Highly recommended. Plus! and Discovery.

A special post for the MSN freaks out there. In my honest opinion, Windows Live Messenger or MSN as it's commonly known, is one of the few things M$ has done right. Being a fan from nearly the beginning, I've watched it evolve, the latest WLM 2009 or version 14 being my favourite. But for those of you still on 8 and above, here are two add-on's that can make your favourite IM much better.

The Plus! add-on.

For the people that just want to add a little bit or a lot more spice to WLM, this is a great add-on. The Plus! add-on lets you customize variable aspects of WLM. From basic functions such as custom notifications for specific contacs, transparency of the windows, skinning capabilities to give the interface a custom look and feel, and my favourite, the display name colouring. If i'm on your contact list and you see a bunch of odd symbols, you need Plus! to see my name in all its glory ;)

One of the more advanced features of Plus! is that it allows you to download various scripts for the program. These are small add-ons that allow you to do a multitude of tasks. My favourite being the Screenshot sender which sends a contact a picture of what's on your display. There are so many scripts, i don't know where to begin. Chances are, if there's something you want to do with your WLM, there's a script for you somewhere.

The Discovery add-on.

I find this one to be a sneaky add-on. I won't reveal all the features because i like to use some of them ;)
But basically, it allows you to customize the notifications box, see when someone has opened a conversation window to chat to you (even before they've sent the message. gives you time to run away) and an encryption system for your messages. It may not be as customizable as the Plus! add-on, but it has some very useful features that Plus! doesn't have.

Personally i have both installed, but i'm in the process of trying out the new Discovery2 add-on for WLM 2009. So far my Plus! add-on is giving me grief with my display name styles. Other than that, Discovery2 is still in the Beta phase, so i'm expecting trouble ahead while they complete it. But if you're still on the older WLM, don't worry too much about upgrading yet.

Not again....

Yes i know i bitched at you all for bitching about facebook changing its layout, but i'm not gonna bitch this time. While i do like the current layout, and always have, i'm not sure if i want it to change. If it does, so be it, so is the game of life. The only thing in this world that remains constant is change.

The reason behind this new layout is that facebook is attempting to take a swing at twitter. Now, i understand its all about market share and business and blah blah, but really? I like facebook because its FACEBOOK. I had twitter, ended up deleting the account after a month cos i didnt see a point if i could put my status up on facebook anyway.

Just saying, i have mixed feelings about this new layout.....leaning more towards the negative.

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Ummm.....so i guess i'm evil?

Bored out of my mind, i decided to do a google search for "am i evil?" and i found a quiz. Well i took it and the result didn't really surprise me, given the fact that the past few nights i've dreamed about some pretty weird but what i think is interesting stuff. Mostly mafia related dreams, blood, guns, me getting shot a couple of times and being a hero. A sign? I should damn well hope so. It's my destiny :D

So here's my quiz result. And while some of you might think whatever, i don't. It pretty much hits the nail on the head....squarely.


How evil are you?

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R.I.P....I Knew You Well (sort of)

Excuse the headline, i just wanted your attention for a bit. I thought mentioning a death was enough to catch a persons eye, and i'm sure it worked, didn't it? Funny how people are so inquisitive that as soon as they see R.I.P., they need to check who it was that passed on.

But thats beside the point....or is it? I reckon it could soon be R.I.P. or Pieces for our dear old friend the Magazine. Just my theory, its probably not so. And why do i feel this way about a good friend of mine? Well.....paper is so 20th century (unless you live in a 3rd world country, sorry :[ ). Over the past couple of months i've been seeing countless headlines about the big boy in the e-book industry, The Kindle 2. Being the successor to the original Kindle, also a best seller, these could mean the end for paperback and hardbacks. But more about that further down. For now lets concentrate on a more main stream assasin to the beloved magazine.....The Internet.

If you live in a third world country (sorry again) then you probably don't use the internet that much. As for me, i can't live without it. I have broadband at home, a 3G modem i carry with me on trips out of town, and then my cellphone package has 3G too for when i'm nowhere near my laptop. It's become a way of life, and i feel it might replace our old friend the magazine. Why exactly?

Firstly, with a magazine, you get your monthly, weekly or bi-weekly issues. What this means is that you pretty much have to wait between 7 and 30 days to see what's new and newsy in the world. Nice. But not in my case however. I've become accustomed to getting hourly feeds of whats new. And instead of paying whatever one pays for the latest issue of their favourite mag, i get it for free. Let's take for example my favourite blog, CrunchGear. The guys at Crunch are forever posting articles on new things they find and any reviews they've done. That means as soon as its posted, i get a little ícon flashin in my web browser that notifies me about any new articles. With RSS and Atom feeds, the world of online news has become a whole different ballgame.

