Newsletter for May 27, 2013
"Codename: Ready the Cody-Mobile!"
1. Newsletter EditorialGreetings dear readers, it's been 2 months since the last newsletter, so we have a full plate today. I'll start as I normally do, with some abashed self-promotion.
First up is call for assistance in funding the purchase of a "Cody Mobile" (just a fancy term for a cheap used car to be adorned with a DonationCoder decal). A grand total of $307 has been raised so far -- so any bit you can add will help.
Next up is a long blog post I've written on the idea of putting advertisements on the DonationCoder.com website, and some thoughts on the Project Wonderful ad service vs Google Adsense; we occasionally experiment with putting ads on the website and we're doing so again through June. I'm going to try to write some more longer original essays on the site, and hopefully with your encouragement see if we can't get a few more DC regulars to do the same.
You'll also find in this newsletter some interesting project announcements from members of our forum. In section 4 you'll find links to a very cool new open source music learning tool called Musicope by forum member czb and a fun science fiction magazine by forum member TaoPhoenix, as well as several new small coding snacks. And don't mix the new invention we came up with in the long-running gadget thread (section 2).
Finally, I want to reach out to those of you who might have never posted on our forum -- and ask you to take a leap and make a post. Everyone is welcome on our site and doesn't matter how knowledgeable you are -- and if you aren't sure where to start, check out the "User-to-User" items below. We're still a small community site whose value depends on user participation. I know I speak for everyone on the site when I say that seeing a first post from a new member is one of our favorite things.
2. User-to-User: Your Input RequestedWe love nothing more than having interesting discussions on our forum -- and we love when new people participate in the discussions. In each newsletter we try to highlight a few topics that we think might interest casual readers and that are good candidates for making your first post.
3. DonationCoder Software UpdatesThere have been a few updates to some of the DonationCoder-hosted software applications since the last newsletter, plus a bunch of updates by DC member Skwire, our resident speed-coder.
4. Member Reviews, Projects, Software Releases, and AnnouncementsWe love to keep up with projects that our members are working on, and hearing what our forum members think of software they use, and we've got some new DC member projects to tell you about since the last newsletter, including a very cool new open source music game by DC member czb. If you're working on something interesting -- let us know!
5. Entertainment and HumourYou've made it half way through the newsletter, so let's have a break. Go make yourself a healthy snack (in honor of the 30-day DonationCoder health challenge), and check out these fun websites and videos!
6. Software DiscussionThe Software Discussion section is one of the most active areas of the DC forum; some of the more interesting posts since the last newsletter are listed here.
7. Website Discoveries, Debates, Essays, DiscussionsWhat's new in cyberspace? What exciting new sites have been discovered by forum members? What's the current hot topic and debate? Read on to find out...
8. Developer's CornerThis section highlights some discussions that might be relevant for not just for coders and developers, but also people interested in entrepreneurial issues.
