FunWithButter.com

SEAMonster Resizes Your Images with Pixel Microsurgery

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:53:00 +0000

SEAMonster Resizes Your Images with Pixel Microsurgery

via Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick on 4/12/09

Windows: SEAMonster harnesses the power of seam carving to micro-edit and resize your images while keeping important elements intact and undistorted.

Source image by The Meanest Indian.

Like previously reviewed application Seam Carving GUI, SEAMonster doesn't simply crop or scale an image it to knock it down in size— it looks for the patterns of pixels that aren't as prominent and remove them. Prominent features of the image are left intact, while the less tangible apsects are manipulated to resize the image. In the case of seam carving, a video is worth ten thousand words, so be sure to check out both the video from the inventors of seam carving and from the author of SEAMonster, available at the link below. SEAMonster is freeware, Windows only, and requires the .NET Framework 2.0 or later to run.

SEAMonster [via MakeUseOf]

Because It Doesn't Belong In A Rolodex

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:48:00 +0000

If we could all be this fun...

Because It Doesn't Belong In A Rolodex

via Woot! - One Day, One Deal on 4/9/09

Presenting a business card that will make yours look like one of the torn remnants of tickets littering the ground at the feet of a tweaked-out carnie. I have no idea if this type-A get-to-yesser is sincere or if this is a viral teaser for some movie or TV show. But if it's the latter, bravo! You had me at "Can you tear it? Absolutely."

OpenGoo

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:44:00 +0000

Freebie 19 of 24 in 24: OpenGoo

via Daily Cup of Tech by Tim Fehlman on 4/14/09

Freebie number 19 is OpenGoo. It is an open source web based office.

From the website:

It is a complete solution for every organization to create, collaborate, share and publish all its internal and external documents.

You and your team can create and collaborate on:

* Text documents
* Spreadsheets (coming soon)
* Presentations
* Task Lists
* E-mails
* Calendars
* Web Links
* Contacts

[OpenGoo: An Open Source Web Office]

The Monster List of Freelance Job Sites - 2009 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:44:00 +0000

The Monster List of Freelance Job Sites - 2009 Update

via FreelanceSwitch - The Freelance Blog by FreelanceSwitch.com on 4/15/09

Every freelancer needs clients. We rely on them, nurture our relationships with them, and provide a quality of service that keeps then coming back. And we can never have enough of them! The Monster List of Freelance Job Sites has one purpose: to massively increase your source of potential clients and potential jobs.

This list, like Isaac Newton, stands on the shoulders of giants. The original Monster List of Freelance Job Sites has been valuable and much visited since April 2007. Your hundreds of comments have greatly added to its value. This list is a thorough update, removing dead links, adding new sites, and taking on board many of the suggestions from your comments.

We start the list with FreelanceSwitch's own Job Board, which has categories for design, development, writing, illustration, Flash, and miscellaneous jobs, and at the time of writing contains a huge 200 jobs. You can see the available jobs with no strings attached, but to apply for jobs, you need to sign up, which costs just $7 a month. And you can advertise jobs at absolutely no cost.

Is this list now finished? I doubt it ever will be. Like the last list, it will become more valuable as you comment on which sites you found most helpful, inform us of sites that have been missed, and warn us when links stop working. And, best of all, get those jobs!

Traditional Job Listings

Classifieds job sites from around the web.

