Digsby Installation

* Pidgin- This program, which was formerly known as Gaim, flies under the name Pidgin. Pidgin is an open source instant messaging program that seeks to combine all of your other messengers. Do you have friends on both MSN and AIM? Well that’s no problem because one of Pidgins defining features is its ability to important your friends from both AIM and MSN and let you talk to them simultaneously! Being open source, Pidgin is completely free and has an army of mod developers who are constantly developing upgrades that you can optionally download. Pidgin is compatible with either a Windows of Linux OS.

* Trillian- One of the first cross-networking instant messaging networks, Trillian is still a favorite that’s slowly losing popularity, but it’s not dead yet. Trillian is expecting a huge rebirth with the release of Trillian Astra which boasts to have over 400 new features for its users. Coupled with the fact that Trillian is completely free of cost this creates for a powerful incentive to use Trillian. Trillian is currently available for Windows and will soon be starting its beta testing for Mac OSX.

* Digsby- The newest competitor the instant messaging front, Digsby is bringing something a little different to its users. Digsby has integrated Facebook, as well as Myspace into its instant messaging service while also including email capabilities. Wouldn’t it be nice to have one program for messaging, social networking and emailing? Digsby thinks so. Digsby currently has a Windows release out and is working on both a Mac and Linux release.

* Adium- What list would be complete without mentioning at least one messaging program that is native to OSX? Adium is extremely similar to Pidgin because you can develop plug-ins for it creating a very heavy mod community. Also like Pidgin, Adium strives to sync all of your favorite instant messaging programs together by offering you one networking solution. Adium is currently only available to Mac OSX users.

While these products may have not reached any highly publicized success, they’re gaining popularity by the minute because they’re so much more effective than AIM and MSN. You owe it to yourself to try these instant messaging programs because they’re completely free, and I guarantee that you will like them more than your other messenger.

Photo Credits: adria.richards

Originally posted 2009-10-27 03:39:25.

You've got mail!

Gmail

Google is probably best known for their search engine, but they’re also one of the leading email providers. Gmail is a free email service from Google that has had an ever increasing user base. Gmail is very fast, it’s praised for loading and reloading quickly when you’re expecting new mail. In addition to its speed, Gmail is very resistant to spam. It may not be able to completely remove spam from being sent to you, but it’s all sent to a special spam folder requiring no action from you, the user. This is very handy in saving you the time and hassle of marking email as spam. Finally, Gmail offers a near unlimited amount of storage compared to other email options.

Yahoo! Mail

Google’s rival in the search engine business, Yahoo! also has decided to venture into the email business. Yahoo! may not be the only provider to offer an unlimited amount of email storage, but they were the first, showing signs that Yahoo! is genuinely looking for ways to please its user base. Yahoo! Mail is very easy for traditional email clients to get use to, as its interface is more reminiscent of old email clients such as AOL. Yahoo has also included a search function with their email that can even search attachments to find your desired output, making it extremely powerful. Being free, this is one of the best options you have at your disposal.

Hotmail

While hotmail may not be the most efficient or powerful email provider, it has certain gathered popularity among its users, being the second largest email provider behind Yahoo! Mail. While Hotmail has lagged behind Gmail and Yahoo! Mail in features, Microsoft has shown signs of wanting to improve their email service by adding more storage and communication options. Hotmail is an extremely secure email client, though it’s not as great as Yahoo! or Gmail at sorting out spam.

All of email providers allow you to create accounts for free and to use them as long as you’d like. So what are you waiting for? Try all three of them and surely you will find the email client that is right for you.

Photo Credits: Mzelle Biscotte

Originally posted 2009-11-19 03:58:23.

Why buy a Mac?

Virus Resistant

Mac computers run on Apple’s OSX OS which is a UNIX system. This makes Apple machines practically immune to all viruses and trojans that the internet can throw at you. This means that Mac’s aren’t only nearly immune to the threat of viruses, but it also means that they don’t have to deal with the hassle of anti-virus software. Not having to deal with anti-virus software means you’re saving your money and your time by not having to worry about the potential threat of viruses.

