Paste this code anywhere you’d like to display a list of recently updated posts and pages. You can specify how much item to show by editing the value of the $howMany variable.

<?php$today = current_time('mysql', 1);$howMany = 5; //Number of posts you want to displayif ( $recentposts = $wpdb->get_results

("SELECT ID, post_title FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE post_status = 

'publish' AND post_modified_gmt 

< '$today' ORDER BY post_modified_gmt DESC LIMIT $howMany")):?>

<h2><?php _e("Recent Updates"); ?></h2><ul><?php	foreach ($recentposts as $post) {		if ($post->post_title == '') $post->

post_title = sprintf(__('Post #%s'), $post->ID);		echo "<li><a href='".get_permalink($post->ID)."'>";		the_title();		echo '</a></li>';	}?></ul><?php endif; ?>

Credits goes to Corey for this awesome code!

To achieve this recipe, you’ll have to define a custom field named private, with true as a value, to each private post will have. In our WordPress loop, we’ll check if the post have a private custom field, and if true is its value. If yes, we’ll check out if the user is logged in. If he is, the post will be displayed. Otherwise, it will not.

Replace your current WordPress loop with that one:

<?phpif (have_posts()) :     while (have_posts()) : the_post();     $private = get_post_custom_values("private");         if (  isset($private[0]) && $private == "true"  ) { 	     if (is_user_logged_in()) {	     	    // Display private post to logged user	     }	 } else {	     //Display public post to everyone         }     endwhile;endif; ?>

I logged into LinkedIn today, the largest professional oriented social network, and was delighted to find out that you can add applications to enhance your public profile, collaborate and share with colleagues, and even monitor and track company news.

Applications for LinkedIn are just like applications that you can add and use in your Facebook profile. If you have a LinkedIn account, log into your account and visit the application directory here. There are not a ton of applications, but it’s a start.

Here is a quick overview of the applications currently available via LinkedIn application directory:

Reading List by Amazon

Just about every professional reads books that are related to their profession. As an IT Analyst, I am always reading books relating to new Internet technologies, Windows products, etc. Now you can share your favorite books and follow what others are reading by using the Reading List by Amazon application! Perfect for anyone who likes to read a lot!

Box.net Files

You’ve probably heard of Box.net before, but if not, it’s basically a free online storage service that you can use to upload up to 2GB of data for free. Adding it to your LinkedIn account, you can now upload important files and show them on your profile or share them with friends and colleagues. They can also collaborate on the files with you!

SlideShare Presentations, Google Presentation

Anyone who has ever worked in the corporate field probably has created at least ONE Powerpoint presentation in their lives! If you’re like me, you’ve probably created a bunch. Now you can showcase your best presentations by using with Google Presentation or Slideshare to upload your presentations and share them on your profile. You can view others also.

Company Buzz

Company Buzz is a great LinkedIn application because it lets you track and monitor what people are saying about your company. Basically, it searches through Twitter and finds all activity related to your company. You can view trends, tweets, and top keywords. You can also share all of this with your co-workers!

WordPress

This is probably my favorite application since I also run several WordPress blogs. Using the WordPress LinkedIn application, you can sync your WordPress blog posts with your LinkedIn profile so that every time you post, it will be reflected on your profile automatically. Great for bloggers or anyone who runs a blog related to their profession.

TripIt – My Travel

Now this is a great application for anyone who travels a lot. I personally don’t, but consultants or executives would love this! Basically, you share all of your upcoming trips, current location, and travel stats with colleagues and then you can find out when other people in your network will be in the same city. Perfect for meeting up with old buddies or getting face time with people.

So that’s about it! Those are just about all of the LinkedIn apps currently, but they can greatly enhance your profile if you start using them! With so many people already on the network, you’re bound to wonder how you ever used LinkedIn without them! Enjoy!

The Windows 7 M3 build that Microsoft distributed at the Professional Developers Conference 2008 in Los Angeles made its way to various P2P networks less than 24 hours after the distribution. It became known shortly thereafter that Microsoft did lock some of the features of the upcoming operating system in that build including the new Taskbar or the Desktop Wallpaper Changer.

Patches were created to unlock some of the features but until then no one did create a patch that could be applied to unlock all locked features in the build.

That wait is over now because Rafael Rivera created the Blue Badge tool to patch nine Windows 7 system files and unlock all locked features. It has to be noted that the files will not be backed up before the patches are applied.

A user wanting to apply the patch should make sure that they backup the files before applying the patch. Some of the features that will be unlocked are the new Taskbar and the wallpaper changer

It’s not every day I run into a recipe manager. However, if you really think about it, Gourmet Recipe Manager is one piece of software which could probably affect your daily life more than any other. You want a recipe with chicken, but no paprika or tomatoes, and at the same time be ok with your diet? You’d have a hard time doing this in real life, but now you can collect, manage and use your favorite recipies like you’ve always wanted.

What I really love about this freeware app is that it isn’t just a place to store your recipes by typing a list of items you need to make it, and some text of explanation. In fact, I’m testing the application as I write and I am more and more impressed with it. I added “curry” as an ingredient and I immediately got three suggestions (curry, green curry and curry powder). More on the details later on, let’s take a look at installing it.

