Giving Your Computer a New Look

Giving Your Computer a New Look:

A fantastic collection of visual styles and graphics for Windows XP. The site also provides wallpapers and icon sets for Macs.

(Via digg.)

The All-In-One Card

The All-In-One Card:

This card would make mp3 players like iPod history and most PDA's and cell phones look bulky and old. It is called "All-in-One Card" or AIO Card" (or Advanced Input Output Card) It has almost everything you need in a modern gadget and more.

(Via Sun Bloggers.)

Ummm... Wow!

The Ethical Hacker Network - Anatomy Of A Hack

The Ethical Hacker Network - Anatomy Of A Hack:

Web 2.0 Companies I Couldn't Live Without

Web 2.0 Companies I Couldn't Live Without:

There have been numerous 2005 'best of' and 2006 'predictions' posts over the last few weeks as the year comes to an end. I'm not going to write one of those. Giving out 'best of' awards seems presumptuous to me, given that I've been blogging all of six months. And while predictions are fun, they aren't all that useful in the end.

(Via TechCrunch.)

Top 8 reasons Mail.app sucks

Top 8 reasons Mail.app sucks:

It looks like we here at TUAW are not the only ones who aren't thrilled with Mail.app (I, personally, use Entourage but that's a different post entirely).%uFFFD Someone has posted their top 8 reasons Mail.app sucks. They probably could have pushed their way to 10, but top 10 lists are so 'played,' as the kids say.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

I stopped using Mail.app because its spam filtering was terrible compaired to Thunderbird. So I just use thunderbird now.

Setting up OS X as a VPN server

Setting up OS X as a VPN server:

Maclive.net has just posted a great article that explores setting up an OS X VPN server as well as connecting to that server from a Mac or a Windows box.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Little known Outlook features

Little known Outlook features:

AOL Instant Messenger status shows up in Outlook...even if you don't use AOL IM. I have no idea how Outlook does this but I noticed it yesterday. I was reading an email from a friend and noticed the yellow AOL icon next to her name in the email, along with the blue "pawn" icon from MSN Messenger. I hovered over the yellow AIM icon and it said "This user is available". I hovered over the blue MSN icon and it said "This person is not an online contact". I don't have AOL IM loaded on my PC so I have no idea how Outlook figures out that this person has AIM and is online. When this person goes offline the AIM icon disappears.� This same behavior can be seen if you open your Contacts list. Amazing!

(Via Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing.)

Dave Winer working on new RSS aggregator?

Dave Winer working on new RSS aggregator?:

Looks like Dave Winer is working on a new aggregator. This is cool because his style of �river of news� aggregators is far more appropriate than the �folder by folder� or �3-pane� approach that I�m using currently. Why? The folder-by-folder approach requires you to be pretty anal about reading all your feeds and makes you mentally tired if you fall behind. Sorta like email. It�s to the point sometimes that I dread opening up Outlook

(Via Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger.)

Update: how to protect yourself from the latest Windows vulnerability

Update: how to protect yourself from the latest Windows vulnerability:

Ed Bott posted this temporary remedy to make sure your system cannot be compromised by the recently announced Windows vulnerability Cameron posted about earlier. This is a temporary fix and Ed's instructions include a means to undo the fix once Microsoft comes up with a more permanent solution.


(Via The Unofficial Microsoft Weblog.)

Vista's Virtual Folders - A New Way to Work

Vista's Virtual Folders - A New Way to Work:

I am a system administrator, so I have more than the average user�s volume of information to manage in a variety of file formats. I spend too much time right now trying to organize and store all the data I have for each person, category, subject, meeting, etc. Virtual Folders will really help me work faster and will finally allow me to have items appear in multiple topic-related folders without having to use shortcuts or - gasp - duplicate copies of a file. I can't wait to amaze my bosses with how these folders work.

(Via The Unofficial Microsoft Weblog.)

What Tech Skills Are Hot For 2006?

What Tech Skills Are Hot For 2006?:

Developers, security experts and project managers will be in demand. Its about time.

(Via digg.)

