If you haven’t heard of Blingo yet, it’s basically a search engine that gives you a chance to win a prize every time you search…well, the first 10 times you search in a given day. I’m usually a pretty gullible person when it comes to these types of things, but I avoided replacing Blingo with Google as my homepage mainly because I enjoy having the customized Google weather, news, and gmail. After Jeff Croft won at Blingo though, I decided to give it an earnest shot. It stayed as my Safari (not Firefox) homepage for about a week. Then I resorted to the method you see above. I made bookmarks for 10 random searches and hit “Open in Tabs” once a day, hoping each day to see the “Congratulations!” screen. I know this is technically not the way they expect people to use their system, and perhaps they don’t let people win who search for 10 things within a half-second, but I ask “Why Not?”. I want to win something. If you haven’t registered yet and would like to win with me (if I ever do) at Blingo, then use this referral link to signup. …But I’m not guaranteeing anything.

Amy and I were chatting via Google Talk this afternoon when she asked, “How did you do that?”
“Do what?” I replied.
“Turn your tongue sideways.”
I was using the Adium chat client at the time, so I had to log into my gmail account to see what she was talking about, but sure enough, Google has added animated smilies to it’s web-based version of Google Talk. In the time that we were chatting, we discovered:

:p :) :( ;) and <3

A little searching revealed a complete list of the avilable emoticons at a site called bigblueball. The interesting thing about these smilies is that they aren’t animated gifs, but rather a series of gifs located at https://mail.google.com/mail/im/emoticons/(emoticon name)(1-14).gif that are rotated with js to make the animation happen. I saved the ones for the <3 (heart1.gif, heart2.gif, heart3.gif…) and posted them below:

Actually, after I saved those images, I tried heart.gif, and realized that there is an animated version in the same directory. Interesting…here it is:
(You may have to hit refresh if you missed the animation.)

Ames and I were on the IKEA Website last night and Anna helped us figure out how to order a 2006 catalog. I was so excited that I thought I’d talk to her again and see what else she knows about.

Anna: Welcome to IKEA. I’m Anna, IKEA USA’s Online Assistant. You can ask me about IKEA and our products and our services. How can I help you today?
Jason: Howdy Anna, how are you today?
Anna: I’m fine, thank you for asking.
Jason: Then perhaps you can help me.
Anna: I assume you need some help with IKEA. What exactly is it that I can help you with?
Jason: I was wondering if you could tell me what the meaning of life is?
Anna: Better minds than I have failed to come up with an answer to that one. Try asking me something about IKEA, I’m sure I’ll have an answer to that.
Jason: Sure, I love IKEA! Where can I buy stock in IKEA?
Anna: Online stock check is a new online feature for our website. Once you locate the product you are interested in, simply click on the link that says CHECK STOCK AVAILABILITY. Then select the store(s) that you would like to check stock in!
Jason: Huh?
Anna: I am sorry if my answer was unclear. Could you please rephrase your question and we will try again.

Jason: Do you like pie?
Anna: To which IKEA store are you referring to when asking about the restaurant?
Jason: The one in Atlanta had pie. It was great!
Anna: <Window opens to IKEA Atlanta> Here you can enjoy a cooked breakfast, a light snack, or even dinner. Take a look at the great meal deals that IKEA Atlanta has to offer.
Jason: I knew that already!
Anna: I’m very sorry, but I can’t really talk about things like that at this time.
Jason: Can we talk about you?
Anna: There is no ‘me’. I am a computer program. What would you like to know about IKEA?
Jason: Why does IKEA make you wear a headset when you can’t even talk?
Anna: How is IKEA different from other furnishing stores? <Window opens to About IKEA> We offer a wide range, good design and function, and also low prices. That’s our business idea.
Jason: You answered your own question.
Anna: I’m afraid I don’t know exactly what you’re talking about. Try and ask your question in a different way. Thanks.
Jason: Do you have teeth?
Anna: If I was a real person I’m sure I would have that body part, but I’m simply an IKEA Online Assistant, here to help you with your questions about our company.
Jason: Mooo!
Anna: It’s not always possible for me to fully understand what it is you mean. This is one of those times.
Jason: Usually Anna, I don’t fully understand what I mean either.
Anna: I am sorry if my answer was unclear. Could you please rephrase your question and we will try again.
Jason: Do you have parents?
Anna: Id rather not talk about families. Please ask me something about IKEA. That’s why I’m here.
Jason: Who made you?
Anna: I was created by Artificial Solutions (http://www.artificial-solutions.com), IKEA USA (http://www.ikea-usa.com), and HUGE (http://www.hugeinc.com/2001/huge_1000.html).

