for free online. It saves the IRS a ton of money and gives those companies a lot of publicity. But the IRS has decided to do away with this program. It has instead formed an alliance with these firms and decided that only people making less than $50,000 a year can file for free. So, if you make more than $50,000, you will have to pay to file electronically at the IRS Web site. Clark thinks this stinks.

I think it stinks too.

Can You Trust Wikipedia?

The Guardian posed this question to a number of experts, asking them to rate a Wikipedia article in their field. Here's Anthony Julius on the TS Eliot entry:

It's not terrible. But then I wouldn't have thought of using Wikipedia as a serious reference source. No glaring inaccuracies jump out at me. It doesn't list my book in the bibliography, but there are plenty of other useful links. The Waste Land is highlighted and when I click on it, a separate entry for the book pops up. There's a Four Quartets bit, too, and all the plays. And when I click on the year 1922, I get a page telling me what else happened that year. Eliot is at the centre of a whole web of other references. It's purely factual and not in any way analytical, but then that's all you want from this sort of thing.

Overall mark: 6/10

My Life Organized for Getting Things Done

My Life Organized for Getting Things Done

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