The End of the Desktop Application?

Today I was discussing with an IM friend my RSS reader of choice, BlogBridge. My friend remarked that everyone used Google Reader now, and in fact was so bold as to suggest desktop applications were “so yesterday”.

I’m shocked to say I can not bring myself to agree but can’t find any huge arguments in favor of Destkop apps! While I am a big fan of certain desktop tools, Photoshop, iTunes, after what I said about Office I can’t say I am completely convinced by them.

Here are the best I could come up with, using BlogBridge as my prime example but also drawing on some of my other favourites:

Regardless of internet connection you can still be productive
Especially when it comes to RSS, download and take with you is still a great model (think flights, commute, etc)
Desktop apps even in the current world of applets, AJAX and Flash tend to be more powerful and feature-rich

It seems to me as the technology progresses #3 will not be the case, plus we do not need to wait for the technology for #2. Unfortunately for my arguments, with my line of work I really need my internet connectivity, and wireless connections are becoming more and more ubiquitous.

Is this the end of the desktop application?

Sketch Your Presentation With Sketchcasting

This is a neat idea that I found out about through Jim Kukrals blog, Sketchcasting!

The idea is to create a video, much like a webcast, but rather than show the concepts you are talking about, you draw them. If you have ever seen any of the Whiteboard Friday videos over at SEOMoz you will get what I mean.

Let me explain with a Sketchcast I tried to create …

Unfortunately attempting to embed the video sends our blog template squiffy! Ah well, you can follow the link instead.

As you can see and hear, I didn’t do a very good job! The problem I found is while in the real world I could write and draw quite naturally, the sketch recording feature seems right now to be very jumpy and the sensitivity is off. Unless I draw really slowly it doesn’t put the pointer where I want it to.If you check out the site though many people seem to have got the hang of it, perhaps it is just my low-powered Mac at fault?

Try it out and see how it works for you. I think it could be a fun way to create tutorials and creating live Mind Maps.

More coverage:

Do let us know in the comments if you try it out and how you find it?

Digg Takes On Facebook

I logged into my email this morning to see a message from Digg waiting for me. Well, actually two because up until this year I used a pseudonym on the site.

Lots of new changes coming to Digg! We’re excited to introduce you to the new Digg Profiles. With over fifty new features, we’ve completely revamped our profiles from the ground up - making it easy for you to share your favorite Digg stories with friends.

My first thought was “They are taking on Facebook, this could be interesting!”.

After checking them out I realize that right now Facebook probably should not be too concerned but perhaps there are signs they are heading in that direction. You can now add more information to your profile, including pictures. This will be useful when searching around for friends to add.

The main attraction, other than a more informative profile page, is the “shout” feature. Kind of like the Facebook message and wall facilities, this allows you to contact your friends through the system. You just know this is going to be used to push stories and beg for votes!

Digg has always been a social site, I had already added around 60 some friends, but these features should add another dimension.

I think this is a positive move, I hope they continue to develop this side of the service so we can pull away from the perception of Digg as just a killer source of traffic

More coverage:

What do you think about it? Are you going to beef up your profile and add friends or do you think this takes away from the spirit of Digg being about the content? Let us know in the comments …

Who Needs Office Now Google Docs Does Presentations?

Recently Office suites have been in the news again. Yahoo has acquired Zimbra for $350 million and OpenOffice 2.3 has been released. The biggest news though is Google releasing the presentations application for Google Docs.

Google Does Powerpoint

If you log into Google Docs now and start a new document you will see there is a new option for presentation. So now as well as a word processor and spreadsheet, you can also create neat slideshows.

Creating one of these presentations will be familiar to Microsoft Powerpoint users, it is very similar. You can even upload a .PPT file to work on. I’m not sure exactly how much of the functionality will remain, probably very little from the original, but it has to be a useful tool for anyone who needs to edit a file but doesn’t want to take up the space or expense of Powerpoint or compatible alternative.

Saving files means storing your document online or exporting a .zip containing all your content to be viewed in a browser. It is a shame that I can not see an export as .PPT option.