Gourmet recipe manager is meant for the GNOME environment, which means Linux, however, it works an all systems supporting the GTK environment, which means Mac and PC users can rejoice! The current Windows version is 0.13.4, one version behind the latest. Is suggest downloading ” gourmet-0.13.4-1-full_gtkglade-2.12.9.exe” which includes the GTK environment. One note to Windows users. i couldn’t run the app, I got some error, then I went to its install folder, ran “Gourmet_debug.exe” and now it works. I don’t know if this will work for you, let’s hope so. Ok, let’s see what this app can do!

The whole system of Gourmet Recipe Manager is awesome! Adding a recipe is a 4 step process. First you have to add some general info like type of food, cooking time and so on. The you can add ingredients, which I have previously said is done in a very cool way. There is a small details menu at the bottom, expand it and add the items there, I think it is more accurate and easy to use this way. When you enter an ingredient the ingredient key and shopping category will change automatically. I haven’t come across an ingredient it doesn’t recognize, from curcuma to coriander, it knows all spices, and everything else! Once done just add the instructions and the notes. I think it makes sense to make the instructions as short as possible and add notes for less experienced budding chefs.

When you have a recipe you have another set of tools at hand. Taking a look at the recipe card you can take a look at the nutritional info. You may have to add the missing info, but this is as simple as clicking on an automatic searcg entry. For example, there were two selections I could make for chicken breast, I just had to choose on. i immediately got detailed nutritional information on my recipe, great for when you’re going on a diet, or if you want to live a healthy life.

You also have a shopping list generator. Again, the whole mentality of the app is in here. Some very simple things are added to make your life easier, like being able to drop an item into an “already have” list. This is great since a recipe may well need salt and pepper, which you probabyl already have at home. You can then print the list and start shopping. You can actually add other items to the list, so you can input your non-recipe items if you want.

As you can see I’m very excited about this application. I like cooking and eating, but this is only partly the reason. For me it represents the perfect piece of software. I’m sure it has some problems, I’ve only been using it for a day, but the whole mentality in which it was developed is great. This is the type of software which gives you exactly what you need for the purpose it is used. It has great practical things built in, and despite the narrow niche it fills, it is quite flexible. I’m off to donate on the sourceforge page!

Microsoft Corp. is working on a software distribution scheme along the lines of Apple’s iPhone App Store, CEO Steve Ballmer said yesterday at a developer’s conference in Sydney, Australia.

But Microsoft has no plans to mimic Apple Inc. in another way, Ballmer added, rejecting the idea of using the open-source WebKit rendering engine to power the company’s Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser. Apple relies on WebKit as the foundation of its Safari browser, as does Google Inc. for its Chrome.

During the question-and-answer portion of his time on stage at an event the company billed as "Liberation Day" for Australian developers, Ballmer said that Microsoft will soon launch a service that will let programmers sell their wares directly to consumers.

"I actually will agree that there’s some good work, particularly at Facebook and also with the iPhone, where both of those companies have made it easier for developers to distribute their applications," Ballmer said when asked whether Microsoft would provide a way for developers to create software and distribute it directly to users.

"[They've] made it easier to kind of get exposure for your applications," Ballmer continued. "There’s not much money being made, but the general concept of giving developers a way not only to get their code distributed, but to really get visibility for the code, is a good idea."

Apple’s App Store, which launched in July along with the iPhone 3G, has been a phenomenal success, according to CEO Steve Jobs. During a conference call last month with Wall Street analysts to discuss his company’s most recently concluded quarter, Jobs said that users had downloaded 200 million programs from the App Store since its debut, and that the online mart — the only officially sanctioned way to add new capabilities to an iPhone — boasted more than 5,500 applications.

Facebook, meanwhile, has allowed third-party developers to market software on the social networking site since May 2007.

Ballmer hinted that something similar would be coming soon from Microsoft. "We debated long and hard before the [Professional Developers Conference] whether we ought to disclose some of the things that we’ve got in progress," Ballmer said. The conference was held in Los Angeles last week.

"We decided the answer was ‘Not ready to talk about those yet,’" Ballmer continued. "But fear not, we’re hard at work, and you’ll see some of the benefits [of that] with some of the concepts, particularly Facebook’s."

Ballmer’s lean toward Facebook makes sense. In June, Microsoft said it had prototyped a Facebook knock-off dubbed "TownSquare" and was testing it inside the company. According to Microsoft, TownSquare was designed to run inside enterprises.

Although Microsoft may soon mimic Apple’s App Store, Ballmer was less willing to admit his firm would copy Apple in another way.

When a developer asked Ballmer to "explain why IE is still relevant" and questioned Microsoft’s use of its own rendering engine, Trident, rather than the open-source WebKit engine, Ballmer rejected the idea that all browsers should use the same foundation.

"I think there will continue to be a lot of proprietary innovation by us, and other people, inside the browser itself," said Ballmer. "A company like ours needs to have [its own] rendering service. It is important that we have a browser that embraces [Internet] standards, but also allows us to have innovative extensions even before the standards bodies go there."