FreelanceSwitch Job Board
"Freelance Classifieds." Our own excellent and very busy job board. Registration at a cost is required to apply for jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, design, development, writing, illustration, flash, misc
Freshwebjobs
"A job board for web pros." Has postings for freelance and full-time jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, writing
Krop
"Krop is a Job Board and career resource website for creative professionals."
Location: anywhere
Job types: design, general web, general creatives
Sologig
"Sologig.com is a niche website specializing in connecting contract-to-hire, contractors, freelancers, and consultants with quality employers looking for independent professionals. Registration is free."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
No Agencies Please
"Fee-free direct recruitment for new media freelancers."
Location: UK
Job types: design, general web, development, writing
Programmer Meet Designer
"This is a site for programmers, web developers, designers, entrepreneurs and writers to find each other and work together to create websites that look and function great."
Location: anywhere
Job types: design, general web, development, writing
Blog Posts For Sale
"Get paid for blogging. Write about web sites, products, services, and companies and earn cash for providing your opinion and valuable feedback to advertisers. Disclosure required."
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing, blogging
PoeWar Freelance Jobs
This blog on writing has a large jobs section, including many freelance writing jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing
Aquent
"Welcome to Aquent, the talent agency for marketers and designers."
Location: anywhere - they have agents in a long list of countries
Job types: design, general creatives, marketing, advertising
Authentic Jobs
"An astutely savvy blend of talent & opportunity." List full-time and freelance jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web
Simply Hired
"Job search made simple." They have a good range of freelance jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
WritingCareer.com
"Expert career advice for writers and freelance writers."
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing
Design Crowd
"A Freelance Job Forum, built for freelancers, run by freelancers."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, misc
Writerlance
"Connecting writers with buyers." Includes hundreds of projects for freelance writers.
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing
CSS Beauty
"A project focused on providing its audience with a database of well designed CSS based websites from around the world."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web
Guru
"Find freelancers at the world's largest online service marketplace."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
Altpick
"The ultimate source for creative talent."
Location: anywhere
Job types: illustration
Coroflot's Design Job Board
"The only job board that gives you access to the full creative spectrum."
Location: anywhere
Job types: design, general creatives
FreelanceWriting
"Helping freelance writers to succeed since 1997." Contains a job board of freelance writing jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing
Craigslist
Craigslist have a successful general job board. First choose your location, then job type.
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
About Freelance Writing
Freelance writing jobs are posted three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing
Freelancers.net
"Freelancers.net is UK focused and lists many jobs and projects open to UK freelancers, however clients from across the globe use Freelancers.net regularly to source freelancers outside of the UK."
Location: UK and anywhere
Job types: general web
Freelance BBS
"Freelance BBS is a free web site connecting freelancers and businesses that outsource projects. You can search and post for free."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
Go Freelance
"The freelance work exchange." Paid registration required.
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
Sunoasis Jobs
"Sunoasis Writers Network has two primary purposes. 1. To get a vigorous community going so writers and editors can help one another as they help themselves. 2. To provide a space where employers and agents can find talent."
Location: USA, anywhere ("Unless specified by location jobs can be done remotely.")
Job types: writing
With Cake
"CakePHP developers looking to hire or be hired."
Location: anywhere
Job types: development (CakePHP)
The Burry Man Writers Center
"Resources for a worldwide community of writers."
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing
The CGnews JobBoard
A computer graphic news site with job board.
Location: anywhere
Job types: computer graphics
GeekUp Job Board
"Grassroots job listings for the Design, Development, Technology and Web Industry in the UK."
Location: UK
Job types: design, development, web
The AWN Career Connections
"Part of the Animation World Networks."
Location: anywhere
Job types: computer graphics
CreativeHeads.net
"CreativeHeads.net is the most comprehensive recruitment software solution for professionals in the Video Game, Animation, TV & Film, and 3D Technology & Software Tools industries."
Location: anywhere
Job types: computer graphics
Flay.Com
"News and resources for the 3D artist."
Location: anywhere
Job types: computer graphics, design, programming
VFXTalk.com
"Digital compositing and VFX." Includes a job board with a freelancing category.
Location: anywhere
Job types: computer graphics
JobServe Australia
An Internet recruitment service.
Location: Australia
Job types: all
Jobserve UK
An Internet recruitment service.
Location: UK
Job types: all
Jobserve US
An Internet recruitment service.
Location: UK
Job types: all
Jobserve Canada
An Internet recruitment service.
Location: UK
Job types: all
Chinwag Jobs
"Welcome to Chinwag Jobs - take a look inside for hundreds of online marketing, design, technical, business, content, usability, producer, account manager, e-commerce and search engine marketing vacancies."
Location: UK
Job types: design, development, marketing, illustration
EmploymentGuide.com
Job seeker resources and job search.
Location: USA
Job types: all
All Data Jobs
Job board powered by SimplyHired.
Location: anywhere
Job types: data
Filter Talent
"We connect exceptional creative and marketing specialists like you with continuous opportunities to propel your career ever upward."
Location: USA
Job types: design, web, marketing, advertising
Freelance-Seattle.net
"Welcome to the Pacific Northwest's ultimate Rolodex of freelance and contract talent."
Location: Seattle
Job types: all
ProZ
"ProZ.com is a translation workplace where translators, interpreters, translation companies and end clients can meet and work efficiently and profitably." Free sign-up.
Location: anywhere
Job types: translation
TranslatorsCafe.com
"Directory of translators, interpreters, and translation agencies." Registration is free.
Location: anywhere
Job types: translation
People4business.com
"Businesses & organisations can search for, shortlist and set up contracts with freelancers and contractors. Freelancers and contractors can post their skills to find freelance jobs in the UK. "
Location: UK
Job types: all
People4charity.com
"Charities & not-for-profits can search for, shortlist and set up contracts with freelancers and contractors – many of them offer significant discounts on their rates."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all, charity
Smashing Jobs
Job board for smashing magazine, which delivers useful and innovative information for designers and Web developers.
Location: anywhere
Job types: design, programming
FindNetJob
Job board for Net jobs
Location: anywhere
Job types: web, development, programming
Indeed
"One search. All jobs."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
AllDevJobs
"The design and development job board."
Location: anywhere
Job types: design, development
Gizmodo Jobs
Web, programming and development jobs
Location: anywhere
Job types: web, development, programming
ThinkVitamin Jobs
"Nourishment to help the web grow."
Location: anywhere
Job types: design, development, marketing, web, illustration
Startuply
"Startup companies, startup jobs." Post jobs for free.
Location: anywhere
Job types: development, design, general creatives, advertising, marketing
nPost
"We are dedicated to promoting startups, with startup jobs at software and internet companies, startup interviews, and tech networking events."
Location: anywhere
Job types: web, development, programming
Design Jobs on the Wall
"A job board by Web Designer Wall where creative professionals come to find and post job opportunities." Paid registration required.
Location: anywhere
Job types: design, development
Boxes and Arrows Jobs
"Boxes and Arrows is devoted to the practice, innovation, and discussion of design; including graphic design, interaction design, information architecture and the design of business."
Location: USA
Job types: design, development, programming
Wired Jobs
Job board for tech jobs.
Location: USA (some telecommuting jobs)
Job types: design, development, programming
Elance
"On Elance, businesses find the experts they need plus the tools to manage online work from hiring to collaboration to making payment. Elance offers companies flexibility, cost effectiveness and instant access to a vast pool of skilled and tested talent. Professionals use Elance to find work, deliver great results and get paid for doing what they do best."
Location: anywhere
Job types: web, programming, design, writing, translation, marketing
oDesk
"oDesk is the marketplace for online workteams, with the best business model for both buyers and providers. Our unique approach guarantees that an hour paid is an hour worked while also guaranteeing that an hour worked is an hour paid."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
Freelance UK
"Freelance vacancies from companies hiring freelancers direct."
Location: UK
Job types: all
FreelanceQ
"Serving up over 50,000 freelance job opportunities daily."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
Creative Niche
"We are a full service staffing agency dedicated to one area of expertise - matching outstanding communication, design and interactive professionals with the right companies."
Location: Canada
Job types: general web, translation, development, Flash, programming
Freelancewar
"We put the 'free' in Freelance. Free bidding, free posting, no commissions, no monthly fees."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
TheFreelanceNation.com
"The Freelance Nation is the umbrella website for 119 city-specific freelance job boards where companies post freelance jobs, freelancers find work and recruiters and staffing agencies source quality candidates."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
jobbi
"Search for jobs on jobbi and Every Job Site on the Web."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
The Job Poster
Job board for Web jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, design, development
CDM Jobs
"Creative, development and marketing job board."
Location: Canada
Job types: general creatives, development, marketing
Writing Job Roll
List of writing jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing
VirtualVocations
"VirtualVocations offers a unique service to those who are looking for high quality, credible, work from home positions. We are a job compilation service that provides our users with a convenient, time saving resource for applying to telecommute and work at home positions on a daily basis."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
ProBlogger Job Board
"The ProBlogger Job Board is where bloggers looking for jobs and companies looking for bloggers to hire meet."
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing, blogging
JournalismJobs.com
List of journalism jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing
Blogger Jobs
List of writing and blogging jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing, blogging, advertising, design, marketing, podcasting
WhizOlve
Where clients find freelancers and consultants.
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, general creatives, Flash, programming, development
SearchWebJobs
"A job board for creative and tech pros."
Location: anywhere
Job types: design, development, marketing, tech
LingoTip
"Translating the world."
Location: anywhere
Job types: translation
Post a Position
"Always free to post jobs."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, design, development
ContentCentral
"If you want to commission copy for a website, article or press release, you can post your project here in the relevant category. Freelance copywriters can then contact you directly to enable the project to quickly move forward."
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing
Outsource Your Logo Design
"Staff posts logo design orders that need concepts designed for them, and you fill them. All you need to do is decide which order from the 'Orders Receiving Concepts' you want to work on, than create a logo concept for it based on the order detail. Once Staff has approved the concept you upload the source file, your account will be credited the appropriate amount, and your job is done. The full amount in your account is paid out twice a month via the method you choose when you sign up."
Location: anywhere
Job types: design
Freelance Jobs Network
"We provide developers and webmasters the opportunity to expand their business and reduce their costs. There are no setup fees, no monthly fees, and it's free to post a project or view projects."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, design, Flash, writing, development, programming
I Can Freelance
"Its absolutely free to signup and search for freelance projects. If you have a skill there is sure to be a demand for it. You can make money while you are home and best of all its easy."
Location: USA, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Australia and more
Job types: general web, programming, design, writing, translation, marketing
ShortGig
"ShortGig.com Is A New Place To Both POST And FIND Temp Jobs, Quick Jobs, Side Jobs, Weekend Jobs - Anything That's Not Long Term Employment - This Is A 100% Free Service! - So Enjoy And Start Posting!!"
Location: USA
Job types: all
Blellow
Job board with a good freelance section.
Location: anywhere
Job types: all

Job Bidding Sites

These sites work a little differently, here you will bid for a job.
WARNING: Be careful that you don't sell yourself short on these places as they do tend to favour the clients.

