Marketing whiz Seth Godin is right when he says that the thank yous dished out at the beginnings of conferences, large meetings, and other confabs are usually inelegant, rushed, and ineffective, boring the listeners and not really crediting the helpers. His suggested fix is to take or grab pictures of those you want to thank, and put on a looping slideshow ten minutes before the gabbing starts: Put each photo on its own slide, preferably with a well designed ID below it (it should be on a black box, with a nice sans serif font reversed out. Like you see on cable TV news) … String one after the other. Build a dissolve transition between each one. Program it to put up a new slide every two seconds—don’t go too slow!—and to loop the presentation.
Linux only: If you’ve got a batch of audio files to convert, or you’re just not keen on messing with a full-fledged editor to do the job, Audio-Convert-Mod, a free Linux utility, has you covered. The straight-forward app takes in files, asks you how and where to convert them to, and does the work—no fuss, no muss. You’ll need a few packages related to the various formats you’ll want to work with, but the app seems to handle MP3s, M4P/M4A (unprotected, of course), Ogg Vorbis, and other formats with relative east. Audio-Convert-Mod is a free download for Linux systems only; it comes pre-packaged for Fedora systems, but I had no trouble installing using the alien tool in Ubuntu. Audio-Convert-Mod [via PhoroLinux]
Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Site-finding service StumbleUpon has taken full advantage of Firefox 3′s “Awesome Bar” by integrating its browser toolbar/extension with Firefox favourites. A new option in the latest version of the previously highlighted StumbleUpon add-on lets you download all the sites you’ve rated with a thumbs up/”I like it!” into your bookmarks, giving you as-you-type access to that last cool link you saw but can’t quite remember. Your recent favourites and their tags are also stored in the browser’s “Recent Bookmarks” and “Recent Tags” Smart Folders, helping your organize your idle-time browsing. StumbleUpon 3.23 is a free download, works wherever Firefox 3 does. StumbleUpon 3.23 [via jeetBlog]
It turns out the rumours were true: Telstra will begin selling the iPhone 3G on July 11, joining Optus and Vodafone. Telstra has also become the first company to reveal any Australian pricing for the iPhone. While there’s no full details, there’s more information than we’ve seen from anyone else. On a 24-month contract from $30, the 8G iPhone will be available for an upfront cost of $279, or $399 for the 16GB version. On plans above $80 a month, there’s no upfront charge for the phones (though this will mean spending $2,000 or more over the life of the contract).Telstra has two obvious starter advantages in the marketplace: the extensive coverage of its Next G network, and the ability to offer free WiFi access in all its hotspots (which include McDonald’s and Starbucks outlets as well as Qantas lounges). How well its pricing compares will only really become apparent as other companies reveal their costs, and once the data and voice inclusions in the packages are evident. You can sign up for more information on Telstra’s iPhone packages online.
Adding another internal hard drive to your desktop computer isn’t difficult, but a notebook is a whole other ball of wax. Still, blogger Fewt details how he got the job done and came out the other side with a second 100GB hard drive in his laptop. The process requires an extra notebook drive, a toggle switch, some elbow grease, and a good dose of soldering, but the results are impressive. Granted, a simple external hard drive is a lot easier if you’re willing to carry it around in your laptop bag. If not, check out the details of how Fewt did it. Laptop Hacking – Just a little more space [fewt@blog:~$ via Hack a Day]
It might still be seeking outside help to sell iPhones, but 3 is launching a new series of phone plans in Australia which offer something we’ll predict the new iPhone plans won’t: video content for free. The plans, which go on sale from July 3 and range between $29 and $199, include the usual features (fixed value for voice and SMS calls) but also include a “selection” of free content in one of three categories: News (including ABC, Sky News, News Limited and Fairfax), Sport (including some of the news brands plus Foxtel and Sportal) or Fun (Project Runway and various other TV projects). This isn’t quite the all-you-can-eat data found overseas (or even in the more basic 3 X Series plans), but it’s still a good step forward, and a neat way to get into 3G video without costly subscriptions.
Windows only: Freeware application WPanorama turns your panoramic photos into videos or screensavers. We’ve already shown you how to stitch your photos into beautiful panoramas, but once you’ve done that, there aren’t a lot of great ways to show them off. WPanorama animates the image as though you’re a viewer standing in the centre and looking around the full 360 degrees. If your panorama doesn’t make the full 360-degree trip, it just moves back and forth from one side of the photo to the other. WPanorama is freeware, Windows only. WPanorama [via CyberNet]
It’s June 30 and the financial year is officially coming to an end. Any day now you’ll be getting your payment summary from your employer, possibly planning a meeting with your accountant, and trying to work out if you’ll be getting a nice refund from the Australian Taxation Office. Whatever your situation, the right software can help make this process a bit less tedious — and you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune to get it. Check after the jump for our fast guide to the three key tools you’ll need for a pain-free tax experience.
Windows/Linux/Windows Mobile: It’s not the whole world-knowledge shebang, but Pocket Wikipedia drops 14 million and 24,000 images onto your PC or Windows Mobile device. The articles are hand-picked to cover the widest array of material you can fit into 175 MB, and the interface is condensed to offer quick searching and indexing on mobile devices. Great for knowledge-digging or bet-winning when you’re offline or on the go. Pocket Wikipedia is a free download for Windows, Linux, and Windows Mobile systems. Looking for the whole of mass-edit knowledge? Try Encyclopedia (Original post). Pocket Wikipedia [Free Soft via Best Freeware]
