Yesterday, the blogosphere lit up with posts linking to a piece on how to legally download and burn (theoretically) hundreds of CDs via the 14-day free trial period on Napster. In another example of how important blogs have become, and how much they’re regularly datamined by big media, Reuters is running a story about the hack and Napster’s response. Of course, also indicative of big media’s coverage of cyberspace, they get it slightly wrong, making it sound like Engadget originated the hack, when they were actually referencing the original item posted on Marv Kordix’s website.
Google Quick Reference
The true power of Google remains hidden to most users. It’s amazing to me, when I see family and friends doing Google searches, to realize how few of the search tools they actually know about. This Google Cheat Sheet is a handy reminder for all of us on some of the lesser-known search features.
[via Lifehacker]
17-inch LCD Monitors Under US$200!
Looking for a cheap flat screen monitor to go with that Mac Mini you want to buy? Check out the LCD monitor deals at TigerDirect. They have 17″ models ranging from $180 to $260 (after rebate). Probably the best deal in the lot (price-to-performance-wise) is the BengQ FP731 (shown here) for $200. Get this and the Mac Mini through one of the dealers that’s throwing in a mouse and a keyboard with the Mini and you have a G4 Panther Mac with 17″ flat panel monitor for $700. Very tempting.
HOWTO: Crawlspace TankCam
If you’ve ever had to snake your way through the crawlspace under your house, you know that it’s not a pleasant place to be. After Ben Hallert bloodied himself (literally) crawling through the gravel under his house, he decided to let a robot do the under-house wire sniffing for him. He outfitted an R/C Abrams tank with a camera and some lights. Check out the project and some video footage on Ben’s website.
More Fun with Bill Bashing
Funny piece on Wired News called “Hide Your iPod, Here Comes Bill,” about the profusion of Pods on the Microsoft campus in Redmond and how upper management, including the big Softie himself, takes a dim view of the device. A whopping 80% of MS employees own an iPod, even though Microsoft software powers most of the competing players. Tee-hee.
Mr. Gates: Here’s Your Hat!
In response to Mr. Bill’s recent getting of religion with regards to software interoperability, Hakon Lie, CTO of Opera Software, hands Mr. Microsoft his hat in this great rant on The Register.
Free Online Tax Software
Don’t know if folks here have seen this already, but a bunch of tax software vendors are offering free online-based tax prep if you take a link to their wares from the IRS’s Free File Alliance web page.
BetaMAXED
Interesting piece on CNET about the changing approach to the beta test phase of software development (think most recent Google offerings and Friendster for three years). Where beta testing used to be a couple of months process, it can now take years, as developers use general consumers as beta testers and as they obsessively tweak code and features. But what does this do to consumer confidence to use a product that is perpetually under construction?
Shuffle: Cool Case Files (Part Company)
Okay, so this might be taking the whole iPod Shuffle-as-wearable thing a LITTLE too far — it’s a puffy coat for your Pod, complete with a hood! Wrong on a poodle, wrong on a Pod! More disquieting pics.
Shuffle: Cool Case Files (Part 2)
Japanese Shufflers have gone plumb crazy with modding their iPods with sticker skins. They’ve wrapped these rascals up in everything from faux woodgrain and classic Japanese art to the PowerPuff Girls and Shuffles with fake LCD screens on ’em.
Here’s a gallery of some of the sticker work. If you have a Shuffle and want to create your own skins, here’s a template. You can also find HOWTO instructions here. Unfortuantely, they’re in Japanese, but the images tell you pretty much what you need to know.