Get A Freelancer
"We can help you find freelance programmers, Web Designers and Copywriters. We can offer freelance programmers, interpreters and graphic designers the ability to work independently. As a freelancer you can choose among hundreds of outsourced projects. Join free and pay only a small commission."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, developers, SEO, design
Elance
"On Elance, businesses find the experts they need plus the tools to manage online work from hiring to collaboration to making payment. Elance offers companies flexibility, cost effectiveness and instant access to a vast pool of skilled and tested talent."
Location: anywhere
Job types: web, programming, design, writing, translation, marketing
iFreelance
"Post your profile today and get access to 1000's of buyers in need of your professional services. Advertise to buyers, bid on projects, and earn money doing what you love to do. Commission-Free!"
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, illustration, writing, design
Freelance Work
"Freelance Work was created to connect freelance and contract professionals with qualified employers. Through our project and job seeker databases, freelancers can find their next great projects and list their qualifications so employers can immediately find them."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, development
RentACoder
"Earn cash with your high tech skills on 2,548 currently open bid requests. Then subscribe to our newsletter and receive daily bid requests from our 117,207 registered buyers."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, development
ScriptLance
"Connecting businesses with programmers."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, development
GetACoder
"Find Freelance Programmers, Web Designers and Freelance Writers for your next project. Outsource projects to your home country or to countries where labor is cheap."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, development
ProjectSpring.com
"Programmers, IT Service Providers (4 dollars per month - pay 12 dollars for 3 months - PROMOTION!) Bid for any number of Projects. Your Contact Information available to Buyer even before project is Awarded. NO Transaction Fee or Hidden Costs."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, development
Freelance Job Search
"Browse projects and find leads. No commission or subscription fees."
Location: USA
Job types: general web
Contracted Work
Bid on projects against other freelancers.
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
Freelance Auction
"Are you a web designer? Do you work part-time as a freelancer or as a contractor? Do you provide web site design, graphic design, logo design, flash, database development, related services? Get a freelancer account at freelance auctions to bid on jobs. Pay a small commission, if you are picked to work on the job."
Location: anywhere
Job types: development, design, web graphics, Flash, general web
PowerLance.com
"Your reliable source of freelancers."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
Freelancers.net
"Freelancers.net is UK focused and lists many jobs and projects open to UK freelancers, however clients from across the globe use Freelancers.net regularly to source freelancers outside of the UK."
Location: UK
Job types: general web
Project4Hire
"Project4Hire.com is the place to find Freelance Programmers, Web Designers, Graphic Artists, IT Professionals, Translators, Writers, Consultants & other Freelance Professionals. Find qualified freelancers willing to do the job within your budget! Post your project for free and receive bids."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
MacFreelancer
"Project outsourcing. Simplified."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all (Mac)
OnForce
"OnForce is the trusted nationwide network of over 12,000 highly-skilled service technicians, available when and where you need them."
Location: USA
Job types: tech support
Freelanza
"Freelanza.co.za is an online outsource portal for professionals. Clients may outsource work to the available service providers by means of posting jobs on the notice board. Jobs will be awarded by the clients, to providers as they see fit."
Location: South Africa
Job types: web, programming, design, marketing, writing, translation
AgentSolo
"Where freelance meets business - Canada's most trusted business network."
Location: Canada
Job types: design, web, programming, writing, translation, marketing
PeoplePerHour.com
"Outsource Your Work To Rated Professionals. Save cost by using freelancers and home workers. Stay flexible by hiring remotely on-demand. Find trusted professionals and pay only for results."
Location: anywhere
Job types: web, programming, marketing, design, writing, translation
BIZReef
Freelance Marketplace with a fee per job to contact the buyer.
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing, general web, design, development, marketing
Freelancer Store.com
"Freelance Programmer - Freelance Projects - Freelance Websites. This site is Totally FREE! We don't charge to post projects or charge after accepting a freelancer; which other websites do. We don't take any commission from freelancers; which other freelance websites do. No sign-up fees, No monthly fees, No commission fees. It's totally FREE!"
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, development, programming
Freelancer Listing
"Looking for Freelance work? Find the latest freelance job postings and bid on them absolutely FREE!"
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, design, marketing, development, Flash, writing
eTEQ.com
"Offering everything that project owners and freelancers could possibly need, eTEQ.com contains auctions, job postings, and freelance ads all for free. Project owners can post their projects for free and have the site's competent freelancers bid on it while freelancers, on the one hand, can also sign up for free and begin browsing for various projects up for bidding posted in the site."
Location: anywhere
Job types: programming, graphics, design, writing, translating, marketing, development, general web
ITMatch Online
"Are you a BUYER looking for outsourcing IT or BPO projects? Are you a PROVIDER looking for outsourcing IT or BPO projects? ITMatchOnline is the easiest way to find the right partner." Free registration.
Location: anywhere
Job types: graphics, design, writing, translating
DesignQuote.net
"The best site on the Net for professional designers."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, graphics, design, development, programming
MondayWorks
"International Service Providers at your Fingertips!"
Location: anywhere
Job types: graphics, design, marketing, writing, programming, illustration, web, translating
P2W2 (People To Work With)
"P2W2 identifies the right partners, negotiates terms, establishes the outsourcing relationship and manages projects for small business "
Location: anywhere
Job types: SEO, writing, marketing, blogging, development
Project Worm
"Builds bridges between Project Owners and Project Professionals."
Location: anywhere
Job types: graphics, design, programming, writing, translating, marketing, training
rfpDB (The Request for Proposals Database)
"Welcome to the Request for Proposals Database (RFPdb), your source for RFPs and new project leads. This site is free to join and there is NO fee. The site works on a credit system."
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
BidItOut.com
"Work on what you want, when you want and where you want to! The lifestyle of a freelancer is taking off and gives unparalleled job flexibility. By working as a freelancer online, you can greatly increase your client base and job throughput. Have the surety of being paid on-time with our trusted escrow system for payments. For the first time you can even work at home and tap into a global pool of suppliers across a huge range of industries!"
Location: anywhere
Job types: all
Savvylance
Bid on web, graphics and development jobs.
Location: anywhere
Job types: graphics, development
Jobloha
"It's a new way for you to find and get work done online. Jobloha is mainly being used by freelancers (Coders, Designers, Writers,…) but offers a great variety of remote work and local job offers. Whether you are looking for the right person to do a specific job for you or you are a freelancer looking for work, Jobloha is right for you."
Location: anywhere
Job types: writing, programming, general web, Flash
Jobshuk
"Outsourcing your project to Israel makes smart business sense - ensuring a balance of high quality, reliability & cost savings. JobShuk connects English-speaking freelancers, small businesses, and service providers based in Israel with the world."
Location: Israel
Job types: design, general web, programming, marketing, writing, translating
LancerGlobal
"Find qualified freelancers willing to do the job within your budget! Post your project for free and receive bids instantly."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, graphics, design, programming, writing, SEO
Freelance Projects
"All freelance projects at one location." Contains pop-up ads.
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, development
FreakLance
"Web and graphic design marketplace."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, graphics, design, Flash
The Superlancers
"Fast, simple freelance marketplace."
Location: anywhere
Job types: general web, graphics, design, marketing, writing, programming
United States Freelancers
"Freelance Website to connect International, Offshore, Outsourcing Freelancers and Freelance buyers. UnitedStatesFreelancers! We are pleased to announce that we have made concessions to allow for international, offshore, outsourcing freelance work. As the United States is a huge melting pot, so should our site be… United States Freelancers is open to all international buyers and all international freelancers."
Location: USA and everywhere
Job types: general web, programming, Flash, SEO, writing
DesignBay
"Get opportunities to be creative using the DesignBay marketplace."
Location: anywhere
Job types: design

Job Aggregators

As you can see there sure are a lot of job listings out there, so here are some sites that aggregate listings from elsewhere to make for handier listings.

Jobagg
"Aggregating Web design and development job boards."
Aggregating: 37signals Job Board, CSS Beauty's Monster, Authentic Jobs, Fresh Web Jobs
Job Pile
"The Job Pile aggregates the best job boards on the web."
Aggregates: Authentic Jobs, 37signals Jobs, FreelanceSwitch Job Board, Krop, Metafilter Jobs, FreshWebJobs, Slashdot Jobs, AllWeb Jobs, Coroflot Jobs
Joblighted
"Joblighted is a single page jobs aggregator."
Aggregates: Joel on Software Jobs, 37signals Job Board, CrunchBoard, Slashdot Jobs, Authentic Jobs Full-time, VentureBeat JobBoard, TechGigger Jobs, MetaFilter Jobs, Python Job Board, Krop Jobs, Coroflot Jobs, FreshWebJobs, Smashing Jobs, JavaScript Ninja Jobs, Ajaxian Jobs, Startuply, Ars Technica Job Board, nPost Startup Jobs, Jobs on the Wall, Boxes & Arrows Job Board, Read/WriteWeb Jobs, Hidden Network, RealWebJobs, Wired Jobs
Most Hired
"There's a job here for you."
Aggregating: Jobs and Giggs, 37 Signals Jobs, RealWebJobs, 37 Signals Gigs, Krop, Venture Beat, Authentic Jobs, GigaOM Jobs, Joel On Software, Crunch Board, MeFi Jobs, FreshWebJobs, Slashdot, CSS Beauty, MinistryCamp, Boxes and Arrows, Design Meltdown, nPost, Web Pro Jobs, coroflot, Most Hired, crispspot, Jobs on the Wall, searchwebjobs
YoSumo
Job board aggregator. Had some RSS errors on the page.
Aggregates: Joel on Software, Authentic Jobs, Gizmodo Jobs, 37signals, Slashdot, FreshWebJobs, Vitamin Jobs, CSS Monster
Freelance Writing Career
"I have just put together an aggregated feed of writing jobs that are offered on the big bidding and job posting sites (currently we are tracking 25 sites). Rather than having to keep track of all sites, you can view the available jobs in one convenient location."
Aggregates: Craig's List, Elance.com, GetACoder.com, Getafreelancer.com, GoFreelance.com, IFreelance.com, Indeed.com, Monster.com, ODesk.com, Project4Hire.com, RentACoder.com, Scriptlance.com, Yahoo Jobs, AgaveBlue.net, AuthenticJobs.com, BloggerJobs.biz, ContractedWork.com, CoroFlot.com, FreelanceSwitch.com, JournalismJobs.com, Krop.com, ProBlogger.net, VirtualVocations.com, WritingJobRoll.com
Lancepost
"One feed to rule them all."
Aggregates: "Lancepost is a feed aggregation website for freelance job posts on bidding sites such as scriptlance, GAF and RAC."
Freelance Job List
"Freelance Job List features thousands of freelance jobs in web development for: Web Design, CSS, PHP, Python, JSP, Flash, AJAX, Javascript, Java, C/C++, ASP, .NET, Joomla, Perl/CGI, Drupal, ZenCart, Ubercart, osCommerce, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and more."
Aggregates: This site seems to aggregate other job boards, including Get A Freelancer, Craigslist, Scriptlance Projects, Projects4Hire, Hot Freelance Jobs.

Sites with Occasional Freelance Positions

Mostly Full-time/Part-time, but occasionally a freelance position comes up on these.

nPost
"We are dedicated to promoting startups, with startup jobs at software and internet companies, startup interviews, and tech networking events."
Crunchboard Job Board
"Advertise jobs, startup services, and things for sale to the TechCrunch community."
GigaOM Jobs
"The GigaOM Job Board provides info on job opportunities for hi-tech professionals at notable technology-focused startups and companies around the world."
TechGigger Jobs
"The tech:gigger job board lists jobs at venture capital backed tech startups around the world."
Slashdot Job Board
"Jobs for nerds."
Joel On Software
"Great software jobs, great people."
Python Job Board
Job board for Python programmers.
Perl.com Jobs
Job board for Perl programmers.
MetaFilter Jobs
"MetaFilter Jobs is an area for sharing job openings among members of MetaFilter. If you're logged in, and your latitude/longitude is stored in your profile, you'll also see how far away each job is from you."
Creative Hotlist
"Job searches, portfolios and recruiting for graphic and web designers, writers, photographers and illustrators."
Go Big Network Jobs
"The Go Big Network connects you with the people that can help you nurture and grow your business."
Myspace Jobs
"Finding a job has never been easier."
Location: USA, UK
Careerjet
"Careerjet is an employment search engine."
Location: USA
Jobs.com.au
General job search site.
Location: Australia

International, Non-English Sites

Thankfully not all the world speaks English, if you're looking for a job elsewhere try one of these.

XPlace
"Express outsourcing."
Location: Israel
Job types: general web, writing, marketing
Freelancermap
Location: Germany
Freelance INDIA.com
"FreelanceIndia a common platform for freelancer. We help you in finding Project Work, Part-time Jobs, Assignments relevant to your field."
Location: India
Job types: all
Bumeran.com
Location: South America
Laborum.com
Location: Latin America
Trabajo Freelance
Location: South America
Joobs
Location: Romania
Pinoy Jobs
Location: Philippines
Motamot
Location: France
Okeli
Location: Sweden
Projekurdu
Location: Turkey
Circa Lavoro.it
Location: Italy

AlternativeTo Suggests Software Alternatives

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:43:00 +0000

AlternativeTo Suggests Software Alternatives [Software]

via Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick on 4/15/09

Whether you're looking for an alternative to expensive commercial software or just trying to get a feel for what's out there, AlternativeTo is a handy service for finding software alternatives.

AlternativeTo has hundreds of suggested alternatives in dozens of categories. You can narrow your search by license type and platform making it easy to search for Mac-friendly commercial text editors or freeware Windows image viewers. Even if you're not looking for something specific you can check out the "Most Likes" category and see which alternatives are the most popular and might be worth taking for a test drive. For more ways to find alternative software check out previously reviewed OSalt and own list of superior alternatives to crappy Windows software.

AlternativeTo [via DownloadSquad]

Avid giving away VideoSpin YouTube-friendly editing software

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Avid giving away VideoSpin YouTube-friendly editing software

via DVICE by CharlieWhite on 4/14/09

Avid, that video editing software maker that used to dominate Hollywood movies until Apple's Final Cut Pro came along, now resorts to giving its software away. VideoSpin 2.0, a variant of Avid subsidiary Pinnacle's Studio software, lets you quickly and easily upload widescreen videos to YouTube.

This QuickTime-compatible Windows software works when you're offline, too, letting you put together sequences with erstwhile pro features such as a fit-to-fill timeline. But if you want to compress your videos for iPod and Sony PSP, you'll have to buy a "SpinPack."

Considering that Avid's Pinnacle Studio is the most widely used consumer video editing software in the world, this can't be too bad. Might be worth a free download.

Avid VideoSpin, via Press Release

Productivity Tips from Tim Ferris

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:40:00 +0000

Productivity Tips from Tim Ferris

via What's Best Next on 4/15/09

Here is a helpful four minute video clip of Tim Ferris (author of The 4-Hour Workweek) touching on a few of his top productivity tips. The video selections include some of his thoughts on:

Single tasking
Selective ignorance
Parkinson's Law (a task will swell in perceived importance and complexity in direct proportion to the time that you allot to it)
Decreasing input and increasing output
How he can spend only 5 minutes a day on email in spite of receiving 550+ emails per day

Related posts:

Flash 10 Upgrade - NPSWF32.exe Won't Overwrite

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0000

A quick note on the new Flash 10 upgrade or new installation. If you are experiencing an error attempting to overwrite NPSWF32.exe, note that this is caused by a program using your current Flash installation.

There is a simple fix!

First, identify what program is using Flash.
Close all browser windows. Click "retry," and if that doesn't work continue searching...

The program for me was Google Talk Labs Edition. Right-click in the tray and "sign out" - that's all it takes to shut it down. After that is shut down, click the "retry" button on your dialog box. If that doesn't work, there is another program causing the problem.

Quickly identify what program is running that has locked the file.
To identify that, I used "Unlocker." You can download the Unlocker (currently version 1.8.7 at the time of this writing) from: http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/.

Install the software with the "Explorer extensions."
Then, navigate to the directory that has the NPSWF32.exe file in it.

My NPSWF32.exe directory was located in: C:\WINDOWS\System32\Macromed\Flash and yours likely is as well (Windows XP machines).
Right-click the file name and select "Unlocker." A window will pop up and will display for you what program is running.
You can kill it from there or close it down in a more friendly fashion through the program's interfaces.

After the offending program is closed, you're set - click "retry" on the Flash installation dialog and it should continue without a hitch.

Keep in mind that this same process will work for other programs with locked files as well!

The Origin of "That really gets my goat"

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:29:00 +0000

For those of you who have never asked "what is VOIP?" I can say with most certainty you have also never asked "what is the origin of 'that really gets my goat'." Now I'm not saying that the two questions go hand in hand. Nay, I'm not suggesting that the absurdity of the latter brings shame and disgrace upon the former. It's just that there are folks who like to go deeper into normal every-day life and reflect on the strange and absurd. "Artists," I believe they are called.

No, I kid... I keed... I keeeed.

