How to Take Screenshots on Windows or Mac

Posted by amd on

Dec 15 2009

geek
2 Comments

I’ve needed to capture a screenshot – a picture of what’s on screen – on several systems recently. Normally I hit the “Print Screen” key – sometimes marked “PrtScr” – to copy the screenshot to the clipboard for pasting into Photoshop etc.

Some of the systems I needed to take screengrabs on did not have a working Print Screen button. Here are some handy ways to take a picture of the current screen or application if you don’t have access to them.

Windows On-Screen Keyboard:

On-Screen Keyboard on Windows XP

Click Start, RUN, type “OSK”, hit Enter. You now have a floating keyboard which has a Print Screen – sometimes labeled “PSC”, “Prt Scrn” or “Print Scrn”. Tip: create a shortcut to the OnScreenKeyboard: right click on the desktop, click New Shortcut, type “OSK”, click next twice, and there you have it. Note: you will get a picture of the keyboard in your screenshots. win7-osk-w500

More about this from Microsoft.

Windows on an Apple Keyboard

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Book Review – The Gathering Storm

Posted by amd on

Oct 30 2009

books
2 Comments

Book Review – The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time book 12)

I finished The Gathering Storm by Brandon Sanderson/Robert Jordan late last night, or more accurately around 5am this morning. The Gathering Storm is book 12 of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, who passed away before he was able to finish the series. Sanderson was chosen by Jordan’s editor, (and wife) Harriet McDougal, to finish the series based on extensive notes and conversations Jordan had had with family about the series.

I absolutely loved it. I think Sanderson did an incredible job – I’d rate it as one of the top books of the series so far, up there with books 4/5/6 which were my favourites. I’d give it an 8 or 9 out of 10.

His writing style is definitely different than Jordan’s. For me, with apologies to the hardcore Jordan fans, it’s a marked improvement. He takes 500 words to say what Jordan might have said in 1000. That’s not to say that it’s staccato or not descriptive, he paints great pictures with his words. I just didn’t find myself getting frustrated with Continue reading →

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-17

Posted by amd on

May 17 2009

blogging
0 Comments

PrettyPrinter.de is really handy for quickly tidying up code (I’ve been using it a lot for CSS lately) #
Morning folks. Reverting to web interface while I try to get Tweetdeck working under Windows 7. #
@martharotter @iaindodsworth Cannot restore Tweetdeck on Windows 7: http://amdsoft.com/tweetdeck-on-win7/ in reply to martharotter #
@martharotter I’m liking Windows 7 so far. Vastly improved perceived performance compared to Vista. Love the native dual screen support. in reply to martharotter #
@arrington You should add a bit of context there Michael, 140 chars + irony == a lot of people going to misinterpret what you’re saying in reply to arrington #

Continue reading →

Cannot restore Tweetdeck on Windows 7

Posted by amd on

May 11 2009

software
2 Comments

I’m seeing an issue where the Tweetdeck window stays minimised all the time under Windows 7 RC. Restarting Tweetdeck does not force it to appear, it seems to be permanently minimised. Right-click Pin to Taskbar has no effect.

Cannot restore Tweetdeck on Windows 7 - image 2
I can see the Tweetdeck application appear on Alt-Tab (and Win-Tab). When the Tweetdeck button is selected in the Task Bar the button appears to react normally – displaying selected colour, other application windows lose focus correctly etc.

Cannot restore Tweetdeck on Windows 7

To test Air I’ve installed Twhirl, which appears to be working normally. However, one difference between Twhirl and Tweetdeck is that Twhirl is minimising to the System Tray only. It does not show a Task Bar item, nor does it appear in the Alt-Tab list.

Other info: I’m running Windows 7 RC1 (build 7100) with a dual monitor configuration.

Anyone know of a fix for this? Please leave a comment below! Update: some helpful suggestions:

@martharotter: See a triangle image in the taskbar next to the time/date? Click to expand & click on TD icon from there. That worked for me

@EvertB: I have Tweetdeck running on Windows 7 without any problems. Maybe you should select “install as XP” option on the setup file?

@swhelband: Agree, Love win 7 but I’m finding the taskbar has real issues so far with dual monitor support

Update #1: Working – by complete fluke.

