Microsoft Betas: Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft recently began to beta their replacement for One Care called Micrsoft Security Essentials ( MSE ).
While downloads for the beta have officially been cut off, there are a few other sites on the net you can find it on, just make sure you download the right one for your operating system as there are different versions for Windows XP and Windows Vista/Windows 7, and both also have 32bit and 64 bit variations.
Now, lets take a look at what this looks like once it's installed:
Survival Straps
Ever find yourself needing between 18' and 200' of 550 lb test paracord? Do you like bracelets and/or belts? If yes, you should check out Survival Straps. ThinkGeek sells em too, but they're a dollar cheaper from the manufacturer's site, plus they have more colors and rifle slings, for those of us that use rifle slings as belts.
Hit the jump for more info and some pictures.
40 Quick Tips for Using Google Calendar
For those that don't use Google Calendar, why not?
20 Tools to Make the Life of a Web Developer Easier
Yes, I know I'm just linking to another article, but it's got some great info:
http://net.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/20-tools-to-make-the-life-of-a-web-developer-easier/
iPhone Users Upset With AT&T
With Apples announcement of the iPhone 3GS, lots of AT&T customers that had upgraded from the original iPhone to the iPhone 3G last July were anxiously awaiting the pricing to be announced from AT&T.
Now, before I get into what happened after that, lets go into a little history of the iPhone.
Apple: WWDC 2009
Today Apple hosted the World Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco, CA. As with every year, before the actual Keynote Speech ( usually hosted by Steve Jobs, but hosted by Phil Schiller due to Jobs' health issues ).
Last year Apple announced the iPhone 3G, iPhone App Store ( both of which have been quite a phenomenal success ), and iPhone OS 2.0.
iPhone (AT&T), Pre (Sprint) or Andriod (T-Mobile)
Come late July/early August I have a decision to make. My contract is up with T-Mobile, and while I've had pretty decent service with them ( overall ), there are times where I have been greatly troubled with T-Mobile's coverage and there anemic G3 support.
I currently have the T-Mobile Wing, and while it's a decent phone, it's left me wanting more. I need/want a phone that reacts faster. I love the real keyboard that's pretty amazing, I like the fairly large screen, but there are many things I wish it did....better.
Back to GIMP?
When I installed Windows 7 RC1, I noticed that MS Paint was given a facelift, with some new shiny features that looked like they would be useful for making these "comics" of mine. Here's what I liked and didn't really care for. I do recognize that Paint has and will always be a simple drawing program, with the purpose being to make it easy to quickly create a drawing, but with so much free software available (GIMP being the most common) you would think Microsoft would either make something really useful or just ditch the whole effort.
What I liked:
- Ability to save in different file formats - It's awesome to be able to not have to save to a Bitmap (BMP) file then convert it to something useful in another program. Checking on it, it looks like this feature was included in Windows Vista, I guess I never got around to using it for the brief time that I had Vista installed.
- Templates for making new shapes - the speech bubble is integral for comics, and it's great that they included this, as well as some of the arrow and star shapes. It would be nice to see this expanded on, with the ability to create your own shapes.
- Tablet Support - my Wacom Bamboo tablet worked right away when I plugged it in after installing Windows 7. That was nice.
What I didn't like:
- No layers - like I said above, I do recognize that this is a simple program, and layers are a headache to most people, but hey, this is my review and I like the ability to change something in one layer without it affecting other parts of the drawing.
- Once an object is placed, you can't go back and edit it. I placed a couple speech bubbles on the page, but when I decided I wanted to change the size, I couldn't. Furthermore, I had done a few actions since, so I couldn't just undo back to the point where I placed them in. This was the same for text boxes, I couldn't edit the text in one once I clicked away from it. In fact, GIMP isn't very good about letting you move objects once they've been placed, either. The best implementation of this is in Macromedia (now Adobe) Fireworks, where each object retains its object properties without immediately rasterizing it. If you want to move something, you can select around it, but if it overlaps another object, you'll end up moving both. Another instance where layers would have been handy.
- Tablet support is limited - I realize this probably wasn't high on Microsoft's priority list, but it's nice to be able to use the eraser end of the table as a different brush than the head. Now that I think about it, this may be a driver issue; I'll investigate further.
In conclusion, If you sucked at drawing with the old paint, you will suck at drawing with the new paint, but some of the new features will make your life easier.
Or maybe I just need to practice more.
SmartGrid Wiki dot com
Looking to learn more information about SmartGrid? Well you've come to the right place. For the link. Because this isn't the right place. This is.
You may ask "Dana, now why do we need another wiki? isn't Wikipedia enough wiki for the World?" It is true, yes, that Wikipedia has become our main source of information, surpassing the Encyclopedias long ago. However, Wikipedia does not have an entry to some of the more esoteric SmartGrid concepts and entities, nor should it. That's why the creators of the Wikipedia software released the framework to the public, so we wouldn't be clogging up precious resources with entries on the Synchronized Phasor Measurement System and Centralized Remedial Action Schemes.
Secondly, Wikipedia is framed in the context of giving the reader as much general information as possible, whereas SmartGrid Wiki (dot com) is intended to give the information that pertains to concepts surrounding the smart grid. We want to frame the discussion so people can see how all the elements work together to produce the Smart Grid.
The site is still in progress, so if you have any information to add, please feel free to.
And if you're just looking for the link, read the text above, or just click here: smartgridwiki.com