I’ve been tweaking my desktop lately in an effort to improve my working efficiency. The new writing gig has meant that I’ve had to stop being lazy when it comes to layout, so with the help of LifeHacker and Google I’ve made some changes.

First off, yes, I’m a Windows user. Macs are pretty and what not but from an economic viewpoint they are an expensive hobby. Aside from the hardware cost there would be the need to replace Office, Photoshop and other things I’d need to function on a daily basis. Money permitting I’ll consider a Mac when I’m next looking for a computer, but it won’t be tomorrow.

Having said all of that though Mac users do know about layout. Introducing my more efficient Windows desktop (image pops):

I’m using a 22″ widescreen LCD monitor so there a pile of space that can used. Having said that though I want to use my space efficiently as well.

Left Hand Side: Google Desktop

I don’t get desktop widgets, sure they’re pretty but how often do I go to my desktop for information? never. Google Desktop provides widget functionality in a handy sidebar. I only include the things I need on it, Date and Time since I’m not showing the Windows Taskbar, CPU/ Memory widget (handy for knowing if Firefox is about to have problems), email widget that lists incoming email from Outlook, a RSS widget that displays the latest news from Techmeme and TechCrunch, Top headline on Digg, a little widget that plays online radio stations (first preset for me is ABC News Radio) and finally a widget called gdShutdown that actually does a much better job of shutting down Windows than Windows does itself…no “this program can’t be closed” error messages, when I tell it to shut the system down it does just that 100% of the time.

There’s a growing number of widgets available for Google Desktop and there is also a Mac Version. Sure, it’s not as pretty as Yahoo Widgets but it’s the sidebar delivery that works best for me.

Footer: RocketDock

I originally started using RocketDock back in February, although it was used primarily for short cuts at the top of the screen. Since removing the Windows Task Bar I’m now running it middle and centre. Yes, this is just like a Mac, however I’ve found it even more flexible. I hate that on a Mac your bottom quick launch thing is always quite large and impedes over applications. Rocketdock can be sized so it runs small and compact and pretty much where ever you want it. The new version also supports Mac style window minimization, capturing any window I minimize. Program access: Launchy

Another find care of Lifehacker, Launchy provides Alt+Space access to all programs. Simply type in the name and it finds it for you. Combined with Rocketdock it means I never have to use Start again.

Twitter: Twitbin

There’s any number of Twitter clients around, but having a stream of conversations going on in the background doesn’t work for me. Twitbin delivers Twitter to the left hand side of Firefox. I’ve found since using it I’m not only Twittering more often but I’m also getting a lot more out of my friends/ contacts as well.

Logitech LX710

It helps to have a keyboard/ mouse combination that works well. My new logitech mouse has two buttons behind the scroll wheel that are by default set to browse forward and back in a web browser however the software allows for customisation. I’ve mapped the left (back) button to Alt+Tab and the right button to Tab, meaning that I can scroll through my open programs without having to take my hand off the mouse. It’s a very handy feature, I’ve been an Alt+Tab user for years anyway in preference to the Taskbar but doing it via mouse is something special again.

There’s a pile of Firefox addons as well, I’ll keep those for another day and post 🙂

Via Chris Pirillo, Jericho has been cancelled by CBS in the US.

To quote Jake from the end of series 1: nuts!

I watch very little TV, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of Jericho, even if I’ve had to watch it away from my TV set as Channel Ten in Australia hasn’t shown the second half of the first series.

For those who support the show, there’s a petition here and a YouTube Channel as well.

It’s a long shot, but here’s hoping they bring back one of the only half-decent shows left on TV.

Tags: Jericho

SMH coverage. TheWest coverage.

Was it at school or Uni I sat through a lesson that taught that in the modern era full employment was really 5% because we could never again go lower? The SMH thinks it’s unlikely to cause interest rates to rise, I don’t agree. That last 4.4% would be 75% unemployable.The employee shortage is phenomenal here in WA, if the rest of the country starts to get that way wages will explode even more so (remember truck drivers start on 100k here already), and that sort of money in the economy, coupled with the rising costs of goods created by higher marginal costs means higher inflation and higher interest rates. Time to start increasing the mortgage payments before the crunch comes 🙂

New version of Blogdesk out. It’s a bug fix and where as I was having some issues posting to some blogs before, the new version works a treat.

I’ve been using it for over 18 months now, and I still love it, mind you in this time I’m sure someone somewhere must have implemented inline copy and paste image handling, resizing and saving into a blogging tool: if anyone can recommend anything I’m happy to take a look.

