the ADD blog

So why do YOU need an iPhone

slappy77 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:17:47 +0000

To be cool right? That’s all the iphone is about. A blackberry is more functional than an iphone. An Andriod phone has the power of google’s operting system and way better apps than on the iphone. Apps like this one, the Layar browser, it’s like google and flickr in your phones camera. The official Layar website says:

Layar is a free application on your mobile phone which shows what is around you by displaying real time digital information on top of reality through the camera of your mobile phone.

Layar is available for the T-Mobile G1, HTC Magic and other Android phones in Android Market for the Netherlands. Other countries will be added later. Planned roll-out dates for other countries are not known yet.

How do you use Layar?
By holding the phone in front of you like a camera, information is displayed on top of the camera display view.

For all points of interest which are displayed on the screen, information is shown at the bottom of the screen.

What do you see in the screen?
On top of the camera image (displaying reality) Layar adds content layers. Layers are the equivalent of webpages in normal browsers. Just like there are thousands of websites there will be thousands of layers. One can easily switch between layers by selecting another via the menu button, pressing the logobar or by swiping your finger across the screen.

We offer companies the possibility to publish their own layer in our browser(through an API). Currently several companies have already signed up for Layar and will publish content in their branded layer soon. We will share with you soon which layers will be available in your country.

Features of Layar
Layar has some cool features which include:

Switching easily between layers

Radar widget to give you an overview

Logobar to indicate which layer is active

Link through to mobile websites

Integrated map view

Custom filters for each layers (like distance, category, search box)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Currently Browsing: http://layar.com/
Currently working on: Biznet Colenbrander Assignments

Sharing is caring when it comes to business

slappy77 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:14:22 +0000

Business people tend to keep their secrets, their magic formula, so they can keep a firm grasp on their niche market. That’s all good and well, but what happens when that niche dies out or takes a dip? Then they don’t have anyone to go to for help, the competition hates them, nobody knows what they do and there’s no “word of mouth” opportunities.

So I say share, there’s a big enough market in the world or thousands, maybe even millions of businesses in the same niche. Energy drinks used to be a niche market, now ever second lawyer has their soft drink business “on the side”. All of them are still making money and the guys who started it are making billions.

Now here’s my pitch. When I get around to it I’ll be launching a new service and website. The idea needs refining, but it’s there. I’ll start off locally and either branch off nationally if it work or maybe even sell franchises. Let’s think big ‘eh.

The service will start off with surveys, they will be repeated and refined over time. The surveys will go out to local businesses, asking basic questions about their B2B relations. What services do they use on a regular basis? Where are they experiencing poor services? What services are there not enough of? Based on the results, we’ll be looking at finding gaps in the market for starting new businesses. A prospective business owner will contact us to match him / her to their perfect business. With our range of expertise and business contacts we can then offer an all in one solution, for example:

Accounting, Business registration and HR from Company X. We do regular business with Company X and know their levels of service.
Computers and IT setup from Company Y. That would be us.
Branding and websites from us and Company Z.
Office space and setup from Company A and B.

Then comes the good part. We introduce the new company to the companies interested in the services they offer. We know these companies are looking for this service or product because they participated in the initial survey. This gets the newly formed company off to a running start and grows the existing company’s service levels.

This is basically a business community project where competition is not a problem, where your niche is not your meal ticket, it how well you share information about your company.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Currently Browsing: Papervision iPhone Dev Centre
Currently working on: Biznet

Lost

slappy77 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:11:32 +0000

Lost is a great series, man is it a WTF’er. Just when you think you know what’s coming, there’s a WTF moment. But Lost is the least of my worries, keeping track is.

There are so many good series’ going around these days and keeping track is becoming a nightmare. Lost, Prison Break, True Blood, Moonlight, Gossip Girl, The Big Bang Theory, Fringe… and I can’t remember the rest. Then I’ve still got to start watching Mental, House, Grey’s… and the list goes on.

So both of you need to comment and tell me how you organize your watching routine. Am I over doing it?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Currently Browsing: nothing
Currently working on: nothing

Bleach it

slappy77 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:09:37 +0000

This post will have nothing to do with getting your brights brighter and your whites whiter, it’s all about anime. Now before half of both of you readers run away screaming “aaah, not another anime geek!” I’m not one, I think. I don’t speak Japanese, I don’t know the series numbers titles and episode titles of every single anime series ever made, hell, I don’t even watch a lot of anime. I watch Bleach.

I don’t know what it is about the series, but it really does appeal to me. As BleachExile describes it, the story goes:

Ichigo Kurosaki is a 15 year old boy that has the ability to see spirits ever since he can remember. Because of this, he is able to meet a female Shinigami (a.k.a Soul Reaper) named Rukia Kuchiki. In order to save his family and friends from unwanted soul-eating spirits named Hollows, Rukia proceeds to transfering her Shinigami powers to Ichigo. With Rukia’s help Ichigo discovers his true calling: to protect the living and the dead from evil.

The story has progressed a bit further than that though, as you would expect 232 episodes down the line, although it’s anime so you might not. Anime series’ have this nasty habit of not going anywhere, some of them fit a whole 10 minutes of story telling into a 20 episode season and barely finish, but bleach takes a different approach. They leave you hanging in the middle of a tense moment for 3 months by suddenly switching over to a sub plot or some light hearted comedy filler episodes.

