Daryl Milne / Published News

Monkey waiters in Japan

daryl — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 21:37:28 CDT

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Hard pressed to find good helping hands these days? Not bothered that these helping hands may not be human?

Then you may want to try hiring the same workers as used by the owners of the Japanese tavern Kayabukiya.

The local hangout just north of Tokyo employs a pair of Japanese monkeys called Yat-chan and Fuku-chan to serve their customers.

The younger of the two, Fuku-chan, usually begins the first shift and is quick to hand out customers a hot towel to help them clean their hands before they order their first drinks.

Fuku-chan, who is four, has only two years experience under his furry belt and his work load is limited to hot towels.

Both monkeys are well appreciated by customers who tip them with boiled soya-beans to enjoy during their down time.

Kaoru Otsuka, who owns the restaurant in Utsunomiya, Japan, said he did not teach the sake-serving monkey its waiting skills.

Mr Otsuka claims Yatchan watched him serving customers and remembered how to do it.

"Lots of customers come to look at the monkey. He works everyday," said Mr Otsuka.

The simian, called Yatchan, is also used to serve hot towels to the grateful customers who give him soya beans as tips.

Mr Otsuka said the monkey also likes fruit, but was not fond of the sushi that the restaurant specialises in.

1 Vote(s)

What is the best Firefox Add-on?

daryl — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:45:34 CDT

What do you think is the all-time best Firefox plugin? Let me know in the comments below.

The c|net top 5 thinks that the All-in one sidebar is the best Firefox plug-in.

_ck_ thinks that Bookmark Backup is the best.

Kevin Magee thinks that Session Manager is the greatest add-on for those of us who use too many tabs

Electric Rider doesn't like advertising, he thinks AdBlock Plus is the best, ever.

Instant Badger loves IE Tab

Delicious Bookmarks is wasabi wonders favourite add-on.

What do you think is the best?

1 Vote(s)

Sun PDF Import Adds PDF Editing to OpenOffice.org

daryl — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:47:56 CDT

Adam Pash via Lifehacker
shared by 15 people

OpenOffice.org only (Windows/Mac/Linux): The Sun PDF Import extension imports and edits PDFs with the free Microsoft Office alternative OO.org. Rather than import the PDFs into the Writer program, the extension works with OO.org's Draw application. Once imported, you can still edit text or other portions of the document. The extension isn't perfect, but it appears to be under active development and could come in really handy under the right circumstances. The Sun PDF Import extension is free, works wherever OpenOffice.org 3.0 does. If you're looking to add more great functionality to OpenOffice.org, check out previously mentioned extensions like OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs, Writer's Tools, and LanguageTool. Want to learn more about whether OO.org can replace Office, check out our first look at the latest release. Sun PDF Import Extension [OpenOffice.org via MakeUseOf]

0 Vote(s)

Xoopit - Best Firefox plugin ever!

daryl — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:45:11 CDT

Firefox extension Xoopit turns Gmail into a robust, searchable media management tool for every piece of media that comes through your inbox. By indexing every attachment as well as every link to photos and videos from sites like Flickr, Picasa, and YouTube, Xoopit allows you to easily search for and find any picture or video and view it from directly inside Gmail. Imagine this: You're looking for a YouTube video that you were sent a link to recently, but you really don't know where to begin your search.

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1 Vote(s)

Why Plasma is Created with a Grape in a Microwave

daryl — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:42:16 CDT

In physics and chemistry, plasma is a partially ionized gas, in which a certain proportion of electrons are free rather than being bound to an atom or molecule. The ability of the positive and negative charges to move somewhat independently makes the plasma electrically conductive so that it responds strongly to electromagnetic fields. Plasma therefore has properties quite unlike those of solids, liquids or gases and is considered to be a distinct state of matter. Plasma typically takes the form of neutral gas-like clouds (e.g. stars). The explanation of the example, star, is a massive, luminous ball of plasma.
Source: Wikipedia - Plasma
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So what the heck is going on in that thing? Grapes are packed full of electrolytes, an ion-rich liquid (also known as "grape juice") that can conduct electricity. Each grape-part serves as a reservoir of electrolytes, connected together by a thin, weakly conducting path formed by the skin. Microwaves produce the energy that shove the stray ions in the grape back and forth very quickly between the two halves.

As a consequence, the current that's produced pumps excess energy into the skin bridging the grapes, heating it up to 3000 degrees and eventually bursting into flame. Meanwhile, the traveling electrons arc through the flame and across the gap, which ionizes the air around the grape creating a bright blue burning plasma (phew!).
Source: reallybored.net

Naked Scientists Podcast - Fusion - The Power of the Sun

We discover the source of solar energy this week - Nuclear fusion. But how can the process that keeps the Sun burning be harnessed here on Earth?

From http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/show/2008.10.19/

download

Huffduffed by
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1 Vote(s)

Mobile Metrix

daryl — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:02:25 CDT

More than 1 billion people in 120 developing countries, or over 15% of the world's population, have no official record of their lives. Being uncounted means being overlooked: for jobs, for education, for health care.

