links for 2007-05-12
| No Comments | Posted in delicious |Pali
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Featured Windows Download: Remove photo obstructions with PhotoWipe - Lifehacker
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HOWTO: Integrate Tumblr with Wordpress | Techslut.net
Wordpress with Tumblr
How to use Google Reader smartly
| No Comments | Posted in web 2.0 |Pali
RSS feeds is a wonderful way to keep up to date with the happenings on the Internet in the areas you are interested in. Initially you would subscribe to a lot of RSS feeds till one day you find that there are too many feeds and you are not able to go through all the feeds. At that point of time RSS feeds become irritant rather than it being a tool to assist you and if this keeps happening a day will come when you would stop looking at RSS feeds because reading RSS feeds reminds you that you are not able to manage things.
There are a ton of RSS readers to choose from. One has to choose from online readers and offline readers. I 
would recommend using online RSS readers as an online RSS reader does not use the same amount of resources as an offline one. Having said that you might not be able to access the RSS feeds when you are offline. I personally have tried a lot of RSS feed readers and have finally settled down with Google reader and newzcrawler. Usually I use Google reader and use newzcrawler if I have to browse the RSS feeds offline.
Google reader can be intimidating specially for new users with subscription to lots of feeds. To overcome that I would suggest that the following
Use Keyboard shortcuts
You can use the shortcuts which are inbuilt or can make micros for the Google Reader. some of the inbuilt shortcuts that I use are
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j/k: item down/up
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o: open/close item
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s: toggle star
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m: mark as read/unread
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t: tag an item
If you want to become a geek as far as keyboard shortcuts is concerned please refer to the cheat sheet here.
Sort feeds by priority
Since Google Reader allows you to sort you feeds I use sorting based on priority so that I’m aware which feeds have to be read and which ones I can afford to ignore for a day or so.
Labeling and tagging
Labeling in Google Reader can be done using folders. Labels can be created by creating folders and a RSS feed is saved according to the subject they deal with. Google reader also allows to tag feeds and posts and using that you can later search the feeds if you want to retrieve some of the feeds. You can also label posts by using t + tag.
Notifier
Google Reader has its own notifiers or you can use third part notifiers which you can find on the Greasemonkey script add on
Smart Google Reader subscribe button
The Smart Google Reader Subscribe Button makes it easy to subscribe to a site’s RSS 
feed while also letting you know if you’ve already subscribed to that site. You can also use the bookmarklet on the Google reader page by dragging it to your menu bar once you are at the Google Reader home page.
Use Expanded View.
For optimum productivity, use expanded view. Expanded view makes it very easy to scroll all of your feed items and scan for interesting posts.
Discipline and time management
I found from comments by other users that optimally you should not spend more than 30 minutes a day to go through the RSS feeds. RSS feeds are addictive and you may find that they consume a lot of time and that becomes frustrating. Learn to ignore topics which are not interesting for later reading and move through posts fast and do not spend more than 3 minutes on a post.
Regular cleanup
Prolific users should clean their feeds once per week and others once per month. Always look to use new resources for the news on verticals as it takes away the monotony and also gives you new ideas and point of views.
Star items for future reference.
Google Reader enables you to quickly star items for future reference. This can come in handy for items that you want to refer to later.
Optimize your feed reading time by combining certain feeds into one large master feed.
This can be done using FeedShake. Feedshake allows you to merge, sort, and filter multiple RSS feeds. You can also use filters and tags to create a more customized feed. Yahoo pipes is another example that is used by a lot of users.
So dive into RSS feeds with this new information and I’m sure you will find interesting uses of the feeds you subscribe to.
Tags: bookmark, comments, customize, future, Google, IM, Internet, manage, online, podcasts, RSS feeds, search, Yahoolinks for 2007-05-11
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The Skeptics’ Guide To The Universe
The Skeptics Guide to the Universe is a weekly Podcast talkshow produced by the New England Skeptical Society (NESS) in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) : discussing the latest news and topics from the world of the paranorma
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Amazing Rube Goldberg machine using innovative set ups and executions, including cell phone, chess board, bow and arrow and a slinky. It takes up every room in a two-story house.
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On Startups - Advice For Software Startups by Dharmesh Shah
This site is for software entrepreneurs. A full RSS feed to the articles is available. Please subscribe so we know you’re out there. If you need more convincing, learn more about the site.
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Startup Dunia - Indian startups and Entrepreneurship
Hi, my name is Pranav Dharma and I’m based in Raleigh Ft. Lauderdale, USA.