As with other presentation packages you can go wild with the aesthetics. You can style up your slides, use pre-built themes, edit fonts and alignment etc, and of course preview as a slide show. Everything is very intuitive and built in an immediate feedback AJAX desktop-like style.

When viewing a presentation you can use mouse clicks or keyboard to navigate the slides as you would expect.

Basing the application on the web means a new, more collaborative way of working is possible.

One feature that I think will be very useful in educational contexts is the addition of a chat room for each presentation when shared online.

Each presentation when published is provided a unique URL for you to invite others to view, plus it is possible to embed these presentations in your own site using Iframes.

The Threat to Microsoft

Up until now I have been on the fence about these online office applications. Most of my uncertainty has been around relying on a web based app, and all that entails. Well now my days rely on internet connectivity anyway, and these applications have matured to a point where you are not missing many features. I’m not going to be using them full time but I do now think Google is on to a winner. As Tris says

If MSFT and OpenOffice/Sun donâ€™t adapt to the new desire for light apps, well I think they are going to find themselves in a world of hurt.

We know that Google is going after the corporate environment, pushing their suite through with the help of Capgemini. These online apps contain the core functionality we use day to day, without any of the more fancy rarely used features. Many businesses will be seriously considering this functionality and wondering if it is worth the license cost for the extra.

More Coverage

What Do You Think?

Have you tried it out? Think this is the end of Microsoft or have Microsoft got a counter strategy still to play? Let us know in the comments …

Social Media Versus Mainstream Media

It seems both the Mainstream Media folks and bloggers are using a Project for Excellence in Journalism study as a club to beat each other with.

They looked at social media sites and compared the stories presented with traditional media and drew conclusions. Why is the study so controversial? First here is a quote from the site

If someday we have a world without journalists, or at least without editors, what would the news agenda look like? How would citizens make up a front page differently than professional news people?

If a new crop of user-news sitesâ€”and measures of user activity on mainstream news sitesâ€”are any indication, the news agenda will be more diverse, more transitory, and often draw on a very different and perhaps controversial list of sources, according to a new study.

Not so bad is it really? They are saying the news stories would be about different things and would not rely on the same sources. Doesn’t seem like anything we need to disagree about. Oh, but we are disagreeing! As Nick at TechCrunch says

The â€œMainstream Mediaâ€ has had somewhat of an antagonistic relationship with â€œNew Mediaâ€.

This relationship is the source of the disagreement I would suggest. For myself I do not need a study to tell me what appears on traditional news would be markedly different from what shows up on Digg. It’s just common sense.

Unfortunately some people are taking it to mean social media is dumbing down the audience. Check out this from Nicholas Carr

The techno-utopians would have use believe that citizen journalism will provide an antidote to the mainstream media’s long-run shift away from hard news and toward soft news, that it will counter the trend toward news-as-entertainment and entertainment-as-news. But the indication so far is that the precise opposite is true. When you replace professional editors with a crowd or a social network, you actually end up accelerating the dumbing-down of news.

In fact I have had access to more varied and open-minded news from social media. Once writers are freed from centralized agenda control they can investigate stories that are interesting or deserving without worrying if their paycheck will stop or if they will get censured from above.

The thing that grabs me most is the study might have been more useful had they compared like with like. Digg is not in the same market as Yahoo! News, the BBC or Wall Street Journal. It is like comparing the headlines of Sporting Life against PC Magazine.

In a week when the mainstream press was focused on Iraq and the debate over immigration, the three leading user-news sitesâ€”Reddit, Digg and Del.icio.usâ€”were more focused on stories like the release of Appleâ€™s new iphone and that Nintendo had surpassed Sony in net worth, according to the study.

Of course they were! Do these people not know that Digg etc are dominated by geeks? Social news sites serve up what the users are interested in, not what we are told to be interested in. Geeks are interested in Iraq but we are just as interested in the iPhone. The mainstream media are dominated by crusty old editors, a handful of huge mega-corporations and tend to follow official government agenda. If it was up to mainstream media we would never have heard of certain candidates and we would have been under the impression that certain news shows were actually “fair and balanced” but through social media we have access to stories the mainstream media will not run.

