So this is a cool idea that i totally did not think of at all in any way shape or form, AND I am not being facetious or sarcastic.... I really did not think of this:Using RSS to deliver notification of deals in shopping, specifically (and most usefully) on searches you create.In other words, you go to Ebay and search for 'Tables', then refine your search and sign up for/create a RSS feed that basically does your search over and over again, giving you only the new results in a nice readable feed like format. Or rather, nothing feed-like about it, it IS a feed.Ok, so here is where I got this from (I suggest visiting the page, they have lots more useful stuff there):and here is the infoz itself:As I researched my post about holiday shopping using RSS feeds, I realized how convenient it would be to have a summarized list of all the shopping sites that offer RSS feeds. I also received some great suggestions for shopping sites I didn’t know about. In my previous post I failed to look at MSN shopping which offers RSS feeds for specific search terms and searches a large list of major retailers.
I decided to create a list of all the shopping sites I know of that offer RSS feeds. I’ve indicated whether the feeds are preset like “newest items” versus feeds that allow you to customize by search term. Feel free to bookmark this page and use it as your reference guide for holiday shopping. It’s everything you need right in one place.
If your favorite shopping site doesn’t offer an RSS feed, you can use Feed Whip to create your own. I haven’t had a chance to test it thoroughly, but it looks very versatile.
I also had a commenter tell me about a nice software-based RSS reader called Snarfer that bridges the gap between web-based and software-based readers by allowing you to sync your feeds with Bloglines.com. I’ve tried it out and really like it. It may be my new RSS reader of choice.
Please post any sites I’ve missed in the comments section and I’ll add them to this list.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Re: RSS Shopping Feeds
RSS Shopping Feeds
As I researched my post about holiday shopping using RSS feeds, I realized how convenient it would be to have a summarized list of all the shopping sites that offer RSS feeds. I also received some great suggestions for shopping sites I didn’t know about. In my previous post I failed to look at MSN shopping which offers RSS feeds for specific search terms and searches a large list of major retailers.
I decided to create a list of all the shopping sites I know of that offer RSS feeds. I’ve indicated whether the feeds are preset like “newest items” versus feeds that allow you to customize by search term. Feel free to bookmark this page and use it as your reference guide for holiday shopping. It’s everything you need right in one place.
If your favorite shopping site doesn’t offer an RSS feed, you can use Feed Whip to create your own. I haven’t had a chance to test it thoroughly, but it looks very versatile.
I also had a commenter tell me about a nice software-based RSS reader called Snarfer that bridges the gap between web-based and software-based readers by allowing you to sync your feeds with Bloglines.com. I’ve tried it out and really like it. It may be my new RSS reader of choice.
Please post any sites I’ve missed in the comments section and I’ll add them to this list.
Site | Preset RSS Feeds | Feed for search terms? | RSS Feed location | Notes |
No preset feeds | Yes | Bottom right on search results page |
| |
No preset feeds | No | N/A | You can subscribe to Amazon.com feeds through other sites like Baebo and Spendfish (see below). | |
No preset feeds | Yes | Bottom of search results page |
| |
No |
| |||
No preset feeds | Yes | Top of search results | The basic search and RSS feeds provide results from Amazon.com. If you want to see results from eBay or Yahoo! Shopping, click on the links below the search fields. Once you complete a search, you can refine the category at the top of the search results. Once the search is refined enough, then subscribe to the RSS feed. | |
No | Upper right hand corner | Deals and Coupons for a variety of large and small retailers including feeds for deals at specific retailers. | ||
Yes | Upper right hand corner | Clipfire shows aggregated results from a number of different “deals” sites. | ||
Yes, for some terms | Upper right corner of home page | This site offers printable coupons, links to Sunday newspaper ads, and Forums. | ||
No | Bottom right | Forums, Wiki, Store Ratings | ||
No | Top of category results | Also features most popular coupons (but no feed). Store-specific coupons. Clearance items | ||
No | Top of page | Printable grocery coupons | ||
No | Right navigation towards top | Technology and General items | ||
No | In header below tabs | Also offers coupons and promotions | ||
No | Bottom right |
| ||
-Custom feed builder (bottom of page. It was acting a little buggy) | Yes |
| Features mostly Amazon.com deals. The RSS feeds can be buggy in Firefox2.0. Try using Internet Explorer. |
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Friday, November 03, 2006
AWESOME STORY, funny and it has a point
You've Gotta Fight for Your Right to... OLPC!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
stuff for today (light laptops and what not)
Sony says it'll sell world's lightest notebook
Sony said on Wednesday it plans to start selling the world's lightest
notebook computer in December in Japan, in a bid to boost its
presence among business users.
