Why Sustainability Doesn't Apply to Ad Creative

The advertising industry is in the idea business. And though we're all for sustainability these days, recycling is for things like paper and plastic cups, not ideas.

View original story : things+like Feed : Advertising Age - Agency News

Paris Fall 2010 Fashion Week: 8 Things We Want to Buy Now!

1. GIAMBATTISTA VALLI'S BUBBLE DRESS/DRESS COAT Bubble coats slimmed down into sleek silhouettes at a few Paris shows with Thierry Mugler, Akris, and Giambattista Valli showing sophisticated interpretation of the usually casual puffer. A nice alternative for those who eschew and/or can't afford the fur that's been all over the Fall 2010 runways. >Shop bubble coats on Bluefly 2. EVERY LEATHER THING AT HERMES (AND THE HATS TOO!) Lightweight leathers were all over the Spring 2010 runways, and for Fall 2010 designers are still into their skins. I love how they tailored them into fitted blazers, sharp trou, and flowing skirts and dresses at Hermes. And I'll take two of the hats they showed many of the menswear-inspired looks with too. >Shop Hermes on Bluefly >Shop leather on Bluefly 3. TSUMORI CHISATO'S GRAPHIC PRINT DRESSES & PONCHOS The graphic stripes at Junko Shimada and the popping prints at Tsumori Chisato made me smile and that's what I like to do in the winter when everything's grey, cold, and muzzled under layers of swaddling winter clothes. >Shop graphic prints 4. THE GROMMET EMBELLISHED COAT AT A.F. VANDERVOST It's a simple detail, but the strategic placement of the grommets take this classic camel coat from cool to drool. >Shop coats on Bluefly 5. PRETTY MUCH EVERY TWISTED, KNOTTED, CUT-OUT, BLINGING DRESS AT ELIE SAAB Just when you decide to exercise budgetary restraint and make do with the already ample collection of dresses in your closet, Elie Saab has to come and design a collection of twisted, knotted, cut-out, mini, maxi, sheer, bold shouldered, criss-cross strapped dresses that you can easily justify buying. I mean, who has a micro mini sequins dress with shoulder cut-outs? Huh? Purchase justified. >Shop dresses on Bluefly 6. VALENTINO'S PLEATED TWO-TIER, LACE-TRIM DRESS Another simple concept dress that I can't get out of my head. It reflects the trend of the moment -- girlie-girl dresses -- without looking "trendy" at all. >Shop lace trim dress 7. THE PATTERNED LEATHER COATS, JACKETS, & CAPES AT GARETH PUGH Gareth Pugh breathed new life into leather outerwear presenting stripe-effect leather capes and ridged jackets with asymmetrical cuts, funnel necks, and other unique details. >Shop leather More... >WWD is tracking Fall 2010 trends exclusively for Bluefly! >Milan Fall 2010: 8 Things We Want to Buy Now >London Fall 2010: 6 Things We Want to Buy Now >New York Fall 2010: Everything We're Oohing About >Fall 2010 Fashion Week Coverage >Spring 2010 Fashion Week Coverage [photos courtesy of Style.com]

