Internet World Maps - Visualize the popularity of Internet and Social Networking across various countries and continents. The full list includes seven interesting World Maps.
Focus Your Attention On the Current Task, Hide All Distractions
Distractions are always present when using a computer.
For instance, you are watching a YouTube video but hate the desktop screensaver that gets activated every few minutes. Or you are writing an important Excel sheet and suddenly there's a notification in the system tray that says "Your friend Rick is Online" or that "You a new email."
Here's a real scenario - I am writing this blog post in Windows Live Writer and there's Outlook, Google Talk, Firefox in the background all competing for attention.
All these little things make it tough to focus on the task at hand. If you also find yourself in a similar situation and wish you could work on the computer sans distractions, a little utility called Zorro for Windows can help you here.
Get Zorro 1.4 for Windows and stop paying attention to stuff that's not important at that point of time. And similar to Mouse Spotlight, Zorro can be a great help when giving presentations and you want the audience to concentrate on a particular area of the slide or screen. Thanks Martin.
Related: Write Without Distractions
Google Reducing PageRank of Websites That Sell Paid Text Links
Google is not against text link advertising, they just don't want sites to pass link juice to advertisers. Read Matt's take on the issue:
You want my links for traffic.. totally fine..just don't make it so they affect search engines..so that's why we say use nofollow..or use a redirect which is through robots.txt
Paid links that affect search engines (whether paid text links or a paid review) can cause a site to lose trust in Google.
Two months ago, we saw that organic search rankings of a Page Rank 7 website were penalized by Google for selling text links. The ban was quickly lifted (in less than a week) after the site owner removed the paid links.
Now another instance has surfaced where Google penalized the PageRank of a site after detecting paid links.
The Stanford Daily website, which is part of Standford University, was a PR 9 website but with the recent update, Google has dropped the to PR7. The reason, you guessed it right, is paid text links.
Danny Sullivan, who discovered the drop, talked to Google about the issue and Google confirmed that PageRank scores are being lowered for some sites that sell links.
Not just PageRank, Google said that some sites that are selling links may indeed end up being dropped from its search engine or have penalties attached, to prevent them from ranking well.
Not everyone here may agree with the rules imposed by Google Government but there's no denying that Google is the single largest source of search traffic to most websites today.
By selling paid links on your site (without using nofollow), you may be making money in the short run but once the search rankings and PageRank is penalized by Google, the incoming search traffic and link selling power of your site will dilute anyway.
The Image That You See Here Is Not a Photograph
You may not believe your eyes but the image above is not a photograph, it's just a painting of a non-real person done using airbrush, not Photoshop.
Dru Blair took around 70 hours to paint this beautiful photorealistic image - look at the eyes, skin tones, hair curls.. they look so real.
Dru has the details on how he completed this painting dubbed "Tica" - Photorealism at its best.
Related: Fake or Real Photos
The World Is Missing Technorati State of the Blogosphere Reports
Do you know that 120,000 new weblogs are created worldwide each day. That the most popular blogging language is Japanese, not English. That more than 1.5 million blog posts are published each day.
But things have seriously changed at Technorati this year - Richard Jalichandra is the new Technorati CEO and the last State of the Blogosphere quarterly report was released in April 2007, that's more six months ago.
Now the world (and mainstream media) have no concrete idea about the growth of blogging during this period except that Technorati is currently tracking 108 million blogs - that number was 70 million six months ago.
Anyone in the Technorati Team reading this - please don't break the ritual that Dave has been following since October 2004. The blogging community is eagerly waiting for those green graphs and numbers.
Related: Gaming Technorati Favorites, Understand Technorati Cosmos
How to Access Orkut Account from Facebook
Something very interesting for people who are active on both Facebook and Orkut.
You can now easily integrate your Orkut account with your Facebook profile courtesy a new Orkut app for Facebook that's not developed by Google but an Amazon employee.
The best part about the Orkut Application is that you need not supply your Google Account or password, just type the full URL of your Orkut Profile and that's sufficient to bring your Orkut data into Facebook.
Once you add theFacebook application, you can read the Orkut scrapbook of anyone, write new scraps, browse photos uploaded by other Orkut friends and more. Update: The app is no longer available.
Related: How to Create Custom Facebook Pages
And it's a good way to expose your community of Orkut friends to Facebook friends (and vice-versa). Facebook friends, who are not on Orkut, can know about your Orkut community without ever visiting that site. They can also view the Photos and Videos that you have shared on Orkut. How much fun.
Read some workarounds on how to access Orkut, Facebook and other restricted websites at school or work.
You can now easily integrate your Orkut account with your Facebook profile courtesy a new Orkut app for Facebook that's not developed by Google but an Amazon employee.