What gets made popular on Digg is what the users want to see but despite what people will tell you, it is not entirely democratic. Although there are no editors, there are a small number of power-users. They effectively control what gets seen on the front page. Only a tiny percentage of Digg users have ever got more than a couple of stories to the front page and it takes a lot of time and effort to build a user up to that level.

As Dan Gillmor says at the Center for Citizen Media

We are not heading to a world with no editors. A portion of the editorial role, at least the part of the editorial role that involves picking stories, is moving to community-driven sites. Digg, Reddit and others in the PEJ survey are crude approximations, however, of what is coming.

Better Online Project Management With BaseCamp

In my last post on project management I mentioned how you can use blogs as a great project documentation, organization and collaboration tool. Today I am going to talk about a web service that has been built just for project management by the guys at 37signals called Basecamp.

Features

As you would expect from a tool built to aid project managements, there are features for discussion, collaborative documents, project tasks and scheduling, plus you can create users with appropriate permissions.

Pricing

There are various pricing levels, starting with a limited version at $0 (my favorite price!). You can do a lot with the free service, in fact you might not need more in a small one-off project. The main limitation is you only get two Writeboard documents, which isn’t too much of a restriction really. Depending on how many simultaneous projects you have on the go you could get away with the next level up which is only $12 a month and is well worth it considering what you get for the money. You can stop paying at any time, there are no minimum contracts.

RSS Subscriptions

An especially nice feature is your team members can subscribe to various feeds to keep up to date, plus there is a shared calendar that works very well with iCal. A huge part of project organization is getting everyone clued up on the latest changes and milestones so this works very well.

Messaging

There is basic messaging built in to the system. If keeping track of who said what becomes a burden, one additional service that I have heard good things about but have yet to try is HighRise. It’s a CRM and message tracking service from the same people that integrates with Basecamp projects.

One Problem

You might tell already I am a big fan of Basecamp. It just works and you don’t have to spend ages explaining to people how to get around and do what they need to do. That said, now I have used it for a while, there is one big limitation, and that is with the project milestones feature.

When I first checked out Basecamp I was expecting to be able to do away with Microsoft Project. Unfortunately if you want to do a good job of a decent sized project, I think Basecamp is a great addition to but not replacement for the Microsoft product.

For example, critical to good project planning is being able to take account of what order tasks have to happen in. Dependencies can have a massive impact on both timing and outcome. The ability to run tasks in parallel shortens project length while knowing this can’t be done until that is completed is vital. With only milestones and to-do lists you could be missing a key piece of information so the project chart is only useful for sharing what you have already worked out in Project or on paper if you are really old-school.

Other Options?

I’m told there are open source alternatives, and at least one competitor, which I really ought to investigate, perhaps they have a solution for this deficiency. While I am disappointed in that one aspect, I have to say when working on a project with a distributed team I would not want to be without the service.

Over to You

What tools or services do you use for online project management? How do you get around the lack of dependencies? Let me know in the comments …

Project Management Blogs - How to Run Your Project on the Web

Project management has been given a huge boost by internet tools. The biggest improvements for me came from the fact we can collaborate so easily across geography, time zones and computing platforms.

Now though we have grown with the web technologies to the point where we have tailor-made services plus innovative ways of using other tools that work very well but were never intended to be used that way.

The most prominent of these latter categories of tools are blogs. Blogs are easy to set up and use, can be secured with simple password protection or hosted behind corporate firewalls.

Check out these ways blogs might be used for project management:

Progress Report Blogs - A large part of project management is communication, and blogs are an obvious way of communicating with a project team. Team members can follow progress by visiting the blog, subscribing via RSS or with email updates. Messages can be categorized, so for example a programmer can take note of just the technical bulletins and requirements updates. This opt-in method has the benefit people are not barraged by unwanted and distracting emails.
Discussion Blogs - If feedback or a consensus is required the comment area can be called into play. This has the added benefit of centralizing discussions with an audit trail; you can see who said what and when.
File Store Repository - Upload files to share with the team. Keep all versions up to date, especially useful when items are being revised and there could be many versions to keep track of. This could be updated project plans, specs, software, contracts, timesheets …
Multi-Media Knowledge Base - Once you are using the web you have all the web has to offer to utilize. Rather than all text all the time, why not demonstrate and explain using audio, video, and interactivity? For example you might deploy a new software release and explain how it works with a video screen cast walk-through.
Team Blogs - Most blogging software will allow you to register users and give them appropriate permissions. The simplest permission you will want to give is the ability to comment. Thinking further though you might want them to post their own content. Each team member could then be given their own category or even own blog, allowing each to provide progress reports and gather feedback on their own tasks and requirements. Rather than having lengthy progress meetings and conference calls you could minimize the need by checking all the feeds.
Documentation Blog - A lot of knowledge can go astray in a large project, particularly when files and notes are spread over a large team, in different systems, random chats, ad-hoc emails, and worse, between team members ears. Using a central blog can aggregate all this knowledge and an easy to search and back up store. Using the power of categories and tags it can all be organised and retrieved by any interested party.
RFC Blog - One challenge that can quickly get out of hand in larger projects is runaway changes. You get stopped in the halls for a chat, think “that’s only a small request, sure.” and next thing you know there are cascading changes erupting all over the project. Use your blog as a Change Request Log. As changes come in they are posted up on the blog for all to see. Before any actions all members get to investigate possible knock-on effects before sign off.

Blogs are such an easy tool to deploy, and are so flexible, they can be brought into projects and used tactically without much bother. Add to this the extensibility, the plugin architecture and easy customization, they can be a real boon to many projects.

These are the roles I can related about using blogs in a project but there might well be uses I have missed. What other uses can you think of? Are there any downsides? Do you have good links for further reading? Let me know in the comments …

Conversion Central: 101 Tools to Convert Video, Music, Images, PDF and More

Few things are more irritating than having to deal with a format that is incompatible with what you need it to do. It doesn’t matter if it’s a media file, document, or shoe size; it’s just plain frustrating. To make your life easier, check out this list of 101 tools that will allow you to convert just about anything.

Original Art by Bob Ostrom

Using This Article : This is a fairly long article that can be used as a resource. If you don’t have time to read it now, you can bookmark it on del.icio.us and return to it later.

Mega Tools

There are lots of specialized tools out there, but sometimes you just need one good tool to get the job done. These mega tools are great for general conversions.

Zamzar: Zamzar does all sorts of conversions, ranging from documents and images to music and video. In addition to its versatility, this tool boasts the ability to do all of your conversions without downloading software.
SUPER: This aptly-named tool offers a simple and efficient way to convert any multimedia file to any format you need. You won’t need to download any additional codecs or deal with any time or function limitations.
CZ Document Converter: CZ Document Converter is a powerful batch document converter. It supports every popular document file you may need, including PDF, HTML, DOC, XLS, and WPS.
Media Convert: This tool is another great all-around converter. It can take files from your computer or a webserver and convert them into pretty much any format. The tool is web based and full of versatility.
Image Converter Plus: Image Converter Plus can professionally convert graphic files, photos, drafts, finance documents, and any image format. It supports more than 120 graphics formats and more than 800 dialects of these formats. You can convert files in a batch while also altering and enhancing images.
Quad-Lock Unit Converter: The Quad-Lock Unit Converter does conversions for more than 650 units. With this all-inclusive library, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for.

Media

If you use an MP3 player, download movies, or even just rip CDs, there’s a good chance you’ve had to deal with the frustration of having a format that’s incompatible with your device or software. These tools will make it all better.