Ballmer did say that he thought WebKit was "an interesting thing" — though he mentioned only Apple by name, omitting Microsoft’s even bigger rival, Google, which also uses WebKit — and added that Microsoft might consider the open-source engine. Even then, however, he stuck up for IE.

"From time to time, we may take a look at [WebKit], but right now we feel very confident in our browser team and its availability to execute," Ballmer said.

Microsoft is currently working on IE8, which hit Beta 2 in late August. The company has not set a delivery date for the final code of the new browser, however.

The “Pride of Wales”, Joe Calzaghe continues his quest towards becoming the best fighter on the planet as he visits New York City for the first time ever. The current Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion puts his undefeated record on the line versus the legendary Jones, Jr.
Roy Jones, Jr. has long been recognized among the World’s top pound-for-pound fighters, winning five World Championships in four different weight classes. Jones will look to continue his win streak at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” where he defeated Puerto Rican superstar Felix “Tito” Trinidad in an epic showdown this past January.

Live Link

Lee Mathews over at the Download Squad mentioned a tool that could be used to create ISO images. ISO Creator, the name of the application, can be used to create ISO images from files or folders of the computer’s hard drive.

The benefits of creating ISO images and mounting them in Windows might outweigh the negative aspects. The main benefit is file management. Instead of having many folders and files scattered around the hard drive there is only one ISO file containing all the files. It’s not a difference speed wise either because the files are still located on the computer’s hard drive. The only negative aspect of this procedure is the fact that no new files can be added to the ISO image. The user would have to copy all files back to the computer, add the new ones and create a new ISO image.

The Free ISO Creator makes use of an easy to use interface that basically concentrates on adding files and folders using a file browser. It is possible to set a size limit for the ISO image. The three default sizes 700 MB, 4.5 GB and 8.0 GB are available as well as an option to create a custom sized ISO image which can be easily mounted as well.

A few additional options like creating a bootable image or selecting a different file system for the ISO are available. Conversion of the files usually does not take longer than a few seconds depending on the size they occupy on the hard drive and some additional parameters like the hard drive’s speed.

The ISO images can be mounted or burned to CD or DVD afterwards.

First, you’ll have to create each different layouts you’d like to use. In this recipes, they’re named single1.php and single2.php. The default posts template is single_default.php.

Once you have your templates ready, insert the following code on your regular single.php file. When single.php will be called, this code will automatically include your custom layout based on the current category id.

<?php  $post = $wp_query->post;

  if (in_category('1')) {      include(TEMPLATEPATH.'/single1.php');  } elseif (in_category('2')) {      include(TEMPLATEPATH.'/single2.php');  } else {      include(TEMPLATEPATH.'/single_default.php');  }?>

Avatars are all over the Internet. Instead of placing your own personal photo on a website, you can easily substitute it for an avatar. Usually, an avatar can best be described as a virtual representation of yourself.

Forums, blogs, and personal websites are always asking you to post an image of yourself. Although most web surfers don’t mind doing so, sometimes you’d rather use something else. Search the Internet for a couple of minutes and you’ll find tons of websites that offer free avatar making capabilities.   

Earlier I wrote about Gizmoz, a free service where you can create your own avatar online. But there’s more sites too!

DoppelMe is a completely free web service that will allow you to create your virtual self with ease. To get started, just click the “Create” tab and you’ll be guided through the creation process. Select your preferred gender, skin color, and eye color.

You can begin to see the changes you’ve chosen by viewing the DoppelMe avatar located on the left side of the page. The next step involved in customizing your personal DoppelMe is to choose a facial expression. There’s a small group available for you to select from. If you’re unsure about which one to pick, consider testing each one.              

Decide on the best hairstyle, eyewear, clothes, and other accessories for your DoppelMe avatar. If you’d like to add an even bigger personal touch, place a background behind your avatar as well. This will allow it to stand out a little bit more.             

Decide on the best hairstyle, eyewear, clothes, and other accessories for your DoppelMe avatar. If you’d like to get add an even bigger personal touch, place a background behind your avatar as well. This will allow it to stand out a little bit more.

Some of the extra features require you to create and sign into your newly created account. Register for a free DoppelMe account once you’ve finished configuring your personal avatar. Enter an easy to remember username, valid email address, location, birth year, and the displayed security code. 

After you’ve logged into your DoppelMe account, you’ll need to save your customized avatar. You’ll also have access to some of the features that required you to log in first. Change some of the settings of your avatar at anytime or create multiple ones.

Adding your DoppelMe avatars to a website can be done by cutting and pasting the html code onto it. Include your personal avatar into an email signature as well. Once your friends and family members spot your DoppelMe, they’ll want to know how to create their own.   

Visit the DoppelMe homepage and begin building an avatar to represent you in chat rooms, blogs, web pages, and forums. Let it represent your online personality instead of a boring image. It’s totally free and fun to create. Within a few minutes, you’ll have an impressive avatar worth sharing.

Ms Yokum
Tech Enthusiast & Blogger