The My Techie Side blog has sort of fallen by the wayside... I had such hopes for this but it looks like it's not the right time for this yet.
I will continue it in the future, though it may not be this specific blog - it may take on a different URL or host or many different things...
But I do want to consistently blog about what I go through on a daily basis on technology. Not just for blogging purposes but because writing helps to ingraine what I just learned and opens up my thoughts to even more things...
And keeps a log of what I've been up to, doing, and learning in case I catch myself in one of those moments where I think... "what have I done with the last *year* of my life??"
So, though this blog may be shut down for a while, either it will eventually get going again, or I will post new info about a new technology blog. Hang tight with me!
Blog Speed Update
Well... I never did post an update about this but thats's because I never did find the post in any search results. My title and tags must have been too common. I will have to test this again with an obscure name and tags I can search for...
Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.2
Blog Speed
Out of curiosity, I’m posting this to see how long it takes for Google to index this entry versus the same blog entry into a Blogger blog. I’ll post the results.
Google Wave
Recently I have had the pleasure of toying with one of Google's latest technologies, Google Wave.At first glance, Wave looks like an enhanced e-mail system... which is a pretty cool thing within itself; e-mail is one of the most outdated technologies in use. Electronic communication has grown into so much more than what an electronic version of a paper letter can provide... but that subject warrants its own blog post.
Wave is actually so much more than what it initially appears.
Wave is a collaboration tool to be utilized by anyone and everyone, whether it's between friends, family, coworkers, classmates... or any combination of the above.
It all starts when someone initiates a Wave, which is similar to an introductory e-mail or conversation... and it lets loose from there. Collaboration happens in real-time. You watch as you and everyone invited into the wave reads, types, changes, and uploads all at the same time. It's not a static document that gets sent around.... everyone is looking into a window of what everyone else is doing and thinking right at that moment.
It is a living, breathing, fluid document.
It is dynamic... people can be added at any time, reply and share in the middle as well as the end, adding 'gadgets' for maps, games, drawing, charts, and so much more...
Wave is still in Preview and access to it can be requested here.
I can't wait until it is released to the general public... to use it for virtual meetings, study sessions, sharing pictures with my family...
I believe it will revolutionize the way I communicate with people. I hope it does the same for everyone else as well.
File Renaming
This is such a nice trick, I have to share it.
I recently had the task of renaming about a thousand files. Not the easy type of rename like appending characters or changing the file extensions; each file had to be renamed something specific. It seemed like it was going to be a very tedious, time consuming task, and I was quite upset about it.
However, I did (luckily) have an Access database that contained all of the current file names along with what I needed to rename them stored in a table... I decided there had to be a better way to handle this than manually changing every file name.
After a friend headed me in the right direction, I found applications that (based on their descriptions) seemed like they would do the trick, but they would cost me $30 - $50 or more. Since I would likely only use the progam one time, I was trying to find a free or open-source application.
I never did find one, but what I did find was a tip by borntoweb in a discussion board that explained how it's possible to export the data from a database to a .csv file, alter it, rename the file extension to .bat, and voila! A file renamer tailored to your needs.
I tried it, and it worked beautifully!
Here are the steps to rename multiple files based on a .csv file:
1. If necessary, export the data from your database to a .csv file. It is also easy to copy and paste the data from the table to Excel and save the Excel to a .csv file.
2. Alter the data in the .csv file so that the first column is blank, the second column contains the current file names, and the third column has the names you want the files named to.
3. Put the word 'rename' in every cell in the first column (without any quotation marks)
4. Save the .csv file, and close it.
5. Change the extension of the file to the .bat extension.
6. Make sure the .bat file is in the same directory as the files it will be renaming.
7. You should probably make a backup copy of the files before you try this for the first time...
8. Run the .bat file. Your files are now renamed!
It may seem like this is a complicated procedure, but it's really only a three step process - export the pic data, format the data in the .csv file, and rename the extension to .bat. After the first time, it's easy.
