Having a cluttered desktop doesn’t just look unattractive, it seriously hampers your productivity. It always starts the same way: You receive an important email attachment and you think, “Hey, I’ll put this on my desktop so I can find it easily” or “I need to use this file right away–I will drop it on my desktop and file it away later.”

Twenty attachments, downloads, and new files later, your desktop is like a pig on roller skates: unwieldy and bloated. But don’t fear gentle readers, I have five tips to help you reclaim this valuable real estate and impress anyone who happens to glance at your screen.

Tip #1 - Pick A Nice Desktop Background
If you have a great image on your desktop, one that you actually want to look at, it provides a bit of subtle, subconscious motivation not to cover it up with file icons.
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A current Internet issue that I care a lot about the potential death of Internet radio due to everyone’s favorite self-appointed sheriff, judge, and jury, the RIAA. (Read all about it from the point of view of the radio stations themselves.) BUT It looks like SoundExchange, which is the central collection point for Internet radio royalties, will extend the current royalty structure until 2010, at least for the “small” webcasters which can’t afford to pay the crazy new royalty rates.

I listen to Radio Paradise while I program, and some of my best work would never have been born without it.

If you’re in a technology market, or even if you’re not - I highly recommend you check out Flashbelt 2007 - June 18-20. Three days of education and inspiration. I met Dave Schroeder a few years back when we collaborated on a project and have been friends ever since. He had this great idea to promote Midwest flash experts and local technologists. Each year its been bigger and better than the last and this year has some BIG names.

The topics vary and cater to anyone form beginner to serious nerd - something for everybody. Check the official site for details and sign up to attend, you’ll be glad you did.

ArcStone is a sponsor of the event providing the online registration and last year our own Nick Longtin presented his implementation of a multiplayer flash tank game.

A pretty interesting view of of our culture and environmental issues through art. Artist Chris Jordan is working on a series called “Running the Numbers : An American self portrait” - where statistics are converted to images in the form of large format art works. As the description states, I can imagine they are even more impressive when seen in person but these works are pretty astonishing (and startling) at any scale.

I just read an article that literally (and metaphorically) blew me away.

Scientists have uncovered a source of clean power that could generate enough energy to provide over 100 times the current global demand. The jet stream. Duh - rather obvious if you think about it - a massive swath of 310 mile per hour winds blowing day and night…

There are currently several start-ups looking to tap into the jet streams power - there is some hope!

Welcome back to my unauthorized look into the seedy underbelly of a web application. (did you miss part one?) Today: the database. The model. The schema. The sick, twisted, gang of data that lurks beneath the surface of nearly every web application. This isn’t for the faint of heart, so if you can’t bear to imagine your precious information being crammed feet-first into a database, I understand. Otherwise, read on for the thrilling story of a dictator with some complex data modeling issues. Read the rest of this entry »

You are paying for 7MB of pure, broadband DSL speed, but are you getting it? To know for sure check out Broadband reports speed test. After you’re done (and presumably disappointed) browse through the rest of their site. It’s a great resource for all sorts of information, tools, and networking goodness.

Here is my result: