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But will tax increases ever be enough?  What we need is a smarter solution to this, and the answer is telecommuting.

So you want less cars on the roads in Toronto? Well, how do you want folks to get to work?  I guess you expect them to take the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission or fondly known as Take The Car)?

Ha!

Try taking the Yonge line downtown in the morning and let me know how many trains you have let pass you because they are too full.  Try waiting on a bus in the winter and count how many unfrozen toes you have left when you finally get on a bus with enough space.  And fares are going up, again.

Telecommuting is the perfect solution to Toronto’s congestion issues.  We’ll reduce traffic congestion, increase worker productivity through the reduction/elimination of travel time, and have a potentially profound positive impact on the environment.  Hey, we might even be able to fit riders on a subway car in the mornings.  There are plenty of other benefits, including increased work/family balance, increased job satisfaction, and reduced stress.

I’m sure there are many ways Toronto can encourage companies to adopt telecommuting as a standard way of operating their business, either through tax cuts or other incentives.  It would just take a little creativity instead of just taking the easy way out by just taxing more and more.

If you drive, would you pay added tolls or taxes and continue to drive to work?  What do you think about the idea of working from home?

Until July 11, people running Windows XP or Vista can pre-order upgrades to the home version of Windows 7 at $64.99 instead of $129.95 and the professional version for $124.99 instead of $279.95 “while quantities last.”

With sweet new features and an improved user interface, I have to admit I’m tempted to jump on this and pre-order.

I had TechCrunch and Scobleizer on the list but their recent redesigns look great!

Hopefully, without sounding like another design snob, I’d like to list some popular blogs that I hope get a redesign in 2009.

In no specific order:

1) Lifehacker

Really its not just Lifehacker but all the Gawker Media blogs.

2) LouisGray.com

Louis Gray has a great blog with some of the most interesting thoughts and topics out there, and a fresh design would be a great complement.

3) Techipedia

So much potential here, would love to see a design that incorporates the logo well.

4) Read Write Web

Read Write Web is one of my favourite blogs and the layout and typography isn’t really that horrible.  It’s mostly the header and logo that bug me.

5) ProBlogger

I used to like ProBlogger’s design — not sure what happened.  Maybe it was the increase in ads or maybe I got tired of reading Helvetica in such small font sizes (one of my web pet peeves).

6) The Last Podcast

Frederic runs a great blog here as well, but this template needs to go.

7) ChrisBrogan.com

I don’t actually have any real beef with his current design, personally I just loved the previous one so much more.  Bring it back Chris!

8) Performancing

Very helpful blog but I’m not a fan of fluid width layouts plus it really could use a refresh.  Not friendly with 17” monitors either.

9) Web Strategy by Jeremiah

Earlier this year, Jeremiah asked what he could do to improve the way his blog looks.   I suggested he change the background to white instead of light gray.  But now, I’m asking for more

10) Micro Persuasion

Not sure how flexible Typepad is, but I’d love to see what could be done here.

Now, before I get anyone lashing back at me, please consider that my intentions are not to be critical of these blogs as a whole.  I just think the visual aspects warrant some improvement.

Do you agree or disagree?  What sites would you add to this list?

But before the iPod fanboys and fangirls and Microsoft haters start getting on my case, keep in mind that these are my preferences, you aren’t going convince me to go get an iPod, k?

So here are my top reasons why. 

1. Wireless sync
2. The Zune software is way better (in my opinion) than iTunes or Windows Media Player
3. The value is great for the features you get
4. It’s really easy to use and I have no issues with the types of files I sync
5. It can store music, videos, photos, and now games
6. I also think Zune Social is pretty cool

So fellow Zune lovers, what else do you love about your Zune?

You can see it in action at the bottom of all my posts, courtesy of the ShareThis WordPress plugin (there’s also a JavaScript version available).  A tip for WordPress K2 users, make sure to turn off Advanced Navigation when using ShareThis.

Ay shawwwty, wha’yo flava iis?

Pixeling

ColorZilla
This is a great addon that lets you get the colour reading of anywhere in the browser.  It also has a colour picker with several palettes built-in.

Firebug
Edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript, live.

FireFTP
An FTP program built into Firefox.
My favourite feature: Keep directories in sync while navigating.

