John D Geek Post

  OK so right now twitter is the "killer app." of the Internet. It is one of the social network sites that have near instantly seen infamous status and attention from almost everyone in the world. If you have been near a radio, TV, or computer you have most likely heard or read about twitter, and while we all celebrate this deviously simplistic site it's only a matter of time before the company notices how the site has gotten away from them and has become something more. The site has become an appliance for add on applications. How often do you actually use the website?   Most new websites centered around interactivity between other sites or desktop programs develop something known as an API, or Application Programming Interface. This interface is a friendly way for developers outside of the original company to access data from the original site and use it for the new programs own purposes. Twitter's success has generated dozens if not hundreds of intera...

Almost anywhere you look you can find someone or something playing music. Since the time of Napster the internet has been linked to music with little success from the powers that be to separate them. As if almost in spite of the efforts to keep a tight hold onto the rights to distribute the music places like Amazon, Napster, Real player, and iTunes have legitimized the internet as a system to distribute music. Among all this confusion piracy still holds a place when looking to acquire a song or album. The RIAA would have you believe that the number is much larger then it could be but since the applications and sites that host the illicit content do not keep tabs or share the information with anyone it is near imposable to know for sure. While it seems that all the angles have been covered and that you could not find another avenue, hope is just a web address away. In an effort to distance myself from pop-media music I started to look for sites that offered great content that was not...

Can't sell it on e-bay? Not able to trade with a friend or family member? The EPA has begun a new "eCycling" program to help make it easier to correctly dispose of old electronics, ink and toner cartridges, and batteries. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/conserve/plugin/index.htm

If you visit my site johndgeek.com you will see I have added a new 2d image to the portfolio. It's a photograph of my grand parents, mother, and uncles in the traditional dutch costume. The picture was taken just before they moved to the USA from Holland. At the time the photographer only offered the prints in black and white. The picture endured several decades until one day my grand father asked if I could colorize it. I didn't hesitate to help since I knew how to colorize a photo using Paint Shop Pro or PhotoShop and proceeded to work. It turned out to be taking a lot of time to complete because of so many details in the clothing and background. Then while reading the digg articles I noticed that someone had created a better way to colorize photos. I had to check it out for myself. The examples posted by the application's author were great so I downloaded a demo and tried it out for myself. The application was easy to install and has a small file size. Once I opened it t...

It isn't often that I come across a program that I think deserves to be mentioned. So often they miss the mark. Some programs will be intuitive and easy to use but lack the power or ability to do anything effective. Other times the application is powerful and give the user limitless potential but requires classes or several books to just learn how to use. This little application is one such wonder that makes it easy to use but just misses the mark on ability. That said I still like this programme. The first thing that sets this application apart is the ability to use PSD, PNG, BMP, EXE and ICO formats. Have a picture you want to crop and make an icon? you can do it with the standard windows paint program and Icon Sushi. Have an avatar or logo you spent hours in Photo Shop with to get alpha and transparency just right? you can open it in Icon Sushi and translate the work into icon form. It has the ability to create icons without sacrificing quality. It also has the ability to add al...

I just finished watching a report about porn junk mail on NBC's Dateline tonight and saw something that reminded me of some other business actions not allowed in the US. The story went along the line that people, family people, where receiving pornographic e-mail without asking for it. The reporter John Hockenberry then went on a journey of two continents and 4 cities to trek down and confront the actual person that send the e-mail. I found it interesting that even though each piece of mail is identified with a code that shows you who sent the mail, no one wanted to correct the problem. Through Mr. Hockenberry's trips to Toronto, Las Vegas and Montreal He came across companies that did not have a physical listing. At the same time he found that several companies employed the same people even though they know they are breaking policies set by the company. This is all fine and well and I do think that junk mail is a part of business that laws have turned there back on. What I don...