I recently had the task of renaming about a thousand files. Not the easy type of rename like appending characters or changing the file extensions; each file had to be renamed something specific. It seemed like it was going to be a very tedious, time consuming task, and I was quite upset about it.
However, I did (luckily) have an Access database that contained all of the current file names along with what I needed to rename them stored in a table... I decided there had to be a better way to handle this than manually changing every file name.
After a friend headed me in the right direction, I found applications that (based on their descriptions) seemed like they would do the trick, but they would cost me $30 - $50 or more. Since I would likely only use the progam one time, I was trying to find a free or open-source application.
I never did find one, but what I did find was a tip by borntoweb in a discussion board that explained how it's possible to export the data from a database to a .csv file, alter it, rename the file extension to .bat, and voila! A file renamer tailored to your needs.I tried it, and it worked beautifully!
Here are the steps to rename multiple files based on a .csv file:
1. If necessary, export the data from your database to a .csv file. It is also easy to copy and paste the data from the table to Excel and save the Excel to a .csv file.
2. Alter the data in the .csv file so that the first column is blank, the second column contains the current file names, and the third column has the names you want the files named to.
3. Put the word 'rename' in every cell in the first column (without any quotation marks)
4. Save the .csv file, and close it.
5. Change the extension of the file to the .bat extension.
6. Make sure the .bat file is in the same directory as the files it will be renaming.
7. You should probably make a backup copy of the files before you try this for the first time...
8. Run the .bat file. Your files are now renamed!
It may seem like this is a complicated procedure, but it's really only a three step process - export the pic data, format the data in the .csv file, and rename the extension to .bat. After the first time, it's easy.
Gadgets
As I am trying to get myself to write more often, whether it be blogging or tweeting or whatever... I am trying out more Windows Gadgets. I think with the gadgets sitting on the side of my screen already signed in and ready to go, that I will be more likely to post a quick message every now and then.
At the moment I am trying Blogger Buddy and Twitter Explorer. They seem to work so far; no glitches or anything... however, it doesn't look like I can add tags to my blog posts with Blogger Buddy, though it does have tools for adding pictures and hyperlinks. I will just need to make sure to add tags and spell check at a later time...
At the moment I am trying Blogger Buddy and Twitter Explorer. They seem to work so far; no glitches or anything... however, it doesn't look like I can add tags to my blog posts with Blogger Buddy, though it does have tools for adding pictures and hyperlinks. I will just need to make sure to add tags and spell check at a later time...
DNS Troubles - Final Update
Well... GoDaddy responded to my e-mail and said no one had changed my A-Records. Actually, what they originally said was that I was not using their name servers... which was incorrect. So I replied back that yes they do, and then they replied that no one changed my records but me...
I really wish I had taken a screenshot of the screen when I logged in to GoDaddy's site and was prompted for the A records... it had never done that before, so somehow something had changed - and I wasn't even home.
At this point I am considering changing Domain Registrars... I was perfectly happy with GoDaddy, but now I'm upset. It's not that my site was down, that's really not important it is just a personal site, but it's the principal of having my data changed by someone or something besides myself. I don't like that.
I believe when I signed up for Google Apps that Google offered to transfer my domain to them. I may take them up on that offer. Google hasn't upset me yet.
Anyone else out there have their A records mysteriously changed on them?
I really wish I had taken a screenshot of the screen when I logged in to GoDaddy's site and was prompted for the A records... it had never done that before, so somehow something had changed - and I wasn't even home.
At this point I am considering changing Domain Registrars... I was perfectly happy with GoDaddy, but now I'm upset. It's not that my site was down, that's really not important it is just a personal site, but it's the principal of having my data changed by someone or something besides myself. I don't like that.
I believe when I signed up for Google Apps that Google offered to transfer my domain to them. I may take them up on that offer. Google hasn't upset me yet.
Anyone else out there have their A records mysteriously changed on them?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)