I use the Struts2 URL tag all the time to expand relative paths with the current context. I also use it to address images. I have not proven it, but today, I got the hint that an image to which an argument is appended, will be loaded each time the page is displayed. To prevent appending of additional parameters, use the includeParams attribute and set the value to none. Below is an example for a dynamically created URL.

The move from working on the desktop to working online has started long ago, but in a few cases I stick to old habbits. Of course, I cannot imagine to do Java development with Eclipse in an online enveronment where the platform and all the needed tools are on some server. This would slow down my daily work. But if you think of information such as web sites e-mails and RSS, then it makes sense to have it all somewhere on the web. Most of us use yahoo, gmx, or google for storing their E-Mails and have access from any host as long as they have online access.

Today, I started to move from reading my RSS feeds with Thunderbird to reading with Google Reader. The reasons are simple and yet decisive:

• My laptop is about 3,5 years old. A switch to a Mac is very likely. Moving all my downloaded feed content from my local Thunderbird to some future machine is time-consuming and almost infeasible.
• I want to access my feeds from any machine.
• I want to see my marked feed entries on any machine.
• I want to save space on my local machine.
• I want to keep my data safe.

I did not look for long. I went to NetVibes and Google and checked the idea of having an entry page. But this was not accurate. So, my second choice was to look into Google’s Apps. And guess what, when it comes to productivity, they have quite often a solution for you. In my case, it was Google Reader. And while I am moving my feeds and copy the marked entries (takes some time), I am pretty happy about my step. Does anyone of my dear readers use Google Reader, too. What other alternatives can you suggest?

Search sites that base their knowledge on semantic information are clearly progressing. Watch the awesome video of  Freebase Parallax. There is another interface here.

For a very long time, Google has been my primary search site/engine. The other day, however, I stumbled upon a few alternatives.

Cuil is a nice search site which encapsulates some semantic information. for instance, when you search for “Apache” then it will come up with hits distributed by category like “Software”, “Tribe”, or “Helicopter”. That’s quite useful and more accurate than Google’s hit list.

The other site I’d like to mention is SearchMe which is very fast. Results are presented a previews. That is, instead of clicking a link and going to the site, you can just browse WebSites more or less in CoverFlow. And the hits are also very accurate.