Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Do you use IE 7?

I recently stumbled across a handy freeware program called IE7Pro.  It was referenced in a PC World article about unwanted online advertising, because IE7Pro is designed to stop really intrusive browser ads (like those floating interstitials).  It also offers some great features like automatic spell check of any text you type in a browser window (for example, it’s correcting me right now), inline search, and blocking of Flash.  My favorite feature, however, is that IE7Pro will recall and reopen tabs I had open during a crash.  I find IE7 extremely stable, except for the ongoing issue with Flash, so between allowing me to easily disable Flash, and then rebuilding my browsing pages after a Flash-initiated crash, this free program has remedied just about every problem I’ve had with IE7.  The list of IE options you can tweak is lengthy, so visit the site to see if the program has a feature which might serve a unique need for you.

The program comes well-recommended from a number of sources, and as I said, is completely free.  If you want to give it a try, you can download it at IE7Pro.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/27 at 08:21 AM
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Monday, November 26, 2007

I’ll be back

Don’t you worry, November 26th… I’ll be back!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/26 at 11:38 AM
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Sunday, November 25, 2007

Meet Spain’s “blog Granny”

The Internet has made a celebrity out of a 95 year old Spanish grandmother who recently started to blog.  The blog was a birthday gift from her grandson (who the woman claims is “stingy”, and I’d have to agree).  Since starting to write, the blogger, Maria Amelia Lopez, has been interviewed on radio and TV, and is a curiosity because of the relatively low numbers of older people who blog.  The blog is especially popular with young people who go to Maria for advice, although it’s a great place for history buffs as well.  Many of Maria’s childhood stories are about growing up in the Spanish Civil war, and under the regime of General Franco.

If you’d like to visit Maria Amelia Lopez’ blog, it can be found at A mis 95 años.  Sadly, I don’t read Spanish, and am envious of those who can enjoy it.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/25 at 11:29 AM
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Saturday, November 24, 2007

A camcorder for your pocket: Flip Video

If you’re not familiar with Flip Video, it means you’re not watching “Oprah”.  The queen of marketing buzz recently gave Flip cameras away to all her audience members, and now they’re a “must have” item for anyone with email, a blog, or a fetish for appearing on YouTube.

Flip video is a small video camera, slightly longer and slimmer than a deck of cards.  Its purpose is to allow you to have a camera at the ready wherever you are, wherever you go, so it’s light and easily fits in a purse, pocket, or backpack.  When you record, you can catch audio, and zoom in and out, but that’s the extent of fancy recording options.  Many people will appreciate keeping it simple.  To watch your videos, the Flip will hook up directly to your television, or you can watch the movies back on the camera’s own viewfinder.  If you want to upload your videos to the web, a built-in USB arm allows easy transfer, and you can even send a video directly to YouTube.  Simple on-board software will allow you to make some basic edits, all without fussing with your computer and big editing programs.

The cameras come in two recording sizes - 30 minutes, and 60 minutes.  You get what you pay for in terms of quality, and you won’t be willing the Palme d’Or with a sensitive drama you filmed on your Flip camera.  On the other hand, you’ll have a quick and easy way to take video at your brother’s birthday party in the afternoon, and have the film uploaded to YouTube before the party breaks up.  The largest Flip camera holds 1 hour of video (about 1 GB), and if you shop around you should be able to find it for about $120.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/24 at 10:23 AM
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Friday, November 23, 2007

Dynamic ads for PDF files

Adobe and Yahoo have banded together to design a way for PDF files stored online to feature dynamic, contextual ads.  Previously, PDFs could only display static advertisements, so this new technology opens up a whole new world for pay-per-click ads.  Rather than thinking of this as, “yuck, more advertising”, we’re supposed to be excited because it means more content should become available as publishers can profit from it.

If a publisher wants to participate, they’ll upload their PDF files via a special portal, and the pages will be reformated to display dynamic text ads from Yahoo.  In the future, this process should become automated, and it’s believed the functionality to display these Yahoo ads will end up being built into programs like Adobe Acrobat.  The service is free, but only US publishers can participate.

There’s no word on whether Adobe plans to expand their program to include other advertising partners, like Google.  If you’re a PDF publisher and are interested in participating, you can click here to apply to the beta program.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/23 at 10:07 AM
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