Windows Live Writer Review

Google, insofar, seems to be the king of the Web 2.0 space. There are other players in this arena ranging from Google's search Rivals Yahoo to newer startups like YouTube, Digg, Technorati, et al. The only key player seemingly not making big strides into this new world is Microsoft. Yet, while they are playing their Web 2.0 stuff closer to the vest and not promoting it with a lot of hoopla, they are definitely making great strides in developing products under the radar.  Case in point - the tool that I am using to write this entry - Windows Live Writer.

This small little tool has been in beta for a few weeks now and is available for download at Microsoft's Live Ideas site. I have been using this little tool, and so far I am loving it, primarily for one key feature- it gives me a WYSIWYG way to create and edit blog entries while offline.

Up until using Windows Live Writer, I would either need to edit my blog online or edit it offline with word or a text editor. Yes, there is a plug-in for Word that allows you to post postings to Blogger, but that still didn't give me a good way to see what my posts would look like when uploaded.

Windows Live Writer on the other hand, downloads my posting templates and style sheets so when I edit, I can see (even offline) what my posts will look like exactly on my blog. It also makes it easier by providing drag and drop uploads of pictures and allows me to easily insert 'Tags' for meta blog sites.

I also have the option to save entries locally, as drafts on my blog site, or publish them immediately.  It also has built-in spellchecking that is, IMHO, much better than so of the other lackluster tools that are part of blogging sites and/or web toolbars.

And you might be thinking that because this is Microsoft, it will only work with Microsoft Live Spaces blogs - but you'd be dead wrong. Microsoft finally learned that it's software needs to play nice with others to gain acceptance. So it decided to utilize standardized blogging apis to enable you to use Windows Live Writer to post to blogs on TypePad, LiveJournal, MoveableType, Blogger and other Blogging services (I have been using it with much success with all of my Blogger Blogs, however, I have not yet checked against the new Blogger Beta version).

Windows Live Writer is a great little tool that will only get better with time. Download it and see for yourself.

Free Wi-Fi In Jerusalem

Apparently, with all of the discussions of Municipal, Free Wi-fi (like the kind Google Offers in Mountain View, CA) I missed that Jerusalem has also started setting up Free Wi-Fi as well in a project called Unwire Jerusalem. Now I just need to get a plane flight there.

Wi-Fi without power

Today I discovered an organization called Green Wi-Fi. Green Wi-fi's project is a great idea. The premise is that there are hundreds of places on this earth that don't have reliable (if any) electrical power. While the One Laptop Per Child project is working on PCs with hand cranks, people wondered how those laptops would get networking power?

That's where the folks at Green Wi-fi Come in. They developed a solar powered Wi-Fi Router that can take part in a Mesh Network. While its still in the design phases, it is definitely an amazing idea who's time has come. The most unique and interesting feature is that to optimize power efficiency and keep costs down, they developed a power control module to regulate bandwidth when power is low (i.e. at night or during long periods of rain where sunlight is limited).

Now if they could only make it in a minivan

I really hate hybrids. Yes they are good, yes they will save you a few bucks on gas, but I still think that the hype is overplayed. Sure there are the ethanol cars that can run on either gas or biofuels, but I am willing to wager that not too many people are using more ethanol than straight gas.

But that's precisely why I love the Tesla Roadster. This thing is gorgeous, and green all in the same breath. It can go up to 250 miles on a full charge. Which makes it practical for local use, but no long-haul road trips (until the adequate infrastructure is in place).

I heard that a lot of the pre-orders have been bought by some Google Billionaires, including founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page. This is a great car, there is only one problem. It's just a two-seater. If only they could come out with one of these in a minivan for those of us who buy cars for practical reasons, I would give it three thumbs up.

Would you pay almost $300 for a headset to use with a free service?

Sometimes I feel like I work for Google :). Okay, wishful thinking, I know, but I do use and like a lot of their products. I happen to like their e-mail, Calendar and talk products a whole lot. I was pleased to see that Google started to sell headsets for Google Talk, but to my chagrin, the wireless one (to the right) costs almost $300! I can imagine that there are a handful of people out there willing to shell out for something with a Google logo on it. But if you really want a wireless headset to use with Google talk or any other VoIP or Voice chat service, why not get a bluetooth one? For under $100 you can get a decent bluetooth headset and probably even a USB Bluetooth adapter so that you can use it on your PC, and even better, you can use the same headset for your Bluetooth phone to boot.

Now I need to decide on which Voice chat client I like best and then get other people to start using it.