I, too am lumped together with those who would dare ask both of these questions. You, too, have joined me. An odd and fascinating thing, it is.

"That really gets my goat" jumped out of my mouth today. I proceeded, then, to make goat sounds while pulling my non-existent air-goat by its non-existent collar. What's worse is that I asked myself the question, "where did that phrase come from?" and worse yet, began to seek the answer.

A quick Google search turned up nothing beyond a number of references with people using it in blog titles, on web pages, etc. There was also a reference to the origin of the phrase - that it was "unknown." I thought, "who would go to these great lengths of research?" Ouch! I've been hit with the arrow of irony.

In all seriousness, let's explore the origin of this phrase.

The phrase dates back to the middle ages and a particular provincial ruler named Francis. During this time, business transactions were not conducted using paper and coins but using cattle, birds and various other animals. Francis had a large herd of goats (they are called "herds" aren't they?) Because Francis had so many goats, the peasants were constantly attempting to steal the goats from him.

Naturally, due to the actions of the peasants, Francis became quite angry and was prone to spontaneous outbursts. As the years went by Francis became known as around the town as the "crazy goat man." As tends to be the case the richer one gets, he became more and more attached to his amassing wealth. He would yell and scream when anything was taken from him.

This period of history was also identified by stark honesty. When silverware was taken from a party, it was not uncommon for the host or hostess to proclaim, "they took my silverware!" When dinner rolls were taken, "they took my dinner rolls!" Communication styles and terminology changed with the growing society and before long, leading with direct terms "they" and "he" and "you" was out of style. Thus, as the styles changed and due the type of theft from Francis, his choice phrase became, you guessed it, "that really gets my goat."

Fascinating, eh?

Best of all, Francis had a son. Yes, that's right. A young prodigy. Francis named him, "Goat boy."

I think that just about does it. You may want to check this out on your own. Well, have a good day.

What is VOIP?

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:00:00 +0000

Perhaps this is not a popular question, but if you've heard the term and just don't know what it is then this post is for you! If this is not a question you have ever asked of yourself, you may quietly close this post now. VOIP, simply put, is a method of transporting voice information over the internet. The end result looks like a phone, smells like a phone, tastes like a phone doesn't work like a phone at all!

First off, VOIP is really an acronym. As such, it should be written V.O.I.P. but that's really a lot of periods so I shorten it to just VOIP. I think that's acceptable now. Here's what it stands for:

V - Voice
O - Over
I - Internet
P - Protocol

Let's unpack that for just a minute. "Voice" and "Over" are self-explanatory. "I.P." stands for "internet protocol" which is a method of forming bits of information that need to get from point A to point B so that it can go through the computers, switches, routers, etc. that form the internet.

For VOIP, the information that needs to be transmitted is your voice and the voice of the person on the other end of the line. A VOIP telephone system takes the audio from the conversation and turns it into packets of information. A VOIP telephone communicates (usually) with a central computer that knows the addresses of each telephone on the network. When the packets that make up your voice are sent to this central server they are then forwarded on to the address of the telephone they are destined for.

If this sounds confusing, think of this process like having a long-distance conversation through a series of written letters. To make this example more like VOIP, you would write and mail one letter for each word you want to say to your writing partner. You would write thousands of letters for each conversation and then mail each of them through the postal service. Every letter would need to arrive quickly and be coded in such a way that described the order in which each of the letters was supposed to be placed. The receiver would then receive the letters and put them in the proper order, decoding your message. That person would then repeat the process on his or her end. You would go back and forth with the person until your conversation was finished, upon which you would send a final letter saying you're done conversing.

VOIP is a lot like that - only the process happens with every nuance of your voice. Your voice is encoded many times per second, turned into little messages and sent to the destination intended for it. Incredibly, even though the destination may be on the other side of the country, the trip may take as little as 50 to 150 milliseconds to get there! That's 50 to 150 thousandths of a second. Wow - that's fast!

What are the benefits of VOIP for you?
VOIP offers lower cost phone calls because the phone calls use the infrastructure that is shared with the rest of internet communication - web pages, emails, etc. Instead of having equipment to simply transport phone calls like the standard telephone network does (PSTN), VOIP shares equipment for multiple forms of communication which lowers the cost of ownership of said equipment.

VOIP offers portability. Because the telephone number isn't tied to a particular location, but rather a particular handset, it's a lot like a cell phone. You can travel anywhere with your cell phone and it always rings when you're called - the system finds you. The same can be said of VOIP. The system will find you whenever you connect your VOIP phone to the internet.

Another key benefit for many people are the additional calling features that VOIP can provide. Because VOIP calls are processed in a computer while being transported it's possible to write very sophisticated functions that are costly or impossible to do with standard telephone equipment. These benefits include the ability to have multiple telephone numbers from different area codes, call recording, call transferring, group conference calling, and even placing calls right from a computer with no telephone needed.

For businesses, VOIP enables them to reduce the cost of installation. Traditional telephone systems require wiring to each location - and each wire designates a particular extension. That means that if someone moves offices, the wire either needs to be switched on the telephone system or the telephone system needs to be re-programmed to know what wire will carry the new extension. In a large business this can become quite cumbersome.

VOIP, on the other hand, enables a user with "extension 100" to simply disconnect his or her phone and re-connect it in a new location. It will communicate with the server for a few minutes and work just fine. That also means that the person could take their phone home, to the beach, or around the world - while enabling his co-workers to dial "extension 100" to contact him.

How do you get a VOIP phone system?
To begin you need a high-speed internet connection. DSL or cable is preferred. A dial-up connection just won't do. Provided you have a high-speed connection like DSL or cable, you can choose among a few providers.

For consumers, Vonage is a great option. They offer plans as low as $15 per month (+ tax) or $25 per month with unlimited local and long-distance calling. Call quality is great from most places and you can manage your account, including voice mails, online. They also have some advanced features such as voicemail transcription and emailing if you'd rather see your voicemail than listen to it. Adding a fax line or a second line is affordable and simple to do.

For businesses, Vonage for business, Packet8, or even finding a provider for Asterisk are all good options depending on the level of sophistication you need. Asterisk VOIP is a software system that can run on various types of hardware. It will require a level of support beyond Vonage or another hosted solution, but you can literally program it to do just about anything.

That's the basic scoop on VOIP. Perhaps it has immediate application for you, perhaps not. But it is in your future. Today, many long distance calls are converted to VOIP calls by the phone company while travelling through across the globe. Someday, you'll likely have a VOIP system in your own home.

Full disclosure: I use Vonage at home and I use Asterisk (with some cool custom stuff) at the office.

To learn more about VOIP, do a Google search for "VOIP telephone systems."

The Finest Coffee in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sun, 11 May 2008 01:00:00 +0000

My wife and I were fortunate enough to spend some time in Costa Rica a few years back. It was a great time to "get away from it all."

We had a lot of great experiences and met some new friends. We also stayed affordably right off the beach.

Some parts of the experience must remain there, but the coffee needn't. I'm a coffee lover and if you're a coffee lover like me, you're sure to find a great coffee online at Green Mountain Coffee. I recommend you give them a try. Let me know which one you think is best. We can trade coffee! How fun.

Weather Channel Changes Name

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:57:00 +0000

I have been known to make mistakes. Some are really obvious, some are not. I've also been known to razz the weather-folk among us about how the weather forecasts are so often wrong. It's must be difficult to get a good weather forecast, I'm sure. So I'll cut them some slack.

Today, however, this just struck me funny. Maybe I was up too early or something. Off a week of bad-weather news, the Weather Channel is opening up a new studio. They have the inside scoop on the new digs on their web site. It's the "studio of the future" as they call it.

What they didn't say is that they are also changing their name as the new studio broadcasts begins broadcasting in HD. In an effort to separate themselves from the normal news about "weather" and to differentiate from traditional "weather forecasts" they will, henceforth, be known as "Weater." No time-frame is given, but the transition is sure to rock the weather world.

