Feed me!

No, this is not a desperate call for food, just a reminder that you can now subscribe to my blog's RSS feed
and be notified automatically every time I have a brain dump.

What is RSS? it stands for Real Simple Syndication. It is an alternative means of accessing the vast amount of information that now exists on the world wide web.
Instead of the user browsing web sites for information of interest, the information is sent directly to the user.

Since RSS is XML based, following an RSS link, or indeed any time you see the international icon on any site, will get you an XML file.
To really utilize RSS, you need a Reader. But, chances are you already have one installed:

• Both Firefox (download link on the right) and IE7 support RSS bookmarks (also known as "live bookmarks" since they update automatically).
• You can use sites like Google Reader to subscribe to feeds.
  
• If you're using Microsoft Outlook 2007, you can subscribe to an RSS feed in it and receive feeds as you would email. Now you can filter, categorize, search and archive those feeds as you do your email messages.
  If you have an earlier version of Outlook, get NewsGator to get the same functionality.
• If you want a standalone app to manage your feeds, I recommend the free FeedReader.
• And finally, if you are a Blackberry junkie, get your feed need with Viigo (browse to it from your Blackberry).

And here's a neat fact: since I'm too lazy to manage my feed on my own, I signed up with FeedBurner (recently acquired by Google). Not only do they update my feed regularly,
but if you do follow the link above, you'll get the feed in a human-readable form rather than the XML format.

That's it! Subscribe and enjoy!

Collect your system's info

CPU-Z is a freeware utility that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system. CPU-Z does not need to be installed, just unzip the files in a directory and run the .exe. In order to remove the program, just delete the files and that's it. The program does not copy any file in any Windows directory, nor write in the registry. Get it here.

What is my (real) IP?

Want to know how the rest of the world sees you, behind your router/proxy?
Go to www.whatismyip.com.
They also have a nice explanation of the ipconfig command here.

Mobile phone trojan 'bugs' user conversations

According to a ZDNet article a new software called FlexiSpy can

record conversations and log all SMS and e-mail messages sent to and from the phone. It can also remotely turn on a phone's microphone to listen to a users surrounds (without a call even being made), and reveal the location of the mobile user.

According to the article,

The software, once physically loaded onto any Symbian, Windows Mobile or BlackBerry-based device, enables a remote user to monitor and control nearly all aspects of a mobile device.

Scary! but RIM, the makers of the Blackberry, are not fazed. Well, I am!

Network Monitor 3.1 released

Version 3.1 of Network Monitor now includes Wi-Fi sniffing (hackers, don't say Microsoft doesn't like you :) ). Read my previous post about what it does.

The changes in the new version can be found here and download from here, or, if you have version 3 installed, the Windows Update site will update it automatically.

All set to go!

I've been tinkering with this blog for a few days.
Some changes I went through:

1. A new profile (including a pointer to LinkedIn)
   
2. A new template
3. Some HTML/CSS fixes
4. Google AdSense (look on the right, and click some :) )
   
5. Labeled all posts (you can now see all posts that deal with a certain subject)
6. From now on, only 10 posts will be shown per page.
   Jump to older posts by using the archive tree on the right, or by clicking the "older posts" link at the bottom.
   

In my opinion, ready to be launched globally. Once I find a way to get some recognition, I'll publish it here.

Now written on Windows Vista

Yes, it's slower. Yes, it's more of an eye candy. Yes, security warnings are driving me mad. And yes, I'll continue using Firefox (see ad on right, click to download the latest version) rather than IE7 (don't expect an ad here - this browser is waaay behind).

But I enjoy working in Vista. Call me a kid, but I like alphas, gammas, transparencies and 3D effects.
So, I've installed the latest Windows Live Writer (read my previous posts here and here) and will post my future posts from here.

Oh, I know why I like it so much! because the effects look just like my Mac!
Finally, OS X in Windows :)