Tech Notion

YouTube...but better?

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:46:00 +0000

YouTube is one of the most popular sites on the internet, and its something that everyone knows about. Your grandparents, your baby sister, your parents, and even your dog know about YouTube. However, we all know that there are many websites out there that are much better than YouTube quality wise, but YouTube still is the place to be discovered. If you've created your own video, chances are that you'll upload the video to YouTube first; just to get more people to see it. We all know that YouTube is the best place to upload your videos, but is YouTube the best place to watch it?

I was wandering around thinking about the new Macbook Air when a website fell out of the sky and hit me on my head. It was iDesktop. From the name alone, you'd assume that iDesktop is a site where you have your own personal desktop, but its far from that. iDesktop is a site in which you can search for YouTube videos but also get the option to download the video. Most of the website needs Javascript enabled, so you'd better do that if you want to get anywhere.

Features:
iDesktop is quite simple to use. Just search for something you would search for on YouTube, and iDesktop will show you a list of queries that match your search. Hovering over an image will display the description. At the bottom of the screen, there will be a control which will adjust how many matches you display on one page. Here is a picture of a search result:

The buttons at the top will allow you to download, share, or add the video to your favorites. A great function is that not only can you download the video as a '.flv' you can also save it an AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, 3GP2, WMV, EXE or zipped EXE. When you click to start a video, the video will show up on the screen and begin playing. There is a little bit of lag, but it shouldn't be unbearable. You can also change the website theme by clicking the 'Theme' button on the top of the screen. I think the point of iDesktop was to provide a fun innovative and great looking way to browse and download YouTube videos. Another great feature is 'dim'. To enable this, just move to the top of the screen, and click the button that says 'show settings'. Click that, and enable 'dim'. With 'dim enabled, the background will turn a darker color when you play your videos, so you won't be distracted by all the images.

Problems:
I don't really have that many problems with this website. It works alright, and although there is a some lag, it isn't something I would complain about that much. There is only one thing that annoys me. I wish that the website would allow some sort of 'list' function. Instead of showing the video's as small rectangular blocks, they should allow the videos to be displayed the way YouTube displays them. I keep my zoom at 0% so I can see a lot of videos, but this is what the screen looks like when you have zoom at 0%. It hurts my eyes, and I'm sure you'd say the same thing.

Final Thoughts:
Other than that minor (or major, whichever you like) drawback, there isn't anything else to complain about. iDesktop makes downloading your YouTube video's a lot easier, and the design is quite innovative (although a bit too much for my poor eyes). This is a great site for anyone who wants to download all those great YouTube video. Whether you use it to watch videos or to download videos, the site is definitely something to try out. You might be surprised how much you like it.

via iDesktop.tv

"Kwout" the World

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:51:00 +0000

The world is all about quoting what other people have said. This might include quoting people from forums, blogs, and other different sites. It's always to quote someone from another site because not only do you need to retype (or at least copy and paste) what the person said, you need to give your source. It's great that there is an awesome web application call Kwout. Kwout is extremely to use, and will allow you to take snips certain parts of a website, then allow you to upload it to Flickr, Tumblr, or your own website. There is a bookmarklet at Kwout which will make things even easier. Just jump unto the site you want to 'Kwout', and click the bookmarklet. Then, drag your mouse to clip out the section of the website you're interested in. Kwout will take care of the rest.

Kwout is 'supposed' to be used to quote others, but I've found that it could also be used to save an image. Sure, the 'Save Image As' button might be faster, but Kwout will allow you to mess around with the borders making it round or adding a shadow behind the image.

Try it out. You'll be surprised how much you love it.

via Kwout

How to Improve Windows 7

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:46:00 +0000

Yesterday, I ranted about how Windows 7 might be Microsoft's last chance to keep and get more users. Today, I'd like to talk about the type of things that Microsoft should do to make Vienna something that others would want to buy.

Dear Microsoft,

Here are a couple of thing you'll want to do if you want people to buy Windows Vienna.

Don't rush. It's alright. We'll wait a few more years for Vienna to come us. Just promise us that Vienna will be compatible with everything, and that it works great. Please. Take your time. I don't care if Apple released a new operating system every year. Take things nice a slow, and remember to make sure that the operating system works. We'll wait. Don't worry. Just don't disappoint us.

Stability over user interface. Work on the stability. Pretty please? If your operating is stable, and works wonderfully, I swear I'll buy it and tell everyone else to buy it. I don't care if it looks like something from 1960. I don't care if the user interface looks like a 3 year old got crazy with a crayon. I don't care about that stuff. Give me a good solid operating system, and we can worry about the user interface later. Besides, I can skin it whatever what I want.

Don't get caught up in what others are doing. I don't care if Apple has Time Machine. I don't care if they have Spaces. I don't care if you can get Compiz for Linux. You don't need to waste valuable time working on things like that. Work on compatibility and stability. I'll install some programs later on that makes up for the lack of a Windows Time Machine function. No offense, but you guys aren't in much of a position to compete with others. Get a solid fan base. Then compete with Apple. There is no point in copying Apple software if you can't get it right. Just stick with the fundamentals of the operating system and we'll progress from there.

Trash the UAC. I don't know if you've caught onto this yet...but the User Account Control is the most annoying thing ever devised. This pops up on just about everything. Don't make me click more then once if I want to delete something. I know I want to delete it. You don't need to challenge my intellectual competence by making me confirm the same thing over and over again. If you guys don't want to trash the system completely, then at least make it easier to disable the UAC for certain applications. What is this? It takes eleven steps and the command prompt? No thank you.

Forget Vista. Forget about the mistakes you make with Vista. Pretend it was Windows 2.0. Pretend Vista never existed. Please, whatever you do, don't make Vienna look exactly like Vista. It would only bring back horrible memories of compatibility and driver issues. No one wants to revisit that horrid land. No one. Start off fresh. Work on the important things.

Don't create so many Versions. Don't confuse us. Most people don't know whether or not they should get Home Basic for the cheap price, Home Premium for the Media Center and Aero, Business for Shadow Copy, or Ultimate for everything else. This isn't supposed to be a hard thing. Just create one operating system with everything that you're going to give out. Don't split it up into 10 different versions in hopes of earning more money. Let's not be greedy alright?

DRM? Don't even think about it. No one likes DRM. Just get rid of it. Besides, with Amazon and Yahoo! (Hopefully) jumping on the DRM free bandwagon, it's time for you guys to hitch up those slacks and jump on. DRM music is dead. Incorporating DRM into the operating system is only going to encourage users to crack it. Why waste our time? Just take it out. Take it out, and watch the sale numbers rise...