Weighing 898 grams, Sony's "type G" Vaio computer will be the
lightest laptop PC, and comes with a 12.1-inch liquid crystal display
(LCD) screen, the electronics and entertainment conglomerate said.
Sony said on Wednesday it plans to start selling the world's lightest
notebook computer in December in Japan, in a bid to boost its
presence among business users.
Weighing 898 grams, Sony's "type G" Vaio computer will be the
lightest laptop PC, and comes with a 12.1-inch liquid crystal display
(LCD) screen, the electronics and entertainment conglomerate said.
http://tinyurl.com/ynj4gh
Sony Vaio G: 1.98-pounds of 12.1-inch laptop coming at ya
http://tinyurl.com/tuqut
Venture firm is giving loans a try
SAN FRANCISCO--Charles River Ventures, one of the nation's oldest
venture capital firms, has come up with an unusual program to attract
promising entrepreneurs: It will offer loans of up to $250,000 to
help them turn their ideas into fledgling businesses.
Doling out small loans is an unconventional strategy for a 36-year-
old venture firm that has about $1.8 billion under management. But
Charles River said it hoped that the program, to be announced
Wednesday, would allow it to tap into a new generation of
entrepreneurs who are increasingly starting companies on a shoestring.
http://tinyurl.com/yeo37v
High-res camera spots visitor on Mars
Cameras from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on NASA's
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have taken photos of the Mars Exploration
Rover Opportunity near the rim of the Victoria crater.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has recently settled into its final
orbit around the Red Planet and began taking photos on Sept. 27.
The Mars rover Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004 for a three-
month mission but it is still chugging along.
Credit: NASA/JPL/UA
http://tinyurl.com/yj6bpz
Hungarian archaeologist discovers tablet mentioning Masada's destroyer
By Nadav Shragai
In 73 CE, the Roman governor of Judea, Flavius Silva, laid siege to
Masada with Legion X Fretensis. When the walls were broken down by a
battering ram, the Romans found the fortress' defenders had set fire
to all the structures and preferred mass suicide to captivity or
defeat. Masada has since become part of Jewish mythology, as has the
name Silva, who Josephus Flavius mentions in his writings. It is
therefore no great surprise that Hungarian archaeologist Dr. Tibor
Grull, studying in Israel three years ago, was excited to discover a
stone tablet during a visit to the Temple Mount with a Latin
inscription of the name of Masada's destroyer.
http://tinyurl.com/yeasut
LEVertigo vertical laptop bag I recently switched to a laptop bag
that holds my laptop in a vertical position rather than the more
common horizontal position, and I swear it's much more comfortable,
though I have no idea why. Lately, I've seen more vertical bags on
the market, like this LEVertigo bag from Be.ez (manufacturer of
multimedia accessories in Europe and Asia). A few new colors have
recently been added to this collection, like this "Kakee" one. It
fits laptops up to 15.4". I love the bright interior color and the
large front opening -- I imagine both features are designed with
visibility and easy access in mind. Unfortunately, it appears that
there are no distributors yet in the U.S.
http://tinyurl.com/yhl9o8
Holiday shopping that comes to you: Your guide to the easiest,
cheapest holiday shopping ever!
