Got my new Nikon D90 DSLR camera two days ago to replace my Nikon D80. I am having so much fun with it! I am planning to do a write-up about it, but I should include some nice photos and videos and I haven’t had a chance to take some really good ones yet. Have been really busy with work and preparing for my trip to Zamboanga. I’m going to Zamboanga tomorrow to visit my aging grandfather. Will be staying there for a week.

For now, I leave you with this - a photo of my Nikon Speedlight SB-600 flashgun.

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Just stumbled upon this by accident. I tried to run my web server but it wouldn’t start because apparently port 80 is already taken. So, I tried going to http://localhost and it loads up a blank page. That’s funny … I am pretty sure I don’t have anything running on port 80. I checked IIS: not running. I checked Apache: not running. I try to run Apache on port 80 again. It still won’t start. It still complains that port 80 is already taken. I start killing every application running on my system, checking every time if port 80 is still loading.

Until I hit the jackpot. The culprit: Skype. I kill Skpe, port 80 becomes available. I run Skype, and I get a web server that loads a blank page at port 80. I kill Skype again. Page load error. I do this a couple more times. Yup, Skype definitely runs a web server at port 80.

Two questions formulate in my mind:

1. What the hell is Skype doing running a web server on my local machine?
3. If port 80 is already taken, does Skype try to use another port? (I tried port 80 - no go)

Is it gathering information or logging my activities illegally? Freaky.

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It’s official. Expression Engine is the easiest CMS ever. For me, at least. I have just implemented Expression Engine to be the backend that will drive the CODESIGN Studios website in under a day. The power and simplicity of EE trumps all other CMS that I have dealt with in the past, and which includes the following:

• Drupal
• Wordpress
• Joomla
• Mambo
• DotNetNuke
• Microsoft Sharepoint

(more…)

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Don’t you just love ergonomic design? I know I do. Long hours of driving would usually lead to severe pain in the lower back, so yesterday I purchased an ergonomic backrest for my car. Boy did the pain go away. I started to enjoy my driving more. Not only did it help ease the pain, but it also provided ventilation for my back, which usually gets wet after hours of driving. Today I drove for about 2 hours under the scorching summer sun and my back stayed dry.

Probably one of the better applications of ergonomic design would be in the office. You know, that place where you spend 8 hours a day sitting, staring in front of the computer screen typing away at who knows what. Thank goodness ergonomic computer peripherals are widely available. You can see this in the Logitech mouse, Microsoft keyboard, chairs, etc. I even discovered a site dedicated solely to computer ergonomics. Wonderful!

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Anyone who’s into the ad serving / CPM business knows how daunting it can be to setup an ad server. This time however, it looks like Google has a hot product in its hands with its free ad management solution, the Google Ad Manager.

Currently in beta stage, Google Ad Manager is a very promising free ad management solution that provides a host of features while complimenting other Google products.

Ad Manager promises to deliver a wealth of features to help site owners with:

• Inventory management
• Yield optimization
• Ad targeting
• Trafficking, ad delivery, and order booking
• Creatives and rich media management
• Reporting
• User interface navigation
• Account administration

It also promises to be free, does not require exclusivity, and will not be bound to AdSense or to any ad network.
(more…)

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I have a Google Apps account, and I received this in my mailbox today:

Google has just released a new product called Google Sites, and you can start using it today!

What is Google Sites?
It’s an online application that makes creating a team web site as easy as editing a document. You can quickly gather a variety of information in one place — including videos, calendars, presentations, attachments, and gadgets — and easily share it for viewing or editing with a small group, their entire organization, or the world.

• Anyone can do it — Building a site is as simple as editing a document, and you don’t need anyone’s help to get started.
• Share from one place — Create a single place to bring together all the information your team needs to share, including docs, videos, photos, calendars and attachments.
• Work together — Invite co-workers, classmates, or your entire organization to edit your site with you to keep it fresh and up-to-date. And let as many or few people view your site as you want.

Take a look at some example sites to see how you might use Google Sites:

• Company intranet — http://sites.google.com/a/organic-city.com/intranet/Home
• Team project — http://sites.google.com/a/altostrat.com/project-eggplant/Home
• Employee profile — http://sites.google.com/a/altostrat.com/jkraus/Home
• Classroom — http://sites.google.com/a/googleclassrooms.org/mrs-richau/Home
• Student club — http://sites.google.com/a/googleuniversity.org/ski-club/Home

To start using Google Sites, go to http://sites.google.com/a/codesignstudios.com

If you have questions, visit the Google Sites Help Center at http://www.google.com/support/sites.
(more…)

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Last January I had an interesting discussion with Meryl Evans and Bill Moore on usability testing (direct link to part 1 and part 2). The gist of it is doing usability testing in a sandwich shop, and in the course of our discussion a couple of key advantages surfaced, mainly:

1. The results are more realistic
2. It allows for unanticipated issues to surface
3. Priceless inputs from the “average Joe”

Below is a copy of the transcript:
(more…)

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We have two major releases this Valentines day of 2008. The first one is Drupal 6.0 final and the second one is Mozilla Firefox 3 Beta 3.

Woohoo! Happy hearts day!

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I found it strange that so many people do not know about it yet, but you can actually call 1-800 numbers using a free Skype account! Of course you can also do this using a landline, but there may be instances where you would like to place a call using your computer:

1. International calls are disabled or locked by a PIN# and you do not know the unlock code
2. You want to record your call
3. You want to do a conference call with another Skype user
4. It is easier for you to connect a headset to your computer than to reach for the phone, in which case you may be a geek
5. You simply prefer to do things over the “Intarweb” with a “computar”, in which case you are a geek

Here’s a sample screenshot of a call that I just made using my free Skype account:

Happy calling!

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“The world’s thinnest notebook”. This is what Apple claims its latest tech toy to be. Having a dimension of 12.8′ (width) x 8.94′ (depth) x .76′ (height) (or 32.5 x 22.7 x 1.94 cm), this 3.0 pound (1.36 kg) notebook really does give new meaning to the term “notebook computer”. Time and time again, Steve Jobs and his team has proven that the mantra “less is more” applies very well to industrial design and make for very sexy and very cool products.

It is also reasonably priced, retailing at $1799 you get a small, light machine that packs a lot of punch: Intel 1.6GHz Core2 Duo processor, 80GB hard drive space, an LCD screen capable of supporting up to 1280×800 resolution, and the all new super shiny Mac OS Leopard X, among other things. What more can you ask for?

My only gripe is that it does not come with an Ethernet port so the user ends up having to rely on WiFi for internet connection — which is fair enough given the purpose of the machine is to be ultra portable, but an Ethernet port would have been nice as a backup. On second thought, forget the Ethernet port. Steve Jobs is a mad genius. Hail, hail.

As parting word when I first heard of “MacBook Air” I was going to come up with jokes but then I saw it and was somehow speechless.

Top notebook manufacturers Sony, HP and Dell were reportedly working on equivalents, dubbed the Sony VAIO “Feather”, HP Pavilion “Paper”, and the Dell Inspiron “Tissue”. Representatives from the three companies refused to comment on the naming convention.

… so I came up with this.

[tags]apple, macbook air, notebook, laptop, computers, technology, macintosh, tech toys[/tags]

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