You've been Rick Roll'd...

A funny joke going around on video sharing sites is to put the amazing 80's video "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley in the place of whatever a person is searching for. For example, let's say you heard about this crazy thing that happened in Utah where a guy got tasered by a Highway Patrolman. So you go to Youtube and type in "Utah Highway Patrol taser". You see a link to the video and click it. However, rather than the video you wanted, you are greeted with this video:

Windows 7

Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer gave the tech world a small glimpse into the new Microsoft operating system project, codenamed Windows 7. The word on the street is that the OS will be out in 2010. The OS promises to be an "evolution" on the current Vista OS (they didn't abandon the old kernel like Apple did when they made Mac OS X, but are using it to base the advances they have planned). The most fundamental change will be a touch GUI (graphics user interface). The new OS will look and feel like Vista but will be primarily controlled by finger-to-screen contact. Check out this video preview:

Video: Multi-Touch in Windows 7
So my thoughts: It seems like Microsoft is exploring everyone else's ideas . As you saw in the video, they have pinch to zoom feature and a scrolling and finger-through feature much like you see in the iPhone and iPod Touch. The video even plays off products offered by other companies like the Google Earth-like map program. Obviously, the company is only able to provide a preview into what they are planning. Frankly, it appears that Microsoft is taking a big step toward something "different", but its a step that other companies have already taken and are perfecting.

How hard will it be for Apple to put out a iPhone-like GUI for personal computers, playing off of ideas (software AND hardware) they already have in place? Not hard. At least not nearly as hard as it is for Microsoft to structure a similar platform. So, then, how hard would it be for Apple to advance the technology and make it better and easier to use in relation to other products like Microsoft's? Again, not hard. So, thus far, Microsoft still has to take some serious strides towards actually innovating something that will WOW us rather than serve to keep up with current innovation. Here are some screen shots:
Its obviously a waiting game at this point. We don't know exactly what Microsoft is planning for Windows 7. I only hope they will give us more information on this project before release than they did on Vista before its release so that we know what to expect. Maybe if we know whats coming, it won't hurt as much when it isn't as big a deal as we want it to be.

Speed Test

Ever wonder how fast your internet connection is? Well, here are a few sites that will help you find that out lickety-split:

Speakeasy: the name is a bit misleading but the site is great. The speed tester tests your download/upload rates to 8 US locations.

Bandwidth Place: this is probably the most simple and easiest to understand test out there. There are not bells or whistles to this site (like a little speedometer on other sites).

My Speed Test: This is another good one. I like it because it provides a rubric to which you can compare your results. Simple, basic graphics make it fun. Results are easy to understand. Make sure to scroll down to the actual test on this site. Its just a little bit down the page.

You may want to try testing your speeds at different times of the day. For example, try the test during the middle of the day from your home when traffic is supposed to be lower and from work or school where traffic should be a little higher. Then compare those results to a test later in the night, say 8-10pm. See how the bandwidth changes... it'll be like a science experiment.

Firefox 3.0

Good news everyone (all 3 of you... by the way, a welcome to our new viewer) Mozilla has released Firefox 3.0 beta (or RC if you like - all that means is release candidate). I have ranted about how I love Firefox in my post about Google Pack. Firefox is great. Its the fastest web browser I have ever used, it uses tab browsing like Internet Explorer (IE), and it allows you to use a link bar like IE and Safari. However, Firefox is much more customizable than the other browsers mentioned here. You can use any add-on that has been made for the browser and completely change the look of the browswer for a better feel. For example, I love the NASA add-on because its a sleek black and instead of a little icon that rotates when I access a site, a spaceship launches. Its amazing.

So, Mozilla is testing the waters for the secure release of Firefox 3.0. As mentioned, the current version 3.0 RC is simply a release candidate or beta version. Basically, Mozilla releases an early version to get more help from developers and feedback from the community. The version is pretty cool and has a bunch of new features and improvements. Indeed, the improvements make it even "more better" than IE and definitely worth the download. Here are few of my favorite new features and improvements (taken from the Mozilla site):

