Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with 2.0

Architecture 2.0

lou — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 09:06:21 -0800

Calling all architects! How to revolutionize the field of architecture? Quick background. I'm an architect -- I design coffee shops and houses (new or remodel) for wealthy clients. More accurately, I'm at a designer/project manager level, not licensed, working for about three years. I'm in the United States.

I had a discussion with my friend about why revolutions in architecture have been slow or non-existent. I don't mean revolutions in building materials or construction practices or even green building techniques, I mean revolutions in the day-to-day practice of architecture, as compared to, say, software programming. The Internet championed a rapid spread of information around the world and gave birth to a new generation of young programmers or entrepreneurs who created new services from scratch and took over the world: Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Facebook...

Programming, to me, seems easier. In my previous life as a web designer if I got lost on a particular CSS attribute or needed to know how to get this tricky layout to work in IE all I had to do was click around on the Internet, and it wasn't long before I found the answer I was looking for. Support for PHP and mySQL were excellent. This is the kind of thing the Internet was designed for.

But now I'm an architect. And if I have a very real question about what kind of wall construction would be soundproofed for private conversations, or what a typical knock-down door frame detail looks like, or how thick a stud has to be so a wall is stable at 15'-0" -- for instance-- these are questions that are not always easily answerable by Google. Sometimes they are, but the quality and breadth of information that's readily available online for programmers doesn't exist for architecture. Instead we rely on calling vendors, consultants, engineers, architects with more experience. There's no central place on the Internet for shared information to answer a quick question. Why isn't there an architecture wiki?

I'm thinking of starting one. Here's the big question: if you're an architect, or work in a field related to architecture (whether that's as an engineer, or interior designer, or a contractor, or even a tile reseller) is there anything you've always wished you could find the answer to on the Internet but couldn't? Give me some examples of things you'd like to see. Would you use or contribute to an architecture wiki?

Bonus question: why is it, only now, that someone (Autodesk) has figured how to automatically link door and window schedules to doors and windows you draw? This is a trivial software problem, isn't it? And is there any open-source architecture CAD program?

Open source social networking or KM tool for an intranet

TheDonF — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:07:08 -0800

I'm either after a free, open source social networking app or a free, open source knowledge management app for my company's intranet. My company has two different change teams that work on large projects. One works just in customer service, the other works for the rest of the company. They want to share information on projects they've worked on and personal experience they have. To this end, I want to install an online app to support them. However, do I want a social networking app or a KM one?

I'm not after loads of features - the important thing is that people can document whatever they want to in an easy, non-code writing (ie, no wiki) way.

Can someone recommend either a social networking or KM app that they've used on an intranet? We're running version 5 of both PHP and MySQL. The only stipulation, other than it must run on that platform, is that it must be free.

Is there a decent wireless USB hub on the market?

getupandgo — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:53:05 -0800

Is there a decent wireless USB hub on the market? I'm looking to wirelessly hook up peripherals (printer, scanner, and external HD). I'm not terribly concerned with transfer rate on the HD, as I have two wired firewire HDs as well, and I don't use the USB one for large file transfers.

The Belken F5U301 looks like it would be a great product, but every review I have read indicates that it has some serious issues. Are there any similar wireless USB 2.0 hubs w/ dongles on the market that are more trustworthy? Any plans for any?

I'm on a Mac G4 running OS 10.4.9

What do I talk to techy teens about?

Deep Dish — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 14:39:38 -0800

I have to make a brief 20-minute presentation to some 12-16 year old kids who are interested in technology for a tech-focused summer camp. I need help figuring out something interesting to this age group, and what I should talk about The theme of the camp is Web 2.0 (which I am inclined to think is marketing more than anything, but I may just be a cynical, grizzled old vet). My areas of knowledge are system/network support/international development with a bit of incident/project mgmt, and I have practiced overseas in developing countries. I would love to be able to relate my discussion to gaming/blogs etc that would interest these folks (you may have to clue me in on what they are looking at).

Political topics such as globalization are not off limits and I have been gently prodded in this direction.

Any idea what I should talk about?

