clip it - clip it good!

Clipmarks is a new little extension thingy for both IE and Firefox that could be useful.

"Clipmarks are for specific pieces of information on web pages. Just like when you read a magazine or newspaper, sometimes you want to highlight or tear out a specific part of the page, when you surf the web sometimes you want to remember specific pieces of content (like an image or a couple of paragraphs). Clipmarks lets you do that. You can give your Clipmark a title and tag it with keywords so you can retrieve it later from any computer connected to the internet.

Clip and save just the stuff you want from any web page.
• Create your personal online collection of clipmarks.
• Tag them with keywords, add your own comments and share them with friends.
• Search the Public Clipmarks to see what's being clipped and who is clipping it."

clever paper bookmark corners

Pretty neat idea - little paper corners that you can print from a template and then slip onto whatever book you are reading. Great for those fussy people that you borrow books from who don't like you folding page corners.

If you like, you can also add a few notes about the page onto the bookmark.

Simple idea, nice solution



Tags: paper corners DIY bookmarks

unnecessary project managers

I'm on a stinker of a project at the moment so am quite enjoying the christmas break, if just to be away from it for a few days. It's not the actual work involved so much, although it's not an easy task. It's the project manager.

See, he's come up with this thing he calls a methodology framework. However there is not much in the way of actual 'methodology'. It's just a very barebones structural document with no detail whatsoever. Apparently the detail is up to us.

When we tell him that there is no method, that it's just a broad outline, he can't seem to see it. Very trying...

Then we have to deal with the 'customer' for whom this framework has been developed. They can see straight away that there is nothing behind it and that it's not what they want. Again, very trying...

Now, if we could get rid of the project manager and deal with the client directly, there would be no problems. We would simply design something to fit in with their requirements. Dealing through the PM, however, is like dragging a ball and chain around.

Anyhoo - tomorrow I will start some reading that I need to catch up on while I have the time off work. I need to finish The Zen of CSS Design, Web Design Workflow that Works, More Eric Meyer on CSS, DHTML Utopia and a few others. I'm a bit of a book junkie I'm afraid and then I see another one I want... I'm waiting for 2 more I just bought of Ebay - Actionscript 2.0 and Javascript Unleashed... so little time!

look who's talking now...

I 'think' I'm pleased to see this new Telstra site up and running, but not sure what others will feel about it. I can see the journalists having a bit of a field day.

I like the simple Web 2.0-ish design, but unfortunately it doesn't validate and has a few accessibility issues but I'm sure they would not take much to fix.

Glad to see Telstra blogging though - something I've wanted to see happen for a while. I do wonder if the individual blogs are going to be just that or propagandised...

I can easily see Sol Trujillo being the driver of this little project, but good on them.

Tags: Telstra Sol Trujillo Blogging Telecommunications Australia Validation Accessibility

FeedTier - RSS Web Feed Generator for Web Pages without Syndication

FeedTier - RSS Web Feed Generator for Web Pages without Syndication

FeedTier is a web feeds generator for web pages without an existing syndication format. FeedTier performs content analysis, picks-up the most prominent cluster of hyperlinks and automatically generates RSS web feeds from web pages without existing sydincation options. FeedTier is an experimental service and free for personal use.

snippy joe

Looks like Joe Clark got a bit snippy with Steve Faulkner.

Steve used Joe's A List Apart PDF Accessibility article in his WE05 session on the title attribute to demonstrate, in his opinion, inefficient use of it basically. Although Steve said he used the article because of the number of links it contained - over 80.

I must admit I was surprised at the time - why would you pick on a high profile person like Joe at such an event.

we05 summaries

Kevin Yank from Sitepoint has done a great job at summarising day 1 & 2 so I won't repeat most of it.

Web Essentials 05 Day 1
Web Essentials 05 Day 2

I have to agree with Kevin's opinion about the SVG session with Dean Jackson. I came away not learning anything and that's a biggie for me. The talk was more of a ramble and lacked structure. Dean demonstrated some 'effects' I suppose but didn't enlighten me about SVG. Now, you don't necessarily need a tutorial as such but you want to gain something from sitting through a session. Particulary, as I pointed out over on Sitepoint, you've got to go back to your company and prove that it was worthwhile for them to have paid for you to go. And to be able to impart what you learned to others in your team. I can't do that as a result of such a session.

Dean's not alone however. I was really disapppointed with the first Eric Meyer session which was about his CSS implementation of the A List Apart site. It too was a bit meandering and Eric seemed to have trouble getting into it and certainly did not seemed enthused. It wasn't detailed enough and he spent some time over what he decided to call the IDs of some sections of the A List Apart site - really I don't see that as important. I want to know more about the hows - it wasn't bad, it just wasn't 'enough'. Second day's session was completely different - what a great session that was and it made me sit forward in my seat.

The 3 person panel Moving your Organisation to Standards with Brett Jackson, John Horner and David McDonald was also a bit limp. I think the audience was really beyond this very low level topic. A mildly interesting discussion, and certainly not the fault of these presenters, I just think it was too 'skimmy'.

I should say that these are not just my opinions - I was hearing the same mutterings from others around me. Don't get me wrong though - these are just a couple of 'ho hums' amongst many 'yeahs!'. I'm so glad I got to go.

