Entries Tagged 'Techy Things' ↓

Obama should have said this the other night, after Wilson called him a liar.

Bwaaahhahahahaha <–Laughing for pure and excited joy!!!

I’ve been using Google’s Gmail for a really long time, and with every addtion they have made — Google Calendar, Google Docs, Picasa, Reader, I have been excited and quickly (if not always easily) moved to use the services.

But the thing I’ve really missed since I switched to Gmail and Google Calendar, is a ‘task’ list.  It has been the one glaring feature that Google seemed to overlook.

Tonight, however, Google released Tasks — I just about screamed for joy, and within about 10 seconds, I had it enabled and was testing it.

I can see there is room for improvement — (integration with Google Calendar, for one) — and I know Google will eventually do more with this addition, but I’m literally thrilled to see it available, and have a great many plans to put it to good use.

*woohoos for joy*

Link for help on using Tasks

From Google’s Gmail Blog

People use Gmail to get stuff done, so we’ve added a lightweight way to keep track of what you need to do, right from within Gmail.

Take entering a new task: just click in an empty part of your list and start typing. No buttons to click and it’s saved automatically. Hit Return and you’ve got a new task right there.

You can also easily convert emails into tasks: select one or more messages and go to More Actions > Add to Tasks. (Or turn on keyboard shortcuts and use <shift> + t.)

We put your tasks in the same kind of window as chats, so they’re visible while you’re scanning your inbox, reading mail, or searching (and in Settings, too!). Just pop your list out into a new window to use Tasks outside of Gmail.

To enable Tasks, go to Settings, click the Labs tab (or just click here if you’re signed in). Select “Enable” next to “Tasks” and then click “Save Changes” at the bottom. Then, after Gmail refreshes, on the left under the “Contacts” link, you’ll see a “Tasks” link. Just click it to get started.

Talking to some friends tonight, and shared one of the ways I respond to forwarded emails, and I thought I should share it here, as well — enjoy.  And feel free to use it ;)

As you sent me this forwarded email you had time to read, I’m positive you’ll have time to read this:

1. I’m an atheist. I can’t be saved, prayed for, helped, or anything by your god, gods, or whatever you call him/her/it.
2. http://www.snopes.com – you’ll see
3. http://www.bccplease.com- just do it
4. http://www.virtualsalt.com/warning.htm
5. Cute animals are cute, but I own a cute cat, had a cute dog, and don’t need to see pictures of every cute animal you find on the freaking net
6. No, you won’t get anything back, win anything, or help anyone by replying and sending an email to 50 of your closest email buds
7. No, good luck doesn’t end if I don’t forward your email
8. I add all fw or fwd emails directly to spam, and reply with this lovely email.

But thanks anyway!!

:P

I saw a news segment the other day talking about time management, computer over-use, and a web site, called 52 Nights Unplugged.  Of course, being a computer addict ( :P ), I went to the site and began reading all the posts and forums. Basically, the idea is to give up one night a week using computers/phones/TV/etc. Giving up your laptop, PDA, TV for just one night a week, and doing something else — anything else.  And the idea has been stewing around in my head since.

The more I think about it, the more I can see the benefits.  I’m over tech’ed in many ways.  I saw in the CNN article this morning some research from Solutions Research Group, that said 63% of Blackberry users take their PDA to the bathroom.  I just about died laughing, because my Treo and I seldom part ways, and many times it does come to the bathroom with me.

Movies, Music, Internet, my online friends, email, RSS feeds, Reddit, News, Youtube, IRC, Skype, blogging…..

I don’t take a laptop to bed, but my computer desk is literally 3 feet from my bed — perfectly accessible at all times for chatting, blogging, surfing, stumbling, IRC’ing, and the other 9 billion things a person can find to do on the net.  And many nights, when I don’t have my son, I’m literally plugged into my computer via a USB headset, with a couple of USB extensions, so I can walk around the house, listen to music, “watch” an episode of Law & Order, or CSI, and still hear everything.

And really, I check email, my subscribed RSS feeds, reddit, BBC, & Drudge way too often.  I use Google Reader for reading RSS feeds, which shows your “trends”, or how often you use the reader — I can’t even say how often without being a bit embarrassed.

2 cell phones (mine, and one supplied by my job) – texting, email reading, chatting, games, etc. My work cell (thankfully) goes off after work, and stays off – usually.  My personal cell — well, for the most part, that is for my son, and my fiends to get a hold of me — everyone else can go to vm :P

I know that I couldn’t give up being online all-together, and even giving up one evening a week, I won’t be totally disconnected the whole evening..

