Adam's Blog

2004-07-06T14:28:00.000-04:00

Note

News

   1. Lawmakers Aren't Playing Games With Violence
      Once again lawmakers are trying to link violent video games and aggressive behavior. (USAToday.com)
   2. Gartner Says Companies Should Consider Banning iPods
      Research firm Gartner Inc. says iPods and other small storage devices pose security risks. (Computerworld.com)
   3. Microsoft Posts IE Patch
      It's not a fix, but Microsoft posts a work-around patch for Internet Explorer. (News.com)

Today's Free File

Today's Tip

Sight of the Day

2004-07-03T04:50:00.000-04:00

Note

We're going to try this again. Hope this helps:

News

   1. Can your ISP read your email?
      The First Court of Appeals in Massachusetts says they can. In a huge setback for electronic information privacy, the ruling says no laws were broken when and ISP read and even copied it's clients email. Read more from Wired.com
   2. New virus: Lovegate
      McAfee has raised the threat to MEDIUM. The new form of Lovegate is spreading worldwide and even hitting Fortune 500 firms (Computerworld). Read McAfee's Virus Profile.
   3. Dell tries for a piece of the Apple iPod Pie
      Is Dell singing your song? What if they give you 25 of them and took $100 off there new Digital Jukebox when you send them your iPod? Read more at internetnews.com.

Today's Free File

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.3
Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove a multitude of adware files and modules from your computer.

Today's Tip

Change Out Your Pointer Scheme
Tired of seeing your pointer as an arrow or an hourglass all the time? Windows XP offers a number of alternative pointer schemes, such as Dinosaur, Ocean and Sports.
Open the Control Panel, double-click Mouse, and select the Pointers tab. (If you start in Category view, select Appearance and Themes, then click Mouse Pointers under "See Also.") Next to Schemes, click the down arrow and select a scheme to preview its pointers. Click OK to apply the scheme to your desktop. Simple as that.

Sight of the Day

PartyPOP.com...
is the ultimate resource for all of your party, wedding and event planning needs. Find party ideas, themes, tips, vendors and more.

2003-09-11T13:32:00.000-04:00

REMEMBER

2003-04-13T23:57:00.000-04:00

Note

I'm almost caught up. I have so much to do today and no time to sleep, so I don't know when I'll have Monday's post done. Hopefully before Tuesday!

Today's Free File

Spell check in OE?
Spelling errors can destroy your credibility in a heartbeat, no matter how profound your words. Today's free file will ensure your email is free of spelling errors. Microsoft, in all its wisdom, loves to tie its products together. You can't use spell check in Outlook Express unless you have Microsoft Word installed. Apparently it's easier for Microsoft to use Word's dictionary than to build another one for OE. Spell Checker For OE is a stand alone application, that incorporates in Outlook Express.

Today's Tip

Hate typing http://www.blahblahblah.com? Well with Internet Explorer you really don't have to. With .com's all you have to do is type the website name and press Ctrl+Enter. Try it now! Type thescreensavers and hit Ctrl+Enter and IE will fill in the rest. Cool huh?

Sight of the Day

Microsoft.com's Template Gallery
Microsoft Office comes with some boring templates. It has templates for resumes, faxes... that kind of thing. But, as I'll demonstrate on the show tonight, you can download new, exciting, and, best of all, free templates from Microsoft.com's template gallery.

2003-04-12T03:26:00.000-04:00

Note

Ok, so I've been slipping already. But none-the-less, I plan on keeping this thing alive. I've also decided to add a Site of the Day, just to test myslef. I hope you enjoy!

Today's Free File

When it was time for me to find a unified messenger, I stumbled upon Trillian and haven't looked back since. It will let you access your AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo! accounts easily. I do not recomend it if you have multiple accounts, however. i.e. two Yahoo! accounts. The program gets a little cumbersome.

Today's Tip

Everyone knows you can Change your wallpaper. It is one of the easiest things to do to personalize your computer, but a lot of people over look themes. Themes not only change your wallpaper, but all or some of the following: screen saver, fonts, window colors, pointers, sounds, and more. Check out the Site of the Day for more!

Site of the Day

ThemeWorld
Look at your computer in a whole new way!

Friday, April 11, 2003

Note

Ok. I have a little rant. Everyone has an opinion on people who use cellphones at restaurants. My opinion is that they paid for their food just like everyone else and I don't think it's different than talking to the person sitting with them. Today I seen something that didn't please me. I heard a cellphone ring and naturally looked for the source. Much to my surprise I seen a waitress answer a cellphone! Yeah, a waitress. As if this wasn't bad enough she actually walk around the restaurant waiting table WHILE talking on the phone! Is this what we've come to? Ok, I'm done now.

