The Slow Demise of Microsoft

Microsoft and I are not a good mix.
True. I own three computers and they all run Microsoft product... Reluctantly. I guess it goes back to the mid-90's when I was a big fan of Netscape. I remembered how impressed I was with the browser and how outraged I got when I upgraded my Windows OS.

The upgrade deleted Netscape off of my hard drive and it took me a while to download Netscape again over my dial up connection and restore my favorites. This was in the midst of Microsoft's war with Netscape. I didn't realize it at the time but Microsoft was trying to impose their browser (IE) through their OS upgrade. Jerks! So whenever the opportunity arises where I can try software from a different software maker... I go for it.

Mozilla's Firefox 1.5.0.3
This is the browser I've been using for a while now. I encourage everyone to use it. By its nature it is safer to use than Microsoft Internet Explorer. Firefox is actually the old Netscape source code that has been opened up. Yep. Its open source so there is an army out there of dedicated Firefox fans that continually submit improvements.

I use extensions with my Firefox browser to improve my online experience. The ones I like are: Adblock, Fasterfox, Forecastfox, Gmail Manager, IE tab (for those IE dedicated websites), & Blogger Web Comments to name a few.

You can find the Firefox browser and extensions here.

Yeah... I'm a Google-head
Lately I have been finding myself more in the world of Google. It is safe to say that I like their products. It is my primary search engine but I also use: Blogger (obviously), Gmail, Calendar, Desktop with gadgets.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not blindly downloading this stuff without formulating an opinion. I've been using Gmail for about 10 months now and it has gotten better and better. Google's first release of Desktop was not very impressive and I uninstalled it almost as quickly as I installed it. But with the latest version Google programmers seem to have made vast improvements.

Desktop works as a docking station for utilities called gadgets. There is a desktop gadget that corresponds to many Google products making them easier to use. My favorite feature is the Calendar Gadget. It uses an XML feed to connect to my Google Calendar. When I'm in lecture and my schedule needs updating all I have to do is click on this little sucker, everything is updated, and I'm done! I also use their Email Gadget docked in Desktop to alert me to new email arriving in my Gmail account.

The other gadgets I use are gdShredder (think recycle bin on testosterone), gdShutdown, Wireless Signal Meter, and the most useful Battery Meter. With the battery meter I don't have to keep checking that stupid little icon in my lower right tray to see how much juice my laptop has left... Its right there in plain view docked in my Google Desktop. Neat!

You can find Google Desktop 4 by following this link.

Yahoo! Instant Messenger
Sorry Google... by far, this is the best IM software out there and I've tried them all.

OpenOffice 2.0
I just downloaded OpenOffice 2.0 and will be tinkering with it for the next few weeks. As best as I can tell it is an open source office suite that can also handle your current Microsoft Office documents. I don't know this first hand... I'll keep you updated. Anything that cuts into Microsoft has to be a good thing!