http://tinyurl.com/y7wruf
Led lightbulbs: save energy, save money The humble light emitting
diode (LED) is creating a revolution in lighting. Normal incandescent
light bulbs use energy, lots of it. LED lights however, use very
little. While LEDs have been making their way into street lights and
flashlights, they've yet to fully take off for use in the home. And
yet, there are many home use LED lightbulbs to choose from: night
lights and flood lights, warm fuzzy room-lighting and trippy colored
bulbs. When compared, incandescent bulbs (1000 hours of life) can't
beat LEDs (up to 60,000 hours.) So take a look at your options when
it comes time to replace your lamp lights, and consider a low-
consumption alternative. You could save some energy, and some money.
http://tinyurl.com/ylo8yp
Light Bandage treats skin cancer on-the-go
Posted Oct 31st 2006 8:28PM by Cyrus Farivar
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wearables
A physicist and a dermatology consultant at the University of St.
Andrews in Scotland (no, that's not the beginning of a joke) have
just built a new revolutionary mobile treatment for skin cancer.
Their invention is a "light bandage" whose LEDs shine onto the
affected area while the wearer is out and about, and draws power from
an iPod-sized battery pack. The device is based on the principles of
photodynamic therapy treatment (PDT), which is traditionally used to
treat skin cancer; however, in current applications of PDT, patients
must sit or lie still while sitting under huge light sources. Of
course, this means that now you can go lay on the beach to get your
tan on, absorbing ultraviolet rays while wearing a light bandage to
treat your skin cancer. Perfect.
http://tinyurl.com/vxua9
Top 5 Keyboards You Can Live Without
http://tinyurl.com/ybgsow
KOUZIRO FRNV71: Budget-Priced Core 2 Duo Notebook
For less than $1100, KOUZIRO stuffs its latest 5.73-pound, 15.4-inch
notebook with a ton of multimedia goodies. They include an Intel Core
2 Duo T5500 (1.66GHz) CPU, 256MB of DDR2-533 memory, 60GB HDD, and a
CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive. That’s not all, it also features three
USB 2.0-ports, a FireWire port, a built-in 1.3-megapixel camera, and
a 3-in-1 memory card reader. It goes on sale November 15th.
http://tinyurl.com/ya63ee
A Look Back: The Missing Secrets of Nikola Tesla
This documentary takes a look back at the “missing” secrets of
Nikola Tesla, “a world-renowned Serb-American inventor, physicist,
mechanical engineer and electrical engineer.” What are your
thoughts? Video after the jump.
Tesla’s patents and theoretical work form the basis of modern
alternating current electric power (AC) systems, including the
polyphase power distribution systems and the AC motor, with which he
helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution
http://tinyurl.com/yjxt7o
Paul Pantone’s Incredible Plasma Reactor Motor
Paul Pantone’s incredible Plasma Reactor Motor “supposedly triples
fuel efficiency and cuts pollution by 90% by simply transferring
exhaust heat to the fuel intake. Pantone claims the instantaneous
pressure fluctuations in the exhaust help to create a vacuum that,
when combined with the heat, creates micro-magnetic forces.” Videos
after the jump.
This produces a plasma that dissociates the hydrogen from the oxygen
in the carburetor. It’s a 1-cylinder four-stroke engine that runs on
all kinds of fuels and exhausts cleaner air than came in
http://tinyurl.com/yk8x6d
Ground testing begins for X-48B Blended Wing Body ConceptNovember
1, 2006 Ground testing of the X-48B Blended Wing Body (BWB) concept
will start in the near future in preparation for flight testing early
next year. The X-48B ground and flight testing will take place at
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in
California, where two high-fidelity 21-foot wingspan prototypes have
been delivered. The prototypes were produced to explore and validate
the structural, aerodynamic and operational advantages of the BWB
concept and were designated X-48B by the U.S. Air Force based on its
interest in the design's potential as a future military aircraft. The
X-48B's three turbojet engines will allow the 500-pound, composite-
skinned, 21-foot wingspan prototype to fly up to 120 knots and 10,000
feet in altitude during flight testing.