The downside to this is that you can't exactly take your laptop everywhere. This is debatable though, with the introduction of mini-laptops (netbook is a term i don't think we're allowed to use anymore, and i'm behind Psion on this) and internet enabled mobile devices, i.e. iPhone, iPod Touch, etc. Right now it might seem a little bit odd to just pull out a mini laptop anywhere and get online, but its a growing trend as mini-notebooks are already selling faster than laptops. Again the downside here is battery life. A magazine can be whipped out at any occasion and read, a notebook would depend on how much battery you have left and if you have any network, be it Wi-Fi or 3G. Each has its pro's and con's. But i'm pretty sure the only places we're going to see magazines anymore is 3rd world countries (i'm really really sorry for picking on you guys) and waiting rooms, or at the salon. I mean, its not like you're going to whip out your Kindle or Eee while you're getting your hair done, right?



Now lets look at E-Book readers in general. What makes E-Book readers better than traditional books? For a start, you can store as many books as you like on the internal memory, which is probably the biggest selling point. Instead of carrying a suitcase full of books, you just need one E-Book reader the size of a traditional book. Ok maybe its a little bit bigger. But compare one oversized device to 10 thick paperbacks and you get the point right? Not only does it serve as an e-book reader, but it plays mp3's too! So you can listen to some classical music while you site by the fire with your Kindle (actually, could this be where they got the name? Ha). Or maybe surf the internet while you're there, check your mail, go to the amazon store and download one or two more bestsellers, do some research, whatever you want. Heck, why read even. As far as i know, one of the controversial features of the Kindle 2 was the text-to-speach converter.....which pissed off publishers because E-Books and Audiobooks are two different things sold separately. It's since been killed off.

The drawback of this technology however, is that E-Ink (Electronic ink) is only one colour for now. So as far as magazines go, this is a no no....unless you don't mind looki....nevermind. But for newspapers and such, well, then we might be onto something. If i remember correctly, NewYork Times is already selling e-book readers and subscriptions. This would result in a cut down on production costs as they wouldn't need to use as much paper as before, everything will be done electronically.

I reckon it's only a matter of time before we see more and more people using MID's (Mobile Internet Devices) willy nilly on the streets. I'm actually enjoying reading the latest headlines on the way to work and on long journeys with the train. The end is nigh ;)

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The IM Rant....Apologies in advance :)

I've been wanting to write this for a while. I just couldn't gather my thoughts and clarify them to make it interesting. You might not think its interesting, but unfortunately i do. First of all, apologies in advance if you read this and take offence. That's not my aim. I just thought its funny to take note of some peoples chatting behaviour.

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU TAKE OFFENCE YOU CAN'T TAKE A JOKE! DON'T COMPLAIN!

Number One. The L337 chatter and the hipster. Annoying as fuck because you can't understand what the hell they type. Yes you may be the R0xx0r but you're a DUMB455 too. Maybe there's something in the water, or maybe even global warming, but this generation of teens are on their own planet. Maybe its just me, but seriously, when did we start speaking in algebra? What happened to vowels? What happened to proper spelling?

I saw an article on the BBC website about this. Or in hip talk, "sw n rtcl on d BBC site bt dis". Send me a message like this, be it on facebook, msn or sms and you risk deletion ;)

Number Two. The dramatic typer. I could say I might be one...but not really. And did you see that...what i did just there? Thats the only reason you could consider me a dramatic typer. I love my three periods (don't be stupid). And my quick little additions in brackets also add a bit more fun into what you're reading. Like a sarcastic remark or private joke whispered on the side or behind someones back....only its on your screen. But you get the picture, right?

We're entertaining. The other type of dramatic typing i absolutely LOATHE is the type that leaves you wondering if the person on the other end has some sticky keys (could be for a number of reasons....lets not get into that). You site there typing away with someone and then you gets thisssssss. What the fuck, honestly? Or you get this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As far as i know, in any language, one exclamation point is enough to get the point accross.

But then i have to rethink this because there's uneducated people that don't know when its appropriate to use the exclamation point. You use it to express emotion people! Like what i did here! and there! Maybe two is enough to really show you mean business. But 130? Even question marks. 130?? Two is enough to really make it dramatic. As for the extra letters...you're retarded sorry. Either clean your keyboard, or learn how to type like a descent human being....please.


Number Three. The Capitalist. You probably already know this, but when typing an article or message, capitals equals SHOUTING. And you probably already knew this, but its bad manners to SHOUT. If you find yourself being ignored, it might have been the fact that you "shouted" at me for no reason. If you got a keyboard problem, you should get that checked out....likewise if its because of OCD. Oh, accronyms are allowed to be in capitals.