Audio

Audacity: Audacity is a great tool that can be used to convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs. Check out their site to see what else this audio powerhouse can do.
RM to MP3 Converter: If you’ve got a bunch of Real Media files, but want to be able to listen to them on other players, check out this tool. It will convert RM files to MP3s individually or in batches. You can even save them with space-efficient VBR.
OSS Audio Converter: This tool is an audio format converter with a high level of customization. Using the OSS Audio Converter, you can select the coding method for VBR compression, fine-tune settings, and choose a range of frequencies to filter.
All Converter: Use All Converter to switch your files between popular formats like MP3, APE, AAC and many more. Files can be converted in batches, even if they’re not the same media or convert-to type.
Audio Converter: Audio Converter has lots of formats for conversion, including AIFF, Vorbis OFF, MP3 and more. You can convert files one by one or do them in batches, all while editing options like volume normalization and silence removal.
Intelliscore Polyphonic WAV to MIDI Converter: With IntelliScore, you can convert MP3, WAV, and WMA files to MIDI. It has lots of additional features, like vocal track removal and sheet music.
Free WMA to MP3 Converter: With this tool, you can take any Windows Media file and turn it into an MP3 that can be used with a variety of different players.
Zune Multi-Extension Support Mod: With this hack, Zune users can covert formats that the player doesn’t normally recognize, like AAC, DVR-MS and MPEG.
FreeRIP: This freeware application allows users to convert files between MP3, FLAC, WAV and more.
dBpoweramp Music Converter: The dBpoweramp can be used to rip CDs and convert audio files to pretty much any format you might need. This can all be done without altering tags.
Acoustica MP3 to Wave Converter Plus: Acoustica’s converter makes it easy to convert MP3 files to WAVs so that you can create custom CDs or edit audio.
Direct Audio Converter and CD Ripper: Music lovers can use this tool to convert music files to popular formats while keeping folder structures and tags intact.

Video

Koyote: This tool can covert FLV, DIVX, AVI and other formats to an iPod video format. That means you can download YouTube videos and put them directly on your video iPod.
MediaCell Blackberry Video Converter: If you want to view videos on your Blackberry, check out this tool. It converts all popular video files to Blackberry video while maintaining a high standard of quality.
Videora: With Videora, you can convert pretty much any video file into an iPod format. The tool includes an auto-resize feature that chooses the best resolution for you.
VidDownloader: This simple tool allows users to save streaming video and convert then to DivX AVIs.
Avi2Dvd: Avi2Dvd is a freeware program that converts AVI files to a format that works for DVDs, VCDs, and SVCDs.
iSquint: Mac iPod users who want a way to convert videos to something that works for their device will be happy to find iSquint. This tool converts videos to the correct format and also optimizes their resolution.
Any Video Converter: Using AVC, you can convert any video format to any other video format. The tool supports AVI, DIVX, FLV and more. You can create custom profiles that for devices like the iPod and PSP.
Tube Sock: Tube Sock is for Mac OSX users who want to download, convert, and copy YouTube videos to their iPod, Mac, or PSP.
Zune TVWatcher: Use this tool to convert recorded TV shows to a Zune-ready format.
Grand Theft Auto Mission Converter: Use the Grand Theft Auto Mission Converter to convert GTA1’s INI mission to GTA2’s .MIS mission.
Mplayer: Mplayer is an open-source video player, but it also has an interface called mencoder that allows users to convert between lots of formats, including TiVo’s tystream.
Lathe: With Lathe, you can convert TiVo files to play on a variety of media devices, including Archos, PDAs, smartphones, and more.
Hey!Watch: You can upload videos from your hard drive or online video sites to Hey!Watch, then use the tool to convert the files to pretty much any format you’d like.
PodTube: Mac YouTube enthusiasts will love the convenience of PodTube. It allows users to point to a URL, then let the program get to work by downloading, converting and adding the file to your iTunes library.
iTube: iTube is just like PodTube, but it’s made for Windows users.
HandBrake: HandBrake is a free, open source application that rips DVDs to a number of different formats, including those supported by Apple TV, PS3, Quicktime, and more.
MediaCoder: MediaCoder is a batch media transcoder. It can be used to convert to and from different formats as well as compress files.

Images

Graphic designers, professional photographers, and point and shoot enthusiasts can all benefit from using these easy image conversion tools.

