The Blatant Advertiser

Joost Token Winner

2007-02-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

AppScout held a Haiku-and-Limerick-Your-Way-to-a-Free-Joost-Token Contest last week. Yours truly was awarded one of the ten tokens given away for an "Epic Haiku". Enjoy!

BrightSpot.TV

2007-02-15T16:48:00.001-08:00

I came across BrightSpot.TV today via AppScout. Apparently they pay you for watching commercials. I definitely need to check this out.

UPDATE: Can't seem to register. Is anyone else having this problem?

Make your apps portable

2007-02-15T05:50:00.001-08:00

Lifehacker.com recently profiled the release of PortableApps Suite 1.0, a polished, light weight application that adds new functionality to USB keys, mp3 players, and external media by transforming these storage platforms into portable, private, personalized vehicles for launching programs and storing data. PAS achieves this by utilizing customized open source software packages accessible via an attractive integrated menu from which apps are launched and folders opened. As these programs are run off removable media, one need not worry about registry dependencies or leaving telling temporary files on the host machine. PortableApps Suite 1.0 comes in standard, lite, and base editions. Applications can be added or removed via the PortableApps menu. The following represents a sampling of apps available on the site:

7-Zip
PortableAbiWord Portable
Audacity Portable
ClamWin Portable
FileZilla Portable
Firefox Portable
Gaim Portable
GIMP Portable
Miranda IM Portable
Nvu Portable
OpenOffice.org Portable
Sudoku Portable
Sunbird Portable
Thunderbird Portable
VLC Media Player

Portable PortableApps Suite 1.0 is a fantastic way for mobile users to compute securely using software they’ve selected on any Windows PC. So, why don’t I use it? In a word, flexibility. In order for programs to become portable and thus compatible with the PAS interface, they have to meet certain requirements; I will mention two, here. The first, and perhaps most important, is licensing. Since most commercial software packages prohibit modification, a prerequisite for compression and dependency resolution, the number of potentially portable programs is limited. Secondly, an application must be wrapped as a paf.exe in order to be integrated into the suite. To its credit the PAS site does describe launcher construction, though, this limitation represents a significant obstacle to mass adoption in my opinion.

So, what is a burgeoning tech savant to do? Firstly, don’t forget that programs available sans installers are portable by nature. Often compressed as ZIP or RAR files, the executables contained within are incredibly versatile once decompressed, running off local drives, optical storage media, memory cards (SD, SM, CF), and even venerable floppy disks. Also, don’t automatically preclude software wrapped in installers. Some -- not all -- applications can be "unwrapped" in order to expose the files contained within. I recommend UnivUniversal Extractor to check whether or not a program is capable of becoming portable. The brain child of Jared Breland, UE extracts files from a myriad of archives, including but not limited to ZIP, ARJ, LZH, MSI, and EXE. Once a package has been unwrapped, you might find yourself looking at folders named {app}, {tmp}, or embedded as well as a few shortcuts and text files depending on your particular software. While this is no guarantee, I’ve had pretty good luck moving all the files in all the directories into a single folder, {apps} for example, and launching the program from there. You can then rename the {apps} folder to something more closely resembling the program contained within, assuming the program proves stable. The last step would be to move your newly created program folder to your preferred platform.

Before you begin testing your entire software library, though, it would be worthwhile to browse the extensive repository of pre-tested portable freeware available at the aptly named the PortPortable Freeware Collection. On. Once you have assembled the requisite applications on your preferred device you will need an interface from which to access them. PStart can be installed on your portable media and launched automatically when connected to a PC. The program is also accessible via a system tray icon. Through PStart’s main menu folders, groups or files can be added and organized. It also sports limited search functions, an attractive notepad, and information about the media. Additional customization options for hardcore tweakers are available as well.

This article also appeared on gHacks.

Microsoft's Live Writer

2007-02-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

This is a test of Windows Live Writer. The installation process was simple enough. The layout is simple yet attractive. Looks like they've included the true type font functionality present in IE7. It was easy to add and orient graphics. It incorporates spell-checking, though, its functionality could be enhanced by checking words as they're typed rather than relying users to manually execute the spell-checking feature or waiting until posts are published. A thesaurus would also be a welcome edition -- integration into Word and Bookshelf would be welcome. It also appears that categories are unsupported. However, that could be a limitation of Blogger as I was having trouble with categories while playing with Post2Blog -- courtesy of Giveaway of the Day. As for resource requirements, it's been holding steady at 50,000K. All in all, it has potential.

Update: Before you go and download Writer, it is worth noting that the application is incapable of uploading images directly to Blogger or other popular photo sharing sites, ie. Flickr I ended up using a community plug-in that allowed for the browsing and insertion of Flickr photos in order to include the above screenshot. A bit of a hassle really.

2007-01-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

Just about ready to get started on a video transcoding how-to. Happy New Year's!

Skype in 2007

2006-12-13T16:49:00.001-08:00

Capitalizing on its hugely successful promotional campaign which enabled users to make free call in the US and Canada, Skype has announced a 12-month plan for unlimited phone calls for under US $30.

via: betanews

May your cup overfloweth

2006-12-12T22:46:00.001-08:00

I came across open culture via a recent gHacks post. It has a number of educational podcasts from around the world. Definitely worth a look.

