If you’ve ever tried removing an object from a photograph using Photoshop software, you know how tedious the job can be. 

I can remove an annoying looking vase from behind someone’s head in a photo.  But that takes me about a half hour -  and my results look “photoshopped.” 

Well, never fear cutters and pasters, put that healing brush away and head over to Giveaway of the Day.  Today, they have the software Inpaint available for free today only.  I gave it a try on about 5 photos so far and I am impressed.  I can cut out a vase and have the photo looking halfway decent in about 90 seconds.

If you struggle with removing stalkers from family photos or removing ex-girlfriends/boyfriends from your best pictures, this is a good place to start.  Plus, it’s a load of fun to play with.

Give it a download and if you have any funny/interesting results, g’head and post some links to your pictures below.  Should be fun.

Download InPaint

Stuck for some ideas about what to blog about?  Give my blogging ideas generator a try.

Simply fill out a few fields like main topics of your blog, what your readers want and 20 general ideas.

Hint: For general ideas try copying and pasting web search terms people used to find your page.

As you fill in the spaces, you’ll see a word “cloud” form.  The most important words will be bigger than the others.  Just use those words to formulate article ideas for your blog.

You should be able to copy the Blogging Idea Generator on Google Docs and Spreadsheets to your own account and get to generating.  Comments welcome…

Update: if any of you would like to add your ideas to the template and help it become better, please drop me a line and I will invite you as a collaborator. This is a work in progress, so any help is greatly appreciated

Hey, if you like the blogging ideas generator, please Stumble this post so others can find it too!

Pros: Beautiful screen Great sound Thin and lightweight Fun and entertaining Cons: WPA/WPA2 wifi encryption buggy Apple broke accessory connections on older accessories Doesn’t quite make it as a PIM/Organizer

Update/Editors note: As some have pointed out, you may find some typos in this review.  I was pressed for time so I used Dragon Naturallyspeaking to write the review.  Please read accordingly.

I was sad to see my iPod color go away. Someone broke into my car got away with my iPod and my phone charger. That iPod served me well over the past two or three years and someone decided that they needed it more than me.

So in the market for a new iPod as well is thinking down the road about programming for the iPhone, I decided that it was time to buy a new iPod anyway.

This past Saturday, I was doing some browsing on Amazon of the I thought touches. I saw that the new second generation touch models were available! I had no idea that they were releasing a new line of touches until I saw them on Amazon. And considering I had a nice $100 credit from Amazon (due to my wonderful readers who click my Amazon links) I decided it was high time that I go ahead and make the purchase.

Here are my initial observations on the iPod Touch as both an entertainment and organizer.  Read on to see how it measures up…

Set up – Unboxing the darn thing was a hassle.  It came taped inside plastic clear jewel case. It took me a second to figure out I was supposed to remove the nearly invisible tape because I couldn’t see it. Once the tape was removed, I had to unclamp it from the case.  I had to apply pressure to the box to end it in order for the touch to come out.

The device itself is a beautiful thing. It is thin and only 1/2″ thick or smaller. There was just enough charge to turn it on for the first time. The screen is amazing. The colors are vibrant, the graphics are beautiful.

WiFi — the iPod touch immediately recognized my home network. However when I try to connect for the first 10 times, it would not connect. It kept saying bad access code. After doing this repeatedly, I started questioning whether I did have the password wrong. But alas I did not. There appears to be some sort of bug in the system where you can enter at your WPA key correctly, however it will not connect on the first time. So what I have to do and I did this twice last night, is to hit connect when it fails it okay and then hit connect again. I do this until eventually it does connect. So if you find yourself in that situation just keep at it and it’ll eventually connect

Music – the iPod touch 2G. requires iTunes 8. I am running windows Vista home premium at home, so instead of risking a crash.  I decided that I would uninstall iTunes 7 completely and then download iTunes 8 and install it from scratch. This little workaround prevented iTunes 8 from crashing and did find all of my music.

