One of my favourite websites is NASA's excellent Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). Every day, APOD features an outstanding photograph or image of some aspect of "our fascinating universe". A succinct but informative explanation compliments each picture.
There is also a downloadable version of APOD available that automatically downloads a new astronomy picture every day and displays it on your computer desktop. The desktop version includes the image explanation, which is heavily hyperlinked for those seeking more information. It is therefore educational as well as aesthetically pleasing.
The APOD software is free and "as is". However, I've been running it for several weeks on my Windows XP system with nary a hitch.
Uninstall Tool, as its name implies, allows you to manage the uninstallating of programs. It can replace "Add/Remove programs" in the control panel, because it performs the same tasks and many more.
You can right click and directly view registry keys from uninstall information without having to open regedit and manually to find the right key, or to open the folder where the program is installed. This is practical, and saves time. Moreover, an info-bubble pops up to give you summaries of these parameters when you hover over items with the mouse.
If you are like me, you have too many programs installed, then Windows Add/Remove applet is slow to create the list even if your hard disk is defragmented. This program is much faster than the Windows tool and provides a search function at the bottom of the window.
For administrators, the access to the "hidden" programs is authorized and you should be cautious not to do anything if you are not sure of the consequences. These are hidden for a reason.
Lastly, this tool will also let you clean up orphaned registry entries left after uninstalling.
I almost forgot, the Uninstall Tool is free and multilingual.
XP SysPad is a launcher which makes access to Windows system utilities its specialty. All of the prime Windows system info and utilites such as the individual control panel applets, can be launched with the click of one button, which makes it easier than hunting around the explorer pane or waiting for menus to fold out. For convenience, it also can minimize itself to the system tray. It launches over 100 functions in all!
The program is very small with a minute memory footprint, and makes no changes to your system registry whatsoever and comes with uninstaller.
Do you connect to more than one Instant Messenger (IM) service? I have accounts on AIM, Yahoo, and MSN and there's no way that I'm going to have all three IM programs running at once. Is David on AIM or Yahoo? Is Bob on MSN or AIM? Are they online? Trying to keep track of which service your friends and family are on would drive you insane -- unless you use Trillian.
Trillian Basic is a free IM program that supports AIM, Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ in one neat, easy-to-use interface. All of your contacts are right there on one screen, so you can group and sort them any way you like. The features that Trillian supports are too numerous to list here, so just go ahead and download it and give it a try. If you like it and want even more features, there is a Pro ($25) version that offers access to IRC, Jabber (including Google Talk), Novell GroupWise messenger, and Rendezvous. The Pro version also offers video chat if you're into that. Since I don't have a camera and don't want people to see me scratching myself, I guess I'll stick to the Basic version until I get more adventurous.
And before you comment about the other IM clients that support multiple services -- yes, I know they're out there. I've tried Miranda and Gaim (and a few others that I can't recall right now) and really like them, but there are just enough things about them that bother me, so I end up going back to Trillian.
Vista Customization Pack is a tool to turn your Windows XP (with SP2) into Windows Vista, visually. It basically changes the appearance and organisation of icons. However this tool doesn’t exactly do the real Vista theme.
Key features:
New Installer offering two different setup options
Someone at work told me a little known Windows trick. If you want to resize the text on just about any open Windows application, just hold down your "Ctrl" key and move your mouse wheel. It resizes text in your web browser, e-mail and lots of other Windows applications. It even works in a database application at work that has no option to resize. This is pretty handy for those of us that don't see as well as we once did.
The Harvester Saga website is another one of those pbwiki websites, just like this one. The big difference is that this guys site is visually striking and he's writing an epic Sci Fi saga about planetary alliances and mysterious alien technologies.
Google Calendar is finally here! It's really easy to use, especially with the "natural language processing" technology of the "quick add" feature that allows you to enter events like "dinner Saturday with Joel at 8 pm." Each event can be edited with details about when, where, time, etc., but you can also make the event public or private and invite guests (bye-bye, Evite?) You can let the guests view the guest list or view the guest list and invite others to attend. Of course you can also configure reminders, which can come via email, SMS, and/or pop-ups. Outlook (.csv) and iCal calendars can be imported into Google Calendar and you can share your calendar with others. I signed up right away, now I just need events to enter!
Version 1.0.0.92 of Google Talk now supports buddy icons and nine different themes for chat windows. There is also a Google Talk download available for BlackBerry devices. However, the new features aren't integrated into the Gmail version of Google Talk -- at least, not yet. It would be nice if when you clicked "pop-out" in the Gmail GTalk, you would have access to these new features.
You need a Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. I'll send you an invitation right away if you write me and say I want Gmail.
FEEDBACK AND OTHER STUFF
Frapper - you people live all over the world!
Wow! Over 300 people and still growing! I invite all of you to record your locations on this map. You can include as little or as much information as you wish. I think you'll enjoy seeing yourself there.
Here's a small look at my frapper map.
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