While doing a bit of research on Bloggers Rights for an article over on WickedWordCraft.com today, I found the following information about AT&Ts violation of customer rights and privacy (providing information to NSA to help them spy on Americans).

It makes my skin crawl (as do most actions classified as “Homeland Security”). (more…)

While doing my usual thing today, I found a great resource for tricking out Firefox. Now this list isn’t for the faint of heart, but for those geeks among us, it’s a cool list to take Firefox to the next level of customization and performance!

If you have a problem with a particular product or gadget and you can’t find the information you need on the manufacturer’s site, you now have a resource to help you troubleshoot.

www.FixYa.com is an Israeli website and how-to community with the desire to be the world’s largest support community and online knowledgebase. FixYa hopes to bridge the gap between an increasing lack in manufacturer support and customer demand for technical assistance.

Personally, I’ve already bookmarked this resource and may even hop over there later and write a few “how-to” articles to help support the community myself! In the meantime, check it out for your own techie/geek quandaries.

Ok, as if it’s not cool enough to have found the Open Clip Art Library, I’ve found a search tool for it that’s not only useful, it’s actually FUN!

Check out this “sketch it and we will match it” search tool for the open source image library. Just pick the color you are seeking and draw a really quick sketch on the black box (this is easier if you have a Tablet PC) and watch it do an auto-magic search. Even if you are a lousy artist like me, you get cool results.

Take it for a spin, and then tip-toe over to the open source font library — if you have enough space left on your hard drive to become a collector. I’m feeling a new external hard drive purchase coming on!

I lost a bet. I almost NEVER lose bets. Main reason? I don’t bet unless it’s a “sure thing” or something really close to a sure thing. I’m not much of a gambler. (more…)

Ok, maybe I’m a little slower than others, but I’ve not tripped across any posts about the new dynamic Google themes for my Google Personalized home page. It’s available in the upper right hand corner of your screen and is flagged “new” — which is why I noticed it this morning.

The design (I picked the beach one, since I’m still missing my sunrises every morning) actually changes during the course of the day, based on where you are. So, at night it’s dark, during the morning it’s a morning view. You may pick from a handful of themes (and I’m hoping more are coming soon).

It’s a small thing, but quite cool, so I thought I’d share.

I was browsing through my most recent issue of Wired Magazine this week when I noticed an article about a new online community for kids. It’s sounded so cute, I had to go check it out for myself. And, I’m glad I did — it’s simply adorable!

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While Google is competing with Microsoft’s products online, Zoho is competing with Google’s offerings and is raising the ante. Zoho already has Zoho Writer (word processing online) and Zoho Sheets (spreadsheet online).

But Zoho also offers a PowerPoint competitor: Zoho Show and a OneNote competitor: Zoho Notes (coming in March).

Zoho is also increasing the buy in with products such as…a customer relationship management product, a project management program, a “virtual office” solution, a calendar and email program, a wiki and an online database application.

For small business owners, this may be just the ticket to lowering the cost of software. And for those considering the launch of an online business, this may lower the cost for startup. For anyone collaborating across geographic boundaries, this is another way online work can lighten the load.

And isn’t it nice to have options?

It makes me crazy to have to wait. I’m not a patient woman. I’m just not.

I’m also a multi-tasker. There is seldom a time when I have less than a dozen processes going at once. So, when my FireFox is all locked up because I hit a link that, unknown to me, is a PDF, because I failed to check the URL at the bottom of my screen when hovering over a link… I get a wee bit antsy.

I’ve found a few ways to help curtail that frustration for fellow FireFox users: Courtesy of enblogopedia (read after reading about the FireFox plugins that prevent PDF launching at Blog Herald) I offer the following:

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I found an interesting blog-style website with the tagline “Tutorials, Tips and Advice for Google Users” which I found to be entertaining and worthy of investigation. It is a user’s-eye-view of all things Google all in one place! Visit the Google Resource for yourself, and let me know if you find it to be useful. I’ve bookmarked it to return to later and investigate a bit more… and a bit deeper.

