ScottMulligan.ca

I was fortunate enough to be invited to write a guest post on “How to Hide IP” which is a blog focusing on everything relating to hiding your IP address while online. It’s an interesting blog and I recommend you check it out if that topic is of interest to you. The blog has found a much needed niche as a resource for hiding your IP address and it has about 40,000 more monthly visitors than my little blog so it’s a great opportunity to get some exposure. Thanks a lot to Adrian for the invitation.

My guest post is a review of FoxyProxy which is a popular add-on for Firefox that helps users manage their proxy settings and also boasts some excellent features that you may not have seen before.

Read my guest post on www.how-to-hide-ip.info

Microsoft Live Labs has created an application called Photosynth that has caught my attention. Photosynth creates a 3D environment in which you can display your pictures. It basically acts like a virtual canvas and allows viewers to better visualize the subject being photographed.

In this case the application speaks for itself so instead of trying to describe the application, take a look at the synth I created. I didn’t have a lot to photograph in my house except our awesome beer collection. The only thing to keep in mind is that you need to download a small program called “Silverlight” onto your computer before you can view my synth. Trust me it’s worth it.

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Aside from Gmail Labs which has been active, the rest of Google Labs has been relatively quiet lately. This is an unusual thing for a company that is built around innovation. But just when I started to cast doubt, Google introduced its redesigned playground and a new application that might actually be useful.

Similar Images is a new feature that could change the way you search for images on Google. They say it is a way to search for images using pictures instead of words. At first glance, a search using Similar Images does not look any different than a usual Google Image search. The subtle difference is the “Similar Images” link under most of the images. When you find a picture that is close to what you are looking for, you can click the link to bring up related images. The hope is this will narrow down your search so you don’t have to waste time filtering through unrelated images.

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Don’t tell your mother because Omegle encourages you to talk to strangers. I don’t know what to make of this new site but it certainly can be entertaining even if it is a waste of time.

What is Omegle?

It’s a chat room that randomly pairs you with one other person. The chat is completely anonymous and identifies the other person only as “Stranger”. You can talk about anything you like so it’s pretty much just one big free for all. As you can imagine, a completely anonymous conversation can lead to some interesting conversation or less than stellar behaviour. But don’t worry because if you ever feel the need to end a conversation, you can disconnect at any time.

I personally don’t see myself making much use of this interesting social experiment but if you ever need to tell someone about your horrible day… rest assured that there is someone out there on Omegle that will listen.

YouTube is officially no longer only a hub for amateur video. For those of you who don’t know, YouTube has just released a new section on their website that lists full length shows from big name networks like CBS, PBS, BBC, Discovery and movies from MGM, Sony Pictures, and Lions Gate Entertainment. Before you congratulate YouTube (owned by Google) for coming up with an innovative new approach for online video there are two catches. How is this legal? The first catch is that the videos are supported by in-video ads and the revenues will be shared with the content owners. The second catch is that YouTube’s new shows section is only available to USA users. So this is basically a copy of the popular streaming site named Hulu that is owned and operated by NBC and also only available in the USA.

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Like most people, Seinfeld has been a big part of my life. One day I decided to take a tour of New York City on Google Maps so I could have a better idea of where all the Seinfeld antics take place. While searching around New York City I decided to make use of Google Maps by creating placemarks for important Seinfeld locations. Before I knew it I had a lot of placemarks and a lot of great locations.

This map is still a work in progress but I have decided to share it with the hope that all of the Seinfeld fans out there will be able to contribute to the map and add new locations. So every time you watch the show, take note of the wacky settings for the episode and see if you can add to this map.

If you would like to contribute and add a Seinfeld location, please leave a comment below with your location and description. The more the better!

Here is a fun little trick that can be useful in some random situations. You can turn your laptop into a wireless hot spot. But why would you want your laptop to function as a wireless router? Just imagine a situation where there are several people with laptops sitting in a room, but there is only one wired ethernet connection cable (like a conference at a crappy hotel that doesn’t have wireless internet). Most people would just resort to rock, paper, scissors to determine the lucky individual who gets to use the ethernet cable. But within a couple minutes a laptop can be set up to broadcast a protected wireless network so everyone can join in the fun.

I found a nice video that can take you through the set up process for Windows XP, Vista, and a Mac.

I began thinking about music recognition technology after playing around with the “Shazam” app available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. For those of you who are not familiar with Shazam, you can place an iPhone or iPod Touch near a music source (speakers, etc) and the Shazam app will identify a song with reasonable accuracy. Since I don’t have any Apple products of my own, I started looking around for similar music recognition technology that is not confined to the iPhone and iPod Touch. My search led me to 2 interesting applications named “Tunatic” and “Midomi” that I have reviewed below.

Tunatic

Tunatic is very similar to Shazam and is a free downloadable application that you can install on your computer. It’s very simple to use and all you need is a microphone to capture the music source. Just like Shazam, the recorded audio is sent to an online database where it searches for a match in order to return the song title, the author, and a link to more information. One great feature of Tunatic is that if you come across a song that is not in the database, you can upload the song with a complimentary application called Tunalyzer. This capability will ensure that Tunatic can keep growing and keep up with new music.

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I’m sure you have all been in a situation where you were hesitant to give out your email address while signing up for a new website or online service. 10 Minute Mail is designed to give you a disposable email address that lasts for, you guessed it, 10 minutes. Although if you need more time you can add on in 10 minute intervals.

Admittedly, I have an email that I give out just for spam purposes but I find that 10 Minute Mail is a great alternative that is really fast since you don’t have to login or waste any time.

Just go to 10 Minute Mail and a disposable email address will automatically be displayed and ready for use. When you get a confirmation email back during a sign up process at another website you can find the email on the 10 Minute Mail main page and you can respond to any messages you get within the 10 minute window.

Before I go any further I should mention that “Flutter” is nothing more than a joke that pokes fun at microblogging sites and other social media sites in general. This mockumentary style of video makes you stop and think about how strange social networking has become and it’s a good laugh!