dwb

Finally I have something interesting to contribute to this blog.

Wanna know how much yours or your neighbor’s home is worth?

http://www.zillow.com

Great story found at overclockers.com by Patric Daniels

I was inspired by this wonderful article “The Perils of Repair” to write what follows:

Communications in my life between my other and I are usually as follows: a few emails back and forth in the morning, a call at lunch, another call on the way home, and a final call before she comes by for the night.

That is, until yesterday.

Cell phones have become a prescription drug with extremely hazardous side effects & dangerous dependency disorders. It’s not my intention to bring out typical arguments heard about the same subject, more so and observation as to what cell phones have done to me and other “test” subjects. This isn’t a rant about annoying ring tones.

I’ll begin & quickly dispense with the main personal benefit of having a cell phone – so I can speak with those closest to me in the event of an emergency. This is THE reason, and by now, the only thing keeping me hooked.

I, like most of you, am constantly servicing everyone else’s computer. I do this for acquaintances at work, friends of friends, sons of bosses, etc – some of the friendliest people, but more often than not, completely dim when it comes to computer maintenance or even safely surfing the web. The problems are typical and usually software related.

I, like most of you, have become a permanent tech support rep for half of these people. I’m called at all hours of day and night. I’ve exercised patience with even the silliest of concerns, questions, and problems following my service.

Over time, I’ve noticed a change of tone in the voices of these “friendly & helpless” friends & users. This tone comes through thickest when it hits my voicemail. Plainly put, it’s a tone of authority fueled by an annoyance with the problem – and a greater annoyance at my current unavailability.

Since I’ve gotten older, I (sadly) have learned how easy it is to blueprint the thought process of most of the people I meet. I understand that these people can forget themselves at times due to frustration and helplessness. I understand that sometimes these people just need help.

I have come to the realization that this problem is far more serious. As cell phone users, we the people are expected to be AVAILABLE.

Let me say that again – we are expected to be available.

To the 8th grade student with 60 minutes a month, that doesn’t mean much. But when you possess a skill that the majority does not have, a skill that puts you on your cell with strangers and referrals, this can become a problem that far exceeds an inconvenience. It’s insulting, it’s an invasion of privacy, and it’s flat out obnoxious.

In extreme (and often) cases, user “X” calls and is angered by your absence. He’s shown me that a part of him thinks that I’ve got nothing better to do than to sit and help him out, usually with a problem I’ve already helped him with. A problem I’ve taught him to avoid.

God forbid we’re in the middle of a personal matter. God forbid we’re at work and cannot answer our personal phones. God forbid we are a generation of computer people with our own lives. God forbid… well, we just don’t feel like talking on the phone.

Greater Social Impacts

Let’s change course here.

I used to work for Jim. Jim has a semi-serious computer problem that I end up fixing. Jim is a respectful and intelligent man and only called me when he absolutely felt he had to.

Jim has a son – Michael. Michael watches me reinstall Jim’s PSU in their basement and small-talks. Later on, Michael asks me to go to a bar with him. No biggie, he is after all, Jim’s son. We have a drink, and I call it a night early because I was tired.

Michael starts calling me three and four times a week. At first, I told him (truthfully) that I was busy and didn’t have time to hang out on the weekdays. After that, I tried the cowardly technique of “not answering.” Dozens of calls and voicemails went by. Sooner or later my conscience got to me and I had to answer.

I tell him the following:

1. “I’m a full time employee/student.”
2. “I hate talking on my cell phone – to anyone – period. I do not have time to be having conversations, and I cannot make time.” (The first part of this is true.)
3. “I’ve got a lot going on right now, and I cannot make time for new friends.” (I know this sounds terribly insensitive, but it had to be said after weeks of calling.)

Michael continues to call. Here and there, every two weeks or so – “You never answer your phone, just calling to see how you’re doing.” Some of you might say this isn’t a big deal.

Every time I pick up my ringing cell and see that it’s him, I feel a hard pang of anger. I say it is a big deal… because Michael brings out the worst in me – he’s a person I have to constantly say “No” to.

Of course, I’ve got a cell phone and I’m expected to answer because after all, these things aren’t nailed to the wall next to the stove or anything.

So Yesterday….

I made a pact – my girlfriend and I will talk when we have to. She will call if she needs help with anything, or to be buzzed in.

Why? Well, I can recall the intelligent discussions my own parents used to hold after work. I saw the conversations that followed, inspired by the preceding discussions. No matter what problems they ever had, they could talk. It was refreshing for them to come home, see & speak to one another for the first or second time that day.

Sure, there are vacations and exciting circumstances that merit cell phone calls – I admitted earlier, I’m an addict.

But “Hello” “Hey” “What’s up?” “Nothing” (pause) is time that could be better spent – period.

I see a good deal of people in relationships getting sick of one another. I also see a good deal of controlling men AND women handing out agendas over cell phones. I hear a lot of fights over cell phones.

Mostly though, I just hear mindless chatter that’s spoiling that “Oh so fresh” feeling when you haven’t see your significant other all day. I haven’t had that feeling since High School and I’m really looking forward to it again.

Microsoft Betas for Vista & Office 12

Here’s where you go to sign up to be a “Tester”
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/msdn/betaexperience/subscribe.aspx
they send you the cd’s via snail mail…(free)
Here’s a legal way for all you guys interested in checking out beta vista!