Using handheld computers, Mobile Metrix collects data on a variety of issues including employment, job skills, health conditions, education levels, finances, land and housing. We select outstanding young adults (averaging 16-24 years) to be data collectors in their own communities. We extensively train these youth (our MobileAgents™) in survey techniques, technology and professionalism to ensure the utmost data quality.

This information helps identify the most pressing community needs. Armed with information that captures their realities, Mobile Metrix connects community organizers with NGOs, governments and private enterprises to more effectively secure resources to meet real needs.

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1 Vote(s)

Radio Daryl

daryl — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:58:18 CDT

What's on my iPod?

Click here to hear the best audio on the web according to Daryl

Listen to interesting conversations and great music that I find on the web regularly by clicking here to download or subscribe to the mp3s.

0 Vote(s)

LINQ to Text or CSV Files

daryl — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:53:58 CDT

With the introduction of LINQ in C# 3.0, the life of a developer has become very easy when it comes to querying collections. Imagine you have a very large CSV file. Loading the entire file into memory (e.g. DataSet) and querying it with LINQ would be a huge overhead. This article will show you a quick and easy way to query large CSV files.

Read more here.

0 Vote(s)

New State of Matter Could Extend Moore's Law

daryl — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:48:48 CDT

rennerik writes "Scientists at McGill University in Montreal say they've discovered a new state of matter that could help extend Moore's Law and allow for the fabrication of more tightly packed transistors, or a new kind of transistor altogether. The researchers call the new state of matter 'a quasi-three-dimensional electron crystal.' It was discovered using a device cooled to a temperature about 100 times colder than intergalactic space, following the application of the most powerful continuous magnetic field on Earth."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

0 Vote(s)

jQuery Tech Talk by 12 Year Old Dmitri Gaskin

daryl — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:27:40 CDT

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"jQuery is a JavaScript library that stands out among its competitors because it is faster, focuses on writing less code, and is very
extensible. In this talk, I will explore jQuery and how to use it. I will start off talking about the basics of using jQuery. Then, I will
talk about building plugins. Finally, time permitting, I will take apart some plugins and talk about how they work, and I will show the
nitty gritty details of the library."

Speaker: Dmitri Gaskin
"Dmitri Gaskin drinks code with his cereal for breakfast every morning. He's a jQuery whiz and a Drupal know-it-all. He contributes patches for both Open Source projects. In the Drupal world, he maintains many modules, is on the security team, and is involved in the upcoming Summer of Code as a mentor and administrator. Dmitri has given many talks on Drupal and jQuery, in such places as Logitech, Drupalcon and live on a radio show out of L.A. When Dmitri isn't coding, a very rare occurrence, he is playing and composing contemporary music. And attending classes in the 6th grade. (He's only 12.)"

1 Vote(s)

Great new TED videos this week

daryl — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:12:24 CDT

Garrett Lisi: A beautiful new theory of everything
Physicist and surfer Garrett Lisi presents a controversial new model of the universe that -- just maybe -- answers all the big questions. If nothing else, it's the most beautiful 8-dimensional model of elementary particles and forces you've ever seen. Watch this talk >>

Paola Antonelli: Design and the elastic mind
MOMA design curator Paola Antonelli walks through the groundbreaking show "Design and the Elastic Mind" -- full of ideas, products and designs that reflect the multi-tasking, quickly shifting way we think now. (You can see the exhibit online.) Watch this talk >>

Virginia Postrel: The power of glamour
In a timely talk, cultural critic Virginia Postrel muses on the true meaning, and the powerful uses, of glamour -- which she defines as any calculated, carefully polished image designed to impress and persuade. Watch this talk >>

Dean Ornish: Healing and other natural wonders

Dean Ornish talks about simple, low-tech and low-cost ways to take advantage of the body's natural desire to heal itself. Watch for his jaw-dropping stats on the obesity epidemic -- and a few very compelling reasons not to go on the Atkins Diet. Watch this talk >>

1 Vote(s)

The Hobbit - Trailer (Lord of The Rings)

daryl — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:19:17 CDT

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1 Vote(s)

Wakoopa - Software Tracking Software

daryl — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:14:57 CDT

1 Vote(s)

Photo Album: Katikati Heritage Museum

daryl — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:29:58 CDT

Location: Katikati, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Date: Oct 5, 2008
Number of Photos in Album: 9
View Album

0 Vote(s)

Photo Gallery

daryl — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:31:02 CDT

Photo gallery from SlideFlickr, check out my photos on Flickr or Picasa Web Albums.

Default album for newly uploaded photos.Location: New ZealandDate: Oct 4, 2008Number of Photos in Album: 11View Album

1 Vote(s)

Unable to install the Spore patch on Windows Vista?

daryl — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:06:42 CDT

Unable to install the first Spore patch and have a Windows Vista machine?

First, make sure you have the EA downloader, the default install directory is C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\EADM, so navigate there and

- If the folder isn't there, visit http://www.spore.com/patch to get it.

- Close the download manager by right clicking the little green EA logo in your system tray and clicking exit.

