Google Apps for Your Domain

Apparently, it is not very difficult to get into the “Google Apps for your Domain” beta testing. I heard about it this morning and signed up. Luckily for me, I was granted access immediately. For those of you who dont know “Google Apps for your Domain” is, its google’s new venture. Your domain gets private-labeled email(gmail),IM(google calendar) and calendar tools(google calendar) and also you are able to use google page creator to create pages and post them to your website. Everything is hosted by google and for calendar,gtalk and gmail to work, all you have to do is change some dns settings for your domain.You get email addresses folowing the format email@yourdomain.com .  You sign into your email at https://www.google.com/a/yourdomain.com  . So far, as far as I can see, its the same gmail(that everyone uses) which has been bundled into this offer. Right now, I am slighly concerned about privacy. Will google be permanently storing all my mail like how they do it for gmail? If pushed by the government, are they going to release my mail to the government? 

technorati tags:google, gmail

Blogged with Flock

µTorrent is creating a WebUI

       I just found out that the  µTorrent development team is creating a Web based graphic interface for  µTorrent. The project is in its alpha testing phase and it allows you to remotely monitor your bittorent downloads. This webUI can be accesed through the port on which you run  µTorrent.  You would access the webUI through your IP.So, if your IP address is 64.233.167.99, and you run µTorrent on port 666, you can run µTorrent on port 666 through your web browser at  http://64.233.167.99:666/gui/index.html   from any PC.
       The webUI will be locked with a configurable password to allow only authorised people to remotely monitor and control your downloads. The webUI is accessible through Firefox 1.5.1 and through Opera 9.0TP2 and also through IE.

Here is a screenshot,someone took of it whilst using the webUI in Opera 9.0TP2:

More can be found out about this here.

Technorati Tags: µTorrent, bittorent, webUI, torrent, filesharing, utorrent

SONGBIRD: A BOOT IN ITUNES’ ASS

Before I say a word about Songbird,here is a screenshot to feast your eyes on: Are you done feasting your eyes on it? If you are done then read on.As I said earlier,Songbird was released this morning as a proof of concept.The first word I muttered when I saw it was WOW!!! The shiny black alone won many people over to download it.So,..Songbird is a media player just like Apple’s iTunes (Songbird likes almost exactly like iTunes) but with a twist. Unlike Apple’s iTunes which connects you to one store and makes you buy all your music needs from that store, Songbird gives you many choices in search of a music shop.Songbird allows you to connect to and buy music from a very wide range of shops.Songbird allows you to connect to 9(nine) music stores by default but more are going to be added,I am sure.Also,since Songbird is built on the same platform (XULRunner) as Firefox,Songbird functions as a special web browser that detects available media on websites that you visit.Songbird plays any kind of music file that you can throw at it.Also,Songbird is extensible.Modules called extensions can be added to it to be enhanced.Some people are claiming it is a memory hog and it crashes when you start it and open its window immediately,but that hasn’t yet happened to me.When I start Songbird and I maximise the window immediately,nothing happens.Also,its memory footprint is really small on my pc even though I have lots of processes running.The only time Songbird crashed on my pc was when I tried to change the defualt theme whilst I was playing a music file. Also,another bug i noticed in Songbird is that,sometimes the playback time exceeds the specified time.For example,if I am playing Rammstein’s-Du Hast,the file is shown to be 3 minutes long but sometimes playback goes on for about 30 seconds more.Also,a preferences or another tab should be made available to allow configuration of Songbird because not all users know that you can also edit Songbird by going to about:config Songbird is a proof-of-concept so users shouldn’t expect really high standards from it.Also Songbird is for only Windows right now but versions of it for other OSes are in the making and will be released real soon. Though,i hope it moves beyond a proof of concept really soon. The Songbird website was fatally ravished by the traffic so the website is offline but you can download it on different mirrors.Here is a mirror.Boing Boing had an interview with the leader of the dev team here. PS: You got to love the Songbird logo.It shows a birds with headphones on listening to music and farting.I can only guess why the bird is not smiling and is farting.Here is a picture of the logo.