Dynamic web widget examples please!

mtstover — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 07:29:08 -0800

Web usability gurus: I'm looking for a great example of web technology that takes a range input variables and demonstrates quickly what the outcome will be for the user. I'm thinking of something where you can dial up and down specific elements, and the output is shown immediately. I'm really looking for a good analogy for a company I'm working with that sells a financial product online. There are some key variables that the user has to decide on which effect the final price of the product. Compound this with the fact that these variables are hard to understand for the user, and they probably need some guidance for what the "typical" answer would be and why.

So any web widgets combining dynamic variable adjustment with explanation, recommendation and clear visibility of impact would be great.

Thanks so much in advance Hivemind!

Cool places to stay a couple nights in San Francisco next week?

specialk420 — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:43:15 -0800

coming to San Francisco for Web2.0 expo next week. Where should we stay - cool convenient hotel (or other ... ) - expensive is ok if its super cool - or moderately priced and funky is fine too... anyone else going? Beers?

Job board services...?

pallen123 — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 06:56:38 -0800

Are there any good job board 'services'? (I'm looking for an actual service that I can host/manage, for a community job board)... I'm looking for something similar to careerboard.com or craigslist. Preferably a hosted business services -- one that I can setup and administer, define job categories, accept payments for job postings, etc.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Group Bookmarking

superfurry — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:17:08 -0800

Know of an online collaborative bookmarking tool for within a closed set of users ? Of course, there's I'm looking for an online service that will allow my small team in work to collaborate on a set of internet bookmarks/favorites (whatever you want to call them) but within our group only - not open to the public. Sort of like a hybrid between del.icio.us and irows, and equally free and easy to use. Any recommendations ?

Is there a keyboard shortcut for Google Toolbar in FF 2.0?

tickingclock — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 03:32:24 -0800

Is there a keyboard shortcut that moves the keyboard cursor to the Google Toolbar in Firefox 2.0? I've been an avid user of the Google Toolbar for a long time. Recently, I upgraded to Firefox 2.0 -- and to my surprise, alt + S no longer moves my cursor to the Google Toolbar, but instead, opens the "History" menu bar.

Because I am both a creature of habit and incurably lazy, I would love to be able to use some sort of a keyboard shortcut to search using the Google Toolbar. This page suggests that alt + S is the only way to do so at the moment.

Is there a way for me to associate some keyboard shortcut with the toolbar? Alternatively, is there a way so disable to shortcut that opens the history menu? Thanks in advance!

Sexy Web Based Wishlist Services

JPowers — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:24:23 -0800

I'm looking for a slick, web 2.0-esque, well designed wishlist site. The best I've found so far is MetaWishlist, which I'm not all that impressed with.

My chief concern is design. I want a sexy looking site.

Also, I want a site designed speically for wishlists. Not a work-around like using Ta-Da List or Delicious.

(Oh, and as much of a greasy fan boy I am for Google, the Froogle wishlist is fugly.)

Israeli and Ukranian Developers?

pallen123 — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 16:45:39 -0800

Where do I find lists of Ukranian and Israeli Web developers with own Web services/products? Specifically I'm interested in researching Web services/applications that have been developed by non-native English speakers from Israel and the Ukraine -- for potential angel investment. I've found a few through download.com -- clicking through to Web sites of software firms represented there (and finding Web projects or services). But this is a hit/miss approach and I'm wondering if there are any legit. lists or directories of these types of firms.

I've searched google's directory, but find lots of Web design companies -- relatively few with services they've developed and own outright.

Especially interested in Ruby.

list your fav shopping sites!

bradn — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 07:45:18 -0800

Please list your favorite online shopping sites, from a design, user experience, and functionality perspective. I work for a small consumer electronics manufacturer, looking to overhaul our e-commerce website.

I am looking for both web (department) stores and (especially) manufacturer stores that give you a good shopping experience.

We're also looking to keep people coming back to our site with community-based, interactive features, such as product reviews, forums, RSS feeds, etc, so please list any sites with those features.

Cool web 2.0 features, of course, get a bonus!

The blogger's voice and corporate response

kiwi.es — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 09:44:06 -0800

Hi I'm looking for examples of blog / discussion forum controversies with company responses -- threads which were in danger of becoming PR disasters and how a company came in and by responding directly quelled the concerns or at least gained respect... tall order?

