Ipod utilities…Open source of course

Handy little apps, free, for the ipod, my favorite is the book2pod which if you read a few posts back of mine, you’ll see a linky to a arse load of free literature in ebook format, this little app can transfer those books to your ipod, so you can read off of it, while your listening to music, that is, if your that multi-taskable(?) err, if you can multi-task effectively. Another good one is senuti, spell it backwards, and it says…… “itunes” it basically does the same thing except you can rip songs OFF your ipod as well as onto, unlike itunes.  Check it out HERE

Huge list of Open Source Software

Another quickie….thanks to Wikipedia, here is a enormous list of open source software packages, open source = free . And just cause it’s free, doesn’t mean its shitty.

CLICK ME 

Free ebook Literature

I’ll keep this short, I’m swamped at the office, but anyways, I don’t always have the luxury of reading as much as I’d like, and another excuse I’ll toss out there, is that my briefcase is usually packed with essentials, one of them being my Palm Lifedrive (it’s a palm pilot for you non-techies…want pics or a link?…..cmon…google that shit) , so Microsoft has listings of a ton of free literature that you can easily read on a palm pilot, I set my brightness settings to as low as possible, and read whenever I get a few minutes here or there, waiting in between meetings and what not. Also, since I am staring at a palm pilot, it looks as if I am still doing something important. Check it out here: Clicky Here

THE best looking(?) Bluetooth Headset

There is no arguement, this is the one you’ve been waiting for, called the Motorola H5 MINIBLUE, its mini, and its blue…pretty easy creation on the name. It fits in your ear obviously, and has a 7.5 hour battery life. They are expected to be released in early quarter of 2007 BUT…BUT BUT BUT….they’ve been singing this same story since 2005..yes that f*****g long, so don’t cross your fingers but hopefully we will see it hit the shelves sometime in 07

Let Your Body Talk
A barely-there Bluetooth experience, the revolutionary Motorola H5 MINIBLUE is designed around the way your body works. The tiny headset fits discreetly in your ear and includes a built-in microphone and speaker, so your ear canal picks up your voice. Protected in a sleek, metal carrying case, the Motorola H5 MINIBLUE slips easily into a purse or pocket – no one will even know it’s there.

Loud? No Problem.
The advanced in-ear technology lets you hear and talk clearly. When you find yourself in a noisy environment, don’t worry about having to remove yourself when you receive a call. Just use the Motorola H5 MINIBLUE for strain-free conversation on the freeway* or in a coffee shop.

Live Free
When multi-tasking is a must, move around the house or office, without stopping a conversation. Up to 30 feet away, the headset syncs seamlessly to your compatible Bluetooth-enabled phone and provides up to approximately 7.5 hours of extended talk time using the included portable charging base.

SUMMARY OF FEATURES:
• Revolutionary technology designed around the way your body works
• Built-in speaker and microphone routes voices through the ear canal, reducing outside noise
• Tiny size at only 33 x 41 millimeters
• Talk Time: headset up to approximately 1.5 hours, system up to approximately 7.5 hours using the included portable charging base.
• Works up to 30 feet (10 meters) away from a compatible Bluetooth-enabled phone
• Comptible with any brand of Bluetooth-enabled phone that supports headset and handsfree profiles
• Comes with a chic, metal portable charging base

Open Source Web designs

As the title says, doesn’t need a great deal of explanation: Go here on this clicky blue thing

Free Domain name appraisal

Simply goto Leapfish and enter the domain you want to request an appraisal for and wait a few seconds, tada, a general estimate of your websites worth. It is not 100% accurate as there may be other stipulations involved with your website, but if it’s above the 10k range, you can bet that it’s worth something. I tried some website and recieved some funny comparisons, like Digg.com is worth more than Youtube.com, way more, yahoo, and google also give you some funny comparisons. Check it out, its free, and can give you a general idea if your site is worth something.

Join NowPublic and be a reporter in your city…

NowPublic is a participatory news network, based in Vancouver, which mobilizes reporters to cover events that define or shape our world. In twelve months the company has become one of the fastest growing news organizations with over 31,000 reporters in over 130 countries. During Huricane Katrina, Nowpublic had more than reporters in the affected area, than most news organizations had in their entire staff!

I originally learned about NowPublic when they first were created. I had recieved an email requesting to use some of my Flickr photos for a media coverage, and when I decided to let them use my photos, I went to the website to see what the whole deal was about. Now I personally don’t have a ton of time to dedicate towards being a reporters, between running my three offices, managing a personal life, and writing a few articles here and there, then this blog, but hey…maybe you’ve got a different story, and would like to contribute to a good cause.

As with any new group, remember that it’s not going to be 100% accurate, you always have your reporting rebels, and yellow journalists, so take some articles with a grain of salt, and please do the same when reporting.

Free Desktop wallpaper /s website listings

If there is one search term you shouldn’t include in a  google search, it’s “free”. It will only lead you to a plethora of spyware and adware infected goodies. Here is a website, called Wall paper review appropriately, which lists several free desktop wallpaper websites, and as well all know customizing your desktop can be pretty boring with the standard desktop backgrounds to choose from. My personal favorite website for desktops is Interfacelift, which has a large selection of widescreen desktop backgrounds, though they include some standard size ones as well, the image quality is exceptional. As well as desktop backgrounds, they also have icons and visual styles (MAC).

Web Reputation Defender/Cleaner Service

It’s pretty funny that a company even exists to perform such a service, but I guess with the blogosphere, and all the forums and digital marketplace, this is almost neccessary. So lets say youve got some bad pictures leaked onto the web of your 18 year old daughter, and now she is infamous on Myspace for her amazing -insert dirty idea here- and you’d like to clean it up…or more realisticly, if you remember the Star Wars nerd, playing with a broomstick light saber, the video that was leaked onto the web, had damaging consequences to the poor kids life and reputation, well then this is the web service for you. The fees are reasonable in most cases, typically around 10-16$ a month depending on how long you subscribe to their service. I personally could care less, a web reputation is simple as a nickname change, unless you’ve invested a lengthy amount of time to build a reputable…errr reputation, then certain situations can arise from some of the shady characters that crawl the web. I’ve ran into a few on Youtube,  even here on the blog. Negative feedback though, when projected properly, is actually very good for repor, and personal growth depending on how you take it…and remember everything posted by a completely random nobody, should be taken with a grain of salt.

So if you feel a need to save your web reputation, check them out here:

http://www.reputationdefender.com/ 

Mac Users: Transparent windows

Nifty little app, still under development, so technically its beta, give it a try 

Download here: http://millenomi.altervista.org/Afloat/