Today's Free File

While the name seems a little unusual (at least to me) today I am suggesting Rainlendar. Rainlendar is a very customizable calendar-application which shows the current month on your desktop. I have used it for over a year and I love it. It will keep track of your important dates and highlight the date for you. Click the link to see it for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

Today's Tip

Don't open attatchments! That's the number one way to get a virus. Here are some steps to follow: 1. Never open any attachments from strangers 2. Never open exe files 3. If someone you know sends you a file, make sure they actually sent it. I ask everyone who sends me an attachment to put something personal in the email message that will tell me they actually sent it. 4. If you're not sure, don't open it, email the person who sent it to you and get confirmation of what it really is. 5. Have your anti-virus program scan all incoming attachments 6. Keep your anti-virus definitions current

2003-04-10T04:39:00.000-04:00

Note

For the time being I've decided to add a tip feature to the site. Look below the free file to see Today's Tip! And as always, please keep sending your comment/questions to 'aorick at woh dot rr dot com'.

Today's Free File

Today's free file is Zone Alarm from Zone Labs. You've all heard that you need a firewall, but is it worth paying for? Of course! But, if you can get one that rivals the most expensive ones for free, that's all the better!
I use my computer for everything. My entire life sits on my desktop, and I am paranoid about it. Instead of seeking psychiatric help, Zone Alarm helps to put my worries at ease. Zone Alarm does everything you need a firewall to do. It seems a little complicated at first, but just follow the on-screen instructions and use the help feature if you need to. Zone Alarm is put on all of my systems and I feel that my faith is well placed with them.

Today's Tip

Do you have a lot of windows open right now? When I am surfing the net I always have at least five browsers open. I don't want to hit the minimize on every widow to get back to my desktop. So I just hit Widows Key+M (hold down the Widows key and press 'M') to automatically minimize all my open windows! How great is that?!

2003-04-09T04:53:00.000-04:00

AVG 6.0

My suggestion today Is AVG Virus Scanner 6.0 by Grisoft. Most of us have information on our computers that we don't want anyone else to have or just simply can't afford to lose. There are quite a few people out there who want to read that information, or just destroy it.
AVG is totally free and works just as good as any paid virus scanner. When you buy a virus scanner you also buy a license, which allows the scanner to be updated for a year. After your year is up you cannot update without spending another $40-$60! This means you are not protected from new viruses.
You never have to pay to update AVG. I have used AVG for over a year and it has never let a virus run. I have had dozens of email viruses all stopped with AVG. Now there is NO reason for anyone to lose those precious family pictures or let someone get their hands on the financial data on your computer.

2003-04-08T04:51:00.000-04:00

Desktop Weather 3.0

My suggestion this morning is one I hadn’t thought about, but I use it several times a day. Desktop Weather 3.0 sits in you system tray and displays the current temperature. It even alerts you of severe weather headed your way. Another nice feature is that it not only tells you what the temperature is, but what it FEELS like. Click the temperature to see exactly what it’s doing outside. Like right now mine says it’s Foggy! That sucks.
Anyway, since it’s from The Weather Channel, it’s reliable and they have local weather all over the world. Ulike others who tells you either what it’s like in your states capital, or in Utah. That’s ok I guess, if you live there, but I live in a small town with no big cities around so it’s hard to find anything accurate.
The other popular weather ap is Weather Bug. I used to use it, and I loved it. That is of course until I found out it is bundled with SPYWARE!!!!!! I highly recommend staying away from that one.

2003-04-07T04:53:00.000-04:00

Free Surfer mkII

OK. It's been like two months since I've blogged. I think I'm going to try a different aproach. I think I'm going to start putting freeware and help links here. Maybe that way I will stay on thop of this regularly. Think I'm going to start off with a pop-up killer. EVERYONE hates pop-up ads. Most people don't know how to take care of them. Some browsers come with built it stoppers. That is, of course, unless they have an agreement with the company popping up. Everyone talks about Analog X's POW. I don't like it. You have to tell it which windows you want closed. I like Free Surfer.
Most pop-up killers stop pop-ups that appear on a list. As you encounter new variations, you need to add them to your list. Free Surfer works differently.
This program keeps track of the ads that it stops. In the week I've used Free Surfer, it stopped 193 pop-ups. It will also lock your homepage, effectively keeping it from getting hijacked, and it includes a panic button that closes all open browser windows.
Free Surfer has two modes:

Natural Mode
Stop all pop-ups except those you put on a list without interfering with your ability to open new windows.

