Seriously, anyone at Mozilla, look! learn! fix!

And if anyone reading can tell me a way to fix this then leave it in the comments section, PLEASE!!!

P.S. – I’ve tried a few of the “memory-leak fix” tricks and they don’t seem to be working. But even still if you’ve got a fix that worked for you let me know.

Okay. I’m going to get some flames on this one. So if you’re the type, bug off. I’ve been looking around at some of the press Windows Vista is getting. And *dun dun dun* I’m really excited. I know, I know, Microsoft is the devil, Bill Gates/Darth Vader, blah blah blah. But– Hear me out.

First off, the Apple thing. Everyone and their dog has said that Microsoft has copied MANY features form Apple’s OS X Tiger operating system. And I too have been guilty of such accusations. Here’s the kicker though: “So What?” Who cares if they copy Apple. The point is that Apple’s OS is awesome and works great. So I say anything that Microsoft “steals” from Apple can’t be bad. If we end up using widgets in Vista and having interfaces that are so pretty it makes you want to drool, then who’s really losing? I own a Mac. I use my Mac constantly. I own a PC. I use my PC constantly. So really I don’t see any downside to this whole ordeal.

Second, There are going to be some really great things coming in Vista. Not to mention the fact that we are one step closer to having our computers resemble those in the movies. I know that this whole idea of being okay with something Microsoft does may scare some of you. Relax. They aren’t that evil. They are a corporation, and they do “get it wrong” A LOT. But, they are also starting to wise up. They know the public thinks poorly of them. They know they don’t have the best track record with security, usability, and innovation. They are obviously struggling to win the public over. I say, give them a chance. Windows Vista is going to change a lot of things. Whether we really like it or not. At the office, at home, everywhere. Things are about to get very interesting.

Stay tuned.

-a

I’ve discovered that the new release of iTunes 6.0.2 allows you to set a video’s “Kind” property to “TV Show” directly within iTunes. If you are an avid user of iTunes’ video cability, you know how saught-after this functionality is. There have been a TON of different apps and hacks that have tried to let you “easily” let you do this. So, and to their credit, Apple answer the call and added the feature to this release. One caveat though: For some reason, you still cannot change the “Season,” “Show,” etc. properties. Maybe 6.0.3?

Like it? Digg It

This is a simple php script I threw together so I could easily navigate to the story url rather than the digg url for each feed item. The ‘link’ attribute of each item is set to the url of the stories content.

The source code can be found here.

[Feed Link]

Ok this is enough, for a few months now, the Music Publishers’ Association or “MPA” have been taking down guitar tab and lyric websites. David Israelite, president of the National Music Publishers’ Association, expressed his so-called “concerns” by saying: “Unauthorised use of lyrics and tablature deprives the songwriter of the ability to make a living, and is no different than stealing…” This is insane. Since when has it been illegal for musicians to learn to play each other’s songs?

Another issue that hits pretty close to home with me is that of a piece of software called “PearLyrics.” All this software did was allow you to easily search for song lyrics for whatever song you were currently playing on your computer or any song you wish really. But the higher-ups somehow confused this with violating some sort of law and had the small programmer behind PearLyrics shut down. Keep in mind that all the program did was search websites that were already on the internet and give that information to the user in a readable, manageable way.

A Warner Chappell statement said the company wanted to ensure songwriters were “fairly compensated for their works and that legitimate sites with accurate lyrics are not undermined by unlicensed sites”.

Organizations like Warner Chappell and the MPA have pushed this too far. They have taken a simple battle for monetary profit off artistic works and turned into a global war against information freedom. If we, the netizens, music nerds, and users of the internet allow this type of thing to go on any longer, we will be facing a situation no different then when you tried to wear you favorite t-shirt with the words “BUCK FUSH” on it into your 9th grade science class and were promptly asked to leave. The internet is freedom, that has always been its purpose and idea. That we, the people of the world, could control how and when we get information. I’m almost amazed when I hear stories like this of small companies and websites that work REALLY hard to provide quality content getting shut down because some corporate figure head decided it would make him look good. These types of sites are NOT the reason your industry is losing money. The reason you’re losing money is because you’re spending all of your time trying to stop the inevitable.

