Digg out of service...while upgrading

This afternoon Digg was unreachable, and the only message i got was this:

It seems though Digg is upgrading its systems again (adding more features), and i'm anxious to see the results of this one. More on this as soon as the upgrade is complete, or if i find out anything futher.

Update: i've finally got my hands on the new features digg is launching today. Read further for more information on what this includes.


Digg is actually launching a major upgrade this time, and with this a bunch of new features. Kevin Rose explains that the Diggsite itself will become more adjustable (this is nice if you have a widescreen) and provide more opportunities to costumize digg to suit your interest. This means you can choose the categories of news you want to see, and hide the rest.

Its also more easy to get an overview of the page, as you, in addition to the news of your choice, get a list of the most populare news on digg placed at the right on the page. This means you can always be up to date in what's hot in the world of diggers.

The navigating section has been moved to the top of the page for more easy navigating, and a few changes has been made in this section too. Videos has now their own section, and a completely new addition to Digg has become available; podcasts. Yeah, that's right. You now can digg your favorite podcasts and single podcast shows. Each podcast will have their own page with a list of the best podcasts to the right, so that if your new to the podcast, kevin says, you can try the best episode to see if you like it. Its nice to make the best impression the first time, and its no exception her it seems. You also don't need an external player to listen music or podcasts. Everything is embedded. This also includes watching videos, which seems like a popup flashplayer or something like that. You'll have to see for yourself. I haven't testet it, but i sure will as soon its finished.

Yeah, that's right. The profiles are now more tidy, and the contributions within the different sections and categories are now more easy to find. This is because the categories are separated by clickable tabs. One for each category.

I think that was all. I also encurage you to take a look at Digg's demonstration video at their blog. Some say images, or in this case video, is better than words.

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Listen to this article:

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Multiple search with ajax on your blog

I recently became aware of one superb possibility to include an ajax search in your own blog. I do have to mention, thought, that this is only described for Blogger beta, so to all other bloggers out there who saw a light in the end of a tunnell, sorry guys. Read no futher.The rest of you who a fortunate to be Beta bloggers, keep reading.

I obtained the ajax script from Hoctro's Place, who has done the hacking of the Google Ajax API. He has also described what you need to do, to include the ajax search into you own beta blogger blog, in a straight forward and simple guide. I've tried it myself, and the conclusion it that the process itself is very easy, and consists of only four steps:

1. Get an Ajax API key (don't worry, it really easy)
2. Kopi the code (css and script) which goes to the head of the template
3. Kopi and place the search script in the sidebar
4. kopi and place the search results script where you like it.

All these steps are explained thoroughly in the guide, so don't worry to much about this. Its not a disadvantage to have some knowledge with costumizing the template before you do this, though.


Thanks, Hoctro, for this excellent script.

Browse more efficient with Delicious

With the use of Firefox and a Del.icio.us addon installed, you can decrease the time spent doing the actual browsing to a minimum. The reason is that the addon has some great functions that lets us easily bookmark any page, article, site and whatever, and then tag them, with one or more tags, as you please.


In addition it also has a neet search-option that easily bring up the results.

Finally, though, i've discovered a really usefull function.





The Addon has a built-in shortcut-function that lets you type a keyword into one of your bookmarks. What you do, after you have bookmarked and tagged a webpage, is to click on the TAG-button once more. When the bookmarking-windows opens you just type a keyword into the textfield assigned for keywords, and click Save. When finished, you can type this keyword into the address line of your Firefox browser, push enter, and the browser will recognize the keyword and bring you to the the bookmarked webpage you assigned the keyword to.

Type a keyword to assign a shortcut

This function has already been included in Firefox, but the advantage with this addon is that the shotcuts are not limited to one machine. You can use the same shotcuts with every machine you've installed the del.icio.us addon with the same bookmarks.

Once you've assigned a bunch of these shotcuts you'll probably find your browsing more efficient, effective and more likable. Now you have more time reading instead of using time getting to the right place.

Chris Pirillo's videostunt comparison

Chris Pirillo from Lockergnome.com made an amusing experiment on his blog. The Experiment consited of making, in this case, three videos, and then uploading one for YouTube, one for Google Video, and finally one for Revver (I actually haven't heared about this one until now). He then has embedded all three videos into his blogpost. When played simultaniously he's arguing with himself, representing each network, 'bout which is the best. The point, though, was to compare them. Chris drew the conclution that YouTube looked best, Revver would draw most revenue, and Google Video would finish last in both classes.

