From
Sreenath Sreenivasan
Columbia University journalism professor
WABC-TV's "Tech
Guru" on Thursday & Saturday
mornings in NYC area [Tech Guru archives at http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/technology/
]
Welcome to the latest edition of the SreeTips newsletter - tips
and tricks
for using the Internet better + three NYC tech events. As always,
I look
forward to your feedback, suggestions and questions. Your friends
can add
themselves to this list by e-mailing sreetips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
This newsletter is an offshoot of my SMARTER SURFING workshops
- http://www.sree.net/web - taught around the world, as well as
the newer
FIGURING OUT BLOGS & WHATEVER'S NEXT workshops [ http://www.sreetips.com/blogs.html ]. If you would like to discuss
my teaching
a specially-tailored session of either of these for your company,
newsroom,
school, organization or hamlet, let me know. And don't forget
to catch my
WABC-segments if you live in the NYC area (6:20 am on Thursdays
and 7:45 am on
Saturdays) - or on 7online.com wherever you live: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/index?section=sci_tech&id=3254770
(the web versions are also now appearing on LA's ABC7.com).
Now, on to the tips.
NEW
TO ME: See my blog, filled with useful and/or fun sites
that are new to me
at http://www.sreetips.com/new (items added several times a week)
Recent additions: MAPS: Virtual Pedometer http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ A terrific new site that uses Google Maps to help calculate walking
distances
and estimate calories burned. Zoom into the map and find your
starting point.
Then hit "start recording" on the left-hand pane. Then
double click on your
starting point, followed by double clicks as you mark your walking
or running
route. Your will see the distance traveled displayed. If you
turn on the
calorie counter and put in your weight, it will give you a guess
about your
calories burned as well. Am very excited about this.
HOME: KnowYourStuff.org http://www.knowyourstuff.org
The free home inventory software on this site from the Insurance
Information
Institute is very useful. It's a great way to know what's in
your home.
Everyone should get this and use it, especially after seeing
all that happened
in New Orleans.
FUN: Flashface http://flashface.ctapt.de/ Know those police sketch artists who help witnesses identify
suspects? Now you
can play one, through this site. It allows you to create faces
with innumerable
variations and fine detail, then save and share them. Try making
the face of
someone you know well.
BOOKS: Time's Top 100 Novels http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html Time magazine critics' list of the 100 top novels in English
from 1923 to
today. Such lists are always controversial, but always worth
a look. You can
rate each title yourself and suggest titles they might have missed.
You can
also read excerpts from original Time reviews of many of the
books (eg, "Grapes
of Wrath" from 1939)
- - -
POYNTER
WEB TIPS: I write a regular column, with my friend Jon
Dube of CBC.ca,
aimed at media professionals, but the tips are useful for most
folks. All 300+
tips are collected here: http://www.poynter.org/web - you can
sign up for a
weekly e-mail that has our columns:
http://www.poynter.org/subscribe.to.web.tips
GIVE
ME GMAIL: You can find my review of Gmail, Google's e-mail
service with
more than 2,500 MB of free space, at http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=32&aid=88004 If you'd
like a Gmail
invitation, go to that column and scroll down to the Gmail invitation
pool.
Click on the link, put in your current address there and you
will automagically
receive an invite. Or just write to me at sree@sree.net with "Give
Me Gmail!"
in the subject line.
CREATING
FREE PDF FILES: I am often asked for cheap ways to
create PDF files.
Even though the PDF reader, Adobe Acrobat Reader, is free, the
official PDF
creator is not. Here you will find my tip on creating free PDFs
(if you have a
Mac, the software is free an built-in):
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=32&aid=86495
THREE NYC EVENTS I AM PARTICIPATING IN THIS WEEK: Please tell
your friends in
the NYC-area about these public events.
* New York Academy of Sciences and Science Writers in New York
present Believe
the Hypertext: Science Blogs and Communication The popularity
and influence of
blogs - online journals that are updated daily - have already
made an impact on
politics and society. But does blogging have a place in science
journalism?
Tuesday, Nov 1, 2005, 6:30 PM-9 pm New York Academy of Sciences,
2 E. 63rd. St.
between Madison & Fifth Aves; COST: $15 - Light cocktail
reception Details at
http://www.nyas.org/snc/calendarDetail.asp?eventID=5349
RSVP:Jimbobwe@aol.com
* "Figuring Out Blogs, Podcasting, Wikis, RSS, & Whatever's
Next" - Wed., Nov.
2 from 9:15-11:15 am at HQ of American Society of Magazine Editors
at 810
Seventh Avenue, 24th floor. For the third year in a row, I am
a doing a tech
session aimed at folks in the magazine business, but open to
everyone. COST:
$110 for ASME members; $150 for non-members. To register, please
contact
arhodes@magazine.org
* "Columbia
Journalism Dialogues: The Changing Media Landscape, 2005" -
Wed., Nov. 2 from 6:30-9:30 pm at Columbia Journalism School,
2950 Broadway (#1 train to 116th St) - presented with the
Hearst Foundation. Meet Craig Newmark,
founder of Craigslist and four veteran journalists: Len Apcar,
editor in chief,
NYTimes.com; Jeff Gralnick, NBC News special consultant; Andrea
Panciera,
editor, ProJo.com; and James Taranto, editor and columnist, OpinionJournal.com.
I am moderating. COST: Free; no registration required. More info: http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/events/hearst