This isn't Crysis. We aren't all hardcore gamers. Windows Vienna should not be something that requires a high end computer to run. It should not be something that eats up half my RAM when I boot up. It is not something in which we are on a mission to snipe the Emperor of China. This is supposed to be a piece of software that everyone is supposed to use.

If you guys do all these things, Microsoft will no longer be a laughingstock. People will no longer believe that the inner workings of Microsoft is being carried out by a bunch of monkeys with vests. Do these things, and you'll have many users happy. This will save your company.

Sincerely,
A Vista User

Microsoft's Last Chance...

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:39:00 +0000

Recently, images and a video of Windows 7 had been released on a Chinese Website. It depicted Windows 7 (Vienna) in build 6519, and many people have been talking about how things are going for Microsoft. The images of Windows 7 look exactly like Vista, which is making a lot of people hesitate, because it doesn't look like Microsoft has made any revolutions to its current operating system. Is Microsoft doomed? Find out more after the jump.

I believe that this is Microsoft's last chance to impress its users and save the company. Everything could rely on whether or not users are satisfied with Vienna. At the moment, Microsoft still has many supporters; most of which are using Windows XP. They are still loyal to Microsoft because they believe at after the fumble with Vista, Microsoft still might make a comeback with Vienna. But if Vienna fails, most if not all the users of Windows would move onto other operating systems. Linux is only getting better. Leopard couldn't seem any hotter. There are many choices for a different operating system, and if Microsoft just can't satisfy its users, the users won't hesitate to move on.

Windows is no longer the only Gaming machine. Both Apple and Linux programmers understand that their operating systems have a small game deficiency , and they are working on fixing it. Plus, game developers also know that there is a huge number of fans who are using Linux and Leopard. They will be working on game compatibility between operating systems. Windows also isn't the easiest to use, nor the most secure operating system out there. Leopard and Linux(s) are only getting easier to use, and not only are they quite secure; they look beautiful. You might think that Aero looks great, but once you see Compiz for Linux, you'll be blown away.

Microsoft is getting looked down more and more, and most of it is due to Vista. I'm not saying that Vista is completely horrible, because it is alright but the problem is that there are many people out there who do hate Vista, including PC World. These people who are bad mouthing Vista are the ones who hurt the company the most. Not everyone is tech savy, and even those who aren't tech savy know that 'Vista Sucks' because of the large number of times they hear it. They might have heard it from their friends, they might have heard it on the radio. But they know that there are people who don't like Vista, so they don't want to buy Vista. They have never tried it themselves, and probably never will try it due to the influence of others. Microsoft is losing so many potential customers when companies as well as popular tech journalists say things about Vista.

Because people are already sad at the sorry state Vista is in, there won't be many who actually stick around to see if Vienna is any better. Microsoft still has a year to go on this project, but from the way things look; it doesn't seem too good for Vienna. Vienna was supposed to be released in 2010, but it seems that Microsoft had been rushed by the amount of unhappy users to push the release date back. I think that was a big mistake. There is no point trying to finish something sooner then you would normally do; just to please the users.

Trust us. We aren't going to be happy if you release Vienna early and it sucks. We're not going to be happy that we need to stay with Vista until Windows 8 comes out. We'd be less happy if we needed to stay with XP for another 5 years while you get Windows 8 ready. This is your last chance Microsoft. Let's get it right this time.

Microsoft, I do hope you get Vienna right. This is your last chance, so get it right.

Create your own Chatroom

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:19:00 +0000

Everyone chats. Everyone. The only people who don't chat are those poor souls who don't have internet access. There are so many ways to chat; you've got AIM, MSN, Yahoo! Chat, Google Chat, ICQ, IRC, Skype, and much more. However, when using any of those, the process of setting up a chatroom is quite complicated. Much more complicated then using a simple site like ChatMaker.NET. This is one of the easiest ways to begin a chat with a group of friends, and it works quite well.

All you need to do is type in the name of the chatroom, and you'll be sent to the chatroom. If there is no chatroom with the name, the site will automatically create one for you. It's really easy to use, and I only have one thing to complain about; and that's the fact that the page refreshes, and you need to scroll down to see what you've typed. Regardless of that small obstacle, ChatMaker.NET is probably the easier way or stating a chatroom with a couple of friends. Just start a chatroom, and send them the URL. There aren't that many people who use ChatMaker at the moment, so most of the rooms would be empty. Keep in mind that others can read everything you type; if they manage to find the name of your chatroom.

ChatMaker.NET

Google: Angel or Devil?

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:52:00 +0000

Many people have talked about this subject, but the matter isn't over until a nobody talks about it.

Google knows everything about you. If you have used their search engine, they know everything you searched. They know what you're interested in. If you use their calender or docs web applications; Google knows about all sorts of things that are going on in your life. The more you use Google, they more they know about you, which is what many users are worried about. Is Google secretly selling your information to some organization that is out to get you because you honked your car horn at them during a traffic jam? Should Google be keeping your personal information private? (For those of you who don't know, many companies do a Google search about you when you decide to apply. What sort of things are they going to find?) There are so many people out there who are afraid of the things Google is capable of doing because they have all this information in their hands.

I don't think Google is going to try and do something that would screw everyone over. They are a very large company, but they are not the only company. They there is still some competition with Yahoo!, and if Google does something wrong with our personal information, Yahoo! is going to get a huge boost of users. Which bring me to my second point. There are other places to search for information. There are tons of other places that could potentially screw you over. Every single time you submit anything on the internet, it could be used against you. If you broke the law, and the police get a warrant; they could get all that information from Google as well as any other site that has your personal information (Facebook, Twitter, your Blog, etc.). It's not like Google is just there handing out your information for free because they try to keep it private.

Google keeping all your information isn't exactly bad. With more information about the popular searches, Google could add different functions which would allow you to find sites that you're more interested in. Besides, it's not like you could force Google to get rid of your information. The only way you could keep your private information a secret is if you boycott the internet, and that's not something you'd want to do.

So, Google isn't all that bad. If they did do something, you'd be sure to hear about it because thousands upon thousands of users would be complaining. Google isn't a bad company. They do so many things for you, and only want to make your browsing experience the best it can be. Conclusion? If you're going to break the law, don't do something stupid like searching "How to Make Bombs" on Google. Other than that; Google on.

