SparkPoint

Years ago, after stumbling upon the utility of external web-based start pages like My Yahoo, My Excite, My IWon, and the like, I found I was more and more “at home” with My Excite. Unfortunately, after a year or two of that, they changed their format, added too-numerous ads, and generally messed with a good thing. Argh. Too many changes to make it enjoyable anymore. I looked around for something to fill the void and eventually found My MyWay, which was basically patterned after the old Excite personalized start pages, but without the ads. I was saved!

I still use My Way to this day. It loads quick, is very configurable, and generally does all the things a good start page should. A virtual home sweet home. You might want to check it out, even if you’re happy with your current start page or don’t even use one. And, no, I don’t get any “referrals” for this blurb - it’s just an unsolicited opinion about something I find very useful, which you might also.

I’ve taken the plunge and added ad-content to many of my more popular web pages. I do this because all this costs money, which of course I’d like to defray, and at the same time I’m all about the content that my pages provide. Well-chosen ads have actually added to the content that my visitors appreciate - things like Google’s AdSense and Chitika MiniMalls can bring to light offerings that your visitors are also interested in. They do this by only serving ads that match the subject matter of the page that they appear on - and the visitor wouldn’t be there if they weren’t interested in that subject! If you’re careful to format them, size-wise and color-wise, to match and add to your pages rather than intrude, then you can both provide useful content for your visitors and at the same time earn a few cents each time someone clicks on them. With lots of visits, this adds up. Heck, click on the ads on the right if any look interesting. Thanks. ;-)

Yep, I like electronics and gadgets. I guess that makes me a techie, a geek, a nerd, whathaveyou. I build my own computers from parts (and then build computers for family and friends out of those parts when I upgrade *grin*). I have to admit that Newegg is one of my favorite sources, along with TigerDirect - both of these are unsolicited recommendations, so make of that what you will. Like many self-respecting computer do-it-yourselfers, I prefer linux and open-source software (generally GPL). Currently I run Mandriva Linux LE2005 on my personal computer at home, and I have that acting as a firewall/router for the other 3 machines in the house through a 54g wireless network. The other machines are my wife’s and my kids’ computers, as well as my own laptop.

Of course I’m not just limited to computers - I have the requisite digital camera (with video), mp3 players, USB memory sticks, DVD players and burners, digital satellite with hard-drive, VCRs, TVs, CD players, remote-control flying saucer, USB external drives, digital bicycle speedometer, pedometer, and all sorts of other electronics gadgets. But some of the more mundane gadgets are fun and quite useful as well: table saw, cordless drill, hand-held mixer, Dremel tool, etc. These latter ones were instrumental in some renovations I’ve been doing on the house.

These days, gadgets might also extend to software since computers are so pervasive and important to everyday life. Sticking with my 0pen-source bent, my office suite is OpenOffice.org and sometimes I use AbiWord for word-processing. I try to steer clear of anything by MicroSloth - I don’t like feeling like a person that is forced to pay to be a beta-tester. Other useful software utilities I recommend include:

• the GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program; a very full-featured image processing suite - who needs PhotoShop?
• Mozilla - the best multi-platform browser out there!
• TightVNC - an open-source remote-desktop utility for Windows; quite useful!
• Total Commander - a shareware file manager that’s loads more than that.
• Trillian - an integrated multi-Messenger (MSN, Yahoo, AOL, ICQ, etc).

And I write my own software and such - I have implemented a complex interlocking series of analysis scripts that automatically produce webpages for the online game eTapout, a MMA fighting simulator. My host for this is so good I can recommend it heartily: HostColor.com. I also write all my own web pages in raw HTML, using EditPad Lite, a tabbed highlighting text editor. And of course the normal work and analyses of all sorts of things with spreadsheets.

So, yep, I’m a techie, a geek, a gadgeteer…. I’m an addict. ;-)