I stumbled upon this awesome online project today called “BookCrossing.” The site is home to a large community project which organizes a sort of an extremely public library service. The site has more than three million books registered with a very strong and active community behind it.

The entire process runs like this:

The “3 Rs” of BookCrossing…

1. Read a good book (you already know how to do that)
2. Register it here (along with your journal comments), get a unique BCID (BookCrossing ID number), and label the book
3. Release it for someone else to read (give it to a friend, leave it on a park bench, donate it to charity, “forget” it in a coffee shop, etc.), and get notified by email each time someone comes here and records a journal entry for that book. And if you make Release Notes on the book, others can Go Hunting for it and try to find it!

The FAQ states that the idea for BookCrossing came from those funny online dollar bill tracking websites that you see on your money but never use. (However there are some awesome tracking sites out there like PhotoTag who releases disposable cameras and then instructs photographers to upload the photos online.) This seems like a great project for a free day (wish I had more of those!) so I’ll definitely check it out.

Flickr is hands down, the best photo sharing community and service on the internet. Not only do they have a excellent tools for quick uploading and fast organization, they offer access to an amazing tool too! YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN STAMPS.

Choose any photo, and the screen brings you to the awesome tool offered by Zazzle. Rotate and edit the photo any way you’d like, and BAM… you’ve got your cat on a stamp. Now those stamp collectors can start collecting stamps of you. Pretty cool eh?

Flickr accounts are super easy to set up, and if you run a WordPress blog there are tons of plugins out there for you too. Run over to BWD and we’d be happy to install one for you.

Anyways, that’s my novel news piece for the day. In other news:

• Britney Spears left rehab for rehab.
• Paris Hilton might be going to jail. (not).
• And the world’s swimsuit model population may suffer from a Hepatitis A outbreak from a skeezy chef.

Good news day eh?

The new Windows Vista has finally been released. For all you Mac”ers” out there… you best keep your eyes open while you sleep.

Why do I have so much faith in the new Windows? Traditionally, the interface and overall presentation of Apple computers and products have always beat out Windows. Granted, Window’s doesn’t produce computers like Apple does, but it won’t take you long to find someone that will tell you the Mac OSX just “looks” cooler.

But now, we can put that aspect of the Mac to shame. Behold leather bound laptops and shiny buttons: Windows has finally fully stepped out of the box and have realized exactly what people are looking for: Snazziness. Sleek looking text. Windows that scroll and appear in 3D. A little widget that pops up telling me the weather (when and where I want it… with no ads). I give you: Vista.

The new Windows is easier, safer, more entertaining, and more connected. Sure I pulled that right off their promotional website… but it’s time that Mac steps off their monopoly on all things shiny.

So I pose this question to the AVERAGE computer user: If you had to choose between the Windows XP and Mac OSX, which would you choose?

Then compare the snazziness factor of each.Windows Vista or MacOSX?

And please don’t forget their beautiful blog.

So… my official opinion? I’ll let you know when I’ve actually tried it out; I’m sending my desktop out next week for a new hard drive and upgrade.

At a family dinner conversation today we got onto the topic of “niche” blogging and the many opportunities out there for those who are very “specialized” to make some extra cash. We also started talking about podcasting; podcasting allows anyone who works on the computer (freelancers, designers, etc…) quite a bit to absorb information that would otherwise take the time to read and scan a traditional blog.

I generally enjoy podcasts related to freelancing and design, but I’m sure there are other great “niche” areas with some great programs. So, I have a question: Do you enjoy listening to podcasts as you work (or do anything else) and what are your favorite programs?

P.S. That’s the Snowball USB Microphone & Tripod Kit from Jazebra.com. Pretty cool eh?