KSFO's Web Wanderer

The Links for August 19, 2006

Current Codes - Dan in Vancouver, Washington

Dan in Vancouver, Washington found this coupon web site.

It's got some real money savers here, but unfortunately, the interface is extremely poor.

There is no search.

Say you're looking at buying an MP3 player, and want to see what coupons are available. You can't search for MP3. You have to select "Consumer Electronics", and you get a flat page of coupons. No sub menu to choose from either. So - do a "Control-F" and you can jump down to the info you want.

Still - it's worth using. The next time you are on a site buying something, or planning to go to a store, it's easy to find a merchant, and see what coupons might apply.

Coupons all look up to date, and there's a bunch here, so I still recommend the site.

Thanks, Dan!

How Products Were Named - Dan in Vancouver, Washington

Dan in Vancouver, Washington found this page

As a kid, I had a book called "Why Did They Name It...?". I really enjoyed it. The history of lots of household names and brands were detailed, along with examples of old advertising. The book was publised in 1964.

Dan in Vancouver, Washington found the modern-day equivalent - a blog which adds these little company or product histories.

Although lacking the quaint ads, it's still fun to read. It's will be of value to folks interested in Americana, History, or Business in general.

Great site - thanks, Dan!

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci - Sister Anne and Brother Spudman

Sister Anne and Brother Spudman sent me this virtual tour of Da Vinci's Last Supper.

The site gives you a pretty good virutal tour:

View the surroundings with a 360 degree quicktime movie. You'll be right there on the street at the "Santa Maria delle Grazie Church", or standing right in front of the painting.
View the painting with "zoomify" - you can zoom in and see some pretty good detail. A little thumbnail lets you navigate quickly.

You'd better have broadband, or a lot of patience.

I thought this site was really cool.

Thanks, Anne and Spudman!

Fireworks - Murph in Berkeley

Murph in Berkeley says: "I saw some fireworks in the archive. Try the one."

This is a great little doodler. You get a black square (night sky?)

Click your mouse, and you see a firework shoot up and explode. The effect is neat - you can see the bright bits of fire, and the colorful trails. There's even "virtual smoke" that a "virtual wind" dissapates.

I have to admit. I got the idea within 10 seconds, but soon found myself making patterns, doing multiple shots in one place, streaming shots across the screen, etc. It was a lot of fun.

I'll be bookmarking this for boring conference calls.

Thanks, Murph in Berkeley.

Free For All!

"Free For All" picks are hot, FREE items or services. It can be software, online services, you name it - but it's got to be free, with no strings attached.

Dan in Vancouver, Washington heard about my new Windows Mobile phone. He gave me this triple-play of sites for free Windows Mobile software!

Pocket PC Freewares - Dan in Vancouver, Washington

Dan in Vancouver, Washington says: "This site is cool because you can search freeware categories by popularity, ratings or name."

The site is well organized (lots of categories) and has lots of files. It features a software of the day, and lets users comment on the files.

I checked for my favorite game - Sokoban. I found EIGHT different versions. Veyr cool.

I'll be bookmarking this one!

Thanks Dan in Vancouver, Washington!

Freecabs - Dan in Vancouver, Washington

Dan in Vancouver, Washington says: "Freecabs is cool because cab files will install on your device without being connected to a computer. There are 3 pages of free apps and 1 page of freeware games."

Lots of files here too. the HUGE advantage is that you can download CABs.

If you've ever had a device, say, a work phone, you may not have recieved the cables, sync software, etc. necessary to install software. This is the site for you.

Your Windows Mobile enabled phone will have IE installed. You can go to this site and download and install software from the phone.

Thanks Dan in Vancouver, Washington!

Tuxtops Pocket PC Software suggestions - Dan in Vancouver, Washington

Dan in Vancouver, Washington says: "Here's a good list of useful Windows Mobile freeware. Check out Total Commander file manager & the TCPMP video player."

The 2 other sites have bunches of software. This one is a different, but equally valuable site. It features a list of the best applications out there.

It's a great "first stop" to get the best stuff, then go to the others and pick up the more obscure/special interest stuff.

Thanks Dan in Vancouver, Washington!