April 2007

WordPress 2.1.x and FAlbum issues

I use the FAlbum plugin for WordPress to display pictures from my Flickr account on this site. When I upgraded WordPress (the publishing platform that powers this blog) to v.2.1.3 from v.2.0.9, I noticed that I couldn’t see pictures from my Flickr account on the site anymore. On further digging, I saw an error message in the admin page for FAlbum that the Flickr Key was not valid any longer. I tried to reauthorize FAlbum on Flickr, but that didn’t work either. Googling for the error message “( [stat] => fail [code] => 100 [message] => Invalid API Key (Key has expired)” didn’t turn up any useful pages. So, I tried something I haven’t done for a while :), I visited the support forums for FAlbum and found the issue right on the first page. It looks like Flickr had expired FAlbums Key for some reason without any explanation. The author suggested using a new key and I was up and running in a few minutes. Just a reminder, that Google is still not the omni persent God :).

Now, you can go back to enjoying “My Pictures” :).

Internet Radio : As you like it

Tired of listening to Radio stations that might or not play what you want to hear? Try Pandora (www.pandora.com). Pandora claims it’s sole mission to be “To help you discover new music you’ll love”. The founders of Pandora have analyzed more than 60 years of music and created a sophisticated taxonomy of musical information. If you specify an artist or song, Pandora creates a unique radio station based on a Musical Genome of the song/artist/band. And to top it all off, it is completely free :). I love the sleek and simple flash interface too. I would love to take a look at how they keep up with streaming all that content across the Internet.

Update : Some Googling lead me to this article in Computerworld which speaks about some of the technology used to power Pandora.com. Looks like they use OpenLszlo.The programming approach is as elegant as the site :).

April 10, 2007 by admin Fun Uncategorized Web 1

Project PresidentFeed

I came across a new project by one of my old colleagues, Tim O’Brien, called PresidentFeed.com when I saw another colleague mention it in his blog. Tim is one of the smartest people I have come across in my career. Not only is he a great technologist but he also takes an interest in politics (which more and more people seem to do less and less of 🙂 ). He built this new website, that aggregates information on all the 2008 presidential candidates and also lets you cast your vote for them. Obama has the largest number of votes and highest approval ratings.. Go Obama!!! . Get your mouse over to this site and take part in shaping the free world :).

April 8, 2007 by admin Fun Politics Technology Uncategorized Web 0

Podcast about management

I am always looking for people, books, sites, podcast that can make me a better person to work with. There are quite a few sites out there that have help for managers, but the one I found that has the most relevant and interesting information is Manager-Tools.com. It is a weekly podcast by two management consultants (Mark Horstman and Michael Auzenne) with practical advice that can used in our day to day life. Mark and Mike provide an fresh insight into business advice, management consulting and personal coaching. Highly recommend it to anyone thinking of moving into management.

April 8, 2007 by admin Management Uncategorized 4

Mac : Enhance your Apple Remote

While I am on a Mac spree :), here’s an app that can really enhance the apple remote that comes with all the new macs. The default functionality you get with the Apple Remote is pretty basic. You can only control Front Row and put your Mac to sleep. I am trying “Remote Buddy” from IOSpirit and have been pretty impressed with all the apps you can control with your apple remote now. And you cannot argue with the 9.99 Euro cost either :).

April 6, 2007 by admin Mac Technology Uncategorized 0

HOW TO : View Chat logs in Adium

Adium is a multi protocol instant messaging application for the Mac OS X. I have been using it on my MacBook for a while now and think it is a fantastic example of how powerful open source can be. I was trying to figure out how to look at the chat logs on Adium. Some Googling helped me figure it out.. :). To view the chat logs on Adium, you can type “Apple Button + l” or click on “Contact -> View Chat Transcripts” in the menu.

April 4, 2007 by admin Mac Technology Uncategorized Web 0