Web Stuff – Page 41 – WhiteAfrican

Category: Web Stuff (page 41 of 45)

Pando: Large File Sharing Application

January 9, 2006 / HASH / 2 Comments

I started beta testing Pando today, a client-based file sharing application. I guess I didn’t pay enough attention during the beta signup, since I thought it would be 100% web-based so was a little surprised that I had to download a file to get it rolling. I currently use eSnips, which is built more for file storage, so I’m hoping that this works well for those 20+Mb files that I sometimes have to mail between work and home.

I’ve sent one file so far, a total of 27 Mb, and it seems pretty slick. The user interface was designed very well and is very intuitive. I like how easy it is to go through my files and drag-and-drop them into the Pando upload folder. Figuring out what you need to do to send a file is really very simple. See screenshot below for reference:

“Beta currently limited to 1GB per package”, states the Pando Beta website. That’s pretty freaking large if you ask me. I’m not sure I’ll be sending any 1GB files right away, but nice to know that I’m limited to that amount… Heck, that’s almost half the size of my GMail account and the same size as my eSnips one.

Google Pack = Google for Idiots?

January 6, 2006 / HASH / 3 Comments

Google Pack: Google for Idiots So, Google has released Google Pack (beta of course), which is a package of applications that they believe is helpful and useful to web users. As far as I can tell, it’s kind of like an “internet for new users” package that gives you a bunch of useful (free) applications that you need, all in one place.

Okay, the above was a politically correct version of what I’m actually thinking: Google for Idiots. I mean really, this is just not that big of a deal. Yes, Google Earth is cool, but if you know that you’ve probably already downloaded it. I hope you already have Firefox and aren’t using Internet Explorer anymore. Offering Norton Antivirus is lame, what a bloated piece of scareware. Who doesn’t have Acrobat Reader already? Most people should already have almost all of these types of applications, and probably the better ones – not this useless mixed bag of junk.

I can’t help but be reminded of AOL when I see this. Maybe I’m being unfair… No, this really is only useful for the non-computer literate, just like AOL was.

Not all is a loss however. Google Earth, Picasa, and Firefox are all either well designed or interesting applications. Even heavy computer/web users have some of these applications on their computers. Here’s a full list of what’s available:

The Good
Google Earth
Picasa
Firefox
Adobe Reader

The Bad
Norton Antivirus
Google Desktop
Google Toolbar
Google Video Player

The Useless
Google Pack Screensaver
Google Talk
Real Player
Trillian
Gallery Player HD Images

You would be better served to go to Software for Starving Students and get their package of truly useful applications.

Confessions of an African Gamer

January 6, 2006 / HASH / 4 Comments

Growing up in Africa was a strange combination. Seeing as my parents were linguists, we had computers around even before the were widely adopted in Europe and the US. Mind you, we had access to computers, but no regular electricity. Or, we had access to computers but no new clothes. Get the picture? All that to say, I was very computer literate by the time I graduated from high school in Kenya and went to the US for college.

King's Quest David, would frequent the game arcades in YaYa and the Sarit Centre. I also had a couple friends who actually owned Nintendos – a very rare thing indeed in those days – and we would have great times playing Zelda and Street Fighter together. Mix that with the Kings Quest games of yore on our PC and you see that even in Africa gamers are developed.

The natural progression of one such as I was to get into the console games of that era; Sega, Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Playstation, etc… However, I was never a natural console gamer – and truthfully I still suck at them. I got into playing strategy games like Civilization II, but also moved on to other fun client-based games. Everquest came out, but I didn’t have the money to buy the computer needed or the money to pay the monthly fee, so it passed by.

I unwittingly opened up a whole new world of games when I found Ultima Online in 2001, and it’s been downhill ever since. I played that for a while, then switched to Star Wars Galaxies when it came out and was a hopeless addict of that game for a couple months before I realized I had a real life to live. I tried to go back to client-based games (offline games), and picked up Civ III, Sim Golf, Diablo II, Baldur’s Gate and others, but once you’ve tried online games there’s simply no going back. No non-player character (NPC) interaction can equal interaction with real players like you get online.

So, what do I do now? I’m to old to play games right? Not really, I play World of Warcraft (look up Dawa, my priest on Stonemaul, if you play too) in my free time. Usually this means after the girls are in bed and I have chosen to rot my brain rather than read a book or do something else constructive. 🙂 I guess I’m what is called a “casual gamer” these days, but I still get to go and have fun with my other 1337 friends every once in a while.

By the way, for some very funny reading – if you’re a gamer, or if you want to learn gamer speak – go to the Unencyclopedia where you can learn what a Roflcopter is.

Blog Software Comparison

January 1, 2006 / HASH / 2 Comments

Someone had put together a pretty neat blog software comparison chart that allows you to compare functions of the different blog engines easily.

