Marco's Blogstudent

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-106747932009-11-15T11:14:47.571+09:00Marco's BlogstudentMainly about cool tools for blogging and web surfing for both Macs and Windows, blogging-related news items, news about Britain and Japan, and anything else that strikes my eclectic fancy.Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comBlogger361125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-82554227174208648862007-02-10T23:24:00.000+09:002007-02-10T23:18:03.089+09:00Closing down

Shutting up shop. Finito. Termine. Geschlossen. Sayonara. This blog will stay here for a while, till I can raise the energy to delete it. Thanks for dropping by and sharing your comments. It was fun.http://www.flickr.com/photos/aeioux/127841793/

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1165975427161694112006-12-13T11:03:00.000+09:002006-12-13T11:03:47.166+09:00The Japanese Renaissance?

The (London) Times Online has a special section today on The Japanese Renaissance, with an interesting collection of articles.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1160397598258598222006-10-09T21:39:00.000+09:002006-10-09T21:39:58.263+09:00A landmark?

European consumers spend more time online than they do reading newspapers and magazinesaccording to the Financial Times today (Sunday).

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1156781522437269732006-08-29T01:12:00.000+09:002006-08-29T01:12:02.846+09:00Is Google safe?

Millions use Google every day. We assume our search info is private, but it may not be. Read the scary story of AOL's leaked research data.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1156471108577711612006-08-25T10:58:00.000+09:002006-08-25T10:58:28.586+09:00Lool, Mum! No buttons! A new kind of cell-phone

A no-button cell-phone? Cool! Business Week reports that, instead of buttons, ...the Onyx device understands signs and gestures, thanks to the sensitive touch pad covering most of its surface. It opens and closes applications when swiped by one or two fingers. The phone recognizes shapes and body parts. Lift Onyx to your cheek and it will pick up a call.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1154595736185414822006-08-03T18:02:00.000+09:002006-08-03T18:03:52.020+09:00Does relying on technology stop us using our brains?

That got my attention. I clicked and got this (London) Times article that quotes Leeds University Professor Martin Conway:“You're asking the wrong question,” says Professor Martin Conway, of the University of Leeds, a psychologist and expert on memory. “The reverse is entirely the case: technology reduces the burden on memory and increases our ability to make use of our minds. It is enabling

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1154485370269727462006-08-02T11:22:00.000+09:002006-08-02T11:22:50.276+09:00Digitalising those old records

Yesterday, I made a couple of CDs from some old records I have. 33s. One was very poor quality (the sound, not the music), which I was very disappointed about as it contains one of my favourite pianists, Stefan Askenase, playing one of my favourite pieces, Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu in C# minor.The CD tracks are now in my iTunes, but the pops and crackles almost drown out the piano in some

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1154484675581220142006-08-02T11:11:00.000+09:002006-08-02T11:12:23.710+09:00Have a small drink

A British man is applying to the Guinness Book of Records for the world's smallest pub.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1152410018764895992006-07-09T10:53:00.000+09:002006-07-09T10:53:38.773+09:00Cool tool

David Hockney-ize your photos. Thanks to Peregrinations for the tip. Create a unique "collage" from a single photograph. Choose one of two styles: a "joiner" style image without frames or an image created from simulated Polaroids. Every generated image is unique. This toy was inspired by the photo collages of the artist David Hockney. Works with your photos hosted on Flickr or

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1151454409499351702006-06-28T09:26:00.000+09:002006-06-28T09:26:49.506+09:00MySpace users: read the fine print

MySpace users might want to read the legal fine print. Yep, Rupert Murdoch owns all the content on MySpace.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1151400844182105302006-06-27T18:34:00.000+09:002006-06-27T18:34:04.190+09:00Social networking meets wifi

Here's an interesting idea. A Spanish firm is to sell subsidised routers as part of a plan to turn domestic wi-fi networks into public hotspots. Fon will sell wi-fi routers, which allow people to surf the net wirelessly, for $5 (£2.75). The company, which has financial backing from Google and Skype, aims to create public wi-fi networks street by street across the US and Europe....The company is

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1151201555610511102006-06-25T11:12:00.000+09:002006-06-25T11:12:35.616+09:00Desktop blog editors for the Mac