View original story : things+like Feed : Flypaper - Stuck on Style

How free will Ordnance Survey's maps be? Your last chance to decide

Government consultation on OS mapping closes today - and has attracted withering comments from its own advisory body (updated) From next month, you should be able to get digital forms of Ordnance Survey (OS) maps for free - free as in beer, and free as in speech - under a new initiative announced last November by the prime minister. And why's that important today? Because this is the closing date for the public consultation on which of those maps should be made available, and in what form. The consultation, and the options it presents, stirred up strong feelings among the people working in geographic information. And the outcome could have a dramatic effect on how you use maps in the future - digital ones and paper ones. Gordon Brown announced that OS "will open up its data relating to electoral and local authority boundaries, postcode areas and mid scale mapping information. The Government will consult on proposals to make data from Ordnance Survey freely available so it can be used for digital innovation and to support democratic accountability." OK, so what about the detail? That's the tougher part. The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), which is ostensibly in charge of OS, began a consultation in December, setting out three possible options: 1) leave OS as it is. 2) make all OS's maps and digital data available for free reuse on a Creative Commons-style licence 3) make only some of OS's digital maps - roughly from 1:25,000 (equivalent to Explorer) to 1:50,000 (Landranger) - available for free reuse on a Creative Commons-style licence. Option 2 is what the Free Our Data campaign has been pushing for since its inception in March 2006. The benefits are obvious: anyone who wants to build some sort of digital or even paper product can use the OS data - which you can rely on because it's the UK's national mapping agency, and so meant to get it right - and create new products and services that build on it. But there's a catch: where's the money to come from? If we were in the middle of a boom, it might be easy to argue that OS should just be funded directly from the public purse. The catch, though, is that it isn't: it operates as a "trading fund", a government-owned business which charges for the use of its data. Its revenues last year were around £117m, on which it was profitable and gave a few million pounds to the Treasury. A profitable government business? They're like hen's teeth, you might think. However the next catch is that half of its revenues came from the public sector - so actually this is the public sector charging itself and then saying how well it's done by remitting money to the Treasury. Except that the departments which pay for the OS data are centrally funded themselves. So not so clever. It's also emerged from the consultation that OS undercharges the public sector compared to the private sector (which hasn't pleased the private sector). But the tricky thing is this: if you just make all the OS data free, can you really persuade the Treasury to provide the necessary extra £50m or so of public money that's needed to fund its operation? (£50m because you save £50m in public sector fees, but lose about that amount in private sector fees, and it costs about £100m to run the OS.) By contrast it's much cheaper to go with option 3 - you only have to fund the "lost revenue" from the digital maps and the loss of revenues on paper maps as rivals start using the CC-licensed data to produce their own paper maps. That's probably going to be closer to £20m. Into this Gordian Knot scenario comes not just Gordon, but also Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who pushed it all through. But it's the detail that matters now. Which is where the consultation comes in. You can find various responses: we published the Free Our Data response on the Free Our Data blog, obviously; and an informal one from Tristram Cary of Getmapping, a private company specialising in aerial photography (and which got into a legal battle with OS that nearly killed the company). But by far the most interesting is the response from the Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information (APPSI) - the advisory body to the government that has the same role on information as the Council on the Misuse of Drugs does on, well, drugs. APPSI reckoned that Option 2 - making it all free - is actually the more sensible option because it's logically "cleaner". That's a radical proposal. As the UKAuthorITy.com site noted in a news story: "The panel, which advises on policy and adjudicates in disputes over public sector licensing, says that a "free data" regime for the OS would be "the most holistic, durable and clearest solution". However it recognises that this would be an irreversible step and agrees with the government's inclination for a phased transition from the current trading fund model. Less complex, restrictive and expensive licensing is crucial to the success of the government's open data initiative, it says. ""In particular, OS should not have any intellectual property rights in derived data."" That one alone is very important. At present, OS claims that if you create some new dataset while using an OS map, OS owns the copyright in that dataset. Yes, it does. This is the reason why you don't see much council data mapped out on Google Maps, even though there are plenty of people in councils who have the programming chops to do that. And it's also why you find some councils have been doing their mapping for public consumption on OpenStreetMap - which is free for use and doesn't have the same "derived data" rule. The reason for the OS "derived data" rule is essentially to prevent people from re-using OS maps in other forms. But it drives local government and the public sector - not to mention the private sector - absolutely barmy. If the consultation has one effect, it should be to remove the "derived data" rule from OS products released under "OS Free". Ideally, and suggested by a number of people, it should move to something like the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence - meaning you'd have to say you used OS data, but otherwise leaving you free to build on it. The final point about the APPSI consultation: "In unusually forthright terms, the panel, chaired by professor David Rhind, a past head of OS, points to what it calls "a fundamental contradiction" in government information policy. "The great bulk of government organisations are those that provide that information to citizens and businesses at marginal cost or for free. But a relatively small number of information providers fall into a second category: notably the trading funds of Ordnance Survey, the Meteorological Office and the Hydrographic Office, and also the Royal Mail. There has been no consistent philosophy behind the allocation of a body to a particular category, other than 'make some money wherever we can'." Lastly: it's interesting to compare the COI release (timed at 15.27 on 17 November, when the announcement was made) with the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) release, which has the same date but no time. The difference? The COI one doesn't include a quote from Sir Rob Margetts, OS's chairman - the clearest possible indication that OS didn't know what was coming. The question now is: will the consultation give people what they want? And have you got your response in? If you need to do it quickly, then you could use Harry Metcalfe's quick'n'easy page. But hurry... Update: the Local Government Association has a very robust response (PDF) to the consultation: "The consultation .. fails to recognize that substantial elements of core public sector geographic data are generated by bodies other than OS, and include local authorities (address and street data under a statutory requirement), Office for National Statistics (census geographies) and Defra (national park boundaries). To this extent, the OS database consists of surveyed, redigitised and collated data from these sources." In other words, why does OS get to dictate how data it didn't generate gets used? And: "there must be clarity across the public sector about what constitutes a public task: indeed, we prefer the term public good because the issue is what should the public sector provide as a public good and therefore what is available for free, where should the public sector recover costs etc. So, local government is increasingly being asked to provide non-personal data for free on the basis that tax payers have already paid for the collection and collation of the data, while the same authorities have to purchase OS to enable this offer." It's going to be very interesting to see how DCLG pulls together the threads. But the clear message from the public sector is: we don't like the way things are set up at the moment. Change is in the air. Free our data Internet Government data Charles Arthur guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