Missing my multi-column Twitter goodness, I installed Seesmic Desktop (it’s a more than capable replacement).

Then, after reading the suggestions above, I decided to give some of them a try. However, Tweetdeck was visible when I loaded it. So, did installing Seesmic Desktop force an update of Adobe Air?

Update #2: Hide and Seek

Ok, the above is not a permanent fix, it’s now failing randomly (playing hide and seek) for me. Here’s when it seems to happen and when it fails:

First install of Tweetdeck (from memory): appears correctly
Next run of Tweetdeck: minimised, does not unhide.
Next run of Tweetdeck: minimised, does not unhide.
[Install and Run of Seesmic Desktop (which is an Adobe AIR app)]
Next run of Tweetdeck: appears correctly
Next run of Tweetdeck: minimised, does not unhide.
[Run then quit Seesmic Desktop (does it reset AIR?)]
Next run of Tweetdeck: appears correctly
Next run of Tweetdeck: minimised, does not unhide.
Run then don’t quit Seesmic Desktop (does it reset AIR?)
Next run of Tweetdeck: appears correctly

My conclusion is that Tweetdeck is messing up AIR status and Seesmic is resetting it to a good state.

Other info:

Dual monitors (2)
nVidea 8800GTX Windows 7 build 7100.
I’m not currently running Ultramon (it doesn’t properly support Win7 yet), wonder if that would improve the situation.

Please leave a comment with your thoughts or suggestions!

