Oct 14

April Fools Jokes 2007: Woot Sells $1 Million Bag of Crap

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on April 01, 2007 by CyberNet.

Ashley explained awhile back how Woot works, and every now and then they decide to sell a bag of crap. Normally the bag of crap sells for just a dollar or two (plus $5 shipping) because the stuff in them is completely random and typically of no value.

Woot

Well, Woot has sold out of today’s bag of crap that cost user’s a whopping $1,000,001.00 and they still had to pay $5 for shipping. There was nothing special about this bag of crap other than the insane pricetag…and here is what Woot had to say about it:

Speaking of, how much crap does a million and one dollars buy you? Turns out, not much. Despite the extravagant price tag, these bags will contain the same garden-variety crap we usually foist off on you suckers. We’re not kidding when we say this stuff is crap, as in junk, as in trash, as in totally useless flotsam that wouldn’t even exist if the world was a sane and rational place.

I know, you’re sorry that you missed out on the chance to blow a million dollars…maybe next time you’ll have better luck. 🙂

Stay tuned as we feature a wide array of April Fools Jokes throughout the day!

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Oct 12

Google to Layoff 300 DoubleClick Employees, Sell Performics

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on April 03, 2008 by CyberNet.

It’s been almost a year since Google announced that they wanted to acquire DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. That happened about mid-April last year, and the deal finally and officially closed on March 11th of this year. Now that the acquisition is complete and Google got all of the necessary approvals, they’re starting to get to work. Apparently the first task on the to-do list is to down-size DoubleClick because the New York Times is reporting that Google is going to layoff about 300 employees at the company.

When they were acquired, their total work force was about 1,200 people, so the layoff involves about 1/4 of their employees. While this is unfortunate for those employees, it’s not an unusual move for a company to make. In a statement, Google says “Since our acquisition of DoubleClick closed on March 11, we have been working to match and align DoubleClick employees in the U.S. with our organizational plan for the business.  As with many mergers, this review has resulted in a reduction in headcount at the acquired company.”

doubleclick performance

Also on the to-do list is to sell a unit of DoubleClick called Performics Search Marketing.  They provide search engine marketing services, affiliate programs, and technology for online marketing. Because Performics is all about search engine marketing services including search engine optimization, this would clearly have been a conflict of interest. Matt Cutts commented about this on his personal blog (he works for Google) and said:

I have nothing but respect for the people that do search marketing for Performics, but I think this is the best decision. People hold Google to a unbelievably high standard, and I think it’s important that we try very hard to avoid any conflict of interest — or even the appearance of conflict of interest — in our business. Many people I respect have wanted Google to take this step and I think it’s the right call.

Google would have received all kinds of slack if they retained the ownership of Performics, and they would have lost some of their credibility, so this was a very smart move on their part.

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Oct 12

Use DivShare Groups to Share your Music, Photos, and More

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on April 10, 2007 by CyberNet.

DivShare has now turned social with their new “DivShare Groups.” They describe it as a “simple and social way to share your files with people around the web.”

One of the nicest features is that users will be able to subscribe to groups via email or RSS. This way it will be easy to monitor for new additions and changes. You can either join a group that has already been created or create a group of your own. If you decide to create a group of your own, you have control over who is able to join – either all members, or only the ones that you approve.

Another nice feature is that you can set the privacy level of your group. If you only want your group members to see it, the group won’t appear to the public. If you created the group, you can also make the decision on who is able to add files- either all users, members only, or moderators only.

Divshare groups

DivShare has created a few groups as examples so that you get an idea of what it’s like.  Generally speaking, the most popular files to share will probably be music, and images. The screenshot above shows what one of their example groups looks like.

Visit the Groups page to checkout the groups that are available for anyone to join. If you have an account, you can join the groups that are “open to everyone.” Or of course, start one of your own!

Join the DivShare Button Contest!

Here’s you’re chance to win a free premium DivShare account. Yes, that’s right, a free premium DivShare account. Those will be launched later in the month.

