She Dreams In Digital

Two for Tues - Earth Week!

Sya — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:56:36 -0400

Clever Texting

Sya — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:29:48 -0500

CleverTexting is a new texting technology that predicts letters as you type, but unlike it's predecessors, it is based on the statistical nature of a language therefore, it does not require a dictionary. That means that the download is compact, and it implemented, it takes up very little space. It's also easy to install on any phone that supports java. CleverTexting provides a smoother, seamless typing experience using dynamic key assignment so users can experience faster typing, no interventions, no multitaps, and no mode changes. I am told they are currently developing a touch-screen version, due to be released soon. The software is absolutely free to use and distribute, so check it out...

...and another cool little tidbit, the awesome artwork included in the app is mine, with permission.

By the way, you may want to go check out http://www.butterscotch.com/ces for daily coverage of the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas!

Check us out at butterscotch.com

Sya — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:26:33 -0500

Those of you who are close friends and family have heard me mention the video tutorials I've been doing lately for the top-secret project Tucows would be launching. Well, today is the big day! I'm proud to announce the public beta launch of the tech-tasty, download-delicious, butteriffic butterscotch!

butterscotch.com is an exciting new technology video content site aimed at technology enthusiasts. Think HGTV meets TechTV for people that love technology, but don't consider themselves geeks. The site will incorporate the Tucows.com file library, bringing in its 10 million unique monthly visitors to the new brand.

butterscotch also offers step-by-step video tutorials, and that's where I come in. Our tutorials offer computer tips and tricks explained in plain English, without all the jargon, so they are easy to follow along with. Short, sweet and to the point, we offer practical advice you can start using right away to save time, money and headaches. Our goal is to help you get the most out of your computer and gadgets.

So check it out and let me know what you think! Remember, it's still in beta; I hear word of official launch after the new year. We'll be adding much more content in the weeks ahead, so stay tuned!

Ubiquity 0.1

Sya — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:38:23 -0400

Get the download from Mozilla Labs

Selkie Rescue

Sya — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:00:44 -0400

If you've ever had the need to recover data from a hard drive thanks to malicious trojans, worms or a bad device error, you already know that sick feeling that washes over you when it suddenly hits you — it being the possible loss of all that data — and when it hits you, it's enough to throw you into a panic. It's the stuff you love, the stuff you want and need. It's your music, your family's important documents, private information or photos. It's that project you've spent a week completing and it's due tomorrow. I've been there. I think we all have at one time or another and if you haven't, knock on wood, because it truly sucks.

Better yet, just chill out. There's an easy resolution that doesn't require counting on your lucky stars, devoutly making backups, not even pre-installation.

Look What I did with Sprout

Sya — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:57:05 -0400

Sprout is an amazingly customizable and free widget creator. This one was super easy to make and publish on iGoogle. I was curious if it would actually show up in a blog post. This is just a test.

Update: It looks like it has lost the thumbnails for the second and third pages, though they are all there on the first. Overall, I'd say it's a pretty powerful tool. Make them any size using one of their templates or from scratch. You can even add music and video! At any rate, it's a quick and easy way for any type of business to set up their own little custom widget cuz widgets are teh shiznat. You know you want one of your very own. I want to make like a gajillion of them.

Click on the little "share" button in the lower-right corner to see a list of sites Sprout widgets are compatible with.

Vote for the SIAF People's Choice Awards

Sya — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:09:48 -0400

Love software? Vote for your favorite programs!

Your vote matters!

The Death of Blogging Integrity

Sya — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:22:27 -0400

On this, the 4th of April in the year 2008, I vow to you, my readers, that I will never post a "review" in exchange for payment. I will never fake enthusiasm nor accept advertising links from sites or products I do not stand behind. My integrity as a writer and the authenticity of this blog will not be compromised for a price. It should go without saying, but I'll also add that as long as I work for Tucows.com, any software review I write is (and has always been) of my own free accord, containing my own views. I have always been willing to risk my full-time position with Tucows by standing up for what I believed to be just and fair to the developers and visitors who actively seek our expert opinions. It's plain and simple, Tucows employees are not allowed to accept gifts or payment in exchange for a good review because it's downright unethical.

Because of sites like PayPerPost, Payu2blog, and Blogging Ads, it's getting increasingly more difficult to differentiate an honest review of a product or service from the masses of advertisements disguised as actual content. You've probably heard the buzz before, but I feel compelled to rant about this because it truly disgusts me that so many people are willing to compromise their reputation as a trustworthy source and for such a small payout!