So, you want to have your computer run smoothly, keep your information safe and you don’t want to make keeping your stuff safe a second full-time job?

I found just the thing for you! Go and read the article “The 20 Minute Guide to PC Security” over on ITSecurity.com. It’s a great little article that covers most of the basics and give you an excellent collection of links and resources. If you are worried about security (and you should be!) go here. Go now. (heads up provided by Tracy at StudentTabletPC.com)

Do you think the Internet or technology has changed your life in a remarkable way? Kathy Sierra of the Creating Passionate Users Blog, is looking for you! And she wants to hear your story!Visit her blog requesting Life-changing Technology Stories and tell her a little about how your life is different now than it was pre-techno evolution. I’ve already sent her mine!

You know, I love Google’s offerings. I use alot of them. I have a gmail account. I use Google Docs, analytics, customized search pages. Google IS my home page.

I’ve always felt that the sign of a good education was not what you know as much as how good you are at being able to “ferret out” any information you need on any topic. I thought this before the invention of Google, and I think that Google has enabled the masses to be more “educated” by my own definition.

Google is how I work and play without having to store an inordinate amount of detailed information in my head — I know how to find it… on Google. But there have been a few people (myself included) lately, that have become a bit concerned with the sheer mass of information Google now possesses about individuals.

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Less than a month into his project and with scores of people participating, Tino’s 2000 blogger’s project has been shut down. Technorati didn’t like it. It was, apparently, artificially boosting rankings on the Technorati site.
Personally, I thought it was a cool concept, to put “faces” on 2000 bloggers out of the nearly 60 million of us out there. I thought it was cool enough that I participated. I was in just after the 500 mark. But now it’s being blasted as a link farm scheme.

*shrug*

I’m against link farms, and always have been. But, to me, this seemed like more of a novelty. It made me go and click on sites that I otherwise may never have seen. It was a variety filled collection of bloggers from all walks of life. The resulting “artificial” link hype aside, it was a novel idea.

It’s been taken down by the creator now, with his apologies. It’s now relegated to the history of blogdom — and although it’s not something seen as “good” right now in some circles, I’m still glad I was there. I’m still glad I participated and I still think it was fun.

Technorati: social networking, 2000 bloggers, Tino, Technorati

I have a few ideas for your consideration:

• What would you say if, suddenly, you could no longer access the sites you like to visit? What if you were automatically redirected to a “similar” site without your knowledge or permission?
• What if your own site was no longer visible on the web or if it took MUCH longer to load your site than to load others?
• What if every search query typed in for real estate your area came back with a single franchise — the competition’s and you had no way to change that because they had an exclusive agreement with the ISP/Host/Search Engine providers in your area?

Sound impossible? It’s not….I’ve just returned from Memphis, the host city for the 3rd National Conference on Media Reform. I must say that about 17 years ago, I would have attended this (and probably the two prior conferences) from a completely different perspective — one of a journalist.

This year, I attended for one reason only — I wanted to learn more about the organizations and the individuals dedicated to helping insure that everyone who wants to define, pipeline, shunt and stifle the Internet is stopped. I went with one issue “Keep your grubby paws off my Internet!”

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When I returned from my blogging lunch (in comparison to a working lunch), I attended a speech by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. I’d just managed to wrap my mind around what I could do as a single person for this cause when he urged the audience to “light a match” explaining that in a room of darkness, a single match throws out alot of light.

I must agree…

In an effort to light my own match, I started working to gather more effective tools I need to explain the issues to my own “sphere of influence” when I return from Memphis.

During a later afternoon session on Net Neutrality, I had the opportunity to talk briefly with Tim Wu (probable author of the term “Net Neutrality”), professor of law at Stanford and proponent of Net Neutrality.