There is a lot happening in the Indian tech scene - Web2.0, VC activity, startups, entrepreneurship, tech infrastructure, broadband, mobile TV. This blog is my attempt to captur -
VentureWoods - India Venture Capital and Startup Blog
This blog is an attempt to bring the Indian venture community closer together. All its constituents, right from the entrepreneurs themselves, venture capital firms, angel funds, lawyers, recruiters, investment bankers, incubation cells  the list goes o
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iLeher » New Startups Sub Catching the Internet Wave in India
Leher in Hindi means “waveâ€Â. iLeher is a guide to catch that high rising wave of Internet in India. Through analysis of news and events, case studies, comparisons of features, guest commentary and interviews with key players, readers will gain an in d
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Kiva.org - Loans that change lives
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout t
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When Graphic Designers Get Bored
Images that have been manipulated by a web designer
Data Sharing with Box.net
| 1 Comment | Posted in online storage |Pali
Box.net works as a virtual storage space for your computer files. Whether you want to move files among 
multiple computers, backup important data in the event of a computer crash, or share documents and photos with friends and colleagues, Box.net is for you. Here are just some of the recommended uses:
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Save backup copies of important files
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Move documents between your computers
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Use your Box to transfer files so that you can work on them in any location
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Setup sub-accounts for multiple user access
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A perfect solution for small businesses and workgroups requiring collaboration
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Store photos and other important memories
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Relax! Your priceless files and photos are always safe
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Share files or create online photo galleries
Box.net was originally founded in 2005 as a college business project with a vision of “making physical storage devices obsolete. It was launched officially in March of 2006 and currently provides secure online file storage and sharing functionality to over 750,000 registered users. Box.net separates itself from its competitors by focusing on usability and simplicity.
As an effort to simplify things the Box Widget has an Embeddable flash player that streams music, photos and videos within the player. Another feature are the public boxes which are a sort of blog for files, Box.net creates pages for users which feature media, photos, music and videos, rather than text. Box.net even backs up your backed up data, so all files are doubly protected (redundant) for even more peace of mind. Box.net offers many convenient ways to upload files to your account. You can do simple uploading to your account, drag and drop single or multiple files, save files to your account via email and load multiple files with the flash player 8.
When you make a file or folder public, which can be password protected, you’ll be provided with a unique web site address which can be accessed by anyone you give the link to. You can keep people informed about updates by creating RSS feeds for your widget. Sharing of data is taken to another level by Box.net by allowing the user to create a widget that can be place on a blog or a web site. Box.net’s mobile web site m.box.net allows you to access your Box.net account if you are a pro user. In the future the plan is allow upload through the mobile access to your box.net account. To facilitate things further box.net has a Firefox extension that can be used and also a WordPress widget which makes sharing your account a breeze.
While the lowest premium price starts at $7.95 a month, and the Professional price is $19.95 a month, Box.net does still offer a free account service which can be used for testing but to exploit the full potential of the application you will have to go for a pro account. Since Box.net is especially promoting their widget as a business solution, offering a way for businesses to keep storage prices low, and keep customers from having to redirect off their site to view media on another hosting service, I’m told there are plans to add features to the service with time.
Tags: blog, email, future, IM, mobile, online, RSS feeds, video, webPicSquare - Startups in India
| 2 Comments | Posted in Photo sharing applications |Pali
Two graduates for IIT Bombay, Manish and Kartik, started a service called PicSquare. Though most of the 
people call PicSquare a photo sharing service but I do not agree with that. The value of the service lies in what you can do with the photos. You can of course tag and share photos but the real value lies in the service where you can get photos printed not only on photo paper but also on products like calendars, t-shirts and greeting cards! For these services you have to pay but if you compare the prices to the existing prices in India for the same prints PicSquare charges 
half of the market price even if you include the postage and handling! In case you want the picture to be published on a product it will be tough to find a printing house who would do that and most likely they would require a bulk order meaning that you need to order prints in hundreds!
I did notice that the prices stated on some sites are quite high than what they actually are Rs. 3 for 4×6 prints. However you can get the photos printed in 4×6, 5×7, 8×10 and Passport sizes. You also get a free photo album in case you order 30 or more prints.I have tried the service and I must say the printing is good quality. Next I would like to try printing on mugs and you have the option to get a calendar, a greeting card and a T-shirt with your photo or a favorite photo printed. The detailed pricing is as follows
| Prints | Sizes | Prices (USD) | Prices (INR) |
| 4 x 6″ | 12¢ 9 ¢ | Rs 4.5 3.0 | |
| 5 x 7″ | 25¢ | Rs 9.0 | |
| 8 x 10″ | $1.29 | Rs 45.0 | |
| Passport size | 50¢ for 4 | Rs 18.0 for 4 | |
| Shipping prices for the prints are as follows: | Quantity | Prices (USD) | Prices (INR) |
| 1 to 50 | 99¢ | 36 | |
| each additional 50 prints | 50¢ | Rs. 18.0 |
For printing of objects you can refer to the web site for Picsquare.
The interface of the web site is simple which is plus as the web site would be used by normal people and no one should be intimidated by what they see or not know what they should do next.
I would recommend using the web site if you are in India and I think in days to come it will be a huge success
Tags: IM, style, weblinks for 2007-05-09
| No Comments | Posted in delicious |Pali
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RSS FEEDS FOR YOU
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