The Downfall of MMORPGs

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:57:00 +0000

Now don't get me wrong. I love playing MMORPGs, and spend many a night up late smashing that troll on the mountainside with my wooden stick. I really enjoy playing MMORPGs, but I've found that my love for them have slowly dwindled. I'm starting to think that it could be possible for MMORPGs to start to fade. It's not the game itself, because the games are always exciting. It's the people who play the games. And it's not everyone who plays; it's only some. They ruin the gaming experience for everyone and make others feel like they don't want to play anymore. It only takes a few select individuals to ruin the games for everyone. There are spammers, scammers, hackers, trolls, and every other disgusting creatures you can think of. They ruin the entire experience of playing a roleplaying game, and they are going to end up being the reasons that less people play MMORPGs.

Spammers:
These guys are everywhere; from forums to social networking sites. They are even in games, which is a bust. I mean, who wants to hear someone repeating the same thing over and over again? I've got a message to everyone who has ever spammed. We f-ing heard you to first time. Shut up. It seems that many players seem to think that the more you spam the longer your e-penis because that's exactly what they do. They spam like there is no tomorrow. This is especially in the MMORPGs that have a marketplace. You'll jump into the marketplace on a popular channel, and see huge blocks of text everywhere saying "SELLING XXX! 5 GOLD" or something like that. Except they use more '!' and '@'. A lot more. I might be neutral about this if the spammers kept their business in the marketplace, but they don't. These people will spam everywhere. When you're training, when you're raiding, I've even had someone try to sell 'Free Cash' when I was casually chatting with some friends. These people need to be stabbed by the 'Sword of a Thousand Truths'. Seriously.

Scammers:
Way to take advantage of the newbies. Scamming has become more and more popular because it's easy to get items from the new players. Even if a scammer was dealing with a veteran, the scammer would still be able to get some stuff by resorting to the old "I'm a hot girl. I'll cyber with you for 1,000 gold". And it works. I just feel bad for the new players because I highly doubt they would want to keep playing a game in which everyone tries to take advantage of them. They don't want to be exploited. So stop trying to get whatever rare items they have in their pants.

Hackers:
Another way of pissing people off. Hacking in a single player game is alright, because your actions don't affect others. In an online game, whenever you hack, you're making thousands of people angry because you have an advantage. Plus, some script kiddies are extremely annoying, and 'hack' by trying to kill you or mess you up in anyway possible. Oh, and most of you guys can't even call yourself hackers. You don't hack. You guys are script kiddies, so don't make it look like it's a hard thing to do. Anyone could get the instructions for hacking a game, but we don't do it because we want to play the game fairly, and not ruin the experience. I'm sorry to saw that you guys have failed the point of online gaming, because it certainly isn't to cheat your way through.

Trolls:
These guys are just idiots that everyone meets. These are the ones who start swearing for no good reason, and the people who just want to pick fights with you. But they don't know how to argue. The smartest response you're get out of them is "Your Mom". Yeah. "Your Mom" is the best thing they could come up with. What's worse is that these guys seem to thinking that making you hate the game is their job. They try their hardest to annoy you into quitting the game. They do everything in their power to make you want to invent something which would allow you to punch these guys through your screen.

With all these types of people, playing single player games seem a lot more inviting. At the rate AI is developing at the moment, it won't take long before AI is somewhat close to human intelligence. It might take a while, but it's worth the wait. Someone should create a game in which you can play popular MMORPGs but not see certain people that others have deemed to not be a good user. These players should just be blocked from the game.

These people are the reason that I'm playing MMORPGs less. I know it might be stupid to stop playing MMORPGs because of these people, but it is quite hard to enjoy yourself when most people are acting like idiots. I know that there are many game Admins who are trying to get rid of these types of people, but it's extremely hard to get rid of them all. They just keep coming back. With any popular MMORPG, you'll see spammers, scammers, hackers, and trolls. Maybe it's time to move on to a new type of game. Maybe it's time to up the security and ban these people. Maybe it's time a genius creates a game that gets rid of all these trolls.

Whatever might happen, I feel that certain people are pushing people away from playing MMORPGs. Until those people are gone, I guess I'm back to playing with consoles and bots. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

Watch TV on your PC with AnyTV

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:48:00 +0000

If any of us wanted to watch Television on our computer, we would probably have to get a TV Tuner. If we were too cheap to buy a TV tuner, then we'd stick it to old YouTube. But that's not good enough. I want to watch television, and I want to watch it now. Thanks to a nifty free program called AnyTV you can watch many television shows on your computer. You don't need to register or buy any additional hardware. Just download the program, find what you want to watch, and start watching. These numbers are just an idea of the amount of shows you could be watching.

2630+ Online TV
6910+ Video clips
4750+ Online Radio

Not only that, but you can even get shows from different countries. Although AnyTV might not be as popular or as great as Joost, it's still a great start and a wonderful application for those who just want to sit down and watch some television on their computer. Shame it's only for Windows. At least it's free.

via Technobuzz

10 Reasons You Should Buy The Macbook Air

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The new Macbook Air is out, but there aren't that many people who don't want to buy it because it's too expensive or too thin. They are wrong. You need to buy this laptop. Here is why.

1. Show Off
We all know you want to do this. After purchasing a Macbook Air, the first thing you need to do is to go up to a friend who still has the original Macbook, and show them that you are the man. Get right up in their face and be like "Dude. I have a frickening Macbook Air. What's that piece of crap you're carrying around? What? Is that a Macbook? Heh, when was the last time you were in an Apple store? 1985?" Show them the amount of money you have. Show them that you are better then they are. Show them who's king of the neighborhood.

2. Pretend you are a Bomber
You know what the first thing people would think if you walked into an airport pulling a metal object out of a manila envelope? "He's got a bomb!" The police would come rushing over along with the bomb squad and you'd create this huge scare. Then, suddenly pull out your Macbook Air. The reactions would be awesome.

3. Send rude messages to your neighbors.
I know you've got that rowdy neighbor who is deaf and plays his music like his stereo system is half way around the globe. You want to tell him to shut up, but he has locked his door. The solution? Either type a nice 'Shut the fuck up' into Appleworks or get a picture of whatever-the-hell-you-think-is-gross and slip the computer under the door. Of course, you'd probably lose the laptop, but it was worth it.

4. No Games
Not a gaming laptop, but no worry. You don't needs games to keep you happy! You don't need to waste time playing useless games when you could be working on that new project that your boss assigned you. Your boss would be so proud.

