Sunday, March 23, 2008

Announcement: MyBlogLog

If you haven't noticed yet, there's a new addition to the blog! On the far right hand corner, there's a MyBlogLog widget. If you have a MyBlogLog account and you enjoy reading this blog, be sure to "Join the Community"! For those that don't have a MyBlogLog account, you can register for one with your Yahoo Mail account without any additional information requests and whatnot. Be sure to also subscribe to the blog through the link provided by FeedBurner which will allow you to add RSS or Atom feeds to MyYahoo, iGoogle, Live RSS, Demon Feeds, and a plethora of other feed readers. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment, I'll respond to it ASAP! Happy reading!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

ExpertVillage: A village for experts!


Expert Village, why does that sound so corny?
Well, I'd have to agree there, ExpertVillage is indeed, a corny name, this, however, does not affect the high regard in which their videos are held. ExpertVillage is a YouTube like site that hosts videos uploaded only be specific experts, this means no more poor quality home-made DIY videos. All the videos on their site are made and submitted by experts who have had their backgrounds checked and reviewed, the fact that these experts are paid to teach the public is an incentive to create easier to follow videos for people who like to have it their way.

Have It Your Way (haha, this better not lead to some multi-million dollar lawsuit against Radicitus...just for the record, I'm formally citing this as FROM BURGER KING).
With EV videos, you sure can "Have It Your Way", with easy to follow DIY videos on almost everything you can think of (from belly-dancing to playing the stock market), EV is a great place to go if your bored, or just want to learn something new. EV can be accessed without any registration and is completely free to browse and use. With contact information on the experts from EV, if you have any questions about any of their videos, you can easily contact and ask them questions.

EV is the ultimate resource for DIY geeks (like yours truly) who want it their way. In addition to it's free videos, EV also show-cases articles for those who learn better by reading, rather than hearing. So, what are you waiting for, pay EV a visit by clicking on the screenshot above. In case you haven't already figured out already, for every showcase, there is a screenshot, the screenshots are linked to the website, if the showcase is on a free web service, and an information site with a download link if the showcase is on an application.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Announcement: Why the dark background?

Why?
Based on my previous posts, you can probably tell that I'm a pretty outgoing and happy-go-lucky guy. So why the dark background? Well, in the past few years, we've had numerous world-wide issues, the war on terror, obesity, health problems and the economy. These, among others, are only specific to a certain or a few certain countries. Something that has been affecting the world as of now is: Global Warming.

Now, I'm not a big fan of the environment and personally, I don't think I have the commitment needed to be an environmentally-friendly citizen. However, I respect those who have the persistence and commitment to stick with 'green' alternatives and for this year, I resolve to help in the only ways I can: spreading the word about environmentally-friendly internet services, and keeping a 'green' website. Now when I say green, I don't mean literally, but in an environmental way.

How?
Well, as mentioned in my previous post on Blackle, a black screen uses less energy than a white one. I want to make sure all my readers are contributing to saving the environment, no matter how small of a contribution they make.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Windows Live Writer...another Microsoft product thanks to Gates.


Windows Live Writer...some kind of service that will help you write...your homework?
Windows Live Writer is a great tool for constant bloggers, or bloggers who blog on the go. It is part of the Windows Live pack and for once, it's free (it's not that often that you see a free Window's service, so take advantage of this). It is basically an interface/program that allows you to add multiple blogs and blog to each of them. It includes a rich-text editor, meaning you don't have to add in all this HTML and you can seamlessly integrate images and links into your blog without worrying about the hassle of adding them, and for all you bad spellers out there, it includes a spell-checker that automatically checks while you type, not those email ones that force you to click the button first, ensuring that everything you post will be automatically spell-checked.

Okay...on the go?
Windows Live Writer allows you to save posts to your USB stick, computer, or portable hard-drive. Meaning if your on the go, or if you just don't have internet connection, you can still use WL Writer. All you need to do is write the post, and save it. One way I like to use this feature is to put WL Writer on my USB stick and write in my free time. However, if you're a travel blogger and you blog on travel locations, this feature will be of much more use. It is possible to keep a journal of all the days you were on the road and upon arriving back home, posting them without having to sit there and try to remember what you did on a certain day.

That's...all?!
Another feature WL Writer includes is the option of choosing when to publish your post. You can preset a publication date so even if you finish before, you can save it and not worry about it anymore, when the preset date arrives, your post will be automatically posted to your blog! So for example, if you advertise that you have "a new post each week" and you finish your next post within a day, all you need to do is preset the publication date, sit back, and relax. This way, you can pre-write several posts and have them automatically post themselves every other day, week, or whenever.