How old is Web 2.0?

airguitar — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 10:58:12 -0800

How old is Web 2.0?

Any search engine ninjas out there?

zooropa — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 15:49:37 -0800

Does this exist? Search tool that displays multiple results from various news sources. This one is for all you search experts out there. Here's what I would like to do:

Let's say I have three companies that I am keeping tabs on and trying to follow all their news. Is there a search engine or Web 2.0 app that will let me plug in three or more companies (let's say Apple, Microsoft, Sun) and then display a single page with links for all their news stories (AP, Reuters, blogs, etc.)?

In other words, I could plug in Apple, Microsoft, and Sun on a page and it would return a page like this:

Apple
- story a (link)
- story b (link)
- story c (link)
- story d (link)

Microsoft
- story a (link)
- story b (link)
-story c (link)
- story d (link)

Sun
- story a (link)
- story b(link)
- story c (link)

Thoughts?

.Net 1.1 and 2.0 don't play well together!

antifuse — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 02:59:48 -0800

How can I use a .Net 1.1 assembly in my .Net 2.0 application? Here's my scenario: I have a .Net 1.1 assembly, provided by our Denmark-based development office. My application has been written entirely in .Net 2.0, referencing other internal .Net 2.0 assemblies and using nice new 2.0-specific features. In theory, we could get the .Net 1.1 assembly migrated over to 2.0, but is there any way to just use it in my application without having to go through all that hassle? I don't really understand how things like assemblybinding in the config file works, so if there's some way to do it with that I'd be glad to use it. The reason that I want to make sure that this .Net 1.1 assembly uses the 1.1 Framework is because, well, it accesses protected memory if I try to use it in the 2.0 Framework (and it's confirmed to work in 1.1 :)) It would be great if I could just get it up and running without having to worry about getting it recompiled into 2.0 - we'd prefer to not have to worry about all that hassle.

not so social bookmarking

bradn — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 08:38:56 -0800

Whats your favorite (social) bookmarking site? Please read details inside. I am enjoying Spurl.com as a bookmarking utility because I am able to access my bookmarks from anywhere. (sorry, I don't make much use of the "social" aspect, other than sharing my bookmarks).

The thing I really love about Spurl is the Spurl bar, which pops in on the sidebar just like Firefox's internal bookmarks. The thing I hate about the Spurl bar is it's kind of clunky, and could definitely benefit from some AJAX love.

I have tried "Another Del.icio.us Sidebar", but I prefer the folder structure to tags.

Are there any other bookmarking services out there with something similar to the Spurl bar?

Hub w/ maximum no. of unpowered USB ports?

vanoakenfold — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:15:59 -0800

I need an unpowered USB hub with the max number of ports available, for cheap. What is the max number of ports possible, and where might I find such a doozie? I know some are stackable, but most of the stackables seem to require power -- and I've already loaded up too many outlet plugs. Brand recommendations?

Actionscript Problem on how to flip a movie clip

spooksie — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 02:50:35 -0800

Flash Actionscript Problem. _rotation rotates a movie clip how do flip a movie clip (as in mirror image). I have tried _flip, _mirror and looked all over but cannot find the correct syntax. Cheers if you can help

Database schema for a site like 43 Things?

jlstitt — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:19:06 -0800

Can someone please help me understand how a database for a site like 43 Things (www.43things.com) works? There are users, tags for categories, user comments (for categories), and comments that can be associated with other comments. I understand that you would need a user table, a comments table, and a tags table but how do you create a schema for a site like this that works effectively? What kind of table structure is needed and how do the tables interrelate?

Looking for speakers with optical digital input

Mwongozi — Thu, 22 Apr 2004 10:52:13 -0800

I want to buy these speakers, but it seems they are only available from Japan, and other far-eastern countries. Does anyone know of anywhere I can buy some that will ship to the UK (Amazon JP don't), and have a site in English? (Or be easily decipherable by a stupid Brit?) Alternatively, can anyone recommend any 2.0 or 2.1 speakers available to the UK that have optical digital input? That last link won't be very useful if your Google preferences are set to "English only".