Jason: So, you are an artificial solution?
Anna: I am not a real person. I am a computer program. What would you like to know about IKEA?
Jason: Blah!
Anna: Maybe it would be better to get back to talking about IKEA.
Jason: NO!
Anna: Sorry. As an IKEA Online Assistant I don’t know the meaning of ‘no’.
Jason: QUIT!
Anna: <Window opens to IKEA USA Website Map> As you are talking about computers and the Internet, I would like to show you IKEA USA website map.
Jason: GOODBYE!
Anna: Bye, then! It was very nice talking to you!

I saw your commercial the other night on HGTV. First off, I don’t usually get all that excited about any website I discover on television. I guess that’s a little unfair to say when you were just bought by Scripps Networks (owner of Home & Garden Television, Food Network, DIY Network and FINE LIVING) for $525 million. It wasn’t really the TV medium that bothered me this time anyway. It was your choice of browser. Yes, your browser. Confused? Allow me to remind you:

I know how it goes. The boss said, “Give me a commercial, and I mean YESTERDAY, for our HGTV spot with a mouse pointer flying around a tilted translucent browser window clicking and zooming and spinning and whooshing and whirring”. You were on a tight deadline and found a pre-dotcom-bust screenshot from pets.com and decided to use the browser graphics for your commercial. Talk about your Web 2.0 party fouls… and don’t even try to convince me that you actually opened up IE 5.2 for Mac. It doesn’t even come with the Apple OS anymore. If you downloaded it fresh from Microsoft, and opened it up with the default MSN.com homepage, you would see this paragraph at the top of the page:

Why does MSN look like this? Your browser cannot find our style and presentation information and as a result may not display the page properly. You are welcome to use the page as is, or upgrade your browser to its latest version which may address the problem. If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, go to the Microsoft Internet Explorer website to install the latest version. If you are using another browser, see the provider’s website for more information. If you are using Internet Explorer for Mac, we recommend that you use another browser to have an optimal experience on MSN.

Circular logic huh? You download IE, start it up, and it tells you to download IE again. Way to go Micro$oft! Well my friend, there are other options - options that don’t make me reminisce about the early 90s. You want it to look “hip” and Apple-like? Well, Apple iMacs don’t come in Tangerine, Grape, Lime, Blueberry, or Strawberry anymore…and fortunately they come with a new default browser - Safari.

Safari

See, it’s looking better already! No more turquoise to distract you from the page content, and in the un-reality of TV world, you can still have the tilted look, 90% opacity and outer-glow.

“What? There’s More!?” - That’s right folks, if you act within the next 10 minutes, we’ll throw in 2 OTHER great browser options! (Sorry, you’re doing TV commercials now, so I figured a little infomercial-speak might get your attention.)

Opera

Looking for a funky-fresh option for your commercial browser graphics? How about Opera? It’s available for almost every operating system and touts itself as the Fastest Browser on Earth™ - which really helps with all that clicking and zooming and spinning and whooshing and whirring you’re doing. They recently removed the ads, making it completely free to download and use. I’m not sure that all of the HGTV watchers will recognize it, but it’s sure to get that browser idea across.

Firefox

I personally think, with a name like Shopzilla, you should be using the Mozilla Firefox browser. Not only is it the fastest spreading browser, but it’s free, has tons of themes and extension to make it better, and conforms to web standards (which basically means it won’t make shopzilla look like crapzilla).

Sure, there are other browser options out there, but Safari, Opera, and Firefox are the only options in my opinion. IE5 for Mac…I still can’t believe it. Good luck breaking the news to the boss.

Sincerely,
Jason

Note: The 777 code described below no longer works. Please feel free to read the post though as I am still very happy about my switch to dreamhost. If you found this post looking for promo codes, try using the code “onehundred” to get one year of “Crazy Domain Insane” for only $100.

