Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on July 26, 2008 by CyberNet.

Weekend Website

On multiple occasions we have mentioned the fact that we use Flickr for our online photo storage and sharing solution. It’s a great service that allows us to easily share our photos with family and friends, and we couldn’t be happier with it. Sharing photos is one of those things that everybody tends to do more of lately simply because it is easy to do. Today we thought we’d throw this question out there for you guys to answer — what’s the best way you know of to share your photos? We’re not talking about simply mentioning the service you use, rather we’re asking for some of the services you use that allow you to get creative with photo sharing.

The reason we ask this is because recently we came across a site called Picsviewer that provides Flickr users with the opportunity to create some really neat slideshows that they can then share with others. All it takes is a few clicks and you’re good to go. You don’t even have to create an account with them to take advantage of what they offer, which is nice as well.

Today we’ll be taking a look at Picsviewr, but we’d love to hear what kinds of services you’ve found out there that taking photo sharing to a whole new level, so be sure to hit us up in the comments.

What is Picsviewr?

Picsviewr is a free online service that provides Flickr users with templates to arrange their photos in a variety of different ways. This makes sharing photos with others more than just, “hey, take a look at this picture.” I guess you could say it spices up looking through the photos of when your friend took a skiing trip to Colorado.

There are a handful of templates currently available, and they say that they will add new templates in the future. You can even send them a request for a feature or a template if you’ve got something in mind. Some of their templates use Flash while others use Javascript which is something you’ll want to keep in mind if you disable Javascript.

For those of you interested, they launched in March of this year and are based out of France. The Picsviewr team says they created the service because, “we found Flickr, one of the best photo collection services, was lacking a good way for visualizing photos.” They used the Flickr API to make it happen.

Templates

The slideshow templates are what makes up Picsviewr. At this point they have about eight available and we already have a couple of favorites. Our first favorite:

Tiltviewer:

Below you’ll find a screenshow of Tiltviewer:

As you move your mouse across the screen, the photos tilt around. Clicking on a photo will enlarge it, and clicking on the arrows to the left and the right will bring in new photos. At the top of the page you have access to various tags which you can select to view.

Another favorite is:

The Polaroid Gallery

Here’s what the Polaroid Gallery looks like:

What’s nice about this template is that you can click on an image and then drag it to where you’d like it. From the top you can switch between sets, or you can also choose to view photos based upon tags.

Out of all the templates available, the two listed above are definitely our favorites, just because they are more unique than the others. They are all still worth checking out though.

One last thing to note is that when you are choosing a template, you also choose the quality you want for the photos. Your options include medium or high. Obviously the medium quality photos will load a bit faster than the higher quality.

Improvements they could make

One thing we did notice is that there is no way to use these templates if your photos are private. We make public any photos of ours that don’t have people in them, so we were able to test out Picsviewr, but for those who don’t have any public photos, they will not be able to use this service. It would be nice if you could provide Flickr with your credentials, if your photos are private, to use this service as well.

Another improvement they could make is to simply add more templates. People like choice, so the more quality templates available, the better.

Wrapping it up

Picsviewr is a simple way to add something a little more to your photos that will make them more fun to share. Remember, it works only for Flickr users who have made their photos public.

Now we’re asking you, what kinds of services do you use, aside from your photo storage/sharing solution, to add a little something special to your photos for sharing with others, if anything?

Copyright © 2011 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on February 12, 2008 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

I remember when online stores first started popping up everyone was wondering how in the world such a marketplace would continue to exist. At the time online prices were about the same as they were in the retail stores, but shipping costs killed any savings that you would have received. Now things are not only cheaper online, but a lot of stores offer free shipping on purchases.

Now the problem that I encounter the most is keeping track of all the packages that are supposed to be coming to me. Just a few weeks ago I had a package who’s status said that it was delivered, but I never actually received it. Luckily the company that I ordered it from quickly refunded my money, but if I was not tracking the package a lot of time could have passed before I realized that there was an issue.

You can always track packages through the carrier’s website, but there are alternate methods available that make staying on top of multiple orders extremely simple. Here are my four favorite ways to track packages…

–TrackThePack (Homepage)–

This is one of my favorite package tracking services because it sports a clean interface, and is powered by AJAX. To get started you enter in a tracking number, hit the submit button, and you’ll instantly see the results. If you decide against creating an account the tracking numbers will still be stored in their database using your IP address.