- Navigate to C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\EADM right click on the spore icon, go to properties, compatibility, and tick run this program as administrator.

1 Vote(s)

Kiribati: A Sinking Nation

daryl — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:06:42 CDT

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Join the "Kiribati: A Sinking Nation" Facebook Group

1 Vote(s)

7 Podcasts for Geeks

daryl — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:07:06 CDT

Jimmy Rogers via MakeUseOf.com
shared by 5 people

If Ken’s podcast list last week whetted your appetite for high quality tech podcasts, you may find these just as pleasing. Not all of these are tech podcasts, but I think you’ll agree that geeks come in all types and sizes. So should their podcasts.
Technology/Science Podcasts
Obviously there are a million tech podcasts out there, but here a just a few that didn’t make it up onto the site in last week’s article.
They also happen to be a few of my personal favorites.

Buzz Out Loud
(iTunes Link)
“Buzz Out Loud” is probably one of the first podcasts I subscribed to way back when I got my first iPod (a 20GB black and white one, if memory serves - the click wheel was a new feature). Back then it was called “CNET’s podcast of indeterminate length” because it gradually increased from 5 minute episodes to 30 minute episodes in the first couple months. While it still has that tag line, generally the shows are always 20 to 30 minutes and have a pretty standard line-up.
Tom Merritt, Molly Wood, and Jason Howell (who mans the sound board) come together every week day to deliver the hottest tech news off the web and provide their frequently hilarious commentary about the internet, DRM, and the new ways we can use technology in our everyday lives. If you haven’t discovered the show at this point, definitely give it a listen!
NPR: Science Friday
(iTunes Link)
“NPR : Science Friday” takes a look at the biggest people and topics in science today. Host Ira Flatow interviews just about everybody who matters with a style that agrees with specialists and laymen alike.
Topics vary between the science disciplines, but if it’s important, you’ll almost certainly hear about it on Science Friday. The show is one of many interesting transcripts from NPR’s shows (on iTunes).
The Nature Podcast
(iTunes Link)
“The Nature Podcast” is a little more of a hardcore science show for the true science geek. Taken right from the pages of the prestigious journal Nature, the podcast covers some of the more detailed experiments and scientific quandaries around.
While the content is certainly more sophisticated, the hosts do a good job presenting all the facts and asking the questions you want answered. Best of all, most of the interviewers have British accents, which will add a little linguistic variety to your podcast collection.
Web Culture Podcasts
Sometimes, amid all of the ways we use the internet, we overlook the fact that the network itself is the world’s largest community. Here are a few shows dedicated to the way humans interact with one another.
Epic Fu
(iTunes Link)
“Epic Fu” broadcasts a little taste of the indie world right to your iPod. Of course the term “indie” is pretty subjective, but basically independent artists, creative protesters, and DIY fanatics are all par for the course at Epic Fu. Features, skillfully connected by the lovely Zadi Diaz, include stellar music videos, interviews with innovators in literature, and clever commentary on current events relevant to the citizens of the internet.
Another reason I love Epic Fu is that they recently brought Sarah Atwood on board, who you might remember as a top contender on Mahalo Vlog Idol. She’s definitely one of my favorite internet people.
Rocketboom
(iTunes Link)
“Rocketboom” has been around for about as long as video podcasting has been popular. They’re a bit of an institution. That being said, I am constantly astounded at how they have been able to maintain the quality of the show while still keeping their quirky, deadpan method of reporting the news.
Unlike most news shows where the host simply states an opinion, Joanne Colan presents the news in a unique way every day. Sometimes it is an enormous play on words. Other days, props or camera tricks play a role. A large number of episodes break away from the “anchor desk” style and go straight to wherever the news is out in the world. African and Middle Eastern correspondents are regular features. I think I like the show mostly because it reports news that the mainstream networks often overlook or consider unimportant.
Entertaining Podcasts
Sometimes you need to blow off some steam. Why not do it in a geeky way?
Ask A Ninja
(iTunes Link)
“Ask A Ninja” is pretty straightforward. People ask a ninja questions. He answers the people. Then he promises to kill them. Any questions? Now you know where to send them.
All silliness aside though, Ask A Ninja is a very funny show where a low-budget ninja describes the ninja underworld as can only be done in front of a blue photography screen.
Tiki Bar TV
(iTunes Link)
This one is a bit harder to explain. Unlike the above podcast, which is about as geeky as you can get, you might wonder how Tiki Bar got on this list. Well while it’s a show about mixing drinks and the drama that usually ensues, there is a more obvious reason for its inclusion. The show frequently features internet superstars like Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht from Diggnation, just to name a few. As one of the first video podcasts, it’s stood the test of time. Or at least staggered the test of time after a couple shots.
If you like hearing about great podcasts, TELL US in the comments. We want to cover what you’re interested in so let your voice be heard!
More from MakeUseOf.com :
- MakeUseOf Directory : Read about up-to 5 truly useful web apps on a daily basis.
- MakeUseOf ‘Geeky Fun’: - Fun Geeky Pics, Cartoons and Videos.
(By) Jimmy Rogers is a biology major at George Mason University and an avid freelance tech blogger. Check out his blog, Mason Tech Beat.
Tags:free, iphone, iPod, Podcast, science, tech, web, Web Video

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5 Vote(s)

SourceForge.net: Outlook LookForDuplicates

daryl — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:20:40 CDT

Find and remove duplicates easily! This VBA-Script with a form searches for duplicate entries of any type (calendar, contact, e-mail, notes, task, etc.) across folders in Outlook. Suspected doublets are listed and can be moved to the folder for Deleted Items.