Here's the large image of the not-so-well-publicized release on their homepage on May 10 - there at 6:30 and still there at 10:15. Look at the zoomed image that follows for further details. Oh, and tell your friends...

Answering the tough questions

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:00:00 +0000

I have been asked quite frequently why this blog is named "Fun with butter." It's a good story, and one I'm sure that the world would like to hear. I will give the short version here and you'll need to engage me in meaningful conversation for the longer version.

It all began one afternoon while walking over to the counter in my kitchen. I had been pondering domain names and how they are like real estate (more on that in a future post). All of a sudden it struck me that a good name would be "fun with butter." I rushed to my office and snapped it up.

What a buy. The end.

Knock, knock. Who's there? Smellmop. Smellmop who?

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:18:00 +0000

I apologize in advance for the tasteless humor in the title. I was dropped as a child or something. Can't really remember. It might also be my brother's fault. Yeah, that's it.

Crude humor aside, there's a real problem with that keyboard (and probably mouse) you're touching right now. It's true. Science as confirmed it and ABC News has let us know the extent of the problem.

Apparently your keyboard is, in fact, dirtier than a toilet. That joke you just read? Yep, your typing surface is dirtier than your potty mouth. How's that make you feel?

Fortunately, this feeling can be counteracted by the lovely scent of lavender. With a cup of water and 20 drops of essential lavender oil, you can disinfect your keyboard and anything else you can spray it on. (Note that these facts have not been verified).

I feel better already.

Tale of Woe Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:00:00 +0000

Tale of Woe Part 2...

I opened up the Netflix "Watch Now" videos and tried to see if there was anything to watch. Nothing looked good to Beth or me. I felt it best to simply attempt to salvage the soon-to-be wreck of the download instead. Beth quietly turned over and closed her eyes.

I went downstairs, plugged my old router into my new router and set that up. Only that didn't work either. So after marching up and down the steps a few times I took the laptop downstairs, disabled the wireless and plugged the network cable into the back of the thing.

Finally! Speed! The download was going to complete in 20 minutes! Remember that. It's an important number.

I stood around for about 10 or 15 minutes, holding the laptop because the network cable was too short to set it down. The download kept getting faster and I was thinking about finally watching this movie. But when the download said "you can now watch this movie" it wasn't fully downloaded. No, it was just buffered.

"If I disconnect this cable and go back to the wireless it may never complete!" I thought. And sure enough, I was right (probably for the first time this night!). Going back to the flaky wireless dropped the download rate again and it was all over. I felt the cold grip of defeat.

I took the laptop back upstairs, connected it to the TV again, woke up Beth and confidently said, "Alright, we're ready." It was now 10:40. Though I was, We were, in fact, not ready anymore. Beth was tired and asleep and as I write this (now 12:40 AM) I am still amazed at how calmly she responded to me waking her up. She said, "you can watch it if you like, but I can't. I'm sleeping."

Rightly so. I had discovered that the movie was only 20% downloaded, but "ready to watch," and the remaining 80% would download in 1 hour 20 minutes and climbing. Had we turned it on, we would have come to the end of that which was downloaded probably 40 minutes into the movie and we would have had to complete the rest of the movie at another time. Oh, but you only have 24 hours to watch it after pressing "play." I couldn't bring myself to tell her that the light comedy she wanted to watch just wasn't going to happen.

I laughed a bit more. Then I left the room and went down to my ubuntu install (which is working nicely, thanks). To obtain some level of satisfaction through this evening of mis-steps and poor judgment, I shall now pass on to you the morals of the story...

Obligatory Morals to the Tale of Woe

1. iTunes rentals do not play on iPods created before September 2007 (or some say 5th Generation). I did very little reading on the matter, but there is much discussion and speculation. None of it is worth reading (okay, it is, but not at this hour!), but I shall soon write a post on it nevertheless. Until then, just heed this word of warning.

2. Invest in high-speed, stable wireless. Yes, STABLE. You'll thank yourself (and maybe me) someday. If your wireless router isn't working well... Get a new one. If that's not an option (as it is not for me, for reasons left unspoken), buy a wireless access point or extender, or build a wifi extender yourself. I could make a clearer point through clever use of time-value calculations, but just take the advice - after all, you read this far! I will be taking my self-advice in the morning.

Lastly...

3. Never, never, never, never, never, never, never experiment with unproven methodologies on production systems. That's sort of a universal moral with direct application to tonight. I should have driven to the movie store and obtained the movie. That's what I should have done. It's a proven system - practically guaranteed to work. What I should not have done was what I did do, which I'm sure you also fully appreciate now.

Tale of Woe Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:15:00 +0000

I seldom have a need to "vent." Those of you who do, and you know who you are, will certainly share in my pain. I know that I am among friends. What began innocently enough about 8:30 this evening has turned into an all-evening adventure. My opportunity to sit and watch a movie before beginning the work week has been lost along with my wife's desire to unwind with some light comedy. As you know, I'm somewhat of a geek and overly patient with technology, but I arrived quickly at my wits end tonight. Without further adieu, I present to you my Tale of Woe.

Jason's Tale of Woe Part 1.
(Moral may be found at the end of the story)

(music queue)

"Turn back, turn back, turn back...." came the soft cooing of wisdom sneaking into my seemingly well-thought-out plan of not having to go to the movie store.
I should have known better than to have silenced that voice.

It began innocently enough. Beth said, "Let's watch a movie. Go to the store and get a comedy" to which I replied, "let's see if we can rent it on iTunes so I don't have to leave." I was playing around with my new ubuntu install, attempting to raise my geek to an entirely new level.

"Okay, I found it - can you download it to your iPod so we can take it upstairs?" she asked. "Sure, one minute, I need to re-boot."

A few minutes later I was re-booted back into Windows and had No Reservations ordered from iTunes (after updating my credit card). "Is it ready?" she asked, not knowing that the time table had been extended an additional 20 minutes due to the 1 GB high-definition download. "Uh, it'll be ready in 20 minutes - it's downloading."

In my brain I had done the math already. By the time I went to the video store and got the movie, came home and put it in, it would have been 20 minutes anyhow. So, I was still good. Just in case this was going to take longer I asked Beth to look on Netflix for the "Watch Now" feature - perhaps we could get it there? After a brief look, nope.

The movie downloaded from iTunes and I tried to get it on my iPod to no avail. A cursory look through Google results quickly informed me that it was not going to happen. Did you know that iTunes rentals don't play on iPods made before September 2007 (or thereabouts). You didn't??? Geez - everybody knows that!

Right... That didn't go so well. No matter, it was still a bit after 9 and I had time to pull this stalled plane out of its dive. Time would tell.

I thought to myself, "Self... Copy the file to your iTunes folder on your laptop and bring that upstairs and run the TV through the video out." So I tried to do that. Only, my wireless network was flaky and the copying was not going well.

(queue Motorola wireless router, stage left)
(crowd: boo, hiss, show no mercy!)

Yes, that's right, the wireless network was running somewhere between 1 Mb and 5.5 Mb, spiking to 48 Mb and then dropping back down. That never happened with my old Netgear router, but I was not going to change that out. Or was I? Not yet, anyhow.

So copying across the network was not going to work - but that was okay. I had options: Burn to a DVD and for backup, copy to a USB flash. And it was so.

Seven minutes later the deed was done. Files had been written and transported upstairs to the waiting laptop. The files were copied over and with a right-click "play in iTunes" the prompt came up, "Would you like to play this rental? You will have 24 hours to complete it." I clicked "Ok" and bam!

"This file has been authorized to be played on a different machine or device."

So there I stood... Laptop connected, playing on the 13" TV upstairs. And I laughed. I apologized, too, for taking so long. I said something like "I didn't think it would be this much trouble." Beth said that she knew it would. And I remembered the still, small voice, "turn back, turn back, turn back." But I laughed as well.

The end.

I wished. Um actually, no, it doesn't end there. This tale had just begun. Perhaps now you know my need to vent. Join me, will you?

