Web site Sullr provides reverse phone number lookups with an attractive AJAX interface and Google Maps mashup. Next time you get a call on your phone from an unrecognized number, enter in the number and see if Sullr can grab the listing. If you’re on your cell phone, you can point your mobile browser to wap.sullr.com for a mobile version (though it was down when I tested it). Sullr supports reverse lookups in the US, Germany, France, Italy and Argentina, and currently only looks up listed landlines (like most reverse lookups). If you’ve got a different favorite reverse phone lookup resource, share it in the comments.
[AU - Sullr's not available to Australians, obviously. But we've included the story just out of tech interest.]
Sullr [via AppScout]The Spine Health weblog lists 14 affordable ways to naturally heal your body. While the article is geared to those suffering from back pain, there’s a lot that can be taken from this list for your overall well-being. Eat cookies. Research shows that eating sweet foods like cookies, chocolate or ice cream, helps reduce the sensation of pain. [...] Feel the heat. Applying some form of heat—a hot water bottle, gel-filled pad heated in the microwave, electric heating pad, or hot bath—can go a long way in easing your pain.
It’s also suggested that you enjoy the outdoors, meditate and take advantage of a good massage. I’m all for that. Photo by Dan4th.
14 Natural Pain Relievers [Spine-Health.com]A strong resume can give you the edge on any upcoming career opportunity. Mahalo, the hand-edited search engine, offers a great how-to for building your resume for entry-level position seekers or seasoned professionals.
If you’re re-entering the workforce, you may pick a different format than someone who’s been working continuously. A recent college graduate will focus more on educational background than an experienced worker. If you’re changing careers, you may opt for a different format than someone who is remaining in his current field.Linux users: Getting your videos into the iPod compatible MP4 format has never been easier. After installing ffmpeg and ruby, the Ubuntu Unleashed weblog demonstrates how you can add an entry to the right-click menu in Nautilus that will automatically convert videos into a format that can be enjoyed on a video iPod. The conversion is done with an easy to use script. The installation process is very short, and you should be up and running in less than two minutes.
HOWTO: Convert videos to Ipod / Smartphone format Quickly and Easily [Ubuntu Unleashed]At CNET, Harrison Hoffman has blogged about a new social music website called Contrastream, which he says allows you to vote on new indie music using a system similar to Digg.
One feature of Contrastream that I really like is that if there is a YouTube music video or performance for a particular song, it is embedded in that song’s page. The YouTube video is accompanied by information on where you can buy the album as well as a link to that band’s Web site.
They also feature a “Flag as Sellout” button to try to keep the site true to its indie music roots. I see potential for hilarious “Wikipedia editing wars” between trolls and diehard music fans – hopefully they’ve engineered it in a way to avoid abuse of the “sellout” button. :)
Apparently Contrastream goes live on September 3, but you can try for an early invitation at their website by entering your email address.
Via Fast Company – finally someone’s written something intelligent on the subject of managing Gen Ys and what the writer calls “Millenials” (born after 1980).
It’s laid out in a myth-busting fashion, and whether you’re a boomer boss, or a Gen X or Y employee, you might find some useful tips here for bridging the generation gap in the workplace.
I didn’t agree with everything in the article, but it took a reasoned look at the expectations of older managers versus the expectations of younger staffers, and offered some useful tips such as rewarding staff in currency they value, not currency you value. The example he gave was rewarding younger staff with paid leave, because they value their free time.
Retaining Younger Workers in the Workplace [Fast Company] More »
Christian Cruz at ExtremeTech wrote up his experiment in building a cheap (around $370) Solaris 10 Workstation.
As an IT professional working in an environment where we’re migrating over from older versions of Solaris, it was of keen interest for me to have my own home version of a server running on inexpensive commodity hardware. Like many home users/hobbyists, my few and much used servers/workstations were the result of lots of trial and error, careful configuration, upgrades, patches and software installations that I didn’t want to just “blow-away” and have to go through the pain of restoring, so I had no readily available “sacrificial lamb” hardware upon which to experiment.
According to a report in the SMH, long waits on the phone to book a cab could soon be a thing of the past. Brisbane’s Yellow Cabs have already started offering the SMS booking service, and MTX Media, the company behind the Mobile Booker application say they hope to have deals in place with major cab companies in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide within 5 weeks.
BlackBerry devices (along with some PDAs) won’t be compatible, but the company say support for these will be added by the end of October.
If you’re in Brisbane, Redcliffe, Caboolture, Toowoomba, Warwick or Ipswich, you can get started using the Yellow Cabs SMS ordering service (details are here) and I noticed on their site that you can also book a cab online in some areas of Qld – and soon in Tassie too. Details are here.
SMS booking sounds like a great idea – but on New Year’s Eve when no SMS ever gets through, think I might give it a miss. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted when the SMS service moves beyond Brisbane.
Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): The TinyURL Creator Firefox extension creates, saves, and manages URLs from the URL-shrinking web application TinyURL from your Firefox toolbar. After you install the extension, you’ll need to customise your toolbar and manually add its button. When you create a TinyURL from the page you’re visiting, the extension automatically copies the TinyURL to your clipboard and gives you the option to save the URL so that you can use it again later. My only major suggestion for this extension is that it takes a cue from its namesake and tiny up it’s rather ungainly toolbar button. TinyURL Creator is free to download, works wherever Firefox does. Thanks Daniel!
TinyURL Creator [Firefox Add-ons]