When I docked the iPod touch immediately began sinking my whole collection which is about 12 GB worth of music and spoken word. The first sync did not go well. Eventually iTunes 8 froze at about 130 songs in.

Compared to the iPod color when iTunes would freeze, there seemed to be no way to disconnect it from the link cable without having to reboot my computer. The iPod touch seems to fix that with an option where you can slide the slider and stop the synchronization. This prevented any data loss and iTunes detected the error and returned to its normal operation. The next synch got all the music.

Sound quality — The music sounds great. Which is one of the main reasons for owning an iPod right? Compared to my old iPod color, the touch sounds better. The iPod color had a problem with high frequency songs where it would distort on the higher notes. This was annoying and lasted the entire history of that device. The ultimate test of this problem is 16 days by Five for Fighting. On the new touch…no distortion. On that or other songs.

Accessories – I was almost hesitant to plug it into my Klipsch iFi speaker system. This system has served me well over the years producing crystal clear sound. I was afraid the new Touch would not work with the IFI. Well, I quickly plugged it in and it worked! I am happy about that. However, there is a charging issue with the docking cradle of the IFI. Unfortunately, in its current state, you can’t charge. I am hoping Klipsch or another company comes out with an adapter. There is a long list of complaints over at the Apple forum about this very issue.

I should also mention that since the 2G is so new, not many companies have accessories yet.

Video – I transferred an episode of The Wire to the iPod and gave it a quick screening. The picture quality was good. The sound was good. There wasn’t any choppiness or dropped frames that I could see. Having watched my fair share of short videos on the Pocket PC, this is probably the best I’ve seen on a handheld.

Even though I don’t normally go out of my way to watch videos on handhelds, I did burn about 3 hours the other night watching YouTube videos of Brian Regan and other comics. Instead of Youtube just being tolerable, it was one of the only times I found myself enjoying the hell out of it.

Maps – I didn’t expect much out of the maps feature but when I turned it on I was impressed. Using my wifi connection, it triangulated my location (my house) within 100 yards. I found it a little spooky in fact. A quick search for Starbucks dropped half a dozen pins on the map revealing the shops near my house and directions if I needed them. Pretty cool.

Clocks and Timers – a useful feature for timer activated workers like me is the clocks and alarms feature. There is a countdown timer I can use to work the 5 minute productivity secret or a 33 minute writing session.

Text Entry – I have big hands. Using screen keyboards and thumb-boards are difficult. Apple addresses this limitation with predictive text entry. When you make a typo (which in my case is every word), then it makes an educated guess at the word you were aiming for. As slick as this is, I still make a lot of mistakes that it doesn’t catch. I assume I won’t be thumbing out 50 WPM any time soon. I’d be curious if anyone else gets better results?

Would it make a good Electronic Organizer PIM? – The mail, calendar features, notepad, timers and alarm features are nice. You can sync them with iTunes and iCal. Do some hacking and you can get them on Google Calendar too.

Due to the text entry problem, I think the iPod touch is very limited in this area. Making a calendar entry that looks like Meet wiggt Gems isn’t going to work for me. Maybe I just need practice?

I don’t think I will be giving up my Dell Axim Pocket PC anytime soon.

Entertainment value – Overall, since the iPod is mainly an entertainment device, I think it passes with flying colors. The videos are clear, crisp and sound good. The music sounds better than my old iPod color.

I know I’m not the only one to try one of the new second generation touches.  If you’ve got one, post your thoughts below.

Here is my first application for iPhone.  It is a simple RSS widget that reads the headlines and full posts from my goal setting blog.  Hello world!
goal setting tips for iphone” width=”229″ height=”300″ />
I do not have an iPhone or an iPod touch — yet — so if you have either of these devices would you please, please download it and try it out?  I would like to know that it works as well on the real device as it does on the emulator.

So why iPhone?

Almost every day, someone asks me if I am going to start developing for iPhone.  For months, I have been thinking about how “great” it would be to do some programming on that platform.  However I am very strapped for time.  And I am not sure that taking on another project would be in anyone’s best interest right now.