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-10

Posted by amd on

May 10 2009

blogging
0 Comments

In the roughhouse world of French rugby, gouging barely raises an eyebrow http://is.gd/wmDL #
Any news on Compteponi’s injury? #
Leicester deservedly get a breakaway score, 7-3 now after 24 mins. Cmon Cardiff! #
Good call from Roland not to yellow for high tackle, no intention there. #
Good defence from Cardiff there, cmon Blues #
@TheMenace I reckon we can beat either of these anyway in reply to TheMenace #
What a kick! 12-10 Blues. #
I don’t know wtf Stuart Barnes is giving out about, questioning the ref is always a stupid thing to do. #
13-12 Leicester, this game is totally up in the air. Think both teams will be happy with halftime to look at tactics. #
Leicester in control here now. Still 20 mins to go though. Cmon Blues, I want to beat you in the final #
RT @anthonymcg: Great drive from Adam Carroll as Ireland take the A1 GP championship. #a1gp << congrats all involved #
Deserved yellow card, pen Cardiff, cmon Blues #
@patmoroney Just the rugby, and the snooker. Oh, and the A1 GP, and a little bit of wendyball earlier. :) in reply to patmoroney #
Great try from Blues but can’t believe Ben Blair – what a legend with 2 impossible kicks to equalise #
@patmoroney I’m a sports addict, love Sundays :) in reply to patmoroney #
Extra time! Well done Cardiff, what a great comeback to level it at 26 all. 10 mins each way of Extra time #
Sad for Cardiff, feel sorry for Williams. Bad way to go out. Leinster can win this HEC, that’s the conclusion from today’s #rugby #
@chrismehigan Very tense. I’d much rather have had Cardiff in the final, Leicester are old hats at playing finals in reply to chrismehigan #
@yenwodt Could be. From my own experience playing rugby in Switzerland a little, the continentals, esp the French, are very tough in reply to yenwodt #
Bottle of 1856 whisky likely to sell for £20K withdrawn from auction after discovery it had been made in 1950 http://is.gd/wzXY #
I’m looking for accommodation in Edinburgh 22nd/23rd May, B&B/hotel/anything. Anyone changed their mind about going? Let me know :) #
Munster folks, if you could RT that last one I’d be ever so greatful (i.e. I’ll buy you a pint) #
Leinster Rugby: Ticket distribution details for Heineken Cup final will be available online from Wed morning http://is.gd/wArz #
@BookingsHotels Thanks, but “178 Hotels found, 0 Available” isn’t very useful :) in reply to BookingsHotels #
@splendiacares Thanks! #Edinburgh @BookingsHotels It’s showing 0 available for 22nd & 23rd, going out to 30km radius #
@BookingsHotels No worries. btw it’s not a convention, it’s the Heineken Cup Final http://www.ercrugby.com/ in reply to BookingsHotels #
Anyone else find it amusing that Shaun Murphy is sponsored by “evolution”? :) #
Billy Keane’s wise foresight: “let’s go easy on Leinster just in case they flay us with our own words” http://is.gd/wBGd #
Shaun Murphy not having the best match, hope he can mount a good break here #snooker #
Leinster fans via @HammerHead4Him HEC final 1 adult +1 youth tickets available for USD$150+P&P #heinekencup #ERC #
@willcarling It’s got to be Leicester, Will, you have to pick Leicester! Experience and history and all that. in reply to willcarling #
@HammerHead4Him I have no doubts, but it would be nice to have the extra bonus of @willcarling writing us off to guarantee victory :) in reply to HammerHead4Him #
@yenwodt @willcarling @HammerHead4Him: Dear Mr. Carling, http://is.gd/wHzd #
Oops, I’ve lost my yacht http://is.gd/xdyS #
@technological_1 hey, I thought you were the technological 1? It’s GPS coordinates for your stalking pleasure. in reply to technological_1 #
@feylya I’ve no problem paying that, but it’d be the last time I’ll ever pay for a TV licence in reply to feylya #
Anyone know when the Quinlan citing commission make a decision? #lions #rugby #
Quinlan hearing unlikely to be convened until early next week http://is.gd/xfjH #erc #rugby #lions #
Really enjoyed the @Ruggamatrix podcast with Rocky while I was having my coffee. Well done guys, great #rugby podcast you got there #
Finally got all arrangements made for Edinburgh. 4 flights – check! 4 tickets – check! 4 beds – check! Relief – check! #
Bob Dylan is rocking the Point Depot here in Dublin, I’m lovin it ™ #
@longpour yes, sadly. we’ll know next wk. #
Bob Dylan playing a lot of new stuff here. Most of it fantastic, as expected. #
Irish #rugby folks, Clontarf (my club) play Shannon in AIL final @4pm, RTE2. #
Be interested to see how Leicester do today against Bath, they’ve started very strongly. Hope London Irish get past Quins later. #
Hmm, might be good for Leinster if Leicester win today – they’d be in the Premiership final 7 days before the big one. Tiring & injuries :) #
Leicester miss a penalty… didn’t they get enough practice last week? #
@TheMenace Kearney will have to play at least 60 mins, but after last night I’m confident that 15 (+Rocky) can win it. in reply to TheMenace #
@TheMenace Agreed, that was what most of the folks in the STH terrace thought last night. Switching to RTE2 now, c’mon Tarf! in reply to TheMenace #
@TheRealAmz Great game, hope we can do it! #rugby in reply to TheRealAmz #
@pauloflaherty I’m loving Win7rc, great to have a decent Windows again after Vista debacle in reply to pauloflaherty #
Aww, so close! C’mon Tarf! #
@sineadailill @TheRealAmz I’m very concerned, we could lose this on the technicality of who scored 1st #rugby in reply to sineadailill #
F*)&)!£$)(_(&_*)&!$&!@ #
That’s heart breaking #
@LTeeling That sucks. Clubhouse dead? Might head in later #
@therealamz @sineadailill Missed that, what was it? Turned off for a couple of mins, pissed off #rugby in reply to TheRealAmz #
Not sure if Irish or Quins would be a match for Leicester. Irish ahead 10-0 here, #
@nell_xo @TheMenace Fair play to Catt, he deserves that, deserves a title too I think #rugby in reply to nell_xo #
@TheMenace Love if Irish could bruise some Leicester egos and bodies next weekend for us #rugby in reply to TheMenace #
Heading to Harrys for a pint with @AlMcBride. Might pop into Tarf clubhouse after, probably like a morgue tonight. #
Kimi’s car dead? #f1 #
@teester1 Well, you might say he’s “lucky” to still have a drive with Ferrari according to Eddie Jordon :) #F1 in reply to teester1 #
Hamilton’s team reckon he can get a points finish #f1 #
Kimi interviewing with BBC again, better be careful what he says this time #f1 #
Brawn’s Button vs Barricello is the best part of this #f1 race now. Rubens needs to push big time to get #1 #
RT @F1grid Kimi also says he couldn’t see the start lights because of the higher rear wings. #F1 #Formula1 #
Agree that Ross Brawn probably prefers Jenson to take win, Rubens 2nd. Rubens ordered to push hard by his engineer #f1 #
RT@Jamesallenonf1 #f1 isnt over yet. Rubens will take advantage when Button, Massa & Vett put hard tyre on. Watch Vettel jump Massa at stop #
Fair play to Mark Webber, looks like he’s nabbed a podium barring no incidents in last 15 laps #f1 #
@TheLensman Good for him too, better driver than he’s given credit for. Massa’s in trouble here though #f1 #
Massa’s raging; he’s short fueled. He should give up 1 position or come in immediately #f1 #
Massa managed to crawl over the line in 6th. RT @adam_macdonald: #F1 BUT, BAR, WEB, VET, ALO, MAS, HEI, ROS. #
Well done Brawn again. Button embarrassed to steal it from Rubens? Lets see how they interact here… #f1 #
Of course, Rubens a gentleman as always. Must be desperately disappointed to lose that one #f1 #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-03