If you are not an anime fan, give bleach a try, you might actually enjoy it. And while we’re on the subject of TV, I might as well stay on that subject in the next post.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Currently Browsing: Top 6 Download Manager for Ubuntu – Adobe Air
Currently working on: This Blog

I want to be a Kindle kinder

slappy77 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:04:37 +0000

Yes, I want to be a Kindle kinder(Dutch: child / kid), just like potatoes want to be Simba chippies. Ebooks, are they the end of print? No, I don’t think so. Nothing beats reading a book and anticipating flipping the page to see what comes next. But there are reasons to have an ebook reader. For me the biggest one would be reference materials. Forgetting something you have read in a book is frustrating to say the least, not to mention finding time to go hunting through a pile of books only to realise you’ve left it in the thinking chamber (toilet) and then only looking for the info. Ebooks also fit in well at the office and fit well into your laptop bag, has anyone seen a 1218 page Photoshop CS2 bible ? And on top of all that, ebook readers are super cool.

Now the kindle is not the only one out there, it’s just the iphone of ebook readers. Here are a few more:

BEBook eReader

Cybook Gen3

eRead STAReBOOK

Ganaxa GeR2

Hanlin eReader V3

Hanlin eReader V9t

iRex Digital Reader

iRex iLiad

Sony Reader Digital Book

Can anyone justify the cost though, $300 and more? I can’t, so I won’t be getting one very soon, maybe I’ll but it on my Amazon wish list.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Currently Browsing: Online spell checker
Currently working on: Biz-Net – Colenbrander Inc. – PMB Computer Services (new website not the one online now)

The ADD has struck

slappy77 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:22:55 +0000

I knew this would happen. I posted for almost a week and then got distracted. I’ll hopefull be back in the swing soon. I’m setting up a schedule and diary for myself and trying to stick to it… now if I could only find that group that talks about getting things done and having almost no mails in your mailbox… that would be cool. If either of you know what I’m talking about, let me know in the comments.

Does this Joomla! make my butt look big?

slappy77 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:47:39 +0000

First off, I think Joomla! is the best CMS out there is you’re not a “I want to do everything myself ‘cus I’m uber” super coder. I’ve been using Joomla! for most of my web design for a couple of years now, but I might be looking elsewhere soon. I’m not saying I’m going to can Joomla! all together, I’ll still be using it for websites that require more than the basic functionality, community websites, gadgety websites, things that really need a good CMS with good user management. I still love Joomla!

In the past, it’s been great fun building a nice template, popping it into Joomla!, adding content, making pretty and then having a good looking, functional site online in much less time than hand coding it. But lately, that’s not been the case. Joomla! has become a monster. Not a bad monster, just a big one. It’s gone from a fast sleek CMS to a huge bloated and fat CMS / API framework that can do virtually anything. Joomla! 1.6 is coming and that’s going to be even bigger and bulkier, so I’m cashing out and looking for something simple.

Most clients want simple and pretty. If your business is not based online and you simply want a website to “get my company on the web” you don’t want Joomla! and all the frills that come with it, you just want a website. The time wasted on taking out every little extra feature Joomla! has, could rather be spent on marketing online (but I’m not getting into that now).

It all comes down to what the clients want… fast, reliable, easy and cheap.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Currently Browsing: In the woods - smashingmagazine.com – Google search “is joomla becoming bloated”
Currently working on: www.biz-net.co.za changes / re-design

Yet another blog…

slappy77 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:54:42 +0000

Yes, I’ve had a couple, but this one is different. My other blogs where not updated often enough, but this ones should. In the past I’ve been trying to make meaningful posts with good solid content on a particular subject, but not this time. This blog will be dedicated to the way I live, function and rowse the internet… very randomly.

Why ADD and not ADHD?

Because I’m not hyper active.

From wikipedia:

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or AD/HD) is a neurobehavioral^[1] developmental disorder.^[2] ADHD is primarily characterized by “the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone.”^[3] While symptoms may appear to be innocent and merely annoying nuisances to observers, “if left untreated, the persistent and pervasive effects of ADHD symptoms can insidiously and severely interfere with one’s ability to get the most out of education, fulfill one’s potential in the workplace, establish and maintain interpersonal relationships, and maintain a generally positive sense of self.”^[4]^:p.2

ADHD is the most commonly studied and diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children, affecting about 3 to 5% of children globally with symptoms starting before seven years of age.^[5]^[6] ADHD is a common chronic disorder in children^[7] with 30 to 50% of those individuals diagnosed in childhood continuing to have symptoms into adulthood.^[8]^[9] Adolescents and adults with ADHD tend to develop coping mechanisms to compensate for some or all of their impairments.^[10] However, many aspects of daily life that most people take for granted are rendered more difficult by the symptoms of ADHD.

Ok, bored now.

edit: Yes, this is a useless post and just about everyone knows what ADD is. I also know it will be pointed out by the smart a$$es out there… just remember to make that comment very smart or you might have to be satisfied with only bieng an a$$.