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Well, that plan failed after trying to get my second monitor working, however failed to do so after finding out X.org can't properly configure hardware. I say this because ALL of my hardware configured in xorg.conf was "Configured Video Device", "Configured Keyboard", and "Configured Monitor" instead of having what drivers it used, or settings. But no, just "configured now don't try to touch anything". And the fact that I can't listen to music and talk on Skype at the same time. And the fact that things don't "just work".

You might say "well some things you have to configure yourself", and I completely agree. However, I shouldn't have to do that for EVERYTHING. I'm done with my rant on this, maybe in another 3 years things will ACTUALLY "just work", or at least somewhat work.

So I downloaded Paint.NET and have been giving it a run for its money. I've got to say it's really nice. It doesn't have as many features as the almighty Photoshop, but it does have enough to get by. Unless you're a huge Photoshop junkie (a real junkie, no OMG YOURSPACE fags), you wouldn't even notice.

As far as I've gone with it, it feels easier to use and work in. And as for features, it is a major upgrade from MSPaint/The GIMP. I don't want to try to sell anyone the product, but seeing as it's free, go give it a try if you want.

http://www.getpaint.net/

Today I’ve changed my email provider from Microsoft’s Hotmail (now Live Mail), to Google’s Gmail. Over the past month of trying to fully switch to Office Outlook, I’ve noticed (and been bothered) by the limitations on services offered by a free (yes, there is a paid version) of Hotmail.

While I do find Hotmail to be a good service if you are a Microsoft fan boy, it’s a constant headache if you separate yourself from them. One huge problem I had with setting up my Hotmail account on Outlook was that I needed to get a plugin for Office to get my account to work. Now, why is it that I have to get a plugin for a Microsoft product to work with a Microsoft product? Aside from setting it up, when I send emails (Yahoo! Mail, and many others do the same) they stitch ads for random crap that nobody wants as a footer to my emails. Not only did I find this a nuisance, but highly unprofessional (I do sometimes use email for serious stuff). Now, these things can be ignored to an extent, but recently I’ve noticed that I can’t synchronize my calendar with Hotmail (gayer service, or gayest service?), and the fact that they have recently added a pretend attempt to service Hotmail in “full mode” to Opera users.

You may wonder why I’d even need to login to Hotmail via web if I already have Outlook configured. The answer to that is Hotmail limits all features when using Outlook on a free account to email, and contacts. Back to topic, if you are an Opera user, you may notice that when you load your Hotmail (if you use it) that it attempts to load “full mode” first, then gives the option for “classic mode”. Now I had no problem with being stuck with Classic Mode in the first place, but when you wave the new version in my face to make me think I have it, then it not work, screw you.

Once I noticed this, I immediately started looking for an alternative. My path started off on logging in to my old Gmail account, and checking what they’ve done with it in the past year (last time I used it, it was still in “private” beta). As I saw they added a lot to the service, I threw Gmail into Outlook and gave it a spin. I noticed that I had to get a plugin to get calendars to synchronize, but Google didn’t make Office, so I don’t blame them.

As of now, I’ve given my global email to all contacts stating that I’ve switched my email provider to Google and gave my new address.

So I've finally found a fix for bbLeanSkin that forced a border on Office 2007.

Adding this to your exceptions.rc (%blackboxdir%\plugins\bbLeanSkin\exceptions.rc) will remove the bbLeanSkin border from it.

# Office 2007
WWLIB.DLL
OUTLOOK.EXE
EXCEL.EXE
POWERPNT.EXE

I've recently been using GlobalSCAPE's CuteFTP Professional (trial) and would like to share my thoughts about it with you. If you don't happen to know what CuteFTP, or an FTP client is, it is simply an application used to access an FTP server. You may be thinking "Well, Internet Explorer/Konqueror/Safari does that, doesn't it?" The answer to that is yes, they do. However, an FTP client has far more functionality than a web browser does (at least, most do).

When I did the initial configuration of CuteFTP, one feature that really stood out was the "Site Manager" feature. This feature lets you have a "one click connect" per say to an FTP site. While other clients do have the dropdown quick connect box (as does CuteFTP), just clicking a button that is right there instead of choosing from the dropdown box is simply easier (and quicker) to do. A couple other features I noticed were tabbed sessions (so I could connect to multiple server simultaneously), quick connect (so I don't have to save an FTP site just to connect to it), and the click and drag interface (which several other FTP clients I've used did have multiple panes, but no drag and drop).

As for the stability of the application, all I can say is that it is excellent. I've had several problems with SmartFTP and IglooFTP not fully transferring a file and randomly disconnecting. I have not had CuteFTP crash a single time within the trial, which is more than I can say for most software. And if you happen to be a very picky preferences person, you will have a field day with CuteFTP's preferences. If you are a just a casual FTP user, or new to it, you'll be glad to know that you won't have to touch the preferences menu if you don't want to. One thing I found that put people on the fence about buying the software was the price tag. While $59 may seem like a lot, if you are going to get heavy into FTP, or looking for a permanent replacement for your current client, the price tag is worth it.

If you are looking for a quick pro/con list, here it is.

Positive:

• Stable
  
• Maintains a good connection
  
• File transfers maintain their integrity
  
• Support for both Windows and Mac OS X
  
• Highly flexible settings
  
• Site Manager for keeping tabs on your favorite FTP servers
  
• Drag and Drop file transfers
  
• Security (SSL, SSH, etc)
  
• Folder Synchronization
  

Negative:

• No official support for *nix
  
• Intimidating preferences menu