Using OmniFocus to manage a 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons character sheet. Nerds. Dungeons and Dragons. Obsessive overuse of Mac software.
posted by Artw on Jun 25, 2008 - 87 comments

The History of Computing Project is a collaborative effort to record and publish the history of the computer and its roots. The site includes a chronological timeline, biographies of computing pioneers, a look at computing hardware through the years, as well as software and games. [more inside]
posted by netbros on May 9, 2008 - 11 comments

Ubuntu has quickly become the number one Linux distro for the desktop. Not only is it free, but it has also made Linux easier to use than ever. Now, Wubi enables Windows users to install Ubuntu just like any other application, so you no longer have to mess around with partitions, burning CDs, etc. [more inside]
posted by Foci for Analysis on Jan 21, 2008 - 82 comments

FlexGo™. Microsoft targets emerging markets with pay as you go and subscription models.
posted by davehat on Jun 29, 2006 - 13 comments

Securing public computers isn't easy, but a Microsoft kit to do that may also help families share home computers. If you share a Windows XP Home or Professional computer with other users, particularly, children, or family members, you may find the Shared Computer Toolkit beta an interesting idea. But caveat emptor: this is free "beta" software, has a spooky "validation" process to confirm your copy of Windows is "genuine," and installation is not for the faint of heart. Then again, neither is re-installing Windows after a friend/relative/SO inadvertently trashes your computer.
posted by paulsc on Jul 7, 2005 - 18 comments

A widget of mass destruction (warning: clicking this link will install a widget) may be the answer to all those who have been fervently wishing or imagining that Mac users will soon experience the joys of viruses and worms... if, that is, you have taken the leap of faith to upgrade to OS X Tiger and can't get enough of Dashboard (last 2 are Quicktime video links). Konfabulator was the precursor -- there is a Windows version available (shareware).
posted by indices on May 8, 2005 - 49 comments

Adobe announces new round of design applications. Inspring groans from designers everywhere who just got used to the CS apps, Adobe announced today CS2, 18 months after the last version. Included in the updates are Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator, Golive and a new component called Bridge. The only hitch in the planned obsolescence model is that all the applications will now require product activation, thereby inspiring crackers everywhere to get busy.
posted by jeremias on Apr 4, 2005 - 57 comments

The Beagle Bros Software Online Museum - "a tribute to the coolest software company of the 80's." These guys made my Apple II childhood just a little more magical. The museum includes their ever-informative diskette care warning labels and a less-than-useful but inside joke-filled FAQ. The Beagle Bros Wikipedia entry also has a lot of fun tidbits.

They also had very funny and clever ads (found on this great Apple II history page). The ads always contained these amazing little 2-liners, Applesoft BASIC programs that made my 11 year-old head spin trying to figure out the PEEKs and POKEs that turned Applesoft BASIC from a toy into a pretty powerful tool.

This bout of nostalgia started when I discovered, via this boingboing post, that you could play I/O Silver online (ActiveX)! (only the greatest puzzle game I've ever owned. And hard as heck, too.)
posted by Space Coyote on Dec 30, 2004 - 18 comments

Gates talks about our future. Bill gates shows a side that is rarely seen by computer users. Love him or hate him, I just want to know why he doesn't want me to have one of these some time in the next 15 years too.
posted by sourbrew on Jul 13, 2004 - 25 comments

The John Markoff of the New York Times [registration required] reports that Google plans to roll-out a text and file search tool code-named Puffin for finding information stored on PCs. The move is seen as a defensive one; Microsoft plans to include PC searching in its new operating system, scheduled to be released in 2006 (at the earliest).
posted by tranquileye on May 19, 2004 - 7 comments

Whizzkid develops Linux application for Windows [...]The significance of the development is that Linux and Windows are able to work in parallel on the same computer or server. To[sic] now, the computer world is divided into systems that operate either with Windows or with Linux. [...]
posted by Postroad on Apr 12, 2004 - 33 comments

A few years ago a life simulation game called Creatures was released. I recently discovered that there was also a free version called Docking Station which is still available in PC and Linux versions and includes an optional on-line component which allows you to chat, send messages and share creatures with other players. And if the goodies and breeds of creatures that come with the free version aren't enough for you, there are oodles of web sites still offering free downloads to expand on the game. Or if you gain some joy from hexidecimal programming, you can even play around with their genetic coding or learn to create your own goodies.
posted by Orb on Mar 30, 2004 - 3 comments

MouseCount counts the number of times you click your mouse--information useful to computer usage studies, ergonomics, repetitive stress measurement, and more. This program saves you the trouble of counting all those clicks yourself! Screw that, I'm just a curious dork. (fyi: link goes to description page only, but the download is a .zip file)
posted by Ufez Jones on Feb 25, 2004 - 6 comments

Good weekend project: start your own Internet radio station with peerCast. Mentioned here, very cool.
posted by tranquileye on Feb 6, 2004 - 4 comments

