Thaw http://frozencanvas.com/thaw Design, The Web & Technology Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:54:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Introducing A New To-do-list App – Your Memory http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/introducing-a-new-to-do-list-app-your-memory/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/introducing-a-new-to-do-list-app-your-memory/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:54:23 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=65 A few months ago I accidentally deleted my Google Calendar while trying to sync it to Microsoft outlook. Serves me right for trying to make that work. So after that naturally I sent out a rant on twitter. Shortly after that @beparadigm sent me a reply suggesting I just forget the calendar and just try to use my brain for a couple months. My initial reaction was are you crazy! Every little thing that I had to do in a day was on that, so how would I manage my day. Frustrated with the situation I resisted adding everything back into the calendar and took @beparadigm’s advice.

Now, I didn’t completely stop using it. I still put important events on my Google Calendar, but every single thing that I need to do is not on it anymore. Along with the calendar I have been using a to-do-list. I used Evernote for awhile and then moved on to Put Things Off for my lists. Earlier this week I saw a post on Twitter by @jamesdeer that said “Why does life evolve around a to-do list?” This comment made me think a bit about my use of to-do lists to make it through the day. As much as I like the Put Things Off app, that was all it took to kick my to-do list habit. I have gone the whole week without using a to-do list, and I haven’t forgotten anything that I need to do yet.

We will see how it goes, but I have no intentions of using a to-do list app again. I will continue to use Google Calendar for important events, but will keep that use to a minimum.

So now the challenge for you is, can you stop using your to-do list and start using the one app that is the most intuitive and user friendly app you will ever find…your very own memory.

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/introducing-a-new-to-do-list-app-your-memory/feed/ 0 Facebook – The Next Learning Management System http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/facebook-the-next-learning-management-system/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/facebook-the-next-learning-management-system/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:00:51 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=58 Facebook basically started out as a way for some college friends to stay in touch, but has been opened up to the world and is one of the largest social mediums in the business. So how much time during a school day do students spend on Facebook versus the school’s Learning Management System (LMS)?

My guess is Facebook wins hands down. That is why educators are trying to create Facebook Apps to interact with students or to combine Facebook with their LMS. A few noteworthy FB Apps that I have come across are Podclass, Sclipo, and H-Link. They all have great features, but they can’t 100% replace a LMS yet. At best they create a mash-up of the two.

Right now Facebook is on a high and has a great potential to get back into education. While educators try to integrate Facebook with their LMS, Facebook could develop a LMS integrated with facebook. Until then I will continue to look for FB Apps that will help me mash-up Facebook and Moodle.

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/facebook-the-next-learning-management-system/feed/ 1 Freelancer or Cutthroat Pirate http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/freelancer-or-cutthroat-pirate/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/freelancer-or-cutthroat-pirate/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:14:31 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=47 Collaboration between designers, developers and creatives of all types is a booming trend for finding new work. With all of the tools out there to connect and share, collaboration has become so simple. So what happens when a couple or many freelancers with overlapping skills are working for a client that is going to need more work done in the near future?

A few weeks ago I responded to a tweet from a designer that was looking for a WordPress developer to take his design and make it work. This was exciting since it was my first real project that resulted from spending countless hours on Twitter. The project went smoothly working with the designer and the client to iron out a few things in the design. Finally after the site was built and online it was then my job to train the client how to use WordPress. The client was excited and happy to have their site online and ready to move onto the next project.

Since I was the last person that the client had contact with she came to me about designing her business cards and letterhead. Now I love this kind of work, but I had to politely decline and point her back into the direction of the original designer. This was his project and I was more or less a sub-contractor in this deal. I would have felt like a cutthroat pirate if I had snagged this project away from him.

Now the question is, what would you have done?

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/freelancer-or-cutthroat-pirate/feed/ 0 Put Things Off to Get Things Done http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/put-things-off-to-get-things-done/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/put-things-off-to-get-things-done/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:04:41 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=29 The list of To-Do-List apps to choose from has blown up recently and there are many really good ones out there to choose from. So why would we need another one? Well how about trying something a little less uptight. Most apps out there once you put something on the list it nags at you constantly. Who needs that pressure with everything else you have to get done. So wouldn’t it be nice to Put Things Off for a few days and quiet that constant nag?

Ok, enough with the infomercial. I checked out the iPhone/iPod Touch app called Put Things Off and I loved its simplicity and it has a nice design too. Just touch the plus sign in the corner, add your task, select the date and save. Tasks shown for today show up in the Today section and as you complete them touch the check mark. Don’t have enough time today to finish a task, touch the arrow and it puts it off for 3 day(or however long you want). It’s simple and it works. If you’re looking for a to-do-list or something simpler and fun to use I would say give Put Things Off a shot.