Read the full story --->

SDID's New Interactive Web Galleries

Sya — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:12:48 -0400

I just set up a couple of new galleries while I was reviewing Image Compressor 2008 for Tucows. Turns out, it's a fun but powerful software that does more than just compress images. It also has a photo editor that can import Photoshop filters and it's web album creation tool can recognize templates for Picasa. I found some really cool free ones over at Paul van Roekel's site that were super easy to implement and use.

The article I've written about Image Compressor went live over at Tucows on Friday.

And check out my new totally stellar interactive showcase galleries by clicking on the images below!

Fractal Showcase

Traditional Showcase

Me.dium - Official Release

Sya — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:20:22 -0400

Remember back in the post about SIC when I mentioned that the folks over at Me.dium were working on something really cool but I was sworn to secrecy? Well, it's finally the official launch day, so now I get to tell you all about it!

SIC 2007 - Denver

Sya — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:26:07 -0400

Got back from my trip to Denver a few days ago and have just now found the time to sit down and blog about it! Tucows was a sponsor at the Software Industry Conference which was held at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver, CO again this year so I flew in to represent. It was nice to be able to meet so many like-minded geeks who share my interest in computers and software! I attended last year too, so I noticed many familiar faces but lots of new ones too. I admit, I'm bad with names. Thank the gods they made us all wear our names around our neck on our passes or I'd have never kept them all straight!

Hear all about it and see teh rockin pics! Clickity click --->

Microsoft Greedy?

Sya — Mon, 21 May 2007 14:54:00 -0400

These links are last week's news, but they are good interesting stories so check them out... Microsoft takes on the free world and 101 patents Microsoft may infringe.

MS needs to start making some serious changes in the way that they build, promote, sell, and update their software. Maybe it's time to reconstruct our IP laws in this country. That's all I'm going to say about that, though. I'd much rather discuss the crazy look on Steve Ballmer's face in the CNN article. It's like he's saying "Yo yo yo! They be stealin our codes!" Maybe we should have a contest to see who can come up with the best quote for that pic. What you got? Sock it to me!

P.S. I am a self-proclaimed master of blurb blogging. Heh. My new sniglet... Blurgging: the act of blogging many short articles, usually less than a paragraph of text, and usually void of much feedback, input or thought provoking anecdotes from the author regarding the subject or collection of data presented.

I'm going to have to make a tagline.

SIAF People's Choice Awards

Sya — Wed, 09 May 2007 23:24:30 -0400

Hey everyone! This is just a reminder for those of you who have registered to vote for the SIAF People's Choice Awards (either this year or in years past) that voting is currently taking place throughout the month of May. The voting for these awards is hosted each year by some of the largest sites on the Internet, including CNET, Simtel, Tucows, PC World, and others.

If you haven't registered yet, all you need is a name and an email address. Just follow this link.

You know how difficult it was to narrow it down to 7?

BTW, Doc Rocks!

Me.dium Takes Social Bookmarking One Step Further

Sya — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 21:54:40 -0500

There is a word that describes my passion for all things WWW… it starts with a “J” and ends with “unkie”. My work and my hobbies require that I spend a lot of time online so I’m always finding interesting sites and fun stuff I’d like to share with my readers, friends and family. It started with an email here, an email there, then the development of this blog, followed by a number of different social networking sites, including StumbleUpon, which quickly became my favorite way of sharing my finds with an audience.

Not too long ago, a StumbleUpon user asked me if there was a way that he could see the sites I was visiting in real time. I thought that sounded like a great idea, but currently, StumbleUpon does not have a feature that will allow users to track their friends while they gallivant from place to place around the Web.

Then Me.dium came upon the scene and redefined the concept of social networking completely. It’s a sidebar plugin for Firefox that reveals the online activities of people who are browsing at the same time you are. Click--->

Ultimate Flash Face

Sya — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 16:13:41 -0400

I had loads of fun with this site that lets you create faces using a number of presets that you can customize by altering their placement, size, opacity, etc. You can even see some of the faces others have created and saved. Check it out...Ultimate Flash Face

Introducing FOSSwiki!

Sya — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:33:59 -0400

Introducing FOSSwiki, a list of over 250 Freeware and Open Source Software programs. Every program listed is spyware, adware, trojan and virus free. These programs were all hand picked for their excellence, some received high ratings when I reviewed them for Tucows and others were recommended to me.

I've been working on this project for a while now because I needed a place to keep track of all the software I recommend to my friends and family. Finally, the list has filled out enough that I think others will be able to benefit from this resource. I hope to keep it updated regularly as I often come across some really cool freebies. You can subscribe to the RSS feed to find out when new software has been added to the list.

Enjoy!