• Improved Security: One-click site info: Click the site favicon in the location bar to see who owns the site and to check if your connection is protected from eavesdropping. Identity verification is prominently displayed and easier to understand.
• New Download Manager: the revised download manager makes it much easier to locate downloaded files, and you can see and search on the name of the website where a file came from. Your active downloads and time remaining are always shown in the status bar as your files download.
• Resumable downloading: users can now resume downloads after restarting the browser or resetting your network connection.
• Tab scrolling and quickmenu: tabs are easier to locate with the new tab scrolling and tab quickmenu.
• Save what you were doing: Firefox will prompt users to save tabs on exit.
• Find toolbar: the Find toolbar now opens with the current selection
• Integration with Windows: Firefox now has improved Windows icons, and uses native user interface widgets in the browser and in web forms.
• Integration with the Mac: the new Firefox theme makes toolbars, icons, and other user interface elements look like a native OS X application. Firefox also uses OS X widgets and supports Growl for notifications of completed downloads and available updates. A combined back and forward control make it even easier to move between web pages.
• IMPROVED SPEED, MEMORY USAGE, AND RELIABILITY!!! ITS AMAZING

I love Firefox. I hope you love the new release. Obviously, you might run into a few mini-glitches but I bet you don't even notice them. Note: for windows users, the beta version will install in a seperate file and therefore be seperate from your current version of Firefox (I hope you have one). Mac OS X users, the beta version will completely replace your existing installation, however, it will leave bookmarks, history, links, etc. untouched.

Windows XP: Service Pack 3

Microsoft has recently rolled out an important Windows XP update called service pack 3 (SP3). Service pack 2 came out a few years ago and made a lot of new improvements for XP. SP3 is not as big of a deal as SP2 however, it is still critical to update. Improvements to the OS are minor. So why install it? Good question... It is always critically important to update to the newest version of any software package (could be the operating system or any application like Word) so that you have the latest and greatest in security for that application. Some applications that access the internet need to have special layers of security in order to ensure that the ports they use to communicate with the net are secure. Hackers find security weaknesses in such programs and will use their ports to gain control of that application and sometimes your computer. The best way you can protect your computer is by making sure it is up to date. Most of your computers will have automatically updated to the new version. To verify, follow these steps:

1. right click on the "my computer" icon on your desktop or on your start menu
2. select "properties"
3. a window will come up with information on it. Somewhere in there, you should see "Service Pack 3". If you don't then you need to download and install it. Click me.

Well, that's really it for this post. Nothing too interesting or exciting... just necessary. Just make sure you have SP3.

RSS Feeds and Google Reader

I enjoy "blogging" to an extent. I like to blog because I feel like it is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family. One thing is for sure, though, I never thought I would have my own blog. I created this blog in an effort to tell people about some of the stuff I think is cool on the internet. Anyway, so if you are reading this blog, that meant you had to come to my site by either typing in the url or whatever. To me, the worst part of checking other peoples blog is having to check each one individually. You have to go to each site separately and it can be time consuming and annoying. This is is why RSS feeds come in handy.

What is an RSS feed? Basically, they change the way you look at the internet. Rather than you going to your favorite sites (the ones that are updated regularly like blogs and news sites), you bring the sites to you. All you have to do is subscribe (for free) to a RSS reader like Google Reader. I found Google Reader to be the easiest to use but I'm sure there are other really good ones. Anyway, you set up your account (which takes like 45 seconds) then you simply go to your favorite sites and click on the RSS feed symbol which is located on the navigation toolbar (where you type in a web address) and go through the steps to add it to your reader (which takes about 10 seconds). Its really easy and it puts all of your favorite sites in one place, saving you millions of seconds. Here is a nifty video that explains RSS in very simple terms:

Try it out, you will see that its really easy to use and makes viewing your favorite sites much easier and faster. You can even add my site to your RSS reader.

For more info, go here: RSS Feeds

GWAP: Games With A Purpose

This is an interesting site I stumbled accross the other day. I am not sure how I found it, I just know that I found it and that is all that matters. GWAP is a site with games. In actuality it only has about 5 games. WHAT?! Why is that cool? I could find a site with a million games if I wanted. Yes, you could, but... could you find a site with a million games with a purpose? That's right, GWAP stands for Games With A Purpose. These games aren't just some silly flash arcade game like shoot the asteroids with a triangle (not that that game isn't sweet). The purpose of these games is to help computers learn and categorize like humans do. Basically, you play the games and the computer learns from the decicions you make. I'll be honest, the games aren't amaaaaaazingly fun, but that isn't the point is it. The point is to be amazingly purposeful and somewhat fun too.