Photo To Sketch: This program takes your photographs and converts them into black and white sketches or watercolor paintings. Using this functionality, you can make your own coloring book.
Image Thumbnailer and Converter: Image Thumbnailer and Converter makes it easy to create thumbnail images, convert formats, adjust sizes, set folders, and create web pages automatically.
GIMP: The GNU Image Manipulation Program is a great program for easily changing the format of images.
Smart Converter: This multipurpose program allows users to convert, view and edit images, even in batch mode. You can apply over 100 image effects, watermarks, and use loads of supported formats.
Easy Graphic Converter: Convert image files to lots of different formats while at the same time taking advantage of features like previews, 50 different effects and filters, simple editing and more.
Advanced Batch Converter: Use Advanced Batch Converter to change the format of multiple graphics at once. You’ll also be able to do minor editing. This program supports about 90 file formats.
Image Icon Converter: Convert images of various formats into Windows icons using the Image Icon Converter. You can also use this program to convert icons into popular image files and do basic editing.
Image Converter .EXE: Take things a step further with Image Converter .EXE. This tool allows you to change the format of multiple files at once, plus apply affects to the files at the same time.

Documents

These tools make it easy to read and print all sorts of documents, so you can avoid having a difficult discussion with your boss about why you just can’t open his MS Works 1996 file.

PDF

Adobe Online PDF creator: For quick PDF conversions, check out the official Adobe online PDF Creator. This tool converts a number of different formats, including DOC, JPG, WMF and more.
ExpressPDF: If you need a high quality PDF output in a hurry, consider using ExpressPDF. Users can upload documents, choose an output quality, then receive an email with the new PDF. This is all done without downloading any software, so it’s great if you’re in a pinch on a borrowed computer.
CC PDF Converter: Install this tool as a printer subsystem. It will enable you to print pretty much from any Windows application to a professional quality PDF document. It will also allow you to set the copyright terms for your PDF file.
Scan to PDF: ScanToPDF is a simple tool that allows you to convert your paper based documents into PDFs. Just insert the pages into your scanner, press the scanning button and the paper document will be converted into a PDF file.
Cogniview’s PDF to Excel Converter: If you get a lot of numerical data you need for your work in PDF format, Cogniview’s PDF to Excel Conversion tool is the best solution for you. Open your PDF file, mark the data you need and it will be instantly pasted into an excel spreadsheet.
Solid Converter PDF to Word: With the Solid PDF Converter, you can open up PDF files in Word and edit text in the original document. Solid PDF will identify and maintain the formatting of the original document (tables, bullets and so on) which makes it perfectly suited for PDF to word conversion.
Easy PDF Converter: The Easy PDF Converter tool, like many others, converts various document formats to PDF. What sets this program apart is its ability to convert an entire batch of files in one click, eliminating the need for lots of user input.
PDF Converter Professional: Using PDF Converter Professional, you can convert static PDF files into fillable forms.
PDF to Image Converter: You can convert PDF files to lots of popular image formats using PDF Image Converter. The program will convert detailed elements like text, color, images, ellipses, and more.
RSS 2 PDF: Use this tool to convert your RSS or OPML newsfeed into a PDF file quickly. It creates a readable, formatted file that you can view offline.

Word Processing

Docx Converter: The Docx Converter makes it easy to read Word 2007 files without having to upgrade your software. It extracts text and formatting from DOCX files and turns them into simple HTML files. You can even download their desktop widget for the tool.
3A PDF to Word Batch Converter: If you have a PDF file that needs text editing, you may have a hard time getting it to do what you want. Use the 3A PDF to Word Batch Converter to convert PDF documents into Microsoft Word, where you’ll be able to edit as much as you like.
WordFast: This language translation tool can be used on any language that’s supported by Microsoft Word. You can also use it with external dictionaries and machine translation engines.
MS Works Converter: With this converter, you can turn Microsoft Works files into Excel files, even in batches.
Doc to Image Converter: This simple converter allows users to save Microsoft Word files as image file formats including JPEG, TIFF, BMP and more.
Babel Fish: If you’re looking for a light, web-based translator, Babel Fish is for you. The translations aren’t always perfect, but you should be able to get a good idea of what’s being said. You can translate a block of text or an entire webpage.

Excel

Excel to PDF Converter: This spreadsheet converter is very simple. All you do is select “Save as PDF” in Excel, and the converter will create a document that can be read by PDF viewers.
XLS Converter: You can use this converter to take data from Excel files and turn them into formats like HTML, TXT, and CSV. It can be run in command-line mode, plus Excel isn’t required for it to work.
ABC Amber Excel Converter: With the ABC Amber Excel Converter, you can turn Excel files into PDF, HTML, RTF, DOC and more, all without the use of the MS Excel program. This tool offers command line support and batch conversion as well.