IE Tab
Open Internet Explorer-rendered web pages in Firefox and easily switch back and forth between IE/FF.

Measure It
I use it to measure the pixels of anything and everything inside the browser window.

Web Developer Toolbar
Several tools including working with CSS, forms, cookies, images, and more.
My favourite feature: Resize window (to 1024×768, 800×600, etc.)

FireShot
Enables you to take full page screenshots of web pages with additional functionality like editing and annotating.
My favourite feature: Full page screenshots with a customizable delay for Flash movies.

Social Media

Better Gmail 2
Includes a really nice skin for Gmail with additional options.  A compilation of the best Gmail Greasemonkey scripts.
My favourite feature: Real file icons for attachments (instead of the paperclip)

Del.icio.us Bookmarks
Allows you to open your Del.icio.us bookmarks in your sidebar or in the browser window and tag/save websites.

Download Statusbar
Use your status bar to see the progress of your downloads instead of that annoying popup window.

DragDropUpload
Instead of having to browse for files when uploading or attaching to an email, you can simple drag the file to the input area of the form.  The addon will automatically insert the path.

Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer
This extension saves your bookmarks to a server, where you can access it from any computer that has Foxmarks installed.  Bookmarks are updated so you can take them with you anywhere you go.

Greasemonkey
This addon enables you to install small bits of JavaScript (Greasemonkey scripts) to manipulate and customize page displays in Firefox.
My favourite Greasemonkey script: Pagerization.

PicLens
Hands down the coolest addon ever.  Great for viewing images, photos and video from Flickr, Google Image Search, YouTube, and more.  Just view the demo and you’ll see.

PDF Download
Don’t you hate when links to PDF open in your browser?  Or the take forever to open and freeze your system?  PDF Download lets you choose how to open/PDFs and even gives you the option of converting it to HTML.

Shareaholic
The best addon for sharing content on the web, period.

StumbleUpon
Great addon for random stumbling, sending sites to your friends and stumbling via interests or through various websites.

TwitterBar
Great addon for twittering on the down-low.  Just type your tweet in the location bar and send away.
My favourite feature: TwitterBar lets me know how many available characters I have left in my tweet.

What addons would you recommend?

Firefox 3 download day is an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours.  So download away and experience Firefox 3 for yourself!

UPDATE: Download links still not working? Try these direct download links:

• Windows
• Mac OS X
• Linux

Do you think MySpace, Facebook, and Hotmail are about as exciting as the Internet gets? Let me give you a glimpse into how RSS (Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, depending on who you talk to) helps enrich my Internet experience.

Holla At Me

In my earlier web-surfing years, I would go from site, to site, to site, reading all the new articles and updates on my usual list of websites. I had them all in my browser favourites and would go down my list to see which ones had some interesting new stuff for me to go through. That proved to be time-consuming: some sites had interesting stuff, many didn’t, and some had not even been updated at all.

Enter RSS!

Now, instead of going through my favourites or bookmarks, RSS allows me to subscribe to my favourite sites and let them tell me what the newest content is. The site’s RSS feed also lets me read older content as well. This is possible by using an RSS feed reader; my reader of choice is Google Reader. It takes all of my subscriptions and puts them in one place so I can see all the updates to favourite sites at the same time — no more bouncing from site to site means I save a bunch of time. Google Reader also makes it easy for me to organize my subscriptions and even gives me statistics on my reading habits.

There are many other feed readers out there, you can try them out and see which one you like best. The coolest thing about it is, I can even read a site’s content without even going to their webpage! However, this depends on how much the site lets you read through their RSS feed, but you can always click through to the website from your feed reader.

Show Me What You Got

RSS is great for sharing stuff and opens the door to a whole new way of being social; on the web! For starters, with RSS I can share my del.icio.us bookmarks (What’s del.icio.us?), my blog posts, and stuff from my favourite websites (using Google Reader).

Shey, you’ve confused me

I don’t blame you if the whole RSS thing still doesn’t make sense, but watch this video, these guys explain it much better than I can:

Here are some links to more information about RSS and how you can use it to enhance your Internet experience:

• 35 Ways You Can Use RSS Today
• 150+ RSS Resources
• The Ultimate RSS Toolbox – 120+ RSS Resources
• What is RSS and what can it do for you?

If you already use RSS, what other ways does it help enrich your time online?

Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts and questions!