New WOW Alliance Race Leaked by Feb. 06 Computer Gaming Magazine

New WOW Alliance Race Leaked by Feb. 06 Computer Gaming Magazine:

According to some scans of what appears to be the Computer Games Magazine February 2006 Issue the Draenei have been confirmed as the new Alliance race. Read the full article for the rest of the info.

(Via digg.)

Complete introduction to CSS

Complete introduction to CSS:

This article will take you through the beginning stages of picking up CSS. Covering; where to put your style sheet, creating a class, common CSS attributes, applying CSS to a HTML attribute, redefining a tag, shorthand CSS, pseudo elements and media-dependent style sheets.

(Via digg.)

Malicious software targets Google AdSense ads (Jenstar/JenSense)

Malicious software targets Google AdSense ads (Jenstar/JenSense):

Malicious software targets Google AdSense ads� �� It was only a matter of time before a trojan or virus targeted AdSense or YPM for malicious activity, and the time has come.� A new trojan horse discovered by an Indian publisher replaces Google AdSense ads with their own ads �

(Via tech.memeorandum.)

New exploit blows by fully patched Windows XP systems (Sunbelt BLOG)

New exploit blows by fully patched Windows XP systems (Sunbelt BLOG):

New exploit blows by fully patched Windows XP systems� �� We saw a new nasty exploit yesterday around 5:00 PM.� This is a totally new exploit and is not the same one posted by FrSIRT back on 11/30/05.� �� We have a number of sites that we have found with this exploit.� Different sites download different spyware

(Via tech.memeorandum.)

Intel's 4-core Extreme Edition gets reviewed

Intel's 4-core Extreme Edition gets reviewed:

Intel's new 'Presler' chip is touted as the Pentium Extreme Edition 955. It has two cores and two HyperThreaded 'virtual' cores for the ultimate multi-tasking performance. All the pics and the benchmarks in here!

(Via digg.)

WordPress 2.0 is offical

WordPress 2.0 is offical:

I just downloaded the newest svn build of wordpress and they just changed the version to 2.0. Now they just have to reupload wordpress.org

(Via digg.)

Test Post

This is a test post from the performancing extension for Firefox.

Gizmo Gives Adium a Voice

Gizmo Gives Adium a Voice:

Installing it is pretty simple. Go to this page, hit install, and the software downloads and self installs. Exit Adium, and restart, fill out your Gizmo Project username and password, and you are good to go.

(Via Om Malik's Broadband Blog.)

Holy Cow! That installation was super simple. Now thats good software!

Want your KDE look like OS X?

Want your KDE look like OS X?:

Many people are interested in getting their linux or BSD desktop interface to look as much like Apple's very successful OS X gui as possible. Now you can do it by yourself.

(Via digg.)

Free Battlestar Galactica download from iTunes

via digg.com

Linux Clustering Made Easy: GNU Que

Linux Clustering Made Easy: GNU Que:

GNU Queue makes it easy to cluster Linux workstations. If you already know how to control jobs running on your local machine, you already know how to control remote jobs using GNU Queue. You don't even need special privileges to install and run GNU Queue on your cluster--anyone can do it.

(Via digg.)

Twelve Free CSS Navigation Menu Designs

Twelve Free CSS Navigation Menu Designs:

Twelve free CSS navigation menus, ready to use for commercial or private use.

(Via digg.)

World of Warcraft players use virtual snowballs to deal with Gold Farmers!

World of Warcraft players use virtual snowballs to deal with Gold Farmers!:

e witnessed one gold farmer get pelted with dozens of snowballs after she sent several "Want to Sell" messages over Ironforge's city chat. Over several minutes, the farmer was bombarded with more than a hundred snowballs and fled out of the city. Eventually, the spamming stopped.

(Via digg.)

Google Hires Inventor of Python

Google Hires Inventor of Python:

Since Google uses Python extensively in its own projects, perhaps it was only a matter of time..

(Via digg.)

PHP-Based User Authentication

PHP-Based User Authentication:

This tutorial is intended for the PHP programmer who is generally familiar with authentication, but who would be interested in learning a practical method for authenticating access to one or more Web site pages.

(Via GoodPHPTutorials.com RSS Feed.)

