Google Talk Workaround

So I’ve figured out the notification problem where your “buddy’s” comments always pop up, even if you minimize or hide the chat window.  Here’s what you do.  You don’t let it uninstall GMail notifier (I found I wanted it anyway as a constant reminder to the fact that I still had an unread e-mail.  The Google Talk notifier tells you once, then never again, so if you miss the notification, you wouldn’t know there’s a new e-mail waiting.)  So if you let it uninstall notifier, reinstall it.  Once you do that, right click on the Google Talk icon in your systray and chose “Disable All Notifications.”  Voila.  Now, when you hide a chat window and the person sends you another chat, it simply blinks at the bottom of your screen like MSN does.  Perfect!

Gratis gaming: 10 real PC games you can download for free - CNET reviews

First Impressions

Ok, so here are my first impressions of Google talk:

1. First of all, it’s VERY basic. I think they were rushing to get something out. They probably spent a lot of time developing the voice talk feature as that’s the part they are pushing the most.

2. I like that you can leave your own custom Online/Busy message.

3. I also like the format of how the chat looks when you’re talking. For instance, if I send 4 posts in a row before the person I’m chatting with responds, it looks like this –

Aaron: hi
How are you?
Google Talk is cool, huh?
It needs some work

Other IM clients would put Aaron: in front of every single line.

4. If you click on the top bar of the chat window, it shrinks it down to one line that will show the last post sent by the person you’re chatting with. Not 100% sure on the usefulness of this feature unless you chat with a ton of people at the same time and want to save window space.

5. It has GMail notifier built in, so you can uninstall your redundant GMail notifier.

6. Kind of stinks that it’s only available to GMail users. I’m sure some people won’t get it because they don’t want another e-mail account.

7. You can’t change the font of your text. I like this feature in MSN because it allows you to easily and quickly differentiate your text from the person’s text you’re chatting with. They said this improvement is coming soon.

8. If you minimize the chat window, the next time the person sends some text, it pops up as a notification above the system tray with the content of what they said. That means your chat is going to be seen by anyone that looks at your monitor, regardless of whether your chat window is behind something else. If this doesn’t get a fix of some sort, I think Google Talk is going to have a short life on my work PC (which is fine since we have SIP MSN Messenger with Live Communications Server at work.)

Overall, I think it’s basic and needs some work, but I have a feeling that updates are going to be posting like wildfire. Sorry, Matt, the Google Talk client doesn’t support Linux, but you can use other ones like GAIM (or iChat on your iBook) to chat with Google Talk users…

This post was brought to you by the Google Blogger Microsoft Word PlugIn (which screwed up my number formatting and doesn't allow images to be included.) :-)

IT'S TRUE!

Google Talk

One of my friends sent me an invitation to join Google Talk this morning. I need to find out how long he's known about this, but as of this morning, it's confirmed that it's true. I can't wait to get this downloaded..

Google has an active Jabber server, Google IM coming soon?

So maybe it's real! Google Chat coming tomorrow?

Google to Deliver Instant Messages - Los Angeles Times

How long will we speculate on a Google IM client?

Hey, Google: here's how to make the leap from Google Talk to Google VoIP by ZDNet's Russell Shaw -- Speculation is rife today that come Wednesday, Google will announce an IM chat product named Google Talk.In fact, the Los Angeles Times posted a scoop about it Monday evening. The Times' Chris Gaither cites unidentified sources who have seen the product as saying that this new app will allow headset-wearing users to have voice conversations [...]

Billboards using Bluetooth

New Scientist Breaking News - Billboards beam adverts to passing cellphones

While I'm a supporter of Bluetooth, it will be a sad day when my V710 chirps with an ad from a billboard...

Google Desktop 2.0

Google Desktop 2.0

YES! Sweet! It's here! Now this Sidebar thing is REALLY cool...

The laptop has arrived!

Holy cow, that came sooner than expected. It shipped yesterday and arrived today (with free UPS 3-5 Day Ground shipping)! Anyway, it’s as cool as I would have hoped for. The big battery makes it heavier, so I took it to the postage machine and weighted it. 4 lbs 9.5 ounces. Not too shabby! I already copied over my music and photos and upgraded it from XP Home to XP Pro.

I sent off my 450Mhz PC to be recycled and I put my other PC in my brother’s garage sale. If anyone is interested, speak now, or it gets sold this weekend! It’s an 800Mhz, 256MB RAM, 10GB HD, Windows 98 (licensed for Windows ME), 15” monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, CDRW, CDROM, and Open Office installed.

By the way, thanks to Google’s new Blogger App for Microsoft Word, I published this blog from Word on my PC. Pretty sweet!

Google Gets More Results than Yahoo!

A Comparision of the Size of the Yahoo and Google Indices

Ah, some neutral statistics to rest this debate once and for all. Yahoo! should have used the tagline "Providing access to over 20 billion items [half of which is junk]!" :-)

http://vburton.ncsa.uiuc.edu/indexsize.html

WiFi Speed Spray

eBay: Wi-Fi Speed Spray DramaticalIy Increase Data Throughput (item 5791782530 end time Jul-29-05 13:54:21 PDT)

ROTFL!