5. No Optical Drive
Another great thing. Without an Optical Drive, you don't need to waste your money buying all those DVDs that you watch just one time. You don't waste money on the newest games. You don't waste money on antivirus and productivity software. You will save so much money that you'll end up being able to pay for the computer just using your savings.

6. Play in the dark
There is a backlit keyboard on the laptop. What does that mean for you? It means you'll be able to stay up at 3 o'clock in the morning working on a last minute assignment, and you'll actually be able to see what you're typing. Sure, you'll probably damage your eyes beyond repair, but at least you get your work done.

7. 5 Hour Battery Time
You'll only get 5 hours our of this battery. This is the best thing ever, because you're not going to want to waste those 5 hours. You only have 5 hours to do something, and wasting your time browsing sites like Digg or playing around with a flash game isn't the smartest idea if you have something due the next day. Having only 5 hours of battery life is the best way to improve productivity.

8. Hide your porn.
Imagine this. You're in your cubicle, browsing porn on your Macbook Air, when all of a sudden, someone runs into the room yelling "The boss is coming! Someone told him people have been looking at porn during work! He's coming to confiscate all laptops". If you owned a large laptop, you'd be screwed over, because you would have anywhere to hide it. But with the Macbook Air, it's a totally different story. You could hide it just about anywhere.

-You can hide the laptop inside your shirt and people wouldn't even know unless you arched your back.
-You can stuff this inside a binder or in a stack of manila folders. Yeah. Always keep manila folders around.
-That really thin desk drawer? Hello new best friend.
- Sit on it. Apple makes tough products. Don't be afraid to sit on your Macbook Air. Remember, it's saving your job.

9. Be the center of attention
Everyone knows this laptop is expensive. Everyone knows that whoever owns it makes over a million a year. Carrying a Macbook Air around is like strutting into a soup kitchen with Bill Gates on your back. Everyone will worship someone with that much money. Be that 'someone'. Be envied. Be loved. Be the first one to be robbed.

10. Spoil yourself.
You deserve this top of the line laptop. You deserve to have this thin sexy product. It is made for you, and even has your name carved at the bottom. Don't hesitate to get this. You deserve it. You've done so many great things, so why shouldn't you get something like this? It's the newest, thinnest, coolest laptop in the market. Spoil yourself. Get this.

Have that $3,000 saved up from your kid's college fund? It's time to use it. Don't worry. Your kid won't mind. They will never stop thanking you.

RIAA Website Down

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:20:00 +0000

The RIAA doesn't seem to know priorities. Instead of patching up their website, they are busy suing everyone who has access to the internet. Genius.

A Hacker has recently used a simple SQL injection to wipe the RIAA website clean. This all started out at Reddit where someone posted the link to a really slow SQL query which, if clicked on, would slow down the server. So, what started out as just a small prank has ended up wiping out the RIAA database. Just awesome.

I hope the RIAA realizes how much people hate them now... Yep. Hope so.

TorrentFreak

Speed Read Like a Pro

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:04:00 +0000

There will always be a time in our life in which we need to read something...fast. Whether it be a large blog post, or an important document given to your by your boss; you're going to want to speed read if you need to finish it fast. Speed reading is a skill that everyone should have. If you're a good speed reader, you can read faster and understand more. Plus, even your boss will be amazed at how efficient you were. However, the problem is that it's really hard to practice speed reading. Worry no more.

There is a website called Spreeder which is designed to help you practice your speed reading skills. Just paste in the block of text that you want to read, click on settings, and change them to suit your needs. If you're starting out, you should change it so that you're reading less words per minute and make the words bigger. It might seem boring at first, but if you paste in all the articles you're going to read that day into spreeder, you can slowly increase the WPM that you read.

This is a great tool for everyone who spends a lot of time reading. Go out there, learn to speed read, and be the first to finish a long blog post. Remember; On the internet, the faster you are, the more fans you get. You'll be the first to translate a tech story. You'll be the first to submit something on digg. You'll be the first to taunt a guy for a stupid blog post. Whatever it is, you'll always be first.

Speed read on. Speed read on...

Spreeder

Time Warner Charging For Bandwidth Usage

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 01:37:00 +0000

These days, you pay for download speed, and the less your wallet weights, the faster your connection. Time Warner wants to change all that. Instead of making you pay for your connection speed, you're going to pay depending on how much bandwidth you use. So, the more you download, the more you're going to have to pay.

I personally don't like this at all. I mean, it would be great for those people who don't download anything at all, but I really enjoy watching movies, and if I'm going to get charged every time I want to see someone get kicked down the Sparta Well, I'm not going to be a happy little bugger. I know that this is an genius move for all those who want to get rid of pirates, it's still slightly unfair to those people who are really interested in watching video's and downloading games. Another problem is that most people don't even know how much bandwidth they are using, and they would probably be shocked when they first see the bill because they didn't know that they downloaded all those things. It this goes well for Time Warner, I'm sure other ISP's are going to resort to this instead of blocking BitTorrent traffic (Comcast? Are you there?).

This would be a great way for casual e-mail browsers to get internet without having to spend a lot of money. You guys have fun. If anyone needs me, I'll be sitting underneath my desk strangling my bandwidth.

Associated Press

Next Generation of Contact Lenses

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:17:00 +0000

I know that we're all secretly dreaming of wearing contact lenses and watching certain, ahem, "videos" without people knowing. That just might be possible in a few years time.

Researchers at the University of Washington managed to embed an electronic circuit and LEDs directly into contact lenses, which seemed to look good on rabbit eyes. Though the circuit is not functional and the lights don't light up, the development shows that future applications like direct video to the eye may indeed be possible.

Although it doesn't look like anything you'd want to shove in your eye socket at the moment, it's only going to get better in the future. The people developing this want to make it delicate so it won't damage your eyes (duh..), but also make intricate enough so it can perform many tasks. It's still in the prototype stage, and it doesn't really do that much at the moment, so you'll have to wait a few years before you see anything major. Perhaps we'll even be able to surf the internet using these things. Wouldn't that be dandy? Of course, this technology would be embraced heartily. I mean, who wouldn't want to keep everything they see and do a secret? No one would be able to see what sites we're on, and no one could say "That's a gay site." Can't wait for this.

