RobiNZ CAD Blog

Twits Progress?

You can't predict the future... 

Geek And Poke: The History Of Communication

Related Posts from LinkWithin

I'm trying a LinkWithin Widget which should be adding links to related posts (to the site, not the feed) based on the content. The recommendations should become more relevant as it indexes the blog,

I have checked it in IE8, Firefox and Chrome but would be interested to hear what you think of it. It seems to load after the main post content but adds thumbnail images (if the post has image content) so interested if there are any performance issues.

Show Related Posts with the LinkWithin Widget - everything.typepad.com

Twitter, social networks and the corporation

I'm not a corporate blogger, or Tweeter, but thought this post has sensible advice for anyone who uses social network services in a corporate environment. It has a review of Twitter tools, tips about followers/following and advice on handling company complaints via Twitter for those who have that responsibility.

Confessions of a corporate tweeter - econsultancy.com

There are lots of articles about how brands should use Twitter. They all give good sound advice to the budding corporate tweeter: listen before you dive in, have something relevant to say, or learn from cases like Motrin or Skittles.
This is all very generic though, so let me try to give you my random insights and observations as @guyatcarphone, a corporate tweeter for Carphone Warehouse...

My employer, The Warehouse, doesn't have a formal Twitter policy other than generic corporate net use conditions. I don't use Twitter much at work although sometimes review my CAD/BIM & IT groups in TweetDeck. I found Twitters stream of information overwhelming but grouping has helped make sense of it.

I use RSS Feeds more frequently and have a similar set-up for blog/discussion groups in RSS Bandit. I have structured Work, IT and CAD/BIM related feeds in to categories (right) and dive into them as needed. They are an invaluable resource for support, training and development information.

I'm not on MySpace or Facebook (which I think is blocked) but do use LinkedIn at work. It's proven to be a useful tool for extending my network within the industry and maintaining contact with former colleagues.

Note: Carphone Warehouse is a U.K. company and has no connection to my employer. However, I found this post via a search feed I have for "Warehouse & New Zealand" as Guy Stephens is a Kiwi and mentioned N.Z. in his post.

Tags: twitter

Internet Explorer 8 User Interface Customisation

Internet Explorer is more "customisable" than previous editions and Nomita's post shows how. My favourites are there along with a few I hadn't noticed. I've been using IE8 full time for about a month now and have found it fine.

I've only resorted to compatibility mode a couple of times and the one, site related, "to desktop crash" I've had was recovered gracefully when IE8 was restarted. The only real negative is the "BlogJet This" IE add-in doesn't function but I believe a fix for that is on the way...

Customization in IE8 - blogs.msdn.com/ie
I am a user interface tester on the Internet Explorer team and one of my favorite things about any application is the ability to personalize the program to give it your own look and feel.

Intel's Active Management Technology Annoyance

This post is about disabling an annoying dialog that started appearing at startup. By default, when Windows starts on an iAMT-enabled system, a dialog box is displayed. To disable it:

• Click Start » Run
• Type msconfig and press enter
• Go to the Startup tab
• Uncheck the box for “atchk” and click OK.

If I'd done this in the past I couldn't remember, thus it's here for next time I forget!

Internet Explorer 8, a few migration pains but mostly great

I've reverted to an HTML Flickr photo display "badge" for my side-bar as it appears Internet Explorer 8 doesn't like the Flash version. It showed blank unless toggled to "compatibility mode" which is not something I want to encourage or require. Reading the Flickr Help Forum i found IE8 isn't alone in this (mentions of it with Opera & Firefox) so the more compatible HTML version will rule. I wonder if the problem is Flickr's code or my implementation in the TypePad side-bar?

The only other casualty I've found is the "BlogJet This" IE plug-in which, although being installed and active, does not appear to function. I've logged this and regard it as "work in progress" rather than a lost cause. I've had no problems running CAD related applications, even those which leverage browser code.

Benefits?

So far I've found a few things to like in Internet Explorer 8;

The new blank tab (left): Its nice enough to be my new start-up/home page. It has links to restore your last session, re-open closed tabs in the current session and shortcuts to "Accelerators".