The best part about the Orkut Application is that you need not supply your Google Account or password, just type the full URL of your Orkut Profile and that's sufficient to bring your Orkut data into Facebook.
Once you add the
Related: How to Create Custom Facebook Pages
And it's a good way to expose your community of Orkut friends to Facebook friends (and vice-versa). Facebook friends, who are not on Orkut, can know about your Orkut community without ever visiting that site. They can also view the Photos and Videos that you have shared on Orkut. How much fun.
Read some workarounds on how to access Orkut, Facebook and other restricted websites at school or work.
Anti-Phishing Game: Learn How to Spot Fake Websites
Like the Phishing Quiz from McAfee, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed an interesting online game to help people recognize online scams and phishing websites easily by looking at their URL in the browser address bar or with the help of Google.
The plot is interesting - you are a small fish swimming around the bay with your experienced father in search of food. You will encounter worms in the water - swim over a worm to reveal it's attached web address (URL).
You earn points by eating the good worms (legitimate websites) and rejecting the bad ones (phishing websites or online scams). If you are unsure about a site, press T and you learned father will give you a nice hint if the site is legit or fake.
Play the Anti-Phishing game here.
Related: Google Phishing Warning Extension
Microsoft Removes WGA Validation Requirement for IE 7
Microsoft today released a new build of Internet Explorer 7 that installs without requiring you to validate the copy of Windows as Genuine. The new IE7 is available Windows XPSP2, x64 Server and Windows Server 2003.
Now that users running pirated copies of Windows XP can install IE7, it makes one wonder if Microsoft took this step to counter the growing popularity of alternate browser like Firefox and Opera? [Microsoft Software Piracy]
This is an update to the availability of Internet Explorer 7 and not a new version of the browser. Other than removing the WGA validation requirement, Microsoft has made some minor changes to IE browser.
For instance, the Menu bar will be turned on by default and the online Internet Explorer 7 tour has been updated to include how-to’s on new IE features like tabbed browsing.
You can download Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP SP2 here.
Genuine Windows users, who are already running IE7, need not do anything except for downloading a new update for IE7 here that resolves a performance issue with the Phishing Filter of Internet Explorer 7.
Create a Temporary Webpage That Self-Destructs After Some Time
You have heard of temporary email and disposable email services that help shield your actual address from spammers and email harvesting robots. Extend the same concept to websites and what you get is a service called disposable Web pages.
First you make a proper webpage using the rich text editor that also supports tables, images and Flash movies. Then set the time when you want that web page to expire (or become unavailable).
When others are reading that webpage, they will also see a count down clock that shows the exact time to disposal.
Disposable WebPage provides a wiki like environment where others can also edit the web page created by you provided you share with them the password (or the master key).
Could be a useful and quick alternative to small wikis for managing upcoming events and TODO lists. disposableWebpage.com
First you make a proper webpage using the rich text editor that also supports tables, images and Flash movies. Then set the time when you want that web page to expire (or become unavailable).
When others are reading that webpage, they will also see a count down clock that shows the exact time to disposal.
Disposable WebPage provides a wiki like environment where others can also edit the web page created by you provided you share with them the password (or the master key).
Could be a useful and quick alternative to small wikis for managing upcoming events and TODO lists. disposableWebpage.com
Know When People Submit Your Stories to Digg; Get Dugg More
When a reader submits your blog post to Digg and the story gets dugg a couple of times more by other Digg members, you can quickly add the yellow "digg this" button to your website - that Digg button not just displays the current digg count but also encourages others site visitors to digg your story without leaving the site.
Now the important thing - How do you know automatically when people submit content from your website to Digg.com ? Well, it's actually quite simple. You just have to setup a custom search RSS feed to track Digg like a hawk.
1. Go to Digg Search at digg.com/search
2. Type your web domain in the seach box and select "URL only" as shown in the screen capture. If you are on blogspot or wordpress, you will have to type the subdomain name as well.
3. Select "All Stories", "Sort Newest First" and hit the Search button.
Digg provides an RSS feed of these search results. Whenever a story from you blog hits Digg, it will become available in the RSS feed irrespective of the number of Diggs it has received.
You can either get this feed in your news reader or turn it into an email alert via RSSFwd or R-Mail to get an email as soon as you are Digg.com.
Then head over to your blog post and add the following Digg snippet so that visitor can digg the story without ever leaving your website. (see live example)
<script type="text/javascript">
digg_url = 'DIGG_PERMALINK_URL';
</script>
<script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"> </script>
You can read about some more interesting Digg features and tips in our guide - Digg for Power Users. A similar trick is available for tracking del.icio.us as well.
Online Photo Editing in Adobe Photoshop Express - Video Demo
You have seen the screenshots but at the recently concluded Max 2007 conference, Adobe gave a live video demo of some prominent features in Photoshop Express, the much awaited online image editor.
