Getting the whole picture
The only issue I have with these services is that potentially spammers and hackers could abuse these tools. My concern is that when you see one of these shortened URLs you have no way of deciding whether or not the link will take you to a safe website or not. For all you know the link could direct you to a web site that runs some dangerous script when you navigate to it.
It’s not all bad news, I was visiting the tinyurl.com site today and noticed they offer a ‘preview’ version of their URLS. Basically by appending preview to the beginning of the URL, instead of going direct to the destination you are take to the tinyurl.com site and notified the actual full URL so that you can decided to proceed to the site or not. The screen shot below shows the output from appending preview to the tinyurl example shown earlier, http://preview.tinyurl.com/pv9tge.
As you can see from above
http://tinyurl.com/pv9tge is
actually safe and simply takes you to one of my
previous blog postings. But at least by using this
feature for any tinyurl.com urls you get you
have the opportunity to decide for yourself.
Can technology help?
We spent most of the afternoon today walking around
St Ives. On the way back to the car we decided to
take a break to take in the views from the cliffs
above the beach. Whilst sitting and enjoying the sea
crashing on the beach I noticed an old gentleman sat
doing the same as us. He looked a little sad though
as he sat there dosing off every now and then. Just
then a Seagul flew down and rested on the railings
just in front of him. After a few seconds the man
shuffled quickly inside his trouser pockets and after
a bit of a struggle he eventually revealed one of
those cheap disposable cameras. He then tried to
frame a picture of the gul, but by the time he had
taken control of the camera the bird flew away. Over
the next 30 minutes or so I continued to watch the
man as he fumbled to take two more pictures of
resting Guls on the Railings.
I wondered if this was now the old man's daily
routine, spending the hours wandering and resting
around the streets of St Ives trying to take pictures
of the local wildlife, whilst sneaking in a quick nap
here and there. This got me thinking; if only he had
a digital camera and even a photo printer how easier
this task might be for him. He wouldn't have to worry
about wasting film and could take hundreds of shots
on the hope that just one would capture the subject
as intended. Having the small photo printer may also
work out cheaper allowing him just to print out the
best shots without the worry of having to pay for
developing the whole film roll.
The problem with this scenario though is that even if
the old man had a digital camera and printer he
probably would not be able to use it. It makes me
wonder just how much easier the lives of our
grandparents would be if we could spare a few hours
to show them how to use technology and help build
their confidence in using it?
The above photo was snapped using my iPhone.
Cool website: scitoys.com
Life on Mars?
Is this a man on this photograph taken by the Mars spirit rover? Check out this and over photographs posted on Tech Republic.
Tesla Roadster
For those of you who know me I've been looking to change my Chrysler Neon for something more environmentally friendly and with cheaper running costs now for some time but have yet to make up my mind. I so wish I could get my hands on the new 100% electric, 0-60MPH in under 4 seconds Tesla Roadster. This car looks awesome, has a 220 miles range and a 135 mpg equivalent, it also comes with a top speed of 125mph. This car definitely marks the return of the electric car. The only problem for me is it's only available in the US for now and comes with a $98,000 price tag. Oh well! Check out the Tesla Roadster at http://www.teslamotors.com
Books for free
I recently decided to have a bit of a clear out as over the years I've managed to stock pile a number of computer related books. Many of these are now surplus to requirements but it seems a shame just to send them to landfill. Therefore I've offered to give them to anyone who wants them. Therefore if you are interested in any of the following books simply get in touch with me using the contact form. We can then discuss how to get the books to you, I'm prepared to post if necessary as long as you are happy to pay and postage and packaging costs.
Happy New Year
Lots have happened since my last post way back in November. Obviously there was Christmas, just before which we travelled around California and finally I started my new job and my 140 miles a day work journey. The job is going well and I think I'm just about settling into it.
Oh and one more thing I finally got round to installing Final Cut Pro again on my iMac so I don't have any excuses now to not edit some of the many hours of footage I have and get it posted.