Personal URL shortener
It’s pretty nifty being able to create your own web address with just five or six letters: http://ax.lv/1.
Wordnik online dictionary
There is a wonderful new online dictionary called Wordnik.
It looks good, loads fast and gives useful information. Wordnik is far superior to any other web dictionary I’ve seen.
A key feature is that words are shown in context. Along with definitions, example sentences show how the word is used.
There are also links to the word’s usage on Twitter and Flickr. (more…)
Tumblr and Twitter
Regular readers will know that I like to experiment with different web services. Some I abandon as quickly as I try them.
There are probably dozens of my inactive accounts floating around various parts of the web.
Two that I get enthusiastic about occasionally, forget about, and then return to are Twitter and Tumblr.
The Tumblr account, using its own domain Views in Brief, now has the same theme as this blog.
The difference between Tumblr and a normal blog is meant to be that items are shorter, with more emphasis on pictures, video and links of interest.
Identi.ca: Unique or clone?
I was never a big Tweeter, but found the concept strangely compelling. There are many people ranting on the web about service disruptions, but I never used it enough to be troubled.
Nevertheless, I like to try new things and stumbled across Identi.ca yesterday and set up an account with the short, early-adopter user name of mjg.
The service is Open Source and I like the fact I can login with openID. There is the promise of things to come in terms of integration and updates, such as SMS, Facebook and WordPress.
There is a good in-depth discussion here.
Another webmail service goes
I logged into Gigya webmail tonight. I’ve always liked its clean, open layout and speed of operation. It also has lots of other sharing features and things I never used.
On logging in I was greeted with this announcement:
Note: the Gigya webmail service will be discontinued permanently on June 15th. We recommend that you forward any email containing important contacts or content to another email service of yours by July 15th. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Yakedi! and Frog CMS
I haven’t written much tech/web stuff here lately and I don’t plan to change that. I still experiment with various so-called web 2.0 services and site design, but nothing has really grabbed my attention lately with two exceptions.
Yakedi! is a free Australian service for sending SMS messages from the web. There are no strings attached as far as I can tell: “No catch, no spam, no limits and no annoying (and expensive) premium sms sent to your phone,” they proclaim and deliver.
I hate typing text messages on a mobile phone. I’m slow and can’t bring myself to abbreviate anything. I had been using Skype to send messages, but they charge normal rates.
I looked at some other free providers and their web sites were too trashy. The Yakedi! site is clean and easy to navigate.
Frog CMS is a lightweight content management system using PHP5 and SQL. It’s a PHP version of Radiant, a ruby on rails application.
I’m currently using it for Gorey Media. It only took a few minutes to set up and get running.
It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of WordPress or larger portal systems, but for a small site it’s ideal, in my opinion. it can be used as a blog with optional reader comments. There is no search function at the moment though.
Fake magazine covers
I had some fun today playing with fake magazine covers at MagMyPic. It’s very easy to upload a picture and select your cover theme.