Posted by amd on

May 03 2009

blogging
0 Comments

@TheRealAmz They beat us well (maybe with their J3 team) so deserve to go on. Should beat Belvo unless they’re very good. in reply to TheRealAmz #
@Kiowah Glad it was useful to you. I occasionally tweet geek/biz stuff off @WebsiteDoctor, but keep most of it here on this a/c. in reply to Kiowah #
Delighted that my ticket for Heineken Cup semi-final arrived, looking forward to Saturday :) #
@trontsephore Looks great, but why didn’t you put one on Cowan too? in reply to trontsephore #
@holyschmoke I was very concerned, Leinster Branch made a complete haymes of ticketing (as usual) in reply to holyschmoke #
@seismicshed Looking forward to it. Hope Leinster do it, but I have a fiver on Munster by 8pts :) in reply to seismicshed #
@darraghdoyle @TIME didn’t mention Marblecake, which is more impressive than just winning http://is.gd/sCWp in reply to darraghdoyle #
@darraghdoyle 4chan can be a powerful force for good or mischief (evil would be unfair). Even made IrishTimes http://is.gd/uT9X in reply to darraghdoyle #
Oh no… RT @bbcirishrugby: Rob Kearney is ruled out of Leinster’s HC 1/4-final against Munster http://tinyurl.com/c6j7eh #
@EvertB Hey there Evert, nice to meet you tonight. in reply to EvertB #
@mrs_bopp Our intros were quite long, he started his pres 5 only mlns ago. in reply to mrs_bopp #
@mrs_bopp Lol, yeah, I love that song. @EvertB did great job explaining benefits of Twitter & Open Coffee clubs. in reply to mrs_bopp #
@sineadailill @oscarBravo Best view is sailing into Clew Bay on a sunny summer’s afternoon :-) in reply to sineadailill #
Morning folks. Dull old day here in Dublin this morning, was lashing rain earlier. Where’d that summer weather go? #
@befuddle That @alcarlton guy is a legend – he’s probably on commission for whatever drink you buy! in reply to befuddle #
I have to quit reading Charlie Stross on a school night, his stuff is unputdownable. #
@MiriamAhern That’s why I hid down the back so you couldn’t see what I was up to :) in reply to MiriamAhern #
@MiriamAhern You can forget the Munster jersey idea. I might go as far as to wear a Lions jersey but there’s a limit! #linknetwork in reply to MiriamAhern #
RT@ginader: happy there’s non-panicing & well researched articles about swine flu. Thank you Guardian http://cli.gs/t4jPBe #
I see Digg has got rid of their framing Diggbar #
If I read http://is.gd/vj3y correctly, we have 7 confirmed deaths associated with swine flu, worldwide? And they’re all in Mexico. #context #
@PixieVonDust from journalists? :) in reply to PixieVonDust #
@NiallHarbison They not only have power socket but free wifi on loads of trains. Much better than ours :) in reply to NiallHarbison #
RT @marycarty: We are looking for a great ASP developer any recommendations? Thanks #
@PixieVonDust http://is.gd/vkhb (via @irlchrusty) has the answer. 7 confirmed deaths = “it may have killed as many as 159 people” in reply to PixieVonDust #
@dancryer My guess is freelance. DM me your email and I’ll send it on to her in reply to dancryer #
Skype are spending tonnes on TV advertising at the moment, I must have seen that ad 10 times in the last couple of days. #
Time required to setup WordPress: 3 minutes. Time required to setup WordPress *properly*: 3 hours. #
@amylong yeah, driving me nuts. in reply to amylong #
@PerfectBlogger Cfg options & setting up site specific plugins. Can usually automate a good bit but normally sites are not identical. in reply to PerfectBlogger #
Finally got our HCup semi-final #rugby tickets! The relief! Will be in Hogan Stand Sect. 334, on the 22. #
@bsneyd lol, true that! Unfortunately the best you can get out of the blood transfusion guys these days is a small bottle of Guinness. in reply to bsneyd #
Anyone know a good online shop for glasses that delivers to Ireland? I used glassesdirect.co.uk before but they’ve stopped delivering here. #
RT @robert_brady: 2 medalists among 6 positives in Olympic retests http://ff.im/-2rMD9 << that sucks. #
@yenwodt You’re across the 22 from us :) in reply to yenwodt #
I can’t believe this is being debated in Ireland in the 21st century http://is.gd/vl5e “crime of blasphemous libel”. Morons. #
