Ryan J.com

Like most techno savy individuals I find myself frequently needing to help family and friends to fix their computer problems.  Most of the time the  issue is something I would be able to fix within a few minutes if I were physically at the location.  Since that can't always be the case I have taken to remotely connect whenever possible in order to be as efficient as possible.  Previously I used Window's Remote Desktop feature to do this but recently something changed with my mom's router/computer configuration that kept me from making a connection to her machine.  After multiple failed attempts I was about to give up when I stumbled across an application called CrossLoop.  CrossLoop is a "simple, secure" and FREE method of connecting remotely.  All that is necessary is for both parties involved to download and install the CrossLoop application and create an account.  Once everything is set up you will see a screen like below... allowing you to either share (give access) or access (gain access) to a machine remotely.

Access

Share

That is all there is to it. The application takes care of the rest and you can be on your way to fixing problems in less than 2 minutes! So far I have had no issues and connected at least 4-5 times to someone's PC to help out.

Give it a try!

There is a new version of Live Messenger out and it is pretty amazing.  One of the coolest features is the ability to have a client running on more than one machine and access the conversation on both.  Say you've got two boxes running in different rooms and want to be able to respond wherever you are, now you can.  You can also customize the appearance a great deal.

On to our next topic.  You know those extremely annoying advertisement features packed into Live Messenger?  Well, the new version is no exception.  Today while talking to someone at the office he mentioned finding a tool that removes these advertisements.  I had to check it out!  It is called A-Patch and is currently being distributed at http://apatch.org.  So what all can it do?  Right now, it is still in the works, since Messenger 2009 is still fairly new... but here is a list of the current features:

1. Remove Advertisement (contact list)
2. Remove What's Hot Section
3. Remove Nudge Delay
4. Disable Nudge Shake
5. Accept more than 3 file transfers at a time
6. Polygamy (Multi-MSN)
7. Shorten Status Info in Info Bar
8. Remove Advertisement (message window)
9. Remove "says" Text (english only)
10. Remove Billing Info Menus

Enjoy!

DiffMerge

I've used DiffMerge for about a year now when I need to check multiple versions of code against each other. I'd say what I love most about this application is the ability to easily move code between files and also to be able to do a folder comparison, both in a very timely fashion. Best of all... it is FREE. So if you are in need of a quick text comparison tool I would highly recommend this to you.

I downloaded Firefox 3.0 and I've been using it pretty frequently to see how it compares to the previous version.  So far, I haven't ran into the memory leak issues that I was having (it was sucking up over 1Gb of RAM the other day with just 2 tabs open containing very basic websites).  I also haven't ran into the lag when loading the wowarmory.com website I tend to hit often.

I have noticed one thing I don't like and I don't know how to fix... the address bar now displays the title of the website address and the address below it when I start typing into it... the pain is that it doesn't pull the root of the site I am trying to access up.  I think it is pulling the page I hit most on the site to the top of the list, which I don't like... if I am going to a site generally it is so I can see updates not to look at something (like news) again.

All and all so far I am pretty happy with it... it has performed as well as it was hyped up to thus far.

Get your copy of Firefox 3

After being an internet nerd for several years now I've used multiple IM (instant messaging) clients over the years. Over the past few years I have used Trillian due to being able to load multiple clients and chat with people without having to micro manage each individual client. Recently, a friend at work and I were having a conversation about this topic since my Trillian stopped working correctly at work for some reason. He brought up that he has used an application called Miranda for several years and loves it... so I figured I would give it a try.

"Miranda IM is a multi-protocol instant messaging client for Windows. Very light on system resources and extremely fast, Miranda IM requires no installation and can be made to fit on a single floppy disk or USB drive. Featuring a powerful plugin-based framework and boasting over 350 plugins, Miranda IM is one of the most flexible and customisable messaging clients on the planet." - Miranda-im.org

I've been watching the footprint in Windows XP SP-2 for a while now and the app hasn't jumped over 7Mb yet. It seems to constantly recycle memory to keep the footprint as low as it can. I've seen it drop as low as 300k... and I'm currently running 4 of the offered clients with a few conversations running.

Here are some (not all) of the pre-installed service:

• AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)
• Gadu-Gadu
• IAX (Inter-Asterisk Exchange)
• ICQ
• IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
• Jabber
• MSN
• Netsend
• Tlen
• Yahoo

Get your copy here: http://www.miranda-im.org/download/