Accelerators (right): These are shortcuts to web services generally accessed by highlighting text and choosing from a pop-up menu when you're browsing. The chosen accelerator will run using the selection as it's input.

No Name Links: I have frequently used sites on the links bar and renamed them with very short names to fit more in. In IE8 I found you can hide these names completely (below). Because I know the icons & order it means a cleaner look with more space. If a reminder is needed hovering on an icon reveals the name & URL in a tool tip.

I haven't noticed IE8 is dramatically faster than IE7 but it has been stable and works with every site I've tried, except for my Flickr badge. Even sites with complex login or transaction processes, bank-card and Paypal, seem to work OK.

Avoiding the IE* problem:

This new version has prompted me to create a few new ActiveWords. Two correct common typos, IE* and ie8, and the last means I'll never type Internet Explorer 8 again!

UPDATE 2009-03-28: If you find IE8 slow this fix from Ed Bott to re-register a .dll may help. I didn't need it but appears some systems are blocking the registration during the install

IE8 slow? Maybe this tweak will help

Tags: IE8

Useful criteria for following a Twitter account?

Jack Yan, or @jackyan, shares his criteria for deciding who to follow on Twitter and it's almost like I wrote it as use a similar process.

Jack Yan: the Persuader Blog: My top 10 criteria for following a Twitter account

At first I followed people I knew from blogging, or a few celebs I liked, but that's starting to change. I now have Twitter only connections but also sometimes add their blogs to my reader. Time will tell how long Twitter remains a fascination but I suspect it may become a regular component of my on-line life

That certainly isn't what I thought before using it. Remember the Twit-skeptic post just a few months ago? I'd be interested to hear what you think of Twitter? Next great thing or a flash in the pan? Leave a comment or tweet to let me know!

I only "know" Jack via blogging and email but we share many common interests. He's mostly in Wellington so we've not yet met but I have to go there* later this year so will do something about that. My only worry is according to Twittersheep @robincapper is mostly jackyan!

* I just got a Bruce McLaren Trust newsletter which said Te Papa, our National Museum in Wellington, will host a Formula 1 related Design Exhibition later this year.

Tags: twitter

Why Blog, why Twitter?

I'm not sure if this is original, it is according to Google, but it's the best explanation I could think of for both blogging and tweeting:

Buzzmodo RT @robincapper

"Blogging is for what you can’t say in 140 characters, Twitter shows how much you can!"

http://twitter.com/Buzzmodo/status/1282336064

I originally said it in an email today, pleased Buzz thought it worthy of a tweet!

Tags: twitter

Charlie Rose with Bill Gates, more than just Microsoft

I found this conversation, from December 2008, with a post-Microsoft Bill Gates well worth viewing. While it starts with well trodden Microsoft related topics (inc. Vista & Google) the latter sections on his foundation, personal development and vision are fascinating.

Charlie Rose - An hour with Bill Gates

PS: Ironic you see this via Google Video?

Via this is sippey.typepad.com

PS: I wrote this ages ago and found I'd posted it to the wrong blog, deleted it from there then realised that wasn't a duplicate post. It appears again here thanks to composing off-line with BlogJet and sending the files to a "posted" folder, rather than deleting them. One suggestion for the next BlogJet, if there is one, to have a "Move after posting" rather than the current delete option!

Microsoft Labs Future Vision, tomorrows home, office and retail?

What I found most compelling about this Microsoft Labs vision of the, near?, future is the variety of display technology and form factors seen. You can see why Microsoft have invested so heavily in technologies like Surface, touch interface and  "the cloud" that will share data across these devices.

The retail video below isn't new, it has a PC running XP Tablet, and shows some concepts I first saw at a Retail FOCUS conference in 2006. Linking virtual and physical shopping is a challenge for all retailers and it will take Retail BIM, literally, to the customer. To identify product shelf locations, have stock there when the customer arrives and coordinate that information with an e-commerce portal demands perfectly synchronised BIM, Logistic and Merchandise data in a dynamic environment. It's a specialist market and one Autodesk BIM tools have not yet really addressed...

There is more detail on these videos on the Office Labs Blog

via www.istartedsomething.com