We hates software.
posted by arto on Jan 5, 2004 - 18 comments

A new MS Internet Explorer vulnerability is discovered. Most digerati already know about the spammer and lamer trick to publish URLs that look like legitimate hostnames to fool people in to trusting a malicious site. This trick is frequently used by spammers to steal people's PayPal accounts, by tricking them in to "resetting" their password at a site owned by the spammer but disguised as PayPal.com. Today's new IE vulnerability is significantly worse. By including an 0x01 character after the @ symbol in the fake URL, IE can be tricked in to not displaying the rest of the URL at all. Don't expect a patch right way, the guy who found the hole released it to BugTraq on the same day he notified Microsoft. (via Simon Willison)
posted by dejah420 on Dec 9, 2003 - 29 comments

Windows Vulnerabilities XPlained I've always used Gibson Research's website to test my Windows system for vulnerabilities. With the latest BLAST aimed at MS, I thought to share his site with the class. While Mr. Gibson obviously has some axes to grind and bones to pick with Microsoft and with various software firewall makers, his explanations of how Windows can be XPloited in terms that are fairly easy to understand is most appreciated. Be sure to check out the numerous free utiltites (small downloads! I mean, really small!) that will help you plug nearly every hole in your Windows.
Didn't know MS had shut down www.windowsupdate.com til just now, either
posted by WolfDaddy on Aug 18, 2003 - 42 comments

This page uses a 'Dukes of Hazzard' metaphor to explain that big ol' SCO vs. Linux kerfuffle.
posted by GriffX on Jun 2, 2003 - 3 comments

Homeland Security Threat Monitor is a small Windows application that runs in your system tray, showing the current terrorism threat level. Features blinking notification of increased threat level! [via Small Values of Cool]
posted by kirkaracha on Feb 25, 2003 - 17 comments

Wine, Chicago, and Bob. Sounds like a dangerous combination, but fortunately the GUI Gallery keeps 'em separated for your safety. Via my good friend wysinger.com
posted by WolfDaddy on Feb 7, 2003 - 3 comments

Distributed spam filtering. Sure, your spam filter may be hot stuff, but Spamnet takes filtering to the communal level. With its easy install, point and click simplicity, and Outlook support could Spamnet be the SpamCop for the masses?
posted by skallas on Dec 19, 2002 - 36 comments

The Self-Healing Minefield From the current Village Voice: "Utilizing commercial off-the-shelf computer chips and 'healing' software, the networked minefield detects rude attempts to clear it, deduces which parts of itself have been removed, and signals its remaining munitions to close the hole using best-fit mathematics."

Bonus ubertasteless Flash animation courtesy of DARPA here. Color me fascinated and repulsed in equal measure.
posted by Armitage Shanks on Nov 27, 2002 - 40 comments

Your screensaver is boring.
Electric Sheep(Linux, OSX) produces animated flame fractals rendered via distributed computation. n 0 time(Win) draws its data from things such as a custom word list, cached web site text, your favorites, or your cookies. The Bank of Time(Win2k-, OS9-) grows plants based on your idle time connected to the net. Dirty Fingerprints(Win) leaves fingerprints all over your screen, generated by user clicks on contributing sites. Or, if you really want, you can join in the effort to crack various encryption methods(most systems) at Distributed.net. Deskswap(prev. link) has unfortunately been offline for months, due to bandwidth issues.
posted by Su on Sep 22, 2002 - 18 comments

Help yourself to an exploit. No biting social commentary here, just spreading the word on an ooky Win XP exploit in the form of a malicious Help Center request. The patch has been silently rolled into SP1, and is otherwise unavailable. Of course, if you want to install SP1, you'll have to agree to that nasty Trojan EULA.
posted by badstone on Sep 11, 2002 - 17 comments

The Read_Me Festival 1.2 shortlist has been posted, and includes such projects as Carnivore(not the government one, though that was part of the concept), and the DeskSwap screensaver. While this is a "software art" exhibition, it's of particular note that patches or even just instructions for making existing software do things not originally intended are allowable entries. I haven't been through all of them to see if any patches were entered, but it'd be interesting what the publishers might think of these, since it would basically constitute hacking and/or reverse engineering.
posted by Su on Mar 30, 2002 - 2 comments

CBT Cafe, for those who learn visually. I was scouting around looking for Flash tutorials and stumbled on this site. The gimmick: they don't just teach you the code/effect/design, they actually walk you through it with a narrated Quicktime movie.

