PicLens: 3D Image Viewing Experience

If you love browsing through media-rich sites such as Flickr or deviantART, here's a cool add-on you can install in your browser to enrich your image browsing and viewing experience. Now you don't have to just click through online photo galleries or a boring parade of small thumbnails. PicLens by CoolIris transforms your browser into a cool, full-screen 3D picture wall.

I found the PicLens interface quite fast, easy-to-use and intuitive. When you install PicLens, it adds a small 'play' icon on the images which you can click to open the superb full-screen 3D experience. Here you can drag, click, scroll and zoom through images with ease.

PicLens view of My Flickr gallery

PicLens is best viewed on Mozilla Firefox but it is also available for Internet Explorer and Safari. It works with a growing number of websites including Facebook, Friendster, and Image Searches for Google, Yahoo, etc.

For Firefox Users, click here to install PicLens. Visit the PicLens website for more details.

How to Start the New Year Right

By now, the high spirits that came with the New Year have most likely worn off already. Most of us have put behind the celebration and have hunkered down to face the nitty gritty of everyday life. Still, it has only been twelve days since 2008 began and the notion of starting the year right is still relevant.

Besides, the New Year is supposed to be the chance to turn a new leaf and become the productive, healthy and happy person we've always wanted to be, isn't it?

But how does one start the New Year right? Making a list of New Year's resolutions would probably be the quick answer. Unfortunately, this so-called list ends up as nothing but unrealized good intentions and broken self-promises - simply because the eagerness to make changes rapidly fizzles like a wet firecracker as soon as the realization sets in that change is a long, arduous process.

To avoid this, we should skip making a new year's resolutions list that is almost always half-serious wishful thinking. Instead, let us work on making a list of goals - not just any kind of goals, but smart goals. SMART meaning: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. Yes, the SMART project management concept can be used in making our own personal goals for the year.

For every goal you have, apply the S.M.A.R.T. concept. For example, instead of saying 'I have to lose weight this year', it would be more effective to say 'I have to lose 10 lbs. by March 2008 through regular exercise'. Instead of vowing 'I need to save up' you can devote a specific percentage of your income over a specific period of time as savings.

Make sure that your goals are measurable - you have to set down a specific number or amount. This way, you will know if you're on the right track or off the mark. You should also be realistic in setting your goals - know your limitations and work around them. The goals should also be within a specific time frame. Your mindset will be more tuned towards achieving the set goals.

Of course, it doesn't mean that laying down S.M.A.R.T goals is all it takes. It is not easy and there are no shortcuts. A lot of willpower and commitment is still necessary to achieve one's goals. But having S.M.A.R.T goals could be the start of the change we are aiming for. Our goals don’t have to be big and lofty; we can start with small but manageable goals that in turn will help us achieve our bigger goals. Besides, making the change doesn't need to be a single, monumental turnaround. As the Chinese proverb says, we can move mountains by chipping away the small stones.

Personally, I'm still working on my own list of S.M.A.R.T goals for this year. I hope I achieve them all. Indeed, having small but S.M.A.R.T goals could be the best way to start the New Year right.

Web Finds: Cabos - File Sharing Program

Cabos is a free Gnutella file-sharing program based on the popular Limewire. I found this software while browsing through StumbleUpon a few weeks ago and I have been using it ever since. It's better than Limewire because it's free from adware and spyware. It also has a clean and uncluttered interface and uses a smaller chunk of your computer's memory compared to Limewire.

Aside from MP3s, you can also find other files such as documents, and movies. However, the Gnutella network offers a very limited resource when it comes to movies unlike torrents. I don't usually download full-length movies so I'm okay with that.Cabos is basically a simplified, no-fuss, no-nonsense version of Limewire. One little feature I like is the iTunes integration because I use iTunes as my default media player here at home. Cabos automatically adds audio files to my iTunes playlist as soon as I finish downloading them. Now I don't have to locate these files from my chaotic folders.

So there, if you need a simple, easy-to-use, file sharing program to download small files such as MP3s, I recommend Cabos.

Getting the Good Vibes on Netvibes

I've heard a lot of good reviews about Netvibes before but I didn't really care about using it. Until I read Time Magazine's '50 Best Websites of 2007'. Netvibes is currently #8 on the list, and is one of the Top 3 Web Services Sites this year. To the uninformed, Netvibes lets you create your own customized homepage where you can have everything you need in neat little boxes that you can easily rearrange via drag and drop. You can display email, top news stories, bookmarks, search boxes, Flickr photos, calendar, to-do list, and RSS feeds of your favorite blogs all in one page.

Netvibes is also very easy to customize, with hundreds of widgets and modules available, as well as themes and wallpapers. You can also add various games, utilities, and applications to your personal page. There are also Twitter and Facebook modules available.

So far, I'm getting the hang of using Netvibes as my personalized 'centralized' home page. Now, I don't need to open a new tab on Firefox just to view my email, get the latest news or read my favorite blogs. I don’t need to download and install an RSS reader, either. They're all in one page. However, I can't access Yahoo! Mail because my account needs to be POP3-enabled for me to be able to do so. Unfortunately, POP3 on Yahoo! isn't free. Gmail works fine though.

I think I will be using Netvibes from now on. After all, it pays to be a bit more organized. Hehe. Here's a screenshot of my Netvibes page.

Web Finds: Online Image Editors

A few weeks ago I featured some image editing software you can download for free, install and use to edit photos easily. But then I realized, some people may might not have the 'privilege' to download and install stuff from the internet (ex. those using internet cafe PCs or office workstations). So those tools might be practically useless.

Thankfully, there are tools anyone can use to edit photos without downloading or installing anything. There are a handful of excellent online image editors you can try. Here are five of the best ones.