Like the live preview feature in Microsoft Office 2007, you can hover the mouse over various thumbnail images in Photoshop Express to see how that effect will look when applied to the current image - it's efficient and lightning fast.
CNET has the recording of the Adobe Photo Express demo which is embedded above. It's still not known if the online Photoshop editor can deal with layered PSD graphics.
Related: Edit Photos Online for Free
FeedBurner Upgrades FeedSmith Plugin for WordPress Feeds
FeedBurner FeedSmith is a must-have plugin for WordPress that redirects all your RSS Feeds to a single FeedBurner feed so you can know exactly how many people have subscribed to your RSS feed.
If you are already using FeedBurner FeedSmith to manage your WordPress feeds, it is important that you immediately upgrade FeedSmith with the latest version available here.
The previous version of FeedSmith has a security hole that can allow other to change your WordPress plugin settings without you noticing during the time you are signed into your WordPress control panel.
Steve! Thank You For Reading Digital Inspiration
In Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat he talks extensively about "the great leveling." Specifically, he writes about how broadband-enabled populations in India, China and elsewhere will make waves here in the US. This is more than just theory. It's reality. All you need to do is look to the emerging voices from Asia Pacific (APAC) and their ability to make money from US advertisers.
Web 2.0 in APAC is rising. A lot of talented, new voices are emerging from the region - and quickly at that. Two of my favorites are Amit Agarwal, a technology analyst from India and author of Digital Inspiration, and Leo Babauta a Guam-based blogger who writes Zen Habits and also contributes to Web Worker Daily.
What's notable here is that both are making money from US advertisers. Leo, who has 20,000 RSS subscribers, works with BlogAds and Amit (15,000 daily subscribers) uses Google Adsense.
Thank you Steve. You made my day with this one. [Filed in quotes]
Make Sure You Alway Have The Latest Version of Software Programs
UpdateStar is a new tool to help you ensure that all software applications installed on your PC are up-to-date.
Like Belarc Advisor, UpdateStar scans your hard drive and prepares a complete inventory of software products (including freeware and shareware demos) that exist on your system - it then lists the available software updates, if any, alongwith a link to download those updates.
So you don't have to manually hunt download.com or the software vendor's website to get hold of new updates, UpdateStar will let you know as and when they become available.
Other than finding the latest version of software already installed on your computer, UpdateStar can also be used to uninstall programs just the like the Add/Remove programs or MyUninstaller.
UpdateStar runs on Windows 2000, XP and Vista. It's fast and did a decent job of finding minor upgrades for some old software running on my computer. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with software drivers.
Interesting Picks
Planning to buy an iPod but cannot decide which iPod model to choose from? This quick iPod Buying guide compares all the new iPod models to help you pick the best iPod for your needs.
Smart Ways to Lower The Cost of Printing; Save on Ink and Paper
The best way to reduce printing costs is to educate people – Can employees do without printing a hard copy of that email message? Is it essential to distribute the PowerPoint training material in paper format when it’s always available on the company’s intranet?
Custom Email Addresses for Windows Live Hotmail Users in India
Microsoft is trying something unique to make Windows Live Hotmail popular among Indians (especially the young crowd). Instead of the default @hotmail.com or @live.com address, you can now opt for other email address choices that relate more closely with your personality, interests or lifestyle.
Rupee Mail - You Read An Email Newsletter And Make Some Money
A a new service in India is offering to pay you a certain sum of money if you agree to receive some of their marketing emails (that contain advertisements). You give your email address to RupeeMail and specify your areas of interest - you’ll then receive advertisement messages in your inbox.
Google may partner Anil Ambani for sub-sea cable project
Google is beefing up the infrastructure to make use of rising internet usage across globe especially in Asia-Pacific regions by setting up its own under-sea cable across Pacific, under a project called Unity. This would help Google to meet its data and video transfer requirements from US to Asian countries.
Open .XLSX Spreadsheet Files Without Excel 2007
If you have an .xlsx file attachment in your email inbox but the computer doesn't have Microsoft Office installed to open file of that extension, what are your available options?
The xlsx file format is the default extension for spreadsheets written in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and Office 2010. The format is currently not support by GMail attachment viewer or any of the online office suites like Google Docs.
However, you can easily convert .xlsx spreadsheet to the traditional .xls format using the Microsoft Office compatibility Pack available here. This will help you open, edit, and save .xlsx files in Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003. More details on Office 2007 FAQ.
Alternatively, you can convert .xlsx to .xls or any other text format online using the email conversion service of Zamzar. Just forward the email attachment to xls@zamzar.com or txt@zamzar.com and it will send you a link to download the converted file.
Unlike the Microsoft compatibility pack, the Zamzar .xlsx to .xls conversion services will not require a copy of Microsoft Office on your computer.
