WIDGETS! One thing I missed when I abandoned Debian/KDE were widgets. You know, useless and useful desktop apps that can do pretty much anything from to-do lists, clocks, wifi signals, alarms, weather, the lists go on and on.

Now there is Konfabulator, which runs on Windows and Macs. They already have a large gallery that keeps growing. So go give it a try.

Let me know what widgets everyone’s using.

BugMeNot.com - “Bypass Compulsory Web Registration”. Instead of having to register to read certain websites (i.e. New York Times), pick up a public login for virtually everysite from BugMeNot. Which currently holds logins for 35,036 sites.

If that doesn’t help you and you absolutely must sign up for something but don’t want to be bombarded with spam, try the Mailinator. You don’t have to sign up, you just make up any e-mail address @ Mailinator.com, go visit the site, login under the address you made up, and check the mail.

I thought I’d share a small list of free programs I’ve been using lately.

AWStats - This is an awesome log file analyzer for your website. It has a huge list of powerful features to keep track of your site’s stats. Very impressive software.

RealVNC - Since I don’t own a KVM switch I needed something quick to help admin the server and I came across VNC. With VNC it’s possible to fully-interact with one computer from any other computer or mobile device anywhere on the Internet.

Stellarium - This is a neat astronomy program that renders 3D photo-realistic skies in real time. Because we love space!

Very small list, indeed.

As Google continues to expand, new features seem to be popping up left and right lately. Google now has SMS.

How it works is, you send a text message to 46645 (GOOGL) with your text message being your search. Then Google will text message you back with the results. They have a sample page of all it’s different uses.

A few useful things being business and residential listings. Pretty neat.

VideoTwo Boys Reduced to Screaming Girls While Playing Doom 3 - A little over dramatic but still hilarious.

Interesting News
George Michael discovers a stalker has been living under his floor

New Sex Crimes? - Man Tries to Charge Wife for Domestic Abuse for not having sex with him for 5 consecutive days

Celebrate your first day on jury duty by getting drunk before you go - Supreme says its okay, “no different than a virus, poorly prepared food, or lack of sleep”

Saving the best for last -

Schwarzenegger outlaws sex with corpses - This ones too easy to make fun of…discuss amongst yourselves.

It’s time for you to close Internet Explorer …forever. Firefox has hit its 1.0 Preview Release. For those of you who haven’t tried Firefox yet, here’s the list of why you should take it for a test surf:

• Popup Blocking


Stop annoying popup ads in their tracks with Firefox’s built in popup blocker.

• Tabbed Browsing


View more than one web page in a single window with this time saving feature. Open links in the background so that they’re ready for viewing when you’re ready to read them.

• Smarter Search


Google Search is built right into the toolbar, and there are a plethora of other search tools including Keywords (type “dict ” in the Location Bar), and the new find toolbar (which finds as you type and eliminates the annoying window that always seems to be in your way).

• Privacy and Security


Built with your security in mind, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by not loading harmful ActiveX controls. A comprehensive set of privacy tools keep your online activity your business.

• Live Bookmarks


RSS integration lets you read the latest news headlines and read updates to your favorite sites that are syndicated. Find out more…

• Hassle-Free Downloading


Files you download are automatically saved to your Desktop so they’re easy to find. Fewer prompts mean files download quicker.

• Fits Like a Glove


Simple and intuitive, yet fully featured, Firefox has all the functions you’re used to - Bookmarks, History, Full Screen, Text Zooming to make pages with small text easier to read, etc.

• S, M, L or XL—You Choose


Firefox is the most customizable browser on the planet. Customize your toolbars to add additional buttons, install new Extensions that add new features, add new Themes to browse with style, and use the adaptive search system to allow you to search an infinite number of engines. Firefox is as big or small as you want.

• Setup’s a Snap


At only 4.5MB (Windows), Firefox takes just a few minutes to download over a slow connection and seconds over a fast connection. The installer gets you set up quickly, and the new Easy Transition system imports all of your settings - Favorites, passwords and other data from Internet Explorer and other browsers - so you can start surfing right away.

• A Developer’s Best Friend


Firefox comes with a standard set of developer tools including a powerful JavaScript and CSS error/warning console, and an optional Document Inspector that gives detailed insight about your pages.

In honor of the 1.0 preview release, a goal has been launched to get 1 million downloads in 10 days. They’ve reached 159,000 downloads so far and there is 9 days left. Help spread the fire!

Ever wanted to be on a stamp? Maybe you’ve thought of something a little more creative than that. PhotoStamps allows you to upload a picture to create a custom postage stamp of anything you like.

Yes, they are usable.

I’m not sure how much a sheet costs, I haven’t tried it yet, but I think I might give it a whirl.

Ah, more GMAIL posts. In lieu of my hopes for pop3 GMAIL, I did come across a plugin for Trillian Pro to check your GMAIL accounts: You’ve Got GMAIL. (Yeah, I still have many more invites to give out)

Handy for those of you that use Trillian Pro. With all of the plugins that Trillian Pro now has, it’s practically a replacement for windoze.

More GMAIL invites to give out.

Let me know if you want one.

I have 3 GMAIL invites burning a hole in my inbox, if you want one let me know.

The most exciting thing about GMAIL, for me so far, is that it’s still possible to get your desired username without it being taken already. However, I just want GMAIL pop3 style, I’ll take a cut in the storage size for pop3.