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Recently I had to dust off my Windows XP computer and use some tools only available on Windows. I spent time getting application windows setup just the way I wanted them so my workflow between applications would be most productive. I also pulled up several references in browser tabs for quick access, and settled down to work. After a few hours, I decided to call it a night and left my computer encoding a video.

Next morning I wake my computer and see an empty desktop. What? Were are all my open applications? My references? What happened? Then I notice the helpful notice at the bottom of my screen. Oh, Microsoft realized that I needed to upgrade and restart right away. It was for my own good. How thoughtful.

In 1986 I met Doug Lenat as he was just beginning the Cyc project. He had a daring and bold vision that is yet to be realized. However, the knowledge base developed over the past 20 years is probably the most comprehensive available and now that the full Cyc knowledge base is available, it’s the perfect foundation for building some exciting projects.

Cyc is one of the most notorious projects in artificial intelligence. Now spanning for over 20 years it has yet to deliver on initial promise of human-reasoning capabilities. While initial goals were too ambitious, we should still be quite happy with the achievements. Especially now when it seems Cycorp (owner of Cyc) is seeing the potential in opening up its knowledge base to third party developers. Yesterday OpenCyc was released under CreativeCommons 3!Zemanta Official Blog, Aug 2008

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Open source software (OSS) has come a long way. Once only the most adventurous, tech savy users would run business operations on open source software. Now good OSS rivals that of commercial software. Microsoft is facing a signficant challenge from open source in all areas, from operating systems to word processing. Just one year ago I didn’t use any free or open source software. Now my newest businesses run completely on a combination of free and open source software.

Notice I said a combination of free and open source software. While open source software is free, all free software isn’t open source. Much of the software I discuss here is free, as in free to use. Sometimes the providers of free software make money from their product by including advertising within the product. However, OSS is free to download and install on your personal computer or server AND you may see and modify the source code. Now if you aren’t a programmer that might not seem important to you. But it could be…

You can find free to use, web based software to do nearly anything. From editing photos to business spreadsheets, there are lots of free options. However, when you run your business with free software that is not open source, you run the risk that the product could be discontinued, or the provider is acquired by a bigger company just to eliminate competition. By using open source software, you will never be at the mercy of another company. You can even find a programmer to modify open source software to fit particular business needs.

InfoWorld has done a great job of reviewing some of the most popular open source options and you should take a close look at an OSS alternative before making another software purchase.

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If you recently bought a new Windows computer, odds are it came loaded with lots of software you don’t want or need. Often referred to as crapware, this unwanted software often runs when your computer starts and uses memory and processing power, making your computer take longer to start and respond sluggishly.

Even experienced computer users have trouble eliminating crapware. Who knows which programs are drivers or support software for hardware features, or simply junk the manufacturer was paid to install? I have never purchased a computer that came with a list of all the software installed with explanations of what it does or what will go wrong if I remove it. So what do we do? Most of us simply live with sub par performance because we’re afraid to remove anything that came with the computer.

A few companies have produced tools to help us deal with this problem. One notable company is ZSoft. ZSoft Uninstaller will automatically find entries that are considered crapware. Now there’s no way ZSoft can recognize all possible junk software, but at least you can have confidence that you’re removing known junk and not something your computer really needs to function.

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Picnik - edit photos the easy way, online in your browser

I’ve used several online photo editing tools and most left me reaching for my expensive desktop tools. My editing needs are actually simple; adjust exposure, crop, resize, and occasionally add some text.

Lately my desktop tools have been collecting dust. I’ve been using picnik, an online tool that does everything I need and is easy to use. So, if you’re tired of photo software that expects you to be an expert to use it, or you’re just now looking for photo editing tools, picnik is a tool you should try. Its basic version is free (that’s all I’ve needed) and it integrates with flickr, Picasa, facebook, photobucket, myspace, and webshots.

This is one web application that doesn’t dissapoint.

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In one day, two companies really impressed me with their attention to their customers. The first was UserVoice and most recently, Flock.

I was visiting a site which used UserVoice’s service for collecting a site’s user suggestions. Impressed with it I visited the UserVoice site and liked what I saw. I posted a tweet mentioning that my company should consider using the service. Within an hour I received a tweet from UserVoice thanking me for checking them out and asking if they could help.

Wow. In an era where companies use voicemail to hide from customers, this was a refreshing change. (more…)

I’ve been experimenting with various Friendfeed and Twitter desktop clients. Twhirl is very feature rich and it supports Friendfeed’s rooms. However, I don’t like having separate windows for each service.

Feedalizr is not nearly as feature rich (it doesn’t support rooms), but it is very attractive, is clean and simple, and easy to use. (more…)

Photos and images are essential to good design. They add visual interest, reinforce your message, and entice viewers into your text. A good source for free photos is Flickr. But before you go picking any photo you see on Flickr and using it on your site or blog, remember that just because you find a photo on Flickr, it doesn’t mean you can use it. Photos on the web are usually covered by a copyright and the rights to reproduce a photo may be reserved by the copyright owner. (more…)

I do some of my best thinking in a coffee shop. Maybe it’s the change in environment or maybe it’s the caffeine; but it’s the perfect way to recharge (or start) my work day. Of course the coffee shop must have wireless. The internet is now integral to my thinking process. If Starbucks is your coffee of choice they have a deal for you:

Complimentary Wi-Fi for Starbucks customers When
you register your Starbucks Card and use it at least once a month,
you’ll receive two consecutive hours a day of complimentary Wi-Fi,
courtesy of AT&T.

Panera Bread has an even better offer. They have over 1200 locations offering free no strings attached Wi-Fi; many without the 2 hour limit. I just can’t work there. The environment just isn’t right.

Most communities have one or more cafes or coffee shops offering free wireless. So, get out and find your favorite hotspot.