They’re looking for people to create a “promotional button that explains why you’re such a DivShare fan.” You’ll need to start with their logo that’s found here, and it will need to be 125×125. If your button is one of their three favorites, as mentioned, you’ll win a free premium account.

 

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Oct 11

Pownce Invite Extravaganza!

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on July 16, 2007 by CyberNet.

PownceThere’s no need to buy a Pownce invite on eBay if you’re one of the first 16 people to leave a comment! That’s right, we have 16 Pownce invites to give away.

Now, if you’re scratching your head wondering what on earth Pownce is, in a sentence, you use it to send messages, files, links, and events to your friends. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Twitter if you’re familiar with that.

For now they are only allowing a limited amount of people to join which is why the invites are selling on eBay (around $1–$3 each). Ryan and I originally got our invites from Chris over at Learn Firefox (Thanks Chris!) and now he volunteered to give his remaining four invites to our readers. Combine those four with the six that Ryan and I each have, and 16 of you will be playing with Pownce tonight.

Ryan and I both just got started so we need friends! Feel free to add us:

Be sure that you leave your email address in the “email field” of the comment section so that we can email the invite to you. If you don’t provide an address, we won’t be able to send it to you.

Remember, only the first 16!

Note: As mentioned, Pownce reminds me a lot of Twitter in some ways. While we were trying out Pownce, we decided to jump on the Twitter bandwagon as well. If you’re on Twitter, add us!

Oh, and for those of you who have Pownce, what were your initial first impressions?

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Oct 11

Get Rain Notifications Using IFTTT

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on September 05, 2012 by CyberNet.

Rain alert alarm notification

It’s not a lot of fun when you’re caught outside in a storm without an umbrella, but the awesome If This Then That (IFTTT) service can be used as an advanced warning system for rain and thunderstorms. For those of you not familiar with IFTTT it’s basically a website that is able to tie multiple online services together. For example, you can have any image you’re tagged in on Facebook automatically saved to your Dropbox account. Or you can save any starred Google Reader items to Evernote. It’s a free and unbelievably awesome service that I have come to rely on.

IFTTT is also capable of sending you a notification via email or SMS based on the weather conditions. You can have it send out the weather conditions every morning if that’s what you want, or you can just have it give you alerts when it is about to rain. IFTTT checks the weather condition every 15-minutes, and if it finds that it is raining in your area it can send an email or SMS message so that you’re aware of the impending downpour. Alternatively you can have it push out a notification to you if tomorrow’s forecast calls for rain.

So how do you set these up? If you’re already familiar with IFTTT I’m sure you’ll be able to create “recipes” for these actions in just a few seconds. The good news is that IFTTT also lets users share recipes that have been created so that you don’t have to go through the hassle. Here are some pre-made recipes for getting notifications based on whether it is currently raining or whether it is supposed to rain tomorrow:

Personally I set up alerts for both situations. I find that the notification about whether it is currently raining gives you about a 10-15 minute heads up which in some situations just isn’t enough. That’s where the daily notification comes in… each night IFTTT will send me an alert if it thinks it is supposed to rain tomorrow based on the forecast. That way I know whether I should grab an umbrella before I walk out the door in the morning.

Want even more weather alerts? IFTTT can handle any of the following conditions:

  • Current temperature drops below…
    This Trigger monitors your local temperature and fires whenever the temperature drops below the value you provide.
  • Current temperature rises above…
    This Trigger monitors your local temperature and fires whenever the temperature rises above the value you provide.
  • Current condition changes to…
    This Trigger monitors changes in the current weather condition. When one of those conditions is met the Trigger fires. Currently only these simple conditions are supported: Rain, Snow, Cloudy, Clear.  
  • Tomorrow’s low drops below…
    This Trigger fires every time tomorrow’s forecasted low temperature drops below a value you provide. 
  • Tomorrow’s high rises above…
    This Trigger fires every time tomorrow’s forecasted high temperature rises above a value you provide. 
  • Tomorrow’s forecast calls for…
    This Trigger monitors changes in tomorrow’s forecasted weather condition. 
  • Sunrise…
    This Trigger fires within 15 minutes of the sunrise in your location. 
  • Sunset…
    This Trigger fires within 15 minutes of the sunset in your location. 
  • Wind speed rises above…
    This Trigger fires every time the wind speed rises above a value you specify in your location. 
  • Current pollen count rises above…
    This Trigger monitors your local pollen levels and fires every time the pollen count rises above the value you provide (1-12). 

