Naquada

I’ve been lookgng for a sensible way of storing all my photos offsite, as well as being able to share them with friends and family.

Like other people I know, I’m very nervous about keeping all my photos in digital form, taking regular DVD backups of them, and copying them all to multiple machines. People recommended webshots, and I signed up, but I’m still waiting for my email with my authorisation, so I guess they dont want me..

I’ve seen lots of references to Flickr in many blogs (and indirectly from here as well). So I decided to sign up for a pro account. There are so many good features such as viewing slideshows, ability to download high resolution versions of your pictures (unlike many other photo sites you can upload your images in their original form with no loss of quality). The pro account is cheap, and provides 1 gig of upload a month, and unlimited storage.

Here is my new Flickr photo page, although as yet you wont find anything there (most of my pictures are private), I’ll be uploading more public photos over the coming weeks.

I also like the way that Flickr can interface directly to MoveableType, and the fact that I can photoblog directly to Flickr by sending an email to flickr from from my phone.

The desktop upload utility needs a little work on it (like ability to upload directly to a photoset), but generally for a beta, its looking good..

Hobie Swan from MindJet has a great post on using MindJet’s MindManager on a TabletPC..

Mind mapping, the technique our software is based on, was originally done with pen-and-paper. With the advent of the latest tablet PCs, mapping has come full circle as maps can once again be built ‘by hand’. But this time on a digital piece of paper to combine the best of both worlds: the freedom of the pen and the memory and flexibility of computers.

It makes great reading and really does prove how flexible and useful the MindManager Mind Mapping tool is..

I’ll have to read Hobies blog in a bit more detail this week, will be one for the hotel room when I’m in Madrid I think..

Ok so this is very cool, the ability to create silk screen quality labels for all your CD’s and DVD’s directly from your DVD and CD burner!

Up until now if you’d wanted to label your CD’s or DVD’s you’d have had to use sticky labels with applications like NEATO or the like, that or label them up with a CD pen (sharpies or similar).

Hp’s LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling technology allows professional-looking labels using the same laser that burns the data onto the media.

Special LightScribe Drives from HP, Philips and Lacie, when used with Lightscribe coated media allow you to design and produce precise, laser-etched labels. Media and drives will have the LightScribe logo if they are compatible.

With LightScribe, the disc is the label, you burn the DVD or CD in the normal way and then flip the disc over, reinsert it into the burner and burn your own unique label.

It’s so simple it hurts! I’ve seen the drives today in places like PCWorld and on the web with prices around

WNewquay who writes a lot for TabletPCBuzz has a nice little post on his blog about why his thinks the TabletPC platform is so good;

It is for me the most transparent computing technology in my computing cluttered life.

So here we are, a little over a year later, and I’m a bigger fan now than I was then. Why? Well among other things, the Tablet PC continues to deliver on the promise that led me to adopt in the beginning. It’s been a good year.

I’ll completely agree with WNewquay here 110%, I just love my TabletPC, and going to IBM and having to loose it is probably going to be the single biggest downturn in my productivity.

Right now I have a huge seemless information system, all my meeting notes, my mail, everything in one unit, its become to me just like pen and paper, it goes pretty much everywhere when I’m working, and is never far away when I’m not. Once you have used a TabletPC in the way its intended to be used.. you won’t look back..

Everyone sees the TabletPC when I’m in meetings and its more of an ice breaker than a distraction.

I’m going to miss it going forward.. but I’ll be fighting to keep it..

..Maybe IBM could buy Toshiba??

Joe Beda writes on his blog about the way software development works at Google..

It’s widely known that Google allows its engineers to spend 20% of paid work time on personal projects (although these projects nevertheless are considered property of Google).

Joe points out some interesting software development practices at Google. For one, the code database is open for everyone, the snippets and pieces are documented and developers are encouraged to re-use existing code.

The intranet is transparent to the max and Google accepts the fact that there’s more than one way to accomplish something, so a better method is always welcomed. Interesting to note that just like the Hawaiian shirt days, the 20% per projects are actively encouraged. I particularly like the idea at about how their intranet is super transparent. Development teams are actively encouraged to share the most intimate details of their projects with the rest of the company, happening through tech talks, design docs, and lunch table conversations.

Pet projects are actively encouraged at Google. It isn’t a matter of doing something in your spare time, but more of actively making time for it. I mean this thinking is a massively radical thought, almost the reverse of most companies now a days where work really spills into your spare time.

Googles intrapersonal environment at apparently is very energizing, if someone comes up with a new idea, the most common response is excitement and a brainstorming session.

I’d love to be able to do the 20% project in my work, there certainly are a million and one fairly work related projects I could start and devote at least 20% of my work time to. However, as Joe says, its more likely that it is a result of an environment and philosophy of the development teams at google, not something that could be imposed in an independent way.

If you like playing Sudoku, you can now play agianst the rest of the world online..

Sudoku Fun posts a new puzzle everyday and will also be changed once 5 people have entered the speed challenge successfully.

They also provide a leader board so you can see how well your doing against other Sudoku players on the site..

Sudoku is a simple game where you must fill in a grid so that every row, every column, and every three by three box contains the digits 1 through 9.

It’s an addictive brain teasing puzzle, can be solved by lateral thinking alone, and does not require the use of trial and error to complete it.

Solving time for each puzzle is typically from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your skill and experience.

So This is pretty cool for all those geek heads out there..

Taking a picture of the area behind your monitor or laptop screen and setting it as your desktop image.

Creating a pretty convincing illusion that your laptop or monitor is totally transparent..

And theres a whole bunch more up on here

Red Bull Racing seems to be a real challenger in the Formula One at the moment, having finished both the opening Australian Grand Prix and the second Malaysian Grand Prix with both cars in the points..

With the Bahrain event only 13 days away, Renault seem hot favorites as the team to watch, but we’re supporting Red Bull Racing.

The Red Bull Racing Store opens in 33 days, and they do have the coolest looking merchandise!!

Go Red Bull..

How much do all those label they stick on your new laptop annoy you, but how much more annoying is the sticky residee that is left behind when you peel them off?

My Toshiba M200 came plastered with sickers, Designed for Microsoft Windows XP, Centrino Mobile Technology, nVidia G-Force FX, and OneNote 2003 installed..

I do know whats in my laptop thank you..

but how to get rid of that annoying stick residue? Well odd as it sounds..

Olive Oil, vegtable oils, or pretty much any oil you fry with (avoid the sharwoods chinese oil, its a little heavy on the garlic for your laptop), sounds crazy, but it works.

Take a little oil and work it into the residue left after peeling the label off, then leave to disolve the glue for a little while, then wipe clean with normal PC cleaning cloths..

So following on from yesterdays posting, I’ve actually discovered IBMers get up to some pretty cool stuff…

IBM has a good number of public blogs running, but it also has over 2,800 internal blogs running.

Philippe Borremans, PR Manager at IBM Belgium & Luxembourg, writing in the IAOC blog says ‘At this moment we have about 2800 internal weblogs (on a total worldwide population of about 330.000 IBM’ers.) with about 12700 entries. About 200 blogs have more than 10 posts on them…

…But I have also seen that blogging is not for everyone. Some people are so used to the “older” methods of working that they really do not jump on the wagon. Being able to change people and get them to participate from the start is the biggest part of the job.’

In the screenshot of his blog you can see Philippe talking about podcasts amongst other things. This is all very interesting, and seem s to be that IBM and a number of other big coporates really are getting on the ‘cool’ bandwagon…