I’m going to become a registered Pastafarian (http://www.venganza.org/) if that crap goes through. #
@Kiowah It’s a new religion which acknowledges the world was created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Based on a lot of factual evidence. in reply to Kiowah #
@thomasbrunkard The law is weird and wonderful thing, particularly defamation law. Don’t be surprised if it sails by and is upheld :) in reply to thomasbrunkard #
@Kiowah Glad to help educate, even my elders :) #
This is pretty cool, US electric grid: http://is.gd/utDm @TomRaftery: your kinda geekiness :) #
@theelfyone I was! There appears to be a lot of us touched by his noodly appendage recently :) in reply to theelfyone #
Interface question for @forbairt/@TheMenace/any other web UI folks: do you like “Type and wait to search”? I’m not feeling the love for it. #
@Riezner True. Here in Ireland we have quite a bit of wind, especially on the west coast. Have some big wind farms up but could do more. in reply to Riezner #
@121Marketing Some of my thoughts on cycling in Dublin http://is.gd/vt8x http://is.gd/vt94 #cycledublin in reply to 121Marketing #
@121Marketing Yeah I really hate the cyclelanes behind/in front of busstops in particular. Some really dangerous ones in reply to 121Marketing #
Ok, stop work time. #
@Hobo_Web Framebuster: test against infinite loop or broken back button. if (top !== self) top.location.href=self.location.href seems ok #
@fantomaster I’m not sure about that one. Often you want to credit the secondary source, or it adds value. Depends on circumstances] in reply to fantomaster #
@SelectSpecs Cheers. Good work on the twitter monitoring btw :) in reply to SelectSpecs #
What’s this about boards being on RTE tonight? #
Just joined a twibe. Visit http://twibes.com/boards to join boards.ie Twitter users. And they’re on RTE tonight at 7pm. #
@mattcutts Please let me nofollow H1, so you ignore it and read the *real* H1 further down the page? :) #
@dannyarr Thanks for the fantastic work on WD, much appreciated. #
@amylong Where does the queue start? in reply to amylong #
@darraghdoyle You’ll need to dig up to get out of this one #
RT @MiriamAhern: @AMcDermott Thanks for the help. Your advice is always spot on so I’m sure it will work << @amylong you have competition! #
Snooker World Championship has had loads of weird incidents this year. Shaun Murphy not making friends with Neal Robertson there #
RT @Tupp_Ed: Email addresses of Oireachtas members voting on blasphemy law: http://bit.ly/rbpGK #nbd via @damiengallagher #
Reggie has described my hatred of Lunster fans quite perfectly there >> RT: @ruggerbits http://is.gd/vI5J #
@TheMadderHat The Pastafarians have spaghetti & meatballs and pirate costumes.!What have the Jedi got, coloured fluorescent lightbulbs? in reply to TheMadderHat #
Facebook Manners And You http://is.gd/sz8e [VID] (production quality is superb) #
NZ gov has decided to recreate copyright law from scratch http://is.gd/vNPz #
Churchgoers more likely to support torture http://is.gd/vIlc (who’d have thought?) #
@forbairt There could be something to that. However, I have other theories :) in reply to forbairt #
RT @forbairt/@webcreative Even high-end fashion designers ‘steal’ designs http://tinyurl.com/c92ol3 #
Any Gravatar experts around? #
RT @darraghdoyle: Boards.ie on TV last night http://is.gd/vO9J << well impressed with drama board guys! #
@darraghdoyle @paulmcclean it definitely did work first time. Looks like RTE changed video id from 1046941 to 1046916 #
This blasphemy law stuff is crazy. Surely we must stick it on the next referendum http://is.gd/vODW #ireland #law #
Nothing like a bit of Prodigy for a Friday afternoon. Reckon I’m typing faster :) #
@davidsmalley Looks great. But what kind of hacker are you, reading the manual?! in reply to davidsmalley #
@Shiminay Listening to it now, tis pretty alright in reply to Shiminay #
Just been testing site in mobile – Opera’s View -> Small Screen mode is fantastic when you set user agent too #
@MiriamAhern if he’s going by how much time you spend on it, he’s dead right :) in reply to MiriamAhern #
Six years ago today GWB declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq. #
@willcarling you do those accents pretty well :) in reply to willcarling #