3D Fractal Rendering Project

Sya — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 21:40:44 -0400

Don Casteel won a First Prize award of $5,000 from the Sun Grid Cool Apps Developer Contest for his 3D Fractal Rendering project. The application assists in the creation, rendering, and animation of IFS fractals in full 3D as volumetric density fields.

It was insipred by Apophysis and ElectricSheep, written in 100% pure Java - J3D, developed in NetBeans with the ComputeServer module and rendered on the SunGrid computeServer. You'll want to check out the animated render to get an idea of what the program can do... amazing! Congrats on winning the 5K, Don!

SIC Update

Sya — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 12:42:33 -0400

This is part of the Tucows Content division, Greg Weir, Matt Bleicher, myself and Bob Gibson, waiting for the doors to open at the Shareware Industry Awards that were held Saturday night, July 15th. Ironically, this was the awards 15th year. When it was started, there were only 13 voters. Now people from 85 countries, all 50 states and every province in Canada participate in nominating and voting.

BTW, it's not every day your co-worker receives a standing ovation. Thanks, Doc, for all the hard work you've put into the SIC, SIA, SIAF and well... the SI et all! It's a pleasure working with you! (Oh yeah, and the awards dinner was delicious!!)

It was also a pleasure to meet all of the developers who stopped by our hospitality suite to chat for a bit. I have a long list of great software I look forward to reviewing both for the blog and for future Tucows editorials. If by some chance you didn't get a chance to say hello in Denver, you can always email me and send me information about your software. I'd be happy to take a look at it!

Now that I'm home (though tired and worn from travelling), I'll be posting again. In fact, there's some cool artwork and software I want you to see, so hang tight! We'll be back to our regularly scheduled program in a flash!

SIC Denver

Sya — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 16:31:10 -0400

Hi everyone!

I'm here in Denver, representing Tucows at the Shareware Industry Conference. I'll be here for a few more days, so I won't have time to update the blog, sorry. So far, I've met a lot of cool people and have had the opportunity to talk with some interesting software developers. I've been enjoying my stay; this hotel is beautiful. Michael Callahan, aka Dr.File Finder is on the board and hooked me up with an incredible room! Thanks Doc!

If you'd like to know more about what we are actually doing here in the Tucows Hospitality Suite, you might like to read this blog post by my co-worker, Andy Bourland.

I'll post again if I get a free moment, but most likely, you'll hear from me again next Monday! Enjoy your weekend! I know I will!

Web-Based Tools Teach Math to Students

Sya — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:48:32 -0400

"Troy, N.Y.— A researcher at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has uncovered mathematics embedded in the designs of various aspects of native and contemporary culture, from traditional beadwork and basket weaving to modern hairstyles and music. Using the discovery, he’s developed a series of interactive, Web-based teaching tools that are capturing the interest – and imagination – of students in math classes across the country." - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

All of these Web-based tools can be found complete with historical information and tutorials at Culturally Situated Design Tools, free of charge.

Love how they say this guy "uncovered and discovered" fractals and mathematics in native and contemporary designs. It's been widely known for some time now. But the site is a geat resource for folks of all ages, he even has a section on modern day graffiti. I'd like to see him do an applet for mandalas or kaleidoscopes with references to middle-eastern culture as well.

The People's Choice Awards

Sya — Mon, 01 May 2006 12:28:55 -0400

The Software Industry Conference is right around the corner, and with it comes the Shareware Industry Awards Foundation's annual People's Choice Awards. Got a favorite piece of software that you'd like to nominate for an award? Votes can be cast from May 1st to May 31st at the official voting site!

Google Sketchup

Sya — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 14:50:22 -0400

Google SketchUp is an easy-to-learn 3D modeling program that lets users create models of houses, sheds, decks, and other home improvement projects for free! This program has a number practical of uses, from interior design and architecture to landscaping and mechanical design. Once you've created your 3D project, you can share them with others and print your plans. You can even export your model to Google Earth

Draw shapes then push and pull them to the size you like. Create details, apply textures... the sky's the limit! SketchUp doesn't just stop at home improvements. You can create virtually anything! Why not visit the Gallery for a look at what other people have created using the program?

Never fear, there's also a Pro version of SketchUp approved for commercial use that enables the user to print and export large resolution images. Create organic shapes, export as MOV or AVI video and save other popular 3Dformats like DWG, DXF, 3DS, OBJ, XSI, VRML and FBX. Pro users also get free email technical support for 2 years.

Apophysis Tutorial

Sya — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 20:09:26 -0500

The download is a zipped, fully illustrated and informative, 17 page PDF tutorial designed for beginners. It was written in 2004 but the information within is still relevant for new versions of the application. The first part covers many Apophysis tips, including saving, editing and applying scripts, using hotkeys, mutating and transforming, saving parameters, changing gradients and rendering (using both HQI and Apophysis).