Technorati Tags: songbird, free, itunes, music, XULRunner, DRM

MA.GNOLIA:Social bookmarking with a twist

I got an invite to the private beta test of Ma.gnolia somewhere last week. Ma.gnolia is a new social bookmarking service with a twist. Ma.gnolia describes itself as “Found in the new search”. When I first saw it,I thought,it was one of those ridiculous del.icio.us wannabees with extra dots and vowels.(As someone asked,”Where does that darned dot go again?”) . But that isn’t so, Ma.gnolia does have a twist indeed.It allows you to save your bookmarks publicly and privately.Then, Ma.gnolia also allows you to interact with other users in the community by joining groups,making contacts,creating member profiles and sharing boomarks in groups. It is extremely easy to make contacts with other users.You just go to their profile pages and click on an icon to make them your contacts.From then,you can see their recent bookmarks on your page.You can also create groups or join some groups.After you join a group or create one,you can also see the most recent bookmarks from the group on your frontpage.You can aslo see the most recent bookamarks from the Ma.gnolia community. Each bookmark on Ma.gnolia has it owns page you can rate it and also see a preview of the webpage.Also the page shows the name of users that have it on their bookmarks.Also,when bookmarking pages,you can add tags to these pages.Ma.gnolia has a tags page which allows you to see you tags,your contact’s tags,your group’s tags and everyone’s top tags.Most used tags are in bold and in bigger fonts. Also on the profile pages of each Ma.gnolia user,you can find his/her top tags,a bio that the user wrote about him/herself,the user’s recent bookmarks,his/her contacts and groups. Finally,Ma.gnolia allows you to import bookamarks from your browser.Currently,you cannot import bookamrks from Del.icio.us, Blinklist, Furl or Simpy though plans are in place to allow this soon.Ma.gnolia is also creating an API. My only gripes with Ma.gnolia is that,it takes some time before the bookmarks you upload appear on your bookmarks.There is a bookmarklet for your borwser that allows you to add bookmarks to Ma.gnolia from your borwser. There are rumors in the works saying that a toolbar/bookmarklet like the del.icio.us one is being created. Ma.gnolia is currently an invite only beta. You can sign up for an invite on its webpage. A more indepth review can be found here. A screenshot of Ma.gnolia: Technorati Tags: ma.gnolia, social bookmarking, web 2.0, bookmarking,

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Sorry folks,I know I haven’t been blogging up to expectations for the passt month.I have been extremely busy and have also been trying some new beta services out.Tommorow,I am going to blog Ma.gnolia which is another social bookmarking site with a twist. Also I will talk more about the new features in Chatsum and also talk about the new Gtalkr. There are lots of other sites that I will review.So please hold on to your pants till tommorow.Thanks a lot.

*END OF PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT*

Technorati Tags: ma.gnlia, chatsum, gtalkr, social bookmarking

SHAKE YOUR BOOTY

I dont know why i found it remarkable.Ah well, “SHAKE YOUR BOOTY AND WAVE YOUR SWORDS AT THE RIAA.“

FOAM AT THE MOUTH ABOUT THIS, PIXELANTE CHILDREN

John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 South Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
305-666-4366

January 16, 2006

Paul Eibeler, CEO
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and Rockstar Games
622 Broadway
New York, New York 10012 C/o Blank Rome

Dear Mr. Eibeler:

As you may know, three homeless men in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, were beaten with baseball bats last week by two teenagers. One of the victims, an African American gentleman, died because of the attacks. This has made headlines around the globe, as has discussion of a likely video game connection to these baseball bat beatings.

Your company has made and distributed the most popular violent video game series of all time—the Grand Theft Auto games. In these GTA games, beating innocent people to death with baseball bats is a featured entertainment activity. Your company has also distributed Manhunt which features the same kind of virtual reality baseball bat beatings. This game is so sociopathic that it has been banned from certain countries. Additionally, your company, during this past holiday buying season, launched the incredibly brutal “brawler� game called The Warriors, which also features death by baseball bat. The Warriors is based upon the 1979 movie of the same name that was yanked, in effect, by Paramount Pictures because of all the copycat violence it was spawning.

You also know, Mr. Eibeler, that huge numbers of academic, scientific, and medical studies prove that violent video games like this, when played by teens, lead to specific acts of teen violence. There are no studies that rebut these findings. You also know that your company has designed and marketed the aforementioned violent games for sale to minors. Your company even went so far as to embed explicit sex scenes in the GTA: San Andreas game which criminal deception resulted in a vote of 355-21 by the US House of Representatives to condemn your company’s acts. That also garnered you the “Worst American CEO of 2005 Award� by MediaWatch.