@davidmcdonagh Mulligans Guinness will taste sweet on Monday ;) in reply to davidmcdonagh #
Fair play to Mark Allen there, great session of snooker, did really well to keep his head up despite Higgins’ form & his own bad luck #
@nell_xo He had incredibly bad luck so often, twas like the Gods were against him! I don’t like Robertson, too arrogant -typical Aussie? ;) in reply to nell_xo #
@nell_xo Mind you, it’s really disconcerting when Shaun Murphy sits in his seat smiling in reply to nell_xo #
@andrewburnett @wiieb Fair play both of yis. Moving is something I like to do as little as possible. in reply to andrewburnett #
@mneylon Funny you say that, but I’m actually doing exactly the same. Thankfully the latter are not mine! in reply to mneylon #
Err, I mean the former. Lol #
@patmoroney @holyschmoke It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Super Rob has the skills, Girvan the reliability, Nacewa the … inconsistency? in reply to patmoroney #
@andrewburnett Ah, nearly as bad – just as much effort :) in reply to andrewburnett #
Comparing Leinster v Munster to State of Origin (great comparison IMO) http://is.gd/vYE4 (via @patmoroney) #
Browser >Extension< Wars! Noscript includes obfuscated code which breaks AdBlock Plus http://is.gd/vYJt #
btw I’m a big fan of http://adblockplus.org – I whitelist sites that I want to support or might find interesting (like boards.ie etc) #
Thanks for #followfriday recommendation @mrelihan @patmoroney @robert_brady @MiriamAhern @forbairt @dvdlpz @ruggerbits y’all are my pick ;) #
RT @Brian_Howes: Petition to help stop the Howes being extradited without evidence. Please Sign & RT http://bit.ly/BfQL6 #
Tip for twitter spammers: dont all use the same pic of a cute girl. Also 100:1 follower ratio and no updates are kind of a giveaway #
@fantomaster We should start some sort of self-help group for these spammy marketers with no clue in reply to fantomaster #
@Brian_Howes More than welcome. Crazy to think someone can be extradited without evidence, nevermind parents. Best of luck with it. #
@fantomaster “Somebody set up us the feathers. For great justice!” just doesn’t really do it for me… in reply to fantomaster #
@astewart You might be able to access it at http://x.x.x.x/wp-admin Alternatively your host might have an “instant alias” #wordpress in reply to astewart #
@fantomaster Yep. Gets em all in one room. Then nuke the entire site from high orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. in reply to fantomaster #
Looks like that NoScript issue http://is.gd/vYJt has angered the Reddit gods, getting tonnes of 1/5 ratings on Moz.org #
@JoelDrapper @boagworld Twitter Tools from Alex King is probably the one you’re looking for http://is.gd/atI #
Anyone recommend me new scifi to read? I’m all out of Charlie Stross (hence messed up body clock) #sciencefiction #sf #
@JoelDrapper Hmm I think I may have sent you wrong there. TT is on the sidebar http://is.gd/jn9h has some but I don’t see the 1 you refer to in reply to JoelDrapper #
@duggan I’ve read *everything* by Peter F. Hamilton. Waiting for latest to come out. He’s in my top 5 for sure. in reply to duggan #
@fantomaster One problem is a lot of legimate stuff like high quality info products gets associated with MMO spammers. Real pity. in reply to fantomaster #
@duggan Check. Check. Also Reynolds (who can be a tad hard sometimes). in reply to duggan #
@JoelDrapper Got it! It’s this one http://is.gd/vZwc and maybe @boagworld can tell us exactly how he configured setup in reply to JoelDrapper #
@Thaedydal @duggan I may have to turn to fantasy. Robin Hobb was good but latest series went a bit pearshaped. Loved previous stuff in reply to Thaedydal #
@JoelDrapper It seems to be this: http://is.gd/vZwc plus this: http://is.gd/vZxs to get Twitter references showing in WP comments #
@Thaedydal I can be generous – the first Assassins series was awesome so giving her a bit of leeway. Hopefully next series is better. in reply to Thaedydal #
Fantastic interruption of press conference, pretty cool exit too http://is.gd/vZA0 #
@duggan Ah, I see he co-wrote the latest Dune ones. They were -ok- (better than Franks later ones). I’ll check his stuff out in reply to duggan #
