Tai Mingshen

Having just read an article on Problogger entitled “How to Restart a Dead or Dormant Blog“, I’ve got a pang of guilty conscience for not having updated Tai Mingshen during the last few months. I don’t feel too guilty, however, since my time has been well spent discovering other forms of social networking, including microblogging and wikis.

It’s so easy and immediate to post and receive replies via Twitter, FriendFeed and business-oriented instant messaging such as Chatterous and Yammer. It’s so gratifying to share and update information via wikis (once you get over the worry of your contribution not being 100% correct or complete).

I’m amazed at the ease with which social networking is being integrated using services such as Meebo, Ping.fm, Google Talk, Digsby and Scrapplet. Not to forget RSS feed aggregators (Google Reader is my favourite), which are essential for keeping up-to-date with blogs that post more often than Tai Mingshen!

Although I prefer web-based tools because of the availability of my accounts from several PCs, I’ve got to admit that Adobe Air desktop applications are usually more appealing to use. TweetDeck is a beautiful application for keeping those tweets under control.

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These applications are so useful! I use them on a memory stick, together with other favourite apps that do not require installation, to avoid having to install the same programs on all of my home/work PCs.

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Keyxl.com claims to have the largest online database of keyboard shortcuts in the world. It covers operating systems and applications on several platforms, including Windows, Macintosh, Linux and browser-based environments.

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You convert it is a web-based conversion tool for documents, images, audio and video. All you have to do is upload the file, provide your email address, then download the converted file using the link sent to you by email.

[Via Lifehacker]

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WinMerge is an Open Source tool which compares and merges text files and directories on Win32 platforms. What makes this utility even more useful is the xdocdiff WinMerge plugin, which lets you compare and merge several binary formats, including MS Office, OpenOffice and PDF files.

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Mindquarry is an Open Source collaborative software platform for file sharing (documents, images, media files, etc.), task and project management, team collaboration and Wiki editing that meshes simplicity and functionality. As a result, knowledge workers are able to connect with team members and share information from wherever they are, effectively improving team-work and increasing productivity within the company.

I’ll have to check this out when I get a chance. It sounds like a Java-based alternative to Microsoft Sharepoint Server.

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Whatis.techtarget.com has compiled a huge collection of cheat sheets and tutorials. There are cheat sheets (quick reference guides) for blogging tools, CSS, HTML, networking, programming & scripting languages, search engines, operating systems, applications and more.

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StumbleUpon helps you surf the internet based on your interests. StumbleUpon learns what you like and makes better recommendations.

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I’ve started to use meebo.com as my one-stop application for instant messaging. Meebo is a web-based tool, which allows you to connect with several instant messaging services, including Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo!, AIM, Jabber and ICQ. If you sign up as a user (free) and enter the login details for your accounts, you have access to all of your buddies from a single, grouped list.

This is similar to Gaim and Trillian, but has the advantage of not requiring any downloads or installation. Login passwords are encrypted and there’s also an SSL site if you wish to sacrifice AJAX application speed for more secure messaging.

Now if only they could integrate Skype, Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger voice and video conferencing in a single web-based application…

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CrossEngine brings together Google, Yahoo!, Live, Ask, Wikipedia, Technorati and many more search engines and digital content providers in an intuitive interface. It doesn’t search across several engines simultaneously like some meta search utilities, but does provide quick results without having to retype your search terms every time.

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