Super Ginormous

Category: Technology

Articles on Technology, Gadgets and more.

  • Can you digg it?

    Well, a few bad apples have ruined it for the rest. Intent on gaming the system, some “diggers” have forced the digg.com staff to remove features from the site in order to maintain some semblance of control on the site. You can read more about the changes here: “A couple changes…”

    Digg.com, in a perfect world, is designed to be a democratic news publisher… Popular news gets pushed to the homepage where it gains even more exposure. Links that have been “dugg” to the homepage usually result in thousands of visits, if not hundreds of thousands of visits.  It’s probably safe to say, that in most cases, digg.com works. But, with anything in life, there are always those intent on manipulating the system for their own gains.

    I admit, removing the Top Diggers List is a minor thing. But the fact that it had to be done in the first place is sad reflection on the efforts spammers will make to hijack anything they can.

  • Ma.gnolia Firefox Plugin

    Ma.gnolia

    Over at FirefoxPro.net, they’ve got a Firefox plugin for Ma.gnolia that I just started using. I’ve been using the bookmarklets (Snap Mark and Mark in Magnolia) for quite some time, but it’s a less than elegant solution. This plugin adds a small Ma.gnolia icon to your toolbar, making it easier to bookmark sites.

    Before I started using Ma.gnolia, I used Del.icio.us to manage my bookmarks, and I used the del.icio.us plugin for Firefox. When I made the switch away from Del.icio.us, I missed the convenience that plugin offered. But now… Ma.gnolia Firefox plugin FTW!

  • Color Shuffles

    the iPod Shuffle in color.

    Wow. Apple released the iPod shuffle in multiple colors today. I still love my little silver shuffle, though, I can’t lie… these colors are mesmerizing. Add to that, the fact you get the new headphones with these… Man… I love the color switcher they built into the site to play off the different colors.

    Will we see an orange iPod nano soon? Or a RED iPod shuffle?

  • Microsoft Asking for IE8 Suggestions

    Microsoft starts gathering IE 8 input – Microsoft has contacted a number of beta testers to seek input it will use to customize Internet Explorer (IE) 8, the next version of its Web browser. IE 8 is expected to ship 18 to 24 months after IE 7, which Microsoft released last fall, making Version 8.0 a 2008/2009 deliverable, if Microsoft sticks to reported plans. – Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet.com

  • Ella

    Man, the WordPress developers have been busy little bees… I can’t wait to try the new version of WordPress (2.1) out. I’ve been tempted to try the Beta releases discussed on the developer’s list but hadn’t gotten around to installing it.

    Well, I guess I’ll be doing some backups in the morning… and then a quick install of the new version. I’ll report back on how it is!

  • The Truth Behind the Outlook 2007 Change and What You Can do to Change it.

    Outlook 2007 Screenshot

    Yes, Microsoft Outlook 2007 is going to use Word as it’s rendering engine… but hope is not completely lost. Microsoft is prepared to listen. This article is a follow-up to a post last week on this very topic…

    read more | digg story

    In response to the post on the CampaignMonitor Blog, I had this to say:

    I think this irritates me more, to be honest with you. The fact that Microsoft conciously made this decision to improve messages sent from one Outlook user to another Outlook user is a cop-out.

    Yes, I realize that a lot of businesses use Exchange Server, so this change will apply to them… but what about those of us that don’t use Exchange Server? What about those of us that email users on other platforms? What about those of us that don’t use POP accounts, and only strictly use webmail accounts?

    To me, this just escalated beyond just being a major concern for legitimate email marketers to a full-scale war on interoperability with other email clients/systems. By making this choice, Microsoft is making it very clear: use our product, or your email will be screwed up.