10.4: Install Apache2, PHP5, and MySQL5

10.4: Install Apache2, PHP5, and MySQL5:

Here's how I installed Apache2 (version 2.0.55) and MySQL5 (Standard 5.0.16 for Mac OS X 10.4) on OS X 10.4

(Via macosxhints.)

Helix updated for OS X

Helix updated for OS X:

It's been a long time coming, but Helix 6 is finally available. That means a complete switch to Helix for OS X is finally possible. That also means no server running on OS X, clients running in Classic. For those who don't know, Helix is a powerful database app� similar to FileMaker. The core tool, Helix RADE, is a visual tool for programming relational databases, and creating apps built on those databases.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Easy RSS feeds in PHP

Easy RSS feeds in PHP:

Providing a RSS or Atom feed based on a Database request on a table of Post requires more or less always the same code. The symfony framework writes this code for you, so that the development of a RSS feed in PHP takes only a couple minutes.

(Via GoodPHPTutorials.com RSS Feed.)

Thinking Outside the Grid

Thinking Outside the Grid:

CSS has broken the manacles that kept us chained to grid-based design...so why do so few sites deviate from the grid? Molly E. Holzschlag can tell us that the answer has something to do with airplanes, urban planning, and British cab drivers.

(Via A List Apart.)

Sensible Forms: A Form Usability Checklist

Sensible Forms: A Form Usability Checklist:

Sometimes it's the little things that drive you nuts. As many of us have probably noticed during this season of holiday shopping, usability problems in online forms can be infuriating. Brian Crescimanno helps solve the problem with a checklist of form-usability recommendations.

(Via A List Apart.)

PHP Cookies

PHP Cookies:

A cookie is often used to identify a user. A cookie is a small file that the server embeds on the user's computer

(Via GoodPHPTutorials.com RSS Feed.)

How to setup a MySQL cluster on Linux

How to setup a MySQL cluster on Linux:

An article on how to setup a MySQL DB cluster using two servers and a third server as a management node on Linux.

(Via digg.)

Learning JavaScript Basics

Learning JavaScript Basics:

This detailed article covers the basics for a beginner to learn JavaScript. Also, simple code samples along the way as you learn.

(Via digg.)

Uploading Files with PHP

Uploading Files with PHP:

In this article, we look at a simple strategy for allowing users to upload images to your web site.

(Via Big Nerd Ranch Weblog.)

John Spencer , the actor who plays...

John Spencer , the actor who plays...:

John Spencer, the actor who plays Leo McGarry on The West Wing, has died, at 58. Ouch.

(Via Scripting News.)

He played my second favorite character on that show. A sad day.
:(

SANS - Internet Storm Center - Cooperative Cyber Threat Monitor And Alert System

SANS - Internet Storm Center - Cooperative Cyber Threat Monitor And Alert System :

Looks like Hotmail and MSN are having problems receiving mail from specific Internet Service Provider networks.

(Via .)

BlogCommerce HOW TO: Adding Ecommerce To Your Blog

BlogCommerce HOW TO: Adding Ecommerce To Your Blog:

So you want to sell products directly from your blog? We have already decided it could be a great idea for creating revenue, let's take a look at how exactly we add ecommerce capability to your blog.

(Via Performancing.com - Helping Bloggers Succeed.)

Debugging techniques for PHP programmers

Debugging techniques for PHP programmers:

This article details various methods for debugging PHP applications, including turning on error reporting in Apache and PHP, and by placing strategic print statements to locate the source of more difficult bugs through a simple example PHP script.

(Via digg.)

Structured Blogging

Structured Blogging:

Structured Blogging is a way to get more information on the web in a way that's more usable. You can enter information in this form and it'll get published on your blog like a normal entry, but it will also be published in a machine-readable format so that other services can read and understand it.

Brief: Nessus 3 released, remains free

Brief: Nessus 3 released, remains free:

(Via SecurityFocus News.)

6 months straight in an Internet Cafe:

A college dropout in Nanjing has spent the last 6 months in a Internet cafe sleeping, eating and playing World of Warcraft. The woman who delivers food to him no longer wants to get near him because of the smell.

