I thought in the past about setting up a site like this.. It's a nice idea i think (whether this is the site you want to use or not I don't know)..

We all want to know that we are special, that our lives have meaning and that we will have a lasting impact on the people who matter to us.

Respectance is the place to instantly create a personalized website where our family and friends come together to share their favorite memories and relive those irreplaceable moments.

If a picture says a thousand words, movies and sound say even more. Respectance allows visitors to upload photos evoking special memories. Visitors select their favorite photos, background music and theme which are all automatically mixed into a special video clip, suitable for downloading or delivery on DVD.

Now, no matter how far away people may be, or whether or not they can make it to the funeral, everyone can come together to offer memories, share memories and treasure their personalised, multimedia tribute.

Respectance understands how hard it can be when a loved one passes away. With an aging population, this is becoming more relevant than ever. People need to express their feelings, especially at this tragic time. A good memorial experience makes us feel better about ourselves and each other: it’s all about respect, and acceptance. Respectance is there to help people take control of the memorial experience.

Respectance lets individuals create, show, experience and share their emotions. We enable memories and emotions to become a rich, personalized, multimedia tribute that contributes to the healing process.

http://respectance.com/

If you're willing to hold out till 2010, Windows 7 will be here, but according to Microsoft's Pay-As-You-Go FlexGo plan, future versions will include Symantec-like subscription models, i.e., buy as much of the OS as you use or can afford, and expand the OS as needed.

On the other hand, shouldn't Windows 7 be Windows 11? I presume Microsoft is not counting 1, 2, 3, and ME.
               01. Windows 1.0
               02. Windows 2.0/2.1
               03. Windows 3.0/3.1
               04. Windows 95
               05. Windows 98
               06. Windows ME
               07. Windows NT
               08. Windows 2000
               09. Windows XP
               10. Windows Vista
               11. Windows 7

Watched this long (51min) video today about harnessing 'human computing' power for the greater good - it is very interesting.

Human Computing - Video Lecture

This is by the same group who developed the reCaptcha previously mentioned on DC in this post

You can play the games mentioned in the talk online… (they require Java RE)

http://www.espgame.org/]The ESP Game

http://www.peekaboom.org/]PeekaBoom

And read more about Luis at his site here…

Luis von Ahm Homepage

Let's say you are a user of some of our software and feel yourself reluctantly giving up and making a donation in order to get member benefits and lifetime license key, but still feel angry about it. 

Here is a guide how to get your revenge:

• Make a donation of 1 cent.  Actually any donation less than 25 cents will go entirely to paypal and we don't see a penny.  You still get full lifetime member benefits for this donation.
• Although this will cost me a little bit of my time sending you a thank you email, it doesnt actually lose us any money, that's where the next step comes in.
• Once you have activated your supporting member account, go to the silly member kit request page and request a member kit by snail mail.  If you live in the US, make up an address in a foreign country and it will cost us $1 to $2 including shipping  (don't bother trying to calculate most expensive country to ship to as i just slap on random air mail postage stamps and post office doesn't seem to care).
• So there you have it, a fool proof way to make DC suffer a $1 to $2 loss on your donation, while you are out only 1 penny.
• Caveat: We still enjoy it whenever anyone donates and get happy whenever we think someone wants a member kit, so this technique is not good for inducing mental anguish, only financial ruination.

---

Note: These instructions are described for fun -- i'm not being sarcastic in an attempt to complain about people who do this -- i don't pay the slightest attention to who donates how much and i have no idea when i send out a member kit how much a person has donated, and i couldn't care less.

Let's start with Dell's hot new line of business. Not to be out done, HP seems to have joined in on the fun. (see the comments at bottom of the page)

Followed by Secure Computing's 'IronMale' service. 

And now we will top it off with a comparison of tech support and phone sex, as reported by someone that has worked in both professions. (no...not me)


http://weblog.infowo...it_vs_phone_sex.html

[via Bob Sutor]:

Developing a Firefox Extension That People Actually Use — 32 Essential Tools and Tutorials
"In this article, we provide you with the vital resources you need to not only create a Firefox extension, but also to help you create one that is actually used by other people."

Worth a read.