Computer Chit Chat

Searching Twitter

Did you know that you can search on Twitter? Way down on the bottom of the page there’s a link called Search. I never noticed this was down there for the first couple of months that I used Twitter. The basic search form is just a simple field, like Google. Advanced search offers capabilities to look for Tweets containing certain words, people, places and dates. You can even specify if Tweets containing links should or shouldn’t be included. To get to this just click “Advanced Search” from the Search page.

How To Single Click In Windows

Some people prefer to single click within Windows, just as they do when surfing the web. I myself don’t like this approach, sometimes things inadvertently open that I don’t want open. But if you’re one of the people that wants to use single click in Windows, here’s how to do it.

Open Control Panels.
Open Folder Options.
Where is says “Click items as follows”, choose “Single–click to open an item (point to select)”.
Click Apply.

You’re finished. If you find you don’t like clicking set up this way, go back into Folder Options and choose “Double-click to open an item”.

Happy Easter!

SezWho shutting down

Last year I posted about SezWho, a comment service that had been added to the Entrecard system. In yesterday’s email I saw a post from the Entrecard feed that said it SezWho was shutting down due to lack of funding. Entrecard was recommending users switch to JS-Kit. I’ll take a look at the JS-Kit, which is supposed to be. I’d had problems with SezWho where after I added it things weren’t visible on my site the world’s largest distributed social network. Will you be switching to JS-Kit?

What sort of paid ads Entrecard won’t accept

I saw another message from the Entrecard feed in yesterday’s email. Addressing the concern about the ads that will be sold on the Entrecard network, we were informed what sort of ads won’t be sold – “Male enhancement ads, Adult themed ads, Any ad that links to a site with nudity, Gambling / Casino Ads and Ads for drugs of any kind”. I still have a concern about the ads but I’m willing to try it and see how it goes. My only worry is that we all have differing views of what is inappropriate or offensive so we may not all agree about an ad.

Entrecard revises rules on placement and ad rejection

I subscribe to the Entrecard feed by email and I got an interesting post yesterday. This one said the decision to have to pay to reject ads had been reversed. The post continued to say that they were flexible on the new, upcoming above the fold rule and that it had been changed. Placement of the widget will now need to be within one page down on a screen resolution of 1900×1200.

EntreCard

Entrecard sent an email yesterday announcing that they would be launching an ad network and a credit cashout service in the following week. If I’ve understood it correctly the email states that Entrecard will be selling 125×125 advertising to third parties and that those ads would run either across the network or by category. The estimated number of ads is 40 million monthly impressions. Bloggers would be able to reject the ad if they paid a fee to do so. Members will also be able to sell credits for cash from their dashboard. Lastly, a rule requiring Entrecard widgets to be above the fold in order to remain active in the netwprk.

Entrecard Marketplace and Social Media Integration

In February Entrecard announced two big changes. The first was the opening of the Entrecard Marketplace. All Entrecard members are sellers and it is free to create listings. Members have the ability to sell products and services and they do not have to be blogging related. Payment is made with Entrecard credits using an escrow system. The second big change was the inclusion of popular social networks within member profiles, to facilitate interaction between members.

Name Your Dream Assignment contest

Have you heard about the Name Your Dream Assignment contest, sponsored by Lenovo and Microsoft? To enter you need to submit your dream assignment for a photo shoot that could take place anywhere in the world. All ideas will be voted on by the public and the 20 ideas that receive the most votes will continue on to be judged by a panel of judges. The idea found to be the most creative and inspiring idea will win. The prize is $50,000 cash plus lots of goodies including a Lenovo ThinkPad W700 notebook computer with Microsoft Vista, specially designed for photographers.

factualTV

I recently learned of a new online video service called factualTV. The site is focused and is categorized by the theme of the video. Categories currently available are Art & Artists, Biographies, Biology & Health, Crime & Law, Comedy, Culture, Environmental, Food & Drink, History, How to, Interviews, Leisure & Lifestyle, Military & War, Music & Performance, Nature & Wildlife, Politics & Economics, Popular Culture, Religion & Philosophy, Science & Technology, Society, Sports and Space Travel & Adventure. Approximately 20% of them are Premium shows that are only available in a downloaded format, the remainder are all free. Anyone may watch the advertisement supported free shows, no log in is required. Plans are in place to make all shows available for purchase on DVD.