------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine ------- Vol 3, Issue 3 I learn so much from my daughter sometimes that it amazes me that she is only 14 months old. The other night we were eating dinner. Kaylie had already finished hers and was running around, exploring her world as only a toddler can do. She started making noise that she wanted what we were eating. Now, I'm as sadistic as any parent, but giving spicy burritos to my darling little one didn't seem like such a grand idea. So, we snagged the "snack pack" (about the size of a quart bottle) of Cheerios and pretended to take them from our plates to give her. That satisfied her for a short time. Then she wanted to hold the snack pack. We sealed the top and handed it to her -- anything to keep her playing quietly while we ate. Within seconds, the top was off. Instead of the expected disaster, though, she sat down on the floor and daintily reached in and started taking one Cheerio at a time from the package. We were amazed and overjoyed. Just as we were congratulating ourselves on the wonderful job we had done, raising such a well-behaved child, our little angel decided that she wanted things to move a little faster. Holding the package to her mouth as if it were a glass, she tipped it completely upside down. In the ensuing mayhem, as we struggled not to laugh (OK, I didn't really struggle that hard -- toddlers are the *funniest* creatures), Kaylie discovered that she no longer wanted that many Cheerios. Standing up and leaving a trail of unwanted cereal behind her, she went off to play with her toys. So many of us are like my daughter when it comes to our use of the Internet. There are so many tools and toys out there that we go crazy checking out everything, only to discover that many really aren't what we need (or that we aren't willing to put forth the effort required). I'm no exception, so that's why I'm continuing the exploration of the various tools I've recommended over the years and whether and why I still use them or not. Cheerio! ---------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue... ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Fading Away in the Clutter 2. Shameless Self-Promotion 3. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Fading Away in the Clutter ---------------------------------------------------------------- I've been using the Web since the first graphical browser (Mosaic anyone?) first came out. I joke that I can still remember going to the "What's new on the Web" website and looking at all four sites! I've run into a few tools and toys since that time. Many seemed to be useful when I first encountered them, but they eventually faded from use. One of the big areas for this in my online life is in my iGoogle homepage. There are a ton of little tools and toys (called "gadgets") available for the homepage and I've tested a number of them. Some of them proved quite useful such as my views into GMail or the Google News Reader. Others... * To-Do List: I installed a whole series of these gadgets, each for a different purpose. I had lists for home projects, business goals, blogging topics, you name it. They weren't bad for what they did, the problem was that I really had a hard time remembering to use them. Instead, I use the "Remember the Milk" gadget a *lot* more. The RTM gadget resides on my homepage but I also have a section of my GMail page devoted to RTM *and* I can call it up on my cell phone's Web browser. For me, my "To Do" list has to be available wherever I am. * GasBuddy Price Map: This one is a good idea, but, again, it wasn't where I needed it when I needed it. I don't usually need to know where the cheapest gas is when I'm sitting at my desk. GasBuddy has a mobile interface which is more practical for finding less expensive gas in the area. If you are interested, you can check out the information at: http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Mobile_Instructions.aspx * The Google 15: This gadget is supposed to help you track your weight with the idea of achieving a specific goal weight. The name comes from the idea that new Google employees when confronted with long hours at work and the complimentary gourmet cafeteria food tend to put on a little bit of extra weight. This tool actually did some pretty fancy running averages which helped offset some of the issues caused by weighing yourself at different times of the day. In general it seemed like a good idea, but I just never used it. I always figured it was more important to get in my daily exercise than to remember to weigh myself (a slightly less important indicator of my general health). Still some might find the tool useful. I've got a couple of other ones that I'm not using right now, most notably a "Japanese Word of the Day" and a news feed with a variety of Japanese lessons in podcast form. I have a goal this year to work on my limited skills in Japanese, so I'll have to pass judgement on those when I get into that process. So, drop me a line if you've used any of these tools or if you've found others which sounded good when you first encountered them but ended up not doing as much as you had hoped in retrospect. Copyright 2009, Greg Peters ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Shameless Self-Promotion ---------------------------------------------------------------- The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg Peters, owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better web presence for their clients for more than a decade. Visit us on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your webmaster. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: You can subscribe to the "Clearing Up The Confusion" E-zine at: http://www.cyberdatasolns.com/ezine Questions: If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding the Clearing Up the Confusion E-zine, please email Greg Peters at: gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com This content may be forwarded in full, with copyright and contact information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Greg Peters is required, with notification to the original author. We never send the "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-zine uninvited, and we NEVER share, sell or rent our mailing list to anyone. Your privacy is safe with us. Unsubscribe: $UNSUBSCRIBEURL$