–TrackMyShipments (Homepage)–

Works with UPS, FedEx, DHL, and USPS.

TrackMyShipments is a unique service that makes package tracking a piece of cake. All you have to do is signup for the free service with the email address that you use when ordering your items. Then just forward any emails containing tracking numbers to track@trackmyshipments.com, and the tracking information will magically start appearing in your account.

One of the reasons that I like this service is that all of your information is available from any computer, thereby making it easy to track your packages even when you’re on-the-go. You’ll also get quick access to the email that you forwarded to the service in case you need to grab additional order information.

[via Lifehacker]

–iSnoop (Homepage)–

Works with UPS, FedEx, DHL, and USPS.

When you track packages with iSnoop you’re provided with an easily bookmarkable URL so that you can jump back to see your tracking status at anytime. You’ll also see how your package has moved from one point to another via Google Maps.

The most notable feature, in my opinion, is the RSS tracking option. Each item that you track on iSnoop will have an RSS feed available so that you can receive tracking updates right in your feed reader. If you’re always buried in your feed reader I think this is a great way to keep up-to-date on your packages’ progress.

Tip: If you’re running Vista there’s also a sidebar gadget available using the data from iSnoop.

–Track Package Extension (Homepage)–

Firefox users get the pleasure of having this extension available at their fingertips. You can use it to recognize tracking numbers on a website or in an email, and then have it take you to the carrier’s official site to see the progress. The extension will also keep a list of the packages you’ve tracked in the past to provide an efficient way of tracking your existing packages:

–Overview–

There are likely dozens if not hundreds of different ways to track your packages, and now we would like to hear what your favorite tools are! Hit us up in the comments below with the different ways you stay on top of your online orders.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on November 08, 2006 by CyberNet.

Web Browser Wednesday

I am a huge fan of the services that Google offers even though I have found myself switching to other alternatives lately. Mostly because I have found other companies, such as Netvibes for my personalized homepage, that offer better features for what I would like to do.

One thing that has always upset me is that most of Google’s services don’t work properly in Opera. It is a really great browser and many of Opera’s users would probably use Google’s services if they actually worked. The Opera team is dedicated to making their users happy and one thing that they try to do is make sure Gmail is always working, since that is probably the most popular Google service. However, it shouldn’t be up to them to fix the issues.

So here are a list of Google’s services and how well they work in Opera 9.02:

• Google AdWords – Duh! Of course it works…think profit!
• Google Classic Homepage – there is a little bit of JavaScript on the page but it works fine in Opera.
• Google Analytics – works great but it is Flash based so I didn’t expect to have any problems.
• Google Calendar – works but you are prompted with a “not compatible” message every time you try and load Google Calendar. If you press “Cancel” at that prompt it will load and function fine. Masking the browser as Mozilla or Internet Explorer prevents the popup but the calendar does not work properly. Google should remove the popup window.
  
• Google Docs & Spreadsheets – You can’t even try to use the services unless you mask Opera as Mozilla. Once I did that the Google Docs seemed to work great from what I tried but the Google Spreadsheets was virtually unusable. When Writely (the name before Google bought them and called them Google Docs) was being developed they were working on getting support for Opera and actually contacted the Opera team to discuss issues. They resolved many of them but I’m not sure if they ever got to the point of officially supporting Opera. If they didn’t I’m sure that it is no longer a concern.
• Froogle – works great but why wouldn’t it? I mean they have a large sidebar with advertisements so they can make some money!
• Gmail – works very well thanks to the Opera team. They are constantly patching problems that Google creates when changing things in Gmail. However, the Gmail Chat will only work if you mask the browser as Mozilla and after doing so you should be able to chat with people just like in Firefox or Internet Explorer.
• Google Notebook – for starters there is no extension available to use the Notebook inside the browser, but that isn’t really Google’s fault because Opera only supports widgets. The actual Google Notebook page, however, appears to be halfway functional at first but trying to edit a note is impossible.
• Google Page Creator – it prompts you with a message saying that the browser isn’t compatible but masking Opera as another browser quickly bypasses the check. That doesn’t do you much good because none of the links work on the site so you can’t even create a new page.
  
