Not Another IQ Test!

No, this isn't just another average IQ test. I came across this test (or rather, these tests) a year and a half back. Most tests I've seen are more about understanding of English than about intelligence. This one (although I still don't see how a test can measure intelligence) is far better. Take the "Ultimate IQ Test" and see if you score higher than me. I got a 139 last time I took it. Do tell me if you even attempt the "Test for Exceptional Intelligence". That one's sure to give you a headache.

International High IQ Society | Free IQ Tests

Creating Icons

SimpleBits | Anatomy of an Icon

If you're like me, you've always had trouble creating icons. I'll create all the huge paintings and designs but a 32x32 icon beats me! Well, here's an article by SimpleBits to the rescue.

Fontography!

A disagreeably facetious type glossary

From Microsoft. Pretty dry but to the point. I'll be reading it myself. I already know the basics but maybe I'll find something interesting in it.

ClearType Configuration for XP

ClearType Tuner Step 1: Turn on Windows XP ClearType

This is a fairly nice tool for optimizing ClearType on a Windows XP machine. It has better configurability than the Desktop Configuration tool.

You need Internet Explorer as browser to use it though. It works using an ActiveX cotrol.

A Free Offline Explorer

HTTrack Website Copier - Offline Browser

This is for everyone who's used Offline Explorer and wanted a free software equivalent to it. Use this HTTrack and tell me if it's any good. I just don't have time for offline stuff. Good luck.

New Yahoo and Hotmail

They say stuff like "Gmail's blown away" and "Much superior to Gmail" but the only thing I see is that they've turned the usual web-based mail experience to the usual desktop experience. Find screenshots of Yahoo Mail beta and Hotmail Beta and it looks just like Outlook.

Now I agree that the message preview pane is very helpful but Gmail's conversation view and tag system for archiving mails is very very useful. Why not incorporate those too? Web2.0 apps almost all seem to be using tag system simply because it's way more powerful and usable than the folder hierarchy system.

Just for the record, I find Yahoo's tab system very good too. I'll just have to wait to see how it actually works. I've only seen screenshots as of yet.

Linux back in demand

Microsoft's in more trouble. Google's great work with linux has finally convinced the computing giants that Linux is the only possible replacement to Microsoft's monopoly on desktop operating systems. Linux is now being backed by IBM, Intel, HP and others. I believe linux is the best replacement for Windows. If only the GUI was a bit stronger (and faster).

Some really good fonts.

These fonts may not be very versatile but they're good for formal stuff. Especially if you can't spend a fortune on Adobe's Fontfolio. Vitaly Friedman | Blog: 20 Best License-Free Official Fonts

Bookmarks on the Web

I've been looking for an online application for storing my bookmarks for ages and it was sitting right under my nose. del.icio.us is just the thing I wanted. I have yet to see though, how it imports my hundreds of bookmarks already sitting in my Firefox Bookmarks folder. The import feature is down for maintenance. *Waits*

ComponentArt Webui 3.0 and AJAX

If you haven't used WebUI3.0 for ASP.NET, you're missing a very neat component. Do give it a try. Neat menus, grids and other controls. This article gives an introduction to the AJAX features of the tool. ComponentArt - Online Documentation

The New Microsoft Office User Interface Overview:

The new Office (version 12) sees a total rewamp of the UI. I don't think this would be such a good move. People don't accept changed easily. As me and some of my friends are used to saying: "Never underestimate the stupidity of general public". Anyway, the change is going more towards Macromedia's Dreamweaver style tabs to group similar commands together. I think this will be welcomed by the geek community in general. Take a look at the new UI. It's only a preview. The New Microsoft Office User Interface Overview:

Windows Vista Build 5231 Screenshots

Joe Cashman's put these screenshots of Windows Vista Build 5231. Although you can only see the interface changes from these shots, they look pretty cool. I wasn't much for the XP interface but I think I'm going to move away from the Windows 2000 interface if I get something like this on my desktop.

The Intelligent Door Handle

Now that's putting technology to use! If that 'added advantages for elderly...' wasn't there, I would've said someone needs to get a life! As it is, it's a pretty neat trick. The Intelligent Door Handle: "Poromenos writes 'Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute have developed the intelligent door handle. It combines a camera, buzzer, RFID locks and various other systems inside the door, making keys obsolete. RFID chips for opening doors will offer 'added advantages for elderly or handicapped people, saving them the trouble of wielding keys or holding the door open in order to get inside the building.''" - Slashdot

Google Reader

Google's awake again. This time it's the RSS feed aggrigator. I've seen the famous Newsgator Online and I must say, although Newsgator probably had more features (although not apparent), the Google interface is much faster and easy to use. It's another step towards Google's online software. Looks good. It's still in the Labs though. Google Reader

Web 2.0: The Buzz

The Web2.0 Conference has just finished. What's Web 2.0? It's an idea (for lack of a better word) that people should be the publishers of content on the internet as well as the consumers. Here's a Wired news article on the conference. Lots of good links in the article. Follow the links to see more of the latest on the web. Wired News: Are You Ready for Web 2.0?

Amazing Blurred Backgrounds

Here's for those photographers who've been visiting my blogs. There must be someone. How to Create Those Amazing Blurred Background Photo Portraits by Wikihow. It's a nice enough article but assumes you know a little about technical stuff like aperture and f-stops.

Atlas Project

Of course, soon we're going to need an IDE to do all things AJAX for us. Microsoft's started working on this with Atlas Project. I bet Dreamweaver will have some support for it in the very near future. Probably as soon as version 8. In the meantime, we're going to need to know DHTML and Javascript to do everything by hand. I hate hand coding Javascript! Here's another cool tutorial on DHTML from Sitepoint. Search on webmonkey for a DHTML tutorial too. I love webmonkey's tutorial.

Another AJAX tutorial

Well, since no one's paying any attention to my questions regarding the use of AJAX, guess I'll have to go along with the current implementation of the technique. For that, I've found another thorough article. Ajax Tutorial: Ajax What Is It Good For? Please let me know if you find anything regarding AJAX. Tools, tutorials, discussions. But only if they're useful. I've seen lots of boring stuff around.

Adsense and Google

I recently came across this article that explains a lot about how Google's primary source of income Adwords works. Give it a read. Although it doesn't explain anything about the algos, the logic is pretty interesting in itself. Click here to see the article.