This year, however, Premier decided not to make a 5×8 vertical column agenda! I am crushed. Vertical columns are better for tracking schoolwork, assignments, and exams, because work that doesn’t get done can easily be “pushed” to the next day with an -> arrow. Also, the right-hand side of the day column can be used as a check-mark area, so I can easily tell if that day’s task in that particular subject are complete. This is something that horizontal date-block style planners just do not allow.

Why are vertical columns not as popular as horizontal blocks? I really can’t understand how people think the other way is efficient. Has anyone else had problems finding their perfect day/school planner? I now have to find a different company to find my planner - any suggestions?

If you are anything like me, you probably sign in to Gmail from multiple computers. I, for example, occasionally sign into my Gmail account from a friend’s house when I need to check an important email. Usually I remember to sign out, but every once in a while I wonder if I really did. Now I no longer have to wonder.

Gmail Blog: Remote Sign Out

The only tricky part is the icon. It needs to be converted to a base 64 text string. Base64 Online does a great job of doing this for you. All you have to do is upload your image (often found at www.[whatever website].com/favicon.ico), and Base64 Online will convert the *.ico file into Base64.

Here are two of mine: (you can right-click > ‘Save Link As’ into the above folder if you don’t want to do the work yourself)
UIUC People Search
Song Lyrics (via SongMeanings.com)

Google Monitoring ISP Throttling - Google will be creating a tool to help consumers detect if their ISP is throttling their internet traffic.

“We’re trying to develop tools, software tools…that allow people to detect what’s happening with their broadband connections, so they can let [ISPs] know that they’re not happy with what they’re getting — that they think certain services are being tampered with,” Google senior policy director Richard Whitt said this morning during a panel discussion at Santa Clara University, an hour south of San Francisco.

HotHardware: Google To Develop ISP Throttling Detector

The solution: I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of days. My parents want to put in a few outdoor speakers near our pool, and I was brainstorming about what would be the best solution.

One of the most simple solutions would be the all-in-one receiver. This receiver could have a CD player built in, as well as an AM/FM radio, and inputs for external sources (an iPod, for example).

This solution is easy to understand, and has high reliability. There is little chance that my parents will be confused by a single box that has big knobs for “Volume” and “CD - Radio - MP3.” This is probably the most logical solution for the less technically inclined.

A more complicated, but more interesting and potentially more useful solution would be a software solution. This software would run on a computer that is connected directly to the speakers (via amplifier). The computer would have the following specifications:

• Play a CD
• Play over-the-air radio
• Play online radio
• Play music from an iPod or MP3 player
• Play music from online sources (Pandora comes to mind)
• Accessible from the internet (but the internet is not required for full use of features)

Is there a software solution that will do this?

One of the major obstacles will be to actually get music on the computer. For example, if I just purchased Weezer’s Pork and Beans on iTunes, I want to play this song outside on my sound system. How do I get this song that is locked down with digital rights management (DRM) to my “Jukebox” computer? I can’t! The proliferation of DRM-free music sites like the Amazon MP3 Store help this problem, but the consumer would still need to upload the music to the host computer somehow.

If we assume the music is already on the computer, this simplifies the process. The software would simply require playlist creation and switching to other forms of music like Pandora or online radio. A nice cross fader and audio-leveler would also be nice.

Although a custom piece of software could be written for this, a typical audio program like iTunes, Windows Media Player, or foobar2000 would do the trick. The system could be accessed remotely through Windows Remote Desktop or similar desktop sharing application. iTunes already supports playlist creation, CD playing, and online radio. Most AM/FM radio stations have online stations these days, so a terrestrial radio tuner would not be needed. The mere fact that it is a computer allows playing of other internet media like Pandora. An MP3 player could be plugged in via USB and played.

Sometimes it is easier and more reliable to use a current solution than to invent your own.

I’m really impressed w/amazons selection of DRM free music. I’ll still use iTunes for my player, but amazon is my new store

Kevin Rose via Twitter

It’s great to see that people are slowly realizing how the iTunes Music store locks you in to iPods for the rest of your life. Amazon (and many of the up-and-coming alternatives like Napster) is cheaper, has non-DRM MP3s, and works with more players (including iPods). They have a special downloader program that will directly import the songs to your iPod, or (my preference) you can download the mp3 file directly. Why would you not switch?

The students are blowing through the filters as if they were not even there. Anyone who believes otherwise is only fooling themselves. Do you think students are not laughing themselves silly at getting to sites they know their teachers can’t get to? How much does that do for teaching respect for teachers, schools and authority in general?

Schools As Communication Free Zones

At my school, there was certainly not enough IT support to fight the onslaught of new proxy websites and game sites every day. Even with automatic updates to the banned sites lists, it seemed like most students knew a way to get around the filters.

A study by The University of Utah has concluded that two monitors can significantly increase efficiency. Further, monitors of size 24″ tend to be the most productive.

So if I’m interpreting this correctly, two 20″ or 24″ monitors will achieve the optimal efficiency for me.

Dr. James Anderson discussed his findings in his paper (begins on pg. 32) as well as on NPR. Very interesting.

BBC: Odd Videos