So, what are the computers learning from us? As a simple example, think of a search engine. When you type in a word and ask it to give you all the images associated with that word, sometimes the computer makes bad decisions. In all truthfulness, the computer isn't making any decisions at all. Its simply following protocol which is to find all images with that word in it or related to it. So what one or more of the GWAP games do is teach the computer how certain images are related to words. If the GWAP team can get a large enough sample of game data, they can use it to help the computers that are used for search engines to make better decisions when bringing back search results. Hopefully, this project will make search engines better. That was just an example of one thing the project is doing but I think you catch the drift. Anyway, check it out. Its kind of fun.

Go Comics

I like a good laugh. I have always appreciated a good comedy, a funny joke, or just anything that brings a smile. When I was little (including the present), I used to pick through the Sunday paper with joyful anticipation of the comics. My favorite comics were Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, Peanuts, Foxtrot, and many others. I also loved to read the editorial comics and try to understand them. Anyway, the point of this post is to let you know of a site I found called GoComics.

Go Comics is dedicated to all the comics and editorial comics we love and appreciate. Its pretty much like that whole section of the newspaper, but online. Its got the comics section, editorial comics, and games and puzzles. I like the idea of the website because in the future newspapers are going to be obsolete. You can get any news you want, anytime, anywhere online. Why read it just in the morning and from only one paper when you can read it from a handful of different sources anytime, anywhere? Well, Go Comics is basically riding on that idea and grabbing the comic strips we love from all the newspapers and putting them in one, readily available place. What a great idea!

So, what are you waiting for? Follow the link (click the logo) and check out this great site.

Google Pack

Google Pack is a free software package from Google containing the following software:

1. Google Earth: You know... that really cool interactive globe that Google has created? The program allows you to see a satellite image of any place in the world. You simply need to input an address or place and the globe rotates and zooms into the area that you indicated. If you haven't played with this yet, check out your house or workplace, school, or whatever. It sweet.

2. Norton Security Scan: This is a basic security scanner. If you can't afford virus protection software this will help you at least scan and see whether you have an imminent threat. If you don't have anti-virus software, let me know and I will see what I can do... Its important, especially if you have a PC.

3. Spyware Doctor: The Spyware Doctor is also a starter program that scans for problems and fixes most minor issues. If you have a big spyware problem, you may be allowed to fix it only by upgrading. Truthfully, I have used this program many many times and have found it to be quite efficient. I have never been prompted to upgrade.

4. Google Desktop: Google desktop is fun little widget-like program for Windows users. Windows XP already comes with a sidebar which is what Google desktop essentially does. But, if you have XP and want the sleek look of a sidebar, hook it up with Google Desktop.

5. Picasa: this one does stuff with photo organization... I have never used it and don't have much desire to at this point. But, I am sure it is okay.

6. Mozilla Firefox: This is a shareware web browser. Firefox has established itself as a truly wonderful browser over the past years. It has less security weaknesses than Windows Explorer (although this may be a result of the smaller market share it possesses. If you think about it, people that write viruses or try to break into your system through application hacking do so most often through the application that has the greatest market share. It is more likely to be successful in hijacking a computer through the web browser's port by assuming that that computer is using the most common web browser). Anyway, Firefox also allows you to customize it much more than explorer. Pretty much, it does everything Windows Explorer does better and it does more things than what Explorer allows you to do (completely change color scheme, for example). Its cool.

7. Google Photo Screensaver: This is a fun little screensave that allows you to make better picture screensavers from your own photos than the default windows picture screensaver. Its kind of fun to use.

8. Adobe Reader: This is an essential, must have, get it right away, program. You need it to read .pdf files which are rampant over the internet and through business. If you don't have it, you better get it.

9. Google Talk: This is a instant messenger. Not essential.

10. Skype: Pretty cool communication tool (that rhymed). If you don't know much about Skype, it is a instant messenger that allows you to make phone calls through your computer to other skype users for free or allows you to pay a small price to use it as a telephone line, Voice-over-IP style.

11. RealPlayer: yucky... to me, this is as bad as Winamp (sorry winamp and users (all 3 of you) and sorry RealPlayer users, you aren't as bad as Winamp users).

12. Star Office: This one is like Open Office, which was featured in an earlier post. You would do well to use either Star Office or Open Office. They are very similar and both are good.