So it seems I’m moving in more ways than one… Amy and I are trying to finish up everything here in Gainesville for our big move to Columbia on the 26th, but I’ll be switching my hosting provider at the same time. I’ve been Fed Up and looking for a reason to switch to Dreamhost for a while now…and I think I found it. I just paid $9.24 for an entire year of hosting! Too good to be true? That’s what I thought.

My plan was to wait till the year with my current host was up, but after I heard about the “777” coupon code on thebignoob, I decided now was the time. The deal is that they are offering their Crazy Domain Insane plan for $0.77/mo for the first year of service. (That’s a savings of $110.16!) Crazy Domain Insane is their smallest hosting package, but includes 2400MB of storage, 120GB of bandwidth, and 3 hosted domains, which is more than enough for my personal projects.

I’m not sure how much longer this deal will last since word about it is catching on pretty quick, but if you’re looking for hosting:

1. Visit Dreamhost
2. Sign-up for the 1 year pre-pay on Crazy Domain Insane
3. Your total will show $119.40 until you enter 777 in the special promotions box on step 5.
4. Watch your total magically change to $9.24 when you submit the promotion code…that’s it!

Back online and running smoothly. Sorry to those of you who got denied while I was working out mySQL issues.

Gmail has been doing a great job in keeping my inbox free of spam, however as I purge my Spam folder every few days, I’ve been noticing a trend. A majority of my spam has very creative and clever names. I’ve continued to delete these as usual, but I’ve been saving up a list of the better ones for a post like this. Enjoy!

• Amperes C. Dulls
• Archaeologist A. Comm
• Bier F. Stupidly
• Censures F. Turncoat
• Checkup F. Billy
• Clapeyron F. Pueblo
• Clump H. Arachnids
• Confides E. Ferocious
• Contradistinction B.
• Converging U. Unsold
• Enthused M. Posse
• Estuary I. Swimmer
• Hubcaps H. Islamabad
• Jovial C. Turnaround
• Lavishly V. Pursed
• Mockingbird B. Playth
• Mushed J. Retina
• Prejudging O. Assassi
• Roving G. Vault
• Ruefully A. Input
• Salud Langston
• Scratched M. Muddiness
• Selling G. Corruptness
• Tramp Q. Envelope
• Winteriest O. Gooses

On April 1st Google officially began beta testing Gmail, and it was some time during that week that I filled out their "Keep Me Posted" form. I waited and waited and heard nothing. Then, in May, an old friend offered me an invite. I was so impressed with the service that I began using it for all my email. It wasn't long till I had gmail invites to offer, and gave them out to anyone who wanted them. On the 2nd of February though, something odd happened, my number of invites (...and Ray's too apparently) jumped from 5 to 50. At this point I've long since forgotten about my request for gmail invites, but this morning on my work email address, I got this email:

Hi there,

Thanks for signing up to be updated on the latest Gmail happenings. We hope it's been worth the wait, because we're excited to finally offer you an invitation to open a free Gmail account! Just click on this link to create your new account:

http://gmail.google.com/(CENSORED) :)

Since last April, we've been working hard to create the best email service possible. It already comes with 1,000 megabytes of free storage, powerful Google search technology to find any message you want instantly, and a new way of organizing email that saves you time and helps you make sense of all the information in your inbox.

And here are just some of the things that we've added in the last few months:

- Free POP access: Take your messages with you. Download them, read them offline, access them using Outlook, your Blackberry or any other device that supports POP

- Gmail Notifier: Get new mail notifications and see the messages and their senders without having to open a browser

- Better contacts management: Import your contacts from Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, Outlook, and others to Gmail in just a few clicks. Add phone numbers, notes and more. Even use search to keep better track of it all.

We also wanted to thank you. For showing us your support and for being so patient. And to those who have already signed up for Gmail, thank you for giving it a try and for helping us make it better. Our users are what have made this product great. So whether you're just signing up for your account or you've been with us since the beginning, keep letting us know how we can build you the best email service around.

That's it for now. We hope you like Gmail and will share it with your friends. We've got lots of cool new stuff planned and we can't wait for you to see our work in your Gmail accounts! Stay tuned...

Thanks,
The Gmail Team

So with Google finally offering gmail directly to those outside of the "Social Network" and giving it's users invites like they were gumballs, I wonder how long it will be till this thing goes public? In the mean time, if anybody wants a gmail gumball, I've got plenty.

