Karls Blog

Matty sent around this link which I thought was quiet funny:

http://www.explorerdestroyer.com/

Get $1 for every user you convert to Firefox! I LOVE Firefox, but I also think IE 7 is also MUCH better than 6. Wonder where this browser war 2.0 will end :)

As a rather avid beer consumer ;) I noticed today that beer contains a micronutrient called xanthohumol that scientists believe "is one of the more significant compounds for cancer chemoprevention that we have studied". I'm sure the breweries are going to have an absolute field day!

As many consider me a web guy (yes Clarke, I'll get around to giving my feedback ;)) I love things that make my life easier and ietab is one of those things I've come to love. Been using it for a week or so now, and it ROCKS - opening IE in Firefox makes sure its easy for me to test the many sites we continue to develop without too much screen clutter! Right click and select 'Open in IE tab' can't be easier, and so far, no problems at all! For those of you that spend lots of time on the web, this extension gets 5/5 :)

Had 2 seconds today to check a few of my blog subs, and one that I've added recently is really proving its worth - digg.com. I love /. but digg.com is even cooler! Here are some interesting things I learnt today because of digg.com :)

- http://beta.previewseek.com - Seek search engine could have some possible advantages over Google. Some features include a sidebar of sorts that further refines a search, say, if you were searching for "Gears of War" the sidebar would display "Previews" or "Movies" for that game. Also, each site comes with a thumbnail and the option to preview the website in a new frame.

- 99 Useful Run Commands - "...There are, however, tools and utilities that I bet you never knew you had that can be accessed through the Run feature. The main reason most people don't use the Run feature is because they don't know the Commands. So, to solve that problem, here are 99 Run Commands and what they correspond too..."

- Hacking 101 - Hackthissite.org lets you do just that... hack the site. They have basic starter missions for n00b hackers and much more advanced for the 13375!

and lastly (thought it was funny and relevant (?) :)

- Condom in a can - Designed for female use, the condom-in-a-can is essentially an antiseptic foam spray that the manufacturer claims forms a physical membrane that protects the user from infection, acting as a barrier to pregnancy and providing a lubricating effect.

Is digg.com the /. killer? We'll find out :)

From Al (the MCAD man on his way to MCSD fame :)

Sig of the week:

Question:
Name one thing you can do with your windows machine that I can't do with my mac...

Answer:
Right click

;)

On a phone conference and was catching up on my blogs (yes, I'm a man who can multi task!). Was reading Daves blog and came across this pearla!

http://blogs.msdn.com/davidlem/archive/2005/11/07/489716.aspx

Another reason I dont buy Italian cars... unless they are Ferraris ;)

I love web, I breathe web, and I think I know web pretty well (hell, its what I've been doing for the last 12 years - long live the <blink> tag ;!). Today I found Morfik from a quick read thru its credentials, is VERY impressive. To quote their web site:

" Morfik offers ground-breaking Javascript Synthesis Technology (‘JST’) that allows developers to use a visual design environment and a high-level language of their choice to create applications comprising only of HTML and Javascript.  This revolutionary technology combined with its tight integration of the browser, a database and web server, uniquely offers developers the opportunity to create web applications that run on the desktop after being unplugged from the web."

Sounds pretty interesting hey! Kinda like a Smart Client but without the need for a client install running fully in the browser. I know we have had some very interesting discussions about how Smart Client technology will effect our future as classic Web Developers, but this technology, if done right, may offer an alternative. And, its made by a couple of Aussies :) Will be interesting how this pans out. I'm going to join up for the pioneers program, when the site is available again :S

As many other sysadmins around the globe know, the 2nd Tuesday of every month is Patch Tuesday - MS releases patches for any vulnerabilities found in the last month. Now sysadmin is a small part of my job thanks to the top guys that run the network here, but they are also my responsibility, so I like to keep my hands dirty as well :)

We are in the process of tweaking our patch management process, and I came across this very interesting article about how a security team in the US and Canada handles these days. Great read:

http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,98845,00.html

Like almost everyone else out there, I have a lot of respect for the guys from Microsoft Research. Littered with some of the greatest minds available today, they do some great work. I just came across some work they have been doing that has been rolled into my favorite MS product, VS 05. Interesting read:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/oct05/10-31TechTransfer.mspx