Strict Mode
You have to hold down the Shift or Ctrl key for any new window to be launched.

This is by far the best and esiest pop-up killer I've ever used.

2003-01-31T13:58:00.000-05:00

"Always do right- this will gratify some and astonish the rest."
-- Mark Twain

I've decided to take a break from Xbox. No, not really. I was loseing and got pissed and quit. Anywho, that's pretty much been my free time. I have this weekend off work so I think I'm going to Indiana to visit family and some freinds of mine. Deana has to work, but hopefully Terri can find a baby sitter for her kids and come out with us. I hope to leave around noon that way I'll get there before four and I'll have plenty of time to visit everyone. I'll take my camera along and maybe I'll find a way to post pictures. I will probably be in Madison, wich is pretty close to the Kentucky border. I might even hit the river boat.

2003-01-26T03:07:00.000-05:00

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."
-- Thomas Jefferson

I bet you thought that I forgot to post, didn't you? Well I didn't. I did go Friday to get an Xbox. That's why I didn't post Friday afternoon. I went to Lima and had to go to four different stores! I still never found Xbox Live! Oh well. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 will have to do for now. Hopefully I'll get one soon. The only systems out were the one's packed with those two generic-assed Sega games. Just a ploy to keep the prices up. It worked. Which is why I didn't post last night. I was up playing Xbox. I will be looking for Xbox Live! buddies and will be listing my games as I get them. If you're interested let me know.

2003-01-24T03:24:00.000-05:00

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."
-- General George Patton

Good evening! I'm a little excited. I should be getting an Xbox tomorrow. If all goes well that is. So knowing my luck for the last year, I probably won't. HOLY COW!!!!! I was just surfing around looking for things to talk about when I came across a CODE AMBER ticker for websites! Of course I'm adding it at once! I hope to god more people do it! On a more somber note I just learned Nell Carter, passed away Thursday. I really loved her work. She was only 54. Having just lost an uncle in August, my heart goes out to her family.

2003-01-23T13:47:00.000-05:00

"The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them."
-- Mark Twain

I was supposed to go shoot some pool last night, but with the lack of money that's a little hard. I only allow myself $75 a week spending money. With that I have to get lunch at work, by gas, and any extras. It sounded like a lot of money at the time, but I find myself on Wednesdays really wishing Friday would get here. I have thought about raising my allowance, but then I'd have to revamp my budget, and no one wants to do that. Had enough of me crying yet?

I don't want anyone to think that I'm against war because of the quote I chose last night (this morning). Quite the opposite in fact. Now I don't think we should just go around bombing people, but come on! People like Saddam Hussein will not talk! It's plain and simple. He know's he's wrong, and when you're as wrong as he is there's just no talking your way out of it. He's a proud individual, and he'd rather go to war than to let his pride be hurt. As long as there are people like Saddam Hussein in power war will be inevitable. If you bleeding-heart pussies would have let Bush Sr. finish the job a decade ago, we wouldn't be going through this again would we? Sometimes you have no choice. And, I think if any of you had any family in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, I don't think you'd be so opposed. We were attacked. We were slapped in the face. If we don't do anything about it do you think terrorist are going to comend us for being peaceful? If we do nothing, it will only invite more attacks. Now I'm pissed and need a time-out.

2003-01-23T02:59:00.000-05:00

"I don't know what will be used in the next world war, but the 4th will be fought with stones."
-- Albert Einstein

I can not think of a damn thing to say, but I said I'd post so here goes. I did find out that I may not have to work Sunday, wich is awsome! My brother has a Super Bowl Party every year, and it would suck to miss it. By the way, in case you are wondering, I work at Plastipak Packaging Inc. in Jackson Center, OH. We make plastic bottles for Pepsi, P&G, etc. It pays the bills. But I digress. I think I might ask Amy to go with me, but I'll probabaly puss-out. Oh well. (More on her later.) That's all I have energy for. Good Night.

2003-01-22T12:35:00.000-05:00

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."
-- Robert Frost

I don't know what the ultimate fate of this blog will be. I have a very hard time keeping up with thing. I am not the most reliable person when it comes to things like this. In fact this is like my seventh blog. What I suggest to you, whom I hope will become 'faithful readers', is put this link into your favorites and forget about it. Then in a month or so when you are going through them, you can find my link and come check my blog to see if I have, in fact, managed to keep this up for an entire month.

I am not a famous person, nor do I live a very interesting life, but I hope you will find the links that I give to you useful. I will talk about things that everyone talks about. From politics to the weather, and everything in between. But for now, I have to go to work. I will try to post when I get home and you can check that post out and see if this is a blog that's going to interest you.