And if you have OpenOffice, Zamzar can also convert the XLSX file to OpenDocument spreadsheet format.
Also see: Open .docx Files Without Word 2007
Guidelines For PR Professionals Who Pitch Bloggers
Though most bloggers would love to read PR-pitches about products that are closely related to their niche, irrelevant pitching is always ignored and sometimes met with great frustration.
To save from this frustration, Ogilvy PR team (in consultation with external bloggers) have drafted a "Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics" document that outlines certain essential guidelines for public relations professionals who pitch bloggers. Some excerpts:
1. Before we email you, we will check out your blog’s About, Contact and Advertising page in an effort to see if you have blatantly said you would not like to be contacted by PR/Marketing companies. If so, we’ll leave you alone.
2. If you are initially interested in the campaign, but don’t respond to one of our emails, we will follow up with you no more than once. If you don’t respond to us at all, we’ll leave you alone.
3. We won’t pretend to have read your blog if we haven’t, and we’ll make a best effort to spend time reading the blogs we plan on contacting.
4. If we ask you to review a product and, therefore, provide you with the product to enable you to “experience” it, we will ask that you be transparent and reveal that you have been given the product temporarily, or permanently.
5. If we reach out to you with news about a product, campaign or issue, we will not provide monetary compensation, because we believe it is unethical to “buy” favorable reviews and not want to appear as if we are.
You can get the full version of Blogger Outreach code of ethics document from Ogilvy's blog. It's a must-read for all PR companies and marketing professionals who want to maintain a good relationship with bloggers.
Adobe Office Gets A Word Processor, Outlook the Next Target ?
Adobe officially entered the web-office space by acquiring Buzzword, a word processor that works inside the web browser (like Google Docs or Zoho Writer). Other than creating documents from scratch, Buzzword can also import your existing Microsoft Word .doc files.
Buzzword is done in Adobe Flex, the same technology that powers Picnik, the popular online image editor.
Now that Adobe has a word processor, what could be next logical addition to their productivity suite?
Adobe Ventures recently made an investment in Scrybe, an online organizer that's a perfect blend of Microsoft Outlook and Google Notebook. Scrybe (video demo below) allows you to store notes and web clipping, manage TODO lists, calendars and more inside the web browser.
And like Buzzword, Scrybe looks beautiful, intuitive and extremely impressive. Do not be very surprised if Scrybe becomes the next member of Adobe Office Suite. The icing is that Scrybe already works both in online and offline mode.
Move Draft Posts Written in Windows Live Writer Across Computers
Here's are simple tips for bloggers who work on multiple computers and use Windows Live Writer to compose and publish blog posts.
Problem: If you write a blog post in WLW on computer A and save it as a local draft, how to you access that unpublished post from another computer ?
Solution: You have two options here - the first is to use "Post Draft In Weblog" (available under "Save Draft") - WLW will put the post online though in Draft, i.e. it won't be available to your blog readers.
The approach is recommended if you just have a handful of drafts written in Windows Live Writer.
But if you tons of unpublished posts or if you are planning to move to a new PC altogether and transfer all the drafts from this computer to the new one, an easy option is "My Documents".
Windows Live Writer creates a "My Weblog Posts" folder under "My Documents" which has two sub-folders - Drafts containing all the unpublished posts while Recent Posts has all the posts you have ever published through Windows Live Writer.
You can also clear the Recent Posts folder to reclaim hard drive space.
Just a word of caution, these .wpost files are binary and you read or edit them only with Windows Live Writer.
Additional Windows Live Writer reading:
Windows Live Writer Tips & Tricks
Windows Live Writer Guide for Power Bloggers
Useful Windows Live Writer Plugins
A Standalone FLV Player For Watching Flash Videos on the Desktop
If you download streaming video content from the web (like YouTube videos, CNN news clips, etc), chances are that you have piled up tons of Flash Video (flv) files on your desktop.
Unfortunately, these FLV files cannot play directly inside the web browser or the standalone Flash Player and you need to download an additional software like RIVA in order to watch the FLV videos.
But the future of these third-party FLV players may be in trouble as Adobe has just introduced an all-new Adobe Media Player that can play FLV videos - you can drag and drop the FLV video file over the Adobe Media Player and the video will be begin to play instantly. The videos can also be viewed in Full Screen Mode.
Get Adobe Media Player installer here. Release Notes in PDF are available here.
Everything else you wanted to know about Adobe Media Player {FAQ}
The FLV files are associated with Adobe Media Player so you can even double-click the FLV file on your hard-drive to play it in Adobe Media Player.
This is a pre-release version and does not support H.264 encoded videos. Only Flash video encoded in Flash 8 [On2 VP6] and Sorenson Spark and H.263 can currently be played in Adobe Media Player.
