If you are running Windows XP and have an LCD monitor, you should be running Microsoft’s “ClearType”:3. Microsoft’s description of ClearType says:

bq.. With Windows XP, ClearType delivers improved font display quality over traditional forms of font smoothing or anti-aliasing. ClearType improves readability on color LCD displays with a digital interface, such as those in laptops and high-quality flat panel displays. Readability on CRT screens can also be somewhat improved.

p. Before, you only had the option to use the web-based ClearType “tuner”:1 which required IE (since it uses ActiveX). Now you have the option to download the new ClearType Tuner “PowerToy”:2. It allows you to adjust the settings locally, and has an alternative adjustment UI in the _Advanced_ tab.

[1(ClearType tuner page IE only)]http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/Step1.aspx

[2(Download page for ClearType Tuner PowerToy)]http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx

[3(Microsoft's ClearType page)]http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypeInfo.mspx

In the past, I’ve tried to link to Wikipedia for an explanation of the term “_screencast_”:2. Well, I’ve finally been able to do that, since a user recently posted the original entry for this term on the 13th of March, 2005. You can see this by looking at the “history”:3 view for Wikipedia term _screencast_.

Another recent entry to Wikipedia is the term “_podcasting_”:4, which was “created”:5 on the 2nd of Oct, 2004.

How about “_folksonomy_”:6? “Born”:7 on the 8th of Nov. 2004.

“Del.icio.us”:8? “Created”:9 September 1st, 2004.

Perhaps there is something to monitoring Wikipedia for new terms as they are “created”:10 and as they are “changed”:11… perhaps you can tap into trends very early in their lives?

[11(Wikipedia's recent changes page)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Recentchanges

[10(Wikipedia's new terms page)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Newpages

[9(Original Del.icio.us entry on Wikipedia)]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Del.icio.us&oldid=5779908

[8(Wikipedia entry for Del.icio.us)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del.icio.us

[7(Original folksonomy entry on Wikipedia)]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Folksonomy&direction=prev&oldid=7629254

[6(Wikipedia entry for folksonomy)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/folksonomy

[5(Original podcasting entry on Wikipedia)]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Podcasting&direction=prev&oldid=6313268

[4(Wikipedia entry for podcasting)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

[2(Wikipedia entry for screencast)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screencast

[3(Wikipedia history view of screencast entry )]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Screencast&action=history

Just watch Jon Udell’s “screencast”:2 entitled _Language Evolution with Del.icio.us_ all the way to the end. You can find a link to the screencast on Jon’s @del.icio.us/judell/screencast@ “page”:1.

[1(Jon Udell's del.icio.us screencast-tagged sites)]http://del.icio.us/judell/screencast
[2(Wikipedia entry for screencast)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screencast