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This conference is one of the most diverse I’ve ever attended. People from all walks of life, of all ages, with a variety of agendas andinterests have converged in Memphis, Tennessee this weekend. I see what my sister described as “crunchy” folks — the granola crowd — when she accompanied me to my registration the night before the event. I’m not sure where I fit in her definition. I think I’m a bit “crunchy” from time to time myself.

I also see corporate suits (although these are in the minority) and everything in between. There are college students and retirees. There are concerned citizens and executive directors, some are here as activists, some have come to become educated on what’s at risk — there are women and men from all over.

This is also one of the most diverse groups from a technology standpoint. Some people are concerned most with the traditional media outlets, but there is an amazingly high percentage of wired participants. Wall outlets are in high demand. I’ve never attended a conference where so many members of the audience are “connected” during the presentations.

There are over 3000 people in attendance and “diversity” is certainly the best word to describe this conference on all levels.

technorati tags: Memphis, NCMR2007, National, Conference, Media, Reform

The conference is off to a great start. I’ve heard speakers and issue activists Danny Glover and Bill Moyers. Personally, I’ve been battling with what, exactly, my role should be in this fight. I’ve been battling with it for weeks. I now believe that by the end of the conference, I’ll have my game plan.

So far, I know I’ll continue to be vocal to my local political representatives (Not that it’s been a particularly productive pasttime so far). However, I must continue to try. My interests are broad — but interrelated.

• I think that the Internet is required for economic development in rural areas. That requires access.
• I think that our current defunct educational system could be better served by relying more on online resources to educate our children. (I have children that ride a rural bus for over an hour and a half each day to get, what I consider to be, less-than-adequate education). If it were possible to do online courses that were state approved in KY as they are approved in other states, my children would be studying online at home.
• I think independent workers and small businesses can compete more effectively with online tools and that the removal of geographic boundaries is advantageous to the businesses and our economy overall.
• I think NOT being required to commute and pollute our environment in order to do your job is a good thing. The Internet permits me to do just that and I want others to be able to do the same.

I think all these things are important. And although I find media reform a sticky and difficult to fully recognize, much less fully understand, I do know that these issues are what impact my own issues.

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I love Firefox. I despise IE. I use IE only long enough to ensure that my own webs and my client’s site resolve properly using that browser. Then, lickety-split, I’m back to FireFox where I can browse in tabs, where I can worry less about security issues, where I can customize my browser to serve me the way I work, and where I can be a part of a community of software developers and users that create objects for their peers. It’s a geeky community, but an enjoyable one.

Yeah, I know the new IE 7.0 offers its own “tabbed” browsing, but they are too late to this party, IMHO.

I could wax poetic about Firefox for hours (I’m verbose that way, at times…)

But, rather than doing that, I thought you may be interested in what Firefox add-ons I use and why I love them. That way, if you want to give Firefox a spin, you will know some of the bells and whistles you can add. And, if you already adore Firefox, you can peruse a list of “must have” add-ins that are tried and true (and won’t crash your Internet sessions).

1. Want to know all the cool stuff that the new release offers (for those of you that have an old release, or those that have never used Firefox)? – Get the Scoop Here!
2. Want to give it a spin? Download the latest release Firefox 2.
3. Want to waste about six hours of your life reviewing all the widgets you can get that will customize the devil outta your own copy of Firefox? Visit the add ons Page.

Or, perhaps… you would prefer to see some of the top Ad ons — the ones I’ve tried and found to be true? Well here they are…

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In my series on reviewing some of the coolest offerings of free online tools by the daddy search engine, Google… I just love SketchUp. It’s a CAD-style drawing device available online for download. The price is right, the features are cool and it’s like creating SIMS houses! If you want to check it out…

Visit http://sketchup.google.com and have some fun. Ever want that little cabin in the woods, want to design that cool loft apartment, how about creating your perfect office space? Here’s the tool!

technorati tags: CAD+Drawing, Online+Tools, Sketch+Up, Sketchup, Google, House+design