Clark's Weblog

Giving the Gift of Software

Sat, 25 Dec 2004 01:03:32 GMT

Lots of great software for your Mac does not come in a box but would still make a great gift. As I've commented recently, there's no easy way to give software like that and none has been brought to my attention. I know one software maker that agrees with me, even. And so it is fitting, perhaps, that I use his software, NewNewsWire for my software giftcard to my brother-in-law. Here's what it looked like:

Merry Christmas!

I Wish There Were An Easier Way To Give Software

Sun, 05 Dec 2004 14:46:30 GMT

I use lots of software I download from the internet and pay for online. It's not truly 'shareware' because it's crippled in some way, or has a limited trial period. Recent examples are NetNewsWire for RSS-reading, , MarsEdit for blogging, Sticky Brain for remembering, Missing Sync for syncing with my Treo. Just this morning I found Mail Factory, which looks like it might be a fun app. to use with a Dymo Label Writer.

What if I wanted to give one of these as a gift? Some would say software is very personal and that just because I like something doesn't mean someone else will, and that that's what trial periods are for. Perhaps. But if I did want to give a license code to a game or application, there's no easy way to make that a gift. What I'm envisioning is a service, by Kagi for example (as they're the ones that seem to accept payment for most such software), that will print the name of the software, its web site, and the registration code on a gift card that can then be tucked in a holiday card and given as a gift or stocking stuffer, or even mailed as an e-gift (like an iCard). Call it the 'Software Gift Card'. Any takers? Apple? Some Shareware alliance somewhere?

Why blogs can be right

Sun, 19 Sep 2004 15:56:36 GMT

"How can any news organization research department hope to compete with the largest pool of subject matter experts the world has ever seen? We are a

totally networked
dynamically interactive
mutually vetting

congregation of legal experts, physicists and mathematicians, futurists, military experts, grammarians, historians, political analysts, linguists, geographers, economists, sociologists, doctors, philosophers, computer experts, communications and media specialists, and skilled practitioners of every discipline under the sun. We are a research department to die for."

[Via American Daughter.]

Self-warming ECG Pads?

Sat, 11 Sep 2004 11:33:44 GMT

If you've ever had surgery or another medical procedure requiring monitoring of vital signs, you may remember the cold ECG pads which had to be applied to your skin. I've often though that it would be nifty to invent a conductive gel that, when the plastic backing is removed, heats up so the ECG pad feels warm (especially that left limb lead). This is the kind of thing one thinks of in private practice, I guess (as opposed to the the academic thoughts of academic anesthesiologists). Well, the makers of KY Jelly may have a solution. KY has a 'Warming Ultra-Gel' which 'Creates a gentle warming sensation on contact'. Make it electroconductive, slap it on an ECG pad, and you've got a winner.

I want a refrigerator with built-in fountain drinks

Tue, 16 Sep 2003 17:00:59 GMT

You can buy refrigerators with built-in ice water dispensers. Why not tanks for fountain drinks? Why must I continue to buy liters and liters of caffeine-free Diet Coke, haul them home, recycle the bottles it came in after I've finished them, and invariably run out, have it run flat, have it not be cold, have it be a bad batch, etc.

Funny what you think about when you're on vacation.