Link & Download

1 Vote(s)

Obsessives: Absinthe

daryl — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:20:11 CDT

OxOGv6jHRKEView @ youtube.com Obsessives series @ chow.com

1 Vote(s)

Tame your Automatic Updates

daryl — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:46:42 CDT

Check out the shiz here:

# Go to Start -> Run.. and type: gpedit.msc
# Navigate to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update

1 Vote(s)

See my Spore creatures!

daryl — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:30:43 CDT

Visit my spore page!

1 Vote(s)

Serious baby... sometimes

daryl — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:18:12 CDT

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1 Vote(s)

The Internet Meme Megamix

daryl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:17:26 CDT

Starring MsBehaviour, Chelfyn & the Mistress.

Part 1 of 4
Dramatic Chipmunk, Exploding Whale, Badger Badger, The Fabulous Fail! Gallery, FSM in Russia.
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Part 2 of 4
Magical Trevor, How to Kill a Ninja, Strongbad on Techno & Dramatic Lemur!
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Part 3 of 4
See A Fresh Take on Toy Story, Where the Hell is Matt? and Chuck Norris Facts.
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Part 4 of 4
See the FSM in Germany, Lolcats Gallery, Napster Bad Metallica Good & The Prophet Bill Hicks.
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Source: the g33k show

1 Vote(s)

Startup Delayer Staggers Your Startup Apps for Smoother Loading

daryl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:08:36 CDT

Windows only: Free application Startup Delayer staggers the applications that launch when you log in to Windows by user-defined increments. The reason: To mitigate the common startup bottleneck caused by all of your startup applications fighting to run at the same time. You'd never try launching eight different applications simultaneously under normal circumstances and expect your computer to handle it well, so why should your startup apps be any different? To use it, just drag applications to the delay bar at the bottom of the window. You can visualize the time between the launch of different apps and drag-and-drop the delays until you've got the perfect spacing.
Via Google Reader Visit Link 5:45 am - Comment

15 Vote(s)

Auckland Flashmob

daryl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:56:11 CDT

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Click here to join the Facebook group and be a part of the next Auckland City flash mob.

1 Vote(s)

Studio Ghibli Trailer

daryl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:55:30 CDT

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1 Vote(s)

Computer sees Rubik's cube and solves it

daryl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:54:38 CDT

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CV Rubik is a C++ application that solves a 3x3 Rubik's cube. It uses a webcam to "look" at a Rubik's cube and generate a step by step solution in 3D graphics.

CV Rubik draws on knowledge from different fields of computer science such as Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence and 3D Graphics.

More about it at www.cvrubik.tk

1 Vote(s)

Boston Dynamics Big Dog

daryl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:51:29 CDT

Boston Dynamics just released a new video of the Big Dog on ice and snow, and also demoing its walking gait.

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1 Vote(s)

CSI: Scooby Doo

daryl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:47:16 CDT

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1 Vote(s)

NuevaSync - Over the Air Synchronization

daryl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:37:46 CDT

NuevaSync allows direct, over-the-air, native synchronization of certain smart phones and PDA devices with public PIM, and calendaring services including Google Calendar. NuevaSync does not need any software installed on your device because it uses synchronization protocols that are already built in.

1 Vote(s)

Aquarium for your toilet

daryl — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:31:12 CDT

The Fish 'n Flush is an aquarium for your toilet. According to the manufacturer's site, "Fish 'n Flush... makes a fun-fashion statement for the homeowner who wants to have something unique in the bathroom. It's $299 and fits most standard tank/bowl configurations. Toilet aquarium (Fish 'n Flush, via Dark Roasted Blend)

link
Comment

17 Vote(s)

Google to Get New Satellite Imagery

daryl — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:31:12 CDT

Unhappy with the quality of satellite imagery on Google Maps Google Maps and Google Earth Google Earth ? You’re in for a treat: Google has signed a deal with GeoEye Inc and will be receiving imagery from their new high resolution satellite called GeoEye-1. GeoEye spokesman Mark Brender claims that the new satellite will provide the highest resolution commercial imagery available, at .41 meters in black and white and 1.65 meters in color. Yes, that means: stay locked inside your house if you want privacy, cause it’ll all be out there in high-res on Google Maps and Google Earth for everyone to see. Link

9 Vote(s)

Protecting Your Cookies

daryl — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:31:11 CDT

Jeff Atwood via Coding Horror
shared by 6 people

So I have this friend. I've told him time and time again how dangerous XSS vulnerabilities are, and how XSS is now the most common of all publicly reported security vulnerabilities -- dwarfing old standards like buffer overruns and SQL injection. But will he listen? No. He's hard headed. He had to go and write his own HTML sanitizer. Because, well, how difficult can it be? How dangerous could this silly little toy scripting language running inside a browser be?