Via Slashdot and Microsoft:

Well, it's official. IE7 will be available in beta for Longhorn (codename for the next version of Windows) and Windows XP SP2 as early as the summer time. It seems that the focus of this new version of IE is going to be on addressing security issues. What about inherent support for png transparency? What about extensibility in the form of user created themes and extensions? How about bookmarklet/favelet support? This is going to be sad.

As I reported yesterday, Amy and I are selling our laptop on ebay in order to pay for a smaller, more portable one. It doesn’t have any bids yet, but I’ve been getting seller questions that feel a lot like email spam:

Q: Hello,I want to get your Laptop.I want to get it for my Son who just got a job in an InfoTech firm.I got 1 for him but got Broken.since yours is kindda cheap and also like the same specification of the one that got broken.So I need to get the laptop before he resumes work on thursday.please i’ll want immediate transaction of this Laptop computer,can i go ahead with buy it now? I’ll make payment by Western Union Bidpay cause currently i dont run a Paypal #.Pls kindly send your Address so i can forward the money order to you immediately,and i will want the package shipped as soon as you confirm your money from Western Union Bidpay cause i need to have the item fisrt thing thursday morning,Pls i really need this urgently.I Have a fedex # for a pick-up or if you can overnight it to me by any means you can with your courier, i will pay you your total due,just give me the shipping cost with the price of the item ,i’ll make all the due payment ASAP I get a go ahead from u.Portland,IN 47371
A: I understand your situation is urgent, but I did not place a “buy now” option on this auction. There are two reasons why I cannot fullfill your request. One, I would expect to get more than the starting bid for this laptop as it is worth much more. And Two, it is unfair to others who are willing to bid - this IS ebay. Also, I will only accept paypal.

Q: hello, im very interested in your laptop. i think this is perfect as a gift to my stepson in philippines whose birthday will be on friday next week. anyway, can you be able to ship to philippines? im willing to end the deal as soon as possible and will cover all the shipping charges. pls reply asap.. thanks
A: I am NOT willing to end the auction prematurely, but I will consider shipping outside the US to the winning bidder if all shipping charges are paid in advance. Shipping prices outside the US will be based on whatever it costs to ship from my local UPS Store. PLEASE do not bid on this item if you do not agree to these terms as I do not want to get stuck with the ebay charges for a winner who will not pay.

Q: DEAR SELLER,I HAVE A STORE IN UNITED STATES AND AFRICA WHERE I SELL LAPTOPS AND ELECTRONICS,BUT THE DEMAND FOR THIS ITEM IN MY STORE IN AFRICA IS HIGH.SINCE YOU DO NOT SHIP TO AFRICA,I INTEND PAYING YOU VIA WESTERN UNION AUCTION PAYMENT(BIDPAY).JUST TELL ME THE AMOUNT AS A MATTER OF FACT,I SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SHIPPMENT OF THIS ITEM FROM YOUR LOCATION DOWN TO MY STORE IN AFRICA,THIS IS RISK FREE,DOESNT TAKE MUCH TIME.THIS IS HOW BIDPAY WORKS,THEY WILL SEND YOU AN EMAIL AS SOON AS I MAKE PAYMENT SAYING ORDER APPROVED ,AND THEY WILL SEND YOU ANOTHER EMAIL AFTER 24 HOURS SAYING ORDER APPROVED,THEN A MONEY ORDER WILL BE SENT TO YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER PAYMENT GETS APPROVED.SINCE THIS ITEM IS NEEDED WITH URGENCY,I WOULD WANT YOU TO PROMISE ME THAT ONCE YOU RECIEVE THE CONFIRMA TION AND APPROVAL MAIL FROM WESTERN UNION,YOU WOULD RELEASE THIS ITEM FOR SHIPPMENT TO AFRICA.I AM READY TO OFFER YOU ANY AMOUNT AS IT IS URGENT
A: First, read the other questions that I have answered. Second, PLEASE do not type in all caps. I will only accept paypal payment. I will not end the auction early. If you want this item shipped outside the US, I will consider it if it is possible through UPS and the shipping is prepaid via paypal. Thank You.

