Get your social networking and other Web 2.0 profiles in one place

And share them with friends, family, relatives & colleagues on your blog, web site and MySpace using Aggregator Widgets.

I had earlier mentioned about the Wink Widget which helps you organize a list of links to your profiles on various social networks in one place. However, it has some shortcomings.

1. First off, you have to sign up on Wink.com to use the Wink widget.
   
2. It is pretty complicated and takes time to get it up and running.
   
3. It does not let you add profiles from services other than the default ones on the list.
   
4. It's a "blatant Wink advertisement" - Paul Stamatiou
   
5. Since it is hosted on the Wink server, its sluggish and sometimes slows down the performance of your web page / blog and if the Wink server goes down, so does your widget.
   

In order to overcome these shortcomings, Dustin Bachrach created a simple CSS/HTML widget, ShowYourself.

1. It has 25 default built-in Web 2.0 sites/services/networks and also gives you the flexibility to add ones not on the list, the ajax function automatically fetches the favicon image for the sites not on the default list.
   
2. The widget automatically displays a logo beside your AIM and Skype profiles indicating whether you are online or not.
   
3. It uses plain CSS & HTML, no hosting required.
   
4. Lets you customize the colors.
   
5. The favicon (logo) images can be hosted on your own web server.
   
6. There is no need to sign up for anything to use the service.
   
7. There are no advertisements. You just need to leave a link back to the ShowYourself web site.
   
8. Its free!
   

Get yourself ShowYourself now!

Do you know of a better aggregator widget? Share it here, now! » Continue reading

Read more on Internet, Social Networking, Technology, Web 2.0, Widgets

Tips to prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) on long distance flights

If you are a frequent long distance air traveller, you need to know about deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and take some precautions.

DVT is the formation of blood clots in the legs. Prolonged inactivity can be a factor and it has been linked to cramped conditions during air travel. The US government's Aviation Health Unit offers this advice:

• All of us should exercise the calf muscles regularly, drink enough water, but avoid alcohol and coffee.
  
• Minor risk (If you have any of these factors: age over 40; very tall, short or obese; history of leg swelling; recent minor surgery or extensive varicose veins.) Do not sleep for long periods or take sleeping pills.
  
• Moderate risk (Recent heart disease; pregnant; on the Pill or HRT family history of DVT.) Take a doctor's advice about travel. You may need special stockings known as "graduated compression stockings" to prevent DVT.
  
• High risk (Recent major surgery, stroke or leg injury, known clotting tendency.) Take medical advice. You may need blood-thinning medication.
  

And here's a video by NewYouLifestyle on DVT.

You can buy graduated compression stockings to prevent DVT here or here.

Related posts:

• Tips for long distance flights
  
• Flying long distance with kids
  

» Continue reading

Read more on Health, Lifestyle, Travel and Holiday

Review of the Genius Ergomedia 500 USB Gaming Keyboard

Are you a compulsive PC gamer? Or do you just hate PC gaming because you hate using keyboard during game play and you're fixed to playing games on a dedicated console? Ergomedia 500 USB Gaming Keyboard (read Keypad) from Taiwan based Genius is the gadget which will change the way you game on a PC.

I just received my piece from Amazon and I was so much fascinated with the ergonomic design of the keypad, it really looks good sitting on my desktop. Alas I can't click a pic of it as my camera phone is under repair. But here I have some photos from the official website of Genius, for you to see. The unique hand friendly design ensures that there is minimum amount of hand movement and maximum comfort. It helps support your palm to avoid discomfort and fatigue when playing for longer periods. It also gives a very good feel and control over the game with the mouse in the right hand and the Ergomedia in the left.

Ergonomic palm rest design to support your hand for long time playing.

The eleven keys on the keypad are programmable and supports one touch recording and playback of macro sequences. Apart from that there is a 4 way direction button. The blue keypad back-lighting makes sure all keys are highly visible even in darkness.


Installation, like most other USB devices, is easy. Just plug and play. However, it comes along with an inbuilt sound card, earphone and microphone jacks (for in-game use and chatting online). So if you prefer to use your own sound card and audio setup, you have to enable them again in the Windows sound settings configuration as the installation process disables these by default.

Mic in and speaker out jack - great feature to eliminate inconvenient cable switching.

On the cons side, the Ergomedia 500 lacks the facility to print macros that you record. The only option would be to write them down unless you have a very sharp memory.

Ergomedia 500 is an additional peripheral rather than a keyboard replacement. You may still need the standard keyboard to type in messages, entering an IP address or dropping out of the action as there is no ESC key on the Ergomedia.

