If..Else Log

Google have released a gmail notifier tool that sits in your system tray and alerts you to new emails.

The Gmail Notifier can also be set up to play a new mail audible alert.

1. Open the Windows 'Control Panel.'
2. Open 'Sounds and Audio Devices.'
3. Click the 'Sounds' tab at the top of the 'Sounds and Audio Devices Properties' dialogue box.
4. Select a sound for 'New Mail Notification.'

Well, I've finally taken the plunge and signed up to Google's AdSense program. Don't worry, this isn't the first step on a slippery slope to pop-up ads and flash banners. The only reason I considered Google Ads is that:

1. They're unobtrusive, and do not detract from the ambience or feel of a site.
   There's nothing I hate more than the blatently misleading and insulting "You're the 1 millionth viewer. Click for your prize" or the annoying "take over your desktop" flash ads. The ads are pure and generally, subtle text. They're not perfect and do still stand out slightly but compared with other ads, they're downright invisible.
2. They actually provide a service.
   Ads are not inherently bad. Strangely enough, TV commercials can be compulsive viewing in and of themselves. Similarly, Ads in magazines are helpful when you're looking for products. The same applies to the web. Google Ads are refreshingly beneficial in the way the system works. The ads are pay-per-click. Since Google promotes a 'Do No Evil' policy, the only way it would generate income is where the ads are actually relevent or useful.

Because of these points, I'm only going to display the ads on the individual posts. Hopefully, they'll help the site by providing a bit of support without the usual negative influences.

Update (20-Feb-05): I've updated the plugin for WP 1.5 users. You can read more about it here.

I've updated the time of day WP plugin. Instead of passing in the post_ID, the code now looks for a timestamp. This should mean that it will work for comments (and indeed, any date value) as well.

Usage Instructions:: To install the plugin in WP 1.2, save the plugin code into your wp-content/plugins directory. Then, activate/deactivate it via Admin Options-> Plugin Mangagement page.

Then place the following piece of code within The Loop:
<?php time_of_day(abs(strtotime($post->post_date)));?>

A Slice of Time and Space: A group of Microsoft researchers have developed a process to turn digital video to cartoons. Very cool!

BBC: MS releases a cheaper version of Windows XP for the Asian market in an attempt to reduce piracy.

…Microsoft's new software - dubbed "XP Lite' - will feature lower resolution graphics and limited options for networking computers together. It will also limit users to running three programs concurrently…

Can you imagine if Ford announced the following:

Ford is proud to announce a more agressively priced car aimed at stopping theft. The new car, dubbed the CR4 P, will feature a top speed of 10mph and can only be used on empty roads. Users will also be limited to driving with only 1 layer of clothing. It will also randomly crash and burn if non-Ford certified drivers are present…

WP search gripes: solutions!
Hmmm, I actually forgot that WP has a search function built in.
Note: Now fixed. The search bar is now at the end of the nav menu. Incidentally, the 404 page for this site is now connected to the search page e.g. this link does not exist

Dunstan's post, Greg Downing's article.

I was going to write something about how could I have missed this feature in Photoshop but I realised that feature is exclusive to CS. Damn. Nonetheless, the results are interesting all the same.

defenselink.mil:

The new system has the ability for each soldier to be tied into tactical local and wide-area networks with an onboard computer that sits at the base of the soldier's back. "We essentially call the 2010 soldier an 'F- 16 on legs' because it gives the soldier the same capabilities as they would normally have on aircraft and other platforms," DeGay explained.
…
The second uniform system, the Vision 2020 Future Warrior concept, will follow the 2010 Future Force Warrior with more advanced nanotechnology.

"If we were in Detroit, the 2020 Future Warrior system would be the concept car. It leverages a lot of the nano-work being done by the Massachusetts Institute for Technology," DeGay said, noting the Army just awarded MIT a five- year, $50 million program to establish the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.

"What we hope to gain from this program is body armor that wears like a traditional textile impregnated with nanomachines connected to an onboard computer, DeGay explained. "So when you shoot a round into the uniform system, it's normally pliable until it senses the strike of a round — it becomes rigid, defeats the strike of the round and becomes soft again."

The uniform from the waist down will have a robotic-powered system that is connected directly to the soldier. This system could use pistons to actually replicate the lower body, giving the soldier "upwards of about 300 percent greater lifting and load-carriage capability," DeGay said. "We are looking at potentially mounting a weapon directly to the uniform system and now the soldier becomes a walking gun platform."

A blog about Stories by Jon Strandes.
Here's some to get you started: two pebbles, No Problem, elementary.
And here's a final one for good measure. I've read that one before but it's still brilliant.