Twitter Edition?

If you are thinking Twitter is just a fad, buckle up because now the Huffington Post has launched Twitter editions. Real-time news never tasted so good! 140 characters can say so much and the Huffington Post is wrangling those digits to keep you engaged.

The Huffington Post will be launching Twitter editions for each of their 19 sections including Comedy, Politics, Entertainment, Sports and a front page version slated to go live soon. Basically each section will have the most interesting Twitter accounts for that subject selected so you can be sure to get breaking news.

Here is an example of Huffington Posts’s Twitter Politics Edition
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics/twitter

Jing Screen Capture Program

I have been using the screen capture FastStone for years, however recently I was searching for one that did more and I found it. Jing is a free screen capture program that not only captures images but video.

Features of Jing:

• Snap a picture of your screen
• Record video of onscreen action
• Share instantly on the web, IM, email

The website says, “Jing is free software that adds visuals to your online conversations. It is available for Mac OS and Windows!” I think you are really going to like this product! The only thing it doesn’t do that I can see from FastStone is that it can’t capture a complete scrolling page.

http://www.jingproject.com/

The 15 Money Rules Kids Should Learn

I read this great article on Yahoo Finance the other day about teaching kids responsibility about money. It’s never to early to start teaching kids about financial responsibility.

Snapshot of 15 Financial Rules Your Kid Should Learn
01. Spend after you earn
02. Consider allowance
03. Moderate allowance
04. House work and good grades expected
05. 13 start thinking of work
06. Guide money decisions
07. Balance account monthly
08. 50% money remains in bank
09. Allowed to make mistakes
10. Draw business models
11. Teach stock investing
12. Charity
13. College expenses
14. Stability
15. Mom and Dad bank closed

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgetingk/article/109200/the-15-money-rules-kids-should-learn?mod=bb-budgeting

Tag The World Around You

Have you tried Microsoft’s Mobile Tag concept? If you’ve seen symbols like the one above and wondered what they are or how they work, here’s a brief explanation.

The “Tag” four color barcode is comprised of one byte and four symbols. Why is this concept so cool? Instead of typing web addresses into your smart phone (Windows Mobile, J2ME, iPhone, Blackberry, and Symbian S60 phones) you snap a picture of this coded symbol and then within seconds you are directed to the information online. These symbols are showing up in magazines, on the side of boxes and bus stops. I actually just saw this in Crutchfield magazine.

To read these tags, download the iPhone Tag Reader app or point your smart phone browser to http://gettag.mobi. You will need a camera and internet connection to use this technology.

Believe it or not “Tag” been around for over a year, so why hasn’t it taken off?
http://www.microsoft.com/tag/

Mapquest Back On The Map

There was an epsiode of The Office were Dwight and Michael are mislead into a lake by voice guided driving directions. In the past these GPS map devices cost hundreds of dollars. Tom Tom launched an excellent iPhone app several months back for $99 with voice guided directions. If you mounted your iPhone with an aftermarket suction mount apparatus, it became a fully fledged Tom Tom. Now MapQuest, one of the originators of online driving directions has released a free iPhone app with voice guided directions.

MapQuest is back on the map with the release of their free voice guided iPhone app called MapQuest 4 Mobile. The application works well and got me from point A to B smoothly.

http://blog.mapquest.com

Thanks to Mike Kimmel for the tip.

Internet Safety Pledge

A good place to start setting up online safety guidelines is too look at good examples. The Girl Scouts of America recently revised their Internet Safety Pledge. Below is an except of the pledge, but you can get the complete by following the link below.

Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge
I will not give out personal information.
I will tell an adult info that makes me feel uncomfortable.
I will always follow the rules of Internet sites.
I will never agree to get together with someone I “meet” online.
I will never send a person my picture .
I will talk with my parent or guardian so that we can set up rules for going online.
I will not use the Internet to collect money for Girl Scout products.
I will practice good manners online.

Read the full pledge
http://www.girlscouts.org/internet_safety_pledge.asp