CREAMaid Update

2006-12-11T18:02:00.003-08:00

Undeterred by my previous failure to cash-in on the CREAMaid bandwagon, I recently posted about my "strongest competitive video game memory". This time I received the following congratulatory response:

Congratulations!

Your post "Glory Days!"

has been invited to appear on the Conversation:
"TeamCompete asks: "What is your Strongest Competitve Video Game memory?""
Your post will be syndicated to the widgets included
inside each of the participating posts.

I received this and a follow-up e-mail regarding the status of my royalty payment the same day. Having checked my Paypal account, I can now confirm the legitimacy of the CREAMaid service. Blog on.

Glory Days!

2006-12-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

I love video games. My favorite would have to be Sid Meier's classic, Civilization. In college my friends and I would play Civ III in multi-player mode in marathon sessions, some lasting more that 36 hours. It was insane. Fortunately for me, though, the tales of how these games transpired mattered more than who actually won.
Since graduation, our gaming group has spread out across three continents but we still manage game or two each year, albeit only for only a few hours nowadays. So, what has gaming taught me: Don't live to game. Game to live.

DigitalJournal Update 2

2006-12-04T23:20:00.001-08:00

So, after one month as a digitaljournal contributor, I've managed seven posts, and a handful of comments, earning $0.54 out of a $1,500 pot. Seeing as I need to accrue at least $10.00 to even be remunerated, I better start participating more vigorously.

Nightly Tester Tools

2006-11-20T23:56:00.001-08:00

I love Firefox. It's tabs, flexibility, and extensions have made it irreplaceable. When I heard that Firefox 2 was under development naturally I was very excited. The only concern I had -- verified by Alpha testers -- was the issue of plug-in compatibility. Armed with this knowledge and prepared for the unwelcome absence of a few extensions, I threw caution to the wind and downloaded Firefox 2 as soon as I heard it had been uploaded to the Mozilla servers. The built-in spell-checker alone was worth the installation. Yet, as time wore on, I began to miss my beloved tools. Oh, the functionality. The lack of one extension in particular was driving me crazy, Aardvark.

I was checking the Aardvark homepage religiously after the release of Firefox 2 to no avail. Withdrawal is painful and the time soon came when I tried re-writing the xpi file in the hopes of making it compatible. Needless to say, all of my efforts proved fruitless. And then came an article on Quickonlinetips.com entitled "50 Best Firefox Extensions for Power Surfing" in which an extension called Nightly Tester Tools was mentioned and touted as being able to coax older plug-ins to work with newer Firefox builds. Could it be? The feature set read as follows:

* Allows you to force the application to believe an extension is compatible with the current version and enable it.

* Allows copying the build identifier and a list of installed extensions to the clipboard.

* Adds a toolbar button to let you insert the build identifier into the current text box (Not supported in the Application Suite).

* Lets you customise the title bar to include the build identifier and other information.

* Provides talkback integration allowing you to quickly view recent incidents as well as a sidebar that shows all incidents still on your machine (you may be surprised at just how many there are).
* Adds a simple interface for parsing nspr log files for leaks.

* Lets you take a screenshot of any open window and save it as an image, copy it to the clipboard or submit it to Imageshack (not yet fully functional in cairo builds).

So far I have tried it successfully with Aardvark, the Rikaichan dictionary, Mozilla Archive, and Quicknote. A godsend.

Meet Aardvark

2006-11-20T21:35:00.001-08:00

Aardvark -- for the uninitiated -- allows users to view web page sourcecode and alter the page itself. It's this last bit of functionalitythat attracted me to this extension, which I use to trim the fat offany given page before archiving or printing. Let's walk through anexample. Say you visit Tom's Hardware to catch up on the latest in DIYPC assembly. You might come across a page -- similar to the screenshot below -- and say, "Hey, this is print-worthy".

(a

print-

worthy

article)

Being a frugal geek, though, you don't want to waste money on paper and ink on Tom's graphics and banner bloat, do you? From the context menu youactivate Aardvark review the key stroke options and highlight therelevant page element in red.

(activated Aardvark)

(Aardvark's keystrokes)

(highlighting the relevant element)

By depressing the "i" key you can isolate that element or exercise the "r" key to remove an unwanted frame.

(removing an ad from an isolated frame)

Once your finished hit "q" and your done. Your new page is ready forprinting or archiving. If you happen to make a mistake simply refresh the page and start over. It's that easy. As you can see, Aardvark is not just useful... it's addictive.

Performancing

2006-11-14T00:04:00.001-08:00

As if the stylish sidebar ad was insufficient, I have today enrolled in Performancing Partners. I first learned of Performancing whilst searching for must have add-ons for Firefox. The ability to Blog within my browser while surfing the internet or previewing a site proved irresistible, especially since an integrated spell checker was introduced into Firefox 2.0. What I didn't realize at the time was that Performancing.com also offered free metric services and affiliate program. I'm now a member of both. I blog in greater detail once I have more experience with the services.