Pixenate - A quick and easy editor, Pixenate lets you work on your photos using basic functions such as crop, resize, and rotate. It also has a spirit level function that lets you straighten photos that seem a bit askew. Aside from the controls for brightness, contrast and saturation, a nifty tool lets you whiten teeth too! The site also offers six fun effects including lomo (short for lomography). Now you can create lomo photos without buying expensive Lomo camera. The site loads fast and you can have good-looking photos in a jiffy.

Picnik - This site has a pretty interface and great editing tools. There's a cool 'Auto-fix' button that works just like Picasa's 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button - it lets you enhance your image in just one click. Other notable image editing tools include an Exposure button that lets you adjust exposure and contrast and even adjust levels with the 'Advanced' button. In terms of editing tools, Picnik may well be the online version of Picasa. However, the site uses Adobe Flash Player which might not be installed in some computers.

Phixr - Another photo editing tool with most of the basic functions offered by the first two mentioned sites but with a less attractive and less user-friendly interface. Yet it works well too.

Cellsea - Taking online image editing a few notches higher, Cellsea introduces a wide range of tools not found in the first two previously mentioned sites. Aside from the basic editing tools, Cellsea also lets you remove noise or smooth out grainy looking photos. There are also tools you'd normally find in advanced editing software including a variety of blurs, effects and distortions. These are probably for more advanced users.

Facefilter Live - This is an interesting site that offers instant online photo makeover slash facial reconstruction. Simply put, it lets you change your facial expression provided that you upload a photo subject that looks directly forward. The site wasn't working and I couldn't edit the photo I uploaded so I can't give you a first-hand account of how it works.

However, there is a sample photo mode you can experiment on. There you can select from 'emotional templates' to change the facial expression of the pre-loaded subject. Some are funny (like 'Monkey' and 'Young' modes), others a bit freaky (like the 'Angry' and 'Fox' modes). If only the site works, I could have posted a photo of myself in 'Monkey' mode. Haha. Buti na lang 'di gumagana ang site.

So there, five useful online image editing tools you can use to work on your photos without the need to download or install anything. Overall, I liked using Picnik for quick editing and touch-ups. Pixenate works faster though. Meanwhile, the one from Cellsea is tops when it comes to versatility.

Just a friendly tip for those accessing these sites in their office workstations, if unnecessary web browsing is prohibited, make sure you visit these sites only at your spare time (like on breaks, for instance) so that you will not get in trouble, okay? Hehe. ;-)

Web Finds: Wikipedia

Everyone probably knows that Wikipedia is the world's largest online encyclopedia, where anyone can research about almost any topic there is. The good thing about Wiki is the huge amount of information available for free. Also, anyone can edit the articles to add more information. Unfortunately, that's the tricky side of Wiki. Pages are prone to hacking which makes the authenticity and reliability of some information questionable.

For someone like me who counts thick encyclopedias as some of his favorite books of all time, Wikipedia is heaven. That's why I can spend countless hours just browsing aimlessly through the site. Wiki-hopping is actually one of my hobbies. haha. Usually I start from the homepage and click on whatever link that looks interesting. When researching about a topic, the links can be very distracting and I usually find myself clicking away merrily. Sometimes i find myself on a topic light-years away from my starting point.

Apparently, Wikipedia isn't only for researching about a particular topic. There are other interesting things you can do while on Wiki. I came across this article on Neomeme.net featuring nine cool things you can do with Wikipedia. Check them out.

• TV Episode Guide. Just search for “list of ____ episodes” with the name of the show, and you will see every episode catalogued and summarized, often with trivia and other factoids.
• Cliffs Notes Replacement. Don’t want to read that weighty tome for your literature class? Don’t worry, Wikipedia is on your side. Just type in the name of the book, and you will be presented with a plot summary, themes, symbols, and other in-depth analysis.
• Learning Activities. This is from Wikiversity, a Wikipedia sister site. Whether you are a student wanting extra practice for a difficult subject or a teacher looking for homework assignments or handouts for your students, Wikiversity provides tutorials and worksheets on subjects ranging from AJAX programming to Philosophy. Wikiversity is currently woefully incomplete, but many subject have lengthy, well-written tutorials.
• Stock Images Collection. Need royalty-free stock images for your next web design or desktop publishing project? Turn to Wikimedia Commons, where you can browse images by subject, licence, or author. So if you need, for example, a radioactive Diderot for that big presentation to the investors, you’re all set.
• Music Database. Want to discover new music? Wikipedia has extensive cataloguing of music by genre, making it easy to find similar bands to those you already like.
• Time Capsule. Want to know what people thought of a topic years ago? Wikipedia archives all changes, so simply by clicking on the “history” tab on top of the page and then “Earliest” on the very bottom you can see an article as it was written years ago. Aside from demonstrating the fluid and ever-changing nature of Wikipedia, but also offers a glimpse into how people thought years ago. The value of this technique will increase over the years as Wikipedia gets older.
• Future Planner. Just as it can go backward in time, Wikipedia can also go backward forward. Wikipedia has articles stretching far into the next millennium. Want to see what you need to schedule for 2008? How about the World Cup in 2038? And be sure(assuming you’ve reached immortality) to pencil in the unsealing of that time capsule in 8113 AD.
• Trend Tracker. Perhaps even more important than what people are searching for on Google or other search engines is what people are researching. This page show the most popular Wikipedia articles. For example, following the Super Bowl, a lot of people went to research Prince,whose search numbers spiked recently. A list of sexual positions, however, remains an all-time favorite. Which brings us to our next and final topic:
• Teacher of Sex Positions. The list is more comprehensive than most books on the topic, complete with pictures. Hell, you can even use Wikipedia to look for porn.

Source: Neomeme.net