Gizmodo via Medgadget

10 Words Every Gamer Should Use

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:38:00 +0000

These days, gaming is everything. Everyone plays them, whether it be nine year olds rocking Guitar Hero or a Grandma pwning everyone online. It's just part of what we all do now, and what with all the games available, there are games for everyone. Online games are one of the biggest fads in the game industry because we are all demons inside and we love the prospect of smirking silently when we totally owned someone. With online gaming comes chat, and with chat comes certain words that many gamers will use. Here are some of the basic words that gamers would use. If you're interested in gaming, learn these words, and you'll be as pro as Leroy Jenkins.

1. l33t
This word is 'Leet' which is basically saying that you are elite. And you are. Make no doubt about it. If ever you do something that is somewhat cool, or if you just want to add in a few filler words. 'Leet' would be it. Note that you need to spell it with the '3' not the 'e'. Don't forget that you and only you are leet. Everyone else is not leet. You own them.

2. n00b
Possibly the most used word in any online game. Use this to insult anyone and everyone. Did someone just sneak up on you? They're a n00b. A sniper? n00b. Teammate who made fun of your weapon choice? n00b. That hippie from across the street? n00b. Someone crash your dragon raid? n00b. Everyone who even thinks for a second that they are better then are n00bs. Kick them down like they are the scum of the earth and make sure that they themselves know they are a n00b. They are all newbs.

3. stfu
Literally, "Shut the **** up". Be sure to add 'n00b' to then end of this word. Use this whenever you're annoyed by that little bugger who you can't seem to spot practicing his ABC typing skills in the chatbox. Of course, cursing at him using the real words would be a lot better then usually slang. Nevertheless, saying 'stfu' is bound to get you some attention.

4. laggg
This word is a life saver. It's your excuse for everything. And I mean everything. Accidentally shot all your teammate? laggg. Forgot to rush along with everyone else? Lag. Died? Lag. Didn't remember to heal a teammate? Lag .Got lost? Laggg. Whatever the problem, you can always blame lag. Remember, it's never your fault. It's your internet connection that's to blame. Always.

5. hax
If someone is really good, tell them they are 'Haxing'. It does not matter if you see them hit you. It doesn't matter if they were spraying. It doesn't even matter if they threw a grenade and killed everyone. They are 'haxing'. If they complain and try to say that they aren't hacking, call them a haxx0r anyway because they are denying it.

6. gey
Almost exactly like n00b. You can use this in any situation you feel necessary. And anything can be gey. Weapons can be gey, maps can be gey, people can be gey, and anything else you can think of of can be gey. They are all, and all well be, 'gey'. Except you of course.

7. w00t
The word of 2007. Who wouldn't use it? Use this whenever your happy about something. Did you just bash up your n00b? w00t! Found the Sword of a Thousand Truths? w00t. Friend got laid? w00t! Use this whenever you like. Be warned that if you use it too much, people will think you're on something, and will request that you share that something.

8. pro
You are pro. You are. A. Pro. You are the best of the best, strongest of the all, smartest in the bunch, and sexiest out of everyone you're playing with. You are the king. You are the pro. Of course, if the strongest person on the server were to appear in front of you, it wouldn't hurt to call them pro now would it. Other then that, you are the only one entitled to this word. Carry it well young Jedi...

9. kill steal
Whenever you shoot someone, and someone else kills the person and gets rewarded for that kill; they just kill stole you. Beat the hell out of them. Swear, scream, make up "Your Mom" jokes, taunt, and do whatever you can to make them feel miserable because they are the biggest n00bs ever. No one kill steals you. No one. It doesn't matter if you only did 1 damage. They kill stole from you, and they deserve to die. Make them suffer.

10. pwn
Pwn. Say it to everyone you killed, everyone you beat, everyone you owned. Show them just how strong you are. Show them how many people you can kill. Show them that you're better then them. Pwn them like they are Barbie Dolls. Show them who's boss. You pwn, and they are n00bs. That is the law now.

There you go. Misspell, swear, freak out, and most of importantly, have fun. And don't forget one of the most important quotes ever:
The cockier you are, the longer your E-Penis.

Apple's Dumbest Idea Ever.

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 03:34:00 +0000

I enjoyed almost everything I read over at Engadget about the Keynote earlier today. However, the thing that made me think Apple was out of their mind was when they announced that they would be charging $20 for five 'new' applications (which include Mail, Maps, Notes, Stocks, and Weather) on the iPod Touch. What an idiotic idea.

1. Apple must have hired someone from Microsoft because this is going to screw them over. Charging money for applications when people can get it for free by jailbreaking it? Please. I own an iPod Touch, and I wasn't planning to Jailbreak it because of the SDK coming in February. If the SDK has a catch like this, then I'm going to jailbreak my iPod in a blink of an eye. You're just steering people away from official Apple programs with this. Jailbreaking looks like the brighter side of the moon compared to this. Charging $20 dollars isn't going to make people buy it. Maybe 5 dollars. Maybe 99 cents. But $20? Way to steal candy from the kids Steve. This is just going to encourage people to jailbreak their iPods so they can get better features. Not only would jailbreaking the iPod give the user a larger variety of applications, it's free. Seriously. Steve Ballmer must have a mask on, and is an undercover Apple employee.

2. It's not fair for the early adopters. Apple said that the newer iPods were coming out with these. Why punish the early adopters? We should be awarded for being so loyal to the company that we would wait in lines for hours just to get one of your new products. You should be giving us flowers, not taking more money from us. Why can't you just give these things out for free like all those iPhone updates? And what about all those people who got their iPods on Christmas or during the New Year? Are you going to penalize them too? It just isn't fair that the early adopters should have to pay for something you can get for free when you buy an iPod now. I have a feeling this is going to end up like the thing with the iPhone price drop. Apple's going to get tons of complaints and end up free giving out these applications for free.

3. These aren't the exactly revolutionary applications. You can find all five of these applications in the iPhone already. It's not new. I wouldn't mind paying $20 to get an application which would let me play flash games on the iPod, but this isn't anywhere near that. These applications are things that we can all live without. We can all survive without buying the applications, and I doubt that people would really buy it. Again, it's $20. With that money, I could get Far Cry, Half-Life, Counter-Strike as well as other great games. I could buy twenty songs from the iTunes Store. I could rent over 8 movies from the iTunes store. I could be doing so much more with my money. Why should anyone have to spend money buying something that isn't even going to 'Wow' them?

4. You guys don't even need to charge $20! This technology isn't new. You already have it on the iPhone, and the new iPods are going to come out with it. What's with this $20 price tag you've put on it? This just makes it seem like you're not just thinking up of ways to take money. You don't need to charge us $20, you want to charge us $20. Keep this up, and you'll be losing customers...

