Author Archive

eWrite Lite – A cheap and cheerful way for non-techies to update their website

Friday, April 25th, 2008

I met Gordon from eWrite yesterday and towards the end of the meeting he demoed the new eWrite Lite service to me. It impressed me. It’s simple to use, no software is needed to be installed on the client machine. It’s all done via the web browser. I’m sure I’m not alone in having to teach people how to use some visual editor like Frontpage or the like in order for them to update their simple websites.

eWrite Demo screenshot

I’m thinking very basic business sites or sites for sports teams or organisations. eWrite looks after that with an editor that does all the basics but does it right. There’s this whole niche or maybe blurry area for brochure like sites where they need updating now and then but they’re just too small for any web design company to do without charging a few hundred quid. The jobs that generally land on me or kids in the Junior Cert who are neighbours of the business person.

Well, I think now I know what to do with them. Direct them to eWrite. eWrite costs 200 euros a year so certainly doesn’t break the bank.

Caption Contest: Photos from Wii sports launch

Friday, April 25th, 2008

Wii Wii Wii Sports

Wii Wii Wii Sports

Wii Wii Wii Sports

Guest Post: Eamon “I brought sexy back but in a carbon neutral way” Ryan

Friday, April 25th, 2008

From time to time I ask some bloggers and other folks to write some guest posts on this blog. A one-time subscriber to this blog has now been invited to talk about social networking and politics. He’s been writing up a storm this week and was also in the Examiner yesterday talking about gases and things. Without further ado here’s Eamo*:

:::

Dearest Mulley followbitches. I interrupt your fluffy posts for this paltry political boredcast. Who’s the sexiest mofo in the Cabinet? ME. Who’s the sexiest mofo in Leinster House? Oh that’d be ME too. The sexiest politician in Ireland? Seeing a pattern? ME.

How do you know I know this? The Facebooks. It doesn’t lie. It told Bertie to resign. He did. (I gave him a big man hug when he left). It told Bertie to take Enda with him. He is. (Ooops spoiler alert) and now the Facebooks command that Eamon Ryan – The Sexiest Politican in Ireland. And who am I to object and who are you to defy their order?

They have great pics of me including the pic that that washup Hasselhoff nicked off me. (His car was not Green friendly you know. Anything called KITT generally expels far too much CO2 anyway.)

Eamon Ryan pics

This is what the group says:

Eamon is the sexiest politican in Ireland. Fact! 😉 And the lovliest…and he’s ours! This group is a celebration and appreciation of his yumminess.

They make me sound like a gummi bear. RAR.

Dancing Bears
Photo owned by tlianza (cc)

So please join the group. Only 9 true believers from Young Elves Greens have joined so far. Social networks are important for politics because there are never enough places to worship me. I googled in the Facebooks but couldn’t find any groups devoted to my always happy and jolly colleague Former TD Senator Dan Boyle. Ah well.

Please however do not misconstrue me being the sexiest for the bestest and fiercest. Papa Bear King Leader Super Gormley with his sandal powered super rothar is that.

Is mise Le Seán Lemass.

E.

==

* Course it’s not him. This is satire. Bad satire but still satire.

Fluffy Links – Friday April 25th 2008

Friday, April 25th, 2008

I Just Love Food. (Great domain name) Romanian Foodblogger Cristian Roman now has a blog in English. Nice posts about Dublin and Romanian food.

I’m filthy. A blog says so.

Cheers An Post. Great bloody service. They must have been playing football with this for it to break.

Anyone got the number for Fota wildlife park?

Jim has a really good piece on record stores. Certainly more than the sum of their stock.

Removing a live grenade from a guys leg. As you do.

Looking at security patches to find ways to exploit security holes. Makes sense.

Via Rick. Watch a spy drone filming itself being blown up.

Mmm typography.

Some of the Craigslist ads are great. Has there been a book yet?

Lykke Li – I’m Good, I’m Gone

Quick before it’s gone – ógra Fianna Fail Fun Fideo

Friday, April 25th, 2008

Remember this video? From this post?

Apparently the original creator of it is going to report me to YouTube for putting it back up when they took it down. I only saw their message on YouTube now:

As the original creater of the video and copyright holder of all the pictures contained in it I must ask you to remove the video before I am forced to report this infringement to YouTube!!

It’s that second exclamation mark that’s worrying me. And I thought I was a friend to Fianna Fáil since I think Enda Kenny is a tosser? I mean what’s wrong with it? It just shows the future Taoisigh of the country unwinding. They’re allowed to do that without the PC firebrigade burning down the doghouse, who let them out. Oooh oooh. Or something. GetwhatImean?