@JoannaSchaff Read pretty much all of Asimov/Clarke/Heinlein/Bear/Bradbury/Aldiss/Card/Adams/Baxter/Benford/Bova. Oh, and Harrison :) in reply to JoannaSchaff #
@JoannaSchaff When everyone else was studying for Leaving Cert, I was quietly failing because of mountains of sf/f in reply to JoannaSchaff #
@JoannaSchaff Stop. I’m up to date, sigh. And I even read all of Goodkind SOT series :/ in reply to JoannaSchaff #
@JoannaSchaff Ah true enough. First 5 WOT are alright, good page turners when all else fails in reply to JoannaSchaff #
@JoannaSchaff I loved Magician and some of Feist’s spin off series but they got too many for me, quality dropped around Princes, Merchan … in reply to JoannaSchaff #
@JoannaSchaff I refuse to read Brooks and don’t like Eddings. Goodkind is almost there with them though in reply to JoannaSchaff #
We all have superb taste in sf&f *Mutual back clapping* #
@JoannaSchaff I don’t grok that? (when I said “pretty much all of XYZ”, I wasn’t joking :)) in reply to JoannaSchaff #
In hindsight, the secondhand bookshop that opened within walking distance of my school really didn’t help my exam results. #
Mind you, they also decided to hold the Rugby World Cup right when I was doing exams too. Fatal combination really. #
Ok, time to head to Croker, hope to see Leinster do it, but feel it’s unlikely #
Croker jammed. Lot of Munsterfans around. I’m concerned about catching flu from the swine :) #
Croker wont show replay, fair yellow? I though he was committed #
Disaster :-( #
Happy enough with 5pt lead at 1/2time. I’d prefer if 50% of our team wasn’t broken #
Voice gone. Incredible performance by Leinster :-) #
Just home. Voice completely gone from shouting at the game. What an incredible performance by Leinster. Pics uploading. #
RT @TheMenace 15:05: Right, off for a pint before heading to Croker. ALLEZ LES BLUES << and that was the last we heard of Ken. #
RT @fantomaster: RT @daveredfly: Every day I wish more and more that Google had a viable competitor. << Ditto #
@holyschmoke Just trying to sort them, they got out of order somehow in reply to holyschmoke #
Pictures from Munster v Leinster #HEC #ERC #rugby semi-final http://is.gd/wd9H #
@MiriamAhern Looks like we’ll be wearing the blue jersey after all. I’m still in shock :) #
I also have some nice video of “the best fans in the world” leaving early, that’ll go on YouTube at some point ;) #
Munster fans, I won’t apologies for that, you know you’re overbearing about that so take it on the chin :) #
Looking at the pics, I see the way they cross-checkered the Leinster & Munster fans. It’s pretty cool but I’d prefer they didn’t do that #
@holyschmoke I was full sure Munster would win, just unsure by how much. I keep repeating “incredible” but only way to describe Leinster. in reply to holyschmoke #
@willcarling said “Munster by 21″ << I thought he might be right, especially when our backline was destroyed by injury. #
@holyschmoke Putting my Ireland jersey on, I’m very concerned that some of our Lions have done serious damage to their rep today. Not good. in reply to holyschmoke #
@holyschmoke I think he realises he’s in trouble. A 26 week ban is norm for deliberate eye-gouging. I didn’t see incident enough to judge. in reply to holyschmoke #
I watched videos of the Quinlan incident. I think it will get him the minimum eyegouging 12 wk ban. Deserved. Unfortunate timing for Lions. #
@cgallagher @holyschmoke It was stupid. I want him on the Lions, but that incident must deserve a ban. Positive: maybe Jennings gets called! in reply to cgallagher #
@cgallagher @holyschmoke I don’t wish it on him, but he MUST get cited for it. Nasty incident. Potential 12-26 wk ban means out of Lions. in reply to cgallagher #
@DesireeScales My notes on Outliers: http://is.gd/web1 #fb in reply to DesireeScales #
@LTeeling Best got 18wks for this even though accidental http://is.gd/wmds Here’s Quinlan one: http://is.gd/wmdW #rugby in reply to LTeeling #
@TheRealAmz That bad, eh? I don’t go on it much anymore. in reply to TheRealAmz #
Good start to snooker final for John Higgins. He’s in serious form this year, will be tough for Murphy to beat him. #
Ok, settling down to watch Cardiff-Leicester. Would prefer to meet Cardiff in the final. #