View original story : things+like Feed : Technology: Technology blog | guardian.co.uk

“This has been a pleasant surprise . . . Your Excellency” – Rev. William E. Alberts, Ph.D.

As I entered the patient’s room, the bathroom door, just inside the entranceway, was wide open, and a man was sitting on the toilet. I said, apologetically, “Oh, I’m sorry.” His nonchalant response led me to pause long enough to introduce myself as Hospital Chaplain and to ask, “Are you Jason Hopewell?” “Yes,” he replied, and added, “I want to talk to you.” “I will come back,” I responded. A white man in his thirties, the patient greeted me with, “Your Excellency,” then sat on his bed with his legs crossed, and I took a chair. I’ve been called a lot of things in my time but never “Your Excellency.” My initial aim was to obtain his religious preference, which was unknown. Saying he was Episcopalian, he immediately stated what he wanted to talk about: “I don’t like certain of my feelings. And I want to get close to God.” (His sudden, and possibly fleeting illness—he was discharged the next day—may have helped to motivate his desire for closeness with God.) “What feelings don’t you like?,” I asked. He replied, “I’ve been jealous of this man who is handsome. He became ill, and I found myself feeling good about his condition. I then got to know him better, and he seemed like a good person. I don’t like myself for finding pleasure in his illness.

View original story : things+like Feed : CPSP Pastoral Report

25 Things You Can Remote Control With Your iPhone [Apple]

One of the more interesting things you can do with the iPhone is use it as a remote control for other devices. Since the iPhone App Store launched almost two years ago, developers have created hundreds of remote control applications. Some of them are for entertainment — designed to control A/V equipment in your living room. Others control household appliances, functions on your computer, or even expensive corporate security systems. For now, most remote control apps operate over the Internet, or via a wi-fi or Bluetooth link between your iPhone and another device. But one company is developing an infrared iPhone accessory, which will open the doors for even more remote control applications. It's conceivable that, with these apps and accessories, an iPod touch could replace the fanciest of universal remotes, and have the bonus of shipping with a Web browser and all the other apps on the App Store. DVR More TV providers are releasing iPhone apps to use as DVR remotes. Recently, Comcast published an app that allows some of its digital cable subscribers program their DVRs remotely. And free apps from DirecTV, DISH Network, and AT&T let you program your digital video recorder from anywhere. Zipcar rental car The free Zipcar app lets you find and book rental cars. But the impressive part is that you can also use your iPhone to unlock the car or make its horn beep. Home lights and automation system A recent Apple commercial highlights this app for the Schlage LiNK home automation and security systems. You can watch your doors, lock and unlock them, turn lights on and off, etc. TV, other gadgets This isn't just an app but a $50 hardware add-on that gives your iPhone infrared support. When it ships — supposedly soon — the L5 remote accessory will let you turn your iPhone into a universal remote, replacing any number of remote controls that are on your coffee table. Chevy Volt This free app lets you access info for a Chevy Volt electric car via OnStar, including charging info, driving stats, door locks, horn, and lights. iTunes Via Apple's free Remote app, search and change the song playing on your computer's iTunes jukebox from bed, across the house, or even outside. Or change volume settings, or hit pause, etc. Another app called PodLink ($2.99) lets you wirelessly control music playing on another iPhone or iPod touch, perhaps one that is being played in a docking station across the room. There's also a $3.99 app to control WinAmp if you use that. Mouse and keyboard Apps like the $1.99 Air Mouse Pro (limited free version also available) turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a wireless trackpad and keyboard. This is helpful if you want to kick back and don't have a wireless keyboard, or if you're using an old computer hooked up to your TV and want to access the cursor or type something from the couch. A reader notes a free, similar app from Logitech. The $3.99 TouchPad app is another alternative. Blu-ray Discs Several Blu-ray discs include Internet features that can be accessed via iPhone apps. For example, the free "pocket BLU" app can act as a remote for