Also, a list of blogging software tools is available from Yahoo’s directory that is worth looking at. I’m firmly in the WordPress camp, but I’ve heard good things about MoveableType, and Drupal as well. I don’t believe in paying for blogging software, so find it very hard to understand why people use Type Pad/Moveable Type, Expression Engine, or Radio Userland. I just can’t see what they offer as being any better than what I get for free.

How IT & Web Projects Work

December 30, 2005 / HASH / Comments Off

A hilarious look at how IT and Web projects work. Unfortunately, I’d say that there is more truth here than exaggeration. You’ll also notice who generally get’s the worse end of the deal – yes, the client.

Paul Graham on How To Become Wealthy

December 28, 2005 / HASH / Comments Off

Paul Graham’s essay’s are all incredibly well written and great reads. I particularly enjoyed “How to Make Wealth“, here’s a quote:

There is a conservation law at work here: if you want to make a million dollars, you have to endure a million dollars’ worth of pain. For example, one way to make a million dollars would be to work for the Post Office your whole life, and save every penny of your salary. Imagine the stress of working for the Post Office for fifty years. In a startup you compress all this stress into three or four years. You do tend to get a certain bulk discount if you buy the economy-size pain, but you can’t evade the fundamental conservation law.

Take a moment to read it (a moment being relative here, since his essays are rather long), you’ll probably find yourself reading his other essays as well.

Yet another great quote:

This essay is about how to make money by creating wealth and getting paid for it. There are plenty of other ways to get money, including chance, speculation, marriage, inheritance, theft, extortion, fraud, monopoly, graft, lobbying, counterfeiting, and prospecting. Most of the greatest fortunes have probably involved several of these.

New RSS Feed Icons

December 23, 2005 / HASH / Comments Off

Are you tired of the old RSS/XML feed icons that look like this?

Matt Brett has created a website to help establish a new standard for RSS feed icons. You can download a file with PDF, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, jpg, gif, and png versions of the new icon on his site. If you want to change the colors, just use Illustrator or Photoshop. A very well done package and much in need of being done!

If you would like the White African RSS feed, click on the image below. Copy the URL from the address bar and paste it into your favorite RSS aggregator or reader.

Favicon: Adding an Icon to Your URL

December 14, 2005 / HASH / 3 Comments

Here’s a great way to brand your website/blog – use a favicon. You know, all those little images you see on the tabs in Firefox or in the URL area. Mine looks like this:

An easy way to do it, without buying an Icon-building package, is to create your logo and save it as a gif or jpg (square shaped is best). Then go to this website that makes favicons from your images. Download the file they give you and upload it to your image directory.

You’ll enter the following code between your < head > tags, only changing the href to the correct file where you uploaded the .ico file.

That’s it. Enjoy.

I Can’t Remember How I Found This Website

December 11, 2005 / HASH / 1 Comment

I came across a Firefox extension called “How’d I Get Here” which is designed to let you know your web surfing path so you remember how you got to a specific website. It was kind of funny, because I couldn’t remember how I got there…

What it does:

Go “back” even after opening a link in a new tab and closing the original tab.
Remember how you found a site you bookmarked yesterday.
When you are sent a link you have already seen, astound the sender by responding with a statement more precise than “I saw that on some blog a few days ago”.

I probably won’t be installing this extension though. Why? I recently had a conversation with someone about how one of the things I enjoyed about the internet was finding new content or tools that were useful or interesting to me. Do I really care how I got to that final website? Not really. I do make sure that I bookmark or email myself the link, then go on with my day.

Others will have different views on this, that’s why I posted the above link to the extension. You’ll most likely find it very useful, and I look forward to someone telling me how much they enjoy the tool at some point in the future.

The New Designers

December 2, 2005 / HASH / 2 Comments

I’m fascinated with good design. This is most likely due to the fact that I’m not a designer myself, so I really appreciate it when I see others doing a great job. This whole Web 2.0 movement has caused a lot of new start-ups – many of them have a new look and feel that is much more simplified. They focus on what is important, reducing clutter, and ensuring a great user experience.

Some of the top designers with examples:

Andy Rutledge

Mike at Addison Road

Todd Dominey has a great portfolio. Below is a popular design he created for Blogger – Google’s blogging engine.

Bryan at Avalonstar has done a great job with the UPS Store Providence website. Super simple and easy to navigate.

Catherine Savard design for Purina One.

Mike Davidson is one of my favorite designers. His blog is great, as well as his designs. Here is one he did for K2 Bikes.

Other examples of new design styles:
37 Signals
Raw Sugar
Zazzle
Say-so
Ning
Carson Systems
Mint

Obviously, there are many many more designers and design examples out there, but I hope this gives everyone an idea of what’s happening in the trendy design world. 9 Rules is a great blog network to visit that has a list of outstanding new designers, make sure you check them out too. It’s not surprising that many of those listed here are already a part of the 9 Rules stable.

Where Africa and Technology Collide!

Category: Web Stuff (page 41 of 45)