Just for fun I created a 4th of July quiz for the Byte this week. You can access it here: http://treacyinfo.com/quiz.htm
I created it very easily using the FunBased Learning Quiz Maker: http://funbasedlearning.com/tools/quizMaker/default.htm Really I just filled in some form fields, pushed a button, saved the file and uploaded it to my site. I looked at a few tools and this was by far the easiest free tool to use and required the least amount of registration and fuss.
If you are looking for more July 4th themed quizzes, you can visit the US Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Self Test:
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/exec/natz/natztest.asp
OK I finally did it – I created a podcast! You can access it here:
http://odeo.com/channel/108348/view
Mostly I just go over the instructions to start your own very simple podcast. It was very easy and took less than 10 minutes. I signed up for Odeo, made a phone call, and hit record (well # really). It was free.
The specific instructions are outlined on the Odeo “podcast by phone” page at: http://help.odeo.com/index.php?_a=knowledgebase&_j=rate&_i=14&type=yes
My next step is to get the little bit of equipment required to record a podcast with more than one person. I see that as a greater application of the tool (for me) than creating solo podcasts, as really I am better in writing than audio. But it was fun to see how easy it was to create a podcast.
I forgot to mention last week that over my vacation I added a number of archive Byte posts to my web site: http://treacyinfo.com/byte.htm. I’m going to try to be better about updating my web site when I post a new Byte!
am just back from a wonderful vacation in Detroit Lakes. Those of you who know me will be amazed to hear that I went a week without a TV. What more amazing is that I’ve been home 5 hours and still haven’t watched it!
While on vacation I picked up a copy of Wired just for fun. Here are some of the fun sites I learned about:
YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/) – OK it’s not new but I was amazed to read so much about it. It’s a site where you can upload and download videos for free. A lot of people are getting their 15 minutes of fame here. But I think it’s a good place to hear about and/or promote new trends. I saw a video from the Spiderman 3 set, a few minutes with a Brazilian World Cup Fan, a song about YouTube, and 5 minutes of Zach Braf (guys from Scrubs).
Prosper (http://www.prosper.com/) – this is the “online marketplace for people-to-people lending.” If you need money you post your case. If you have money to lend you post your rate. Or if you are a borrower you can join or start a borrowers club to try to get better rates. It looks a little bit like eBay.
Squid Labs (http://www.squid-labs.com/) – best described on their homepage, “we’re not a think tank, we’re a do tank.” These guys do R&D for hire – and it looks as if they collaborate a lot. (In other words if you have an idea, they might have a way to help you work on it.)
What really impressed me with most of what I read for fun was the many ways in which the Internet is really becoming a place where people post info, talk to others, and form communities. It was good to step back and see that.
I am at a wonderful conference (Symposium on Small Towns and Rural Summit) today and head out to vacation to a wonderful resort tomorrow. So, today’s Byte is brief.
Below are instructions for setting your email to the automated out of office reply when you go on vacation (although I’ll actually be checking email in the next week):
For Microsoft Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290846
Microsoft Outlook 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255509/
Microsoft Outlook 98
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/271709/
