Google Talk + AIM

From the press release:

Under the strategic alliance, Google and AOL will continue providing search technology to AOL's network of Internet properties worldwide. The agreement's broad range of new features for users and advertisers include:

• Creating an AOL Marketplace through white labeling of Google's advertising technology - enabling AOL to sell search advertising directly to advertisers on AOL-owned properties;
• Expanding display advertising throughout the Google network;
• Making AOL content more accessible to Google Web crawlers;
• Collaborating in video search and showcasing AOL's premium video service within Google Video;
• Enabling Google Talk and AIM instant messaging users to communicate with each other, provided certain conditions are met;
• and Providing AOL marketing credits for its Internet properties.

Windows Gadgets, Dashboard Widgets

Building Windows Vista Gadgets

Building Mac Dashboard Widgets

So Microsoft appears to be adopting a route similar to Apple's, in that their Gadgets framework leans heavily on HTML and CSS. Rather good news for us web-heads.

Samsung NV3 Digital Camera

i just bought the Samsung NV3.

It comes with 15MB internal memory, so you'll likely want to spend some dough on an SD card if you want to take those 7 mega pixel shots at superfine resolution. A 1GB SD card should fit about 250 of those.

As many cameras do, it has a dial on the top that lets you toggle between various modes. Two of those are "auto" and "P"(aka program) modes. The "auto" mode tells the camera to do all of the settings when taking a picture, aka "no-brainer photography", and doesn't let you override granular settings such as ISO, exposure, RGB, white balance, etc.

The "P" mode, also figures out settings automatically, but allows you to "set"/override each one. And it remembers them.

By simply turning the dial, this allows you to effortlessly switch between "no-brainer photography" from the "auto mode" and "full-control photography" from the "P"/program mode with all your last settings.