Sydney Daily Photo and Melbourne Today. Both photoblogs posting 1 photo from Sydney and Melbourne respectively every day. It’s a simple idea that just works, and in the case of Sydney Daily Photo it brings back a lot of memories for me, the author has had a strong focus on shots from The (Sutherland) Shire this week, the place I spent my childhood to 21 in growing up. If I had more time I’d consider doing something similar myself, the Panasonic FZ50 I bought a couple of months back makes for some amazing shots. Recommended.

Note: both are available as part of the Top 100 Australian Blogs feed OPML download.

P-LEASE!

A storm in a tea cup beaten up to be the leading news story. Lets see: Channel Ten new Kate had suffered from a still birth, but she’d CLEARLY told them it was in the past, and that she was over it. Big Brother re-runs a housemate task from the first series, caring for a (plastic) baby. Kate goes mental, BB withdraws the task (the right decision). Now it’s a sadistic ratings grab? We don’t have a News Corp tabloid in WA, but if we did I’d stop buying it, and I’m sick and tired of this rubbish at News.com.au as well. Thank god for the Sydney Morning Herald as the quality alternative.

I’ve starting getting strange emails from people saying how much they love my site and can I look at their Web 2.0 project, probably something to do my new gig at TechCrunch, and not my position in the Top 10 Australian blogs, sorry Meg.

I’m happy for people to email me, but lets drop the pretence that you love duncanriley.com when you’ve probably never visited the site. Email is nichenet @ gmail .com. For those who are wondering what “nichenet” is, try an ASIC company search for Nichenet Pty Ltd. Also, I’m told that I can be a lazy prick (well at least she who must be obeyed thinks so) so if you’re sending me an email saying “look at my site” I probably won’t. The more info the better. Zero promises, but I’m always open to new sites, concepts and insider gossip on funding etc…

In the mean time though probably expect a little less activity @ duncanriley.com, I’ve got a new focus, at least for the time being, something that given a little time will come naturally but for now means head down, bum up in terms of focus. What’s the saying “normal programming will resume….”.

Not many Australians would have been following this, but I’ve been watching for a while now, for those who have missed it, Fred Thompson, best known to Australians as the District Attorney Arthur Branch on Channel Tens Law and Order franchise, who also just happens to be a former Governor of Tennessee, is considering putting his hat in the ring to be the Republican candidate for US President in 2008. The latest here at Politico. From an outsiders perspective (ie non-American) there’s something somewhat appealing about him running, his character on Law and Order is said to be based on his actual persona, a number of the profile pieces and interviews I’ve read seem to suggest he’s a straight talker, although having said that he’s on the right in terms of the Republican Party, saying really stupid things such as the VT Massacre would have been avoided had Virginia allowed people to carry guns on campus (more guns is the solution? WTF?), and yet as a character he holds the promise of a Regan Presidency, one of substance and decisive measure. One to watch.

This speaks for itself:

The United States?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ leading hurricane forecaster said Friday that global ocean currents, not human-produced carbon dioxide, are responsible for global warming, and the Earth may begin to cool on its own in five to 10 years.

William Gray, a Colorado State University researcher best known for his annual forecasts of hurricanes along the U.S. Atlantic coast, also said increasing levels of carbon dioxide will not produce more or stronger hurricanes.

He said that over the past 40 years the number of major hurricanes making landfall on the U.S. Atlantic coast has declined compared with the previous 40 years, even though carbon dioxide levels have risen.

Gray, speaking to a group of Republican state lawmakers, had harsh words for researchers and politicians who say man-made greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming.

?¢‚Ǩ?ìThey?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re blaming it all on humans, which is crazy,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù he said. ?¢‚Ǩ?ìWe?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re not the cause of it.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù

More at HotAir.

I’m just waiting for someone to blame man kind for the Global Warming on Mars, I really am 🙂

Looks like the chaps behind E-Gold are in a spot of bother:

“Three owners of online payment processor E-Gold and an affiliated company have been indicted for money laundering and related crimes for allegedly allowing sellers of child pornography, operators of investment scams and other types of criminals to send and receive payments related to their misdeeds.”

I think I had an E-Gold account briefly either in the late 90s or early 2000ish, never used it, always thought it was a bit dodgy, and just as well I never used it.

Having said that I’m not opposed to alternative forms of paying online, just that the promises of it all being “backed by gold” always sounded like a scam to me, and the transaction fees for converting E-Gold to cash make the exhorbitant currency interchange and transaction fees PayPal charge look like a walk in the park.