Icons from IE9 site

                                                                 

Internet Explorer 9 beta available

Well it certainly looks pretty. Internet Explorer 9 that is. You can download a beta version from here if you have Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7. And you do need to download the Vista Service Pack 2 before it will work. I could add what on earth are you doing using Vista but I won't. Oh, too late. Note the url - I wonder how much they paid whoever first registered that!? Anyway, as someone who only now uses Internet Explorer to work on moodle VLE pages and who has to tryreally really hard not to use bad language when forced to use it on classroom pcs, I can only hope that it's as quick, as intuitive and pleasant to use as Chrome.

I'll let you know in a while . . .



I presume it will be labelled IE Ja in Germany.

Nice range of free media and pc tools

Ashampoo, maybe not renowned for their choice of brand name, are offering a nice range of free tools.

Just go to this link and use the coupon code ASH-444LW1. Take your choice from a Screen Capture app, impressive image editor, home designer a Blu-ray/DVD/CD burning studio or their Windows optimizer.


All appear to be full versions and with no time limits. I guess they hope you'll like one of them a lot and eventually buy something like and upgrade. But you don't have to.

Ashampoo^® Burning Studio 2010 Advanced
The complete suite for burning projects on CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc!

Ashampoo^® Home Designer
Plan or renovate your home in 3D

Ashampoo^® Snap 3
Capture anything on your screen – including videos

Ashampoo^® WinOptimizer 6
Built with 12 years of Windows optimization experience

Ashampoo^® Photo Commander 7
3D Acceleration, Panoramas and Virtual Albums

Reserve your name at about.me

A bunch of clever people bought the domain about.me which is probably about the only .me worth bothering about. They've now come up with a nice idea that they propose will combine multiple online profiles scattered across various services, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, and Twitter. You register your name and get the page about.me/yourname which will feature all that's happening across your sites and profile pages.
As they say: "... and one problem we face is pulling all of this information together to build a single on-line identity — be it for personal use, or to create a professional on-line profile. Our focus is simple, enable you to:

• create a personal, dynamic profile page (think splash page) that points users to your content around the web (versus depending on Google search); and
• understand how many people see your profile, where they're coming from, and what they do on your page."

Their investors include True Ventures, Radar Partners, Freestyle Capital, Scott Kurnit, AOL Ventures, David Mahoney, Founder Collective & Ron Conway.

It may or may not develop but it won't cost anything to register your name. Remember how you wished you'd got on Facebook, Twitter etc. earlier before someone else had grabbed the name you wanted and left you thinking up something that hadn't already gone? OK. Don't say I didn't warn you! I've got mine.