HowTo: Photo Frame to Info Screen July 8, 2009
Posted by CLibra in Geeky, HowTo, Images, Internet, Photos, Tools.1 comment so far
Digital photo frames are the ideal gift for many people; they’re elegant, they show photos without hundreds of physical albums, and they’re easy to use. But for some people, their gets a point where seeing the same pictures over and over seems a little pointless.
The more geeky among us will be glad to know that digital photo frames can easily be extended using their RSS capabilities into an Info Screen, allowing you to flick through image ‘channels’ that keep you updated with what you want.
How we do this? Microsoft’s tool, Windows Live FrameIt. Here’s a rundown of some good ideas for ‘channels’ that I use with my frame.
Weather Channel
FrameIt already comes with a tool for weather forecasts. Simply enter your location in the world, and FrameIt will make an RSS feed of a graphical forecast.
News Channel
Enter the RSS feeds of your favourite websites to receive the latest news headlines. Whilst I’d personally opt for Google Reader for blogs and websites, creating a News Channel on a photo frame can be used to quickly check local news & sports.
Mail Channel
Some email providers allow access via RSS to new messages in the account; whilst you can’t send any messages using it, it’s useful to be alerted of new emails without having to fire up a computer. GMail uses a secure RSS feed, but you can follow this guide from MakeUseOf to create an unlocked feed, which can then be loaded into FrameIt.
Art Channel
deviantART offers a feed of its popular daily art, which can be found here; you can add it as a Photo RSS feed to have different art displaying each day.
Social Channel
Friendfeed works wonders for aggregating social feeds, so you can use it to create your very own social channel to deliver your updates on social networks. Also, FrameIt has a tool to display photos from Facebook that you’re tagged in.
Other Channels
You can essentially create a channel from any website with an RSS feed, but for those without, fear not; FeedYes will create one for you, and you can tweak your channel to your liking with Pipes, trimming down the info in a website to make it graphically friendly for use in a photo frame.
A photo frame can actually be quite useful with a few simple tools, and you can still use it to display all of your photographs. Got any more creative uses for a digital photo frame? Scribble it in the comments.
[http://frameit.live.com/]
[http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/read-your-gmail-in-a-web-based-rss-reader-with-freemyfeed/]
[http://www.feedyes.com/]
HowTo: Read your Google Reader feeds in Thunderbird April 18, 2009
Posted by CLibra in Email, Extensions, Google, HowTo, Mozilla, Websites.7 comments
As an avid user of both Thunderbird and Google Reader on multiple computers, I’ve searched high and low, all over the internet for a solution to synchronise Thunderbird’s RSS feeds with Google Reader; adding my feeds into Thunderbird’s reader would be no good, as I’d have double updates on both of my machines.
Lifehacker had already posted a way to do this in Outlook, but Thunderbird doesn’t have the folder home page functionality that its Microsoft counterpart does, so that route was a dead end.
Fortunately, inspired by Lifehacker, I’ve discovered a way to embed a mobile version of Google Reader into my favourite email client, and it is simple and clean to use, and does not overtake the user interface. Here is how it can be achieved.
- Firstly, download and install the Thunderbrowse extension and CS Lite into Thunderbird; Thunderbrowse is a tool to embed a web browser into Thunderbird, and CS Lite is used to manipulate the cookies from Google Reader.
- Next, open your Thunderbird preferences on the ‘General’ tab. Make sure the box labelled “When Thunderbird launches, show the Start Page in the message area” is checked, and that the location field points to http://www.google.com/reader/i/. If you are unsure, check out this image on how it should look.
This tells Thunderbrowse that the page it should load on startup is the mobile interface for Google Reader, which a streamlined version of its full web counterpart. - After configuring Thunderbird’s start page, it’s time to set up Thunderbrowse to make Google Reader work. Navigate to the Add-ons menu, and open the preferences for Thunderbrowse. On the ‘Content’ tab, make sure that “Enable SmartJavascript?” is checked, and click Ok to save; this allows Thunderbrowse to run JavaScript which is used in Google Reader.
- Similarly, open the preferences for the CS Lite extension, and on the ‘Global’ tab, select “Allow cookies globally” from the drop-down box. If you don’t do this, Google Reader will complain that it can’t set cookies and it won’t work, so don’t skip this step!
