Notebooks of Scott

“Some Folks at Google” have created a small website to help people understand what a web browser is and to help them find one that works best for them. The site has a short video plus some tips and tricks and links to 5 major browsers. Check it out: WhatBrowser.org

The MIT Museum is hosting an exhibit called “Metropath(ologies)”, exploring the modern world of communication around us. Part of that exhibit is a webapp that focuses on data mining and the building of profiles based on information mined by computer programs. It searches the web for your name using a sophisticated computer algorithm and then attempts to show who you are based on the results. It is quite interesting.

Link: Personas|Metropath(ologies)

My persona can be found on Flickr or by searching for “Scott McKittrick” on the above website.

For a while I have been using the Blogger service to hold my blog. I started the blog before I started my website and then simply used it after I had set up scottmckittrick.com. Now, however, I have decided to keep the service hosted with my website. So I have created a new subdomain, http://blog.scottmckittrick.com to hold it and set it up under Wordpress. So far I am very impressed with the program and am glad I switched. I will be working on a custom theme for my blog to go with a new theme I am working on for the main website. Check back soon for updates.

One of the things that I love about the internet is the wide range of information that is available. The only problem is that it is also widely spread, and I am too lazy to looking for it myself. So I have been trying to find a way to create a dashboard on my computer that didn’t require my going to a website to see it (a la Netvibes or PageFlakes). It has taken me a while, but I recently noticed that Google Desktop allows its Gadgets to be placed anywhere on your desktop. Viola! Instant dashboard. On top of that, it is right there when I turn on my computer.

I am seriously considering trying Yahoo! Widgets and Adobe Air as well. Just for comparisons sake.

Update: I tried out Yahoo! Widgets. It is by far a more aesthetically pleasing set up. However, I could not find an RSS reader that could parse anything but perfect XML, and there are few perfect XML files. So until I can find one that does so, I’ll stick with Google Desktop. Interestingly enough, neither Google nor Yahoo have created an RSS reader widget for their programs. I would have thought an RSS reader would have been the first thing to create.