Maybe I’m being a bit pensive, but I don’t believe a single one of these half-baked requests. Are these sleazy ebay scum who are trying to get my laptop for a low price to turn around and re-sell it? Why do 2 of them want to use “Western Union Bidpay”? Why do they ALL need this item URGENTLY? It’s a laptop for crying out loud, and the auction ends in less than a week. If you need it urgently, then DON’T BUY IT ONLINE! Sheeesh. The only other possibility I can think of is that they’re email phishing. That seems like a lot of work to get an email though. Any ideas?

You know I really thought that by going to Google's Firefox Start page in any other browser besides Firefox that I would be promptly forwarded to Get Firefox. I assumed that I would at least get a recomendation to try it out. Not the case. Instead, when visiting the page in Internet Explorer, I am greeted with, "Welcome to Firefox 1.0, the new, easy to use browser from Mozilla." I feel dirty.

From Slashdot:

“America Online has just released Netscape 7.2. Based on Mozilla 1.7, this latest version features better popup blocking, vCard support, an improved junk mail algorithm, better standards support, performance enhancements and several hundred other bug fixes.”

So, I ask: “Why would anyone download a browser with a bad reputation that has been re-built by AOL using source-code from Mozilla?” My head hurts.

As I was perusing my regular reads this morning, I came across the report by Zeldman that Blogger has been completely redesigned! That's right, the simple service (know owned by Google) that propelled many of us into the web-publishing age has reinvented itself.

It seems like many of the css/webstandards heroes of today had a hand in this overhaul. Doug Bowman (Stopdesign) was in charge of the redesign and enlisted the help of Dan Cederholm, Todd Dominey, Dan Rubin, Dave Shea, and even Zeldman himself for the design of the new templates.

Despite my lack of free time to "play" with such things, I'm really excited about getting in and twiddling the knobs. After logging in (for the first time in over a year) I see that not only does it produce commenting and standards-compliant code, it also generates xml feeds!

Never did I think that after coding my own php/sql blog and commenting system that I would have to play catch-up with blogger!

I've been using, and admiring Mozilla Firefox for a while now, but have always had a reason to creep back into using IE6 as my default browser. Sure, stricter compliance to W3C standards and better rendering of CSS are important to me, but its little integrated features like right-clicking images to paste into Photoshop that really get me to go back. As a web designer I also want to make sure everything I create works for the largest amount of internet users possible. Right now, that means IE6 users. So even if I did prefer Firefox over IE, I still need to be able to see what a page looks like in the public's eye.

In my latest attempt to kick IE to the curb, I've found some staying power in Mozilla's never-ending list of extensions for the Davidesque browser. There's an extension to add "copy image" to the right click menu, an extension to add "open in IE" to your right click menu, and even one that allows you to zoom in or out on an image in your browser.

Even without these features I support Firefox as a superior, more advanced browser, but it's the open source nature of Mozilla, and the genius extensions created by everyday programmers that are taking it leaps and bounds ahead of IE.

I'm headed to Orlando this Wednesday evening to see 12Stones with my friend Jhon at little place called Backbooth. I know the area pretty well, but it's been a while since I've been in downtown Orlando, so I decided to check a map.

After noticing that YahooMaps didn't have the directions for the one way streets in downtown Orlando, I decided to plan my route using MapQuest. I'm the type of person who likes to blow the map up as large as possible, and then pick a route myself rather than relying on the computed driving directions. Sadly though, MapQuest seems to have dropped its "Enlarge Map" button.

I could not find any information as to why or when this occurred. But I did manage to find out the query string value that changes the size of the map. So...next time you want to get an enlarged MapQuest map, all you need to do is toss this: size=big& right after the ? that follows map.adp

Example:

• Normal Size Map


• Larger Map

Happy Mapping!

As a webdesigner, I am constantly working around the inconsistencies of browser compatibility. Among the icons of browsers on my quicklaunch bar is a familiar ship's wheel above a blue right triangle. It is the bain of my existence. There are many workarounds for browsers which do not yet fully support css, but trying to make a site look good in Netscape 4.x is a waste of time and an insult to browsers which promote much less archaic methods of rendering pages.

According to w3schools, Netscape 3 and 4 usage accounts for less than 1% of all web browsers. Although it is still available for download, Netscape 4 and all of it's predecessors are dead to me.