Google Earth - Sightseeing

This is the next best place to go once you have installed Google Earth. Open these KMZ files, you'll be blown away.

Google Earth - Have you tried this?

Google Earth

I tried this when it was KEYHOLE and Google owned it. It was ok. But now, Google has integrated this in with "Google Local", "Google Maps" AND Gmail! You can send snapshots of what you're looking at as an Outlook attachment, or even as a Gmail attachment. This has really come a LONG way since Keyhole. And if you had Keyhole installed at one time, it remembers all of your favorite spots. They even made the buildings at the White House 3D so you can "walk around" as if you're on the street by tilting the image. Very cool stuff. And to think it's only the beginning...

Google Still King

Search Engine Journal � Google Still Most Popular Search Engine Despite Gains by MSN & Yahoo

Google - 59.2% of Internet Searches
Yahoo - 28.8%
MSN - 5.5%

iPod to be challenged

Microsoft says iPod to face more competition

I'm sure Apple has some good stuff up their sleeve as well...

New laptop!

Ok, Dell was running a phenomenal deal on a notebook that I couldn't pass up, so now that I've ordered a new PC and a tuner card, I think I'm gonna need to return/resell them. The TV tuner card should be easy, I'll just reject the package. The Dell PC I'll probably have to resell on ebay unless anyone reading this wants a computer for $278 (see specs in previous post). :-)

I ended up buying a small Dell Inspiron 700m notebook computer. A few of the "higher ups" at work have them and they are quite cool. They are very small at 1.5" thin (only 12.1" screen) and very light ( 4.1 pounds). Here are the specs:

Intel Pentium M Processor 735 (1.70Ghz/400Mhz FSB)
1GB DDR SDRAM (2 Dimms)
80GB Hard Drive
Windows XP Home (I have PRO on my other laptop, so I'll just swap OSs)
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability
Internal 54Mbps 802.11b/g wireless
8-cell battery (as opposed to standard 4 cell)
4 year at home warranty (including nights & weekends)
4 year complete care
Spare AC adapter
Remote Control for Dell Media Experience
Free recycling kit (for an old junker I have sitting around)
Slim carrying case
Free color printer

Total before tax/shipping/discounts- $2,273
Total WITH tax/shipping after 40% off discount and mail in rebate - $1,305.28

Scratch that, the laptop just got discounted again, so I cancelled my first order and placed another one, bringing my total with tax/shipping after discount and rebate to - $1,252.90

That's right, Dell Home has a 40% off coupon right now GPL3SMPXB6JKSB (if you check SlickDeals religiously you already know that), so I got an $898.40 discount. I had another 2% discount because I let them put it on a Dell Preferred Account (aka Dell Credit Card). Buying it through Dell Small Business would have been around $1900.

I'm pumped. I'm gonna love having such a small laptop. I built similarly spec'd machines that weren't the small 700m, and they came out to be the same price if not slighly more than the little Inspiron. Granted, they'd have a 15" screen, but they'd also be several pounds heavier. Now to get some more HornIT business to pay for it! :-)

You can check out a 3D demo of the 700m here: http://www.dell.com/html/us/segments/inspiron/3dmodels/700m.html

Win a Spammer's Hummer!

seattlepi.com Microsoft Blog: Dethroning spam kings

Finally, Spammers starting to lose the war...

Tivo Number 2

Ok, I decided that instead of investing $1800 into a new laptop so I can sit on the couch and wirelessly surf while watching TV, I'll bring the TV to my den. However, I don't have room for another device in here (like a TV) and I really want to be able to have a PVR (personal video recorder), so I opted to turn my Den PC into a TV. I found out that the tuner card I wanted (Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500MCE) requires a 1.2Ghz machine (even though it has the processors ON the card), so my 800 mhz PC wasn't going to cut it. Why did I need the PVR-500? Dual tuner built in. You can watch one channel while recording on another or record two channels at once. The cool part is that the RF splitter is on the card, so you only need one cable going to the card. It has FM radio too, but you can guess how often I'll use THAT! My 800mhz PC has a 250GB hard drive in it along with a 6 GB main hard drive. 250GB hard drive? you ask. Slickdeals. Need I say more.

So anyway, now I need a faster PC. This is ok since I have two 800mhz PCs taking up room in my den, I'll just buy a new PC and get rid of both of these. I'm going to create a multimedia server, so to speak. So, I jump on ebay after getting a quote from Dell for a new PC at $350 and get the same thing (refurbished Dell with 90 day warranty) for $178 plus $100 shipping. My Hauppauge card cost $121 after a $10 off coupon from Buy.com.

The specs on my Dell go something like this: 2.4Ghz Celeron, 40GB hard drive, 256MB Ram, Windows XP Home, CDROM. I'll probably grab a $45 NEC DVD burner as well so I can copy off my shows onto DVD.

I was thinking about buying SnapStream's Beyond TV for $49 to be my "tivo" software since I'm not comfortable enough with Linux to spring for the free MythTV solution. Therefore, I found the next best thing. Open Source for Windows. It's called Media Portal and looks very sweet.

