Posted in April 2007 …

Apr 24 2007
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microsoft, networking, software, technology

Windows Networking Tools

I have found out about a few really neat network tools, and if you’re into networking as I have become – you’ll find these invaluable.

WinPcap – installs the essential library files to run the following programs. It’s a network packet capture and filtering engine.

WinDump – download this and place it in your system32 folder of the windows folder, then hit up the command prompt and type windump [-options] where you replace [options] with the proper ones.

Wireshark- previously known as ethereal, this is a powerful and fully featured network protocol analyzer/sniffer. Great for troubleshooting network issues.

Apr 24 2007
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beta stuff, microsoft, software, technology, vista

Vista Beta Versions to Expire

By May 31 all beta and RC versions of Windows Vista will expire and cease to operate.  Microsoft will begin sending out notifications to these users.

My question is, anyone still using Beta 2, RC1, or RC2 of Vista??

Apr 18 2007
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linux, open source, software, technology, ubuntu

Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn Debuts Thursday

The new version of Ubuntu dubbed “Feisty Fawn” will be released either tonight through various FTP’s or tomorrow from the official Ubuntu website.  I’ll be on the lookout and will post the links when it is released.  If I get the time I will post a little review of the OS with some screenshots.

Apr 18 2007
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email, mozilla, open source, software, technology, thunderbird

Mozilla Releases Thunderbird 2.0

Mozilla has released the final version of Thunderbird 2.0, their next generation email client for the cross platform world. You can download Thunderbird and view the release notes below. I’ve highlighted the features that have gone into the new version here as well. I hope you enjoy it and I recommend everyone using 1.5 to upgrade to 2.0 ASAP! :)

What’s New in Thunderbird 2thunderbird-title.jpg

  • Message Tags: Create your own tags for organizing email. Messages can be assigned any number of tags. Tags can be combined with saved searches and mail views to make it easier to organize email.
  • Visual Theme: Thunderbird 2′s theme and user interface have been updated to improve usability and maximize screen real estate.
  • Session History Navigation: Back and Forward buttons allow navigation through message history.
  • Advanced Folder Views: Customize the folder pane to show favorite, unread or recent folders.
  • Easy Access to Popular Web Mail Services: Gmail and .Mac users can access their accounts in Thunderbird by simply providing their user names and passwords.
  • Improved Support For Extensions: Extensions can now add custom columns to the message list pane in addition to storing custom message data in the mail database.
  • Improved New Mail Notification Alerts: New mail alerts include information such as the subject, sender and message preview text.
  • Folder Summary Popups: Mouse over a folder with new messages to see a summary of the new messages in that folder.
  • Saved Search Folder Performance: Search results for saved search folders are now cached, improving folder loading performance.
  • Find As You Type: Finds and highlights message text as you type.
  • Improved Filing Tools: Recent folder menu items for moving and copying messages to recently used folders. Move / Copy again functionality.
  • Updates to the Extension System: The extension system has been updated to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier localization of extensions.
  • New Windows installer: Based on Nullsoft Scriptable Install System, the new Windows installer resolves many long-standing issues.
  • Windows Vista Support: Many enhancements and fixes for Windows Vista.

Download Thunderbird 2.0.0.0

View Thunderbird Release Notes

Apr 17 2007
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microsoft, software, technology, vista

RadarSync Free Vista Drivers

I found this great Windows Vista driver resource at RadarSync.  You can find and download a ton of Windows Vista drivers so be sure to check it out and see what you can get that’s needed.

Free Vista Drivers – RadarSync

Apr 16 2007
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browsers, firefox, microsoft, open source, software, technology

Windows Media Player Firefox Plugin

This is a really cool plugin installation for Firefox that installs a comprehensive WMP plugin set.  It will make Firefox and Windows Media work very well together.  Check out the download below, it takes just a few seconds.

 Download – WMP Plugin for Firefox

Apr 13 2007
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email, mozilla, open source, software, technology, thunderbird

Download Thunderbird 2.0 RC1

Good news, Mozilla just put up the page to download Thunderbird 2.0 RC1. I’ve detailed most of the new features in Thunderbird here on my blog and I’ve been using it since the betas and I really like it. The tag feature is really cool.  Check it out!

Apr 11 2007
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security, software, technology, vista

McAfee Personal Firewall for Vista

I’m a Comcast internet user and Comcast offers free McAfee security software to their clients. I haven’t been interested in McAfee for years because I think they lack in keeping up with current trends and creating programs that do a great job while not taking up a lot of system resources.

Well some of that changed today when I decided to check if the software was Vista compatible and to my surprise it finally was. So I said what the heck, and installed just the Personal Firewall Plus. It installed fine and only takes up about a meg of ram while in use. This surprised me a lot…

This firewall works well, has a lot of features that you can configure, isn’t annoying, and doesn’t take a lot of resources to run. I’m almost impressed. I’ll see what I think of the new Zone Alarm when it’s finally ready for Vista. For now I really like this McAfee solution and here’s a screenshot.

mcafeemain.jpg

A few things. In order to manually allow programs through the firewall or to configure a host of other advanced options, you have to actually log into Vista as the administrator. Another feature that I like is that the security center will notice if you have antivirus and antispyware installed and will be okay with it. That’s nice.

Apr 10 2007
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apple, cd/dvd, linux, software, technology, vista

The Versatile VLC Media Player

There’s a really cool media player that’s becoming more and more popular everyday. It’s called the VLC Media Player and it runs on Linux, Mac, and Windows including Windows Vista. It’s a versatile player that can play almost any audio or video content including but not limited to: DVD, VCD, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, DivX, MP3, ogg and more.

What I love about it is that it actually plays my DVD’s on Vista. I could not do this before because my copy of Vista Business does not come with a built in DVD decoder like the Ultimate edition does. So now I can do anything with optical media using all free software, and I’ve detailed it all on this blog various times. So check it out!

VLC Features

VLC Downloads

Apr 09 2007
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security, software, technology

How To Make Avast! Less Annoying

I use Avast on all of my machines because it uses little system resources, has a high detection rate, is free of charge, and includes excellent options with multiple scanners. Here’s how to use Avast and turn off its two most common annoyances.

1.) To make the two Avast icons merge into one, right click on the VRDB icon with the little “i” in it, and click on “Merge with main Avast icon”. Now you have increased free space in your taskbar.

2.) To make Avast stop talking to you, right click on the main Avast icon with the little “a” and select “program settings”. Then click on “Sounds” on the left, and tick the check-box that says “Disable Avast Sounds”. Alternatively you can just click on “settings” and alter them so they are not annoying. For instance I changed them so they don’t talk but give me little short pings.

Now you have a free AV solution that works great and doesn’t bother you!

Download Avast! AntiVirus – Choose the Home Edition for free AV, or browse the other versions depending on your OS.

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