09.07.08

web news & links

Posted in News at 12:37 am by Paloma Cruz

Chrome
Google launched a new browser, upping the ante in the browser wars. Here’s some light reading to get a handle on what that means to the rest of us:

Some other stories to watch & things to do:

Some links to add to your bookmarks:

Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.

09.01.08

web links & news

Posted in News at 8:42 pm by Paloma Cruz

Comcast sets a limit

In case you missed the news, Comcast announced that it will begin to cap monthly usage for customers. ReadWriteWeb does a good job of summarizing:

Today, Comcast announced that it will amend its Acceptable Use Policy and add a clause to it that will establish a “monthly data use threshold” of 250 GB per month. This effectively puts a cap on the amount a Comcast user can download per month and codifies an informal policy Comcast was already enforcing. While 250GB is a large amount of data right now, it won’t be once a large number users start watching HD streams which can easily take up numerous GB per hours.

[snip]

Comcast’s announcement tries to put this limit into context. According to Comcast, 250GB amount to:

  • 50 million emails (at 0.05 KB/email)
  • 62,500 songs (at 4 MB/song)
  • 125 standard-definition movies (at 2 GB/movie)
  • uploading 25,000 hi-resolution digital photos (at 10 MB/photo)

The real question is what this means to the future of the Web, and of Web users. As what we do on a daily basis takes more content, higher volume, we need more usage space & higher limits.

More about this at the Houston Chronicle. What’s your take?

Amazon’s Universal Wish List

Looks like Amazon has taken their wish list a step further and enabled the ability to add non-Amazon items. Smart. This makes their universal wish list the one place you can add every little thing your heart (or head) desires, making it more likely you’ll use it.

I do have an Amazon Wish List, but haven’t actively used it. This may entice me to give it a stronger presence in my little tech-lusting life. (Found via LifeClever.)

Bookmarks

Some links and resources you might want to try:

08.27.08

no more spam on your phone

Posted in News at 9:26 pm by Paloma Cruz

From ABC13’s consumer blog:

IF YOU GET UNWANTED TEXT ADS ON YOUR CELL PHONE TEXT THE WORD STOP TO THE NUMBER AND IT SHOULD END. IF THAT DOES NOT WORK, CALL YOUR WIRELESS PROVIDER AND ASK THEM TO STOP THIRD PARTY TEXTING ON YOUR DEVICE. IF THAT DOES NOT WORK CONTACT THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/canspam.html

THIS LINK WILL HELP YOU FILE A COMPLAINT AND GET THE MESSAGES OFF YOUR MOBILE DEVICE.

08.07.08

web news & links

Posted in News at 11:03 am by Paloma Cruz

Placing keywords
Nonprofit Communications has a great post on “Where to put keywords in your Web page.” Here’s the shortlist:

  1. In your page title
  2. In your page description
  3. In your page URL
  4. In your headings and subheadings
  5. In your first sentence and your first paragraph
  6. In your last paragraph
  7. Elsewhere in your body copy
  8. In your link text
  9. In your ALT tags on images

The Marines get into social networking
BNET reports that “the Marines have launched their own social networking site at Our.Marines.com.” For more, go to DMNews.com.

Free Stock Photos
If you’re anything like me, you’re always on the lookout for sources or free stock photos to use on Web sites, etc. Digital Image Magazine has compiled a list of 25 Free Stock Photo Sites that worth bookmarking and exploring. There were some I recognized and some I didn’t. Regardless, it’s a good list to review.

07.21.08

is it protected by copyright?

Posted in General at 12:26 am by Paloma Cruz

Don’t know if something is protected by copyright? Check out this handy little sliderule, it may answer your questions.

07.08.08

best practices for fair use of video

Posted in General at 10:18 pm by Paloma Cruz

Kami Huyse has an easy-to-understand list of best practices for fair use of video. Where did she get it? “Today, the American University’s Center for Social Media released its code of six best practices (pdf) for fair use of online video.”

What are they?

  1. Commenting on or critiquing of copyrighted material
  2. Using copyrighted material for illustration or example
  3. Capturing copyrighted material incidentally or accidentally reproducing, reposting, or quoting in order to memorialize,
  4. Preserve, or rescue an experience, an event, or a cultural phenomenon
  5. Copying, reposting, and recirculating a work or part of a work for purposes of launching a discussion
  6. Quoting
    in order to recombine elements to make a new work that depends for its
    meaning on (often unlikely) relationships between the elements

ICANN loses its domain name

Posted in News at 10:15 pm by Paloma Cruz

This is just too funny, especially if you’ve had your domain name mistakenly given or sold to someone else.

Domain names get away temporarily
– Houston Chronicle2

This doesn’t sound good: The nonprofit agency in charge of the Internet’s addresses recently lost track of its own.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, said it happened when an Internet registration company it oversees got fooled into transferring the domain names to someone else.

ICANN’s domain names were restored within 20 minutes. Because many directories retain information for a day or two, visitors could have been redirected to an unauthorized site for longer.

[snip]

Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.

07.06.08

go forth into technology, it’s where the jobs are

Posted in News at 3:31 pm by Paloma Cruz

According to an article from Yahoo! those tech skills are going to come in handy. “Here’s a hint for high school graduates or college students still majoring in indecision: Put down that guitar or book of poetry and pick up a laptop. Study computer science or engineering, and plan to move to a big city.”

On the one hand, I’m glad that there’s an industry where there are jobs available. On the other, I’m sorry to see the advice being “put down that guitar or book of poetry” in an era where being well-rounded is more important than ever.

Just my opinion.

Source:

06.28.08

Photo effects

Posted in General at 5:06 am by Paloma Cruz

Looking to add some “bling” to your photos? Try BlingEasy.com. According to ShoeMoney, the “site lets you add some really fun and cool effects to your pictures very easily.”

I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s going on my list.

06.20.08

web news & links

Posted in News at 12:02 am by Paloma Cruz

Are at-work text messages private?
The Los Angeles Times reports1 on a recent federal ruling effectively making at-work text messages private. “An employer has no right to read an employee’s text messages without the worker’s knowledge and consent, and federal law bars service providers from turning over the contents of the messages to the employer who pays for the service, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.”

Staying out of trouble with e-mail, or because of it
NPR has an series of stories on e-mail, covering several topics. A few to check out:

Basically, if you want to stay out of trouble, don’t put it in an e-mail.

iPhone tip
Do you have an iPhone? BNET tells us how to turn it into a Portable Hard Drive with a program called DiskAid. I don’t have an iPhone yet, but am bookmarking this for when I do.

A good policy to have, comments
Performancing has Tips On How To Create Good Comment Policies. I need to read this, make notes, and actually create a commenting policy. Right now my policy is very straightforward, if I think you’re being offensive I delete the comment.

Footnotes:
1 = Story found on the Houston Chronicle. Article may expire in a few weeks.

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