Mar 30 2009

Roy Tanck’s Flickr/Picasa Widget

Category: Extensions | Web ToolsJRBlack @ 15:05

Letter-Today the latest version of Colorful Tabs add-on for FireFox got installed and as I read about it, I noticed that you could use background images in the tabs and found  a link to a background image generator.  Now this image generator is nothing to write home about, or post about, but on that page there was this cool Tag Cloud Widget.  It is a 3 dimensional rotating tag cloud.  Quite nice, but it is a plug-in of sorts for WordPress and I haven’t yet taken the time to see if I can make it work with BlogEngine.NET.  But for you WordPress users, enjoy!

 

Roy Tanck's Flickr Widget requires Flash Player 9 or better.

Get this widget at roytanck.com

Roy, (Roy’s site) the creator of this Tag Cloud thing also created a Flickr/Picasa Widget that operates the same way, but instead of pulling in Tag Clout text/links, it pulls in pictures and links from Flickr or Picasa RSS feeds.  He has easy form to fill out to generate the require HTML code to add this widget to your page. 

 

 

 

Here is a larger sample:

Roy Tanck's Flickr Widget requires Flash Player 9 or better.

Get this widget at roytanck.com

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Mar 27 2009

Hello DimDim, good by GoToMeeting

Category: Web Tools | WebwareJRBlack @ 18:49

dimdim_logo.

Letter-Idon’t mind advertising or promoting a good thing, especially when it is FREE.  So, I say hello to dimdim and good by to GoToMeeting and WebEx.

 

What is dimdim ?  dimdim is the easiest web conferencing tool I have used and it is FREE.  dimdim lets you deliver synchronized live presentations, whiteboards and web pages while sharing voice and video over the Internet.  And no downloads required for the viewer or the presenter, unless you want to share your desktop with the other viewers in the conference then there is one small plug-in to download and install.

 

Sharing Documents:

dimdim_Documents To share or present documents you first have to upload the documents to the dimdim system.  Acceptable documents include PowerPoint (ppt), PDF and PPTX.  After uploading multiple document, you will be able to switch between them. 

 

dimdim_Document

 

Sharing White Board:

The White Board sharing is quite easy and simple.  Maybe too simple.  There is no UNDO yet, unless you count clearing the white board and starting over.  You can draw free hand, straight lines, boxes, circles, and triangles.  Objects that are added to the drawing can be grabbed and moved around.   There is a stamp-er tool for stamping on different shapes, sizes and color objects.  There is a text box feature also.  You can create multiple pages and even lock out attendees so only the presenter can draw.

dimdim_WhiteBoard

Sharing Web Pages:

Sharing of web pages is quite unique.  You fill in a form that tells the dimdim server what web page you want to start sharing.  Then dimdim shares this with all other attendees.  So when you, the presenter, scrolls down a web page, the attendees web page scrolls down also.  The attendees see what you see, your mouse over text and links and such.  When you scroll the page, their page scrolls.

dimdim_WebPage2

Sharing Computer Screen:

Sharing of web pages and documents is a quite a nice way to share something particular without having to share your entire desktop.  Maybe you need to share some other document, application or you desktop… then you need to share your Computer Screen.  To do this, you will need to download and install a small FLASH plugin.  Sharing of your computer screen is quite fast and it simply works and works well.

image

 

Other Features:

dimdim_Features Other features include being able to record your session, attendees can view the presentation full screen (outside the limits of the Dimdim Web Meeting window) and there is a chat window that can be shown or hidden.

 

Participants can be managed… remove them from the meeting, make them the presenter or chat privately with them.  You can even enable or disable their participation level by turning on or off the ability to Chat or their Audio input.

image         image

 

Try it for free.
Complete Feature Set for Dimdim Free web conferencing, 20 attendees.  Dimdim Pro and Enterprise editions available for custom branding, more attendees.Experience the simplicity and power of Dimdim today and see for yourself how now the world can meet freely.

 

 

 

My immediate question to dimdim is…

 

Why dimdim?

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Mar 12 2009

DisneyPhotoPass and great memories

Category: PhotographyJRBlack @ 15:19

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isneyPhotoPass is quite a cool thing.  Disney theme parks have photographers throughout that are there to take your picture.  These may not be professional photographers, but they are not your average novice photographers either.  They shoot pictures with Nikon D70 (I hear they are upgrading to D80) and an added flash.  Not all pictures are great (subjects are not always centered, lighting is not always perfect, etc…) , but most are good.

 

buttonCA7SICHF You are given an plastic card (like a credit card or room key card) that you hand to the photographers, so all pictures taken by multiple photographers in multiple parks over multiple days can all be linked to the ID on that card.  Recently we went twice within a 5 week period and had both trips stored on one card ID.

 

buttonCAN4ZUVM You can get prints made at the park before you leave, or you can view, share and order prints from the comfort of your hotel or home.  You have approximately 30 days to view, edit and order prints (crop, B&W, rotate, borders and clip-art.  I say approximately, because if you ask nicely, you could get that extended.  Depending on how many pictures you had taken, this edit process can be lengthy and their servers are not the speediest on the net.  They really need a FLASH interface or include software with the CD purchase that allows you to do this on your PC without delays due to broadband connections or their slow server.  Prices for prints at the parks and through the DisneyPhotoPass web site are pricey, but you can also get all high-resolution images (including your edits) on a CD to print and do what you want with later. 

 

ppnophoto[1]The pictures on CD currently costs $129.95.  Again, this is a bit pricey.  I read you can get the CD at the park for $60 (this may be California only and may be out dated) but the pictures will not have any borders and added graphics.  You can also pre-order the CD for $99.95,  then apply the pre-order coupon code when placing the order for the CD.  You can also review, edit all your pictures from your trip and if you then still feel you want to order the CD, first purchase the pre-order coupon, then order the CD and apply the coupon they email you… no waiting… no pre-order before vacation…  We did this just a few days ago, so I know it works this way (have not yet received the CD though).

 

Additional Resources:

http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass/

http://www.mousesavers.com/otherwdw.html#photopassdiscounts

 

118ca8cd-9029-48ef-a4e9-00c2572c343b[6]   8382eab9-02e8-4b69-a5fe-89a90d51b249[4]

9351912c-561c-45cd-a2a8-b59991c1bd07[4]    09d1e85f-8000-4aa8-917e-3ebb2d24842a[3]

09d1e85f-8000-4aa8-917e-3ebb2d24842a[5]    77963573-ff6b-4364-bb98-2aed0d624330[3]

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