Kim Bach . Org

Microsoft is releasing public betas by the dozen, it’s actually quite amazing, and they no longer require too much of a registration process or non-disclosure agreements, but I’m sure that it helps that I have a Windows Live user id, the thing that used to be called Microsoft Passport or .NET log-in services. So I registered and begun downloading betas from the Microsoft site. First in line was Internet Explorer 7.

So why did I, who publicly questioned the need for Internet Explorer, become a beta tester for IE7? Well it started with a post on macnyt.dk (surprise)…

macnyt.dk is a Mac related site, but yesterday an article on the availability of Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3 surfaced, and that started an in-fight. Did this article really belong on a Mac site? Probably not!

But then I remembered my poor old Windows box that was gathering dust, and the main reason I have it is to have a testbed, it’s running Windows Server 2003, with basically everything under the sun installed on it, and it still has lots of room for more stuff, and when somebody actually asked if anybody had tested Internet Explorer 7, I went ahead and downloaded it, and that was very easy to do.

After responding to a post on macnyt.dk (surprise), I decided to become a FONero.

So what’s a FONero, well FON is a Wi-Fi community where the members, called FONeros, share their Internet connections by opening their WiFi Hotspots.

How does it work?

Well using special software installed on the router, people are presented with a log-in screen when they’re accessing your Hotspot, FON will handle the transaction.

FON operates with three levels of users:

• Aliens are users who pay for access, and don’t share their connection
• Linuses are users who share their connection in order to get free access to all other FON networks
• Bills are people who share their connection for a 50% cut of the revenue

Here’s a quote from the FON web-site:

FON is the largest WiFi community in the world, open to anyone who wishes to unite and connect to the Internet for free from any corner of the world without cables. It all started as a simple idea: enjoy WiFi technology everywhere across a WiFi infrastructure built by same members of the FON Community. Joining us is just as easy. All you need is to register for free, have broadband connection and to download our software onto your router. This converts your router into a FON Social Router. If you do not have a router that is compatible with FON’s software, you can purchase one of our subsidized FON Social Routers at our online store.

It turned out that my router wasn’t FON enabled, so I ordered one using the offer on the FON web-site, it cost me €5 plus shipping and VAT for a grand total of €17.40, not exactly breaking the bank. The catch, I’ll have to start sharing my connection within 30 days, or it’ll cost me €45 extra.

FON is a brilliant idea, and it’ll hopefully help the spread of affordable Internet access. What will the Internet providers think of this idea? Very good question, I suspect that they most likely will not like it very much.

WinFS heads for Microsoft database | CNET News.com

According to CNET NEWS.COM Microsoft is no longer pursuing delivery of WinFS, the new file-system for Windows.

The new strategy seems to be to develop the mature parts of WinFS for use in SQL Server and ADO.NET.

This sounds like the final demise of the Cairo project, the mythical project to deliver a distributed object oriented file-system, that has been touted by Microsoft since the early 90ies.

Could the long walk to Cairo be over?

Top 10 Web Developer Libraries – Cameron Olthuis

Well, I’m not really doing much webdevelopment these days, prefering to work with standard software like MediaWiki, Drupal and WordPress – hey I’m a “content type of guy”.

But this list of Web Developer Libraries by Cameron Olthuis, that was linked from CNET NEWS.COM, looks like a good place to check, if I should someday begin doing some rich Internet client development. There are actually some projects, that could fall into that category, on my project list.

100 idées pour utiliser RSS – Vtech

Vtech has published a catalogue of ideas for using RSS, it’s a great inspiration.

I had actually forgotten that I got a related great idea for using RSS from Ben Hammersley, Google to RSS using SOAP API, and I experimented with the Google SOAP API some months ago, due to a project that was suggested on macnyt.dk in this thread, Et lettere avanceret Google spørgsmål.

The purpose of the project, was to make it possible to search multiple sites on Google, it turned out that Google already supported that feature, but I had some fun making SOAP calls from PHP – I know I have no life – but hey, it actually worked.

Thanks to the article on Vtech that I found through a CNET forum posting, 100 way to use RSS, I remembered this forgotten project of mine, thanks!

Now I wonder: “Dude, where’s my beta?”…

Sell your expertise with Ether | News.blog | CNET News.com

Ether sounds like a really clever idea, get payed for what you know.

The idea:

1. Sign up with Ether and you get assigned a phone number people can contact you by
2. Set your fee
3. Define your opening hours (eg. when you’ll accept calls
4. People will call you for assistance only if they’ve accepted your fee

The catch…Ether rakes in a 15% comission…But this sounds like a realtively hassel free way of selling your consulting services.

The service should be available in Denmark.

Clever!