(Via digg.)

Web 2.0 and Me:

Hmmm...If Web 2.0 is nothing but read/write web as Hal Stern says it is, then I might as well disconnect my broadband and go back to reading good old fashioned printed material. At least, I know who the frick wrote and published that damn thing.

(Via Sun Bloggers.)

I guess I have a more trusting attitude.

Ummm... I have a bookmarklet in my browser that launches marsedit with the title of the web page with a link to the site, and the selected text from the article. I just clicked on it for the first time inside firefox 1.5. I guess they have added a feature for security where a dialog pops up asking if you really want to do this. Only problem is the dialog was a long dialog, with the ok/cancel buttons of the screen. And since this was a dialog, I couldn't move the window around so that they buttons do appear on the screen. This left me no choice but to press enter hoping OK was selected. Ummm... I'd already checked remember this choice checkbox! Oooopps!

Firefox 1.5 is really getting irritating.

Update: The way I solved this problem was in Firefox type:
about:config

This brings up configuration options you can change for Firefox. Sort of like editing the windows registry, only this is for firefox. Here I filtered using the term "mars". This brought up one entry for "network.protocol-handler.external.marsedit". Its value was set to false. Right click on this entry and select "Toggle". This will change the value to true. Now click on the bookmarklet, and the security dialog pops up again. This time the dialog was the right size, and I was able to click the OK button. Problem solved.

How many deaths before this becomes a real problem?

Video Ads on Your Blog?:

Video ads, or rich media ads have been a bone of contention among conventional web publishers for years, but as broadband penetration continues to improve, and browser/pc capability follows, it was only ever a matter of time before someone tried to jump onto the blog bandwagon with video ads

(Via Performancing.com - Helping Bloggers Succeed.)

YUCK! :(

How long before you start seeing this in your aggregator?

Tim Bray: 2.0 is Read-Write?:

Hal Stern says that if, wherever someone uses the phrase “Web 2.0”, you substitute “Read-Write Web”, you get a much more useful description of the same thing. Sounds plausible to me.

(Via PlanetJava.org.)

I for a long while believed the above as the definition for Web 2.0. A read-write web. Consider the influx of all those teenagers at Myspace. Would that have been possible in Web 1.0? The definition morphed after all this Ajax stuff started. I think it doesn't matter what the definition is. What matters is that the internet is constantly evolving. The younger generation has it more integrated than the older generation and this will continue. The internet will continue to evolve and become easier and even more functional. And people will find new ways of doing things.

Shared Hosts and PHP5 Upgrades - SitePoint Blogs:

What strategies can be employed by shared hosts to deal with this problem? Given that there isn’t a magic wand to fix it and many shared hosts have limited manpower, what to do?

(Via Planet PHP.)

Writely Is Kicking A**:

Writely has had great features from day 1: import and export into Word format, embedded images, a wysiwyg editor, drag and drop functionality, sharing with others, and tagging of documents.

(Via TechCrunch.)

I don't see what the big deal about Writely.com is. The idea of web apps is that all you need to run them is an internet connection and a web browser. But you can't do that with Writely.com. It does not work in Safari. Until it works in all browsers, you are limited to a computer with either firefox/IE. Might as well use a real word processor!

Lots of software to try out today.

The beta of Mars Edit, and the leaked GoogleEarth.

Experts Crack Sober Worm Code

I've noticed ever since I switched to Firefox 1.5 the fan on the Powerbook has been turning on more often. I pulled up Activity Monitor to see what was causing the CPU to heat up, and low and behold, its Firefox. Taking up about 60 to 70% CPU time. Not good.

Though I do enjoy being able to visit some Firefox/IE only Web 2.0 sites, I don't think its worth it. Especially when Safari is faster, more stable, and works with most of the sites that I use on a daily basis.

MarsEdit 1.1b5: public beta!:

Today we posted MarsEdit 1.1b5, a public beta of the next version of MarsEdit.

(Via inessential.com.)

Downloading it as we speak. I'm in the data center so won't try it out till later.