Blu-ray discs that support "pocket BLU" — including "Bruno," "Funny People," other movies. Features include controlling playback, browsing through chapters, the soundtrack, etc. Other Blu-ray remote apps are available for different systems, including the Sony PS3. Roku video player If you use a Roku video player — the cheap, no-frills box that plays Netflix, Amazon, MLB.TV videos, etc. — you can get the free Rokumote app and control your Roku without its plastic remote. Presentations Apple's $0.99 Keynote remote lets you control Keynote presentations if you own the iWork suite. Other apps, like Evan Schoenberg's versatile $0.99 Rowmote can steer PowerPoint slides. Desktop PC or Mac This one takes a little tinkering, but free VNC — "virtual network computing" — remote desktop software on your computer (Mac, PC, Linux, etc.) will let you view and control it from anywhere, provided it's turned on and hooked up to the Internet. A search for "VNC" in the App Store turns up more than 30 apps. The VNC app we've been using for our iPhone is the free Mocha VNC Lite; there's also a pro version for $5.99. Logitech Squeezebox If you use a Logitech Squeezebox home audio system, the $9.99 iPeng app seems to be the best reviewed remote control. Control volume, switch songs, etc. Slingbox If you have a SlingBox — a device designed to let you watch your home TV/cable service from anywhere, over the Internet — you can use your iPhone to watch TV. The $29.99 SlingPlayer Mobile app recently got an important new feature, which allows you to stream TV from your SlingBox over 3G. Previously, it only worked over wi-fi. iCarly - Sam's Remote This one is for the kids: Fans of the cable TV show "iCarly" may appreciate the $1.99 "Sam's Remote" app, which includes sounds from the show. Photoshop A $2.99 app called PhotoKeys:Photoshop Remote puts the Adobe Photoshop toolbar on your iPhone. Not for everyone, but could be helpful for some setups. Apple TV Apple's free Remote software also controls the Apple TV set-top box, if you have one of those. A recent update adds a nifty feature that lets you use your iPhone's multi-touch screen as a "gesture pad" to scoot around the Apple TV display. This is much easier than using the small, plastic remote that came with Apple TV. You can also use the Boxee remote app to remote-control Boxee, if you've loaded that onto your Apple TV. Sonos Home Stereo If you have a Sonos multi-room sound system — especially the popular, newish S5 — your iPhone is a remote via the free Sonos Controller app. Pro audio software The ProRemote ($99.99) and ProRemote Lite ($35.99) act as sliders and other controls for pro audio editing software, including ProTools and Apple's Logic software. Burglar Alarm CPI Security customers can use a free iPhone app (with additional service) to monitor their home security system, turn it on and off, see activity history, etc. X-Plane Flight Simulator Sort of like how Nintendo's DS has a touch-sensitive second screen that often controls what's happening on the first screen, this will let you control and observe some of your flight simulator's features — on your computer — using the iPhone as a smaller, second screen. Requires the $4.99 X-Plane Remote app and the $29 desktop X-Plane software. Boyfriend Ladies: We're not quite sure how this one works, but the $9.99 "Boyfriend remote" app is worth every penny if it performs magic. You can tell it to "give me money," "forget about beer," and even "take me to the mall." Classy. Also available: Girlfriend Remote and Parent Remote. Boxee If you use the free Boxee media center software on your Mac, PC, Linux box, or Apple TV, you can use your iPhone as a remote via Boxee's free app. (What's Boxee? Think of it as a multimedia-specialized Web browser that you're supposed to steer from your couch. Lets you watch Netflix movies, MLB.TV, and other Web video streams.) VLC Media Player If you use the free, popular VLC (Video LAN client) media player app, you can control it with your iPhone via the free VLC Remote app or its $2.99 premium cousin. Security Camera Plenty of security camera monitoring apps in the App Store, depending on your rig. By far the most expensive, though, is Lextech Global Services' $899.99 iRa Pro, which delivers "a video command center to the palm of your hand." Digital SLR Camera onOne software makes a lite ($1.99) and pro ($19.99) version of its DSLR remote app. If you hook your Canon EOS or Nikon DSLR camera up to a computer via USB, you can remotely control settings, fire the shutter release, and see your camera's viewfinder remotely over wi-fi. The main drawback is that your camera has to be hooked up to a computer.

