So for the past 2 months I’ve been using both Skype and Vbuzzer to fulfill my VOIP needs.

Skype because of it’s great quality and solid software.  However, the SkypeIN feature, which allows you to have a phone number anywhere in the world, didn’t consider Toronto anywhere in this world.  Vbuzzer however, does.

But why use both?  Because Vbuzzer was shit.  Had you asked me two days ago, the emphasis of that sentence would’ve been on shit.  But, you ask me today, then the emphasis would be on was.  So go ahead, ask me today.

The reason Vbuzzer, WAS shit, but is no longer shit, is because they did an apparent rehaul on the software and website.

The website was convoluted and messy, riddled with stock photos and unnecessary graphics, and confusing infrastructure.  The software was just junk.  It’d crash constnatly, often disconnecting me.  It also didn’t let me do anyhting else on my computer while talking.  Couldn’t even hit START, unless I wanted to go and restart the program and reconnect with whomever I was talking with.

The new software however, though peculiarly visually similar to MSN Messenger, is great.  Quality is enhanced, stability way up.  I can now feel confident in telling everyone about what I use.

Vbuzzer not only offers a BuzzMe number, in Toronto, it’s only 7.99 for unlimited calling in North America.  It’s only 3 cents a minute to Korea, or 8 cents a minute to a mobile in Korea.  (South ofcourse.)  All calls that go through the BuzzMe service to me while I’m on my computer are unilimited.
They also improved their call forwarding feature.  So now, when my computer’s off, and I”m out, you, my friends from Toronto, can call me free, and it’ll forward right to my cell phone.  Not that you ever do.  Jerks.

Hell, I’m a jerk too.  I never call either.

Anyways, to recap, my number is 416 273 8250

June 23rd, 2006 | Software, Technology | 1 comment

I’ve had my computer for about 2 and a half weeks now and I’ve settled in quite nicely. I’ve got everything I need and everythign the way I want it setup.

My good friend Don, in Seoul, just got a new laptop too and asked me what kind of shit he’ll need to keep his shit running well. So I figured I might as well post this list here, for shits and giggles, and content.

So, first thing’s first:

BROWSER

Mozilla Firefox - An obvious choice.

Must-Have Firefox Extensions: IE-View - Because some pages just can’t be viewed in Firefox, especially Korean website. This lets you right click on the page that you are viewing and hit ‘View in IE’ to view it in an IE Window.

Tabbrowser Preferences - This tweaks certain little things. Most importantly, what it does is, when you hit a link that wants to open in a new window, it opens in a new tab instead of a whole new window. Can’t live without this one.

Email:
Mozilla Thunderbird - I was always torn about this. Microsoft Outlook offered the whole Calendar business, but since im Palm-Pilot-less it’s not a big deal. It runs fast.

Security:
Firewall - Zone Alarm
Anti-Spyware - Ad-Aware
Anti-Virus - ClamWin. Free, open-source, up-to-date virus definitions, free. Only downside, doesn’t have on-access checking like most of the big names do. Which means you’ll have to run scheduled scans

Chatting:
Trillian - Multi-platform means you can connect to ICQ, AIM, MSN, YAHOO, and a few others simultaneously. Tabbed message windows means talking with 3 or 4 people doesn’t take up u’r entire task-bar and screen. A FREE option is GAIM, which is very similar, just not quite as well-rounded.

Downloading:
Music - Soulseek
Movies, Tv - Azureus for managing my downloads. It requires the Java Runtime Environment which you should install first. I use TorrentySpy.com for my torrents.

Media Players:
Music - Winamp.
Movies - VLC Media Player. You’ll probably want the Divx Codec as well.

Desktop Publishing:
When you don’t have MS Office, there’s always the free OPEN OFFICE, which I’ve just started using, and I’m very impressed with.

Other neat little things:
Spacemonger for HD space management when things get tight.
QLiner HotKeys for making your own WINDOWS KEY + __________ shortcuts.
Yahoo Widgets! which I run just because my computer is fast enough. I’ve got weather, a Korean to English translator, a Day planner, and notepad all within easy access on my desktop.

And that’s it. phew.

Technorati Tags: New computer software, free software

March 15th, 2006 | Technology | 3 comments