Here are the videos, though. Enjoy one more Chris Pirillo stunt, while we wait for the next one.

bLaugh: Out of CTRL

Are YouTube a serious threath to privacy?

The Cartoon from bLaugh draws a picture that seems quite amusing at first, but when you take a little step backwards and really get the whole picture, and put it in a new context, it suddenly ain't that amusing anymore. I resently read that some guy taped a scene of Star Wars, alone at his school, (with himself as the only caracter) which included some lightswordfighting. His only mistake was that he forgot the tape in the camera, and unfortunately for him some other found it and posted it on the Internet. The take (known as 'The Star Wars kid') became very popular and has, as I resently read in ITavisen, now been downloaded and watched over 900 million times. Talk about being marked for life. This poor kid, maybe a bit naive, made one mistake and the mistake is now widespread over the net. It's nothing he can do about it but hope it will blow over (though, i may take awhile).






That's one episode. Another is this poor kid who picked his nose and then ate it, while being recorded. Same here, posted on the net.

Can anyone feel safe? Can it happen to anyone? In the right circumstances, yeah, sure, but i have a little feeling that this might happen more often to those who normally are victims of mobs. Those who can not stand up for themselves, and those who ends up being outsiders in our community. Now they might have even less chance to be included.

The number of tools and ways you can record anything with and the methods you the can post it onto the net are great. The greater the number, the greater the chance for being recorded yourself are increased. We see it all the time. Sometimes it reveales something to the purpose of goodness for the rest of us, but other times it reveales something that can really hurt the innocent part, which also might be the victim. There is a line between those two, which I feel resently has been whiped out, and this is not good. There aught to be shed some light into this matter, and some regulations has to be made to bring back this line so that the number of victims, such as i've decribed here, can be limited to a minimum.

Anyway, this is my opinion.

Watch the evolution of a webpage...

I came over this gif-file that had been digged. The author of the file claimed he had just taken å screenshot each time he saved the html-code. Anyway, here we get a glimse into the rappid evolution of his work. Quite amusing, really.

Latest from bLaugh: This is the future

Latest from bLaugh:

Movie by ascii - via Telnet

Just the other day I ran into a website, proclaiming themselves to present easter eggs for Windows XP. Though, my findings are questionable Windows XP easter egg, I found it very entertaining. So what ever did I find?

Well, the answer is...not blowin' in the wind, but...a short version of Star Wars - Episode 4 - A new hope completly coded in ascii.

What is ascii, you say? Ascii is a code which contains letters, numbers and symbols. 128 in all. The Code is normally used with telecommunications between computers. Now, the code has been given new ereas of use, and the movieindustry are shaking their butts off. Behold, the new sensational moviedistributing method, of recoded lowend animationversion of old movies.

Ok, ok. That's enough. But if you want to look at a completely recoded ascii-version of this Star Wars-movie, then just follow these few steps:

1. Klikk Start, then Run
2. Type or copy in the following: telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl
3. Klikk OK

Enjoy the movie!



Source: Windows XP Home Edition Easter Egg



Leif -

powered by performancing firefox

Maybe i am a GTD-person, or not

Well, for the record, i've always considered myself as quite tidy. I really like systems that can solve those messy problems with...the mess, really. The Problem, though, is that i often seem to be seriously slow when it comes to actually getting started making those fab systems. Well, thats a problem. No start, no system. So what is making me say i'm a getting-things-done-person?

As mentioned, i really like systems, or really the idea of systems that can do some of my daily routine and ease some of my burdens. Heres the erea where my creativity awakens. I actually stribe alot to search for solutions that can be put in to work in some meaningfull way, for me that is.
I have tried so many of them. Some solutions i've used for some time, then removed them. Others i've tried once then removed right away. And some i'm still using. One of them is a Gmail-organizing system that has one single goal: To make my inbox empty for as long as possible.
The point is to make only the mail that really matters to me stay in the inbox, while all the other less important are automaticly labeled and archieved. Spammail are marked as spam and ends up in the spam-section, and other mail you won't need anymore but can't make stop are given a filter which deletes dem right away.
This solution has been developed over the years, and i thought i was pretty much alone with such an intense system. But then i read an article at DownloadSquad that presented just about the same solutions (of course with modifications) that i use. The auther also mentioned that he also thought he was alone with his type of system.

Anyway, the point is, will my system make me a GTD-person or am i just some lazy guy that rather uses alot of time to make his day easier. Well, i think both are a right answers. Though, i'm not a GTD-person in every sense of the 'words', i'm also not a complete lazy-ass. GTD-persons use solutions to get things done and i do the same. Dosen't that make me a GTD?

- Leif -