Here is a link to the download site: Google Pack

Google Books

Recently I was listening to a book-on-ipod and felt like I wanted to read a bit of the book for myself. I didn't want to go to a library to check it out (too much effort) and I didn't want to buy it either. Pretty much, I just wanted to read the thing without having to move (call me lazy... I'm a victim of convenience). So I grabbed my trusty computer, pulled up Google, typed the book title in the search field, and there it was... a link to an online copy of the book, hosted by none other than Google. I am sure that many of you know of this feature, but I imagine there are many people that do not.

Google Books is an excellent resource for people that want to read an entire book or just parts. Google Books is not the only site out there to find online books. Many libraries are putting books online for our convenience. It is important to note that you typically cannot find complete versions of newer books. Most books are on the site, however, in a "limited preview" format. The site is still a Beta version because I'm sure they are working on getting it to the point where more books are completely accessible.

I'll tell you one thing though, it is very difficult to read for extended periods of time on the computer. The inherent problem with reading the computer screen is the fact that the monitor has a backlight. When you read a book normally, the words are lighted by the light in the area in which you are reading. It is much easier on the eyes to read a lighted surface than it is to read a back-lighted surface. Anyway, check out Google Books and see if you like it. I think its pretty fantastic.

Google Maps: Street View

I am pretty sure that anyone reading this (all 2 of you) know about map sites like mapquest, google maps, or whatever. Well, this is not to introduce you to the sites themselves but a feature of my favorite of the sites, Google Maps.

So let's say you are trying to find directions to a house on a side of town that you are not very familiar with. You have the direction and you even printed off a map with a little line leading right to the house. Well that's all fine and good. Unfortunately, you don't know the area to well and you don't really want to have to search through the neighborhood trying to follow the directions to Walnut Drive (or whatver) some obscure road. Well, never you fear. Google Maps can help you get to your destination by showing you what the road looks like from the perspective of a driver. How, you might ask? Street View. Google Maps has sent (is sending) drivers all over the country to take 360 degree pictures on every road in major cities. Pretty sweet huh. Try it out. Enter your address into Google Maps and if it provides a link to street view you can see the street from the street rather than the satellite.

Below is a picture of my favorite Subway and Albertson's Grocery store in Street View.

cnet.com

So I am a huge fan of open source software (software with an open source code meaning that the code, which is written in a computer language and is the building block of the software, is open to be edited by whomever). I like it because it is usually inexpensive or downright free. I also like it because the source code is open. Now, I don't know any computer languages. I don't have much interest in being able to "code." So why would I like the fact that the source code is open? Well, open source code means that anyone can edit it. Which means that anyone who is interested and knows what they are doing can make meaningful contributions to it. It also means that the software is not being dominated by one company. A lot of companies like Sun Microsystems, Google, IBM, Novell, even Microsoft produce open source software and turn it over to programmers that are not employed by them (at least they don't have to be) or to each other. Universities also create open source software. Anyway, the point is, when the code is not owned and there is no real effort to make a profit, the software comes to us inexpensively. That makes me happy. The software is typically pretty good and useful.

Today's featured site, www.cnet.com or www.download.com, is a very useful site for finding these open source products. The site allows you to download software free most of the time. The site also contains non-open source software that is also inexpensive or free. Here is a brief list of some products that I have found useful and that are completely free:

1. AVG Anti-virus software: a really decent anti-virus software for windows (maybe mac)
2. Firefox - you can download this browser in a lot of places but download.com has it and i love it so i have to mention it.
3. Spybot - this is a great spyware detecter and destroyer... try it out, you will be amazed at how much crap you have
4. Ccleaner - I hope this stays available forever. It automates the cleaning of your recycle bin, internet cache, temp files, etc. Run it once and you will be amazed at the quantity of hard drive space that is possessed by meaningless crap. If its not available for free for some reason, e-mail me and I will get you a copy of it.
5. Rocketdock - I love this software for PC. It gives you a dock (like on a mac) that is pretty cool to use. Try it out. You will become addicted to how easy it is to access your files using the dock.

check out the site and the products I listed, if you wish, and enjoy!

Open Office

Most of us use word processors, presentation software, and spreadsheets on a regular basis. These important software are a basic part of our everyday lives. Most of us "grew up on" Microsoft Office. Microsoft always makes such a sleek user interface for their software packages and they make it so darn likable. The new Office 2007 for the PC (love it or hate it) is by far the best and most intuitive office suite software package created by Microsoft thus far. But, let's dispatch with the niceties...