So in my great understanding, I thought, "I'll get this on Amazon Unbox." Then we can begin watching this in a few minutes while the rest downloads in the background. At this point I did not totally recall the slow network issue that was sure to plague any downloading. I took the mental steps necessary to plan my attack and I clicked the "watch" or "rent" or "click here" or whatever it said button - and I had to download the Unbox player.

I downloaded the player and installed it, at which point the video displayed as "queued for download" with no way to move it out to the "download now or else!" group that I so desperately wanted it in. A minute or two later it began downloading... at 336k. My connection was jumping between 1 and 5.5, up to 48, back down to 1. It was crazy.

For the non-geeks among us, 336k is slow. It's much slower than this sort of thing should take. Yes, this Unbox download was going to complete in... drum roll... 15 hours. I laughed more. What else was I going to do?

Beth had already given up. It was now 10 PM - an hour and a half past the beginning of this idea and now almost to the point that a rented movie from down the street would have already been completed! My hole that I dug was now quite large and I was preparing to jump in. My task was not yet complete, though! If I could only find one more thing to try! March on, friend, I was not deterred!

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Simple Email Management Solution using GMail

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 19:18:00 +0000

I want to share the simple way I manage my email in GMail. Without getting protracted, here's the outline and the video for what I do. Watch the video and let me know what works for you.

My goals...

Process email more efficiently
Reduce mental overhead of managing email

How do I do this?

The inbox is for sorting; if something isn't sorted then it stays in the inbox
Sorting and Prioritizing email at the same time will help you focus on what needs to be done by limiting distractions. That will help you be more efficient.
Separating “to do” items from archived items will help clarify lots of email

Loosely, there are two types of email

Email that references things that need to be done
Email that references things need to be saved

In each of those two categories we need to sort the email into various categories. These categories depend on the types of email we receive. The searching power of Gmail is great, but it falls short when there is nothing specific to search for to retrieve a given email, but the email is related to a certain topic. This is pretty clear to all of us who depend on email.

Let's begin with the framework for how I sort my email.

First, as I mentioned before, there is email that action needs to be taken on. And truthfully, there is a priority to each item. I use a simple labeling system for that. I call it “DO”.

Because action needs to be taken, I want to separate that from archived items. I use the underscore character to differentiate between action items and archive items.

_Do/1 – high priority (today-to-1 week)

_Do/2 – medium priority (1 / 2 weeks)

_Followup – sent / waiting on someone else

_Project – keep handy – related to a specific project, but otherwise can be archived

Other folders of interest:

accounts

newsletters

P/Project

receipt

travel

Other notes:

Use color coding - it's great to see what needs to be done.

Use filters to pre-sort automatically into various labels.

The Pre-Ignition Catalytic Converter

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:29:00 +0000

Well, well... After a bit of research provided from a friend, I have found some of the truth behind the "Pre-Ignition Catalytic Converter," or PICC. What's really interesting, however, is that the PICC is, indeed, a hoax. It doesn't work and what's worse, I nearly fell for it from an ad in Popular Science!

The "Science of Fuel Economy" displayed on the PICC web site is a thing of beauty. It's really, really convincing and I was sucked in! But no more. Yes, that's right - no more.

Here's the scoop on Dennis Lee, the creator of the PICC:

http://www.phact.org/e/z/dennisLeeonstealsanddeals.WMV
http://www.phact.org/e/dennis.html
http://www.nmsr.org/denislee.htm

Read it all for yourself and make your own judgment.

For me, I won't be swapping out my catalytic converter for the ultra-efficient PICC that runs on water, used oil and lots more. No, I won't be havin' that.

Anyone Know the Science Behind This?

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:00:00 +0000

For those Popular Science readers in the crowd, perhaps you've seen this ad in your magazine. It's for the Pulstar Plug. Not just 100 times more powerful than your standard spark plug, no. It's 20,000 times more powerful. For added effect, let's repeat that: twenty thousand times more powerful!

I'm not a mechanic nor am I an electrician or a scientist. I don't really even possess an in-depth knowledge of spark plugs. If you are any of these, we welcome your expertise on the matter.

The Pulstar Plug uses some electrical components that I'm familiar with so I understand why it does what it does, I think. But is there some hard evidence to suggest that this kind of plug will really give you the benefits that the web site suggests?

The plug creates a more powerful spark because of the special "pulse circuit" which appears to be a capacitor of sorts. The explanations on the web site indicate that the intensity of the spark is then increased due to this. Because the spark is more powerful the combustion of the gas is faster causing an increase in horsepower and overall efficiency.

Again, I'm no scientist, but I'm open enough to believe this sort of thing. But I'd like to hear from someone more educated than me. What do you think? At $24.95 per unit, is it worth the investment?

Pearl Izumi Balaclava - Warm and Good Looking

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:50:00 +0000

Balaclava is such a strange word. I must admit that I had no idea what it was when I first came across it. I thought that what I was looking for was a "facemask." You know, like one of those itchy facemasks you wore as a kid that held in your moisture-rich breath until it was soaked through. I wasn't looking for that experience again, but I was looking for something to keep my face and head warm while riding in frigid temperatures.

See, I'm going bald and the temperature I perceive it to be outside has dropped significantly since I have less hair to keep the warmth in. So, when it's cold I must have a hat on or I get instant brain freeze. Combined with my desire to go biking while it's still cold out, I needed something to maintain body temperature and stay comfortable.

Enter the Pearl Izumi Balaclava. This isn't the facemask you're used to. It is a microsensor fabric that feels like a second skin. It's lightweight, stretchable and doesn't have any itchiness or fabric-related side-effects.

The day I received mine from Performance Bicycle via Amazon it was too snowy and icy out to ride my bike. I don't have spikes in my tires (more on that in a future post) or a Pugsley like Up In Alaska (full disclosure: I don't fully know what a Pugsley is anyhow!). I just can't ride on ice and snow. Fortunately for me there was a fresh dusting of snow and a driveway to be cleared, and the temperature was below 20 so I decided to test my new balaclava.

I'm excited to announce that it worked great. I, admittedly, had doubts that the thin fabric would work to keep me warm with no hat. But it did. It was great. My head felt warm. My cheeks, nose, ears all were comfortable for the 1/2 hour I spent shoveling. I can only imagine that under more strenuous activity that I would remain warm indefinitely.

The moisture wicking is great with the PI balaclava. Breathing didn't create a surplus of moisture on the fabric and though I sweat a bit around my neck the microsensor fabric wicked it away quickly enough that it was not noticeable. It didn't leave me with a wet feeling.

The fabric is really thin. It's light, stretches, has seams but they aren't uncomfortable. It's thin enough that it fits great under a helmet with no modification of the straps or pads. That's important for those of us who are lazy and don't want to make helmet modifications between seasons.

I did wonder when putting it on if my "five o'clock shadow" would wind up, over time, degrading the fabric enough that it would break down. If it does I'll certainly report it. Until then, however, there doesn't appear to be any problem with a little stubble. The microsensor fabric slides right over it and doesn't get stuck.

The balaclava is versatile enough that it can stretch below the nose or above it. This is handy as it's not always comfortable to breathe through fabric. During my first and second ventures I tried it both ways. Above the nose and below and both were equally comfortable. It felt less constricted to have the fabric below the nose, but it was warmer to leave my nose covered and didn't present any breathing difficulty.

The other consideration for below/above is when wearing with glasses. Wearing the balaclava above the nose does cause a gap between the skin and fabric that might cause moisture-rich air to fog up glasses. I'll test that out when I have opportunity.

To close, the Pearl Izumi microsensor balaclava is a great addition to my mountain biking hobby. It'll provide me the opportunity to ride at low temperatures so I don't go crazy inside all the time. I'll have more opportunity to use it in action this spring and I'll update if necessary.

View the Pearl Izumi balaclava options on Amazon or the manufacturer.

I do accept free promotional items

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 06:55:00 +0000

It won't sway me one way or another, but I do accept promotional products to test out. If I like it, I'll tell the world. If I don't I'll be quiet about it and no one will be any the wiser.