View original story : things+like Feed : Gizmodo: Blu-Ray

The Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Protection Initiative: Things That Make You Go Hmmm!

By Denise Richardson The FTC’s Identity Theft Protection Initiative: Things That Make You Go Hmmm! Last week the FTC held a joint press conference with 35 State Attorneys General, commanding attention on their firm and unified stance on regulating the identity theft industry. Sounded good. But just like all too often, the substance and the intent differed from the reality. Was it more smoke and mirrors? You decide. The FTC press conference has resulted not only in a colossal media frenzy but in mass confusion over what services are and what are not deemed to be helpful to consumers. Who is really working toward helping us avoid identity theft and who is helping the thieves perpetuate it? I’d like to respond to some of the high (or low) points of the press conference here. Let’s just get one thing clear before we get going. LifeLock has paid me to speak at their free identity theft seminars as one of their many Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialists and has sponsored my efforts to educate the public about identity theft. So to be clear: I get paid to talk about identity theft -I do not get paid to promote LifeLock. Point #1 Data Security The FTC says, “The company’s data system was actually vulnerable enough that it could have been hacked,” and went on to say, “The company must also establish a security program which will be monitored by a third party for 20 years.” Now that is most definitely a loaded statement, one that can and should be said about any company or government agency out there. In fact, the government as managed to breach millions of people’s data over the years and continues to do so. In 2007, LifeLock became ISO 270001 certified, the highest rating there is for secure data management. How many other entities that store our data can say that? What about all the government agencies who have been responsible for data compromises and theft? We can only hope that the government will hold itself to the same standards the FTC requires of others. For instance, it turns out that during the same time frame in which the FTC is calling out LifeLock, various government agencies were having their own embarrassingly public problems with data security. According to Consumer Affairs, even two years after the theft of a laptop containing the personal data of 26.5 million veterans, Federal agencies were still “not fulfilling all of the mandates for protection of personal information.” And who filed that report? The Government Accountability Office. Talk about things that make you go hmmm. The GAO was commissioned to investigate 24 federal agencies to determine if they had implemented data security recommendations from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), including encrypting data on mobile devices such as laptop computers, developing policies for notifying individuals affected by data breaches, using multiple means to authenticate an individual's right to access information, and fulfilling directives on a “checklist” developed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) for dealing with theft or loss of equipment containing sensitive data. Of the 24 agencies, only two—the Treasury Department and the Department of Transportation—met all of OMB’s requirements for protecting data. Twenty-two of the agencies had enacted policies for encrypting information on mobile devices, but only four had implemented use of the NIST data security checklist. The Associated Press reported that two agencies—the Small Business Administration and the National Science Foundation—had not met any of the requirements. Things that make you go Hmmm. Point #2 Deceptive advertising The FTC investigated LifeLock’s marketing, advertising and products for the period between March 2005 and April 2008, policies that LifeLock has long since changed. LifeLock’s services now include sophisticated technology that detects use of our personal information before damage is done. When they first ventured into a non-regulated industry to advertise their product at a time when nobody else was taking identity theft all that seriously, nobody understood there would be later confusion over the difference between the words prevent and protect. Here’s a perfect example offered by Dr. Will Marling, Director of the National Organization of Victims Advocates (NOVA): “As a matter of reason, I fail to see how one can accuse someone of saying [in deception] he will prevent something when his guarantee is to remedy to those who need it when it won't be prevented. Analogy: ‘I want to prevent you from falling out of the tree but will pay for your medical bills if you do.’ The word 'prevent' can create confusion. It isn't in the vocabulary anymore.” It’s disappointing that the FTC and those 35 Attorneys General haven't utilized their strong and united front to come down on predatory practices surrounding the mortgage servicing industry—or even the advertising practices of the millions of free credit report ads and deceptive mortgage servicing practices that include illegal foreclosures, loan modification run-arounds and lest we forget, those annoying singing pirates touting free credit reports –that aren’t. And while we’re on the subject, why is Experian allowed to advertise their for-profit products on annualcredireport.com (the legit site)? The ads have been a source of confusion to the public, yet they have not been pulled. No other ID theft protection product or service is allowed to advertise on that site. Why are they? Again, things that make you go hmmm. Point #3 The problem is identity theft. Can’t we all just get along? Denise Richardson can be reached at www.Givemebackmycredit.com