Finally, you need to know, Mr. Eibeler, that there have been many, many killings linked by law enforcement officials and others to your company’s violent murder simulation games sold to teens. Most significantly, Mr Eibeler, there have been killings of homeless people directly linked to your company’s Grand Theft Auto games. Baseball bats have been used in some of them.

You have until five o’clock p.m., Tuesday, January 17, 2006, to announce a recall from all retailers of all of the aforementioned three game titles—The Warriors, Manhunt, and all versions of the Grand Theft Auto games—or I and others shall proceed to secure appropriate remedies against your company in these regards.

Please govern yourself accordingly—for a change.

Regards, Jack Thompson

Here is a letter a lawyer sent to TAKE-TWO makers of GTA and other so called violent games.This is one of the dumbest letters ever written. Is this guy really a lawyer? If so then he is a disgrace to the Florida bar.Common,my pet lizard is even wiser than he is.Lol,whats so hilarious is that he doesnt even have facts to prove his claim of studies revealing that such video games lead to specific acts of teen violence.

Ah well,I guess it is his way of getting publicity.
Well Mr John B. “Jackass” Thompson,come to my house for my GTA games and you will see what a baseball bat can do to such a dumb like you.

Pirated of this website.

Technorati Tags: gta, videogames, violence, humor, vidoegameviolence, gta, games, rockstargames,

Google Free Proxy: Access Restricted Websites

Yesterday I tried to access my website from a university computer. Unfotunately the entire domain blogspot.com was in the list of blocked websites. Luckily I remembered a recent article…

O’Reilly points out how to use Google translator service (language tools) as a free proxy to bypass the restrictions. Basically they provide a url which performs an english to english language translation, your connection is directed to a google.com page so this page won’t be blocked (unless google.com is on the black list, which is unlikely).

The en|en is an english to english translation. If you use fr|fr you get a french to french translation and so on. The proxy method helped me bypass the restriction and access my blog. But remember it does not hide your IP address.

Based on their idea, I simpy used this link to access my blog.
http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=en|en&u=http://killeroid…
You can replace the killeroid…. with your blocked url and bypass the block.

In the same page comments, they point to another quick way using the Google Mobile Search – a tools for searching and viewing the Web on your mobile phone (more info). Google may alter images, text formatting and/or certain aspects of web page functionality to suit best for mobile phone view. Based on this concept, the url which let me access my blog was
http://www.google.com/gwt/n?u=killeroid.wordpress.com
Though the formatting, sidebar and css was gone, a limited amount of content was accessible.

Often some websites are blocked on university and office computers to prevent access to restricted websites with improper content. Although I was surprised that they had blocked all blogs from wordpress.com on the server, this tip helped me access my blog. Read more tips to privacy and security by protecting your IP address.

Courtesy of this website.

Technorati Tags: google, free, proxy, mobile, blog, restricted, restrictions

FAVORITE WEBSITES

Last time,I wrote about my favorite firefox extensions but this time around,I am going to write about my favorite websites. They include some sites that I always visit when I come online and other websites. Here they are:

1. Goowy -
   

   My start page.It has a flash based interface and includes traditional webservices such as   email,contacts,widgets,calender,games,etc.It has a widget that allows you to access feeds from your favorite websites.Go check here for more on it.

2. Meebo -
   

   A web based instant messenger application.I use it for all the other networks except MSN.Check here for reviews.

3. TechCrunch -
   

   A weblog dedicated to profiling web 2.0 products and companies.It is usuallyy updated a coupla times a day.

4. Gmail -
   

   I cant live without my email.

5. Digg -
   

   A technology news site that allows users to suggest content.Some of you may prefer Slashdot.I visit both of them but I prefer Digg.

6. Writely -
   

   It is a web based word processor. I use it for all those word documents that I have to edit in school with patners. Check here for reviews.

7. WordPress -
   

   My blog is based here. So I always check it first thing in the morning and read/moderate all comments.

8. Livewire Forums -
   

   One of the best teen forums around.A personal quirk,I visit it every morning.

9. SolutionWatch -
   

   Another weblog devoted to profiling web 2.0 products. It isnt updated as much as TechCrunch.

Please leave comments and tell me more about any similar or better sites.And I hope can send me an invite to Newsvine.I desperately need one.Whoever does it gets a WLM invite,a Kahuna(New Hotmail) invite and a Wallop invite.Thanks.