As it turns out, far more dangerous than expected.

To appreciate just how significant XSS hacks have become, think about how much of your life is lived online, and how exactly the websites you log into on a daily basis know who you are. It's all done with HTTP cookies, right? Those tiny little identifiying headers sent up by the browser to the server on your behalf. They're the keys to your identity as far as the website is concerned.

Most of the time when you accept input from the user the very first thing you do is pass it through a HTML encoder. So tricksy things like:

alert('hello XSS!');

are automagically converted into their harmless encoded equivalents:

In my friend's defense (not that he deserves any kind of defense) the website he's working on allows some HTML to be posted by users. It's part of the design. It's a difficult scenario, because you can't just clobber every questionable thing that comes over the wire from the user. You're put in the uncomfortable position of having to discern good from bad, and decide what to do with the questionable stuff.

Imagine, then, the surprise of my friend when he noticed some enterprising users on his website were logged in as him and happily banging away on the system with full unfettered administrative privileges.

How did this happen? XSS, of course. It all started with this bit of script added to a user's profile page.

src="http://1.2.3.4:81/xss.js"" />

15 Vote(s)

When To Use Magazine-Style Themes For Blogs

daryl — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:31:11 CDT

Steven Snell via Smashing Magazine
shared by 5 people

By Steven Snell
When designing a custom theme or deciding on an already-existing theme, bloggers have a lot of factors to consider and there is no shortage of options, particularly for WordPress users. A growing number of blogs are moving away from traditional blog layouts in favor of magazine-style themes; however, the layout and presentation of content has a major impact on visitors and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Key Differences
Magazine themes have a few characteristics that distinguish them from traditional blog themes.

Magazine themes only use excerpts or headlines on the front page, while standard blogs will use either full posts or excerpts.
A magazine theme functions more as a portal to content on the rest of the site. The magazine theme will give visitors a glimpse at what is available and it will direct them to go in whatever direction they like.
Magazine themes make more effort to organize the content of the blog and present what is most important, whereas traditional blog layouts will order front page content based on what is most recent.

A good visual guide for the distinction between a traditional theme and a magazine theme is the Gridline series. The first image below is the front page of Gridline Lite, a tradition blog theme. The second image is the front page of Gridline Magazine.
Gridline Lite uses an excerpt for the most recent post and smaller excerpts for other posts below that.

Gridline Magazine gets rid of the traditional blog sidebar and uses that space for more post excerpts and thumbnails. At the bottom there is also space for the most recent post in five additional categories.

Why Are More Blogs Moving to Magazine Themes?
While magazine-style themes are not new, their popularity has exploded in the past year or two. New themes are consistently being released (premium and free) for WordPress users. There are a few significant reasons for this trend.

A need to make more content easily available and to improve usability.A growing number of blogs are churning out post after post. With an increasing amount of content comes a need for better organization and presentation of that information. Traditional blog themes can make this very difficult while magazines themes will make it a bit easier.
The blending of blogs and websites.A few years ago most blogs were little more than personal journals. Now as blogging platforms like WordPress have become full-fledged CMS options, the line between a blog and a website is a bit more blurred. Websites that would not have used a blogging platform in the past are starting to convert, but they still need certain layout and functionality that is not possible with traditional themes.
An attempt to break away from the blog look.The standard blog themes are a turn-off to many visitors, and magazine themes offer more opportunities for a visually appealing design.
Multi-author blogs.Many blogs that use magazine themes are mutli-authored. These blogs will typically produce more content and have more variety of content, which makes a magazine theme more ideal.

Pros and Cons
Each style of theme has its own strengths and weaknesses. They should always be considered in the context of a particular blog in order to determine what type of theme will work best in that specific situation.
Pros of Magazine Themes
1. More content is featured on the front page
The primary reason for using a magazine-style theme is to show your visitors a greater amount of content from the front page. Of course, they’ll only be seeing small bits of information on several different topics, as opposed to simply seeing the latest post as would be the case with a traditional blog theme layout.
Most blogs contain a large amount of content and the tradition blog layout only allows for a small portion of the most recent content to be featured. Visitors may arrive at a blog with a magazine layout and see headlines and excerpts from 4 or 5 different posts above the fold. Obviously, this gives them more options and the chances are better that they’ll find something of interest to them.
2. More control over what is featured
Just as important as featuring more posts is the ability to easily control which posts are featured and for how long. The traditional blog layout will always give the most prominent location to the most recent post (although this can be modified to some degree with plugins). A magazine theme gives the blogger the ability to control what is featured by categorizing a new post appropriately.
The location of the new post on the blog front page will be controlled by the category assigned to the blog (in most cases), so all the blogger has to do is decide where the post should be shown and place it in the appropriate category. The ProBlogger front page has a slot for a recent featured post as well as a slot for a video post.

