The other day I stumbled on a really cool website, where they offer a free API to calculate distance between two US ZIP codes, all ZIP codes in a specific radius from a given ZIP code, as well as a few other ZIP code related functions.
The results can be returned in different formats, like JSON, XML and (in some cases) CSV. Highly recommended! The URL is http://zipcodedistanceapi.redline13.com/
I am considering creating a Lotusscript class for some of these functions, so stay tuned!
For a Domino-based web application I am currently working on, I needed a nicer looking select box (drop down) than what Bootstrap offers out of the box. I did some searches and found a handful of free ones, most of them pretty good but not exactly what I wanted. Some did not handle different themes, other had additional functionality I did not want/need, etc. I probably been looking for a good alternative for 3 weeks by now.
Then the other day I found an inexpensive plugin at CodeCanyon. Custom Select for Twitter Bootstrap 3 is just $5 if you use it for a public site, or $25 if you use it on a site where you charge the users for access. It’s well worth it. The control is nice and clean, and very easy to use.
Custom Select for Twitter Bootstrap 3
What really impressed me was how the author of the plugin, Lisa Stoz, fixed an issue I ran into. It was not a bug in the plugin, but I had a need to use custom tag attributes, and the plugin did not support that originally. The next day Lisa had a new version available with that functionality added. She also helped me with some additional questions that I had. I am very impressed with the quick response and the professional support.
I am new to CodeCanyon, but that site seems very nice. It contains a large number of jQuery and javascript plugins, Bootstrap themes and plugins, and much more. There is also a section with WordPress plugins, as well as a separate site for WordPress themes called ThemeForrest. That site also have other themes and templates. If you build websites, but like me is not a graphics genius, ThemeForrest is a great place to find themes or just inspiration for your site. The themes (as are the plugins) are very modestly priced, between $5 and $10 in most cases.
I have just started to scratch the surface of what’s available there, but I already think this is a great resource. The next time I need a plugin for Bootstrap, jQuery or WordPress, I will probably start at CodeCanyon.
Disclaimer: The links above uses an affiliate code, giving me a small credit at the site if you purchase anything.
Bose, well known for their noise-cancelling headsets and bluetooth/iPhone speakers in the SoundLink/SoundDock series, today presented a new series of multi-room audio products, which they intend to compete with Sonos Multi-Room Music System.
Today three products were released in time for the holiday season, with more products in the works for next year. I was able to play around with them for a little while, and I have to admit, they sound really good.
SoundTouch 30, Soundtouch 20 and SoundTouch Portable.
SoundTouch 30
This is the biggest of the three devices, a powered unit with a built-in subwoofer, giving it very nice bass. It connects to the home network and Internet through either wired ethernet or wifi. The price is $699.
SoundTouch 20
This is a smaller version of the SoundTouch 30, identical except for removal of the subwoofer. The bass is surprisingly good, but naturally not as powerful as in its larger sibling. The benefits are the smaller size and a lower price at $399.
SoundTouch Portable
The baby in the family. As the name indicates, it is portable and the battery lasts for 5 hours, according to Bose. It also lacks wired ethernet. The size is slightly larger than the Bluetooth-equipped Bose SoundLink, to a price of $399.
All units have the same basic design, with six preset buttons on the top, which can be designated to different music sources, and an OLED display on the front showing status and listening mode, as well as artist and name of the song currently played.
Initially SoundTouch support Pandora, Internet radio and music stored on your network or computers, using iTunes or Windows Media Player. On iOS devices, AirPlay can be used to stream music to the speakers as well. Support for Spotify, iHeartRadio and XM/Sirius is coming soon, according to Bose, with more music sources arriving in 2014. Each unit comes with a remote control, and also has an aux in port on the back, together with two USB ports (one micro-USB and one standard USB) used for the initial setup. There are apps for iOS and Android, as well as for OS X and Windows. The apps let the user control the different devices, and play either different songs on different speakers (for example in different rooms), or the same song on all units.
SoundTouch 30 inputs
One of the upcoming products for next year is the $99 SoundTouch Controller, a circular controller with a central OLED display that displays the same information as the display on the SoundTouch units, as well as six preset buttons arranged around the display. Among the other products in the SoundTouch series coming in 2014 is a $499 outdoor amplifier bundled with the SoundTouch Remote, and a $1,199 subwoofer and two speaker packages. This also includes the SoundTouch Remote.
After comparing the three units side-by-side, my personal favourite is the SoundTouch 20. It hits the Goldilocks zone, with great sound to a substantially lower price that it’s larger sibling. The SoundTouch Portable is nice if portability is important, but the sound is thinner and not nearly as good. Since none of the SoundTouch models support Bluetooth, they do not really compete with the SoundLink or the recently released SoundLink Mini, both which are less expensive but lack most of the advanced functionality in the SoundTouch series.
Kathy Brown recently posted about the nomination of IBM Champions for 2014, and I wanted to spread the word as well.
Anyone can nominate non-IBMers who “are sharing their knowledge, evangelize and advocate for IBM Collaboration Solutions (ICS), help grow and nurture the community and provide feedback to IBM (both negative and positive) in a professional manner”.
You can learn more at the IBM Champion website, and (more important) you can also nominate someone you feel should be an IBM Champion.
So what are you waiting for? :-)
Today I logged in to IdeaJam (#thanksbruce) and for some reason I decided to look at my own old ideas, something I haven’t done in a while. I noticed this post, from december 2010, almost a year before IBM launced the XWork server in October 2011…
Perhaps IBM listens sometimes, even if they did not make it free, $1000/year is not a bad price for a powerful server like Domino/XWorks.