5. I've usually liked all your products Apple. But this? Are you guys all giddy on all that booze you drank after hearing about Bill Gate's last day or is there really a Microsoft worker amid you. You know what, I think I'm going to take my twenty dollars and buy used underwear on eBay because that's a better way of spending $20.

I'm going to warn people to hold off your urge to buy these applications (as if there were actually people who would. This is a "just in case" sort of thing). Mix the lack of purchases along with the number of complaints, and within three weeks, all these applications are going to be free. Complain on.

Highlights of Macworld 2008 Keynote

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:57:00 +0000

As most of you probably know, the Macworld 2008 Keynote, and Steve Jobs introduced some cool (and other not-so-cool) products you should look forward to. Here are some of the highlights.

You're heard of the 'Time Machine', and now there is something called the 'Time Capsule'. Time Capsule is just a backup product which includes an Airport Extreme unit and a hard drive along with 802.11n wireless. With this, you'll be able to backup all your Macs wirelessly with the push of one button. Shipping in February, you can a 500G hard drive for $299 or a 1,000G hard drive for $499
Today is the 200th day the Apple iPhone has been out on the market. 4 million have been sold.
iPhone firmware 1.1.3 is now available, and there are 5 great updates for the iPhone. There are the new Map features (which you can see below), along with a customizable home screen. With the new update, you'll be able to have up to nine home screens, and can scroll through them by flicking it. You'll also have lyrics, subtitles, and languages on the iPhone.
You can get 5 new applications: Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather, and Notes on your iPod Touch. The catch? You need to pay $20.
iTunes 7.6 is out, and you will soon be able to rent movies from the iTunes store. It'll be $2.99 for an old film, and $3.99 for a new release. After renting a film, you have 30 days to begin watching it, and 24 hours to watch as many times as you wish.
Apple TV 2 is now out. It supports AirTunes, and you can stream your movies directly. You'll also be able to rent movies on Apple TV, but those movies will stay on Apple TV. You won't be able to export them. So sorry.
MacBook Air. This is probably one of the more exciting announcements. A new laptop called the MacBook Air is going to be out in two weeks. What's so great about it? Well, it's the thinnest laptop ever. Weighing in at 3 pounds, it has a 11-12 inch screen and is .8-1.2 inches thick. It's so thin that it can fit in one of those manila envelopes. You can get an 80G HDD or a 60G SDD, and the computer comes with 802.11n Wi-Fi. It all seems all fine and well, but the price is quite a shocker. This thin computer comes at the price of $1799. Perhaps version two would be cheaper.

Those are the main highlights of the Macworld Keynote. You can read the entire Macworld Keynote over at Engadget.

Tired of all that spam? Get a disposable e-mail account.

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:00:00 +0000

There are just times when we want a disposable e-mail account. Maybe we are forced to sign up using our e-mail address. Then, after registering, we never have to e-mail the site, yet we still get tons of spam regarding 'Hot Deals!'. Other times, we just don't trust a site with our real e-mail address. Who knows what type of 'things' they'll send us? I certainly don't want man-on-vegetable action in my inbox. Luckily, there are a few services out there which allow us to get a disposable e-mail account for free.

Before handing out the links, I just wanted to explain how most of these sites worked. When you go to the site, there will be a temporary e-mail address created for you. Use that address to register for a site, and you'll be able to access the e-mail account from the site. If you need more time, just click on "Give me ___ more minutes".

10MinuteMail - The title says it all. You get an e-mail account that expires in 10 minutes.

DodgeIt - When using the free account, your DodgeIt e-mail expires in seven days, and it isn't password protected. You also make up your own e-mail address. (___@Dodgit.com)

Spambox.us - With this site, you'll be creating a spambox account which will forward e-mails to your real account and then expires. This will help because you'll be getting the registration e-mail in your real e-mail account, but the site you registered on won't be able to send you spam (that is, if your spambox account has expired). You can choose between 30 minutes to 1 year.

GuerrillaMail - Great site for a disposable e-mail account. Gives you a 15 minute e-mail account.

MintEmail - Probably one of the best sites for a disposable e-mail account. Just go to the site, and an e-mail account will be created, and copied to your clipboard. The account will last 4 hours, but you can change that. Like spambox, MintEmail also allows for e-mail forwarding.

Protect your most valuable Gadgets

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:27:00 +0000

To many people, gadgets are everything. They would kill to be first to buy a revolutionary gadget, and would cry in pain if their valuable gadgets were scratched. No more. A product was shown at CES 2008 called the InvisibleSHIELD which was basically a 'shield' for your gadgets. The InvisibleSHIELD is a protection film developed by ShieldZone, and was once used in the Military to protect helicopter blades. The film is made of urethane, a clear and almost invincible substance. It's also extremely flexible so it will fit your gadgets wonderfully. Here are some pictures demonstrating just how strong the product is.

As you can see, this is an extremely durable substance. If you still don't believe me, here is a video demonstration. This video also gives you the most of the information you need. Watch and learn.

Right now, they support more than 400 devices, such as iPods, Smart Phones, Laptops, Cell Phones, Portable Gaming Devices, and much more. Get them while they're hot. Most of your questions can be answered in their FAQ.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that if the film gets scratched or ripped, the company will replace it for free, for a lifetime? I know. It's awesome.

21 Things to do When You're Bored

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:58:00 +0000

We all get bored at some time or another. Here are some sites for you to waste time whenever you feel like you're getting bored.

Meebo - If you're on a computer that doesn't allow you to download anything, and you just want to talk with some friends, Meebo is for you. SIgn up, and log into clients like ICQ, AIM, MSN, and more.

k2xl - Ten extremely fun games for you to play. My personal favorite is Boomshine. Try to get all the dots!

xkcd -The best comic ever. Must see. "A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language" Indeed.

Explosm - Home of the popular 'Cyanide and Happiness' Comics. More stick figures. Yeah!

ArmorGames - ArmorGames has a massive collection of games for you to play, including the new Portal Flash game.

LineRider - Play around with some physics as you create your own landscape. Then watch the boy 'ride' down. Endless fun.

Picnik - Edit all your photos in your browser. Quite fun to mess around the tools.

Digg - Find just about anything in the great social site. Browse through the hottest news, videos, and images with this great site.

Urban Dictionary - Might have some profanity, but this site has the definition of everything. You can even make your own definitions. A great place for some laughs.