View original story : things+like Feed : Talk Back South Florida! | Sun-Sentinel Blogs

Miley Cyrus Is Sick of People Saying Mean Things About Her, So There!

Haters, you've been put on notice—Miley Cyrus will no longer sit back and passively bear the brunt of your cruel jibes! The Hannah Montana star took to the airwaves recently to declare that, with her release of her upcoming big-screen effort The Last Song, she's ready to be taken super-seriously, and tough luck to anyone who doesn't agree: "[I hope] for the first time people will take me seriously. [If not], I'm ready for the ups and downs. I'm so excited—no one can take that away from me." Oh, and for everybody who says mean things about her, like about how maybe...

View original story : things+like Feed : Celebuzz Latest Stories

How Do You Make A Yugo Cool? Turn It Into A Book.

How do you double the value of a Yugo? Fill the gas tank. What do you call a Yugo that breaks down after 100 miles? An overachiever. Remember the Yugo? Jason Vuic would like to remind you of its not-so-illustrious story. The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History is Vuic's book on the tiny, no-frills, breakdown-prone automobile imported from communist Yugoslavia in the 1980s that is better known today as a punchline than a piece of machinery that might (or might not) take you from point A to point Y. Story from All Things Considered (audio available after 7pm ET Saturday).

View original story : things+like Feed : LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News

How To: Turn Your Web Apps Into Real Apps [How To]