- Restart Thunderbird. You may need to log in to Google Reader in the window that’s presented to you, but after doing so, you’ll have a section like this, displaying your new feeds in the message pane.
Hooray! Obviously, the mobile version lacks some of the functions as the full version, but it’s too cluttered to embed it into Thunderbird, and the menus overlay each other, making it almost impossible to use. Essentially, any webapp could be added to Thunderbird, so lovers of Google Calendar or Remember The Milk can take full advantage of their mobile versions in Thunderbird.
[http://lifehacker.com/5187172/use-google-reader-from-within-outlook]
[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/5373]
[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/5207]
Faux Google Gears – wget July 27, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Clippings, Code, HowTo, Internet, Software, Tools.add a comment
Yeah, I know I go on about Google Gears a lot, but Lifehacker’s wget tutorial makes me think of a simple, powerful, and portable solution to back up your online data for offline use. Now you can access your important websites offline, even ones that don’t support Google Gears.
What’s wget?
a free software package for retrieving files using HTTP, HTTPS and FTP
Basically, it’s a tool that can download files and webpages. How is this different from a normal browser?
wget can selectively download parts of a webpage. You want all links to be downloaded? No problem. You want images to be dropped? That can be done too. wget provides an advanced level of customisation for getting your files.
[http://www.gnu.org/software/wget/]
The guide, written by Lifehacker, will walk you through advanced ways to download content from del.icio.us, Digg, and Goolge Notebook, but if you read the comments you will find user tips and strategies, which you could just as easily implement into other uses of wget,
HowTo: Sync contacts with iMap May 29, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Articles, Creations, Email, Gmail, HowTo, Sync, Tools.1 comment so far
With Plaxo being bought by Comcast, people I know are feeling uneasy about trusting their data in Comcast’s hands.
But how many alternatives have we got for syncing? .Mac? Google? There a possibilities, but Plaxo is probably the best in it’s field.
I actually stumbled across a solution by accident – a fit of dragging and dropping in Outlook Express turned out to be viable.
What do we need?
- An iMap account of sorts (GMail?)
- Contacts stored on a computer
- Get your contacts in a workable format – export them as VCF files. This will take a while if you’ve got a lot, but it’s worth it.
- Open the VCF file in a text editor. You’ll get something like the following:
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Doe
FN:John
NICKNAME:Jonny
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:john.doe@gmail.com
etc
3. Copy this into an email. Put the person’s name as the subject, and send it to your iMap account – store all of them in their own folder, maybe using filtering rules.
Now all of your contacts can be searched with your email – you can access them on any client (even the web if it’s a provider like GMail), and if you need to import them into a program, simply copy the body of the message into a text file and change the extension to *.vcf
HowTo: Run GNU programs on Windows May 23, 2008
Posted by CLibra in HowTo, Microsoft, Software, Tools, Unix, Windows.add a comment
Windows command line is weak – it lacks a lot of advanced functions and is generally bloated.
The solution to this is Unix.
However, a lot of people are reluctant to give up their Windows environment for a full blown Unix install.
Fair enough, there’s Cygwin.
However, there’s a way that lets you keep your existing files, user area, and command line, while adding Unix functions. You don’t need to set up Unix to use GNU tools on Windows.
How do we do it?
The UnxUtils project is focused on porting useful GNU programs to Windows.
Thinks like wget, chmod, env, sync and many others.
How do we get it?
Just download it from UnxUtils website and unzip it to a folder. Then open a command prompt, navigate to /usr/local/wbin folder, and run the commands by typing them, just as if you were in Unix.
TIP: Extract UnxUtils to C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR USER NAME so you can run them straight away from a default command window.
HowTo: PhotoCast without .Mac April 6, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Creations, Google, HowTo, Images, Software, Technology, Web 2.0.add a comment
Got some Holiday snaps? Wanna share photos without email? How about accessing photos on more than one computer?
Then PhotoCasting is for you.
PhotoCasting is a bit like a PodCast, only that instead of Audio files, Images are sent.
To view them, you just need an RSS reader (IE & FireFox both work fine), or if you’re using a Mac, iPhoto can organise your subscribed PhotoCast in many ways.
