Toolbox

8 secrets to a smarter tech maintenance routine for your blog

October 31, 2011

This weekend I had one of my periodic orgies of blog maintenance. Now it happens that 14 hours of software upgrades, plugin installs, widget testing and css tweaking is my idea of fun, so giving my blog a weekend of tech love is also a way of giving myself a weekend of delightful relaxation. But [...]

How to add yourself to your own Twitter list using HootSuite

September 28, 2011

Today I noticed an irony on the SIM Centre website: our Twitter sidebar widget, which does a lovely job of displaying tweets from all those who are connected to the SIM Centre, wasn’t showing tweets from the SIM Centre itself. I realized that was because our sidebar was fed by a Twitter list called @Simcentre/sim-people, [...]

A visual glossary of Drupal field types

September 14, 2011

This post originally appeared on simcentre.ca. We are currently working with Affinity Bridge on a collaborative research project that has us deeply involved in the process of developing a website on the Drupal content management system (CMS) — the same CMS that the SIM Centre site is built in. The research project involves a large [...]

Troubleshooting calendar syncing with Google Calendar, iCal, MobileMe and BusySync

September 8, 2011

A couple of nights ago I spent an hour cleaning up what I initially alleged to be a problem with Google’s calendaring servers, but which closer examination revealed to be a case of user error. And I must reluctantly admit that user was me: in my infinite enthusiasm for all available technologies, not to mention [...]

Anticipating the virtual wedding

August 30, 2011

Today’s Globe & Mail features a story about the “iPad bridesmaid”: the woman who attended her friend’s wedding via iPad. Since Renee Armstrong couldn’t make it the wedding in person, a groomsman carried an iPad to which she was connected via FaceTime (Apple’s videoconferencing system for the iPad). Globe reporter Tralee Pearce called me for [...]

4 great ways to use Evernote with Skitch today — plus 14 new possibilities

August 19, 2011

You know how happy you feel when you find out that two of your good friends have hooked up and are now a couple? That’s how I felt yesterday when I heard that note-taking and information management powerhouse Evernote had acquired screen capture and image uploader Skitch. (If you’re unfamiliar with these two awesome tools, [...]

5 surprising facts about my OS Lion install

August 10, 2011

Last night I finally installed OS X Lion. What makes this surprising: I waited three whole weeks from the time of release! A new record of personal restraint in holding off from the pain and suffering of early adoption. The tipping point for me to finally make time for an install was a Facebook update [...]

13 essential ingredients for your blogging setup

July 8, 2011

Just like a city needs roads and sewers, a blog needs its own infrastructure. Until you’ve got the basics in place, there’s no point in busting a gut to increase traffic: even if you succeed in bringing new readers to your blog, you won’t keep them coming back. So make sure you begin by getting [...]