I ran across a tool today that I know I have looked for and wanted in the past: Applian. Honestly don’t have anything in mind to use it for right now, but next time I ‘need’ this I might give this app a try.

Well, I finally got rid of Slashdot on my RSS feed today. I cannot believe it took me this long to get rid of that infantile and unimportant source of technology “news”. The obvious anti-Microsoft slant was actually an attraction for a bit, lending a different side of the story to what I typical read, however Slashdot has become irrelevant as it continues to allow outrageous and inflammatory stories to be posted time and time again. No single posting led me to leave, but more the constant pre-pubescent bickering in the comments section combined with the lack of value in the news stories.

So, for now I am checking out Digg and Reddit to see if one of them can fill the gap. I’m sure there are others out there as well. 

I’ve been reading “How Would You Move Mount Fuji: Microsoft’s Cult of the Puzzle” lately and have become interested in puzzle-like interview questions lately. I see some utility in them as an interviewer in that you can examine how someone breaks down a problem space to solve unfamiliar issues. However, personally, I would rather see someone answer more practically questions that require coding in an interview. So for me, these questions are just fun brain-teasers to see if I can come up with the “correct” answer. Sometimes I do, but most of the time I don’t; trying to get better at it.

Nonetheless, here are some sites that have compiled these types of questions:

http://www.sellsbrothers.com/fun/msiview/

http://www.softwareinterview.com/

http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/webtech/012700-1.shtml

http://www.techinterview.org/

If you haven’t heard of GrandCentral, it might not matter because it is now changing names and getting some great upgrades. The service is now called Google Voice (Google bought GrandCentral a few years ago, but just now decided to rebrand it). This service is great for people who don’t already have VOIP service. Google Voice is free, as GrandCentral was, but they’ve added several new features including voicemail transcription (YES!), SMS support, conference calling, GOOG411, SPAM protection and low-priced international calling.

What I have used GrandCentral for in the past is to consolidate all of my various phone numbers into one. They give you a free phone number of your choosing and allow that number to be redistributed to any number of phones and cell phones. If someone calls my GrandCentral number, GrandCentral will recognize who they are, see if they are part of groups that I have pre-defined and distribute the call to any number of phones based upon the group they are in. When I pick up the call, I am given the option of talking to the person, listening in on their voicemail, or just ignoring it. This is a great service and has really helped reduce the amount of SPAM calls that I end up taking.