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In: Web
With: 3 Comments

I've been working on a branding project that required consistent use of color throughout every aspect of the company.  The specified standard was a Pantone color.  I figured I'd search the web and find a color equivalency  converter.  I found several, and most all of them gave different results.  So I called Pantone and got the exact HEX (html) / RGB conversion values.  It turns out, only one of the color conversion sites was correct.  And the winner for best Pantone color conversion goes to: SEO Consultants http://www.seoconsultants.com/css/colors/conversion/Read More →

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In: Web
With: 1 Comment

I’ve been looking for easy-to-use software to convert DVDs to XVID files to play on my Treo 650 (using the excellent The Core Pocket Media Player). I was about to purchase Lathe from Omniquiti when I found out that it is based on Pocket Divx Encoder, which uses GLP (link to license). In the Lathe forums, those who have purchased Lathe report that also states in the help file that it is distributed under GPL. Unfortunately, according to the thread, they have basically refused to release the codes by ignoring all requests. This is similar to the tactic taken by Simple Devices, as I reportedRead More →

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In: Wordpress
With: 3 Comments

I just upgraded to WordPress 2.0 and I’m not all that impressed with the results.  The WYSIWYG editor (that I was so excited to see included) does not work well. In fact, I couldn’t even get it to apply formatting at all in Firefox 1.5. I would highlight the text, click the bold button, and it would flash bold for a brief period before reverting back to non-bold. No idea why. Also, no way to format pictures (float right, for example) or browse images on the server before inserting them. I switched back to ChenPress, which is much more functional. Also, the file-uploader is notRead More →

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In: Web
With: 12 Comments

Nothing like arriving home from visiting family to find 6404 e-mail messages in your inbox. All of these were returned / failed / out-of-office error messages because some spammer is using my domain name and random usernames to send spam messages. I’m still receiveing about one returned error message per minute. No telling how many actually are getting through to people. Out of all of these messages, there was one that was different. It was a response to one of my Blog entries. It was, you might have guessed, a spam blog comment.Read More →

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In: Tech
With: 6 Comments

Mozilla Thunderbird is my favorite e-mail reader. I had some problems with the 1.5 beta, so I’m still using version 1.07. Here is a list of my favorite extensions: Header Scroll Extension: If you enable “view full headers” in Thunderbird, the list is way too long and you don’t even have space to view the body of the message. This extension solves that by making the header area scroll. Track Package: Highlight a package tracking number, right-click, and select track. It figures out the shipping service and automatically takes you to the correct status page with no intermediate steps. Virtual Identity: My favorite extension becauseRead More →

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In: Web
With: 3 Comments

This list has been updated for FireFox 2 – Please see this updated list. I’m a long-time user of the Mozilla and Firefox browsers. The base feature set is amazing but the extensions are what really make this browser a requirement. Here are my favorite extensions: Required (I use constantly): Tab Mix Plus: If I had to choose only one extension, this would be it. It makes the tabs behave any way you want them to behave. I use it to make child tabs open beside their parent, for the title text to be blue when the tab is unread, to show page download statusRead More →

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In: Web
With: 7 Comments

I’m looking for wiki software for a project I’m resurrecting and I’m mystified by the overwhelming number of fragmented versions available, defunct or otherwise. My requirements are pretty simple: support my server (PHP4, mySQL, CGI), WYSIWYG editor, and free. Doesn’t sound too complicated does it? Well apparently it is. I’m still looking. Looking at this comparison, MediaWiki is the closest as it has alpha-level support. Twiki is another possibility, as is Wikka. MoinMoin 1.5 has WYSIWYG, but it requires PYTHON on the server, which won’t work for me. Basically, I’m overwhelmed and frustrated. I guess I’ll just have to try a few and see whichRead More →

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In: Wordpress
With: 0 Comments

I have several WordPress plug-ins installed and working. Unfortunately, WordPress does not yet have a decent site to list, rank, vote on, and download plugins. Here are a few that I’m using: Archivist – displays older posts on the front page that would otherwise be lost in the archives Subscribe Me – adds news reader subscription links to the sidebar on the right WP-TinyMCE – WYSIWYG editor that works for both main posts and comments ChenPress – Another WYSIWYG editor. This one based on FCK editor. Does not work with comments as far as I can tell. I’m comparing it to WP-TinyMCE to figure outRead More →

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In: Web
With: 8 Comments

I’ve converted my blog from blogger.com format to WordPress. My initial thoughts are that WordPress is much more customizable and powerful. If you have have your own webhost and know how to ftp files to your server, floowing the installation instructions at wordpress.org will result in a much better blogging experience, especially if you like to tinker!Read More →

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In: Web
With: 1 Comment

I’ve setup a petition to get the GPL software for the Rockford Omnifi media players released. The petition is available here. It’s currently up to about 250 signatures. Hopefully slashdot will pick this up and it will get some more publicity. SimpleDevices, who is responsible for the software on the omnifi, appears to be the company with the unreleased GPL source code.Read More →