So with haste, watch this once more and tap that toe to the Saw Doctors.

Death Cab For Cutie – I Will Possess Your Heart

Friday, April 25th, 2008

Via hisRickness

Phantom 105.2 on the iPhone?

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Not yet. There’s an app for the iPhone called iRadio and it lists Phantom amongst a few 1000 other stations in its directory but when you try and play Phantom it just doesn’t work. There’s been a good few complaints about iRadio’s directory and the fact some stations are barely audible when they play if at all.

New iPhone hand model
Photo owned by mbrubeck (cc)

So does anyone want to build an app for the iPhone to do what iRadio does but in a workable way? I’ll pay something but not something that will cost more than the phone! Phantom’s streams are here. I have a feeling that iRadio might be looking in the wrong location for the mp3 stream but you can’t manually input any stations into this app and I’ve not found any others out there.

Someone did come up with some clever php hackery that told Safari that an mp3 stream was in fact an mp3 but that means you need to have access to a server and redirect the stream.

Then there’s the option of running a webserver on the iPhone that does this. Looks fun for people that play with code on iPhones. (That would not be me) Wrap it into an app though and I’d be happy to use it. Of course there’s more than Phantom out there (don’t tell them I said that), it would be nice to have an app that could choose other Irish radio stations too. Those that stream mp3s and not bloody realplayer media formats.

Fluffy Links – Thursday 24th April 2008

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Plebs!

Treasa is taking a blogging break. Hope it’s not too long.

Succint.

Via Phantom 105.2 Get a free download of ‘Minsk’, the brand new single from Concerto for Constantine.

Kevin Kelly has done a follow-up to his 1000 true fans blog post. Great reading.

Why do you need a service to monitor you blogs for typos? That’s what commentors are for.

Wasn’t this an episode of Torchwood where people are growing giant slabs of meat? Peta funded?

Four Chefs on the layouts of their kitchens.

Dilbert’s new mash-up site lets you add your own punch line. Nice. The new site is shite though.

Ten Typographic mistakes we can now now make again. Right?

Codes (an Irish band) – This is Goodbye (unofficial vid)

Via I guess I’m Floating kay kay and his weathered underground – ‘Hey Momma’

Is that it? That’s all you can raise?

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

Just looking at the Standards in Public Office report and who got what. Very interesting that the person that got the 3rd highest donations was everyone’s fav Catholic, Ronán Mullen. There must have been a lot of closet fans of Ronan so.

So here’s how this donation thing works:
TDs, Senators and MEPs must disclose individual donations of over €634.87.
Foreign or anonymous donations cannot exceed €126.97
Donations from a single person cap out at €2,539.48 pear year.

Change happens
Photo owned by atbartlett (cc)

Via Ireland.com

The person disclosing the highest donations was Fianna Fáil TD for Wicklow Joe Behan, who received €37,600. Minister of State for Trade and Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness was second with €32,500.

Independent Senator Rónán Mullen, whose donations were the third -highest reported at €32,030, was the only non-Fianna Fáil member in the top ten.

Independent Fianna Fáil TD for Kerry South Jackie Healy-Rae, who received €24,900, was in sixth place, while Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment Micheál Martin was in eighth, disclosing donations worth €22,135. Fianna Fáil’s Áine Brady got a total of €22,000 in ninth place, while FF TD Mattie McGrath received a total of €20,500 and was number 10 on the list.

I’m most surprised at the lack of money raised in an election year by these people. Divide the donations by the number of constituents. Jeez louise. Politicians here have a lot to learn about asking for money from people. Look how much the consumers of Ireland spent on crap last year compared to these tiny amounts of money.

I really do hope this is the last politics post for a while. It’s becoming boring.

Facebook Chat arrives

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

It seems a little flimsy especially after using Meebo which feels a bit more robust.

If you log into Facebook this morning you’ll see a new bar all along the bottom, a bit like the status bar on your browser and over on the right of it you’ll see something like this:

Facebook Chat

When you click on it you’ll see all your friends who are online and you can chat to them by clicking on their name. Just like MSN or AIM or Meebo. Nothing new at all to IM but it might get those who don’t use existing IM services to start using this to chat to each other. Another piece of stickiness on the Facebook Venus Flytrap. This is what a chat window looks like. I hope Brian Mc doesn’t mind his chat shown here:

Facebook Chat b

One feature I do like is the Newsfeed updates show up in the chat too. That’s pretty viral.

Facebook Chat 2

So handy for those that don’t have IM and I’m sure just like Facebook Mail, they have plans to allow you access your other IM services soon.