The Windows taskbar is a bit like the command center for your computing experience. At its most basic level you can use it to quickly launch applications, and also to toggle between open programs with one click. One shortcoming of the native Windows taskbar, though, is in its support for multiple monitors. While there are some paid options available to remedy this, check out ZBar for a free solution. Read more
The end of the year is fast approaching, which means that it must be time for . . . a year-end list. In this list, we’re going to look at the ten most popular posts of 2010 on 40Tech, based on page views. Please note that these are posts that were published in 2010. Is this a silly exercise, since posts from earlier in the year had more time to accumulate page views? Yep. Is that going to stop us from taking a look at the stats anyway? Nope.
Mozilla is partnering up with Peer 2 Peer University for its second round of School of Webcraft, where you, too, can learn HTML5, Javascript, and CSS — and you can do it for free! In the first go ’round (last semester), they ran 15 classes. This time, Mozilla and P2PU are aiming for 30. Courses are to begin on January 26th, are available for all experience levels, and will be between six to 10 weeks in length. New ideas for courses are still being accepted.
All courses are volunteer run, so if you have the expertise, you could also run a course yourself. P2PU and Mozilla will even help you out with the organization and realization of your course.
Registration for School of Webcraft opens on January 8th, 2011.
Planning to apply?
Learn HTML5, JavaScript and CSS With Mozilla’s Free “School of Webcraft” [Mashable]
If you were a fan of Google Wave’s integrated gadgets, or just need a place to set up some easy real-time collaboration, then check out Google Labs’ new Shared Spaces. Shared Spaces uses Wave’s technology to provide private collaboration spaces that you can invite others to via a provided short link. There are about 50 gadgets already available, such as the Map Gadget, Draw Board, WaveTube, yourBrainStormer, Napkin Gadget, and a few games. Once you choose the gadget that suits your needs, you simply click Create a Space and your window will open, complete with a chat area, link, and buttons to invite others via Email, Buzz, or Twitter. Once you’re finished, spaces can be deleted simply by selecting the Delete this Space button.
Each gadget on the list has a short description, and can be opened in its own page, where users can leave comments via Disqus, which will help others decide if the gadget will work well or not. This will be especially good if Shared Spaces catches on with the JavaScript programming community, and a ton of new gadgets start appearing.
You need to be logged in to your Google Account to use Shared Spaces, and authorize it for access. It should also be noted that, as of yet, it doesn’t appear to be working in Internet Explorer.
EDIT: According to the Google Blog, you can also log in via Twitter and Yahoo accounts.
What are your thoughts on Google’s Shared Spaces?
How the U.S. Government Was Able to Seize BitTorrent Domains Without Due Process
By now, you’ve heard how the United States Department of Justice seized the domain names of several commercial websites that were accused of engaging in counterfeiting. Among these were some file sharing sites. If the seizure shocks your idea of fair play, you’re not alone. How exactly did the U.S. government seize these domain names, without giving the site owners a chance to defend themselves?
Ars Technica has a fascinating article detailing the seizures. In short, the government filed an affidavit to support the seizure request. In that affidavit, the government trotted out data and statistics it had received from those in the movie and music business. As Ars Technica reported,
Even more disturbing, the seizures do not appear to be part of any criminal case. If they were, then perhaps an argument could be made that the seizures were similar to a seizure of physical property as part of a criminal investigation. As Ars Techicna noted, though,
Wow. Don’t confuse my feelings on theft of an author’s work. It stinks. If we want content creators to keep producing content, we need to find a way to make sure that they get paid. Freeloaders are only shooting themselves in the foot in the long run.
But is this really how we want our government to go about doing business? Should our government be able to seize a domain name, without giving a site owner a chance to defend himself?
Shame on you, freeloaders. But even more so, shame on our government officials. You’ve stained the reputation of the United States, and conveyed to the world, rightly or wrongly, that our leaders whore themselves out to an industry willing to pay enough money.
Now that I’ve effectively insulted those on both sides of the argument, let me know in the comments if I’m missing the boat here. Where do you fall in this debate?