Well, curiosity got the best of me.  This weekend and last, I spent a lot of time building a hackintosh so that I could install the iPhone SDK.  I wanted to see if I could develop on my existing hardware so that I would not have to go out and buy a new computer which would take up more space, use more electricity and require my tweaking and maintenance.

I also wanted to see what I was getting into with the iPhone SDK before I invested a lot of money into development.  So far, I am not disappointed.

Download goal setting tips for iPhone by pointing your iphone to this link:

http://persistenceunlimited.com/iphone/iPhoneGoals/index.html

I look forward to hearing from you iPhone and iPod touch users how you like the application.  Feel free to post your comments below or drop me an e-mail.

There is a new build of achieve it desktop available today.  I got a wild hair to play around with the Google APIs last week and ended up

giddy with the amount of functionality I could add to Achieve-it.  This new version introduces export to Google calendar.  It

also will let you use SMS messaging for both goal reminders and your “motivate me” daily reinforcements.  You can also

choose gCalendar pop-ups and e-mail reminders.

This conceivably brings many benefits of the software to a wide range of phones, including the iPhone. 

I am really excited by these new developments, so excited in fact, that I am releasing it now for early adopters to play with.  I

know there are some bugs that need to be squashed.  I am working to get them resolved A.S.A.P.

After changing your settings from Outlook to Google Calendar or vice versa, be sure to EXIT Achieve-IT! and re-launch it for the settings to take.

Note: by default, all Google calendar motivate me reminders will message you in SMS, Google calendar pop-ups, and via e-mail. You’ll

be able to pick and choose with the next build.

Download here…

Hope you like it.  Comments and/or criticisms are welcome in the comments below…

Back in the dark ages of the Internet, 1995 or so the number of web businesses you could start were limited.

There was web page builder.  If you didn’t like that, there was always web page builder. 

Now, there are options.   There are many little cottage businesses you can start.  Some require more experience than others.  But a little creativity can go a long way in creating a side business quick.

Photo by Steve Woods  

Seth Godin posted two simple web businesses the other day that are both great ideas:

The world needs fixed-price web podiatrists…  

So, a pretty smart web-savvy person could have a checklist of fifty items and work her way through a corporate website. She could come back with a simple, easy to execute list of things worth changing:
–put USA above Afghanistan on your country pull down list
–make it so clicking on your logo takes me back to your home page
–the font is too small on this page and it’s hard to read
etc….  

…Second gig: Web analytics pro. Someone who can, for a generous hourly fee, set up analytics for a website and do weekly reports (by email) that are actually useful and actionable.

I find myself in need of services all the time.  There’s just not enough time in the day to do it all.  So if you are wanting to dip your big toe into the water of entrepreneurship, here are 4 of my simple web business ideas you can start in an afternoon:

1.  Comment moderator - The bigger the blog or web forum is, the more comments.  With comments comes spam, off topic jeers and endless irritations for the blogger or webmaster.  You can relieve these woes by stepping in and firefighting all these comments.

2.  Virtual assistant - This one is great for the Jack or Jane of all trades.  Here you’ll handle day-to-day tasks for a business owner.  Making copies, writing emails and so forth.  Do the smaller tasks right and it will open doors to the bigger ones.

3.  Software/web support - Is there a software program or site you are head over heels in love with?  If so, you can be a support specialist for the product.  As long as there is software, there will be people who don’t know how to use it.  This is where you step in and save the day.

4.  e-book from Blog Creator - Prolific bloggers write a lot.  Much of their best stuff gets buried in their blog archives.  You can be the one to dig it out, format it nicely and convert it into e-Book format.  I think this one is my favorite because I need that right now

Do you have any ideas for simple web businesses you can start quick?  If so, share in the comments!

To get more articles on improving your success and personal income, subscribe to the the Persistence Unlimited RSS.

Nothing is more annoying than working in the zone and getting interrupted.  When it turns out Windows Update is pestering you to reboot, a double homicide is imminent. 

