Archive for January, 2007
Blurb
Blurb has released free software for creating your own book. The catch is you pay them to print the book for you. I got a demo of the software at Mac World and it is impressive. It does much of the work for you, letting you easily move around photos and blocks of text with their excellent interface. One unique Blurb feature is the ability to import your blog from the major blogging services and turn it into a book. You can just enter your username and password and Blurb will download the content of your blog and turn it into a book. Blurb also has the option of marking up your book and selling it through their site for a profit.
Popularity: 23% [?]
January 12th, 2007
EFF
I describe EFF as the “geek ACLU” to people who haven’t heard of it before. EFF tirelessly defends civil liberties, consumer rights, and the gadgets that we adore. They have been involved with many landmark technology cases including holding Sony accountable with infecting customers’ computers with root kits, defending online journalists’ right to protect the confidentiality of their sources, and even suing the Department of Justice for their illegal electronic surveillance.
Blending the expertise of lawyers, policy analysts, activists, and technologists, EFF achieves significant victories on behalf of consumers and the general public. EFF fights for freedom primarily in the courts, bringing and defending lawsuits even when that means taking on the US government or large corporations. By mobilizing more than 50,000 concerned citizens through our Action Center, EFF beats back bad legislation. In addition to advising policymakers, EFF educates the press and public. Sometimes just defending technologies isn’t enough, so EFF also supports the development of freedom-enhancing inventions.
Popularity: 17% [?]
January 10th, 2007
A Sixth Sense for a Wired World
Wired has a great article on some body hacking using rare earth magnets. Implanting these magnets in their fingertips “body-mod artists” Jesse Jarrell and Steve Haworth were able to obtain a “sixth sense.” The magnet works by moving very slightly, or with a noticeable oscillation, in response to electromagnetic fields. This stimulates the somatosensory receptors in the fingertip, the same nerves that are responsible for perceiving pressure, temperature and pain. Huffman and other recipients found they could locate electric stove tops and motors, and pick out live electrical cables.
What if, seconds before your laptop began stalling, you could feel the hard drive spin up under the load? Or you could tell if an electrical cord was live before you touched it?
Popularity: 32% [?]
January 4th, 2007
Joe’s Goals
Joe’s Goals is a simple web-based goal-minder. It is so easy to use that it shouldn’t create too much extra work in helping you track your progress towards achieving you goal(s). The site is currently bursting with new year’s resolutions, here are the top five:
- 17% Lose weight
- 13% Be a better person
- 13% Stop smoking
- 8% Spend less money
- 7% Exercise more
The interface is a simple grid with two kinds of goals: Good (worked out) and bad (skipped class). Clicking on a grid square will add a check mark (good goals) or an X (bad ones) icon. You can add as many as you want to any grid square, and at the bottom of the grid, your accomplishments are tallied.
Popularity: 20% [?]
January 4th, 2007
Blogshare
If you like blogs AND you are interested in money markets and stocks you will love Blogshares. If not, you should skip this one. Blogshares is a market for blogs with their value based on their share demand and their inbound links. I actually preferred Blogshares when it was young and simple. Since then they have added loads of features that are a little beyond me. Some of the additional features include a chips market, missions, industries and idea commodities, bonds market, “artefacts,” “chances,” a user forum, and corporations. You can claim your own blog and get started with some free shares. Make some smart trades of some popular blogs and you will be a Blogshares millionaire in no time.
Popularity: 19% [?]
January 4th, 2007
Power Pizza
The power pizza is a padded pizza box that both protects your laptop from damage, but also from theft…unless a thieve is feeling hungry…
Desirable laptops are desirable to thieves too. Disguise your laptop with a PowerPizza and reduce the risk of getting it nicked.
Popularity: 36% [?]
January 3rd, 2007
How many dead bodies are up on Mount Everest?
There are currently at least forty-one dead bodies on Mount Everest.
Do lemmings really commit suicide?
No, apparently Disney made that up.
Popularity: 17% [?]
January 3rd, 2007