In this post, Dave Warlick lists his copious requirements for a desktop blog editor for the Mac, and gets many suggestions in the comments.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1151200289553487842006-06-25T10:51:00.000+09:002006-06-25T10:51:29.563+09:00Cool tool 3D desktop interface

Cool. 3D desktop interface. The 7-minute video takes forever to download,

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1149159299799954522006-06-01T19:54:00.000+09:002006-06-01T19:54:59.813+09:00Wiki meets Google Earth

Woah. Cool.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1148823717101302342006-05-28T22:41:00.000+09:002006-05-28T22:41:57.110+09:00Reading resources for (EFL) teachers of reading

Here are a couple of links related to teaching reading. The first gives a readability reading for any text you input and tells you which words are in the first 1000 and then first 2000 of commonly used words. Web Vocabulary ProfilersThe other one is called HYPERTEXT and provides help with building resource-linked texts for intensive reading. Both look of potential use for teaching EFL reading.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1147957297838487962006-05-18T22:01:00.000+09:002006-05-18T22:01:37.853+09:00Cool tool

Will Richardson also points me to this cool tool, which I will be exploring: Google Notebook.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1147957016780251532006-05-18T21:56:00.000+09:002006-05-18T21:56:56.790+09:00Cool tool

Will Richardson points me to yet another online app, Thinkfree, which is kind of an Office suite online. Will be checking it out.

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1147701033647299742006-05-15T22:50:00.000+09:002006-05-15T22:50:33.663+09:00Too many cool tools for Flickr

Whoa! Check this out....

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1147539163427835832006-05-14T01:52:00.000+09:002006-05-14T01:52:43.436+09:00Cool tool - RockYou slide shows

RockYou slide shows. Not sure how this is different from Bubbleshare but it sounds cooler!

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1146383790665609412006-04-30T16:56:00.000+09:002006-04-30T16:56:30.726+09:00Andy Kauffman lives (again)?

Woah. Death of a videovlogger...and, I mean, why not? Someone had to do it...

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1144243849240610682006-04-05T22:30:00.000+09:002006-04-05T22:30:49.803+09:00Gritwire is a set of useful tools for people who use the Web daily.

Gritwire is a set of useful tools for people who use the Web daily.Cool tool, tho Will Richardson still prefers Bloglines.On Del.icio.us: cooltools, web_tools, blogging, feed_reader, RSS

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1142915749393003582006-03-21T13:35:00.000+09:002006-03-21T13:35:49.460+09:00Joomla! - Main

Joomla! - MainThis was recommended to me. Haven't compared it to others yet, and won't have time to play for a while because I'm busy learning how to Moodle.On Del.icio.us: CMS, content_management_system, website_building, open_source

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1142837994208351042006-03-20T15:59:00.000+09:002006-03-20T16:06:27.190+09:00plasq.com - Main

plasq.com - MainAn Apple tool for creating comics from digital photos. Ewan Macintosh blogged about this. It was highlighted at the Communicate 06 conference in Scotland.Technorati tags: cool_tools, Mac, comics, EFL, ESL, ELT, edtechOn Del.icio.us: cool_tools, Mac, comics, EFL, ESL, ELT, edtech

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1142824903313494282006-03-20T12:21:00.000+09:002006-03-20T12:23:23.806+09:00w.bloggar 4.0 - addict3d.org

Just saw an ad for this on a web-page today. I bought Blogjet about a year ago, but actually haven't used it much because of Bloggers' blogthis bookmarklet, and Firefox's Performancing extension. w.bloggar 4.0 - addict3d.orgTechnorati tags: cool_tools, blogging, interfaceOn Del.icio.us: blogging, cool?tools, interface

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10674793.post-1142762202092084832006-03-19T18:56:00.000+09:002006-03-19T19:01:43.313+09:00Yahoo! Jiten

Yahoo!辞書Just tried out a number of online Japanese-English dictionaries. It wasn't until I tried this dictionary portal with a search box at the top, that I got a clue as to why the others weren't bringing up any results. I was looking for "hagurakashi" which is the noun form of a verb "hagurakasu". Yahoo told me it didn't find anything, BUT it gave me a link to "hagurakasu" which led me straight

Marco Polonoreply@blogger.com0