Hello.

I'm a big fan of Channel 9, a Microsoft website showcasing developer insights. Their recent redesign is fantastic! They've moved from a traditional blog layout to a more concise "Most Recent" section, putting important content front and center. The new comment section design is also visually appealing, with a unique element that seems to break free from traditional HTML constraints. The addition of a tagging section, similar to Technorati, is a valuable feature, allowing users to easily see popular topics and gauge community interest. Overall, two thumbs up for the Channel 9 redesign – excellent work! Read More

Google Desktop Beta 2 is slowing down my computer significantly, affecting web browsing, IE7 tabbed browsing, and Blogger's editor. It also hogs CPU and makes Outlook integration and IMAP usage very slow. While the What's Hot widget and Gmail integration are nice, the lack of UK news and email ordering issues are disappointing. I plan to uninstall it soon. Read More

I've just finished creating a proxy script that allows access to the Yahoo Content Analysis API Term Extraction service from any browser, bypassing cross-site scripting issues. It works by taking a POST request, forwarding it to Yahoo, and returning the XML response. The code (Perl) is included in the post, and I've successfully tested it with IE6, IE7, and Firefox. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. Read More

This blog post introduces a Perl proxy script that leverages the Yahoo Related Suggestions API. Given a search term, the script queries Yahoo and returns a list of related search terms. This can be used to enhance search functionality by providing users with additional relevant search options. An example is given using the term "Kinlan" and the post links to a previous entry describing a proxy for the main Yahoo search API. The provided code snippet demonstrates how to construct the API call using LWP and CGI, requiring a valid Yahoo App ID. Read More

I'm about to hit 100 posts! I also realized I forgot to post my Perl request forwarding scripts as promised, so I'll do that tonight. I'll also start discussing the issues with my first AJAX application. Read More

I've previously mentioned the .NET Image Filter Library, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about programmatic image manipulation. The library is well-documented in an easy-to-follow CodeProject article by Andrew Krillov. You can find it here: Image Processing Lab and Motion Detection. I even created a fisheye filter for this API, which you can find here: Fisheye Example Read More

A List Apart, a popular website found via Technorati, uses Ruby on Rails. I'm curious about Ruby on Rails and its benefits for web development. The site's neutral color scheme and articles are visually appealing, possibly utilizing color theory. Read More

My site's bandwidth usage spiked mid-month, and I discovered the culprit was MSN Bot repeatedly accessing my Atom.xml feed. It was hitting my feed every minute, consuming a significant portion of my bandwidth. The bot is apparently part of a syndication search engine, constantly checking for new content. I added a robots.txt file to throttle the bot's access frequency, which solved the issue. Read More

I discovered my Apache server doesn't require file extensions for URLs, meaning both www.kinlan.co.uk/AjaxExperiments/AjaxTag and www.kinlan.co.uk/AjaxExperiments/AjaxTag.html lead to the same resource. This is convenient for using Technorati tags, which often omit extensions. Read More

I've downloaded the Google Desktop Search 2.0 Beta and I'm liking it so far. My only complaint is not being able to force indexing when not idle. It seems to be lightweight, which is great for my computer. I've installed the Adsense plugin and the Gmail plugin is a plus. The feed detection is excellent, even better than IE7 Beta 1. I'll post more thoughts after I've used it longer. Read More

I'm exploring OPML and trying to understand its purpose and potential uses. I've come across mentions of it by Robert Scoble, who suggests it could connect various forms of media like podcasts and photo-sharing. However, I'm struggling to grasp how this would work in practice. I'm also looking into resources from Dave Winer and others to learn more. I'd appreciate any helpful links or information on OPML. Read More

In this installment, I reflect on the limitations of Blogger.com as a blogging platform. Despite its user-friendliness, several features fall short of my needs. The "Blogger For Microsoft Word" integration isn't particularly helpful, the WYSIWYG editor is inconsistent, and the available tags seem outdated. I crave more innovation, especially regarding feed customization and ping configuration. While AudioBlogging.com intrigues me, its practicality for someone in the UK is questionable. Ultimately, I desire greater control and configurability, but acknowledge Blogger's value as a free service. Read More

Many complain AJAX breaks browser navigation, but I believe that pressing the back button should exit an AJAX application entirely. It's not AJAX itself, but poorly designed applications that break navigation and bookmarking. Google Maps has addressed bookmarking, but some applications aren't suited to web-style navigation or bookmarks. More thoughts on this to come. Comments welcome via email or the comments section. Read More

I'm considering redesigning my blog and like the single-post focus of penandthink.com/niggle. However, my blog has frequent posts, so I'm unsure if that style would work. I'm asking readers whether they prefer a blog with a single featured post or a list of recent posts (like my current design showing the last 30). Feedback can be sent to paul.kinlan@gmail.com. Read More

I'm aware my writing isn't great - my vocabulary, punctuation, and grammar could all use improvement. Even though I'm using Word to help, I know I need to do more. I'm considering getting "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" to brush up on my grammar. I want this blog to remain personal, but I also want it to be more readable. So, my goals are to learn about commas, semicolons, sentence structure, and paragraph structure. Read More

This blog post, the sixth in my "Successes and Failures of my First AJAX Application" series, discusses how my blogging style is evolving. I'm focusing on improving my grammar, the topics I cover, post length, and what I include in my blogs. This self-reflection aims to improve how I communicate with my readers. More details on each area are available via the provided links. Read More

This blog post discusses the ideal length of blog entries. It argues that both too short and too long posts can be detrimental to a blog's success. Short posts can appear superficial, while overly long ones can bore readers. The author aims for a balance, using shorter entries for critiques and longer, focused articles for more in-depth topics. This particular post, part of a series on the author's first AJAX application, exemplifies this approach by being broken down into smaller, manageable segments. Read More

I've been reflecting on the direction of my blog, "C#, .Net Framework." I feel the name is too limiting, given my recent posts on topics like IE7, AJAX, Firefox, and XMLHttpRequest. I plan to broaden the scope while keeping the content technical. I also want to increase reader interaction, possibly by crowdsourcing a new name for the blog. Read More

This blog post discusses the importance of balancing valuable content with helpful features. I currently offer content and features like Technorati tags, and plan to bring back related searches. The AJAX application I built helps create this value-added data, which I believe is key for reader engagement. I'm considering adding more data like citations and related searches, but I'm cautious about information overload. Maintaining these value-added sections is challenging (except for the now-easy Technorati tags). I'd love to hear your suggestions for other valuable data to include! Read More

In this part of my series on my first AJAX application, the Technorati Tag Generator, I discuss its success in streamlining my blogging process. The generator significantly reduces the time I spend creating Technorati tags, saving me roughly 50 minutes per post. While I'm thrilled with this improvement, the current version lacks the Feedster and MSN search boxes present in my initial design. I plan to reintroduce these features in the next version, along with related search previews, to enhance the value and usability of my application. User feedback has highlighted the importance of these features, and their inclusion is crucial to achieving my goals for the project. Read More