Firefox 1.5

The Mozilla Corporation (not the Foundation anymore) has released the newest release of it's Popular Firefox Web Browser. When I installed the Browser and ran it for the first time, A Wizard guided me through the upgrade process. It checked my extensions and themes for incompatibility, and offered to update them (automatically). If there weren't any updates for them, It Disabled it. New features include integration of the MiniT and Tabrowser Preferences. However, it will break some of your extensions and themes that do not have updates. For example, SpoofStick, an extension I like that tells you what domain you're really at, does not have an updated version. As with most things open-source, I would be surprised if The update doesn't come within the next month or so. Go out and download the New Browser from http://www.mozilla.com. Happy Browsing!

AIM Triton

This is a long rant about AOL's New AIM, so get your reading glasses ready:

The New Version of AOL's New AIM came out recently, and I have a few things to say: IT SUCKS! For starters, It occupies a total of 26,764 K of Ram, minimized to the System Tray. That's about 26.1 MB of Ram, just sitting there! Let's start with the Install Routine: After downloading the Installer from the Installer (I've never been a big fan of self-downloading installers...), I came upon this screen. Something that's bugging me about this is that regardless of weather or not you check to make AOL Explorer your Default Browser, It still makes itself your Default Browser. Next, during the install Routine, it adds a File called "HostManager" to your Startup Section of the Registry. It then adds another Program to your startup section called "Run IPH." Then, AIM adds itself to your Startup Section Without Asking Your Permission! When the software is done installing, You are presented with the so-called "friendly" interface for setting up AIM. It looks as though AOL has acquired plaxo, based on the little "powered by PLAXO" icon in the top right-hand corner. You are then asked to fill out rather personal information. Part of the thing that bothers me here is that I have never heard of this Company (Plaxo, not AOL) before, and debated in my head weather or not to fill this stuff out. I filled it out with John Doe information. As if telling the world who your Boss is isn't bad enough, you then are asked to fill out Your Home information. Plaxo then wants to know the names, address, and other knick-knack personal information regarding your Contact lists in Outlook, Outlook Express, Yahoo! Mail, and MSN Hotmail. As if that weren't bad enough, you are then Prompted to Import all of your contacts into your Buddy List. You are then informed that Setup is complete and all of the so-called "benefits" of having one universal address Book. You can also choose if you want to install the Plaxo Toolbar in Outlook and Outlook Express. Regardless of weather you Check it or not, the toolbar is installed. In the automaticlly-launched AOL Explorer, Some very-flashy (literally, the entire thing is done in Macrodobe Flash) Advertisements liter your screen. Who would have thought that Ford would sponsor AOL!? AOL's IM Start Page demonstrated the New features of AIM Triton. What comes up when you try to close the Browser. Firefox, Mozilla, and Camino have something similar to this, but the thing that bothers me is the Second Sentence: "By Closing the browser, you will Close all Tabs." Well, duh! This is the AIM Triton Main Windows. Let's play "Find the Ads!" I spy with my little eye... Two ads in that small bottom section alone. As we all know, AOL is infamous for adding many unwelcome Desktop Icons to the Windows, Mac, Linux, whatever Desktop. This is the "Before" Screenshot. This is the "After" Screenshot. Note that there is also the infamous "Free AOL and Unlimited Internet" Icon on your Start Menu. When you try to uninstall the Product, it does an awful job. I had to manually clean out the Registry from all 30 References to "AOL," and All 8 References to "AIM" from the System Registry. It's obvious: Don't even think about the new AIM. It's going to completely screw over your computer with junk you didn't even ask for.

Table of Analogs in Windows and Linux

A while back, I posted a Table of analogs for Windows and Linux Software. This post linked to a digg article that linked to a non-existent webpage. I'm here to patch that hole with my own table of analogs. This will be an ongoing project. Each time I make a change to it, It will be a new post. It's Available at http://dankeenan1.tripod.com/. Click on "Table of Analogs."

AOL can edit your AIM Buddy List

Something very disturbing happened today. I come home, I start up Gaim. I get an IM from "AOL System Msg" telling me that they have added AIM boats to my buddy list. Worse yet, they all are AOL services, such as moviefone. The Actual Transcript went like this: (14:57:24) AOL System Msg: AIM added a new AIM boats group to your Buddy List.

(14:57:29) AOL System Msg: Send IMs to moviefone and shoppingbuddy for great holiday flicks and gift ideas. (To remove 'em, just delete them. Learn More) If you use AIM, I strongly discourage you from using it. Then again, what would you expect from the company famous for Closed internet systems (or buying Netscape and destroying it, whichever you prefer).

Holy C***, this thing still Works

I was very upset when I got home today because I was just told that my Beloved SanDisk Mini USB Key had gone through the Wash (You can stop laughing now). It went through Both the Washing Machine and Dryer. This was very upsetting to me because only part of it was backed up onto my hard drive. However, Lo and behold, It still works! Without Issues! Let this be a testament to SanDisk, and how awesome their Products are. If an employee of SanDisk is reading this, Please, by all means Keep up the good work! You can be assured that all of my Memory purchases will be coming from SanDisk from now on.

The Basics of Security on Windows

For the past few months, I've been working on a presentation entitled "The Basics of Security on Windows." I've been doing this mostly because I have people hounding me (both at school and at home) about things that have gone wrong on their computer. These are PDF files available from http://dankeenan1.tripod.com/index.html. Give me feedback on what you think, as this is still a draft.

The table of equivalents of Windows software in Linux-Digg Article

This is for all you linux fans out there (including myself). This is a Direct Quote from Digg.com: "Newbies usually search for Linux analogs of Windows software, and advanced Linux-users cannot answer their questions since they often don't know too much about Windows. This list of Linux equivalents / replacements / analogs of Windows software is based on our own experience and on the information obtained from the visitors of this page."

Error Message Generator

Two posts in one Day! A new record! Anyway, I had to post again to tell the world about the Error Message Generator. If anyone here has seen the PC Magazine Backspace colum, you know what I mean. It includes limitless possabilities. The one I made looked like this:

Google Reader

Google Labs (Famous for coming up with new Projects almost monthly) has come out with an RSS Reader similar to Yahoo!'s My Yahoo! Service. You can search for Feeds using (surprise, surprise) the built in search function. If you know the location of the feed, you can also manually enter in the feed location. It also supports importing and exporting via OPML files, good if you've amassed a large collection of RSS Feeds in Products like Mozilla's Thunderbird. If you want to add my feed to Google reader, go to http://tinyurl.com/e399e. Near the top of the window, You can click on the "subscribe" Button. If you need a google account and Don't Have one, you can e-mail me at . I will send you an invite for G-Mail, which includes a google account. You may not need to do this sometime in the future, but for now, that will get you a g-mail account.