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5 
Long exposure webcam
Some Nimisis software that's been popular with star gazers and academics is Exposure, which makes long exposure images with a webcam. There's a new version out now which allows users to set where to save the resulting image and also what format, i.e. compressed or uncompressed.
To download go here.
2
MS Word doc to text converter
A while back I wrote some anti-plagiarism software. It compares all the documents in a folder against each other for evidence of copying. The feedback is that it needs to be able to accept more file formats, in addition to plain text (.txt) format, in particular Microsoft Word documents. So I've made a free utility that can batch convert files from doc to txt format. Popular software source files such as .cpp, .java (and many more) can now also be checked.
Download and try it out here.
25 
Software to detect plagiarism
I recently saw an article about the growing problem of plagiarism among students and so I've written a little piece of software as a tool to aid teachers in the fight against it. The application is called Collusion and allows users to select a folder on their hard drive that contains the students' essays. These are then checked against each other for evidence of "copy-and-paste".
This is version 1.0. All feedback, via the contact form or the Nimisis software Google group, would be greatly appreciated!
24 
Extra Mile Algo Standard
I've invented my own little standard for folk who put source code for algorithms on the web. It's called the Extra Mile Algo Standard (EMAS for short), the reason being that it requires the publisher to put a tiny bit more effort into how they present their work. It should be worth it though!
More details are here, together with an example. All comments are very welcome.
9
New Google Groups
I've set up a couple of Google groups for some of the software I've written, namely Flix and Warp. (Their respective groups are here and here.) These two applications are particularly well suited to have their own group or forum as Flix is about making timelapse videos and Warp is about making funny photos, so I'm hoping that folk will feel free to share their creations!
8 
Google PageRank Calculator
The latest addition to my list of homebrew applications is a Google PageRank calculator. If you have a website and want to do some search engine optimisation this will hopefully be a useful tool.
I thought I'd also use this entry as a place where comments can be posted for PR score comparison purposes, so feel free to add what your site scored, how many pages were crawled and the number of calculation iterations performed.
[14:01][have your say 1]
18 
The Sheikh of Tweak
The Ashes are lost, thanks mainly to Shane Warne who was the leading wicket taker this morning at the Waca. England's latest capitulation means that they're now 3-0 down in the 5 match series, but I wonder if that's a fair reflection on the relative ability of the two sides...
What's contributed to such a poor performance? Take your pick from under-preparedness (Harmison's epic wide at the very start of the 1st Test Match at Brisbane hinted at that), Giles dropping Ponting before he became a centurian at the Adelaide Oval, not picking Panesar till the 3rd Test or key umpiring decisions that were poor (just ask Andrew Strauss what he thinks of his LBWs).
But there's hope. Collingwood, Pietersen, Alistair Cook (almost Boycottesque yesterday), Panesar, these guys have all had their moments and I've probably missed a few other notable performances. Also, in terms of sessions won (if you watch Test cricket that way) England have come away from sessions on top just as many times as the Australians this series. For example, but for a ridiculous hour at Adelaide on the last day, England had won almost every session.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if this Ashes series ends 3-2. Then England will really be kicking themselves. Another prediction - Warne's going to get fined before the series is out for his shameful and unrestrained histrionics after almost every delivery. If wooing umpires in such a way is not bringing the game into disrepute, I don't know what is. Sheikh of Tweak? Histrionic Geek.
6
Picasa
Recently tried out Google's photo organisation app, Picasa and I've got to say that I'm impressed. Some old school photos in the depths of my hard drive were found which I'm sure I would've lost otherwise. If this grabs you, take the tour via the banner below.
3
Ripper v1.0 out now!
Ripper is an application that periodically grabs online images to create timelapse movies. Pictures are ripped off a specified website every few seconds, minutes or hours (whatever the user decides), then they are merged together as frames in a time-lapse video. Some cool effects can be achieved this way.
For more details see this page.
[11:03][have your say 1]
1 
Screen Recording Software
Ever needed to demonstrate how to do something to a person not able to see your monitor? One method would be to record the display on the PC into a video and then email it. What's the easiest way to do that, short of having to prop up a camcorder up to point at the screen? A free and easy to use solution is CamStudio.
30 
Climate change and global warming
A stitch in time saves nine nineteen according to Nicholas Stern. Read the Stern Report here.
What can you do to help stop global warming? Find out here.
24 
Learn the piano hack
Now I don't really read music, but I do enjoy being able to reel off a thing or two on the piano, sort of Bill-Murray-in-Groundhog-Day style (if you know what I mean). It's hard work... at least for me. So for a while now I've been thinking of adding to my list of homebrew projects a piece of software that could take midi files of piano pieces and highlight the piano keys being played on a keyboard during playback. It would be a kind of cheat for learning the piano.
Thankfully there's no need! I found this great little application that does the job handsomely. It's called MidiPiano and it's free. In fact the source code is available for those who want to tweak it.
The great thing about midi files is that unlike mp3s there's much less fuss over copyright and there are lots of databases online from which midi music files can be downloaded for free. Midi music is of much lower quality than mp3 but that's because it encodes individual notes. And it's because of its format that it can be replayed easily the way it is in this app. Have a go! You'll probably have to lug your piano keyboard in front of your monitor (or vice versa), but surely that's a small price to pay to become a budding pianist!
15
Han Shot First
This tedious debate can finally end! The original Star Wars dvds are going to be released.
24
Warp 1.0 Out Now!
Last week I made a little image warping application called "Warp" (imaginative, I know) that will be available for download from download.com. There's a page about it here.
[05:30][remarks 4]
7 
My nerves are still shot to pieces after watching the second closest test match result in history - an England victory by 2 runs!
For more cricket stats, visit here.
Random link: Learn Shane Warne's five spin deliveries.
[15:52][have your say]
9
Here are some reviews of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith (UK release date May 19 2005).
[11:59][comments]
16 
How much?
It's surprising how much spyware can work its way onto your computer. The spyware removal app available from this website is pretty good.
22
Attention! Star Trek fans
If you're a Star Trek fan looking for the website of the new movie Nemesis you've come to the wrong place. This is Nimisis. I called it this because I think it sounds cool, not because I can't spell... like you. This is probably a better film though - Star Wars in 5 minutes.
1
Presenting the largest Lego set of all time, measuring 37" by 23", comprising 3104 pieces and included with it its own display stand, I give you - the Imperial Star Destroyer. How am I going to resist buying it? (Quite easily actually. It costs 225.)
Update! - And on the same theme here's a site for lego mechs.
[13:01][remarks 1]
Make short URLs
Live Twitter
Euro 2008 wall chart
Write short stories
Find restaurants nearby
Free software downloads
Sell property online
Anti-plagiarism software
Live sports chat
Real time website visitor tracking
Discount shopping
Geography Quiz
Make money from photos
Wii Fit in stock checker finder
Warp photos
Webcam timelapse
Ex-President Chirac's speech came to an abrubt halt when he walked into a huge pane of glass. Via Roland [add caption 2][past pics]
