Since tagging is all the rage nowadays, I’ve been looking for a good plugin that adds this functionality to WordPress. Tagging is a nice, quick way to add useful metadata to an entry or post, and besides this basic feature, it allows for other useful features as well. For example, for an entry I could display a list of similar or related entries, based on common tags. It would also make entries integrated better with Technorati. WordPress doesn’t currently include a tagging function, instead relying on its old categorization system, but I assume that tags are an upcoming feature, slated to either replace or complement categories. But there are just a few snags preventing me from fully adopting a tagging system, despite the benefits it would offer.

Continued

Netscape AOL has launched their “version” of a Digg-like site, which is still in beta. While there have been other Digg clones, this is the first from a major player in the Internet arena, and surely signals the acknowledgement of the power of community, whether a good or bad thing.

Continued

Traditionally, university websites have been very hodge-podge and piecemeal, as a result of the many departments and faculties that comprise the institution. This has resulted in pages whose “look & feel” varies widely and can either confuse the reader (humans adjust easily when there are clear patterns) or just come off as looking non-professional. The obvious solution is to adopt some sort of CMS that will make it easier to apply styles site-wide, but this can be a problem in a university setting, where departments and faculties can sometimes be very territorial.

Continued

I posted about Google Spreadsheets recently, and why I thought it wasn’t really a good step for Google, since their product lacked features of already-available online spreadsheets and didn’t really have a chance at attracting a large user base, especially in a business environment. However, wikiCalc is an application that looks it might make some headway here, especially after its agreement with SocialText.

Continued

The following is a presentation I gave for the Multimedia Coding & Communications Laboratory about current and proposed image quality assessment methods. It briefly covers the major types of methods, attempts to show the pros and cons of each, and also outlines the difficulties in producing a viable image QA method with clear advantages over traditional techniques. Continued

From Ajaxian, I discovered a nice resource from Max Kiesler, entitled 50 AJAX Reference Websites From Around the World. This would seem to be a good list for budding Ajax developers, (pretty much everyone out there, since AJAX is relatively new), it’s also a good learning tool for people like me, who are looking to get in to this sort of stuff.

Continued

Google recently rolled out their online spreadsheet application in a limited test. (I signed up the day after the fact and got my “invitation” within hours.) While it’s certainly a neat demonstration of what can be done with Web 2.0 applications nowadays, I have trouble finding its spot within the Google hierarchy.

Continued

I recently watched this documentary, which does a decent job on letting the viewer in on the major aspects of the late martial artist’s life. It starts out near the end of his life, talking about how involved he was with his final movies (Enter the Dragon, Game of Death) and how upbeat Lee was that he was finally making it big. His death comes as a shock to the world, especially the Asian community. Continued

If you visit CBC.ca for everyday for news, like I do, you’ll have noticed their newly-designed website that went live today. My initial impressions were very positive – right away I noticed the new site had paid good attention to detail, in regards to web-standards, semantics, good design and the like.
Continued

If you’re in school, chances are you’ve heard of Facebook, the wildly-popular social networking site geared towards college/university students, that has also recently opened its doors to highschools and the workplace as well. Well, apparently big business has heard as well, and recent reports indicate that an offer of $750 million USD has been made for the company. Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that the offer was turned down – and a counter-offer of $2 billion put on the table. Not bad for a site that’s just over two years old and started by a guy who’s only 22.

Continued