menga dot net

home

about

contact update

Sunday May 11th 2008

Just a quick update: I changed a few of my screen names for my instant messenger accounts. The reason is because most people know me by name so I changed over a few names to reflect that. See the contact page for the updated info.

Remember: I always prefer e-mail first. Never forget that. :-)

Posted in blog | No Comments »

instant messengers suck

Saturday May 10th 2008

This is a post about instant messengers, not instant messaging (I could easily write a whole several-page-long diatribe about that, but we’ll leave that for another day.)

For kicks today I decided to install the from-service instant messaging clients. I did The Big Three: AIM, Yahoo and Windows Live.

Why did I decide to do this?

The only (and I mean only) reason you would install a from-service IM client is to take advantage of all the features that particular service offers. For example, you can’t use the Yahoo photo-sharing feature unless you use their client. Otherwise it’s just text communication.

Each client still, to this day, completely sucks ass. For each one I used, the only emotion that accurately describes how I felt was “pissed off.” The only thought was “This fucking sucks.”

Here’s my review of each. One sucks least, the other somewhat and the last the most - but they all still suck.

Sucks Least: AIM

AIM is the lightest app of the bunch and by far the easiest to use. It’s also got the best color choices for “skinning.”

The only reason you would use this from-service messenger is for better cell phone integration, changing your “mood” and more ability to create your own custom buddy icon.

Verdict: No reason to use this. At all.

Sucks Somewhat: Windows Live Messenger

Even if you’re running XP this messenger will force Vista-ish looking crap on you, meaning there are no menus at the top unless you know that by pressing ALT on your keyboard the menus will pop up.

Every “skin” for this messenger is either too bright, too light, too dark or too stupid.

Verdict: The only reason to use this is if you have an e-mail address than ends in @hotmail.com, @msn.com or @live.com. Otherwise it’s absolutely useless.

Sucks Most: Yahoo Messenger

The Yahoo Messenger used to be the best messenger, period. It used to be very EASY and FUN. Now it’s nothing but a super-bloat piece of fucking garbage.

You get your choice of two “skins” with this one: Dumbass Purple or Fucktard Blue. Both look like shit.

Whenever you get a new message, your computer literally has to think about it first. Why? Because the client is way too heavy. And God forbid if some dumbass has one of those retarded “IMvironments” enabled, because when you get a message it has a tendency to oh.. I dunno.. make the client CRASH. A lot.

Verdict: Even if you have an @yahoo.com e-mail address, this client is absolute 100% fucking junk. If you use this, uninstall it and watch how much faster your computer runs. I’m not kidding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So.. needless to say I quickly went back to using Digsby. Runs great. Connects to everything. No complaints.

If you’re sick and tired of AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo’s IM bullshit, here’s some freebie alternatives guaranteed to run better than any shitstain they could program:

Digsby (what I use)
Trillian (there is a free version)
Miranda
Pidgin

All four of the above will connect to AIM, Yahoo, MSN and a whole lot more - WITH NO ADS. Pretty cool, eh? Pretty cool indeed.

Posted in blog | 2 Comments »

death of the payphone

Friday May 9th 2008

When was the last time you used a payphone?

Think about it.

Probably not in a really, really long time.

Before there were cell phones the only way to call someone when not in your house (or someone else’s house) was to use a payphone. And you probably haven’t noticed, but Big Telecom has been pulling payphones out in droves. Year after year, more payphones vanish.

The only place where you’re guaranteed to find payphones now are at interstate rest areas. The place where you’re semi-guaranteed to find them are at gas stations. But as far as finding the good ol’ freestanding street corner payphone, that’s very unlikely. If you have one near where you live, snap a photo of it because it will probably be removed in the next 5 years or less.

I got inspired to write this after reading this post about the days when BBSers made text lists of all payphones in their local calling area.

I’m not saying “save the payphone!” Not at all. In fact I never liked them, but they were a distinct part of the American landscape that’s all but gone.

Speaking from an Americana point of view, it’s sad to see them go. I remember not-so-long ago the all-familiar iconic white-on-blue phone symbol could be seen pretty much anywhere, but not anymore.

Speaking from the motorist’s point of view (and admitted GPS freak,) it would be unwise for Big Telecom to remove all payphones. It’s my belief that yes, a minimal amount of them should stick around if not for anything more than to assist stranded motorists - even if they cost more than they bring in.

Yeah I think they should stick around. There should always been a way for someone to use telecommunications without subscribing to anything where one can just walk up, flip in a coin into a payphone and call someone.

If we ever get to the point where it’s “subscribe or you can’t call”, that would directly go against the reason we have telecommunications in the first place. I do understand Big Telecom is a business, but one can only hope they understand it’s the humans that make their livelihood. Shut out the humans and they shoot themselves in the foot, figuratively speaking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, one final semi-related note: Blue USPS mailboxes are also well on their way to becoming extinct. WHY DO THEY KEEP HIDING THESE THINGS seemingly on purpose?

Posted in blog | No Comments »

testing 1-2-3… hello? is this thing on?

Friday May 9th 2008

I have a like/dislike relationship with Twitter. Mostly dislike. :-)

I like because it’s stupidly easy to use. I dislike because it’s yet another frickin’ thing I have to login to and post just to use it. Bleah.

TwitterFeed is something I just found out about that will poll my blog’s RSS feed and make lil’ “tweets” along with a TinyURL in tow, so good deal there.

I honestly don’t know how long this will last because evidently Twitter is cracking down on spam. Technically speaking, using a service like TwitterFeed to auto-poll your blog once per hour then send a “tweet” if there’s anything new could be considered spam. And I hate spam. A lot. Who doesn’t?

I use TwitterFeed for one reason and one reason only.

I’m fucking lazy. :-)

I see it this way: People use RSS readers to read their favorite blogs. Using TwitterFeed to post the exact same thing on your Twitter profile is no different; it’s just yet another way to get to the information.

Posted in blog | 2 Comments »

Free Garmin StreetPilot and nuvi Splash Screens

Thursday May 8th 2008

To use:

Right-click and save one of the images to your hard drive.
Plug in your StreetPilot or nuvi via USB to your computer.
Go to the GPS drive letter (most likely E or F), expand and look for the folder under it called “splash”.
Copy the image there.
Disconnect your Garmin GPS from your computer.
Turn on the GPS and select your new splash screen (instructions are in your GPS manual for how to do this.)

The splash screens below will work with any StreetPilot that starts with c5 (such as c550, c580) and all non-widescreen nuvi models.

If you like these, you’ll also like the Garmin StreetPilot and nuvi splash screen super pack.

menga_dot_net_Landscape_01