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Oct 10

Space Shuttle Endeavour Photos on Photosynth

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on August 06, 2007 by CyberNet.

Microsoft’s Photosynth application is something that could change the way we look at pictures, literally. The technology is similar to how you stitch together multiple images to make one large panoramic view, except Photosynth puts them together to create a 3D view of objects.

It was great the day they made Photosynth available, and it got better when they put together a Firefox extension, and then they began working with BBC for 6-months to assemble galleries of popular areas in Britain. Now the Photosynth team is at it again having created 4 new galleries that give you a look at what it’s like inside and outside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building, as well as a 3D view of the actual launch pad.

I have created a video demonstration for those of you who don’t want to install Photosynth in your browser. The video takes you through each of the galleries that are available, and gives you a good look at what Photosynth is all about:

The space shuttle in the photos is Endeavour, which is planned for another mission on August 8th, 2007 at 5:36:18PM CDT. This particular shuttle has been around for over 15-years, and in 2010 it is going to be decommissioned. It has spent a wonderful 206 days in space according to Wikipedia.

Congratulations to Microsoft and NASA for creating what is quite possibly my favorite Photosynth gallery yet! Hello, my name is Ryan and I’m a space addict. 🙂

View the NASA Photosynth Galleries
Source: Slashdot & PC World

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Oct 10

Getting More Out of Gmail with this Firefox Extension

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on April 17, 2007 by CyberNet.

Lifehacker just got done putting together a great guide on supercharging your Gmail account. They mostly cover things like Greasemonkey scripts that you can use, but throw in a few other things, too. They also mention a Firefox extension they created that incorporates almost all of the scripts so that you don’t have to worry about having Greasemonkey installed.

Better Gmail

The extension is called Better Gmail and lets you pick and choose which of the scripts you would like to enable, and has the following to choose from:

  • Attachment Icons (homepage) – adds icons that match the filetype of the attachments on an email.
  • Attachment Reminder (homepage) – this looks for different variations of the word “attach” in the body of your email. If it finds the word attach it will check to make sure you added an attachment to the email.
  • Conversation Preview (homepage) – makes it so that you can right-click on the title of an email in your Inbox to see a preview of the email’s content. This is a really cool feature.
  • Filter Assistant (homepage) – helps create a filter based on the currently selected email.
  • Label Colors (homepage) – colors your labels so that they stand out more.
  • Macros (homepage) – adds a lot more keyboard shortcuts that make managing the emails even easier.
  • Saved Searches (homepage) – if you find yourself repeatedly searching for the same things in your Gmail account this will be a great script for you. It creates a one-click solution for replicating that search.

Gmail is a tool that I use everyday and some of the tools people create really extend the functionality. I actually think that Google should offer some option for their services where people can choose scripts to add to their account. They could create a page similar to what the Google Personalized Homepage has for selecting modules, but make it so users can go through and pick from scripts that people have uploaded…or even add their own.

Download the Better Gmail Firefox Extension

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Oct 07

2007 CyberNet Awards Recap

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on December 31, 2007 by CyberNet.

So here we sit at the end of the year. We just wrapped up the 2007 CyberNet Awards series that we had been doing for the last few weeks, and tomorrow we have a fun filled day planned. We are going to recap the major events that have happened over the last year, and I think you’ll be pretty surprised at how much of the stuff seems like it happened yesterday.

For those of you who have missed a post or two from the 2007 CyberNet Awards here is a quick recap:

Here’s wishing a safe and happy New Year to all of the CyberNet readers!

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Oct 05

Online Regular Expression Builder

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on April 03, 2008 by CyberNet.

regular expressions

Regular expressions are one of those things that are incredibly powerful… if you know how to use them. It has taken quite a bit of time for me to learn the ins and outs of how they work, but once you get the hang of them there is almost always some variation that can be used in the different programming languages.

