awareness test
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Archive for things to share
MobileASL
What if you damaged your hearing and couldn’t use a cell phone anymore? What about the millions of people who are deaf or hard of hearing? If you were one of them, would you want to use a mobile phone? I would!!
http://www.cs.washington.edu/research/MobileASL/
This is an amazing initiative!!!
we love video
We are definitely in the age of online video sharing. Whereas once, television was the primary means of video communication, now, the Internet has boldly stepped in to take its place. I have two things to share which will hopefully be very useful to you!
1. Much video online nowadays is flash video or .flv - At present, it is still a little difficult to save flash video (.swf is different and easier) to your computer. A great website which, if you give it the webpage the flash video is on (for example youtube) it will convert it to an .avi (DivX movie), for you to download. As far as I am concerned, this is GREAT! Especially if you enjoy watching things you download on your DivX enabled DVD player or on your computer [but don't want to go through teh hassle of figuring out how to play FLV files on your computer] (I do know of a nice little flash video player for PC which I like to use and is popular)
Check it out here.
2. Often you have a video in a format that perhaps you aren’t keen on using, or maybe the player that plays the video stinks, or maybe you would like to be able to burn the video onto a dvd but its in some odd format like ASF or MOV. I have found a free AWESOME all in one video format converter. (Converter meaning it changes the file from one format to another eg from a quicktime movie to a dvd (ie MPEG2))
It converts practically any file type you throw at it. I am currently changing an MOV to an FLV. (something I have never found a program would do) The program is called SUPER © Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, and is produced by a company called ERightSoft. You can read comments about the program, or download the program and freely use it. There is also a useful help video here. Highly recommended!
Starting things right
Now, I am still early in the game when it comes to start-ups, but I appreciate the insight found in this article. 10 principles start-ups can embrace in order to be successful in their endeavors. (This relates specifically to a computer orientated start-up although the author does say it can apply to any start-up. So anyhow, 10 things for a start-up to “be”:
- narrow
- different
- picky
- casual
- user-centric
- self-centered
- greedy
- tiny
- agile
- balanced
- wise (this eleventh one is given by me, free of charge)
Why greedy? You’ll have to check the article for details.
Source: evhead
I also have been listening to some great interviews called: “Change Artists: a CEO/CIO conversation”. Promoted by HP, One of the main goals of the show is to pick the brains of some of the worlds best business leaders, specifically in terms of how they manage and pioneer change in today’s competitive marketplace. (In their case, towing behind them huge enterprises) (Obviously promoting HP among Fortune 500s is also on the agenda) This has been extremely interesting for me and I have really enjoyed watching and absorbing years of wisdom and insight from some of today’s big heavyweights! I highly recommend you watch!
Presenting: portray confidence, prepare for success
I came across a great little article on bettering your presentation skills. Definitely worth a read. In essence, the author hits on two points: One - Apologizing at any point during your presentation can be one of the worst things you can do — even if it IS going horribly! Two - Pauses after being asked a question can be used with extreme success; don’t be pressured to answer too quickly! (Read more at 37signals)
Sharing is caring
I think I have finally realised that it is far more interesting to share all the cool websites I find on the blog rather than sending them out to a select few ppl. So here we go! Some choice nibbles of information worth chewing through:
1. For all who use a PPC, you may want to sync yours with your wireless connection. (Like me) If so, this is the only article I have found so far describing how to: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=443595&rl=1
2. Considering the environmental effects of cars? It may be well worth reading this 450 page report. If you don’t think you can stomach that much, perhaps the Cliff Notes will suffice!
3. If you are a man, it is vital that you watch this report.
