I’ve become a big-time RSS junkie in the last few months. Google Reader is my preferred format, but I am looking into some of the desktop-based readers. I’ve picked up on a subtle trend from these months of scouring roughly 50 feeds. The vast majority of feeds simply include the entirety of a given article, eliminating the need to visit the site at all. However a few only include small excerpts, usually the first few lines of the article, and you have to click through to the site to read the entire article.
Update:
Xenocode has decided to eschew usability in favor of...well nothing really. In order to use the browser sandboxes now, you must "initialize" them from the site, which amounts to downloading the files you need in order to execute the sandbox. You can circumvent this genius decision by downloading the browser of choice, then open Windows Explorer and browse to `C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Local Settings\Application Data\Xenocode\Start\Cache`. There you will find folders for each browser (e.
If you follow the Fwd:Vault Developer Diary, you saw today that I was neck deep in upgrading the server that runs everything around here. While the server updated, I worked on Fwd:Vault code. The web designer for Fwd:Vault is also nearing completion on the project, and that required some attention. Tonight I was scheduled to attend an entrepreneur networking event tonight in the city. Needless to say I did NOT feel like going.
I’ve found that the number of new comments on a post drops off considerably the older a post gets. It’s not surprising; you’ve probably seen the same thing in your own travels around the web. The older the information, the less activity, and therefore less feedback. However running my own blog has provided me with new insight into this phenomenon. When I look at the stats for my most active posts today, the number 2 and number 3 spots are held by posts I wrote back in May and November of last year.
I just hopped onto Steam, gearing up for some TF2, and I was presented with a fantastic news update. Some bootstrapping directors made a short film called Escape From City 17. If you’ve played Half-Life 2, the story covers some of the citizens trying to get out of the city after Dr. Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance set the Citadel to blow. According to Valve, they made the film with very limited cash, donated equipment and props, and lots of effects borrowed from the Source Engine.
That’s what I keep getting everywhere I go in the Google universe for the past several days using Firefox (using latest stable release, v3.0.6). I know I’m not the only one, I’ve found a plethora of recent support posts discussing the same issue. Normally I’m the one writing here to say “Hey, look out for this one, here’s how to handle it.” But this time I’m at a loss. I automatically attribute any and all odd Firefox behavior to my ridiculous extension collection.
Fwd:Vault is participating in StartupNation’s 2009 Elevator Pitch Competition. The idea is to submit a 1-2 minute elevator pitch, and have the world review your pitch and idea, then rate it. The top 5 entries will get the chance to pitch their idea to a group of big-time investors, potentially landing major financial support. You can vote once per day per entry until March 20, but I’d really appreciate even just a single view and vote.
As a developer, I’m a heavy Firefox user, but Google’s Chrome browser is pretty awesome for day-to-day browsing. Since it syncs with all my cookies and saved passwords from Firefox, I can use the two interchangeably. It starts up and loads pages super fast, and has the cleanest menu I’ve seen yet. I’ve started recommending it to all my non-techie friends, albeit with one caveat: I have to explain the popup blocking behavior.
I love the PHPMailer system. Straightforward, effective, very well documented and supported. It’s everything that a piece of software should be, and best of all it’s free. The parent company, codeworx Technologies, supports and maintains a piece of software used by millions of sites for free, and gets a ridiculous amount of exposure in return. Win-win. I came across the only beef I have with their code just the other day, and it illustrates a larger issue with open source projects as a whole.
To: Anyone at Apple who works on iPod/iTunes
From: Annoyed iPod Shuffle user
Subject: Stop deleting my songs Message:
A recent run was rudely cut short when I realized that my iPod Shuffle contained just two of the hundred or so songs that I listen to while working out. Some sleuthing lead me to discover that every time I connect my iPod to the docking station and open iTunes, the program re-syncs every song I have on the device.
