dots and loops

Diligently culled from the web for your perusal:

• ExtremeTech | Ten Must-Have Gadgets for Windows Vista Sidebar
  I've always been suspicious of sidebars and other desktop applets, long before Vista came out (the concept has existed on Linux and OS X for a while now). Sure, they can be fun, but I'm not convinced they are anything more than resource hungry toys. If there really is some piece of software you need running all the time, why not have it in your system tray? Is the Vista sidebar simply extra overhead, or does it actually provide a framework for coding light weight applets? I don't know the answers to these questions, but I suppose computers are meant to be fun as well as useful.
• ExtremeTech | Speed Up Windows Vista
  A descent article on tweaking Vista for performance.
• LibraryThing
  LibraryThing allows you to catalog your books online. "Why?", you might ask... well, LibraryThing will connect you with people who read the same things, and offer recommendations. It also allows you to display what you are reading on your blog.

There seem to be a plethora of websites offering free DNS services nowadays... ZoneEdit, Granite Canyon, and FreeDNS just to name a few. Just do a google search on "free DNS services". These services offer web based administration of your DNS, and most offer free dynamic DNS, which is nice if you are a home user.
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Diligently culled from the web for your perusal:

• FlickrCash
  This is an amazingly cool use of javascript and AJAX. Just type in some keywords and this site searches Flickr for matching images, then presents them in a fullscreen thumbnail gallery. While you are viewing it caches the next couple of pages for you.
• DC++ your files, your way, no limits
  This seems to be a popular up and coming p2p protocol.
• Wired News: Downloading Is a Packrat's Dream
  Obsessive hoarding in the digital age.
• Microsoft: Make our HD Photo format a standard | CNET News.com
  This new photo standard sounds great, and MS is actually playing nice and wants to make it an open format. It's compression algorithm is roughly twice as efficient as jpeg apparently, meaning for the same file size you will have a much better quality image.

Diligently culled from the web for your perusal:

• Web 2.0 Workgroup - A network of Web 2.0 resources
  The Web 2.0 Workgroup is a network of premium weblogs that write content about the new generation of the Web.
• Vista Tweaking Guide - TweakGuides.com
  This looks like it could be useful.
• VistaBootPro (Windows Vista) - Lifehacker
  Tweak your Vista boot configuration with VistaBootPRO, an easy-to-use alternative to the command-line bcdedit.exe utility.

Diligently culled from the web for your perusal:

• Vista Power Users Guide
  Free, as in coffee.
• PhpDelicious
  A php class for accessing the del.icio.us API.
• Snap-In SATA Mobile Rack for 3.5" SATA Hard Drive from Addonics
  This is simply too cool, and the price is so cheap I'm not sure I'm reading it right. If I am, then for $27 you can add a 5 1/4" SATA drive reader to your computer. Just slide hard drives in like they are floppies. I think this might be the perfect backup strategy.
• BackupHDDVD - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Backup your HD-DVD's. I think the MPAA is facing a losing battle here.
• Book Review: Beginning Javascript with DOM Scripting and Ajax
  Despite its title, this book is not for those just starting out in web development. What it is, is a great resource for those that already have some experience coding dynamic web sites.
• Styling form controls | 456 Berea Street
  Forms are notoriously hard to style consistantly across browsers. Hopefully this will help.
• ADOdb Database Abstraction Library for PHP (and Python)
  Abstraction library for MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Firebird, Interbase, LDAP, Access, VFP, DB2 and many other databases. I may re-code my aggregator to use this.
• Windows Administration: Inside the Windows Vista Kernel: Part 2
  An in-depth look into the new Vista kernel (from Microsoft TechNet). Part 1 is linked at the top of this article.
• SlimStat
  A simple and free web stats analyser based on ShortStat. I use it on this site.
• FeedWordPress
  This would be great for integrating syndicated content into your site, or for starting a blog collective.

A lot has happened since I took down my original blog many months ago, and I feel rusty and awkward typing out this post after such a long hiatus. One thing has changed... this new blog incarnation has focus. Herein one will find your humble authors thoughts and observations on the technological crossroads. I hope to eventually post any helpful scripts, HOWTOs, and whatnots which I think may be of use to others. After all, that is the whole point of blogging.

I'm sure time restraints will prevent me from updating this blog as frequently as I'd like, so I would encourage the curious and the foolish alike to add me to their feed aggregator. As much as I'd like you to visit and fully appreciate all my hard work, I realize that is rather unrealistic in the new world live web.

With that said, it's time to reboot!

MP3ext is a nifty freeware shell extension that adds all sorts of useful info to the Explorer properties page for mp3 files, including ID3 tags, bitrate, and other cool beans. No more having to start up winamp simply to determine the bitrate or artist for an mp3 file.