On the whole, it is a must buy for all compulsive PC gamers. It can also change the perception of those who are hooked to dedicated gaming consoles, like Playstation, Xbox or Nintendo Wii, towards PC gaming. So here is the link to the amazon store where you can get your Genius Ergomedia 500 for just $34.99 USD. » Continue reading

Read more on Computers, Gadgets, Gaming, Lifestyle, Technology

All the juice on the gossip grapevine

Do you remember all the more mundane details about your friends' lives, or are you more likely to remember juicy gossip? UK-based researchers Alex Mesoudi and Andrew Whiten of the University of St Andrews and Robin Dunbar of the University of Liverpool used a "Chinese whispers" style of experiment to find out, and it seems gossip wins hands down.

The researchers gave ten people four different passages to read, then asked them to write down what they could remember. Then their writings were passed to another five rounds of volunteers. Not surprisingly, the researchers found that gossip-like information involving deception and infidelity was remembered and transmitted in far greater quantity and with greater accuracy. In a separate study, a British market research company called 72 Point surveyed 2000 volunteers and found 97% of women and 93% of men admitted they like spreading tittle-tattle. Their favorite topic? Information about friends and family, closely followed by details of office affairs and celebrities' lives. » Continue reading

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Is your cell phone Germ-free?

Your cell phone is probably covered with bacteria, says University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba. "Everywhere we go, we can contaminate them," he says. In a study of 50 phones, all had bacteria; two had bugs that can cause skin infections -- a risk if you share your cell. To clean your stuff, use disinfecting wipes or buy Motorola mobile phones because some of its phones have an anti-microbial coating, which prevents bacteria from growing. » Continue reading

Read more on Cell Phones, Gadgets, Technology, Tid Bits

Can dogs watch TV?

Many people contend their dogs watch TV. But don't run out and buy Lassie to entertain your pooch just yet.

A dog's eyes are specially designed to pick out motion. At the level of a single cell in the eye, a moving target appears as a flicker. The average human doesn't see flickering above a speed of 55 cycles a second (55 Hz). The image on a television is redrawn at a rate of 60 Hz. Humans don't see this flicker, and the image appears continuous. However, because many dogs can resolve images at higher speed, the TV screen probably still appears to them as a rapid flicker, making the images look less real. Thus, many dogs don't direct much attention to what's happening onscreen. Some dogs ignore the flickering and respond to interesting images on screen. These dogs often follow the images, even looking behind the TV to see where something went after disappearing from view. However, since a dog's dominant sense is its sense of smell and objects onscreen have no scent, most dogs will quickly lose interest and wander off. This might be a blessing. Imagine Rottweilers defending their owners from the criminals in a police drama!

By Stanley Coren in PETS Magazine » Continue reading

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Chow Soup for the Soul... oops! Sorry, for the Bank Account

How healthy is your Bank Account? Not very? Get some Chow Soup from JohnChow.com to help you make money online!

What! Never heard of John Chow? You must be kidding...

This Chinese born, living in Vancouver-Cananda, is not just a self proclaimed Dot Com Moghul but is quite popular in the blogosphere for his creative rather than evil ways to make money online.

John Chow started The Tech Zone back then during the dot com boom and heavily cashed-on on it. Now that the dot com boom is over, he still continues to take advantage of the various opportunities that the Internet offers to make money online, blogging being one of them.

His personal blog "John Chow Dot Com". Yes, literally "John Chow Dot Com" -- I know how funny and unprofessional it sounds, but don't go by the name! It ranks 157 on Technorati at the time of this writing and grossed $8,000 USD in the month of March. So no matter how unprofessional he might be at his job, he has got some real good stuff to offer for you to prosper.

John Chow already leads a retired life - Yes, retired! Even though he still actively blogs and helps thousands, if not millions, to make money online. According to him retirement is the freedom to do what you want, when you want, at your own pace.

The best part is John and I have very similar interests -- computers, cars, traveling and anything that has to do with the Internet. Not just that! My blog, like his, does not follow any niche... So am I the next Dot Com Moghul?

By the way, if you remember, John Chow has been really very creative in attracting readers from other A-list blogs. Take a look at his love for Darren Rowse and helping him make money, as though Darren needed his help desperately.

Another of John Chow's evil but creative idea, which he is rather proud of than being ashamed of, is his "Review my blog" campaign. In this campaign he offers to link to your blog in return for reviewing his blog. Yes, that is why you are reading this post here! Well actually he wants to be listed No.1 on Google for the search phrase "make money online" and hence to amass links to his blog with that phrase. Hope that reminds you of my own review my blog campaign. » Continue reading

Read more on AdSense, Blogging, Internet, Web 2.0