The big problem with Microsoft is that you have to sell body parts on the black market in order to afford the software packages. So why do people buy the software? Unfortunately, the world is entrenched in the mindset that only Microsoft produces good office programs and that if we were to try one of the the less expensive programs, we wouldn't be able to communicate with the rest of the world. Another explanation is that Microsoft was the first to create a really good software suite and streamline it. Other software packages like WordPerfect provided an excellent word processor, but failed to gain the large market share that Microsoft did. They made it available, by default, with their popular operating systems as well as through partnerships with various Microsoft distributors like HP, Dell, Gateway, etc. "Ohhh the tyranny of monopoly... when will you release us from your clutches?"

May I present to you a beautiful alternative... A software package created by the superheroes of the technology sector: Open Office. Let's learn a little about this package from the makers themselves:

"The OpenOffice.org project is primarily sponsored by Sun Microsystems, which is the primary contributor of code to the Project. Our other major corporate contributors include Novell, RedHat, RedFlag CH2000, IBM, and Google. Additonally over 450,000 people from nearly every curve of the globe have joined this Project with the idea of creating the best possible office suite that all can use. This is the essence of an "open source." community!"

"But," you plea, "if the superheroes of the technology sector made this software package, it must cost a lot of money." Fear not! This software package comes at a very reasonable price: ABSOLUTELY FREE! "But," you cry, "I won't be able to use it with Microsoft Office documents. Especially since they recently changed their file formats to .docx, .xlsx, etc. in effort to further oppress us and keep us down" Fear not! Open Office 3 Beta is completely compatible with these file formats. They have broken evil Bill's grasp on the office suite market share. "BUT," you exclaim with your last breath, "I won't know how to use this magical "open source" software as well as Microsoft Office." Fear not! The software is very intuitive and user friendly. Dare I say, more intuitive than Microsoft Office because it was made by us, for us (think FUBU).

Enough drama. Open Office contains a word processor, a database wizard, a spreadsheet creator (or whatever you call it), a paint-like program, and presentation software. Here is the link so that you can download a version for yourself and test out the wonder that is Open Office. They have a version for Windows XP/Vista, Mac OS X, and the many various Linux distros. Keep in mind, the Open Office 3 Beta is a work in progress so it might be better for you to start with Open Office 2.4. Here is the link: Download it free here.

Below are some screen shots. Notice that the appearance is akin to Office 2003. In the new version 3 the design format is much the same. User experience is the same as what one would expect from Office. You have to try it to really know how similar it is. I don't think that you should switch from Microsoft Office. I use Office (on my mac) and its great. But, I still think that Office costs too much. I think that if I had to purchase Office, I would just use Open Office. Try it and Enjoy it!

Off-The-Wall Site of the Week

This is a new feature... Everything about the site is a new feature... Anyway, I like to find off the wall sites (successful ones usually) and I would like to share them with everyone. Most of the time, these sites will be humorous (at least to me) and random. So without further ado, today's featured Off the Wall Site of the Week is: Grey and Red, A Squirrel Journal.

This site is definitely off-the-wall. The author, squirrelmama, has a vibrant love of furry animals, in particular, squirrels. From what I can tell, she is a wildlife rehabber/ squirrel enthusiast. Most of her posting talks about current squirrel events. The author also includes personal stories regarding the little rodents and has a very colorful way of explaining her feelings towards them. "Two fragile lives, two delicate decisions" is an excerpt from a post by the author called "Robo-rodent".

"Even in his tough guy "Terminator" role, Arnold Schwarzenegger might not know how to resist the nut-begging antics of this one Amherst, Mass. squirrel: Rocky the Robotic Squirrel is part of a behavioral experiment undertaken by scientists at Hampshire College. And he has a lot in common with Arnold because he is a mechanized life form (without the trademark angry scowl of AHHHHNOLD's "Terminator" role). Perhaps we should call him The Squirrinator."

The story goes on to tell about this particular squirrel experiment and how they are using the robotic squirrel to interact with other actual animals to observe behavior.

I know that the site is meant to be serious and light-hearted. Indeed, I find it both light hearted and humorous, however, it is definitely an off-the-wall site. Enjoy it.

Check the Bottom

Just a quick note:

Check below the posts for videos that I think are cool, amazing, funny or whatever else. Also, please leave comments and tell me what you think about the site and/or the videos.