Pick up Put Things Off in the iTunes store.

pto today put-off

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/put-things-off-to-get-things-done/feed/ 0 Spymaster – a social game for the Twitter universe http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/spymaster-a-social-game-for-the-twitter-universe/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/spymaster-a-social-game-for-the-twitter-universe/#comments Sat, 30 May 2009 14:29:31 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=18 It has spread like wildfire, and quickly became a trending topic on Twitter. Spymaster is a “spy” game that uses your Twitter following to become a powerful spy. The more followers you have that join the game the more power you have. The basics of the game are to perform tasks to make money, get more of your followers to join so you can assasinate other players, and level up your profile. Spymaster has spread so quickly, because you can choose to tweet your actions (they added a link to turn these off or add more) and invite your Twitter followers to join the game. There is a fine line to be walked here, because tweeting too many of your actions or inviting people that could care less about this game can be a bit spammy. Great idea making the game somewhat social, but I think they could have done more to interact with the people in your spy ring(your followers that are playing too). Collaboration with your spy ring to plot an assasination would be more fun. The gameplay falls a bit short too. You have to perform the same 2-3 mindless tasks to make money over and over. Clicking that same button to make some cash gets old quick and I have the attention span of Dory from Finding Nemo. There might be better features as you level up, but I lost interest at level 4. It could be a fun game with a little more interactivity, but I am done with it for now.

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/spymaster-a-social-game-for-the-twitter-universe/feed/ 0 Nurse, 100cc’s of adrenaline stat! http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/nurse-100ccs-of-adrenaline-stat/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/nurse-100ccs-of-adrenaline-stat/#comments Sat, 30 May 2009 13:42:23 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=14 This blog has been flat-lining for almost a year and a half. So it’s time to breathe some life back into it. There will be plenty of tech, web and design topics to come in the near future, and I hope to post them fairly regularly. A new theme to freshen this place up would be nice too, so I will see what I can find (will desing my own someday). Until then…CLEAR! *Shockkkkkk* CLEAR! *Shockkkkkkkkk* *beep* *beep* *beep*

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/nurse-100ccs-of-adrenaline-stat/feed/ 0 Control Your Computer With Your Fingers And The Nintendo Wii Remote http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/control-your-computer-with-your-fingers-and-the-nintendo-wii-remote/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/control-your-computer-with-your-fingers-and-the-nintendo-wii-remote/#comments Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:48:17 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=13

About a month ago Johnny Chung Lee posted a video on YouTube that showed how he could interact with his computer using the Nintendo Wii remote to track his fingers. The infrared camera in the remote can track movements by adding a led array around the Wii remote and some reflective tape on his fingers. You can check out Johnny’s Nintendo Wii project website here.

Now a company called Cynergy Labs has built a system based on Johnny Chung Lee’s project that uses the Wii remote to track your fingers.

More info can be found on www.hackawii.com.

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/control-your-computer-with-your-fingers-and-the-nintendo-wii-remote/feed/ 0 Photoshop Online http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/photoshop-online/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/photoshop-online/#comments Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:21:22 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=12 Adobe is moving their applications online. It doesn’t sound like the full applications will be online for about a decade, but they are working on a program called Photoshop Express for making basic edits to photos. You can find out more about Photoshop Express here. They also have an online video program called Premeire Express that you can check out here.

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/photoshop-online/feed/ 0 They’ve Lost R2! http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/theyve-lost-r2/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/theyve-lost-r2/#comments Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:38:18 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=11 Well the X-Wing project launched the other day. That is about all though. It was a little disappointing. It did go boom, though, which is always fun! If they try again maybe they will consider building it out of some kind of lite metal. You can check out a couple of launch videos here.

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/theyve-lost-r2/feed/ 0 Rocket Powered Star Wars X-Wing Fighter http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/rocket-powered-star-wars-x-wing-fighter/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/rocket-powered-star-wars-x-wing-fighter/#comments Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:41:26 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=10

A group of rocketeers have built a 21′ long rocket powered X-Wing fighter. It will be powered by a set of four rockets attached to the wings. They even built the wings to move from the landing position to the attack “X” position. The ship is built from wood so it will be interesting to see how it holds up during the flight. Hopefully they won’t loose R2! Launch date is set for 10/06/2007. Check out thier website here.

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