When you use a site like Gmail, you have to decide: Do I want to use the service's website, or do I want to use it through an app, like Outlook? Here's how to get the best of both worlds. What I'm talking about is something called site-specific browsers, which are essentially dedicated apps derived from the browsers already installed on your system, designed to load up a single web app. Nothing else. The thing is, limiting the app's functionality to a single website means it can do native-like things, like have its own icon, serve up notifications in the OS X dock, and be launched from Spotlight or the Start Menu like a regular, native program. It's also a great way to run multiple instances of the same service—like two Gmail accounts—without one forcing the other to log out. And hell, you use web apps like Facebook, Last.fm and Gmail just as much and just as hard as you do regular apps, so haven't they earned their own icons? Their own windows, so they don't get lost in a sea of tabs? Their own notifications? Their own places in your application menus? Their own system processes, so a browser crash won't knock them out, too? Their own lives? Yeah, sure they have. Here's how to make it happen. Mac OS X: Fluid The best tool for creating site-specific apps in OS X is called Fluid. It's a free framework for creating your own site-specific apps, based on WebKit, like Apple's Safari or Google's Chrome. So! 1. Download it Fluid here, and drag the app over to your Applications folder. 2. Since the site-specific browsers you'll be creating will have their own icons, you'll need to download those. If you don't, Fluid will pull the site's favorites icon to use as the system icon, which is fine, but can look a bit rough, especially if you run your OS X dock large, or use CoverFlow a lot. This Flickr group has hundreds of available icons, covering just about any site you can imagine. To use them, download the full-size .PNG from Flickr. 3. Create your app! When you open Fluid, You'll be prompted with a window asking you for a URL, a site name (Which will be the app's name, as far as your OS is concerned), a place to save the app (the Applications folder by default) and an option to either use the site's favicon or a custom icon. Fill the fields out, and hit create. 4. Launch your app. The first time you start the app, you'll be prompted to log into the service. After the initial login, though, Fluid will remember your details, so that when you start the app again, it'll be all ready to go. 5. Customize! Ok, so you've got your web app—now it's time to tweak. If you want to change the look of the site, or how certain parts of it function, Fluid supports client-side userscripts, which basically let you reformat the page, or add functionality to it, however you want. From within a Fluid app, click the Script icon in the Menu Bar, and click "Browse Userscripts.org" and see if you find anything you like. If you do, the script should be downloaded and copied to YourUserName/Library/Application Support/Fluid/SSB/YourApp'sName/Userscripts. There are also a small number of Fluid plugins, which give Fluid greater native app-like powers. These are scattered around the internet, and a good central resource is hard to come by. This Google string tends to work pretty well for finding them, though. In addition, Fluid itself has some application settings to play around with, most of which are self-explanatory. One that's not, and that comes in handy a lot, is the "Allow Browsing to any URL" option under Settings > Advanced: This prevents new windows opened in Fluid from opening in your default browser instead, and cures most of the issues I've come across with using Fluid with less popular sites that may not have automatic presets built into Fluid. Windows: Prism Prism takes a slightly different approach to the creation of site-specific browsers, in that it's an extension for Firefox, not its own app. The creation process, though, isn't terribly different. Here's the routine: 1. Download the Prism extension for Firefox here. (Note: some people have issues with Prism freezing during the setup process, or find core functions, like minimizing to the system tray, missing in this version. In that case, download the last version of Prism right here—it should fix everything, without sacrificing any major features.) 2. Navigate to the webpage you want to convert into an app, let it load, and select "Convert Website to Application" from the Tools menu in Firefox. You'll be prompted with these options. Fill them out as you please: If you'd like to use a custom icon, as opposed to the website's favorite's icon, you should download a full-res .PNG file from this Flickr group. These are icons created with Fluid (above) in mind, so some may have an OS X-like aesthetic, but they will work, and in the context of Windows 7, they usually look pretty great. And that's it! Prism isn't as immediately customizable as Fluid for OS X, but it gets the job done. Alternative: Prism supports something called "Bundles", which automatically apply settings and application icons for popular websites with a single click. Here are a few to try. Alternative II: Chrome for Windows offers similar functionality to Prism, albeit in a rather basic, stripped-down form. If your only goal is to isolate web apps in their own windows, though, this'll work fine, and takes just a few seconds: newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/R0Mgf66GOr4&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":412,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube"} ); Hat tip to Lifehacker for introducing us to Prism. And that's it! If you've got any great icon, user script or Prism bundle resources to share, throw them in the comments—your feedback is hugely important to our Saturday How To guides. And if you have any topics you'd like to see covered here, please let me know. Happy web-app-Pinocchio-ing, folks!

View original story : things+like Feed : dv-depot.com

How did things end up this way?

FUCK IT. That's what you'd always say. Thanks to you, I learned how to say that also. You weren't exactly the greatest of influences, but you weren't a bad one either. Fuck..I'm just like you. It ain't easy for me to truely express my emotions. Makes me feel weak...and vulnerable. So I hide behind this chill, laid back persona. I've been doing a good job keepin myself together for these past few months. I told you that I'll never forget about you and I am a person who stays true to her words. Everyone sees me as the smart one in the family but little did you know, you taught me a lot of the simple facts I needed to know. I looked up to you. I never told you this either. Lots of words unspoken. I never told you because I know you'd laugh and make fun of me or tell me to quit biting off of you. The thought of you crosses my mind ALL THE TIME. Every little thing reminds me of you. Music, shows, food, words, etc. I miss you. And now I'm sittin here, tearin up like a little weakling just cuz I happened to notice from the corner of my eye, a container of Best Food Mayonnaise. Way to go, Lina. It triggered a memory of you from hella long ago. I don't know how old I was, but I do remember your exact words that day. "Hand me the Best Food." "what? which one?" "The mayo. Look...it's called 'Best Foods'"/ "ohh..." I had a sudden urge, a NEED to write this. Maybe I'll share with you someday. Maybe I won't. But at least it's written down. As you already know..writing is therapeutic for me. As is music..and shopping. But music triggers so many memories =(, and I can't go shopping whenever I feel like it. It's fucking tearing me up inside when I think of all the memories we've shared, and thinkin about the future that you are not able to be a part of. How can I enjoy my life, when you can't? I can't even go on being happy for long, without retreating to my emoness. I miss you. I tried sayin this to you the last time I spoke with you, but ended just choking up....I LOVE YOU. :*(

View original story : things+like Feed : KhmerLife Blogs