Stealther – Firefox Extension

Quick Description

New version 0.9 is still pending editor approval. In the meantime, you can download it here:

http://www.zadet.net/stealther-0.9-fx+mz.xpi

VALID FOR VERSION 0.9:

If there are times you want to surf the web without leaving a trace in your local computer, then this is the right extension for you. What it does is temporarily disable the following:
- Browsing History (also in Address bar)
- Cookies
- Downloaded Files History
- Disk Cache
- Saved Form Information
- Sending of ReferrerHeader.

None of the affected options gets cleared totally as opposed to some other extensions which enable you to wipe these privacy issues with a single click, but at the same time leaving you without the history of your frequently visited websites.

Usage:
- [Tools / Stealther] menu option
- Toolbar button
- [Ctrl+Shift+S] keyboard shortcut

Options are available through Extensions dialog.

Tested & working with Deer Park Alpha 1 (1.6a1)

Download Here

Source: Boing Boing

A team led by ex-Winamp-er Rob Lord today released a preview edition of Songbird, a desktop media player that offers an open source alternative to services like Apple’s iTunes and the Windows Media Player. Instead of connecting to one locked store full of DRMmed goods, it can connect to any and all available music (and video) on the internet.

Code brains behind the project include people who helped build Winamp, Muse, Yahoo’s “Y! Music Engine” media player, and developers from Mozilla Foundation. Initial release is for Windows only, with editions for other OSes to follow in the coming weeks.

Built on the same platform as Firefox, Songbird acts like a specialized web browser for music. It sees the online world through MP3-colored glasses — it looks at an archive of public domain sound files or a music store’s catalog, and displays available media for you.

Site: http://www.songbirdnest.com/

Read more about it at biongbiong

Download: Here

Quick Description

Amazing Media Browser automatically searches for all embed objects in a website and shows you a list of the source links. You can then conveniently browse through each link to see the content of the source file. These usually are a Flash movie, a Window Media movie or a mp3 file link.

It can grasp pretty much all the file extensions that can be opened with Flash Player, Shockwave Player, QuickTime Player or Window Media Player. It even comes with a favorite links feature that lets you store unlimited links for later use.

This extension is a must-have for Flash/Shockwave addicting gamers, mp3 music fans, etc…

Download: Here

Publisher’s Description:

CPU-Z is a diagnostic tool that provides information on your CPU, including: processor name and vendor, core stepping and process, processor package, internal and external clocks, clock multiplier, partial overclock detection, processor features, supported instructions sets, L1 and L2 cache information, location, size, speed, and technology.
Latest Changes:

* Athlon FX-60 detection added
* Athlon64 new memory dividers
* Celeron 35x Cedar Mill, Pentium D 805
* Core Solo & Core Duo detection improved
* VIA C7 CPU detection added
* Intel i975X, i945GT chipsets support
* ATI RD580 chipset support
* ULi smbus support improved
* Fix smbus conflict with ClockGen

Screenshot:

Released: February 6, 2006
Publisher: CPUID
Homepage CPU-Z
Downloads: 52,868
License: Freeware
OS Support: Windows (All)

Download: Here

Publisher’s Description:

Rainlendar is a customizable calendar that displays the current month. It is a very lightweight application that doesn’t use much system resources or take much space on your desktop.

Screenshot:

Released: January 21, 2006
Publisher: Rainy
Homepage: Rainlendar
Downloads: 21,945
License: Freeware
OS Support: Windows (All)

Be sure to check out there website for diffrent skins.

Publisher’s Description:

Dead Pixel Tester – TFT screens have thousands of pixels, on a 1024×768 monitor, there are three cells for each pixel – one each for red, green, and blue – which amounts to nearly 2.4 million cells (1024×768x 3 = 2,359,296). There’s only a slim chance that all of these will be perfect; more likely, some will be stuck on (creating a “bright” defect) or off (resulting in a “dark” defect). Simply select a color then closely inspect your monitor in each of the primary colours checking for pixels that are not operating as expected. Stuck pixels (always on) are easier to noticed then pixels that are not on due to their size (normally under .5mm).

Released: January 25, 2006
Publisher: data product services ltd.
Homepage: Dead Pixel Tester

Screenshot:

Publisher’s Description:
GreatNews is a powerful RSS reader emphasising on usability. “Full-page” display makes RSS articles as easy to read as on newspaper. It can synchronize with Bloglines.

Latest Changes: View All Changes
Added: Full text search across all channels (Edit->Global Search)
Added: Blogspot/Atom channel auto-detect support
Added: GreatNews now updates local copy of articles if they have changed
Added: Article now can be configed to open in current tab, default browser, or new tab
Added: News watch now can be disabled
Added: Label property dialog now shows the number of items that have this label
Added: Channel Group expand/collapse state is now saved
Added: Search Channel dialog now auto-generates channel name
Added: News Watch properties dialog now auto-generates watch name
Added: CTRL+N to open current internet page in default browser
Added: Contact information in About dialog
Added: In Channel Properties page, CTRL+click Validate button will show channel raw xml instead
Added: Enclosure types are now user configurable in Options->Features page
Changed: Minor change to Automatic Update
Changed: Updated Traditional Chinese language pack
Changed: improved compatibility with wrong date format
Fixed: Compatibility issue with http://www.baravalle.it/phpGrabComics
Fixed: Partially fixed auto detects problem with sourceforge.net
Fixed: Channels always show in bold even if there’s no unread item if Windows default font set to be bold
Fixed: The annoying one pixel line when News List is hidden
Fixed: GreatNews reports improper shutdown error msg at startup if user shutdown Windows with GreatNews runnings
Fixed: GreatNews cannot display favicon if a feed use non-standard http port

Publisher: Curio Studio
Homepage: GreatNews

Screenshot:

Download: Here