    It’s good they are willing to listen, but it’s like they completely ignored any of the feedback they received on Internet Explorer… My only hope at this point, is that 1) Microsoft adopts a “quirky” mode to allow for standards-based email; or 2) let users decide which rendering engine to use…

  • CSRA Electronics Recycling Day

    Thanks, Scott, for letting me know about this:

    Next Saturday is….CSRA ELECTRONICS RECYCLING DAY, Jan. 27 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fort Discovery Bus Entrance. Bring computers, monitors, desktop CPUs, LCD-display laptops, notebook computers, CD, CD-RW, DVD hard, floppy and zip drives, scanners, printers, fax machines, adding machines, cell phones, corded phones, cordless phones, answering machines, pagers, pocket PCs, data cartridges, PC and digital cameras, servers, routers, hubs, remotes and PDAs. No televisions, electric or microwave ovens. Call 706-821-0224 for more info.

    Sounds like a great time to get rid of some of your old gadgets!

  • Fireworks CS3 to replace ImageReady!

    Fireworks CS3

    If AppleInsider.com’s report is correct, the forthcoming version of Fireworks will replace ImageReady in the upcoming Creative Suite 3 from Adobe.

    As part of its testing for Fireworks CS3, internally dubbed “Agni” after the Vedic god of fire, Adobe is putting to work some of the first fruits of its buyout of Macromedia in 2005. The visual editing firm has thoroughly revamped Fireworks to join its features closely with those of Photoshop CS3, people familiar with the project say, beginning with the addition of a simple tool for creating photo slideshows.

    Key to many of the other expected changes is the addition of hierarchical layer support, those same people say. Where the previous version of Fireworks assumed only basic layering and would destroy any hierarchy created in a Photoshop image, the new edition will add sub-layers for filters and other special effects that will follow their parent layer around as it moves.

    Read More…

    I can’t say I’ve messed with Fireworks much, but I’m glad to see ImageReady on its way out.

  • Font Management for Windows Made Easier

    Extensis Suitcase for WindowsA new version of Extensis Suitcase for Windows was just announced. It’ll work with Illustrator CS2, InDesign CS2, Quark 7, etc. This release of Suitcase for Windows adds a number of new font auto-activation plug-ins, a font vault, as well as compatibility with the next operating system, Microsoft Vista.It’s been quite some time since the software’s been updated… This news couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I was just complaining about the lack of updates this morning…read more | digg story

  • Success

    Microsoft Zune

    I’ve had a few people mention to me that they were considering a Zune. I won’t lie: I’m an Apple fanboy and I have never understood why someone would want one until today.

    The Zune is to the iPod as the Mac is to a PC. Make sense? I’ll try to explain…

    For years, Macs have played second fiddle to PC. Macs account for anywhere from 3-5% of the market (depending on who you talk to). They’re considered premium machines… and up until recently, they have been more expensive than PCs.

    The iPod has had success in dominating their market for five years now. Figures show the iPod having a 65-70% share of the MP3 player market… They’re hugely successful now, and everyone and their mother has one. That’s part of the problem. What has made the iPod successful – their desirability – will be what sustains a counter-market that won’t get one because “all the cool kids have one”.

    That’s where the Zune could succeed. I spoke with two non-technical people today and one owned a Zune and the other was seriously considering getting one. Why? “Because everyone has an iPod these days and I don’t want to be like other people.” When I heard that, it caught me a little off guard. I was thinking to myself, that the iPod has a great interface, works seamlessly with iTunes, etc… These people don’t know what they’re missing out on… But it’s not about any of that stuff. Sometimes people care about price. Sometimes people care about features, ease of use, etc. But sometimes, people just care that it’s different.

    Let’s face it, the iPod has become something the masses want…and lot’s of people own them. Heck, I used to own five up until last week.

    The desire to want something different is what drives the accessories market, I suppose, and that’s a fact we can’t lose sight of.

    iPod Killer it’s not. It’s not revolutionary enough to take the iPod’s place in the market, but if it could be positioned as the anti-Ipod, it might do alright. As for me? I’ll stick to my iPod video, until there’s a compelling enough reason for me to make the switch.