16 Free Google Wave Invites

I have another 16 Google Wave invites to give out.

If you want your invite, please sign up for the RSS feed by "following" on the right hand side column, and commenting below.

(Make sure to note the Google Following username in the comment as well to verify. )

Quicktime Black Bar (Solution)

I recently purchased a new laptop, HP Pavillion dv4, running a 64-bit version of Windows Vista. Since then, I've enjoyed the laptop and found it to work fairly well (except for the occasional crash now and then which likely is attributed to an audio card firmware issue. Even so, one issue I've encountered is the little-known, quicktime black bar.

This black car replaces the normal quicktime play/pause timeline that shows up for most mp3/mp4 and other h264 vids. After a little googling I found this solution at the North Arizona University:

If the embedded Quicktime Player plugin does not work in your browser, but only displays a black bar (especially likely if running Windows Vista 64-bit):

1. Right click on the browser icon
2. Select properties
3. Go to the compatibility tab
4. Check the box for "Run this program in compatibility mode for:"
5. Make sure it says "Windows XP (Service Pack 2)" in the drop down list.
6. Press "OK" at the bottom

Ottawa in 30,000 Frames

OTTAWA - Summer in 30,000 Frames from NiWoTa Studios on Vimeo.

Last summer I visited Canada's East Coast (Ottawa, Toronto, Quebec City, and Montreal) and loved it. The culture, the language, and the political air definitely added to the experience. Above is a great video that shows a bunch of great view of Ottawa (likely during Canada day). Below are a few photos of my travels in Ottawa:

How to Change Line Spacing Between Bullet Points in Word

From Yahoo Answers:

Q:

Is it possible to change the line spacing between bullet points in Word to 1.5 (say) whilst keeping the "normal" line spacing at 1?

A:

1. Select all the bullet items.
2. Right-click and select Paragraph.
3. Under Spacing, give the After text box a non-zero value, say, 6 (for 6 points).
4. Click OK.

Free Canadian VPN

I've been looking for a free Canadian VPN for a long time. Tonight, Adrian Roman of how-to-hide-ip.info sent me a link to thefreevpn.com:

TheFreeVPN (download link) is a new free service that lets users surf the web privately by allowing them to bypass internet censorship. The service is ad-supported but likely can be blocked via ABP.

With TheFreeVPN you can:

* Access blocked websites from within a corporate environmement
* Watch Hulu.com, Pandora.com, ABC.com, BBC.co.uk from anywhere
* Protect yourself from snoopers at Wi-Fi hotspots, hotels, airports, corporate offices and ISP hubs.
* Hide your IP address for your privacy online

TheFreeVPN has servers in the US, UK, and Canada. The software requires installation of tap vpn adapters (32-bit). However, the software works on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. (PC Only: Windows XP, Vista, and 7)

Go wild on CBC.ca all you Mercer Report, Degrassi Generation, and Little Mosque on the Praire fans!

5 Free Clicker.com Invites!

UPDATE (11/12/09): Only 3 left!

http://clicker.com/

I've got 5 clicker invites as a result of signing up. This free app allows users to find out (obviously) what' on online in terms of free television, film, and live shows. It's a great app for those wanting a easy-to-use method to keep up with their favorite shows.

From the Clicker beta team:

Today marks one month since we first opened up Clicker for testing. Tens of thousands of you have signed up for invites, and we've been spending our days and nights watching and listening to your feedback. We now have full launch within our sights! You can read about that and more on our blog: http://blog.clicker.com/

As we gear up for a full launch, we're ready to start letting a bit more traffic onto the site. So, here are 5 invitations, bundled in one convenient link to distribute whomever and however you wish.

It's not as comprehensive as Hulu but offers a widespread databases that reaches into several depositories such as CBS, NBC, and ABC. Email me here for a free invite!

Google Street View Canada--Now Live!

View Larger Map

Google Street view has just gone live in several major Canadian cities: Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, Vancouver, Squamish, B.C., Whistler, B.C., Ottawa, Kitchener, Ont., and Waterloo, Ont.

Above (though barely discernable) is me in my white Toyota Camry on Granville and 49th Street (Vancouver, BC, Canada). I remember being very excited about being in the car at that time with the Google Street View vehicle out in front. The licence plate is whited-out--another great intervention by Google.