Trivia: Smiley & "Frowny" Emoticons

In its Events That Shaped The Wired World section, Wired magazine credits Scott Fahlman with first using the Smiley :-) & "Frowny" :-( emoticons in electronic messages.

On Sept. 19th, 1982, he had proposed on the computer-science department bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University that the smiley be used as a joke marker & "frowny" to mark things that are NOT jokes.

Scott came up with the idea after reading “lengthy diatribes” from people on the message board who failed to get the joke or the sarcasm in a particular post.

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HOW TO block images/image ads originating from a specific domain in Firefox 4 & above

Firefox 3.x used to have an option to block pesky images that were not part of the context of page that you were viewing - like image ads. You just had to right click on the image, & select "Block images from {domain serving the image}" to never see any images from that domain again. That context menu option is missing from Firefox 4  & above.

It turns out that it is still there but there are some additional steps to reach it. Right click on the image on the page you are viewing in Firefox & from the context menu, you have to select View Image Info & click on the checkbox "Block images from {site name}".
Thanks RalphB

Also see:
HOW TO block IFRAME based ads

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Trends & Reference Tables that every Web Developer should track

A web developer's education is never finished. Here is a list of trends & reference tables that, in my opinion, every web developer should track -

• HTTP Archive - Trends in web technology, interesting stats, repository of web performance information
• Browser Security Handbook - Key security properties of contemporary web browsers 
• HTML 5 Reference Table
• HTML 4/ XHTML Reference Table
• CSS 3 Reference Table
• CSS 2 Reference Table
• PPK's Browser Event Compatibility Tables - Desktop, Mobile
• HTML5 compatibility on mobile and tablet browsers

work in progress...

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Find Windows System info with Windows key + Pause/Break shortcut

If you need to find hardware details of your Windows PC, like any of the following -

• Version including Service Pack used
• Window Experience Index
• Processor
• RAM
• System type (32-bit or 64-bit OS)
• Computer name, domain & workgroup settings
• Windows Product Id & whether Windows is activated

... there is a easy keyboard shortcut to reach for this info rather than going for it through Control Panel - Windows key + Pause/Break


I discovered this shortcut in this Scott Hanselman article that has other great tips for maintaining your PC

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Interesting USB accessories

I follow the Personal Technology page of "Economic Times" with interest for their India-centric coverage of gadgets & IT topics.

This week ET listed 10 useful USB accessories. Among them, although a USB-based Hub & Mug Warmer, Cooler, paper shredder, Vaccum Cleaner have some novelty, they didn't appeal to me as much as these -

Jabra Speak 410 - USB powered speakerphone ... with integrated cable managment system. Weighing a mere 250g, this speakerphone also has a headset port where you can plug-in any 3.5mm headphones in case you want the call to be private. (Rs 8,000 from www.jabra.com)

USB Display  - This little monitor is completely powered off USB – just one cable is needed for both the video signal and power. The 7-inch 800 x 480 pixel panel is touchscreen enabled too – you can move certain items onto it to clear space from your primary display.
The best part is that since the display connects via USB, your regular VGA/HDMI out is unused and can be used to output to another device simultaneously. ($229.99 from www.thinkgeek.com)

ASUS CrossLink Cable - Thanks to Asus' Crosslink USB cable and adapter, you can quickly connect and transfer data at high-speeds between two computers.The adapter is shaped like a USB drive, has 2GB storage and a miniUSB port on the other side to connect using the Crosslink cable. You can even share an internet connection and optical drive between two PCs. (Rs 4,000 from eBay Global EasyBuy)

USB Foldable keyboard - If your netbook's keyboard proves too small for you or you just prefer to carry your own keyboard around, this flexible USB keyboard is ideal. Since the keys and base material are made of silicon, it is completely silent.
Even though it has the full 104 keys, you can roll it up into a small package. The added advantage is that the keys are completely waterproof and dustproof. ($23.99 from www.thinkgeek.com)

USB Phone2PC - This handly little device is great if you want to keep a record of all your voice calls. It can be connected to most phones using an analog or digital connection and then it connects to the PC using USB.
A software is required to be installed which provides an easy-to-use interface to record incoming/outgoing calls. It includes an external microphone for recording meetings and interviews directly to the PC as well. (Rs 10,000 from www.ebay.in)

I'm surprised that such phone recording/tapping tools are easily available despite recording/tapping being illegal in several countries including India.

In the same technology section, ET gives Reliance 3G Tab a favorable review & 4 stars (out of 5). Reliance 3G Tab (Specs: 7-inch touchsceen,800 x 480 pixels,1.2Ghz processor,512MB RAM,4GB+microSD slot, 2MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM, accelerometer, Android 2.3, 380 g) sells for 12,990 INR.

The review points out three areas where the Reliance 3G Tab doesn't match up to something like the original 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab (P1000).

Firstly,the screen has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels the same as what a high-end smartphone offers and lower than the Galaxy's 1024 x 768.This means that the number of pixels per square inch (pixel density) is low.Secondly,the 800Mhz processor is a bit of a step down and it is noticeable at times with certain apps or when you scroll between screens too fast.Finally,the device is locked to the Reliance network,so you can't just use any SIM card you want.

In the end, they offer a nice suggestion -
If you'd rather not spend the extra,you can choose to buy the 3G Tab without a plan and pay just 12,999 upfront.You'll be using it just like a Wi-Fi tablet and later,you can opt for one of the discounted 3G advance rental or monthly plans.

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Website to track weather in Indian cities - imd.gov.in

Weather isn't a hot topic in India (as it is in the US) & forecasts aren't taken seriously.

Possibly to promote awareness, the Indian Meteorological Department has put out an ad in today's Times of India (with a glaring typo -Meteorological is misspelt as Meteorogical right at the beginning) to publicize the features if its site - IMD.GOV.IN

click image to enlarge

Besides a host of services & forecasts, the site publishes 3-day city forecast for 100 cities. Unfortunately, neither this nor the information from other weather forecasts are accessible as RSS feeds or through widgets as on the US National Weather Service website. As such, there is no easy means by which other websites or individuals can consume useful weather information.

There is a toll free number (1800 180 1717) to get city weather forecasts & observations but the site lacks services that have a "push" mechanism

A better designed site with interactive features (better maps, email alerts, easier accessibility on mobile phones) can boost the utility of India's official Weather tracking service by sharing its wealth of information among the general public.

Also see:
India - Know your elected government representatives
State of Internet in India
Browser Usage Stats for India
Jago Grahak Jago
E-Commerce in India
India IT - facts, numbers & trivia
Discover public transport in India with Google Transit

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Compare ASP.NET Hosting Providers

Microsoft's Web Hosting Gallery has a neat tool to let you search for hosting providers based on parameters like type of server (shared, dedicated, virtual server) cost, technologies supported (Frameworks, Databases, Publishing protocols), storage, number of SQL Databases, number of e-mail accounts, bandwidth per month, support, uptime.

Also see:
Tips on ASP.NET Hosting & Deployment

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