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Friday, 06 November 2009

Twit Lists at Mashable
Author of the book Internet Famous (which is about making yourself famous using the Internet) Cameron Chapman writes about the various Twitter users that we all know and love over at Mashable. Check them out if you use Twitter and you are looking for your favorite star, musician or author to follow.
-Mashable's Mega List Page for the rest of Mashable's Mega Lists (a great resource)-
Twit Lists at Mashable
Author of the book Internet Famous (which is about making yourself famous using the Internet) Cameron Chapman writes about the various Twitter users that we all know and love over at Mashable. Check them out if you use Twitter and you are looking for your favorite star, musician or author to follow.
-Mashable's Mega List Page for the rest of Mashable's Mega Lists (a great resource)-
Twit Lists at Mashable
Author of the book Internet Famous (which is about making yourself famous using the Internet) Cameron Chapman writes about the various Twitter users that we all know and love over at Mashable. Check them out if you use Twitter and you are looking for your favorite star, musician or author to follow.
-Mashable's Mega List Page for the rest of Mashable's Mega Lists (a great resource)-

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

Microsoft Security Essentials
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
Microsoft's newest foray into the anti-spyware/virus category is called Microsoft Security Essentials. Hopefully this software will work better than the former failed Microsoft entry Windows Defender that I thought was a waste of my hard drive space. Its a free piece of software that works on Windows XP sp2/3 on up to the latest and greatest Windows 7 versions. Microsoft requires "genuine validation" with this program, so if you're running a pirated copy of Windows- forget about it.
Ok, I'm giving it a chance on my system (it free right). So far it looks and smells like the typical virus scanner in every way. It updates itself with new definitions before each scheduled scan, gives you real time protection (something that clam av doesn't), lets you set your own scheduling as well as excludes. It looks like Microsoft includes two levels of feedback to the mothership (Microsoft SpyNet) for us users; basic and advanced. The difference is that in advanced mode more specific information about the problem is sent back to Microsoft that includes file names and file paths. In other words, if you're paranoid - keep it in basic mode. Also, you can turn off real time protection which is good if you have another program that uses real time protection coexisting with Security Essentials. No extra firewall protection included with Microsoft Security Essentials reminds me that the anti-virus programs that are competing with Microsoft still have a chance as Windows firewall has a less than perfect reputation.
All in all Microsoft Security Essentials looks like a real player in the anti-virus market. Its free, it has a bunch of good feature that are not always found in the other free anti-virus programs out there, and its backed by Microsoft - which is probably its greatest strength.
- Already picked up something that Norton didn't.

Friday, 16 October 2009

Mozilla's Calendar Project

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/
Calendar programs are a dime a dozen these days. Practically every office suite has one to offer their users. However, if you are like me and prefer to use a disparate collection of different softwares to get things done you have to find one that works for your needs. I just started using Mozilla's calendar project Sunbird and it impressed me. Ease of use, iCalendar compatibility, open source, and free was my prerequisites for a calendaring program. Sunbird fit them all like a glove. Actually, one of the fingers needs to be stretched a bit as I felt that the program was lacking a taskbar icon interface (something that I prefer as I feel a calendar should always be right there any time its needed - its only in version 0.9 so maybe it will be added later).
Mozilla has two versions of their calendar project; one that is coupled with Thunderbird and is called Lightning, and one that is a standalone (the one I am using) called Sunbird. I really didn't care for Thunderbird when I tried it out for my email needs so I went with Sunbird. No, you don't need to actually read the help file or check out a tutorial to learn how to use it, Sunbird is totally intuitive with its layout and style.
Having iCalendar compatibility was a big deal for me. I figured that if I am going to use a calendar program I want to be able to export and import those calendars to whatever and wherever I am. In this transition into the Web 2.0 Internet being prepared for the different situations that may arise in the future is important. Its not a feature I need right now, but it is a feature I may need in the future - so its something I looked for. This way if I do need to publish a calendar online in say, Web Calendar, or some other online system I have the capability available.
All in all I am pretty pleased with Sunbird. It has all of the features I am looking for in a calendar program. There are version for all operating systems including Linux and Solaris (which are tough ones). The project is backed by Mozilla so that means there will probably be support for it in the future. The best part is that its free with no timeouts or nag screens to be annoyed with. Happy time tracking!