As I’ve commented in the past I needed a tool that would allow me to better draft and layout my posts and articles. The default editor in Blogger is very nice for quick short articles but it becomes very cumbersome when the post starts to get long and has a lot of technical syntax. Formatting issues can also start to create problems which eventually lead to me (the author) spending more time cleaning up the post than actually writing the post.

This is a test post from Microsoft’s Windows Live Writer (Version 2008).

I’m curious to see how much easier and efficient it will be using this tool as oppose to using the default editor in Blogger.

I’ll also need to find a plug-in that allows me to include “code”. Should it either be HTML, Perl, Javascript or CLI output from a network switch that needs special formatting.

Let’s try this one…

**************************************************

* Copyright (c) 1996-2006 Nortel Networks        *

* All Rights Reserved                            *

* Ethernet Routing Switch 1648T                  *

* Software Release 2.1.0.0                       *

**************************************************

Login:

CPU1 [05/16/01 17:05:59] SNMP INFO Sending Cold-Start Trap

Login: rwa

Password: ***

ERS-1648T:1#

I think that looks pretty good… Thanks Leo!

Cheers!

UPDATE: May 5, 2008

I was searching around the net looking for refine my blog site and maximize the value of the information that I was posting. I found the following post from Jeremey Martin detailing how to insert some JavaScript code to help highlight comments from the blog author. Thanks for the code Jeremy!

I thought I would spend a few minutes looking back at my adventure into the online digital world. I’ve been writing this blog for more than 6 months now and was curious if it’s worth the time and effort and more importantly “is this information useful to anyone?”

It would seem, looking at the statistics from StatCounter.com that there are an average of 250 page loads daily during the week from 130 unique visitors (105 first time, 25 returning). I won’t be making any fortune by rushing to sign-up for a Google Adwords account but that was never the intention.

I think the content has been good but certainly not great. I’m the first to admit that I’m not the best writer in the world (nor will I ever be). I have had quite a few very interesting and intriguing conversations with a number of different individuals. Some on the other side of the country and some on the other side of the pond (Atlantic Ocean).

I think we’ll keep this blog going for another 6 months and then re-evaluate at that point. If you have suggestions for articles please post them as comments to this article.

Cheers!

Update: August 25, 2008
I thought I would just post a quick update. This blog appears to be gathering some steam as of late. I’m currently getting around 250+ visits daily and the site has a nice number of pages indexed by Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Live Search. The Adsense account is also making approximately $9.00/month which is almost enough to offset the costs of hosting on GoDaddy. All in all I’m enjoying the opportunity although it does take a small bit of work and I’ve noticed that I really need to proof-read my articles at least twice.

Cheers!

It’s really amazing how fast the days, weeks and months go by. If you’re looking for to listen to some traditional and folk music straight from Dublin, Ireland browse over to www.liveireland.com.

Cheers!

When I last spoke about my home desktop computer I mentioned that I was waiting for the release of the new Logitech G15 keyboard. I’m happy to report that the new G15 has been released and I’m happily typing this article on it right now.

I found a wealth of plug-ins for the built-in LCD display and I’ve found some very interesting uses for the macro keys. Overall I’m very happy with the new Logitech G15 keyboard. It complements the new Logitech G5 mouse I’ve had on my desktop for the past six months. The version of the G5 I have includes two thumb buttons on the mouse, great for those of us that game.

I had the opportunity to upgrade my headset a few weeks ago. I had been using the Plantronics GameCom 1 3.5mm headset with the on-board audio from my Nforce4 Ultra motherboard. Unfortunately the cable got wrapped around my three year olds foot just before she ran out of the room. All the kings horses and all the kings men weren’t going to put it back together so I decided to order the Plantronics GameComPro 1 USB headset.

The Plantronics GameCom 3.5mm headset is definitely hands down the best value and product in the price range ($19.99). I’ve used this headset for about two years now (replacing them as they get broken) and it’s very comfortable. I use this headset in conjunction with the on-board audio from my Nforce4 Ultra motherboard. It works very well and provides good sound both as an output and input (microphone). Just remember that you’ll need either a dedicated sound card or on-board audio built into your motherboard. I know the audiophiles would argue that the on-board audio isn’t anywhere near the quality of a dedicated sound card but for those of us that just need basic audio, this should work fine.

The Plantronics GameComPro1 USB headset is also a very nice product. It is a USB solution that houses it’s own DSP (essentially it’s own soundcard). It has the same basic design as the GameCom headset above and I would rate it in line with the sound from my on-board audio. Unfortunately the DSP doesn’t have a Mixer so you might have issues trying to use a USB headset with FRAPS to record voice/sounds with various applications/games. For those that don’t have either a sound card or on-board audio from their motherboard this is a great option.

Cheers!