20010504 Lockergnome Windows Daily

05.04.2001 GnomeREPORT

You're not going to believe this -- even after you read it. Check out this message that Lockergnomie Ian Byers sent us today: "I have been a faithful gnomie for quite some time. Keep up the excellent work! I have to tell you about a funny thing that happened to me at lunch today. I was out walking and I saw an individual who looked identical to you. I thought to myself: 'There is no way that can be Chris -- what would he be doing up here in the great white north?' But the similarities were uncanny. So, I stared a little longer and eventually gained the courage to ask if, indeed, it was you (or [if he was] related in some fashion). Well, when I asked him, he knew who I was talking about! He said he's been asked that on more than one occasion and he, too, was a fellow Gnomie. Well, this gave me an idea.

"You should run a Chris Pirillo look-alike contest. I think it would be a blast even if the person does not look like you I am sure they can think of something to do for it. Then have some people vote on the top 10 that you think are good candidates. I know you are an extremely busy person and if you like the idea I would love to help. Thanks again for the great work you've done so far..." That's a killer idea, Ian. Consider it an official event at Gnomedex! We'll find a totally geeky prize for the winner. Anyway, I'd like to formally apologize to anybody who looks like me. I have a self-deprecating sense of humor; you would too if you looked like the genetic love child of Bill Gates, Gilbert Gottfried, Rick Moranis, and Robert Redford. Okay, maybe I was stretching that last part. Believe me, if I was trying to fuel my ego, I would have used unleaded. Let's have some fun at my mental expense, eh?

I've posted some of your "ad blocking" feedback to the Bits & Bytes page. Right now, the blogging engine is down for routine maintenance; we'll post more relevant diatribes soon enough. I've been getting a stream of e-mail from independent technology content publishers; they may not move to a fee model soon enough. Even if they do, it won't be enough to sustain interest and market viability. C'est la vie, you may say. But where do you go when you get online? Why? I'd love to discuss it with you on this weekend's Chris Pirillo show. Listen Saturday at 2PM CST (GMT -06:00). Jake may even go off on one of his patented privacy tirades (actually, patent pending). He wrote it on his shoe last week. I may even bring up the fact that we're developing a Linux arm to the Lockergnome family. Does that make ya happy? Okay, well... we tried.

Chris Pirillo

GnomeDOWNLOADS

MSN Messenger Interface v1.0 [480k] W9x/NT/2k FREE

http://www.btinternet.com/~james.jenkins3/soft/msnm.zip
http://www.softwaredungeon.com/interface.htm
http://screenshot.lockergnome.com/msninterface.png

{See what you're receiving} This super sleuth works alongside MSN Messenger and allows you to know exactly what Hotmail is sending you (as well as who the heck you're chatting with). It includes a Contact State Logger (to help you keep track of who's coming and going). Basically, if you know how to click, and you're somewhat familiar with how MSN Messenger works, you can use this program. Great -- yet another fun and easy way to NOT get work done. Hang on, I've got another message to answer. Consider this an easy way to get behind the scenes without getting your hands dirty. Wow, that's a lot of data...

yvReminder v1.2 [205k] W9x/NT/2k FREE

http://yvolksoft.narod.ru/yvReminder/yvReminder.zip
http://yvolksoft.narod.ru/yvReminder/
http://screenshot.lockergnome.com/yvreminder.png

{Keep track of important dates} Everybody should use this tool to remind themselves of birthdays, anniversaries, the birth of an anniversary, or the anniversary of their birth. All data is taken directly from your Outlook Express address book. Remove, change, and edit all of your contact information via this app -- and send messages directly from it. Column widths are fully adjustable and your settings will be saved. At a glance, you can determine someone's (or some couple's) age. How many shopping days are left until July 26th. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

GnomeSYSTEM

How to Change the Default AutoSearch Search Page

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q198/2/79.ASP
http://www.google.com/google.reg

"This article describes how to change the default AutoSearch search page without having to install the Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK). The AutoSearch feature enables you to conduct a search directly from the Address box in Internet Explorer or the Address toolbar in Windows 98 and Windows 2000 by typing "go," "find," or "?" (without quotation marks), followed by the topic you want. For example, typing "? mountain bikes" (without quotation marks) automatically searches the Internet for information about mountain bikes. By default, Windows uses a random search engine to perform your search. If you want to specify a particular search engine, you can do so by using the IEAK or by editing the registry."

GnomeTERM

VECTOR GRAPHICS \ Sounds like the name of an art store, eh. "Hello, and welcome to Vector Graphics. I'm Victor." Actually, they're images built upon geometrical formulas. This format makes for a cleaner image. It can be stretched, resized, and generally abused on screen -- without any unseemly changes. When printed, a vector image is just as smooth. Compare this to a raster (bitmap) graphic, which can be blocky and pixilated when resized and / or printed. Ick. Since the vector format is of a higher standard, it's perfect for digital animations. Ya know, like Flash stuff. Don't look now, but I think Victor is flashing his printer.

GnomeFAVORITE

The End Of Free

http://www.theendoffree.com/

{The demise of free content} They use Blogger. We use Blogger. Blogger is cool. Anyway, this bloggin' site is dedicated to discussing the demise of free content on the Web -- and it's possible reemergence, too. So, it's not a "glass half empty" scenario all of the time. Here's one post: "I am not suggesting that everything free on the Web is going away -- nor that it should. Of course there will continue to be tons of free stuff on the web -- much more than non-free stuff." Well put. I certainly don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon, either.

GnomeTIP

Hardware comes in every shape, size, and (thanks to the innovative folks at Apple) color. Although, I can't remember the last time I really wanted to look at a lime green peripheral. I'm more interested in having it work correctly rather than matching it to the drapes. Wireless technologies are creeping into the marketplace. Most of these will come in two flavors: 900MHz and 2.4GHz. Which is better? Logic would dictate that the more expensive unit is a wiser choice. Besides, cheap hardware is typically prone to problems. 2.4GHz devices will have a wider range when compared to their 900MHz counterparts; most walls don't exist for 2.4GHz devices. You can move farther away from the base without signal degradation. There's another reason to go for "more" with two point four: less interference. There are a ton of 900MHz machines operating on the same frequency (cordless phones). When your home network is set up for wireless Internet connectivity, this is a very important consideration. You want a clean signal for maximum bandwidth. On that subject, if you're not already operating sans network cables, be sure that you go with a 802.11b compliant system. No, that's not a new droid from the upcoming Star Wars flick. It's the IEEE standard (operating around 2.4GHz).

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This week's Gnomie is Window Planet. "This site is dedicated to all your unheard voices, to those that wouldn�t normally have a voice to be heard..." Why I like this site: It's all by users FOR users!

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