The second part contains information regarding Photoshop manipulation and recovery. Covered topics include basic color correction examples, using filters, layer techniques and a few other tips and hints designed to help beginners.

PLEASE NOTE: To view the pdf, you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher installed.

Apophysis Tutorial Download

Plasma Pong

Sya — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 09:42:34 -0500

Here's a free game by Steve Taylor called Plasma Pong that combines surreal colorful graphics with fun, fast-paced pong.

You can inject colorful plasma fluid into the environment, create a vacuum effect, and blast shock waves into the playing area. Every action has fluid-based kinetic effects on the ball which makes it harder to predict and control. I played this game for hours, completely mesmerized!

GeneDesign

Sya — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 09:32:03 -0500

Johns Hopkins researchers have announced the development of a web based program that helps to simplify the steps in designing artificial DNA. GeneDesign automates the process of determining which building blocks of DNA should be linked together in a particular order to make a gene.

“GeneDesign not only guides the user in designing the gene, but also automatically diagnoses design flaws in the sequence of bases making up the gene,” said Jef Boeke, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology and genetics and director of the High Throughput Biology Center at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Simplifying creation of artificial genes is important because slight changes in the choice of base pairs making up specific parts of the gene have significant effects on how the gene works and how efficiently it can be inserted into cells. “In the past,” said Boeke, “researchers had to use many different programs to address all the requirements of the separate steps of synthetic gene design.”

Read the full articles at John Hopkins Medicine and NewScientist.com

Hamachi

Sya — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 10:13:40 -0500

Wouldn't it be cool if you could organize multiple computers with an Internet connection into a virtual network for direct secure communication? Wouldn't it be even cooler if you could do it for free? Hamachi is a UDP-based virtual private networking system. It allows two or more computers to connect directly, even though they might be sitting behind different firewalls or broadband routers. Using Hamachi, users can access computers remotely, use Windows File Sharing, play LAN games, instant message, and run private FTP servers... for free!

The interface is clean, functional and polished. It installs quickly and painlessly, and uninstalls completely. The first time you launch the software, it opens a tutorial to help you get started. From there, it's a snap. My husband and I had it installed, running, and were able to communicate with each other in minutes flat. It's unbelievably easy to setup and operate!

Though it's still in beta, there are versions of Hamachi for Windows, Linux and OS X. Could this be the future of P2P?

Bad, Software! Bad!

Sya — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 10:52:18 -0500

There's bad news for malicious software this morning. A new site launches today that seeks to inform consumers about "badware" which can be defined as spyware, malware, and deceptive adware. The site is called StopBadware.org and it's aim is to become a central clearinghouse for research on badware and those who spread it, and to become a focal point for developing collaborative, community-minded approaches to stopping badware.

StopBadware.org points out that the badware industry is big business, amounting to a $2 billion-a-year industry. They say, "It's the Wild West of aggressive marketing and an industry supported by shadowy online marketers, small application vendors, and website operators."

"For too long, these companies have been able to hide in the shadows of the Internet," says John Palfrey, who heads the Berkman Center of Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and is spearheading the project. "What we're after is a more accountable Internet."

Google and Sun Microsystems are two of the corporate sponsors of this "Neighborhood Watch". Consumer Reports WebWatch is serving as an unpaid special advisor. Even with the backing of these high-tech heavyweights, StopBadware.org is putting emphasis on creating a community by encouraging the public to get involved and report their encounters with badware.

Adobe Acrobat 3D

Sya — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 15:10:42 -0500

The good folks over at Adobe are always thinking up new ways to make our lives as designers easier. They have just released a software product called Adobe Acrobat 3D, that converts 3D designs created in major CAD apps (Adobe provides a list of 29 supported CAD applications) to Adobe PDF. Probably the biggest benefit of this functionality is the ability to share CAD designs with those who do not have the expensive CAD applications without the need of specialty viewers. Users can capture their 3D designs from apps like 3D Studio Max, Maya, and Inventor in one easy step to create new PDF files.

Pretty sweet!

Review of Remote Administrator Apps

Sya — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 16:59:51 -0500

Recently at work I did an in-depth review of a program called Remote Administrator that claims to be 150 times faster than VNC. As part of this review that I did for www.Tucows.com, I compared the program to 5 of the most popular applications in the same category on our site. Here’s a brief look at how these 6 remote administrator applications stack up.

Freeware is Everywhere!

kylere — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 12:23:43 -0400

One of my favorite words in the English language for its meaning is free. Being a computer junkie, another of ...