http://tinyurl.com/ygujdy
Revolutionary New 'Cockpit' for UAVs dramatically improves operator
performance
from Aero Gizmo (267 articles)
November 2, 2006 Raytheon has unveiled what it calls its Universal
Control System (UCS) - a first of its kind unmanned aerial system
(UAS) "cockpit" that revolutionizes operator awareness and
efficiency, while providing the ability to control multiple unmanned
aircraft, reduce potential accidents, improve training, and decrease
costs. The announcement was made during the Shephard UV North America
2006 conference in Tysons Corner, Va.
http://tinyurl.com/ye9yov
Futuristic Nanospyder Concept (psst - it’s a Volkswagen)
from Automotive (951 articles)November 1, 2006 A team of highly
creative Volkswagen designers based in California have unveiled their
own unique take on the future of modern transportation. The result is
the Volkswagen Nanospyder. Futuristic nanotechnology supported by
hydrogen fuel cells, solar power, wheel-mounted electric motors and
inflatable organic body panels combine to form the unusual shape of
the two-seater concept.
http://tinyurl.com/ynzdwp
Steam Car Challenge targets century-old speed record
from Automotive (951 articles)
October 31, 2006 In an environment where world’s best practice in
any human endeavour is expected to last only a few years, it seems
ludicrous that a land speed record could survive for a century but
that’s the case with the world steam-powered land speed record. A
century ago, when the global automotive industry was in its infancy,
the internal combustion engine was by no means the only contender as
the power source for the personal transportation revolution –
electricity and steam were also viable contenders in the first few
decades. Indeed, the steam-powered Locomobile was the world's first
successful automobile and a machine based on the famous Stanley
Steamer automobile attracted global attention on January 27, 1906
when it smashed the outright world speed record of 109 mph setting a
new record of 121.57 mph. Now a British team, the British Steam Car
Challenge, is preparing to push the World Land Speed Steam-powered
Record past 200mph. The car is powered by a 300 bhp Curtis steam
turbine and the team is now completing the high-tech boilers for the
car, named Inspiration. The boilers will generate a formidable four
megawatts of energy – almost enough to power a small town for a day.
http://tinyurl.com/y9utkn
Online productivity suite Scrybe released in phased beta
Posted Nov 1st 2006 8:51AM by Jason Clarke
Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Internet, Windows,
Macintosh, Linux, Office, Productivity, Web services, Google,
Microsoft, Yahoo!, Social Software

You remember the video, right?
I got my wish. Eleven days ago I posted about a new online
productivity suite that I was dying to try. Well it's late on
Halloween evening, and I've just spent the last hour playing with the
various features in Scrybe that enticed me when I first saw the demo
video. And so far, I think we have a winner on our hands.
http://tinyurl.com/yhm6r7
Carlito’s La Cucaracha Robot
by Alan Parekh @ 6:30 am. Filed under Cool Gadgets
http://tinyurl.com/ybyc7g
Download: IHMC CmapTools - A concept map software
IHMC CmapTools is a software to construct concept map. What is a
concept map?
… is a technique for visualizing the relationships between different
concepts. A concept map is a diagram showing the relationships
between concepts. Concepts are connected with labelled arrows, in a
downward-branching hierarchical structure. The relationship between
concepts is articulated in linking phrases, e.g., “gives rise
to”, “results in”, “is required by,” or “contributes
to”. –Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/yjau7d
Napping: Is it good for you?
Kurt Kleiner talks about his love towards napping and looks for
reasons to take his nap. With all those negative perceptions in the
modern world on napping, he wants to prove that it may not be bad
thing at all.
He found many studies recently shows napping improve productivity.
How useful is it for a 10 minutes nap if you can have a better
productivity after that:
http://tinyurl.com/yztapt
Download: Microsoft Office Accounting Express There is a new product
called Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007 (long name, and yes
MS Windows only), which allows small business to handle many aspects
related to finance from one application. The most interesting
integration that I see with this software is with the eBay and
PayPal, which you can track sales activity and handle PayPal invoices
easier.
Best of all - It is available for free:
http://tinyurl.com/y9r88r