So how do we do this, without shelling out a .Mac subscription? Our good friend Google of Course!
You will need –
- Collection of photos
- Internet connection, Broadband recommended
- A Google Account
- Picasa Uploader (Mac) or Picasa (PC)
This guide is for PC users, but is essentially the same for the Mac.
Assuming you’ve already got your photo library into Picasa/iPhoto, let’s start.
- Highlight the photos you want to include in your PhotoCast. Click the Web Album button.
- Log in with your Google Account if prompted. From here, you can chose to create a new Album or Upload to an existing one, as well as other settings. Each Album will become a PhotoCast, so sort them however you like.
- Click OK, and wait. Depending on the amount of photos, it could take a long time.
- When that’s done, go to http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/home and navigate to your album. Scroll down to the bottom right hand corner, and click the little link labelled RSS. Distribute this link however, it’s your PhotoCast.
That’s all there is to it! One drawback, however, is that you manually have to add new photos to the PhotoCast, but the subscribers receive them automatically, and the maximum size of each PhotoCast is 500 photos.
Quick Tip: Hotkey Ejection March 18, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Clippings, HowTo, Microsoft, Tools, Windows.add a comment
I’m a fan of shell scripts, and this guide fulfils my fandom.
It shows how to create a shortcut to the Windows Eject Device dialogue, and how to map it to a hotkey.
Similar to the OS X Ejection key, I’ve found this really useful.
HowTo: Filesharing, courtesy of GMail March 8, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Gmail, HowTo, Internet, Server, Tools.add a comment
It’s possible to set up a filesharing server using GMail. Well, you have to use that storage SOMEHOW.
Sorry guys, this one’s Windows only, but there are alternatives.
- Download and install the GMail Drive extenstion from here
[http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm] - Punch in your GMail login. You may want to set up Autologin.
- Repeat for all computers that you want to have access to the files.
It’s as simple as that!
Just go to GMail drive in Windows Explorer, and use it like a regular folder. Any other computers will have the changes mirrored in their GMail Drive.
HowTo: Extending Outlook Express: Online and Beyond January 20, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Gmail, HowTo, Internet, Server, Software, Technology, Tools, Windows.1 comment so far
I can’t seem to let go of Outlook Express, I’ve always used it, and it’s always worked fine.
As technology progressed, so did my needs, and Outlook Express wasn’t fulfilling them.
Being the persistent guy I am, I found ways.
Grabbing my Mail Anywhere: iMap for Gmail
This one made my day, my week, my month, and even my year.
Having iMap in Outlook Express with Gmail really helped.
[http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=75725]
I don’t need a newsreader: NNTP://RSS
I’ve blogged about this one before, how to set up a News Server specifically for RSS feeds and read them in Outlook Express.
[http://clibra.wordpress.com/2007/08/25/howto-read-rss-feeds-in-outlook-express/]
The classic forum: USENET
USENET is an amazing repository of message groups and information.
What’s better, it doubles as a File Sharing medium.
[http://howto.wired.com/wiredhowtos/index.cgi?page_name=share_files_on_usenet;action=display;category=Play]
Not an Exchange Server: Plaxo
Plaxo, the bridge between Outlook Express and an Exchange server. What cool stuff does it do?
Sync your contacts between all the places you need them, online or offline.
Use an online calendar? Sync that too, put a calendar in Outlook Express.
Update all your contact details easily, receive updates from your contacts.
Hook up feeds from other social sites with “Pulse”, send infamous E-Cards.
Store your to-do list and notes securely online.
[http://www.plaxo.com]
Teh leetness: Securing Mail
You might need to send an encrypted email sometime, or digitally sign it to prove your identity.
Nexodyne has a free service which gives you a secure Digital Certificate to do just that.
[http://iridium.is-a-geek.com/DigitalID/]
Windows Shutdown Tip January 12, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Clippings, HowTo, Microsoft, Windows.1 comment so far
Want a speedy shutdown?
Simply hit the Windows key, then U then U again.
Simple, 3 key shutdown.
Via Lifehacker [http://lifehacker.com/software/contest/contest-vote+off--best-reader+submitted-windows-tip-185616.php]