If you have something cool to test out, I'd like to hear about it.

A Bit About Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 05:47:00 +0000

It's that time of year again: review the resolution you made one month ago and decide whether or not it's really "sticking." Maybe it's time to resolve to resolve your resolution. Stick with it!

No, not that kind of resolution.

I'm talking about monitor resolution. It's a misunderstood concept and I cringe when I hear ramblings about screen size. Here's the basic scoop in my own words and a link to get more info from people smarter than me.

Display resolution means how many pixels there are on a screen
Pixels? Dots, that is. The more dots, the more stuff can be packed on the screen. Suppose you have a matrix nine dots wide and nine dots high. Suppose that same matrix were 1 inch square. Now suppose that you could shrink that matrix down to 1/10 of an inch. Well, you'd get 10 of those 9 x 9 matrices in an inch now. So it is with resolution - the higher the resolution, the more stuff on the screen.

Resolution has nothing to do with screen size
Okay, that's confusing I know. Sure, the larger the screen, the easier (and therefore cheaper to manufacture) it is to fit more pixels on the screen. But, there's no proportion that must be followed. In other words, a 17" monitor can run at 1024 x 768 or at 1280 x 1024 or even 1600 x 1200 if the manufacturers chose to make it so.

TV's run a really low resolutions.
Did you know that standard TV signals are only 320 x 240 pixels? Geez - that's really not much at all considering a "standard" monitor is 1280 x 1024 these days. High definition TV is a lot higher resolution than that, but your 17" LCD flat panel is higher resolution than your 52" LCD TV! By the definitions above, you'll fit less stuff on the TV than on your "tiny" monitor!

In other words, monitors have a specific purpose, as do TV's. Monitors use different signals and such and they're designed to display different types of information than TV's. As such, they have different capabilities.

Now you know a bit more about resolutions.

Why FunWithButter.com ?

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:38:00 +0000

That's a great question.
It's actually one that I don't have a good answer for. The simple explanation is that my mind works in weird ways and once in a while I give in to strange impulses such as buying a particularly odd URL.

The long answer is that I was standing in my kitchen one day and I was spreading some butter on a piece of toast. To preface this, however, you must understand that I usually have ideas like little marbles rolling around in my head. The best ideas seem to come when some of these marbles hit each other, which is what happened that fine day. I must have moved suddenly and as these marbles crashed together, I thought of the domain name, "FunWithButter" and frantically ran to my computer to see if it was available. To my great surprise it was - and I purchased it on the spot.

What to do with a domain name like this?
Well, even better was that I had no idea what to do with a domain name like this. But, being an upstanding individual I shunned the potentially bad connotations that arose and decided that it could, perhaps, be a butter related web site.

I'm not so sure anymore...
I have good ideas, I think. I like my ideas and people ask me what I think of certain products, ideas, etc. So, the new concept is that I'll share my ideas - the things I like - the things I dream of - here on FunWithButter.com. You're free to disagree with my ideas, add to them, sculpt them into something great, something ~~butter~~ better. Take them and run with them, make them um.... yours...

If you make it big-time with some of my ideas, or you're just thrilled by what you read, consider donating something to the cause. Help a brother out, eh?

You never know what'll come next. Be assured, though, that it's sufficiently valuable to me and might be to you as well. Don't miss the fun...

Dell 30 inch LCD Monitor - Says it all, doesn't it...

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:10:00 +0000

Yes, indeed (new phrase that's been coming up lately)...

In the middle of 2007 I invested in a Dell 30" LCD monitor and a new computer for my home office. This replaced what I had been working on for so long - my 1600x1200 Sony laptop display. Don't get me wrong - the Sony was okay for day-to-day work, but I do a lot of programming and the more stuff you can fit on a screen the better!

So, I broke down and bought it. I couldn't make up my mind at first. At a bit over $1000 (refurbished) it's a lot of money for a monitor. The manufacturers have their own ideas, but I did the math on the true cost of a small monitor. See if this doesn't strike you as truth:

With my smaller monitor at 1600 x 1200 resolution:

$55 per hour (you plug your own "value" here) = 1.53 cents per second
300 times per day scrolling up and down @ 5 seconds each = 300 x 7.65 cents = $22.95
100 times per day scrolling side to side @ 3 seconds each = 100 x 4.59 cents = $4.59
Total cost of scrolling = $27.54 per day

With my ginormous monitor at 2560 x 1600 resolution:

$55 per hour = 1.53 cents per second
200 times per day scrolling up and down @ 5 seconds each = 200 x 7.65 cents = $15.30
10 times per day scrolling side to side @ 3 seconds each = $.46
Total cost of scrolling = $15.30

So, my savings per day is $12.24 in productivity cost. Clearly, no one is paying me that... shame... At a cost of $1100 for the monitor, the break-even is only about 90 days.

It seemed reasonable so I took the leap.

When I got the monitor I found that I needed a new video card because the one built into the computer simply couldn't push the resolution that this monitor boasts. $200 later I had my new NVidia GeForce 88xx card and I was ready to go.

How'd it all work out? The investment...
I won't go back. I liked it so much at home that I bought one for work. Why? Well, every Monday through Friday we spend more hours at work than we do sleeping. We spend more hours at work during those days than reading a good book, eating good food or spending quality time with our families. An investment in making those hours more enjoyable and more effective is a good investment. Why make those hours more difficult than need be?

The productivity...
As you can see from my carefully measured success metrics above, an investment in a 30" monitor saves money - money that you'll see magically appear in your pockets. Okay, not really, but the time really is saved. Couple that real time not scrolling to find something with the immeasurable benefit of being able to keep your thoughts together because they aren't broken up by the arbitrary end of a screen, this huge monitor is a huge benefit.

The fame...
No one more important than normal has come to view this hugeness. But, it is bigger than my 27" TV and it has a better picture. Strange, but since I'm a geek trapped in a jock's body, having a big monitor feeds an unconscious need to do and have geeky things. No big screens here to watch the game - just a big monitor to program a Bayesian filter or something. Now doesn't that sound fascinating?

If you spend more than 4 hours a day at a computer screen or you do a lot of word processing, spreadsheets, web site browsing, programming or anything that is typically bleeding off the edges of your screen, check it out. The Dell 30" 3007WFP monitor.

More on what I like...

Big, big big
High resolution - 2560 x 1600 (more on display resolutions)
Built-in media card (CF, xD, SD, etc.) on the side
USB hub built-in
Can mount an optional speaker system beneath it
Looks good
Adjustable stand with a basic built-in cord manager
Buy refurbished for less at the Dell Outlet

What about you? Have you had a great experience with the Dell 3007WFP monitor or would you swear by another?

ING Direct - Online Banking, Great Rates

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:10:00 +0000

I'm an Internet guy. I work on the Internet. I keep my documents on the Internet. I'm heavily connected at home and at work. I like my life to be accessible from the web, the "cloud" as some folks have called it.

I don't have any particular name for it, but one thing that the Internet has done for us is lowered the cost of providing services. Similar to how mail order companies lowered the cost of ordering products because individual retail stores weren't needed, ING Direct has brought us low-cost banking via the Internet. What's even better is that ING Direct's low costs are passed on to the consumer via higher interest rates on checking and savings accounts and lower interest rates on mortgages.

As you know I'm not paid to say any of this, but ING Direct is really something to look into if you like online banking. ING also offers no-load mutual funds for the investment-savvy among us. If that weren't enough, they just bought Sharebuilder.com so you might find yourself loving it more!

Here's some specs:

High checking and savings account rates
Low interest mortgages (ARM)
Low interest home equity
High interest CDs
Easy online access
Online bill pay
No-load mutual funds
Easily create multiple accounts instantly online
Set up automatic transfers to and from accounts on a periodic basis

Here's a downside that bugs me:

Online bill pay only allows monthly payments (not a big deal for most people)

FunWithButter.com

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I do accept free promotional items

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