How in the TECH » Bits & Bytes

What is RSS?

Adam Myers — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:28:04 +0000

In a world heaving under the weight of billions of web pages, keeping up to date with the information you want can be a drag. Wouldn’t it be better to have the latest news and features delivered directly to you, rather than having to visit each site individually?

You’ve probably seen this icon on the internet before, but maybe didn’t know what it was for. This icon tells visitors that there is a RSS Feed available for the site. RSS feeds are read using either your browser or a feed reader (Google reader is my favorite) and allow you to read the latest posts on a site. The beauty of a RSS feed is not only can you read all the latest posts from a site all on one page, without having to visit dozens of pages, you can add as many RSS feeds as you like to your reader.

This can save you valuable time and allow you to read the posts from your favorite sites quicker. For instance, imagine reading 5 posts a day on 10 sites. You would have to visit 50 pages in total, and wait for all the ads etc to load. With a RSS reader you would just have to visit one page each day, and if you don’t like a story, you just move onto the next one rather than wasting time loading a story you don’t want to read! You also don’t have to waste time visiting a site to find that there are no new posts either.

If none of the above makes sense, then this great video should clear it up:

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Talking Points to Defeat Canadian DMCA

Adam Myers — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:59:15 +0000

Brendon Wilson has a fantastic write-up concerning the ramifications of Bill C-61, which has been tabled in the Canadian Parliament. This a topic that I hope will be hotly contested and all Canadians are encouraged to write their MPs to present their feelings. Brendon provides a rational fact based argument against the bill, which should prove to be much more effective than emotional rants that are commonplace when DMCA-like discussions take place.

Looking at Vista’s User Account Control

Adam Myers — Thu, 04 May 2006 22:33:26 +0000

I blogged ever so briefly about Vista’s new User Account Control before and what it will mean to users in its current form so I’m quite happy to find that ZDNet is experiencing the same type of mind-numbing annoyances with UAC as I.

It’s clear that Microsoft is attempting to instill safe practices to it’s userbase; you should not run Windows under the Administrator account. Fabulous idea, no one can argue that. However its current implementation is just a nightmare to work with and those of us that are already the “family tech guy” are in for a real treat in a year as Vista becomes more prevelant. The user/permission paradigm is just not a part of the average Windows user’s technology-trained mind. That’s probably the first hurdle in the security marathon. Secondly, many many applications in their current iterations fail miserably under UAP. One of Windows strengths is in its ability to run software from 10 years back – this just isn’t going to fly any longer.

I still have what may be misguided faith that Microsoft will polish this up, because, whether we all want to admit it, this is desperately needed.

System Administrator Truths

Adam Myers — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 16:37:41 +0000

What are your top ten system administrator truths? Here are a few of mine:

Be very pessimistic
Start from a known state of the system (switch off – switch on).
Make sure you can leave the system exactly like it was before you touched it.
Dont fix what isn’t broken.
Even if you are genius, follow the manual/RTFM.
Dont reinvent the wheel; compare with something thats working.
Contrary to belief, cables can fail.
If its exists, it exists for a reason – Delete Never, Rename Always
Your memory is not infinite, nor are your coworkers mind readers; document.

My Top NES Games

Adam Myers — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 00:24:28 +0000

I’d just like to say that in honor of this being the 20th year of existence for the ye ole NES, here is my top Nintendo games.

15. Duck Tales
14. Castlevania
13. Super Mario Bros. 2
12. Bionic Commando
11. Zelda II
10. Dragon Warrior
9. Mega Man 2
8. Contra
7. Metroid
6. Final Fantasy
5. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
4. Super Mario Bros.
3. Tecmo SuperBowl
2. Super Mario Bros. 3
1. The Legend of Zelda

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start

World at Night

Adam Myers — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 21:14:36 +0000

I'd just like to say that most every geek has seen Google Earth. Also, I'm willing to bet that everyone has seen the space-based night shots of the earth. Still, this video is pretty snazzy. Now, go turn off your lights!

Browser Keyboard Shortcuts

Adam Myers — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 17:01:21 +0000

I am a die-hard keyboarder. In a perfect environment, I should find myself rarely reaching for the mouse. Keyboard shortcuts are an efficient and quick way to manage most applications and their respective tasks. I’ve stumbled across another cheat sheet covering keyboard shortcuts for Mozilla, IE, and Opera. Cut down on your mousing-hand carpal tunnel by memorizing this table. You may even learn something new!

Everybody loves a free education …

Google Cheat Sheet

Adam Myers — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 22:20:46 +0000

I'd just like to say I came across this handy dandy Google Guide Quick Reference page. I am usually pretty good at using search engines and getting the results I am looking for, but I'll be the first to admit I had no idea about a number of the advance operators. FAB!

Rubik’s cube solver

Adam Myers — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Current Song: Greenday - Welcome to Paradise I'd just like to say I suck at Rubik's cube. Maybe I just don't have the patience for it? ADHD? Regardless, if you share my deficiencies this link will solve the Rubik's cube for you. That is, if you survive the tedious process of replicating your cube's colored layout on the webpage.

Happy birthday MP3

Adam Myers — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Current Song: Nirvana - All Apologies I'd just like to say that today, July 14th, is the audio-codec-currently-known-as MP3's 10th Birthday! It amazes me that it is still the defacto digital audio standard after all this time, even with competing formats like AAC, WMA, and Ogg. Thank you Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS.