If you ever wanted to include music notes in your HTML code, you can use the following:

• ♩ produces ♩ (quarter note)
• ♪ produces ♪ (eighth note)
• ♫ produces ♫ (beamed pair of eighth notes)
• ♬ produces ♬ (beamed pair of sixteenth notes)
• ♭ produces ♭ (flat accidental)
• ♮ produces ♮ (natural accidental)
• ♯ produces ♯ (sharp accidental)

And now you know. Just a little tip from your Uncle Fredo. Keep in mind though that these may show up as boxes or question marks on some browsers, but they appeared fine for me in current versions of Internet Explorer (Windows only), Firefox (Windows & Mac), Safari (Windows & Mac), Opera (Windows & Mac), and Camino (Mac only).

Search for just about any LGBT-related term in Google, and you’ll see a set of rainbow stripes (link via gooster) dividing the regular search results from the paid ones. Note that your browser window has to be wide enough for them to show up; in this case, the window pictured above is 935 pixels wide when viewed at full resolution.

And if you think the image above is doctored, why don’t you go see for yourself?

It looks like the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization is dropping the ball somewhat on the “Give One, Get One” deal they offered last year. Just as the 2007 holiday shopping season got underway, OLPC allowed people to donate $400 to provide a laptop to a child in a developing nation; in return, the donor an XO laptop of their own. Orders were to be placed by November 26, but the offer was extended until December 31. Many have been delivered, but many have also gotten lost in the shuffle.

My friend Steve participated in the program and got his XO earlier this month. I had the chance to see it for myself tonight and lemme tell ya, for its shortcomings this little thing is rather impressive!

The XO’s size was the first aspect to grab my attention. It’s incredibly small and could easily fit into a backpack with plenty of room to spare. Those of you who need a visual point of reference, I’d say it’s about the size of the first Harry Potter book (hardcover U.S. edition) with a handle added to it. The screen is 7.5 inches and the water-resistant keyboard is sized for a child’s hands. For its size and weight, I joked that it could give the forthcoming MacBook Air a run for its money. (It obviously can’t in many ways, but for basic web surfing and email, it’s perfectly adequate.)

Steve took the time to show me else what it can do. This included a terminal session, video chat (with the built-in web cam), networking and more. With the SD card slot, one could even watch video on the XO; Steve demoed this with an episode of “Prison Break.”

As for its shortcomings, there’s no optical drive with which to install software or watch video. It’s probably moot really, as that would really wear down the battery and defeat the purpose. And with the small amount of internal memory installed, you wouldn’t really need it anyway; you could just quickly download something. It’s my understanding there’s also no file manager, at least not one that you or I would be used to.

That said, this would certainly be considered a geeky little toy compared to the notebooks we get here in the U.S., but it is a useful one and it’s just so darn cute. I kinda regret not taking part in the program myself, but I didn’t have the funds anyway.

There’s also an XO user group here in D.C., the OLPC Learning Club.

A photo of the best (and nerdiest) kite ever. (link via Authentic Boredom)

For the font geek in all of us, Smashing magazine presents 85 typefaces, ideal for professional design projects. (via Jockohomo)

Here’s a timewaster for all you handheld gaming geeks out there: Handheld Remakes, web-based versions of the portable electronic games you remember from your childhood (and some you don’t). They even have a Speak & Spell. (link via Kotaku)