Google has a service you might never have heard of: Google Alerts.
Google Alerts are emails sent to you when Google finds new results — such as web pages, newspaper articles, or blogs — that match your search term. You can use Google Alerts to monitor anything on the Web. For example, people use Google Alerts to:
find out what is being said about their company or product.
monitor a developing news story.
keep up to date on a competitor or industry.
get the latest news on a celebrity or sports team.
find out what’s being said about themselves.
Here’s how it works:
You enter a query that you’re interested in.
Google Alerts checks regularly to see if there are new results for your query.
If there are new results, Google Alerts sends them to you in an email.
For general queries like [ football ], you can get a summary of the new results every day. For specific topics, like [ cardiovascular atherosclerosis ], you might not get an email every day, but you’ll find out when something new and relevant is published. See more examples of how Google Alerts are used
This an article you can find at ReadWriteWeb. They had been Live Blogging during Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook privacy press conference. They decided to put this theory into practice and live blogged the event with Wave. The reaction to the experiment was overwhelmingly positive, so they decided to share how they did it :
How It’s Done
It’s surprisingly easy. Now that Google makes it simple to embed a Wave in any blog post, starting a Wave-based live blog is as easy as copying and pasting a URL into a Web form.
Step 1: Start a Public Wave
To create a public Wave, simply head over to Google Wave and start a new Wave. By default, Wave’s are not public. To make this live-blogging wave public – so that your readers can later see it on your blog – you have to add public@a.gwave.com to the new Wave. This account is probably not in your contacts yet, so just copy and paste the address and add this account to the Wave.
Now you have two options: 1) you can give your readers full access to your Wave, which means anybody can comment as you live blog, or 2) make the Wave read-only and don’t allow others to edit it. To change these settings (even after you start), simply click on the globe icon that represents the public@a.gwave.com account and change the access settings. By default, all public waves are set to “full access.”
Step 2: Get the Embed Code and Embed Your Wave
Now you need to get the embed code. Just copy the URL of the wave from your browser’s address bar and head to the Wave Elements tool. Paste the URL into the form, hit Return so that the tool recognizes the new URL, set the desired size of the embed, and then head to the bottom of the page where you can find the updated embed code.
After this, all you have to do is head over to your favorite blogging tool and paste the embed code into your new post.
Step 4: Start Blogging
Head back to Wave after you finish setting up your post and start blogging. Your readers will see every letter you type in real time.
Lessons Learned
Here are a few things we learned today:
Wave worked like a charm. We did not experience any hiccups and our readers were very happy about seeing us type the updates in real time – live blogging really doesn’t get more “live” than this. Having Google’s infrastructure as the basis for your live blog definitely helps when you have lots of people hitting your blog at the same time.
Adding a few extra people to Wave allows you to share the workload. If possible, have at least one extra person around to create and upload screenshots. We used a Skype backchannel during the event to coordinate in the background, but you could also use a second Wave for this.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
The default font size in the Wave embed is too small, and changing it for every new wavelet takes too long. Hopefully Wave will soon allow us to set a slightly larger font size as the default.
Wave didn’t work well for Safari users and is obviously also still an issue for Internet Explorer.
Uploading screenshots to Wave is easy, just click on the attachments icon, pick the desired image and hit submit. Sadly, you can’t just drag and drop images from your desktop onto your browser (yet), so having a second person to manage that is helpful.
Spell checking in Wave is still a bit difficult even when you have a second person edit your posts.
One thing to remember when you use Wave to live blog is that your readers aren’t likely to reload your page often, so your page views will likely be lower than if you just posted regular updates into a static blog post. We think this is a worthwhile trade-off, given that the experience for our readers is superior to using a static post, but that’s a decision every publisher has to make individually.
I recently discovered some little-known ways to use your Gmail address that can give you greater control over your inbox and save you some time and headache. When you choose a Gmail address, you actually get more than just “yourusername@gmail.com.” Here are two different ways you can modify your Gmail address and still get your mail:
Append a plus (“+”) sign and any combination of words or numbers after your email address. For example, if your name was hikingfan@gmail.com, you could send mail to hikingfan+friends@gmail.com or hikingfan+mailinglists@gmail.com.
Insert one or several dots (“.”) anywhere in your email address. Gmail doesn’t recognize periods as characters in addresses — we just ignore them. For example, you could tell people your address was hikingfan@gmail.com, hiking.fan@gmail.com or hi.kin.g.fan@gmail.com. (We understand that there has been some confusion about this in the past, but to settle it once and for all, you can indeed receive mail at all the variations with dots.)
