Dot Net Monkey

There is an interesting post over at Presentation Zen on the "Lessig Method" of presentation.  Wow!  Take a look and I'm sure you will agree that this is an wonderfully powerful presentation style. 

I'm trying to think of ways I can incorporate this into some of the presentations I give.   I'm pretty sure it requires a huge amount of rehersal to get right... don't even think about what happens if you lose your place. *gulp*

Anyway take a look, it's worth it!

Can't wait for Vista?  Here is an interesting utility called Visual Task Tips that provides a preview for items on the task bar.  I've just installed it and it seems to work sweet! 

http://weblogs.asp.net/israelio/It looks like Apress is offering 8 free electronic books from their webiste.  Good on 'em!

via Ohad's Weblog: 8 Free E-Books from APress

As someone who loves to travel I am always really impressed by the new geo-mapping software that is coming out these days.   Here is a cracker!  Have a look at the preview at Windows Live Local! It allows you to virtually walk around at street level.  Cool!

It's not often I go for flash games, however, I saw a link to a puzzle game called Blueprint.  It's a game where you guide a ball to a target by making a path for it to follow out of movable pieces. 

Give it a go by clicking here

Here is a really cool video showing how fast a hard disk operates.

Roy Peter Clark has posted 50 tips for effective writing.  God knows, I can do with all the help I can get. 

Microsoft is providing a pretty cool service with the Encarta Instant Answers MSN Messenger bot.  Basically all you need to do is set up a new contact in MSN Messenger with the email address encarta@conversagent.com and then chat away asking questions.  Here is an example conversation (this cracks me up!):

Kym says:

hi

Encarta® Instant Answers says:

Hello.

I'm ready to help. Go ahead and type a request.

Kym says:

what is the speed of an unlaiden swallow?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:

What do you mean? An African or a European swallow?

Kym says:

african

Encarta® Instant Answers says:

Based on recent scientific studies, the average cruising airspeed velocity of an unladen African Swallow is roughly 11 meters per second, or 24 miles an hour.

That's awesome.

I love seeing interesting site designs and this one called typorganism caught my eye.  As the name hints, it's got a definite "under the microscope" feel to it.  Basically it's a bunch of UI experiments done in flash, according to the site:

Typeorganism is a series of communication experiments exploring Computation Interaction Design and Interactive Kinetic Typography, based on the Metaphorical Notion of Typography, "Type is a lifeform", which Lives on the Net, Responds to User's Stimulus, Evolves through Time, has Intelligence powered by Computation Algorithm. So, this is the showcase for the manifest: Type is an Organism.

Personally, I think they might be giving fonts a bit too much street-cred, but I sure do like the site design.  And they've got a funky Picture to ASCII applet.

YouSendIt is a web site that allows you to send large files to anyone without using email.  It's easy to use, no need to register and can use SSL if you are sending private information.  It has some other solutions in the same product range that allow you to send photo albums (really just a collection of files).

Here is how it works:

1. Choose who you want to send a file to. It can be anyone with an email address. You can specify multiple email addresses separated by commas.
2. Select a file to send. You can send photos, audio, documents or anything else. Your file will be stored by YouSendIt without ever filling up your recipient's mailbox.
3. Click on the Send button. YouSendIt will automatically email your recipient a link to your file stored on our server. Your file will be deleted after 7 days or 25 downloads, whichever occurs first.

The great thing about this site is that it is completely free and does not require registration.  God knows how they make any money.  Maybe they just use the information in the files for extortion -- After all they must see some pretty funny stuff pass by.

Just thought I'd post a link to this site which does reviews of website designs.  Very nice

http://www.unmatchedstyle.com/

Here is a good little article on providing help on web pages without resorting to popups.  It's nothing particularly now or exciting but I like this solution because of it's simplicity and it is also very intuitive for users.

There is this thing called the Flash Mind Reader which at first glance appears to read your mind… oohhh… spooky. 

Well obviously it doesn’t, but somebody said my girlfriend can have a free lunch if she could figure it out.  I did a quick google for it and found this answer which I thought was a pretty clear explanation.  Just putting it out there in case someone wants a free lunch in the future.

You select a 2-digit number, add together both digits and subtract the total from the original number. The final number is one of these:

00 - 0 = 0
01 - 1 = 0
02 - 2 = 0
...
10 - 1 = 9
11 - 2 = 9
..
19 - 10 = 9
20 - 2 = 18
21 - 3 = 18
..
29 - 11 = 18
30 - 3 = 27 etc .. see the pattern?
..
99 - 18 = 81

The answer is always:
x*10 + y - (x+y) = x*9, where x,y=0..9, therefore possible answers are 0,9,18,27,36,..,81.

By closer inspection of the symbols one finds that all ten possible answers share the same symbol, and that is the symbol that will be shown in the orb.

BTW, somebody owes google a free lunch.

Here are some useful links on P2P:

• Microsoft P2P website (uber website, badly in need of updating)
• P2P Whitepaper (White paper)
• Windows Vista p2p collaboration APIs
• peerfb@microsoft.com (email alias for questions)

amaztype is a nifty little utility that uses the amazon web services to generate a word made up of amazon items.  Can’t think of a use for it but a really original use of the amazon web services.  Check it out here…

This could be a handy link if you ever wanted to write something that integrates directly into Messenger.  Introducing the MSN Messenger Activity SDK…

Get state-of-the-art information about building applications for MSN Messenger. The MSN Messenger Activity API gives you innovative tools to build applications that integrate with MSN Messenger and reach millions of users worldwide.

Sounds exciting no?

• ASP.NET Controls
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They aren't all free (but what is these days )

There are new sources of files coming from every direction: digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store and retrieve files. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to get copies of files from one place; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping a mental card catalog in their heads. Others use one or more applications to provide this functionality for them.

Now there is an easier way. SyncToy is a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP that provides is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without added complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

• Ten CSS tricks you may not know
• Ten more css tricks you may not know

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