Google Alert notifies you of updates on custom Google queries. It doesn't even require any Google API keys. [Read More!]

Well, I came up with one way to use the Wallie-card mentioned earlier. I could use it to reward my readers

Just post the 16-digit code, and whoever finds it first, has some cash to buy stuff online. Too bad getting an actual card is such a hassle ...

The use of credit cards is not very wide-spread in the Netherlands. Most people use their bank cards for payments in stores and bank transfers to pay bills or to pay for stuff bought online or through mail orders. Perhaps this explains the introduction of the Wallie-card. [Read More!]

Years ago, electronic books were seen as a major threat to traditional book trade. The result of this technology, so people expected, was readers turning away from paper books, instead carrying around a book reader that allows them to store scores of electronic books. So far, fears of substitution have proven unnecessary.

Another form of electronic books, is that of books published to be read on desktops or hand-helds. No special reader required. With modern technology such as good scanners and P2P file sharing, pdf's of entire books can be downloaded, mostly illegally. However, for decades, there have also been books available as text files. Project Gutenberg is the most famous one. Texts of books that are in the public domain are digitized by contributors and made available to the world.

I came across Digital Book Index, which allows you to search for digital books, in different formats (text, html, pdf, more specific formats). Both free and commercial versions are found. Most of the books are free, and most are by authors who have long ago passed away. Digital Book Index contains the Gutenberg books, but also has additional sources so it's definately worth checking out. Oh yeah, on the
login page, you don't
have to give out your info, just press “login” and continue.

It is probably one of the worst nightmares, losing the password to your own computer. That is the drawback of passwords after all. Either you write them down somewhere, defeating their purpose, or you risk forgetting them. For NT, Win2K, and XP Pro, there is a utility that lets you reset the password. You'll have to download some files and create bootable linux disk. Yes, you can relax, this only works when you have physical access to the computer, no worries about people hacking your system and changing the password.

Usenet is a good source for spammers, harvesting e-mail addresses from public postings. Another good source is, of course, the Web. Harvesting mail addresses from public web pages. And once your address is known, expect to get tons of spam. What to do though? [Read More!]

A couple of days ago I talked about video on demand (pay per view). I didn't know there was also a games on demand variety, where one can subscribe to actual games that one would normally buy on cd. Yahoo Games on Demand offers exactly that. You can subscribe to it and it then allows you to have access to a nice amount of games. What happens is, you download an initial part of the game you want to play. The rest of the game is downloaded as you play, which means you need to be online while playing. The system requires a broadband connection.

At $34.95 for three months, it doesn't sound that unreasonable if you are a major player. If you just play occassionally, I'd stick to buying games. Preferably discounted. With gaming on demand, the problem is not actually owning the game. But then, how many games are out there that you will really play more than a couple of weeks? Oh yeah, another problem is that it requires a “US based credit card” to sign up.

Privacy is an important part of my life. I prefer to choose for myself what information to share with those around me, and what to keep to myself. This goes for both online and offline information. But some applications that put privacy at risk cause a struggle as to whether or not to appreciate them. [Read More!]

There are several things I miss when using Google. One of them is the ability to use wildcards, and another is proximity searching. Searching for synonyms using google just isn't the same as wildcards, although in a way you can use it for that.

Thanks to a number of people developing their own services to use with Google, I can finally have the proximity search. As always, please use your own API if you have one.

Note: the link doesn't always work, but when it does it sure comes in handy

I will be the first to admit that I have been slow in adopting the blogging thing. It has been around for years, but I never got into it. I'll spare you the reasoning for my sudden start in this area, but the fact is, I'm giving it a try. How strange it is then, to read about a study on the blogging phenomenon, and to find that it isn't the big thing it appears to be. Or rather, that it is mainly a small demographic segment of people, and for a very limited time.
[Read More!]