Cool little site that tests how fast you type (found via coldforged.org).
First time through I did 88 wpm without any mistakes. Take that!
How fast do you type?
Reply
Monthly Archives: March 2005
Bruschi
FOX25 news out of Boston is reporting that New England Patriots player Teddy Bruschi is going to have heart surgery.
Bruschi is probably my favorite player on the Patriots. Best of luck…let’s hope your fixed up so you can live a healthy life.
At this point, football doesn’t matter right now. Just his health.
AOL clarifies IM privacy guarantee
Looks like AOL has heard everyone’s issues. AOL will revise its user agreement to stress that it does not eavesdrop on IM conversations except in unusual circumstances (such as a court order).
I will wait to reserve final judgement on it until I actually read the changes, but this is a very positive development.
I still believe that this should jumpstart the effort to create an encryption standard for use by all IM clients so I can rely on my conversations having at least some privacy. I’m not a fool in the sense that it will be perfectly secure, but it would be better then everything being sent out in clear text across the Internet.
Then again, e-mail has had the same issues for much longer and we aren’t anywhere near an universal standard for encryption that is easy-to-use.
Odd night
You know it is an odd night when you have a Days of the New song (“Now” off of their first album) stuck in your head. Something about those bands from that era that always touches me in a special way.
New AIM TOS
My brother Justin pointed me to Thrashing Through Cyperspace, which has a very interesting post on AOL now giving itself permission to basically use anything from your “private” conversations on AIM for its own purposes. Basically, the end of whatever privacy there was with AIM.
I wonder if this will make encryption become more common place with Instant Messaging clients. The sad thing though is that there are millions of computer users that use AIM without knowing about the alternatives. That also makes it pretty slim for me to find another person to chat with that actually has encryption working on their end as well.
Will there be a backlash against AOL for this move? Of course. The question is, how big will it get? While there are many bloggers who are up in arms about this, will your typical internet user who uses AIM give a damn? I doubt it if they are even lucky to understand what it means.
We need a Firefox of IM clients created. One with usability and security in mind first, not last. Encryption automatically of all conversations. All of the common features for IM. Gaim isn’t there yet, Trillian isn’t there yet (although that is my client of choice at the present).
This crap has to stop.
Simple little extensions
One of the great strengths of Mozilla Firefox is its extensions ability, which allows you to easily modify Firefox to meet your needs. This allows Firefox to be a lean mean browsing machine, yet be as complex as needed for those out there that need every feature possible.
I have never personally used many extensions, as the basic Firefox fits my browsing needs very well. However, I just discovered two extensions that fix behaviors in Firefox that have either annoyed me or seem so elementary that I don’t understand why they aren’t in Firefox by default.
Here they are for your own enjoyment:
Disable Targets for Downloads 0.9
This extension fixes an annoying bug in Firefox when you use single browsing mode. when you sometimes click on a link to download a binary file (such as a .exe file or a .zip file) that opens up a new tab that is blank. This extension fixes that bug. So far so good, I haven’t had this problem since!
This modified version of miniT is simple: it allows you to drag tabs around the tab bar into the order you want them. While dragging, a little indicator arrow shows you where the tab will go. Simple and effective. Why Firefox doesn’t do this by default amazes me.
A slight hint when it comes to looking for extensions. I always prefer extensions that keep it simple by focusing on one particular area and doing it well (which is what Firefox excels at with browsing). Search for extensions that do exactly what you want, when you want it. Not only does it make life easier using these extensions, it cuts down on the number of bugs that an extension could cause with your installation of Firefox and cuts down on the headaches.
Another storm
Once again, it is nearly mid-March and we have another snow storm in the wonderful land of New Hampshire as I write this. Last I heard, 6-10 inches should fall during the day today.
I am so sick of this snow and how cold it has been. I want spring to come so I don’t have to drive through this stuff all the time.
Only positive out of this: Katie and I are going to get a lot of cleaning done today. Oh and I love watching snow fall during the day…just not in March.
Indexing External HD
Anyone know how to get Google Desktop to index my external hard drive?
Google Desktop
I recently downloaded Google Desktop and I must say, it is one stellar piece of software. It is amazing to be able to search through all of my files and e-mails (Thunderbird is now supported!) in such a quick manner.
I think the coolest part about Google Desktop is that anyone with programming knowledge can create plug-ins to add to its abilities. For example, there is a plugin to index OpenOffice & StarOffice documents. Want to index other file types? All it takes is a plug-in to be created.
What a way to increase your audience. Microsoft would never do something like that, they are quite content on having it work with their applications only and if they must support other applications, do it in a half-assed way. It is too bad really.
I’m impressed Google. Keep up the good work!
Episode III
I just downloaded a copy of the new Star Wars Episode III trailer.
Oh. My. God.
I don’t remember ever being so excited for an upcoming movie then I am right now.
What strikes me is the darkness in the trailer, with a ton of violence, and what looks like great acting/dialouge. The question is…are these the exception or is the movie really as good as it looks on the trailer?
This movie has the protential to be the best of the Star Wars franchise. Will George deliever, or will it be like Episodes I and II?