DigitalJournal Update

2006-11-13T23:41:00.001-08:00

Just a quick update on my experiences with DigitalJournal. I've been using the service now for about two weeks now and I have to date generated $0.47 having posted 5 blogs, 4 comments, and 6 votes. In case you've already forgotten, Digital Journal pays bloggers based on their participation within the community and as you can painfully see I have been less than active. Nevertheless, I'll continue persevering until the end of the month. Wish me luck!

CREAMaid Update

2006-11-07T00:04:00.000-08:00

Bellow is an e-mail I just received from CREAMaid in regards to my review of Newgie:

Dear TheBlatantAdvertiser,

We're sorry to notify you that your post "Introducing Newgie" has not been selected to appear on the Conversation "Try Newgie, the news gathering service"

Here are what the Conversation starter suggested as the possible reasons for not selecting your post :

* Not regularly kept blog

However, you can still earn $2 referral fee each time a visitor of your site participates through your post's widget and gets selected.

Thank you for using CREAMaid, and please try again later.

Regards,

CREAMaid

Although I'm disappointed that my post failed to make the grade, I rest comfortably knowing that I did my best.

The e-mail also begs two questions: first, who and what are the responsibilities of the "Conversation starter"; and, second, what constitiutes a "regularly kept blog". Should I ever discover the answers to these queries you shall be first to know.

Altiris Juice

2006-11-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

Altiris Software Virtualization Solution (SVS) is a great way to test drive new software. The Altiris package places both applications and data into virtual packages enabling users to install, employ, and uninstall programs without modifying the Windows registry or leaving folder or files orphaned upon removal. If the thought of installing a virtual machine makes you uncomfortable, this software-level virtualization provides a wonderful sandbox for exploring recently discovered programs. Click the GET SVS button to find out more.

DigitalJournal

2006-11-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

I came across DigitalJournal whilst catching up on my Digg feed this morning via an article in Journalism.co.uk. This re-launched site aims to become "the strongest user-powered news site on the internet, and provide tools for users to exchange comments and ideas on news that matters to them," according to editor-in-chief Chris Hogg. In order to accomplish this grand achievement, DigitalJournal has embraced a revenue-sharing business model where members earn money by posting, rating, and commenting on original and linked stories. As I've just joined, I'm hoping to post further thoughts on the service in the near future.

Introducing Newgie

2006-11-05T23:32:00.000-08:00

Newgie is the novel creation of Jason Windebank and Jacob Rheuban who decided to fill a niche market for news junkies. This web-based news aggregator scores selected articles based on the reputation of the reporting agency and then adds or subtracts points based on user views, recommendations, and forwards. While user-driven rankings are nothing new – one need only think of Digg – Newgie is taking a more dynamic approach to generating ranks: Rather than relying on user votes, Newgie’s in-house ranking engine continuously monitors the activity surrounding a story and automatically adjusts its score.

Though the site’s layout is spartan – surprisingly void of web 2.0 graphical overkill – it provides an intuitive platform upon which to submit stories, subscribe to feeds, and manage user-defined categories. Additionally, custom Newgie RSS feeds can be created for users of external RSS readers.

Newgie frontpage view

Newgie category view

Newgie’s ranking system is an interesting idea but one which relies on the active participation of its users within the Newgie community. The question now revolves around the site’s ability to generate sufficient mass to make it a viable option to other socially driven "news" aggregators.

Though still in Beta, Newgie definitely warrants a look.

CREAMaid

2006-11-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

Dave Taylor shares his experience with CREAMaid, another paid blogging service, which compensates bloggers for participating in "Conversations" about sponsored products. Unfortunately, the number of available Conversations has not grown in some time, leaving me to wonder just how successful these blogging for dollars start-ups will be.

The "Simple" Process

2006-10-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

According to the PayPerPost site, blogging for dollars is a "simple" process: blogger wants money, PPP wants blogger-submitted reviews, blogger posts based on "opportunity requirements", PPP "reviews and approves" post, and blogger is remunerated via PayPal.

While the outlined steps certainly qualify as simple, the cryptic sounding "opportunity requirements" and as yet undefined approval process have certainly caught my eye. I'm curious as to whether or not these gray areas will be more thoroughly described after creating an account.

Just before registering via the "Get Started Here" link I noticed a little section described as "Requirements of Note". Everything was going well until I reached the fourth requirement: a 90-day-old blog. Seeing as I just started this blog last week in order to get rich quick with PPP, I had hit my first obstacle.

Note: all screen captures were taken today directly from PPP's blogger page.

Raison d'etre

2006-10-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

The impetus for this site, my first foray into the bloggoshpere, was a TechCrunch piece describing payperpost.com, a service which pays bloggers to review products and services. Being a financially-challenged geek-in-training, I thought this an opportune time to (a) create a blog, (b) detail my experiences with payperpost.com, (c) review both solicited and unsolicited products and services, and (d) allow my readership to evaluate the impartiality of posted reviews and musings. Let the blogging begin!

Hello

2006-10-05T01:13:00.000-07:00

"Hello world" post.