New reading materials (sf and f)

Posted by amd on

May 02 2009

geek
0 Comments

I was just complaining on Twitter that I’m all out of Charlie Stross and I need some new scifi to read. I am a pretty avid scifi reader (to say the least: it’s like crack cocaine to me).

Ross, Janet and Joanna had some great suggestions and we had a good chat about various options. This blog post is mainly a Note to Self for me on what they suggested so I can fill up my shopping cart next time I’m book shopping.

Here’s suggestions of stuff (that I haven’t read only) so far:

Cowl by Neal Asher
Grass by Sherri S Tepper
Simon R Green (both fantasy and scifi were good esp Deathstalker and Hawk & Fisher)
The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas (some comments on that: “most perplexing book I have read in a while” and “@JoannaSchaff oh dear Jo that’s just cruel, I know it’s Alister but still, actually given that it is him it’s worse” – hmmmmmm

Ok, give me more.

How To Stop Skype Changing Your Website Design

Posted by amd on

May 01 2009

geek
15 Comments

If visitors to your website have Skype installed, it may reformat what it thinks are phone numbers on your website. This can be very annoying if you’re a web designer and you get an angry phone call from a client asking why the design is broken (and worse, you can’t see the problem because you’ve disabled Skype in your own browser)!

skype-reformat-number

The image here shows the contact page of one of my websites, WebsiteDoctor.com. Note the phone numbers at the top of the image, and the one in the middle of the text. Before I fixed this, Skype was reformatting all numbers, which severely affected the balance of the banner design (see the site to see why).

What I needed to do to prevent it is include a Skype specific meta tag in the header of my webpages to tell it not to reformat numbers by default (so it doesn’t change the top number). Then I added some more code to tell Skype that it is allowed reformat the 2nd instance of the number only (the one you see with the Irish flag in the picture). Here’s the code to do that.

First, add this META tag to the <head> section of your webpage or CMS (putting this in header.php somewhere before the </head> tag will work in most WordPress themes):

<meta name="SKYPE_TOOLBAR" content="SKYPE_TOOLBAR_PARSER_COMPATIBLE" />

At this stage, Skype will not reformat ANY numbers. If you just want to remove all Skype formatting, you’re finished now!

To tell Skype that you are allowing it to format a number you need to wrap the number with the following html comments. Note you can also specify “File As:” text for the Skype application:

01 4404 342

I hope this helps you out. If it does, or if you need any further help, please leave a comment below.