Technorati Tags: favorite, goowy, startpages, ajax, IM, web2.0

NEXT-GEN KEYBOARD

That is a picture of the OPTIMUS keyboard.It is a next-gen keyboard which has every key being a stand-alone display showing exactly what it is controlling at the very moment.It is like having a fully customizable keyboard without shelling extra bucks to buy kits and extra keys.Since each key has its own individual screen it can display any image almost instantly.
Here is a shot of the keyboard being used to play quake:

Here’s to hoping that it wouldn’t be that expensive when it comes out.

Damn,I still cant stop drolling.More can be found out about it here or here.

Technorati Tags: next-gen, keyboard,

RIAA”s nightmare

A new mobile P2P file sharing application has been created. The creators say it is “supposed to act as a source of inspiration for listening to new music and as a way of recommending music to other people.” The application is called Push!Music.
It currently runs on WIFI-enabled PDA and allows users to recommend songs from their collection on their PDA’s.
Here’s how it works:

Imagine that you have a mobile device that can store and play back music files, for example a mobile phone with an MP3 player. As you encounter various people, the devices you are carrying connect to each other wirelessly and media agents from the other nearby devices check the status of your media collection. Based on what you have been listening to in the past and which files you already own, new music might spontaneously and autonomously “jump� from another device to yours (and vice versa). Later, when you listen to your songs, your Push!Music player also plays some newly obtained tunes that you had not heard before.

                              

More can be found out about here.
This should scare the RIAA .You guys at the RIAA,suck on this. Here’s to hoping they make it open source so that others can add even more features to it.

SO LONG FOLKS

So long folks.I am going on vacation with my dad and will be back on the 1st of January.I will be without a laptop for the whole period.The only gadget I will be taking with me is an MP3 player.I hope to catch up on my reading.You guys have a roaring New Year.

Chuck Norris-The facts

So,i found this page here. andI thought it was massively hilarious.So what do you think about it.leave a comment.

Many of you have probably already seen this in forwarded email form,
but it’s actually one of the funnier things I’ve been
forwarded. Everything you always wanted to know about Chuck Norris but
were afraid to ask. Enjoy.

22 Chuck Norris Facts

1. Chuck Norris’ tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
2. Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
3. Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
4. The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.
5. Chuck Norris defines love as the reluctance to murder. If
you’re still alive, it’s because Chuck Norris loves you.
6. Chuck Norris isn’t hung like a horse. Horses are hung like Chuck Norris.
7. If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can’t see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.
8. Rather than being birthed like a normal child, Chuck Norris instead decided to punch his way out of his mother’s womb.
9. There are no disabled people. Only people who have met Chuck Norris.
10. Chuck Norris can win a game of Monopoly without owning any property.
11. There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.

12. In fine print on the last page of the Guinness Book of World
Records it notes that all world records are held by Chuck Norris, and
those listed in the book are simply the closest anyone has ever gotten.
13. Chuck Norris invented cancer because he was tired of killing people
14. In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Chuck Norris could use to kill you, including the room itself.
15. Chuck Norris is the only man to ever defeat a brick wall in a game of tennis.
16. Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
17. When Chuck Norris goes to donate blood, he declines the syringe, and instead requests a hand gun and a bucket.
18. Chuck Norris has two speeds: walk and kill.
19.When Chuck Norris jumps into a body of water, he doesn’t get wet. The water gets Chuck Norris instead.
20. Chuck Norris can divide by zero.
21. Chuck Norris can set ants on fire with a magnifying glass. At night.
22. When Chuck Norris runs with scissors, other people get hurt.

Update (12.13.05): Click here to read new original Chuck Norris facts.

Technorati Tags: funny,

GROUPER FILE SHARING

Well,it seems almost everyone in the blogoshere today is blogging about music piracy. Is today a national music piracy day or what? Though,I am against the RIAA’s efforts,it is getting really annoying to go to blogs and find almost the same articles.I need something else to read.
Ahh well,I am blogging about private file sharing software.Specifically Grouper.
Grouper is a private file sharing software in its beta form.It is seems to me that it has been in a very long beta stage.I always get notifications to update it almost every two weeks.
So,Grouper as its name suggests makes you share your files in groups.You either create groups to share your file in or join specific groups to share your files in.Download speed largely depends on the connection and bandwith of whoever you are downloading your files from.
This is a personal screenshot from an old build of grouper:

On the left in the smaller panel,all your groups are listed.Those you created and those you joined are listed under the private tab.Meaning,only people in those groups can see and download the files you share in the group.In theory,this works really well because only your people you trust can see your files to download.But in the real world,people you trust dont have all the files you want to download and so you have to invite strangers to your groups or join groups made by strangers to get the content you want.You can also choose to share your files publicly.This way,everyone can download them without being a member of the group inwhich you share them.Every user of grouper has a profile and a signature video which you can watch.Grouper also has tools which help you create your own homemade videos.
Grouper is very easy to use.A new user gets the hang of it really easily and thier support system is really fast.
Unfortunately,Grouper has no mechanism in place to stop the spread of viruses and spyware.Five minutes after starting to use Grouper,I got popups on my screen.I will suggest to anyone switching to grouper to be really wary of files downloaded of grouper.Also,another disadvantage of grouper is that,during the morning and early evening,most people are not online.Most of grouper users come online at night.Meaning,connections are really slow due to the fact that almost everyone does their download and uploads at the same time.Technorati Tags: filesharing, grouper, music, musicpiracy, RIAA, mp3, privvatefilesharing, network, grouper

Longhorn Inspirati

Hmm,so this is a screenshot showing the visual style I use on my pc.it is called the Longhorn Inspirati and can be found at DeviantART.com It is really awesome.Download it and apply it and then tell me you hate it.PS:Sorry for this subpar post but I am at this really boring family get together and I am using my cousins laptop to blog.I am just tired of listening to all my relatives yappering and yappering so I decided just to blog about this visual style since i use it and have even convinced my gf to use it since it looks really awesome.

Technorati Tags: Windows, desktop, visualstyle

Merry Christmas

So,Christmas is here again. Time to get out the gifts and drinks and have a good jolly time.I wish you all a merry Christmas especially you folks at flock. Have fun with your friends,get drunk and be safe,I’m out.

BO2K AND SUB7

Well,as i was surfing the net last night,I found mirrors for downloading these tools.Darn,I had forgotten all about these tools.I used them a long time ago.For those who dont know what they are,they are a remote administration system that allows you to control other Windows PCs over a TCPIP connection.In simple english,it means you can control another pc remotely using theses tools.If my memory serves me right,these tools were released by the Cult of the Dead Cow(one of the oldest hacking communities online). So I downloaded both tools and with the EXPRESS permission of a friend of mine(who was arguing with me about whether it was possible or not to remotely control someones pc without his/her not knowing),tried to take over his pc.First i hid the server and sent it to him.I binded it to another file and disguised it.It took only ten seconds to bind the server to a picture,and after that,my anti virus couldn’t detect the server.i tried lots of other anti viruses but only one found it.I sent this trojan to my freind disguised as an image file through gmail and lo and behold,though gmail scanned it for viruses,it didnt even detect it.Gmail which prides itself on protecting its users from viruses sent through their emails couldn’t even find a trojan that was just bound to an image file.Makes me not want to open any files sent to me through gmail.So,my stupid friend opened the image and unknowingly run the trojan.He reboot his PC when I tricked him into making a restart shortcut on his desktop and clicking it.He got mad at me but didnt realise it was a chance for me to make sure that the server started working.Lucky for me,my friend has an always on connection and never shuts of his pc.So i spent the whole night wreaking some havoc.Serves him right for doubting me,i just hope he doesnt have his parents and teachers and other important people’s emails in his contact book since I emailed a porn link in revenge for his signing me up for porn as a birthday prank.

SO,the moral to all of you out there is that,dont download files from unknown sources,especially not from the irc warez crazed idiots.Ciao.

Just remembered

I just remembered that i had an account at this website.I unfortunately have a really bad habit of creating lots of blogs and promising myself to update them regularly,but I always forget about them.So,i was just looking through my past emails for an email someone sent me when i discovered all these login details to lots of my blogs.So right now,i have made a resolution(you can call it a pre-christmas resolution)to update all my blogs everyday(and so god bless me).I just hope that i dont forget about the resolution.To aide me in my quest to make sure that i remember to update my blogs,I have decided to download session saver(it is a firefox extension which preserves all the work and the state of your browser when you close it. It returns your browser to the same state when you open it).I am just going to leave the tabs for the blogs open so that I can always see them and update them anytime i start firefox.Unhhhh,got to restart firefox again,because of a memory leak.Again.