Not Another IQ Test!

No, this isn’t just another average IQ test. I came across this test (or rather, these tests) a year and a half back. Most tests I’ve seen are more about understanding of English than about intelligence. This one (although I still don’t see how a test can measure intelligence) is far better. Take the “Ultimate IQ Test” and see if you score higher than me. I got a 139 last time I took it. Do tell me if you even attempt the “Test for Exceptional Intelligence”. That one’s sure to give you a headache.

International High IQ Society | Free IQ Tests

Creating Icons

SimpleBits | Anatomy of an Icon

If you’re like me, you’ve always had trouble creating icons. I’ll create all the huge paintings and designs but a 32×32 icon beats me! Well, here’s an article by SimpleBits to the rescue.

Fontography!

A disagreeably facetious type glossary

From Microsoft. Pretty dry but to the point. I’ll be reading it myself. I already know the basics but maybe I’ll find something interesting in it.

ClearType Configuration for XP

ClearType Tuner Step 1: Turn on Windows XP ClearType

This is a fairly nice tool for optimizing ClearType on a Windows XP machine. It has better configurability than the Desktop Configuration tool.

You need Internet Explorer as browser to use it though. It works using an ActiveX cotrol.

A Free Offline Explorer

HTTrack Website Copier – Offline Browser

This is for everyone who’s used Offline Explorer and wanted a free software equivalent to it. Use this HTTrack and tell me if it’s any good. I just don’t have time for offline stuff. Good luck.

New Yahoo and Hotmail

They say stuff like “Gmail’s blown away” and “Much superior to Gmail” but the only thing I see is that they’ve turned the usual web-based mail experience to the usual desktop experience. Find screenshots of Yahoo Mail beta and Hotmail Beta and it looks just like Outlook.

Now I agree that the message preview pane is very helpful but Gmail’s conversation view and tag system for archiving mails is very very useful. Why not incorporate those too? Web2.0 apps almost all seem to be using tag system simply because it’s way more powerful and usable than the folder hierarchy system.

Just for the record, I find Yahoo’s tab system very good too. I’ll just have to wait to see how it actually works. I’ve only seen screenshots as of yet.

Linux back in demand

Microsoft’s in more trouble. Google’s great work with linux has finally convinced the computing giants that Linux is the only possible replacement to Microsoft’s monopoly on desktop operating systems. Linux is now being backed by IBM, Intel, HP and others.

I believe linux is the best replacement for Windows. If only the GUI was a bit stronger (and faster).

Some really good fonts.

These fonts may not be very versatile but they’re good for formal stuff. Especially if you can’t spend a fortune on Adobe’s Fontfolio.

Vitaly Friedman | Blog: 20 Best License-Free Official Fonts

Bookmarks on the Web

I’ve been looking for an online application for storing my bookmarks for ages and it was sitting right under my nose. del.icio.us is just the thing I wanted. I have yet to see though, how it imports my hundreds of bookmarks already sitting in my Firefox Bookmarks folder. The import feature is down for maintenance. *Waits*

ComponentArt Webui 3.0 and AJAX

If you haven’t used WebUI3.0 for ASP.NET, you’re missing a very neat component. Do give it a try. Neat menus, grids and other controls. This article gives an introduction to the AJAX features of the tool.

ComponentArt – Online Documentation