Dual-Boot Windows

Mac computers are able to run Windows because of the fact that Microsoft has allowed Apple to install it on their systems. This means that if you still need Windows for your work or for any sort of program that will not run on OSX, you still have Windows right there available for you to use. If your computer is strong enough to run OSX, chances are it’s strong enough to at least run Vista also; meaning that you need no hardware upgrades to have both OS’s.

Visually Pleasing

Not only are Mac computers technically sound, they’re also a pleasure to look at. Macs often are very customizable in appearance in respect to color and screen size. You can also count on your MacBook laptop weighing significantly less than its Windows counterpart while also supporting a much better battery life. If you’ve ever seen a MacBook Air commercial you’ve probably seen that the laptops are so thin that they can even fit into a small envelope!

Easy to Use

One problem that Windows users often have that is never an issue with OSX is how many odd issues that they experience with software installations and driver compatibility. OSX doesn’t suffer from nearly as many issues and is much easier to use because of how intuitively the OS is laid out for you. Everything makes sense and just feels like it’s where it should be.

Macs are becoming increasingly more common among workplaces and schools. They’re easy to use, visually appealing, and virus resistant. It’s hard to find a fault other than price, but is that really a problem when they’re so effective and reliable?

Photo Credits: Djenan

Originally posted 2009-10-26 03:25:47.

Mac vs PC

1. Expense-You can argue against this point all you want, but the truth is, Apple’s computers are expensive. When you have the option to easily build your own computer for buy a laptop from a provider such as Dell or HP for half the price of a similarly specified Mac, is it really worth it? A Mac with a 13’ screen on Apple’s website is running at $1200, compared to the $500 it’s running on Dell’s website. This should give you an indicator as to what you’re paying for, overpriced hardware.

2. Video Gaming-If you’re a computer gamer that’s constantly buying new releases the day they’re released then a Mac is definitely not for you. Not only are many PC games not supported by Mac OSX but having to dual boot up Windows every time you play a game can be a chore. The hardware upgrades you have to make to a make to it comparable to PC gaming is ludicrous in price as well.

3. You still need Windows-While it is possible to dual-boot Windows with a Mac machine why would you really go through the extra hassle to purchase another OS. Windows isn’t cheap, it can cost over $200 depending on the version you’re getting and if your business is still using a Windows only application this may be a cost that you’re not willing to afford.

4. Aesthetics Are Not Important-No matter how hard Apple markets their computers are the cool or the pretty thing to have, that isn’t going to make them any better than a Windows machine. Your first goal when looking for a new computer should be that it run all the applications you want it to efficiently, and how it looks externally is not going to be the judge of that.

Apple’s MacBooks may be the cool thing to have, but that doesn’t means that they’re any better than just buying a PC. The only real advantages you get by buying a Mac are those presented with the OSX operating system, and that has nothing to do with the external computer.

Photo Credits: Ed Yourdon

Originally posted 2009-11-09 03:38:40.

From scratch...

1. Compatibility- Compatibility is one of the biggest things to keep in mind when ordering computer parts. You want to make sure that all of your parts can work in harmony so that your computer actually works. This can be a hassle if you happen to order from a site or store where the parts can’t be returned for full price. Most often you should look at your motherboard when determining compatibility, but it will take some research.

2. Be patient, don’t force- A common problem many people face when building their new computer is that parts aren’t fitting very well. This is extremely common if you buy a small case and get a top of line video card. It’s important never to try to jam the thing inside of your case with all of your might, but it’s also important to at least put a respectable amount of pressure on it to make it fit.

3. Connections- So you have put together your computer, but a USB drive isn’t working or the video card isn’t outputting to the monitor. What happened? It’s very likely you misguided your power supply cable to wherever it was suppose to go. Make sure to check and to double check where each connection is supposed to go.

4. OS- This could go under compatibility, but it’s a little different. It’s important to keep in mind when building your computer that certain parts are not compatible with a specific OS. This is a big problem if you’re buying new parts and are trying to run an older Windows OS. If you’re trying to install a brand new Windows 7 OS onto an old windows 98 computer this is also likely to thwart you

Building a computer is a fun and a rewarding experience. I most usually comparing to finishing a Lego set. Like Legos, however, computers can be very frustrating if all the pieces are not fitting together properly. It’s very important to have patience and to not make any mistakes out of frustration.

Photo Credits: moriza

Originally posted 2009-11-16 03:36:41.