Flash Flash Revolution - The online version of DDR. You don't even need to sign up (though you'll miss out on some features)

About - The place to go if you want to learn about something. For those curious or for those who want to learn more.

Open Hulu - A version of Hulu that doesn't require you to get a Beta Invite. Watch full episodes of your favorite TV shows.

Way Back Machine - Ever wondered what a website used to look like? Head on over, and check out what the most popular websites looked back in the old days.

Slacker - When you want to listen to come music, just sign up, and fire up Slacker. There are tons of categories, and great for those who just want some music.

Odeo - Want to listen to come Podcasts or Music? Odeo is the place to be. This old site probably has the largest list of podcasts and music out there.

Keybr - Instead of spending all that free time wasting time, why don't you practice your typing skills? Keybr will help you do just that.

Jooce - Currently in Beta, Jooce will allow you to play around with a virtual desktop within your browser. Watch videos, chat, and share files all in the comfort of a great UI.

Fark - Greatest source for news. Or rather, 'Not News'.

Technorati - Check out Technorati to find the best blogs for you to read. Tons or categories, tons of blogs.

Metacafe - Learn how to crack a safe, build a laser, and much more. Have fun while learning in the process.

Instructables - The site for 'Do It Yourself'-ers. Plenty of guides, and a place to go if you want to make something.

Listen to Podcasts on your Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 03:17:00 +0000

This is for all you podcast lovers out there. I love podcasts and waste most of my life listening to them. There was just a slight problem. Whenever I wanted to listen to a podcast, I had to turn on my computer and start iTunes. Then I would wait for iTunes to download all my podcasts before syncing them with my iPod. I just felt like that was a waste of time. I wanted something better.

After searching around, I found an amazing site called Podlinez which basically lets you listen to your podcasts on your phone. Just enter the URL of the podcast RSS feed, and Podlinez will create a phone number which you can call to listen to the entire podcast. Note that these are toll-free calls, so if you're going to be doing this on a cell phone, make sure you listen during a time your phone service gives you unlimited minutes. I've tried this service out, and was surprised at how well it worked. You could get a ton of podcasts. The directory includes a list of 2000+ podcasts, and although the quality isn't that great, you still got to listen to your podcast. It updates quite frequently, so if you have some free time, fire up your phone and listen to those podcasts.

Podlinez

11 Geeky Songs Everyone Should Hear

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:56:00 +0000

I enjoy music, and it just seems that there aren't enough Geeky Songs out there. Sure, there might be a few artists who are geeks, but the majority of songs out there don't have anything to do with technology and computers. I've compiled a list of 11 (technically 1) of my favorite Geeky Songs. Enjoy.

1. White and Nerdy - Weird Al
Weird Al has got to be the coolest-geeky artist ever. White and Nerdy is a classic. All about being Geeky.

2. Virus Alert - Weird Al
Another song by Weird Al, Virus Alert is just that. A virus alert. Awesome song.

3. Don't Download this Song - Weird Al (God I love him.)
Yet another song by Weird Al. This song is about the RIAA and why you shouldn't download the song. Ironically, this song can be legally downloaded. Link.

4. Technologic - Daft Punk
This is a Techno song that basically names all the things you can do with technology. This isn't the original music video. The robot baby freaks me out so I decided to put this version up.

5. Here Comes Another Bubble - The Richter Scales
Great song about the bubble on technology. Very catchy tune, and tells you what you need to do in order to be successful.

6. iGeneration - MC Lars
A song "Talking about the 'i' Generation" which is basically the iPod and iMac, and the generation you're in right now.

7. Tie: Geek Love - Fan 3/ True Geek Love - Tripod
Both songs have the same name, and I think they are both worth mentioning. The first one is a great song about a geek getting a girlfriend, and the one by Tripod is a comedy about the things a geek might say before making love. Very funny, and definitely geeky.

Geek Love (Fan 3): (Note: The Graphics are really bad, but the original version doesn't allow an embeded URL. View the original here)

True Geek Love (Tripod): (Fun starts after a minute.)

8. George Lucas Raped Our Childhood - Hot Waffles
For all those Star War fans.

9. Machine - Esthetic Education
Fast paced song about the joys of your computer.

10. The Geek Song - "Two Random Geeks"
I have no idea who those two geeks are. I don't care. It's still amazing, and about as geeky as you can get.

11. "Gotta Digg" - Kina Grannis
Come on. A song about Digg. Not exactly the geekiest, but still frickening awesome. "Gotta Digg!"

Feel free to share your favorite Geeky Songs. Geeks, rock on.

Get rid of Ads in Television Shows

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:37:00 +0000

I enjoy watching Television shows that I've recorded on my computer, but I've always disliked the fact that I had to skip all the advertisements. Thankfully, there is a program called Lifextender which cuts out advertisements so you can enjoy the show you downloaded without the annoying advertisements.

Lifextender is actually really quite simple. It scans the TV show in your Media Center for the ads, and then creates a copy of the video by cutting out the parts with the advertisments. This would save a lot of time if you watch a lot of recorded Television. However, the only problem with Lifextender is that it only works with Vista. But at least it's free.

Lifehacker via Inspect My Gadget

10 Reasons Advertisements Should Die

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:21:00 +0000

I've noticed a really annoying ad on Digg and just wanted to give my thoughts about the whole subject of advertising. Advertisements suck, and we'd all be better off without it.

We've had advertisements on the Internet for a long time, and even though they are necessary for the survival of some websites, I still hate them. Here are just some reasons I believe advertisements on the Internet stink.

1. Can anyone say "Annoying"?
Imagine surfing a website, enjoying an article about the ten hottest celebrities. Then, out of nowhere, an ad pops out. You'd think that it's extremely annoying, and that's exactly what everyone else thinks. Who wants to see bright flashing lights flying across the screen when they are doing something important? No one. Trust me. You don't need colors to attract my attention, so stop trying to kill me by inducing me with the 'rainbow'. The pop up itself has already gotten my attention. Heck, these advertisements could probably give someone a seizure or at least blind someone. It seems like a whole bunch of these advertisements were whipped up on Microsoft Paint, then animated with every color available in Photoshop. Add in stupid messages, some sound, and you've got yourself a top of the line annoying as hell advertisement. Screw off.