3. Potential for improved navigation
Magazine-style themes have the opportunity to make logical navigation easier for visitors because more content is visible on the front page and options should be made clear. However, a magazine layout that isn’t well organized can lead to more clutter and confusion. Those magazine themes that successfully improve the navigational experience for visitors will do a good job of separating the content so that visitors know where to go to find what they are seeking.
The front page of Dazed Digital makes it easy for visitors to see the various types of content that is available on the site, such as fashion, music, arts & culture, and photography.

4. More professional look
While there are plenty of blogs with traditional themes that are well-designed and extremely attractive, there are exponentially more blogs that feature a very typical blog theme that some visitors find to be boring. Using a magazine-style theme certainly doesn’t guarantee a more professional look, but because it can help to get rid of the typical blog look it can help to make a site look more corporate image and less of a blog appearance.
Boxwish is a new site dedicated to movies. It uses a magazine-style layout to give the site a very professional and attractive look.

5. More appropriate for large sites
The typical blog layout doesn’t work well for blogs that post a large amount of content on a consistent basis. Because it doesn’t allow for flexibility in terms of what is featured on the front page and because less content will be given a prominent location, there may be a lot of valuable content that is getting less exposure than it deserves. A magazine theme is better equipped to handle several posts per day without any of them getting lost in the shuffle.
Popvine is a celebrity news and gossip site that publishes a large amount of content. Its layout allows much more to be visible on the front page than a traditional blog layout would allow.

6. Can lead to better use of categories
Most blogs use categories ineffectively and inconsistently. Because the order and placement of content on the front page of a magazine theme is so heavily dependent on the categorization of posts, it can force the blogger to be more careful with the chosen categories, which may lead to more usefulness of the system.
Cons of Magazine Themes:
1. Can be more work for the blogger
Depending on the theme you’re using, you may be forced to use custom fields and to pay more attention to the length of your custom excerpts. The tasks involved with posting to a magazine theme are pretty minor, but they will typically take a few minutes for each post. In general, premium themes will be easier and less time-consuming than free themes. Developers of premium themes are much more likely to take the time to develop advanced options from the dashboard that will make things easier for users.
2. Blogs with infrequent posts can look awkward
Because magazine themes feature such a variety of content on the front page, a blog that doesn’t post frequently can leave older content on the front page in prominent locations for much longer than with a traditional blog theme. This can make the blog look more outdated and less professional. Depending on the subject of your posts they may or may not be time sensitive.
3. The appearance can be overwhelming or cluttered
Well-designed magazine themes will maintain a good balance and will avoid clutter. However, it’s very easy to end up with a jumbled look by using a magazine theme that tries to cram too much content into the spaces available. Overdoing it will cause some visitors to be overwhelmed with too many options that aren’t clear and they’re likely to leave without navigating through the site.
4. Price
A high percentage of premium themes available for sale are magazine-style. While there are some good free options, there are less quality choices than there are for traditional blog themes. Additionally, developing a custom magazine theme will typically be more expensive and time consuming than developing a traditional theme, primarily because there is some extra coding that is involved.
5. Requires more clicks from visitors
With a traditional blog theme that displays full posts on the front page, visitors may be able to read several posts without even clicking off of the hompage. With a magazine theme, visitors will have only very small excerpts or maybe just headlines on the front page, and they’ll need to click to a specific post to read anything.
6. May be unfamiliar to some blog visitors
Although many people find traditional blog layouts to be lacking in terms of attractiveness, those who read a lot of blogs will be very familiar with the standard blog navigation, such as category links, popular post lists, date archives, blogrolls etc. These visitors may be less comfortable with the navigation and usability with a magazine theme, although this is becoming less of an issue as more blogs are moving to this style.
Considerations for Choosing a Style of Theme
Looking at the pros and cons may lead to a bit of confusion for bloggers, because it’s not a one-sided issue. Because each blog has a unique purpose and a different approach to presenting information, each case should be considered individually to decide on the right style of theme. Here are some factors that should be considered.
1. Impact on Visitors
While many bloggers are switching to magazine themes because they find them to be more attractive and less like a standard blog, the impact of the theme on visitors should also be considered when deciding on the type of theme. As the pros and cons were covered, many of them were based on how the theme impacts the user experience. The navigation (number of clicks, familiarity, etc) will be one of the major differences between the two styles of themes. Additionally, the amount of content on the front page will be a major impact on the user experience. For sites that draw visitors looking for news-related topics, they like to be able to see a lot of headlines to find something of interest.
2. Impression of Size
Because many of the websites using a magazine layout are major news websites, there is a certain impression of size given to visitors when they encounter a blog with a magazine-style theme. Blogs using a more traditional layout may seem like a smaller site to new visitors than the same blog would appear if it were using a magazine theme. Although a traditional blog layout can give the impression of a smaller site, many blog readers will appreciate the feel of being on a more personal level with the blogger, as opposed to feeling like they’re on a large impersonal site with many different authors.
3. Frequency of Posts
It was mentioned earlier that magazine-style themes can look awkward or outdated if posts are few and far between, and for this reason the actual or anticipated frequency of posting should be a major consideration when deciding on a theme style.
4. Diversity of Content
The use of categories by magazine themes can do more than just control what content is featured and for how long. Additionally, magazine themes can help to separate content in a way that is easier to manage and more usable for readers.
For example, take the Macalicious theme layout. There are three slots on the front page for featured posts: Recent News, Rumors, and Tips & Tricks. Visitors can quickly see what’s available and they can visualize the distinction of content much better than they could with a traditional layout where all categories were lumped together in one loop.