1) I use the net to communicate with my friends, who are far from me. Skype, chat, IRC, our blogs.. not giving that up at all.
2) Work related use – heh – I could give that up totally.. if I could win the Lottery.  Though, now that I don’t work from home, it’s a lot easier to get away from work related activity – or at least, not still be doing work at 10:30 in the evening.

But I really like the idea of having one work night that has little to no computer use at all. There are so many things that I would like to do, that, for some reason, never get started once I sit down at the computer desk.

1. I’d like to start really painting again – not just the occasional ‘crafty’ moments with my son, but really paint.
2. I’d like to be able to read more books
3. I’d like to paint (the walls) of my kitchen, bathroom, and living room
4. I want to fix those jeans I’ve been meaning to fix for months
5. I want to go for walks or to the gym more often
6. I’d love LOVE to organize my storage room so that I can actually walk in it

I’m going to chose one day a week, though it will have to vary weekly. I’m going to pre-schedule it via my gmail calendar.  That way, I can plan fun things to do, if it be painting, reading, going out for walks, or having dinner with friends.

I’m looking so forward to it, I might just start tonight, but I am a procrastinator at heart.  It might just be tomorrow ;)

This is the list of extensions I have installed for FireFox.  The stared ( * ) extensions are what I consider absolutely necessary and install on any machine I have FireFox installed to.  I’ve required FireFox and AdBlockPlus to be installed on all the boxes in the offices I manage. 

Though there is a bit of description below, do check out the web sites for more detail. 
*Adblock Plus – Blocks ads and popups — This is a MUST if you browse the net. Options are good, on/off “switch”
Auto Copy 0.6.4 – Just like mIRC, this will automatically copy any text you highlight.  On/Off “switch”
Blog This in Windows Live Writer 1.0.1 – I use Windows Live Writer to write my blog posts, and sometimes I want to write about something I’ve seen on a web site — one click to the Blog This in Windows Live Writer, and I’m all set to do so.
BugMeNot 1.3 – Um.. this is nothing. Don’t look here.  I never use this.  Nope.  Not me. 
CustomizeGoogle 0.60 – Just as it says, this extension allows for customization of Google – everything from how many search results come back, to removing ads from various Google apps.
Download Statusbar 0.9.5 – Shows the status and information about downloads. One click to open them.
DownThemAll! 0.9.9.10 – Handy utility to download multiple items on a web site
Google Notebook 1.0.0.17 – Surf and keep notes, images, links, etc.  Kind of nice when you are shopping around for something, or doing research on a project.
*Google Toolbar for Firefox 3.0.20070525W – Just what it says — a toolbar full of Google stuff. Quickly access all of Google’s apps and sites.
HostIP.info Geolocation Plugin 0.4.3.3
ListZilla 0.8 – Makes this handy dandy list, with links — A good way to make sure you have at least a backup list of extensions for FireFox.
Noia 2.0 (eXtreme) 3.371 – A skin — and yes, I love this.  Live with it :P
Nuke Anything Enhanced 0.54 – Kills animated gifs, ads that blink, or just about any annoyance that AdBlock doesn’t get.
Resurrect Pages 1.0.8 – Using cached versions on various servers, you can see some web pages using this addon
Sage 1.3.10 – RSS feed reader built into FireFox.  I have to say that I used this for quite a while, but with the new/updated Google Reader, I have uninstalled Sage.  I like the flexibility of being able to get feeds from anywhere I happen to be.
*ScrapBook 1.2.0.8 – This is just too good to summarize here.  One of my favorite extensions for FireFox is ScrapBook.  Save web pages, web sites, catalog them, view them locally, and offline. 
ScrapBook BackupHelper 1.0.2.2 – Backs up your ScrapBook sites
StumbleUpon 3.06 – A fun waste of time.  View web sites, by category, added by users.  Interested in Photographs, select Stumble Photos and stumble though a series of web sites dedicated to photos.  Stumble allows you to create topics of interest to you, and as you rate them, finds sites similar to your tastes. 
*Tab Mix Plus 0.3.49.061009 – Lots of options for using Tabs.  Undo a closed tab, save the open tabs to bookmarks, etc. etc.
View Source Chart 2.5.02 – View the source of a page in a  hierarchical & colored format.
Web Developer 1.1.4 – Even if you are not a developer, this extension is excellent. 
*Wikiseek Search Extension 1.3.2.4 – A nice search added to WikiPedia giving a lot better search result information.