If you don't listen to all the we05 podcasts can I implore you to at least make sure you listen to Molly Holzschlag and Jeffrey Veen, two of the most inspiring speakers at we05.

And just one more last gripe - people who sit in conferences constantly clicking their pens should be shot. No questions. No blindfold.

we05 done and dusted

Well, I'm just back from we05. I'll be blogging about this quite a bit over the next few days or weeks as my brain is full at the moment.

I was sitting on the plane on the way home thinking 'Cripes. I've forgotten everything that was talked about' and 'Who was that guy that said blah?' but I realised that I was just in overload mode and gradually my thoughts started to clear a bit.

It was a great conference not least by just being able to sit in the same room as all those digital heroes that I admire and read their blogs and whose books sit on my shelf (or more likely are spread out over the desk).

Fantastically, podcasts of most sessions are available to keep the experience alive and also to kick start the old brain 'oh yeah - that's what she said!', as well as share the love with you poor souls that could not attend.

Overall assessment? 90% good. There were a couple of disappointing sessions (more later) but that's probably the way it goes. Some speakers need to learn to slow down a bit (Tantek, Steve and John - you know who you are), or the conference organisers need to allow more time rather than cramming these excellent speakers into 30min 45mins blocks.

The actual conference organisation was excellent and very well-planned, keeping to schedule pretty much. Love the satchel and the free Sitepoint Firefox Secrets book. (Til now, I didn't know sitepoint was pretty much Australian - great stuff!)

Most memorable incident of course will always be the fire evacuation that happened right at the end of the second session with Tantek - the first caught on podcast we believe and flickerd! This incident was handled extremely well and we all filed out in an orderly manner - well done to the organisers for maintaining calm and for handing out water when we went back in. Turned out that building work next door caused dust to get into the airconditioning system and set off the alarms.

Unfortunately most of the rest of the conference was accompanied by various decibel levels of jackhammering from next door - but them's the breaks.

Flickr photos of we05 sessions and speakers are up, official and by everyone else. I love this photo of Eric sitting on the street with his laptop - he was probably blogging about the evacuation or something...

Best and most inspiring speakers? Molly Holzschlag, Jeffrey Veen, Eric Meyer (second session), Kelly Goto, Douglas Bowman.

But now, I must go have words with Steve Faulkner who made some disparaging remarks about Dreamweaver in his session that I must correct...

life online

Today was a very technology-based day and strangely enough quite satisfying.

I sent an SMS via SMSPup to my other half for whom I had risen at the unearthly hour of 4am in order to take him to the bus which would then take him to the airport.

I spent about ten minutes fiddling with my PC speakers and headset which were crackling - fixed that.

I then later Skyped his mobile phone and spoke to him for a few minutes - having used Paypal to get some SkypeOut credit.

Then I left feedback for some eBay items I purchased on the weekend that had arrived yesterday. Those I had paid for via Netbanking. Noticed I now have over 300 feedback ratings. That means I have bought 300 things on eBay - that's absurd. Can't be true, can it? At least it's all 100%

Next, I Skyped my daughter who is camping with friends on Phillip Island. She's coming home tomorrow. Goodie.

Let's see... oh yes after that I listened to a 30 minute Savvy Technologist Podcast about accessibility and new technologies - while I did the dishes and tidied up around the place - just pumped up my PC speakers.

A short time later I received an email from a friend who has just gone to Canada for a year. She was letting me know her Canadian mobile phone number so I Skyped her too and we chatted for about 6 minutes for the grand total of 20c!

Then I viewed her Flickr photos - I had told her to set up an account before she left to make it easy for her to share photos rather than emailing them to everyone and she did. Left some funny comments to cheer her up.

Fixed some things on my Dad's blog and Technoratied it.

Checked all my Bloglines feeds.

And here I am... it's teatime and I'm still in front of this thing. I need to get out more...

we05 - i'm still going...

I've previously mentioned how excited I am at being able to go to the WE05 2 day conference this year in Sydney (sold out by the way!).

Once I got over the initial surprise at being allowed to go, I realised that I had very few people to share the joyous news with. You see, in our organisation NO ONE gets to go to these things even if they happen to be held in the same state where you live, never mind a whole different one that requires airfares and accomodation.

If I went around spouting about how lucky I was and where I was going, an awful lot of people who be saying, 'How come she gets to go?'. Much unpleasantness would ensue.

So I just have to sit quietly in the corner as usual and keep mum. It's a bit of a let down in a way but as the day approaches I'm sure the excitement will ramp up again. I'm not much of a traveller so it will be my adventure in the big smoke. I hope I don't get lost or something...

Then I suppose my only problem will be when I get back - I will be expected to report on this conference to the wider team, at which point I can already hear 'How come she got to go?' Ah me...

we05 - i'm going!

I can't believe I am actually going to WE05 in September! I'm all abuzz with excitement. Fancy being able to meet my hero Eric Meyer (one of the many excellent speakers).

Even more amazing, my employer is paying! I nearly fell off my chair when they said "Yes. Go."

I mean, every year I timidly wave a conference ad in the air and laughingly say, "Gee, I'd love to go to this...". The expressions on the face of anyone who happens to be in the vicinity usually have some sort of 'poor child - what planet does she think she lives on?' pained smirk.

Thank you Thank you Thank you

accessible bar charts

clever

accessible bar chart