5. Niche
While websites and blogs in specific niches tend to be similar to one another in their approach, the typical blog readers in various niches will also have some common expectations from the sites that they visit. If your blog is in a news-related niche, almost all other blogs in your niche are probably already using a magazine theme. In other niches it may be just the opposite. While being unique is generally a good thing, be sure that you’re not alienating a major portion of your readers by using a style of layout that makes them uncomfortable with the site.
Tutorials for Designing a Magazine Theme
If you’re looking to learn more about creating your own magazine themes, NETTUTS is the best resource available. They have several different tutorials that teach different approaches or aspects of the magazine layout.

Prototype a Magazine-Style Homepage Template with the Blueprint CSS FrameworkThis tutorial is a good starting point for learning the process of designing and laying out a magazine theme on a grid. You’ll be taken through the process of setting up the grid and the HTML/CSS code.
Build a Newspaper Theme with WP_Query and the 960 CSS FrameworkUsing the popular 960 Grid System you’ll be able to create a newspaper or magazine layout the uses WordPress’s functionality to control which posts are shown in different sections of the front page.
Build a Basic Newspaper Style Layout with WordPress and jQueryThis tutorial uses jQuery to create size-degrading headers that will keep your grid looking professional.
Build a Featured Post Section in WordPressMost magazine themes will have a prominent spot on the front page for posts in a featured category. This will allow you to highlight new and popular content in the right locations and not overpower them with subsequent posts that may not be as important.
Which CSS Grid Framework Should You Use for Web Design?This is an extremely in-depth article that explains the purpose of grid frameworks and lists tons of resources.

Darren Hoyt is one of the designers of Mimbo Pro, one of the more popular premium magazine themes for WordPress. On his blog he’s written a few posts that will be helpful for designers and developers of magazine themes:

In Praise of WordPress Template Tags, Part II: The Magazine LayoutDarren takes a look at the Mimbo theme (the free version) and how it manages to pull off the magazine layout. This article is obviously helpful for anyone using and customizing Mimbo, but many of the same concepts are applicable to developing your own magazine theme.
Creating Two-Tiered Conditional Navigation in WordPressWhile this type of navigation isn’t exclusive to magazine themes, these sites do tend to be larger and in greater need of more advanced navigation that the traditional blog.
Combining Featured Posts Within the Standard LoopWordPress users often want posts in magazine themes to be displayed in ways that can be a bit tricky. Darren provides an example situation with one of his clients and he provides the code for his solution to the layout issues.

HeadsetOptions.org has published a series of posts that break down the main issues regarding development of a magazine-style layout in WordPress:

Anatomy of a Magazine Style Premium WordPress Theme: Prelude
Part 1 — The Loop
Part 2 — DOMtab, Tabber, and More
Part 3.1 — Navigation - Second Lavel Menu
Part 3.2 — Conditional Navigation Menus

Chris Coyier of CSS-Tricks recently published a tutorial Creating a Slick Auto-Playing Featured Content Slider. Chris approach could be used to work with a featured post section on the front page of a magazine layout.
When developing a magazine theme for WordPress you’ll need to do some things with the loop that aren’t a concern with a standard blog theme, including the use of multiple loops. Perishable Press has a helpful tutorial that provides the code that they use for a theme with 3 different loops, the Perishable Press Triple Loop for WordPress.
Cats Who Code has a helpful tutorial for creating an effective navigation menu for your own magazine theme. You can learn how to create an advanced dropdown menu quickly in WordPress: “Magazine Style” Horizontal Dropdown Menu.
Speckyboy put together a nice collection of the Top 30 Modern Web Designs (Magazine Style Showcase). This post is excellent for seeing the magazine layout on some major news websites and others that certainly don’t feature a traditional blog layout.
Resources for Grid-Based Design
Many magazine themes are built on a grid to establish the structure of the site. If you’re interested in becoming more familiar with grid-based design, these resources can help.
Grids are GoodThis is a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation at SXSW by grid experts Khoi Vinh and Mark Boulton.
Five Simple Steps to Designing Grid SystemsMark Boulton’s detailed series on getting started with grid-based design.
Oh Yeeaahh!Khoi Vinh takes a look at how Yahoo could be improved if it were designed on a grid.
Grid-Based Design: Six Creative Column TechniquesSmashing Magazine’s look at designing on a grid. Sean Hodge takes a look at several different approaches to grid-based design with plenty of examples.
Grid and Column DesignsNick La of Web Designer Wall put together a gallery of 32 excellent examples of grid-based design and he categorized them to help demonstrate the possibilities and various approaches.
960 Grid SystemThis framework was mention earlier regarding a link to a tutorial. Nathan Smith developed the 960 Grid System in attempt to simply the development process for others. Give it a try and see if you like working with a framework or starting on your own from scratch.
BlueprintAnother CSS framework and grid is Blueprint. Several notable designers took part in the development of Blueprint.
YUI Grids CSSYahoo! also has their own CSS framework that can help for designing on a grid.
Free Magazine-Style Themes for WordPress
If you’re looking to use a free WordPress theme to or to customize one for yourself, there are several quality choices available.
One of the most popular free magazine themes is Mimbo by Darren Hoyt.