PowerPoint

Presentation to Video Converter: If you’re tired of manually clicking through PowerPoint slides during presentations, you can convert them into a video that eliminates the need for your interaction.
Convert PowerPoint: With Convert PowerPoint, you can turn PPT files into PDF, HTM, TXT and more. This application can be run on a command line.

Drafting

Universal Document Converter: Use this converter as a virtual printer to export any document to a raster PDF or image file. Doing so ensures that your document will be change-protected and viewed accurately. Universal Document Converter works with Adobe PDF, PowerPoint, AutoCAD and more.
AutoDWG DWG to PDF Converter: If you’ve been sent an AutoCAD drawing, but don’t have the software to open it, use this program to view it as a PDF. It has lots of options, including merged files and batch creation.
DWG2Image Converter: Convert DWG and DXF files to popular image files like BMP and JPG using the DWG2Image Converter. This program works without the use of AutoCAD.
Any DWG: Any DWG has lots of specialized tools that allow you to convert between lots of file formats, including DWG, PDF, DXF and various image types.
Raster to Vector Converter: Use this converter to take raster formats and create vector formats like DXF, ASCII, and AI. It will refine curves, create fine lines, and more.
Universal CAD Converter: This handy tool makes it easy to turn AutoCAD drafting files into pretty much any format you like, converting between DWG, DXF, PDF and DWF without using AutoCAD. You’ll also be able to convert any of these formats to images.

International Standards

These conversion tools are useful whether you’re traveling, baking, or just buying some nice Italian shoes on eBay.

Measurements

Metric Converter: If you often need to do complicated metric conversions, use this tool to get the job done.
FCC Conversion: This FCC webpage converts degrees, minutes, and seconds to decimal degrees in latitude and longitude, or vice versa.
EZ Unit Converter Wizard: This unit converter is highly customizable. You can add or delete the units that you’d like to use, with more than 130 units to choose from.
Unit Conversion: This tool does calculations for lots of different units, including Celsius to Farenheit and pounds to kilograms.

Currency

Google Search: You can use Google to calculate currency conversions as well as units like gallons and liters. It’s great because you can get an answer by using a nationality if you don’t know the name of the currency.
Universal Currency Converter: XE’s UCC performs forex rate calculations with live currency rates. They offer conversions for the top 85 currencies in the world as well as special units and precious metals.

Clothing Sizes

International Show Size Conversion Charts: These charts convert shoe sizes from Europe, Mexico, U.K. and more.
Ring Size Conversion: Use this ring size tool to determine what your size is in the U.K., France, Switzerland and more.
Women’s Clothing Conversion: With this tools, you can find out what size clothing you should buy for France, Italy, and a number of other countries.
Men’s Clothing Conversion: This tool works the same way as the women’s tool, but it comes in men’s sizes.

Time

Time Conversion Tool: This utility from NASA makes it easy to convert from calendar dates and times to Julian dates, or vice-versa. You can also convert between featured world time zones and figure out what day of the week you’re looking at.
Time Zone Converter: Use this tool to convert time zones between two cities. It accepts dates for the past or future.

Web Development

These tools are great for converting between different script languages, databases, and more.

User Script Compiler: With User Script Compiler, you can convert your Greasemonkey scripts into Firefox extensions.
Advanced PDF to HTML Converter: Use this program to convert PDF files into HTML to make it easier for users to view them. It will preserve all graphics, hyperlinks, bookmarks and lines.
Access to Visual Basic Object Converter: Use this program to quickly convert Access Objects to Visual Basic.
Gmail: Using Gmail, you can convert most document formats into HTML. It’s as easy as sending an attachment to yourself and selecting the option to view it as HTML.
IRun RTF Converter: The IRun RTF Converter makes it easy to put your documents online by converting RTF files to XML or HTML. You can even generate HTML with CSS.
HTML to ASP Converter: This tool converts HTML code for use with ASP.
XML Converter Standard Edition: This converter takes data from MySQL databases, MS SQL Servers and more and turns them into XML documents.
IDN Conversion Tool: With the IDN Conversion Tool, you can translate an IDN or nameserver from native characters to RACE and Punycode or vice-versa.
C to Java Converter: This converter automatically translates C code source files into Java classes. It supports standard ANSI C runtime and L&R C libraries.