I'll just slap my 250GB hard drive in my new Dell, put in the new card, install Media Portal, and I should be on my way to picture/tv/movie bliss! So this will make my second Tivo. Theoretically, I should be able to record up to 6 shows at once now, while watching a 7th. :-) VCR upstairs, DVD recorder downstairs, Mediacom PVR can do 2 shows at once, new Media Portal PC will be able to do 2 shows at once, and I can watch TV on my living room TV. Please note, I've only ever recorded two shows at once and watched a third, so this is more "cool" (or geek) factor than practical.

I can't believe how split the cable signal in this house is. Actually, it's a benefit since they have an amp on the box right outside my house, my signal actually comes in too strong, so my theory is that splitting it all over the place actually helps. :-)

So I'll keep my dinosaur (over 3 years now, warranty just went out in April) Dell Inspiron 8100 as my workhorse PC that is a laptop sitting semi-permanently on my desk. Then I'll be able to watch TV on my 17" LCD monitor attached to my new Dell with the Hauppauge card. Now what should I do with the $1400 I saved by not getting a new laptop? :-)

TXT Message Site Update

Ok, for those of you that may have noticed, I was having trouble with my http://text.hornit.net site as the forwarding wasn't working for some reason. I finally caved in and created a new subdirectory with my webhost and put the redirect file in as an index.html file and everything worked great. Kind of baffling, but not worth spending another 2 hours over the issue. The point is, text.hornit.net is now up and working!

More RFID

Wired News: Airline Tests RFID on the Fly

I predict a tremendous outcry of BIG BROTHER from the technophobes everywhere.

RFID is it!

Wired News: Brit License Plates Get Chipped

Anyone know of a good RFID company to invest in?

New Text Message Website

Truthfully, the best way to get a hold of me if you need to is to send a TXT message to my cell phone.  Why?  Because if I'm not at my desk, I won't see your e-mail.  If I'm in a meeting or am otherwise busy, I'll probably ignore your call and check the voicemail once I'm done.  However, if you send me a text message with the subject of what you need to talk to me about, I get it immediately (my cell is almost ALWAYS on me and on) and I can prioritize when I need to get back to you.  There are several ways to TXT message me.  First, you can just e-mail aaron.horn@vtext.com.  However, it's hard to know how many characters will come through when you do it that way.  Therefore, I have created a new page that makes it VERY simple to send me a text message (it will even count the chacters and convert the message to be as short as possible for you):  http://text.hornit.net

 

Check it out and just remember text.hornit.net the next time you need to get a hold of me.  And don't just send me a message that says "Call me" because it will be sent to the absolute bottom of my priority list.  That goes for voicemails as well.  :-)

The iPod FleaThe New York Times > iPod Flea

ROTFL! THIS IS HILARIOUS! It's a "commercial" for the new Apple iPod. First the iPod, then the Mini, then the Shuffle, now the Flea. This video is awesome. The accessories for "the Flea" are hilarious.

WHY CAN'T THEY LEAVE LICENSING ALONE?!?!

Microsoft to Unveil Next Generation of Software Assurance Next Month

JUST when you think you have Microsoft Licensing figured out, they go and decide to change it again.

Read me my e-mail

ENT News | News: Microsoft Speech Technologies Coming to Exchange

I really hope this makes it in the new release of Exchange coming in 2006. How cool would it be to have Exchange read my mail to me over the phone? I think this is what it's going to turn into. Yahoo! Mail is already doing it for crying out loud. Too bad that service is $5/month. If it was free, I'd be using that thing to death.

Save Your Bandwidth from your RSS Feed

RSScache.com

This is actually pretty cool. Helps save your company's bandwidth from your RSS reader needlessly transmitting all sorts of data. It's really simple, you just add http://my.rsscache.com/ in front of each of your RSS feed subscriptions! So to subscribe to this Blog, you'd just subscribe to: http://my.rsscache.com/hornit.blogspot.com/atom.xml

It's based on IP address, so you can also generate a custom URL so that if multiple people behind a common firewall are using it, it won't get confused. If you use SharpReader, this will help save your bandwidth. I know my network administrator is all about saving the bandwidth. :-)

Sony PS3 may debut in 2007, if Xbox 360 lags

At first I thought this was rediculous, but once I read they are planning to drop the price of the PS2 to $99, I really think this is a genius move on Sony's part. If they can't beat them to market, take them to school on marketing...

Joke

There are 10 kinds of people in the world - Those who get binary and those who don't.

 

:-)

Google looking for chefs

Google Blog: Keyword: chefs

Free breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Google employees. Maybe that helps make up for the $350,000 houses in Mountain View that are equivalent to a $90,000 house in Ames (or even less in Des Moines.) Oh yeah, and they make boatloads of cash, too. :-)

540Mbps with 802.11n? Dang...

Slashdot | Wireless Networking Speeds of 540 Mbps w/ 802.11n

Microsoft's Official Vista Site

Windows Vista: A clear breakthrough

I'm curious about the "Deployment: Image-based setup." This has some serious potential benefits to an IT Help Desk...

Also check out PC Magazine's article (with screenshots): http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1840730,00.asp