Yahoo buys del.icio.us:

The grandaddy of all social bookmarking services, del.icio.us, has been acquired by Yahoo!  Jeremy Zawodny, of the Yahoo! Search team, welcomed del.icio.us to the Yahoo! fold today, paying homage to "the cult-like following" del.icio.us enjoys.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

An Interesting Interview with WOZ - his thoughts on OSX and DRM:

John Stafford talked with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who many consider the father of the personal computer, for The Cardinal Inquirer. Stafford's interview with Woz resulted in some very interesting exchanges. " I get the worst, worst software almost always from Apple," said Woz.

(Via digg.)

Microsoft Releases Windows Update - for Firefox!:

Microsoft has released a plug-in for the rival open-source Firefox browser to allow users to validate their Windows-based systems prior to downloading software updates from the company. FINALLY...

(Via digg.)

Joystiq's latest for World of Warcraft fans:

From the folks who bring you joystiq comes our latest blog for fans of World of Warcraft, WoWinsider.com brings you the latest news and information about this popular game. Check it out by visiting their website!

(Via The Unofficial Microsoft Weblog.)

Life with SQLite:

With Tiger, Apple has started using SQLite in many ways. Most notably, SQLite is the recommended store for Core Data applications. This column, which originally appeared in MacTech Magazine covers some of the things any Cocoa developer should know about SQLite.

(Via Big Nerd Ranch Weblog.)

See a CPU explode!:

Overclocked CPU explodes

(Via digg.)

This video is absolutely amazing!

Learn C++, Java, HTML, Visual Basic, And More Though Flash Videos:

A man named Sean Greasley who is from the UK made quite a few flash video tutorials on how to program. C++, Java, HTML, Visual Basic, Direct 3D, SQL, with more on the way. These videos combined with a book will get any novice on their feet.

(Via digg.)

Cisco Warns Of HTTP Flaw:

(Via Packet Storm Security Headlines.)

Safari's slice of browser market up:

The latest browser stats from Net Applications show Safari gaining in popularity. Safari's share of the browser market has risen to 2.78%. This is an increase of 1.22% since last year at this time and .22% in the last month. Safari is the third most popular browser, slightly behind Firefox, which holds 8.84% of the market. Way out in front is Internet Explorer, with a whopping (cover your eyes, hold your ears) 86.08% market share.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Adding Windows Fonts in Linux:

Here are three different ways in which you can add windows fonts in Linux which could make your Linux experience all the more richer.

(Via digg.)

6 Places You Must Use AJAX:

Alex Bosworth has written up his thoughts on areas that you must use Ajax, and areas in which you shouldn't.

(Via digg.)

Wozniak's 1977 Byte article

Apache 2.2.0 Released:

"According to an announcement on apache.org, Apache 2.2.0 has been released. From the announcement: 'This version of Apache is a major release and the start of a new stable branch. New features include Smart Filtering, Improved Caching, AJP Proxy, Proxy Load Balancing, Graceful Shutdown support, Large File Support, the Event MPM, and refactored Authentication/Authorization.' View the ChangeLog or check out the new feature list."

(Via Slashdot.)

Cool. Looks like a fun busy weekend. :)

I was working with Firefox since I switched yesterday for version 1.5.
At first it crashed when I visited this link:
Working with Files in PHP, Part 2
I uninstalled all my extensions, and it started working fine. Until I tried to go to the next part of the article.
Working with Files in PHP, Part 3
Since I had uninstalled all my extensions, it seems it might be a bug in Firefox 1.5, or my installation is corrupted somehow.

I have work to do, so back to using Safari for now.

Update: my friend says (in the comments) it works fine on his Windows machine. That could mean its a bug either on the OS X version, or as I said corrupt config on my system. I got to those links via this page.

Update: Dec 5th, I started up firefox just to see if it still crashes. A couple of reboots later, I'm having no problems. Looks like it was a configuration problem, fixed by a couple of reboots.

foXpose - Exposé for Firefox 1.5:

If you've downloaded FF 1.5 you need to try out this FF 1.5 only extension. It shows thumbnails of all the open tabs with a click of a button. Really cool.

(Via digg.)