Microsoft likes to “help out” by installing patches in the middle of the night.  That is a good thing.  But whatever goodwill they earn with this convenience is immediately destroyed when first thing in the morning a “reboot computer” message appears.  And appears… and appears…

If you choose Restart Later, it waits about 10 minutes and then pops this screen up again.  Argggh!

It occurred to me some of you may hate this as much as I do, but you don’t want to go fiddling around in Services.msc or have to memorize “net stop” commands.  Worse is the articles that teach you to shut it off permanently.  If you shut it off for good, you don’t get updates unless you manually go to Windows Update.  In the long run, this can be more painful than rebooting as soon as you see the message.

So to address this problem, I created a simple little app called Leave Me Alone!  When you run it and click the “Leave Me Alone” button it temporarily turns off the source of these restart messages.  It is certain to boost your productivity when the WU Restart beast comes calling.

I see about 5 advantages to using this software:

1. You can get back to work immediately
2. Does not permanently disable your updates
3. You don’t have to memorize net-stop commands
4. You don’t have to fish around in the system services panel
5. You don’t have to set a system policy

Trivia:  I coded Leave Me Alone! in C#.  It is my first stand alone C# program.  Woot!  

Download Leave Me Alone! (Windows XP/Vista)

Want more free software that keeps you more productive?  Be sure to subscribe to my software-riffic RSS feed.

We all can use some help saving some bucks at the pump. 

The site Drive Smarter Challenge lets you enter your make and model of car and then kicks back a roadmap of strategies you can use to cut your gas bill.

I popped in my 2004 Toyota Solara and got back 6 strategies estimated to save me $430 a year.   Most of the tips were basic stuff like filling up your tires and clearing heavy junk (i.e. golf clubs) out of the trunk.  But it would be cool if some other people got some specific tips like “Install a sneezledoodle in your carburetor and save $1500 a year.”

via Curbly

As you remember, I had some bad issues with the blog a few weeks ago.  Since then, I’ve rebuilt it and restored all of the prior posts and comments.  One of the things I’ve actually enjoyed about the process is trying some new Wordpress plug-ins. 

Of them, the one I think I like the most is CommentLuv. 

The way it works is once a blogger posts a comment to one of my posts, CommentLuv will search their site for an RSS feed and build a link to their last post. 

Here’s an example of it in action from this morning.  When David Robertson posted a comment to my Famous Failures Video post, CommentLuv went out and found his most recent post: The Best – There’s only room for one…  So while everyone here gets the benefit of David’s wisdom in his comment, he also benefits from a specific link back to his most recent blog post (id est, the ethical bribe for blog comments).  

I know CommentLuv might be an invitation to spammers to post a response like “Hi” just to get a link back to their latest garbage.  Rest assured, I will be keeping a careful watch on that.  All posts off topic or just plain stupid will be deleted.

What do you think of CommentLuv?  Will it lead to more comments?  More spam?  Or is it just more clutter?

Today Google launched Google health – a service designed to help people manage their medical records.  Once info is uploaded, you can search for medicines, simple cures and more information about your particular ailments. 

It sounds like a great idea, but my first thought was about the potential privacy issues.   Do I really want my medical records stored on the Internet?  Having worked for a hospital IT dept. I know the privacy threats all too well.  It’s probably best to just get doctor’s advice anyway. 

Many of the doctors I know recommend Pubmed for topical medical questions.  But you don’t have to upload records to access it.

If you are still interested, Erick Schonfeld wrote up a A Quick Hands-On Look  at the service:

Whereas HealthVault’s strengths seem to lie in tying together different health information silos on the back end, Google Health is focusing more initially on the consumer side. It is trying to do an end-run around the health establishment by trying to get consumers to manually load their own medical information into their profiles. HealthVault allows this as well, but seems to have stronger partnerships with back-end health data providers.

Personally, I will choose not to participate.  But I am curious what you think of the privacy issues that could be associated with Google having access to your medical records?  Is it safe?  Or a bad idea?