Slashdot: News For Nerds

Many news sites contain a link to what they call "Technology News". What the link should really say is "Nerd News". For nerds to get their news they need to visit a lot of these news sites and sort through the stories to find the news that truly interests them. As is probably obvious, there are many news sites that are particularly geared towards the nerd at heart but I found one that seems to be expertly geared to nerds... almost as if a nerd (or group of nerds made it). So, of what interest is this site to us "non-nerds"? Some of us may not be nerds but still have nerd tendencies. If you are interested in technology news even to the slightest, this site is perfect.

Slashdot is divided into a variety of categories. The site reads like one long list of news lines with paraphrased stories attached. Next to each headline is an icon indicating what category it belongs to. So, lets say you are a "non-nerd" that likes to follow news about space exploration... (sounds kind of nerdy). You could scroll through the news links looking for little NASA icons (which indicate space news). Or let's say instead you have investments in Microsoft and want to know what the company is up to in most all of its endeavors. The nerds know a lot about this and so you would scroll through the page of today's news for little icons of Bill Gates. Even better, you can search the site for all recent news on Microsoft and read it all in much the same way.

So what is the advantage of this site over, say, Google (I mean, why not just google "Microsoft" and see all news stories and browse that way?) Well, as you all know, searching Google for such information will bring back a very broad range of links. Slashdot is a concentrated news site... It is a one stop shop for Tech news (like Walmart). So, check out the site, enjoy it...

Hulu/Sidereel

I have missed The Office now two weeks running. Moving has taken its toll on my TV watching (not that that is a bad thing). I think its best to miss most things on TV which is what makes Tivo so wonderful. It allows you to watch ONLY what you want rather than what is on... this isn't about Tivo. Indeed, the trouble for people like me is that we don't have Tivo or DVR or those other nifty TV recording gadgets (VCR?? yeah right). So in a time of need, rational people either get on itunes and buy the episode (which is silly if you don't buy the whole season) or pirate said episode. Well, fortunately, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and other broadcasting syndicates (I mean corporations) are streaming episodes online, through their websites, at no cost. Many of you already know this. The issue, then, is having to go to each of the sites, navigate through some potentially confusing website architecture and deal with some strange video streaming software that takes time to load. You then have to deal with a bunch of advertisements and the like. The worst part? You have to do this for any show you missed across the many networks out there! (TYRANTS!! can't convenience be MORE convenient!)

There is a solution (a legal one, even) to this madness. www.hulu.com. A video streaming website that combines all of your episodes onto one convenient site. The software that streams the videos is akin to what is used by YouTube. It loads fast and is easy to use and even share (I have included a sample with this blog, plus if you keep checking the site I will update it with funny clips mostly using hulu.com). You can see most of the episodes you enjoy using this site.

But, what if the show I like is on the WB (Smallville or something... thats the only good show on the WB) and they aren't hip and with it enough to stream videos using hulu? Never you fear. Sidereel is your secondary solution to missing your favorite TV shows. Sidereel actually has more content but a lot of it may not be legitamate (okay, I'll say it... illegal). But it is also a video streaming site that provides you with benefits of watching (in full screen, but not as good of quality as hulu) the shows you love and missed.

There you have it folks. Two very convenient video streaming sites that will enable you (as long as you have broadband) to enjoy the goodness that tv has to offer. Enjoy!

The List Universe

Well, every blog has to start somewhere. So here it goes... Drum roll please... The first featured site is: the List Universe (www.listverse.com). So who likes David Letterman's Top 10? Well, to tell you the truth, I hate it. I think his top ten lists are rarely funny, and when they are funny, they aren't really that funny. I dwell upon "the funny" because when something is meant to be funny, it darn well better be measured in terms of funny. Which its not. The List Universe is not intended to be just funny. The lists in the universe can be funny, sad, amazing, crazy, absurd, dumb, extremely interesting, unintersting, or whatever else. Each list offers its own standard by which it should be judged.

So, the site is basically a blog that has a new list everyday. The lists range in content from
"Bizarre Mental Disorders" (http://listverse.com/health/another-10-bizarre-mental-disorders/#more-9130) to the "Top 10 Most Evil Women" (http://listverse.com/crime/top-10-most-evil-women/) to the "Top 10 Most Amazing Film Sword Fights" (http://listverse.com/movies/top-10-amazing-film-swordfights/#more-9151).

The really great thing about this site is that there are numerous authors and the lists cover a very broad range of subject matter. Check it out. There are many lists on the site so make sure to use the search feature to find a list on a subject that interests you or to simply browse the archive of the thousands of lists already posted.