For me, the real value in being able to manipulate your email address is that it makes it really easy to filter on those variants. For example you could use hikingfan+bank@gmail.com when you sign up for online banking and then set up a filter to automatically star, archive or label emails addressed to hikingfan+bank. You can also use this when you register for a service and think they might share your information. For example, I added “+donation” when I gave money to a political organization once, and now when I see emails from other groups to that address, I know how they got it. Solution: filtered to auto-delete.
Here a quick list of the products I can’t live without:
Gadgets:
Macbook pro iPhone 3GS (as soon as the 4G is out… then … ;-) ) Nikon d300 with nikkor 18-200 and sigma 10-20 (I wish it was a nikon d3s though…) Fonera2.0n (great concept and community. I have two an convincing friends to join) IP Camera (pan tilt) wifi
I hesitate about the iPad. I might wait for the second gen (with hopefully a camera for video chats)
Google Chrome BusyCal AppCleaner Audiobook builder (to create audiobooks and put them in iTunes) Backuplist + (to rsync my docs to my webdav) Copypaste Pro Mikogo (free app to share desktop with anybody, browsing together and granting control over your machine) Paparazzi! (to create a snapshot of a website) ScreenFlick (to make screencasts) Skype (I use it via Adium) Adium (all Instant Messengers into one: Skype, Gtalk, yahoo, msn, facebook, aol, etc…) Proxifier (to put all the apps into a box, then you can tunnel them via ssh into a machine with squid) 1Password (to manage logins and passwords. Syncs with iPhone)
For the iPhone:
Tweetie (in fact for iPhone and mac) Brightkite (like twitter on steroids: with images, location, notes, checkins) Facebook
Foursquare, Gowala, Tellmewhere (location based apps. You can use http://check.in to check in at the same time in some of them) GeeTasks pro AutoStich (to create panoramas with several photos) Pixelpipe
1Password MyWi (use your 3g connection to become a wifi hot spot) ezShare (remote desktop, VPN and access to network drives like webdav) IP Vision Pro (to access you Ip cameras)
I don’t have but I wish I have (I am not in the US… that is why):
I have read extensively about how to organise yourself.
One of my favourite authors for this is David Allen and his “Getting Things Done” book and now philosophy. It does not fit my needs 100% but you can get a lot of good ideas. It is a read I recommend to anybody who would like to take a step back and see how to improve his/her workflow on executing stuff, not just at work but in your personal life.
I will write one day on which are my workflows but in the post I just wanted to briefly explain how I organise my todos.
First to clarify that I am heavy user of my iPhone and I could not live without Evernote. I take photos of everything, and I classify it all in evernote: from photos of all (yeap, all) incoming mail, to receipts (yeap…) to all my books, visiting cards, wines, etc… even when browsing it I constantly click shift and the evernote button to get a pdf of what I want to save.
For tasks and priorities I used to use things (a mac and iPhone program) but since I migrated my email to google apps, I use google tasks (as I mentioned in my previous post).
I have the following “lists” that I rather call “projects”.
@action (the @ is to bring it to the top) where I put most of the stuff I have to do and does not fall under a more complex task. Before I used to have an @inbox with the idea to drop everything there in a previous step and then put it in the right list in a second step, but I found out I could be disciplined enough to classify staff as it was arriving. In my Evernote and at home for my paper stuff, I do use an @inbox though.
Then I have a @wating for list. Here I put stuff like, waiting for an ebay thing I bought, or if someone is supposed to take some action on something that should come back to me, if you delegate a job for instance.
lent and borrowed lists. Don’t you hate when you lend a book to someone and it never comes back? Then you don’t remember who was it or which book. Well I keep track of everything I lend and I borrow, of course.
someday list. Here stuff that I have to do eventually but does not fall into the action list. Stuff like make a copy of the keys for the neighbours, upload latest holiday photos, etc…
scheduled list. Even if some of the stuff above can have a deadline or a day they should move to the action or you should execute them, the scheduled list is more for stuff that can be recurrent or that is far in time to be in the action folder but not as vage as someday. Examples: date that the subscription to a paper expires, an annual summer jazz concert…
wish list. Here I put all that I want to do, but that I am not necessarily do: buy a nikon d3s, go to x restaurant, buy x wine, visit japan, etc…
The specific project lists. One that it is always there is shopping where I write all the stuff I have to buy in the short term (salt, shoes, pasta, pesto…), you could add all this in the @action list but the idea of clustering similar stuff into projects is very convenient. You could have lists such as: job hunting (and all the places you want to apply for), house works (and all the stuff you want to fix at home), etc…
This is in a nutshell how I organise my ToDo’s.