Number Four. The Blind One. This one will probably offend some people but like i said, thats not my aim. Take it as a joke. The main characteristic of a pest is that they're unable to differentiate between an "away", "busy", "in call", "out to lunch" and "online" status on various instant messengers. This can lead to conflict when the question "why are you ignoring me" pops up.... Well lets have a look at the reasons behind this shall we.

Away according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary is defined as follows:

1: on the way : along <get away early>
2: from this or that place <go away>
3 a: in a secure place or manner <locked away> b: in another direction <look away>
4: out of existence : to an end <echoes dying away>
5: from one's possession <gave away a fortune>
6: steadily onward : uninterruptedly <clocks ticking away>
7: by a long distance or interval : far <away back in 1910>

You get the picture right? Lets take a look at busy.

1 a: engaged in action : occupied b: being in use <found the telephone busy>
2: full of activity : bustling <a busy seaport>
3: foolishly or intrusively active : meddling
4: full of distracting detail <a busy design>

Am i getting the message through? The rest are pretty self explanitory. SO on that note, if my status is set to "away", please don't assume i'm sitting right there so you can IM me and expect a reply. And if i'm "busy", it probably means i've got better things to do, or i'm tied up :)

And last but not least. Number Five. The Pest. I know alot of people, if they even read this far, will most likely take offence. This is the person that feels they HAVE to IM you if they find you in their online contacts. Most of the time without reason, or even valid topic of discussion. The opening line "whats up" comes to mind. Once you see the "whats up" pop up on the screen, you know the conversation might as well be considered dead. Rather than "hey how are you" or "hey what are you up to", they choose "whats up". With the first two, you can at least give a straight forward answer and elaborate, just to get conversation going. With "whats up".....what are the possible answers? "Nothing?", "Not much?", "The sky?", "My d***?" (sorry).

And when i stop replying messages you know its because you've either bored me to death or because i've found something better to do. Or i just don't have anything more to say.

Again, don't take offence.

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Facebook Connect now working.

I've managed to get my facebook connect up and running on my page. Now you can use your facebook account to comment and subscribe to posts. Also i suggest getting Firefox 3 or the Flock browser if you want to subscribe to the threads easily. The best would really be flock as it has a dedicated RSS function that flashes whenever theres new posts.

Instructions for Facebook connect are as follows:



1. Click the facebook connect on the comments box.
2. Click connect with facebook when the button appears, and allow facebook connect to access your profile like you do with any other facebook application.
3. Type in your comment and post it.

Note: This works on any site that has this feature. Of course if you have a Disqus account, you can use that, or you can just post an Unclaimed comment.

Now subscribing. If you click the options button highlighted in the picture above, you get a small list of options like the one below:



Click "This Thread" where subscribe is, and you get a dialog (in Firefox) like this:



Just select where you want the link to be shown and then click add. When you open your favourites menu, it should be there as a menu with the RSS feeds icon. Put your mouse cursor over it and you'll see all the most recent posts.

No i want to see more page views and a few comments before i bother upgrading again with FeedBurner. OK?

*edit* How is the new wide format looking? Sorry if you're on a small screen, i had to make everything wider because i hate it when Blogger cuts half my pictures out. I'm loving the fact i can see the full frame now even.

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Updating my blog. It's the 2000's people.

Over the next couple of days, due to a surplus in boredom and lack of fun things to do (half the people are gone away, it looks like i'm alone again this weekend) i'll be updating my blog. Its one of the geekiest things one could possibly do, but i've got nothing else to do.....well, other than watching or playing Star Trek, which is probably worse (don't you dare comment).

Its going to be a painful process, pulling apart my HTML and editing the source code, adding new stings of code, etc etc.....just know its a fucking job and a half. If you don't know what source code is, there's your answer just how difficult it is.

What will be new on my blog. Well for a start i've already edited the layout so my colum is a little wider. I need to get my pictures to fit in perfectly. I had to edit last night because i embeded a photo from my deviant-art account and it was overlapping my navigation menu on the right.....yes blah blah blah i know.

SO, coming soon, maybe new logos, more pictures, more gadgets and the big one i'm trying to work on....Facebook Connect. so you facebookers can log into my blog and comment....and stuff. and share. and whatever.

Watch this space ----->


*edit*

ok so this is proving rather difficult. i managed to get disqus working on my comments which was no biggie, but disqus won't let me use my facebook connect app i made so you can post with your fb account. I'll find a way to work it eventually. Other than that, look for feedburner and socialtwist capabilities coming later. i'll get there eventually....i will.