2. No one really cares that you're selling "XXX" or what not.
People come onto websites so they can read and enjoy whatever the website has to offer. We don't go to blogs so we can buy whatever the hell you're selling. Advertise your goods for sites like eBay, where people are actually looking to buy things. Don't clog up my favorite sites with spam about buying shampoo because that's not the reason I'm there. I don't go to sites like Digg to be pestered by some out-of-there company trying to sell me useless items.

3. Stop exploiting young children.
Yeah. I know what you're doing. Every single time you have an advertisement that has a subliminal message, you've just exploited a child. There are many younger kids out there who don't know that advertisements are hoaxes, so they will think everything is true, and that Mc Donald's is worth "Lovin". Stop exploiting these children.

4. Malware
One of the main reasons people are so wary of advertisements is that so many ads are festered with malware of all sorts. People are afraid of clicking on an ad because they don't want trojan's all over their computer. No one wants to risk clicking on an ad. Tell that to your marketing supervisor.

5. False Advertising
Advertising is one thing. False advertising is another. I just hate how there are so many ads with a 'Get your free Alienware computer! Click here!' when we all know there is no such thing as free things in ads. And what a great way to get a customer. I mean lying to them? Just awesome. I'm sure you'll have that customer back.

6. "Holy ****" that's a lot.
Another thing that annoys me about advertisements is the sheer size. There isn't just one or two. There are thousands. Most of the popular sites might limit it to be only two or three per page, but there are some websites that are swarming with advertisements. You'll see a blog post completely surrounded by ads on all sites. Each and everyone of them blinking and moving on their own. Do you honestly think the users enjoy that? Do you really think we're going to click on something?
7. Time Waster
Our time is valuable. I certainly don't want to waste it by closing an advertisement, but that's exactly what these advertisements are making everyone do. They close the pop up window as soon as it pops up. Why waste all that time? Every time we scroll to avoid an advertisement, every time we have to get rid of an ad, and every time we have to rant about advertisement, you're wasting our time. You're also wasting your own time developing the ad because just about everyone is fed up and tries to ignore the ad. Thanks a bunch.

8. "You're doing it wrong!"
All you witty people who work in the advertising industry. You're doing it wrong. If the point of an advertisement was to annoy the living daylights out of everyone, then Congratulations. Otherwise, you've failed. Advertisements on the Internet these days aren't encouraging people to buy a product. They are encouraging people to smash the computer screen because the advertisements are so damn annoying. Next time you're going to make an ad, keep it nice and small, take out the fancy-seizure-inducing colors along with any pop ups and sound, and I promise I'll click on you. Honestly. I will. Oh, and making it funny or interesting would also be nice.

9. It's not helping.
Advertisements are supposed to be promoting the products or the company supporting it. Unfortunately, most of the ads I've seen have failed to accomplish that. These days, all advertisers seem to think that sound in combination with blinding colors, and the word 'Free!' is going to make a user buy whatever they are selling. If they are actually under that delusion, and I wish them good luck because their company isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

10. We hate you.
I speak on my own behalf, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who think the same way. Advertisements, "We hate you". Make yourself less conspicuous, smaller, and a whole lot cleaner, and perhaps we'll consider hovering our mouse near you. Until then, farewell.
________________
If you would like to be Ad Free, use the AdBlock Plus Firefox Extension. You can say goodbye to all those pesky ads.

Get Your Free Desktop RSS Reader Today

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:36:00 +0000

NewsGator, a site that specializes in RSS Feed readers is now allowing users to get FeedDemon (Windows), NetNewsWire (Mac), NewsGator Go!(Mobile), and NewsGator Inbox (MS Outlook) for free. If you're a fanatic about staying on top of the news with RSS Feeds, these tools are a great way for you to get all your feeds without having to open up your browser. Here is a run down of what each of the applications do.

FeedDemon: FeedDemon is the Windows Desktop RSS Reader, which gives you a unique way of reading your RSS Feeds due to the fact that you can do it on your desktop. FeedDemon will allow you to read all your feeds, marking the one's you've already read, and even letting you see embedded video right on the application. There is also a function that will allow you to subscribe to your favorite podcasts and listen to them when you have some time.

NetNewsWire: Like FeedDemon, NetNewsWire is a RSS Reader, except this time, it's for the Mac. NetNewsWire contains many of the features included in FeedDemon and more. With NetNewsWire, you'll be able to print the pages you like and post articles to Del.icio.us. NetNewsWire is also integrated with Spotlight, Address book, iCal and more, so be prepared to find everything you want. There is also an included built in list of feeds for all those who don't want to spend the time importing their old feeds. They can just right in the action.

NewsGator Go!: This is a very handy RSS reader for anyone on the go. NewsGator Go! supports the Blackberry, Java Mobile, and Windows Mobile. NewsGator Go! will allow you to read all your feeds while you on the go, and you'll be given the chance to e-mail your friends with an article you found interesting. If you're using Windows Mobile, you can download podcasts and play streaming audio/video. Great for those on the go.

NewsGator Inbox: This is a RSS Reader for all those MS Outlook fans. NewsGator Inbox will send all your feeds to Outlook, and you'll be able to read all your news in Outlook. Great for those people who are constantly reading their mail. NewsGator Inbox also includes features in the other RSS Readers such as synchronization, search, and pod catching.

I think that Desktop RSS Readers are wonderful because it'll always be there; even if you're not connected to the internet. Plus, you don't have to go through the process of opening up your browser just to take a look what's going on in the world. Desktop RSS readers are wonderful, and you should definitely get these while you have the chance. Overall, if you've ever been a RSS lover, these are great applications for you to use. Not only will you get a whole lot of features, they are free. So hurry up and get your copy.

YouTorrent: Torrent Haven

noreply@blogger.com (Bookmark Geek) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 03:11:00 +0000

I've recently talked about BitLet which is a wonderful web application for anyone who's going to torrent something, but YouTorrent is another website everyone interested in torrenting should take a look at. YouTorrent is a torrent searching site that 'Searches in real time' (According to the website). It launched recently but has already had more then 150,000 searches, which just shows for popular it is. YouTorrent searches twelve sites including ThePirateBay, SeedPeer, Mininova, IsoHunt, and BitTorrent. In other words; you'll probably find anything you're looking for.

The website has a clean interface, and can let you modify your search based on date, name, the size, number of seeds/peers, and which site you want to search. There is also a list of the most popular searches as well as a list of the related results. I've tried a few searches myself, and I've found that although you only get a maximum of 500 results, you'll get the results quite fast. It takes no time at all.

Think of this as the Google of Torrents. It's a wonderful search engine, and I encourage you to check things out.

TorrentFreak