Another day I will explain how I organise my email, and Evernote.
I use google apps (you could use gmail tasks) and I use the tasks there. You can create a calendar with the tasks with due date.
In my iPhone I syncronize it with Geetasks pro which is a great app that syncs your tasks in google with your iphones… and works offline!!
Then, in my mac I use fluid. Fluid (which is free) what it does is it creates a program in your applications folder with a custom browser unique for that app (Site Specific Browser (SSB)), so when I launch norai tasks it opens a window with the tasks alone. Like a program. You can even choose the icon you want for the program.
For the URL you have to use something like (what I use):
https://mail.google.com:443/tasks/a/yourdomain/ig
or if you want a list on the left and the tasks on the right (nice if you are a heavy user)
Take a look at this site to know more about how to do it, but pretty straight forward.
The pros is that in my iPhone (main tool for tasks) I have them offline also. When in the office you can use google site or the second lint (canvas) to manage your tasks and projects.
The cons is that in my mac I have to be online (with fluid). It would be nice to have gears for that…
I updated my mac and one of the new updates was the timemachine.
I am running my time machine backing up in a Samba server (linux machine).
This new update is deletes your old time machine in order to create a new one probably in a newer and more stable format. I decided to go ahead.
The first part deletes the time machine partition on my samba, then it tries to start a new one but obviously, it can’t. So here some tips to create a new time machine in your samba server:
You will need to do this with the terminal ( Finder>Applications>Utilities.Terminal)
First you need to have the ethernet mac address of the machine that you want to backup:
ifconfig en0 | grep ether
This will give you a number like: 00:23:32:d2:f7:a0 keep it.
Now you create a new file with the sparsebundle that you will have to move to your samba machine:
Where in red what you have to change. In my case tokao will be the name of my machine and the mac address (en0 even if using wifi) 00:23:32:d2:f7:a0 will be 002332d2f7a0 (this is in my case, sure)
Once you have done this in your Users/you you will see this sparsebundle file. You have to move this file to the Samba where you want to back up.
You can copy it by draging it using the finder or by copying it
Photoshop has been a mainstay of the design software pantheon for over 20 years, and it remains a great tool for pro artists and social media customizers alike.
But the sophisticated image editor has a daunting learning curve. With so many tools, features, and concepts to get a hold of, new users can be discouraged by dry help files and blind fumbling.
But fear not, gentle reader, for the collective wisdom of YouTubeYouTube is at your disposal. Photoshop tutorials abound on the video network. Some are superb, while others may not be worth your precious clickthrough. For help, check out the resourceful selections below. Whether you’re brand new to Photoshop or a seasoned veteran, there’s always something to learn from the screencasting community.
For Beginners
If you’re looking for a visual way to wrap your head around the basic functions of Photoshop, check out these “101″ resources that take it nice and slow, and don’t assume any prior experience.
1. Workspace Overview
If you’ve never taken up the virtual paintbrush before, get the lay of the land with this overview of the workspace. It will give you a good sense of where the most useful tools and menus live in Photoshop.
2. Tools and Layers
This two-part tutorial breaks down most of the basic tools you’ll need to start your graphic hacking adventures.
If you come away with only one concept from a Photoshop lesson, it should be about layers. Layers are key to everything in Photoshop, but jumping in head-first can often leave new users confused. In addition to rummaging through the toolbox, this video offers a concise, visual explanation of how layers work using a simple drawing exercise.
For Intermediate Users
If you’ve gotten a feel for the software and done your share of image touch-up and manipulation, you may want to kick the program into second gear and start exploring some of the more powerful and creative features. These tutorials will get you going.
3. Blending Modes
Blending modes are connected to layers and are integral for toning photographs and many other graphic manipulations. This screencast will take you through Photoshop’s many blending flavors and hopefully spark some creative ideas for your next epic FacebookFacebook photo.
4. Patching and Healing
So you’ve got your new Facebook photo perfectly toned for maximum epicness — except for that tiny blemish and your annoying little brother who insists on jumping into every frame. That’s where the healing tools come in. With these, you can remove unwanted elements and (with a bit of practice) smooth those adjustments right into the background.
5. Text Effects
Let’s face it: The black and white arial text your rendered in MS Paint simply won’t cut it as your blog’s logo anymore. It’s time to snazz it up with some creative texturing. Check out this two-part tutorial that showcases some of the powerful text manipulation tools at your disposal in Photoshop.