Mobile Tools

These tools let you create ringtones for your device and convert while you’re on the go.

Google SMS: If you need to get a short language translation or currency conversion on the fly, use your cell phone and Google SMS to get an answer. All you have to do is send a text message and you’ll get the information you need.
Ringtone Converter: This tool allows you to convert ringtone files from one format to another, like MIDI to Motorola. Ringtone Converter works with most makes and models, plus you won’t need any cables to get the tone on your phone.
Mobile Unit Converter: Do quick metric conversions on your Smartphone or PDA using Mobile Converter. It works for decides running Windows Mobile 5.0.
Coding Workshop Ringtone Converter: With the Coding Workshop Ringtone Converter, you can convert ringtones from one format to another. It supports most makes and models of phones. You can also trim and compress files as you convert.
Converter: Use your Palm to easily look up unit conversions like miles to kilometers on the fly.

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Facebook: Productivity Boost or Bane?

Regular readers will have seen how I saved a big percentage of time by cutting out unnecessary distractions. One area I am struggling with though is keeping up with my contacts. Actually, to be more specific, Facebook.

Facebook has the potential to benefit productivity. It keeps you up to date with your contacts all in one nice and tidy space. On one page you can get a good overview of what your friends are up to, and get birthday reminders, and such. While I also use LinkedIn, Facebook is much more active with people sharing far more information than just their contact details and where they are working right now.

The problem is that benefit also has a downside. Richness of information and regular updates can become overwhelming:

Random email notifications - You get notified with an email whenever someone sends you a message or does something where your interaction might be required. The more contacts you have the more of these you will get.
Adding “friends” who I don’t really know - Bloggers meet (actually or virtually) lots of people. Some of those will want to connect on Facebook. While you will want to keep up with people the sheer number of people who add friends randomly cascades. Right now Robert Scoble has 5,000 friends. How does he get anything done?
Friends who are particularly noisy - Talking of Mr Scoble, he updates a lot. (In)famously so. The problem with noisy friends is there is so much cruft in your updates you can miss things that turn out to be important. All you can do is tune them down or drop them as friends. Not great.
Trivial but fun applications - Self-control is not one of my best attributes. Somebody uses a Facebook Zombie application to “bite me” and I am going to check it out. Another friend ask me to compare music and film tastes, I sign up. Anything new and shiny has the potential to send my productivity into a dive. Problem is, Facebook is full of this stuff and my friends lap it up … and send them to me.
Keeping up with discussions - Facebook is a social site. It is a social site populated with your friends. Friends talk. A lot. Just what we need, another place to talk about stuff instead of getting on with work!
Yet another messaging venue - Kind of related to the above, Facebook is a place where people communicate. As if email, phone, skype and instant messaging were not enough, we can also get bombarded with Facebook messages. And obviously because you have declared these people as friends it feels rude to ignore them.

The thing about this stuff is it is only going to get worse. That bit about friends being noisy? Some people are doing it on purpose, because Facebook can help build your profile and get your stuff some attention. It’s called Social Media Optimization. It could be, particularly in the circles I run in, that it isn’t just noise it’s optimization.

All this optimization or self promotion will just add to the social media fatigue.

I’m not convinced it is even that great a promotional tool for content because there are so few outbound links, Facebook is after all a walled-garden with very few leaks. It might be a good way to promote yourself but in the end I think this sort of “push” promotion will just annoy.

There is a huge community on Facebook, and it is a patently visible that there really are tons of people on there. Many businesses are testing the waters for their marketing. One of those businesses was a small concern called Walmart, who dropped thousands of dollars on a campaign. For those with the time and inclination to max it out I can see the opportunities are there for the taking. I’m just not sure I can keep up with it.

Are you a Facebook fan or a Facebook doubter? Let me know in the comments …