Branford Magazine is another excellent choice that was inspired by Mimbo and Revolution.

Rebel Magazine by default will display five excerpts on the front page and it also includes an area in the sidebar for video.

For more of the best free magazine themes, see:

20 of the Best Free Magazine WordPress Themes from Pingable
Free Magazine-Style WordPress Theme Gallery from Hack WordPress
45+ Free WordPress Themes with Magazine or Grid Layouts from WPZOOM

Premium Magazine-Style Themes for WordPress
While free magazine themes are becoming more popular, a very high percentage of premium WordPress themes available for purchase are designed with a magazine-style layout. Here are a few of the better premium themes.
Magazine News is built specifically for sites with lots of content and it’s built to support AdSense or other types of ads.

Darren Hoyt and Ben Gillbanks also offer Mimbo Pro, which is a more advanced, user-friendly version than the free theme.

The Gazette Edition is one of several quality themes offered by WooThemes. It has the clean, professional look of a major news site.

Fresh News is another theme from WooThemes. This one offers the user a choice of three homepage layouts.

Brian Gardner’s popular Revolution series includes Revolution Magazine, a very professional and customizable option.

Quommunication News is a clean theme that makes full use of categories.

For more of the best premium magazine themes, see:

Best News and Magazine Style Premium WordPress Theme Gallery from Premium WordPress
Premium WordPress Themes Gallery from Hack WordPress
100 Premium WordPress Themes from Outlaw Design Blog

About the Author
Steven Snell is a web designer and freelance blogger. He maintains his own blog at Vandelay Website Design.

19 Vote(s)

Enable Self Destruct Mode on Your Windows Mobile Phone

daryl — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:31:10 CDT

Although losing your cellphone is never an enjoyable experience, it's a much worse feeling when your mobile device is carrying more than just contacts. If you're carrying things you don't want anyone else to have access to—whether it's personal information or company secrets—on your Windows Mobile device, it's a worthwhile investment of time to take a moment to set up an extra layer of insurance against data theft. If you're using a Windows Mobile device it is possible to configure your device to essentially self destruct after a set number of failed access attempts. Check out the walk through at AskTheAdmin for the details on how to turn your Windows Mobile device into a self destructing data safe. Can I have my Windows Mobile device wipe its memory after failed logons? [AskTheAdmin]

8 Vote(s)

Cellphone Popcorn!

daryl — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:02:16 CDT

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YouTube videos that show a group of friends apparently cooking kernels of popcorn with their cellphones have been viewed more than a million times since they were uploaded last week.

The clever parlor trick (see embedded clip) looks amazing enough, but there's a hitch: It's not physically possible

1 Vote(s)

Bad Day at the office

daryl — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:29:21 CDT

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1 Vote(s)

Indonesian "Tree man" has Epidermodysplasia verruciformis

daryl — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:09:43 CDT

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (also called Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia or Lutz-Lewandowsky epidermodysplasia verruciformis) is an extremely rare skin disease characterized by the growth of scaly macules and papules, particularly on the hands and feet. Named after doctors Felix Lewandowsky and Wilhelm Lutz,[1] the condition usually begins in childhood and has no known cure.

Read more at Wikipedia

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1 Vote(s)

How to use web archives without downloading them

daryl — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:11:18 CDT

Percy Cabello via Mozilla Links
shared by 4 people

If you have ever needed just a single tiny file trapped inside a very large archive somewhere in the web, you know how frustrating it is to wait so long for so little.
ArchView is an almost miraculous Firefox extension developed by Solar Flare, that lets you access the contents of a RAR, ZIP and ISO archives (7zip should come later) and extract and view individual files without downloading the archive. For example, I was able to view and extract the checksum file and a few images from an Ubuntu 8.04 image without downloading the full 700+ MB file, a real time saver.

Once installed, ArchView displays clicked RAR, ZIP and ISO files (served through http, ftp or file protocols) contents in a familiar file browsing interface. You can then either open or save a file right-clicking on it and selecting Open or Save.
The status bar icon which lets you select an alternate HTML interface (that resembles pre-Firefox 3 FTP browsing), enable/disable ArchView handling and select what archive types to handle, seems pretty obtrusive. An option to disable the status bar icon would be very welcomed.
I would also like to see an option to save a complete directory and much better icons for files, folders and toolbar buttons which it really reads.
ArchView, is a handy add-on you may not need to install right now but may want to bookmark. It is available for download from Mozilla Add-ons.
Fore more details, take a look at this this screencast prepared by the developer.
Via Zona Firefox (ES).

8 Vote(s)