6. Creating Actions
As you start using the software more regularly, you may find you’re repeating the same processes (sizing, filtering, blending, etc.) over and over again. The “Actions” feature lets you record the steps you use frequently and execute them with a single time-saving click or hotkey combination.
For Advanced Users
If you’ve spent any time on the Internet, you surely know what some Photoshop wizards are capable of. While the truly amazing feats require actual artistic talent (for which there is not yet a software substitute), some advanced Photoshop knowhow can go a long way to impressing your social media pals. Even if you’re not up to speed on all the advanced tools, just following along with these example-based lessons will provide a lot of insight into how the pros work their magic.
7. Changing Eye and Hair Color
If you’re due for a new look, but don’t want to drop a pretty penny at the salon, check out this tutorial on how to change eye and hair color for some dramatic portrait results.
8. Photo Combination and Manipulation
And now for some of the cool stuff. Through some clever erasing, blending, smoothing, and layering, this tutorial grafts a roaring lion’s face onto an apple to make for some frightening fruit that even Adam and Eve would have stayed away from.
9. Environmental Effects: Beams of Light
If landscapes are your passion, you can add even more drama to your sweeping vistas with some Photoshop tricks. Here, the designer adds some cloud-bursting light to make for an awe-inspiring desktop wallpaper, or perhaps even a snazzy TwitterTwitter background.
10. Environmental Effects: Fog and Mist
If you’re looking to add a bit of mystery to your recent snapshot, check out this tutorial on adding some rolling fog.
Have you found any other useful Photoshop tutorials on YouTube? Be sure to post the links in the comments below.
(from mashable)
Here’s something I know affects plenty of users out there. Have you ever pasted text in a document or email message, only to have it formatted differently than all the text around it? Irritating, right?
There’s an answer, thanks to the Keyboard & Mouse pane in System Preferences. If you click the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, you can assign “Paste Without Formatting” and/or “Paste and Match Style” to Command + V for all applications. Just click the button under the list, type in the name of the appropriate menu items, and press ⌘-V in the Keyboard Shortcut box.
One note: Panic designer Neven Mrgan found that using this tip means you won’t be able to paste images into iChat using Command + V. Dragging and dropping (or choosing Paste from the Edit menu) still works, though. Update: If you explicitly add ⌘-V in as a shortcut for Paste that’s specific to iChat, you can restore the image paste capability without breaking the global shortcut.
Apps that don’t have either of those menu items will still default to regular old “Paste” for the same key command. Paste away!
I have blogged in the past about prezi, and I think is one of the coolest presentation tools out there.
I would like to share a couple of other brainstorming tools that might be useful for your thinking processes:
I have been enquiring in the fonera forums on how to install the latest release candidate in my fon 2.0 as wifi for the iphone in the current version is unusable and in the 2.3.5.0 the drivers have changed.
This is what I posted in the forums:
1.- Save your settings: Settings/System then the big settings button will donwload a file called luci. Save it.
3.- In my case I tried upgrading to dev from my mac (safari) in the wan and it did not work. I tried from a lan computer and it did work. It takes 5 min. Then I went setting/system/settings update and then I could not see any difference between the DEV and the normal firmware. I could not access via ssh, so I thought it might have been because in my setting I have the fonera running on 192.168.1.1 instead of the default 192.168.10.1. I then reseted to factory default.
4.- Once in factory default you are asked to follow a wizard. You had a password of 8 char with numbers and then I tried ssh and worked.
To do this here is a little tutorial to guide you there 2 methods, I suggest the easiest (note it seems that in some cases, not mine in any case, the notification SMS from unknown then put you the contact in your book, but once in the SMS you have of course the name of the sender):
Acknowledgment iPhone SMS
* Launch Cydia
* Once in Cydia -> Manage -> Source, add and install the source http://iphonedelivery.advinux.com/cydia
* In Search -> find the application iPhoneDelivery
* Install the application
* Your system restarts, wait
* In Settings -> Messages, select Acknowledgment and Flash AR (this is the info bubble that gives you the details)
After several tests, everything works perfect, no problem!
In addition it does not make you an SMS acknowledgment but just a warning.
Pollux for iTunes will help you to stop worrying about organizing your music library again
✹ Completely automatic and easy to use
✹ Tags name, artist, album, album art, genre, year, and lyrics
✹ Analyzes the track’s unique fingerprint, so it can never be wrong
✹ No existing track information necessary
✹ Automatically corrects each track’s information as it is added to iTunes
And best of all, it’s completely free! Give it a try!
This an article you can find at 
Photoshop has been a mainstay of the design software pantheon for 
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