posting entries from the bathtub is fun. i emplore you all to try it. however, if you somehow electricute yourself or fry your laptop in the process, i deny responsibility ;). i guess i really don’t have anything to say. i’m tired but not sleepy. mixtape number two is almost done uploading so look out for that later on today. i’m downloading the green day live dvd “bullet in a bible” and its taking forever. if anyone has seen it and would like to let me know if its worth it, please feel free. i’m watching friends right now, i haven’t done that in a while so all the episodes sound sort of new. when you use your powerbook in the bathtub and the water begins to drain you quickly realize how naked, wet and soapy you are. just a tip. well i’m going to try and get some more hot water in the tub, its getting a little chilly. love love love.

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving on this fine thursday afternoon. I hope all is well with all of you and that your holidays are as nerdy and pleasant as mine are. I’ve been working A LOT the past few days. Look out for some really cool stuff coming out of the migraineheartache. software. camp real soon. This is going to be good…

Hello to all. Its been quite a while since I’ve had any news to post. And even now I don’t really have any news per-say. I have more of a story to tell. So as some of my more industrious (creepy) readers may have discovered, I also run a company called “migraineheartache. software.” With this company, I recently released a line of products called “MySpacerXP.” They were small pieces of what most would consider ‘utility’ software aimed at helping bands (or anyone really) promote themselves on the social networking website, myspace.com. There were three different versions of the program: A messenger version, a group inviter version, and an event inviter version. These were all basically just ways to shortcut having to click over and over to message people, invite them to a group, or invite them to an event, receptively. So, time went by, I created a small buzz and basically became known as “the bad guy” by my competition. (See Eek! Records) However, merely to see how my product stacked up against the others, I downloaded their product and fired it up. It was running rather slow so I decided to check out what exactly the program was doing. I then fired up my copy of Ethereal (A network protocol analyzer). Within minutes I discovered why the program was behaving so erratically, turns out that “Eek! Records” (which is owned and operated by an individual named Bob Ricci) had included some code in his “Friend Adder” program that was constantly make web requests to play one of his songs (He’s also a musician) on some obscure promotion website. So, to summarize, Eek! Records’ is using this program (which they are charging money for) to promote themselves using YOUR computer! Not only is this horrible software coding practice and bad business practice, its also bogging down the computers of all the people who are unknowingly using this product. That was merely an aside, (if Bob or Eek! get in any kind of trouble, don’t worry, I’m not sorry). Back to my story. All was well until last night when I received a cute little cease and desist letter from MySpace’s legal department. It basically was asking me to remove any references to MySpace, MySpacerXP, or any product/service that broke the MySpace.com Terms Of Services from my website and domain name. I, as most people would have been, was a little scared. Not because I thought anything could happen to me (I’ve done my homework on the subject), but I mean this was MySpace, a $580 million company. And they were sending me, ME and email. Moving on, I complied with their requests and sent them an email apologizing for any inconvenience I may have caused them. They then replied thanking me for my “prompt attention to this matter.” Now all is well, however I will no longer be selling any software that will interface with MySpace.com in anyway whatsoever. Anyways, that sounded far more complicated than it really was. But thanks for listening.

So I just got wind that the Jabber servers for Google’s new product “Google Talk” are online. Point your Jabber-enabled client over to:

Username: Your Gmail Addy (including ‘@gmail.com’).
Password: Your Gmail password.
Server: talk.google.com
Port: 5222

I think you have to say “Use TSL.” I’m not really sure. I use Adium X on OSX and its pretty good at figuring that kind of thing out. Anyways, all accounts so far are pretty good. You won’t get the Voice-chat features using a third-party client, but everything else will be there. I think Google’s made a good choice with the Jabber protocol. And from what I hear they are planning to keep the standard as open as possible which is great. I’ve yet to try the official client, but Download Squad has a really great review already. Keep your eyes towards the skies, err- http://talk.google.com