You want to know what my favorite list is huh? Well, I don't really have one, but for the sake of discussion: The top 10 worst movie scenes. This list made me laugh. The teen witch scene is definitely the worst, even though it wasn't deemed so. http://listverse.com/movies/top-10-worst-scenes-in-movies/

Subscribing

You can subscribe to this site by using the RSS feed. To learn more about RSS feeds, click here.

To do this:

• simply click on the RSS symbol on the address bar (or the symbol just above this post)
  
• follow the instructions to link it to your site.

I suggest using Google Reader as I have found it to be the most user friendly and ad free reader.

What is the dull bulb?

Overview:

The dull bulb is a place to learn about interesting sites and software. I also like to share an occasional video. Mostly, I just want to tell people about some of the cool stuff out there in the digital world that will either make them more efficient in what they do or just have more fun with their computer. My main focus is as follows:

• Internet sites that are informative, funny, provide good consumer offers, provide interesting news, etc.
  
• Software that is useful and that will provide you with a way of doing what you like to do on your computer for FREE.

I am a strong freeware and shareware advocate (click the word to learn about any of the highlighted topics). Many times, these software solutions are open source which also makes me an advocate of that software design methodology. I want to help people learn about solutions to common computer needs and issues that are don't cost them money - TECHNOLOGY SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE.

But Why?

Really, the idea of the site came from fact that sometimes it is hard to know where to go to find interesting things on the net. I enjoy surfing the web mostly because I have a broad range of interests (ranging from sports [go Cubs!] to open source software to funny or cool videos). I really enjoy telling people about the things I find. I am regularly asked by friends and family questions like: "where did you find that site?" or "what is that program you are using?" or whatever. We all hear about cool sites or other interesting things from friends or family, but that is only every so often. The purpose here, then, is to create a one stop site for interesting things that is updated daily. If you are like me and want to check out new and interesting things, then this site is for you.

Anyway, I hope that you will like the site. More than that, I hope that you will help me with input on what has been posted and give me ideas for more interesting sites. I can come up with stuff by myself for a long time but I want the site to be particularly interesting to you so please help me with some input. Additionally, I have included a link on the front page of the blog indicating that you can subscribe to the site. Subscription occurs by simply getting the RSS feed from the site and linking it to your reader.

Steps for setting up VMware Workstation

Want help setting up your own VMware Workstation partition? Here are the BASIC steps:

1. Install VMware Workstation (I will not go into the steps involved here. Although I will give you the link to where you can download a free trial). The process is pretty self-explanatory.
   
2. Download a copy of the operating system you want to try. You will need to have a version of the OS that you are allowed to use. If you want a free OS that is easy to use, click here.
• You will need either a DVD/CD copy of the OS or an image file (click here for info on what an image file is). The image file does not need to be mounted anywhere, just have it on your desktop or some easy-to-access location.
  
3. Start up Workstation.
4. 
   

Funny Videos

Open Source Software

This page is under construction....

Come back tomorrow.

About the Author

I am a Law student (former business student) that simply needs a creative outlet. I have studied Business Administration and I loved it because I got to take whatever class I wanted within the business school. For example, I took a broad range of courses ranging from Finance to Marketing to Information Systems. Currently, I study the law because I enjoy writing, critical thinking, and... the law.

Beyond all that, I am extremely interested in computers, the internet, software, and other related things. I think Kyp in Napolean Dynamite, expressed best my feeling when he put the following phrase to song: "I love technology." I do. I think its fun. I like to tell people about the stuff I think is cool. To this point in my life, my knowledge of computers and technology is minuscule. I don't know anything about programming, I have never tried to learn any computer languages. Is that important? I don't think so. I can use the stuff that people make and I like what they have made. That's all that matters. Generally, I love to experiment with things on the computer - I guess I'm a computer junkie.

My computer: I use a MacBook running Leopard. It has a 2.4 GHz Duo Core processor, a 250 GB HDD, 4 GB of memory, and a GMA X3100 graphics card. Its name is Gold Baby (that's right, I named my computer... in fact, I have names for all of my electronic devices that are dear to my heart - e.g. The Boss, The General, and El Coronel are my external hard drives; The Little Boss, Jumper, and Little Guy are my jump drives; and my iPod's name is "Negrinho"). I also virtualize Windows XP with VMware Fusion and run Vista on my BootCamp partition. So there you have it.