Beats Entropy

Every month I publish a digest post collecting the best of Internet Duct Tape. Here you go!

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Every month I publish a digest for subscribers who are would rather take their //engtech in infrequent chugs rather than frequent sips.

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I finally got my own domain name! http://internetducttape.com

Opinion and Reviews

• Electronic Civil Disobedience
  Cutting and pasting a number isn’t going to change the world.
• Create Buzz by Doing the Unexpected and Being Remarkable (Puzzle Quest Case Study)
  I haven’t been blogging because I’m spending too much time playing this game.
• Book Review: Programmers at Work by Susan Lammers
  What you can learn about programming from reading a book that’s 20 years old.
• Favorite Quotations from Programmers at Work by Susan Lammers

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It’s been six weeks since the last digest and //engtech has been *very* busy.  Click on the link to see the highlights.

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This is what’s been going on at //engtech

Deep Thought

• Getting to Simple - Engineers Have No Idea How Normal Human Beings Interact With Their Environments
  Thoughts on simplicity and how it is anything but simple to create.
• In the Future This Blog Post will be Obsolete
  The modern Library of Alexandria is already burning because of ever changing digital formats.

Comic - Harold is a Robot

• How to Earn a Six Figure Income from Blogging in Two Easy Steps
  Most popular comic I’ve done so far with around 15,000 views
• Ode On a Silicon Yearn
  A Valentine’s Day poem
• According to Dilbert Creator Scott Adams 95 Percent of Men Would Have Sex With a Robot
  A Valentine’s Day poem gone horribly wrong
• Q+A: What is your favorite online web comic?
  I ask a bunch of people what their favorite web comics are. There are some good finds in the list.

How-Tos / Reviews

• StumbleUpon Help: I Can’t Submit a Site or Page
  Surprisingly easy to fix
• Book Review: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
  A little meh, but some interesting ideas.

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Every two to three weeks I publish a digest for people who would rather take their //engtech in infrequent chugs rather than frequent sips.

Subscribe to this digest using RSS.
If you read //engtech more than once a month, I’d appreciate your feedback in my first reader poll.

Articles and News

• Tech and Blogging Predictions for 2007
  This is my long list of everything that I predict will happen in 2007.
• Top 10 Resolutions That I Will Not Feel Bad About Not Keeping (2007 Edition)
  Why make resolutions in the New Year that you’re going to feel bad about not keeping?
• CES - Microsoft Home Server
  Microsoft is releasing a standalone media file server for home use.

Gadgets, Robots, del.icio.us, oh my!

• Settlers of Catan board game is coming to Xbox Live Arcade
  I join the 21st century and play Settlers for the first time.
• Harold Is a Robot - Attempt #1
  My lame first attempt at a web comic.
• Greasemonkey script: increase size of del.icio.us save bookmark extension
  If you bookmark with del.icio.us and Firefox then you need this script.
• Programming Advice for Newbs
  If you’re a programmer, here’s some advice that could change your life.

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This is what’s been going on at //engtech:

From the I’m a Grumpy Old Man department

• The Internet is for Trolls
  Why commenters can be your worst nightmare.
• On Wikipedia, Blogging and the Anti-blog Bias
  Wikipedia is out to get us
• Cory Doctorow on Building an Audience
  Getting them to buy the cow even though the milk is free.

From the Tech News deptartment

• How to fix the Firefox memory leak (Firefox hack)
  Memory problems in Firefox? Change these settings.
• It’s official: StumbleUpon Video rocks
  Try it at video.stumbleupon.com
• How Google does web-based code reviews with Mondrian
  Nice use of Python to build a web-based code review architecture.

From the It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Blogging department

• You Can Be a Good Example or a Horrible Warning - How NOT to be a Successful Blogger
  featured on problogger.net
• Hey Bloggers, PayPerPost is Illegal
  You have to disclose paid advertisements.
• Switching back to real full feeds
  Because partial feels make you feel icky (like walking home in a prom dress at noon).

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Yes, I am trying to ride the Passive Depressive traffic wave. It’s been almost a month since the last digest, so apologies for the size. I finally got my hands dirty with CSS and //engtech is sporting a new custom look by yours truly.

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Those That Can’t, Teach

I tackled some web browser problems with a short guide on how to remove text from the autocomplete box and how to uninstall Internet Explorer 7 (which is the #1 result on Google for “I hate Internet Explorer 7″) . You may also like this Boss Key extension for Firefox (like alt-tab for your web browser only) .

I found another great site with simple tech how to guides at simplehelp.net.

Canadian Site Blacklist

Did you know that Canadian ISPs have teamed together to block access to child pornography? Read more about the Great Firewall of Canada and Project Cleanfeed Canada.

Literacy Rates Are Dropping

Apparently, I know how to read. Check out my review of JPod by Douglas Coupland (favorite quotes) and
Flow.

On Gadgets, Gifts and Gaming

I’ve been getting ready for the Christmas season with a lot of posts on gadgets and gaming.

• Gift Guide for Geeks Part 1 - Tis the Season for Receiving
• Gift Guide for Geeks Part 2 - Christmas Gift Suggestions from gifts.com
• The Girls of EBay and Their Playstation 3s
• iPod vs Zune - Indepth Side by Side Feature Comparison Just In Time for Christmas
• What to buy Little Johnny for Christmas — Simple comparison of Playstation 3 vs Microsoft Xbox 360 vs Nintento Wii
• Get a Free iPod

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