• Google Personalized Homepage – surprisingly works perfectly. It does seem to load a little slow compared to other browsers though.
• Google Reader – This one absolutely boggles my mind. It is loaded with AJAX and yet it works flawlessly with Opera! There isn’t even a warning saying that the browser is incompatible…it just works! How come the Google Reader team can get things done right?
• Google Video – no problems that I have noticed. Looks like you can even use the web-based uploader!

I was pleasantly surprised at how many Google services do actually work with Opera but there are several popular ones that don’t. I give a lot of credit to the Google Reader team for developing such a powerful web application that works with more than just Firefox and Internet Explorer. Maybe they will spill some of their knowledge over to the other teams.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on January 07, 2008 by CyberNet.

Microsoft Monday

Many of our Microsoft Monday posts over the last several months have focused on Windows Vista — after all, it is the latest operating system from Microsoft. While it’s the “latest and greatest” as they say, we know many of you still use and prefer Windows XP. Today we thought we’d spend some time going over a few Windows XP tips. Some of the tips you may be well familiar with while others will be completely new to you. This will be the first in a two part series, so stay tuned for the 2nd edition.

Many of these tricks use the Windows Registry Editor, which you can start by pressing WinKey+R and type regedit into the box.

Note: Some of these tips may work in Vista, but we have not tested them in Vista.

–Rename the Recycle Bin–

Want to rename the Recycle Bin? Here’s what you gotta do:

1. Run the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\ {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
2. Double-click on (Default), and change the name of the Recycle Bin. Close the Registry, and press F5 on the desktop to refresh the icon.

–Network Sharing–

When you’re looking at files on a network drive you might have noticed that it can take a rather long time (up to 30 seconds). What happens is XP checks to see if the other PC has any scheduled tasks. You can disable that by:

1. Run the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace.
2. Delete the {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} key. Close the Registry.
3. While you’re there you can also delete the {2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D} key if you don’t use printer sharing.
4. Reboot your computer.

–Excessive Printing–

This probably isn’t for home users, but for all the people out there that do a lot or printing this is something you should consider doing. By tweaking this Registry setting the printing process will have a higher priority. Here’s the details:

1. Run the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHING\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print.
2. Create a new DWORD called SpoolerPriority, and give it a value of 1.
3. Reboot your computer.

–Disable Last Access Time Stamp–

This small little tweak is a great one, because it disables a feature that most people never even use. By default Windows always keeps track of the “Last Accessed” date in the file or folder’s properties. If you’re constantly opening and closing files you’re causing some additional work for Windows since it has to update the last accessed date each time. If you never use that property feel free to disable it:

1. Run the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ FileSystem.
2. Create a new DWORD called NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate, and give it a value of 1.
3. Reboot your computer.

–Remove Text from Icons–

I would have to put this trick up near the top of my favorites list. With it you can prevent the text from appearing below icons on the desktop. If you’re looking to clean up your desktop a bit this could be the perfect way:

1. Right-click on an icon, and choose the Rename option. Delete all of the text.
2. Hold down the Alt key and type 0160 (note: you shouldn’t see any text being typed). That will essentially make a space character the file name. Press Enter to save the results.
3. You can repeat this for several icons, but there is one catch. You probably know that you can’t have multiple icons in the same folder (or on the desktop) with the same name. To get around that for a second shortcut you can do Alt+0160 + Alt+0160. That will essentially create two spaces for the filename, and for a third shortcut you could do Alt+0160 + Alt+0160 + Alt+0160. As you can see this would get tedious rather quickly, but for a handful of shortcuts it is pretty nice.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on September 28, 2007 by CyberNet.

Fun Friday

Today’s Funny Friday article is taking a look at parodies. According to Wikipedia, a parody is a “work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, or the subject of the work.” That’s exactly what our Gallery includes today – a lot of poking fun and ridiculing of Microsoft, the iPhone, Facebook, and the Wii. Enjoy!

—Microsoft Surface—

—iPhone Parody, God Wanted One—

—Microsoft Next Gen iPod—

—iPhone No Flash Support—

—Facebook Infomercial Parody—

—Wii Fit—

—Apple Switch Parody Commercial—

—World of Warcraft Parody—

—Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death—

—Apple Intel Advertisement—

Copyright © 2011 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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