There have been some programs that try to lend a hand at building the regular expressions, but more often than not you’ll have to fork out some money for them. RegExr is looking to solve this problem. It is a free online regular expression builder that will show you the results of your regular expression in real-time.

I’ll be using this all of the time now, and it would have definitely been a great tool to have when I was trying to learn the ropes. Along the right side it includes a small “library” of the syntax available for building your regular expressions. That is a huge time saver so that you don’t have to keep referencing a cheat sheet.

If you don’t find the online version appealing they have also taken the liberty of converting it into a desktop application using Adobe’s AIR technology. That means it will run on Mac OS X, Windows, or Linux assuming that you have Adobe Air installed.

RegExr Online Version
RegExr Desktop Version
[via Download Squad]

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Oct 04

CyberNotes: Best iPhone Apps for Productivity

Posted in: Today's Chili

This article was written on March 18, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Time Saving Tuesday

There are all kinds of web apps made for the iPhone that can help users save loads of time.  Today’s Time-Saving Tuesday is all about some of those apps that increase your productivity by simplifying some of the things you do every day. From tip calculators to a sports score updater, there’s bound to be at least a handful of applications that you can benefit from.

The following applications will be covered today:

  • Tip Calculator
  • Mileage Calculator
  • BarCheck
  • iBay
  • People
  • Hotels.com for iPhone
  • Live Scores

Tip Calculator

tip calculatorThe CalcNexus tip calculator will save you time when you’re at a restaurant and you’re trying to determine how much you should tip. Whether you think the waiter or waitress deserved a 20% tip or a 15% tip, the calculator will figure it out for you. Just enter in the receipt amount, the percentage of tip you’d like to leave, and how many people (if any) will be splitting the cost of the tip. You can choose to round up or down to make the number even if you’d like.

Apple Directory

Site Address

Mileage Calculator

mileage calculator If you keep track of the mileage on your car for business purposes or any other reason, you’ll find that the Mileage calculator will save you some time by doing the calculation for you. The best part is that you can save a history of your calculations on your phone so that you can email them to yourself later. This means that you’ll have a log of your mileage saved on your computer. This calculator has fields to enter the following information:

  • Units (Imperial, Metric, UK)
  • Distance
  • Odometer readings (from ____ to ___)
  • Fuel used in gallons
  • Total Price in dollars
  • Tank Capacity in gallons

Apple Directory

Site Address

BarCheck

barcheck No, this doesn’t perform a search to help you determine where the closest bar is. What BarCheck does do though is make it easy for you to enter in the barcode from an item while you’re out shopping. Then you can easily check prices on Amazon, Google, and Yahoo to see if you can get a better price elsewhere.

Apple Directory

Site Address

iBay

iBay eBay addicts will appreciate iBay which makes it easy to search eBay. All that you’ll see on your iPhone when you visit iBay is a search box. Just enter in what you’re searching for and it will pull up all of the results without the images so that it loads quickly. It shows how much time is left, the history of the bids, and the current price. If you want to load the image, it just takes a click.

Apple Directory

Site Address

People

people When someone calls your phone and you’re not quite sure who it is, use People to look up their name as you would with any other reverse phone look-up service online. You can also look someone up by name if you have it to get their phone number. If there are multiple results, you can use arrows to scroll through all of the listings.

Apple Directory

Site Address

Hotels.com for iPhone

hotels for iphone Hotels.com has put together a hotel search page just for iPhone users.  You can search for a hotel by city or even view your reservations. For any of the hotels that they list, you can view photos of it, view a description and see the amenities that they offer. They also provide guest reviews and show a map of where the hotel and nearby attractions are. If you find a hotel that you like you can call their toll-free number with just one push of a button.

Apple Directory

Site Address

Live Scores

livescores Live Scores for the iPhone is a big time-saver for sports enthusiasts who want to keep up with the latest scores. This web app updates every 30 seconds so that you always have updated scores for both college and major pro sports. Any time that you see a game that looks interesting, you can tap on it and then you’ll get more details.

Apple Directory

Site Address

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