-a

UPDATE (8.24.05 - 4:03 PM): Wow, I don’t think I’ve read a single site today that hasn’t mentioned Google Talk. It’s like el nino or something. Alot of folks (including myself) always joke about Google taking over the world. But seriously, this week, they came out swinging. First, they launch the newest version of Google Desktop Search now dubbed “Google Desktop 2.” Which not only includes an infinite number of search possiblities, but also has a sidebar feature that will rock just about any win-nerd’s socks off. Then not even two days later, they launch Google Talk, an insanely hyped product that apparently has taken the internet by storm. And lest you forget, they’ve also just opened up their Gmail service to the public (no need for invites). My opinion, Google has always had this massive “zero hour strategy” with guys in army hats with pocket-protectors screaming into microphone headsets “Go! Launch! All teams execute their marks!” And here we are. That may be a little extreme, but seriously, when is the Google-Mania going to end? Not anytime soon I hope. I think this week shall be forever known as “Big Ups To Google Week.”

So I’ve been hearing all this buzz about Google taking over the world. Its actually really interesting since I’ve talked with a few people at Google and its kinda like the CIA over there. There are a ton of different departments and teams and many of them are unaware of whatever top-secret project some other team may be working on. I’m intrigued by all of this for a few reasons. Google has always had a reputation for revitalizing whatever industry it wants to. With Gmail, they totally changed how people think about webmail. With Google Desktop Search, they renewed the way Windows users organize and deal with their data.
Now, I know I may be preaching to the choir with some of you here and I know there are also lots of people who would disagree with me on all of this, but stay with me here: As stated in a recent New York Times article, “Google has always tried to build their [foundations] rather than buy them.” The reason I think this is important is because when companies like Microsoft try to expand their reach, they usually buy out large companies, rip out all the branding and most of the UI then basically cop and paste the code over into their own products. Microsoft does this ALOT. More than most people realize. Yahoo! has also been known for this. I know many people who don’t actually know just how many companies and products Yahoo! has its hands in. Yahoo! owns flickr, they also recently acquired Konfabulator (which has now become “Yahoo! Widgets”) among other things.

Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that Google has built a firm, solid reputation by simply making good, quality stuff. Google is supposed to be releasing a new “communications tool” in a couple days, and everyone is trying the hardest to figure out what its going to be. I’ll post my thought about it when it happens. They also just released their new “Google Desktop” package, which effectively replaces Google Desktop Search. This is a bigger step than I think a lot of people are realizing. The new Google Desktop software includes a sidebar feature that has been making some waves in the tech community. Its the first time an application of this type has been introduced by such a high-profile company. Microsoft was said to include such capabilities in its upcoming “Windows Vista.” This functionality has been removed and placed back in a number of times. The idea is that third-party developers will develop panels for this sidebar and add in tons of extra functionality. Much like widget developers have done with Apple’s Dashboard technology. Google has tried this premise before in it first incarnation of Google Desktop Search - providing an API for developers to use to create plug-ins allowing the user to search for many different types of files. The idea was mildly successful with pretty much all popular file-formats now being supported. Hopefully this whole idea will catch on and possibly open a door for would-be developers to get involved.

Also, this just in- Google Talk is likely the name of the upcoming Google “Communications Tool” the program will likely include voice-chat capabilities and likely rely on an IM backbone powered by the Jabber IM protocols. I’m hoping for something great here. Can anyone say free SkypeOut-type functionality? All I can say at this point is, Google, please don’t do us wrong. Personally, I can’t wait for this new software. It just may be the thing that convinces me to keep my main computer running windows. However, if the client runs on OSX- that’s it. I will officially give up on Windows.

That reminds me, hold your index finger and thumb up in the air. Now hold them about half-an-inch apart. That’s how close i was to installing the controversial OSx86 on my main box last night. The only reason I didn’t was that I realized how immense an operation it would be to backup all my music (almost 60 GBs) on a separate hard-drive while I did the install. I’m still toying with the idea, I’ll keep you posted. I might wait for a more thoroughly hacked version.

I’ll report back when I find out more about all this Google business. So much for shorter posts, I’ll see you all next time kids-

-a

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