Currently serving Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Photoshop, Cleaner, Quicktime, EBay, and the MacOS.
posted by jragon on Mar 17, 2002 - 2 comments

Trillian Users blocked from AIM service? The bit about this that scares me is the solution to the problem involves disabling the Secure IM functions. Is this a technical glitch or a conspiracy by AOL to reserve the ability to spy on our IM chats? Or build intentional security loopholes?
posted by Jeffy on Jan 29, 2002 - 29 comments

Convert your pictures to HTML. So cool I nearly wet myself.
Seriously.
posted by TiggleTaggleTiger on Jan 23, 2002 - 26 comments

Microsoft considering anti-virus support and why we should care.
posted by GriffX on Dec 11, 2001 - 13 comments

AirSnort. The dangerous app with the unlikely name allows users to snatch data being passed over wireless networks, eventually capturing passwords to the network.
posted by o2b on Nov 29, 2001 - 7 comments

Rob Rosenberger, editor of Vmyths.com, writes that three uniformed federal police visited him in the middle of the night and asked that he not to publish an upcoming column that would embarrass anti-virus vendor for "national security reasons." From late-October, but intriguing.
posted by tranquileye on Nov 8, 2001 - 10 comments

Java is alive and kicking, and this guy knows what to do with it. Check out his sexy alife experiments (art? science?) and this goofy game. (Warning: his stuff crashed my browser a couple of times, but was worth it. Most applets are available for download.)
posted by grumblebee on Nov 5, 2001 - 14 comments

Staroffice 6.0b is a great, free alternative to microsoft office for people who can't afford the suite or for those that would rather not use microsoft products. Staroffice has completely integrated XML support and full featured word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing applications.
posted by mcsweetie on Oct 8, 2001 - 25 comments

Striking back at hackers
"LaBrea" is a free, open-source tool that deters worms and other hack attacks by transforming unused network resources into decoy-computers that appear and act just like normal machines on a network. But when malicious hackers or mindless worms such as Nimda or Code Red attempt to connect with a LaBrea-equipped system, they get sucked into a virtual tarpit that grabs their computer's connection -- and doesn't release it.
Is this an ethical use of network resources, or just vigilante justice? What other methods have you used to strike back at hostile software?
posted by TheChump on Sep 20, 2001 - 9 comments

Fight back against sneaky scumware like TopText and Surf+, with this Javascript code by Gary Rosenzweig of CleverMedia. The code detects the scumware's presence, pops up a message letting the user know they're carrying a parasite, and then surveys the user to find out if they knew about it. In the first day of operation on his site, he discovered that 3.67% of his visitors had either TopText or Surf+ installed, and more than 90% of these visitors did not know until they were told. (Link to the Javascript code is at the bottom of the article.)
posted by cfj on Aug 31, 2001 - 7 comments

Netscape 6.1???? Have you tried it? Do you like it? Should we get Mikey?
posted by thunder on Aug 25, 2001 - 33 comments

Yet Another Artist Link , this time i'm showcasing an artist/skinner who not only does great work, but believes in usability (for all those 'hey i've been using winamp for 6 months now, and i still need the buttons plainly labeled' whiners). just kidding folks. check out the wallpapers too while you're there.
posted by jcterminal on Aug 4, 2001 - 5 comments

Mr. President, I need your advice on this attachment. No matter who you are, you are still foolish to open unscanned attachments. Sircam strikes again!
posted by dwivian on Aug 3, 2001 - 6 comments

Reassembled. Assembler is back -- at least, in its latest, frozen form. Score one for indie content makers. (thanks to Zeldman; his exit page notes the new URL.)
posted by moz on Jul 27, 2001 - 4 comments

NYT celebrates 40 (or so) years of FORTRAN
The computer language that started it all is remembered in this breezy Times article (reg. req.'d.). [I think it has to do with some recent reunion of original team-members, but any contemporary event to rationalize printing this is buried in the copy.] Do something high-level with your computer today to commemorate. Here's an ibiblio.org text with more information.
posted by rschram on Jun 13, 2001 - 5 comments

Political software licences? The GPL prevents commercial use. Should it also try to enforce human rights?
posted by andrew cooke on May 12, 2001 - 6 comments

Sometimes conspiracies are real. The real reason the 3d net software is showing up again might best be summed up by a quote from this article: ' "The focus was to get someone to go out and upgrade to a Pentium 4," Benoit said. "We wanted to create new and compelling content that wasn't out there and that would cause people to make a decision to upgrade their processors." '
posted by gdavis on Apr 10, 2001 - 13 comments

Article on New Scientist about "software that turns everyday language into computer code".
posted by paladin on Apr 5, 2001 - 19 comments

Be very afraid. The only real solution to this is backlash and boycott. Technical solutions to "InTether" are inadequate (especially since every such will be a violation of the DMCA). If content vendors will only sell their material this way, don't buy! (Ultimately, it's going to take an act of Congress to straighten this all out. How about a law making it illegal to prevent "fair use"?)
posted by Steven Den Beste on Mar 13, 2001 - 30 comments

Charging for software as a service. As soon as the software vendors get this ironed out the hardware vendors are going to want in too. Soon you'll be paying monthly service fees based on how much you use your computer. (More ranting inside) ->
posted by monkeyboy on Jan 10, 2001 - 19 comments

98lite IV is a cool tool that lets you strip most of bloat from Windows 9x (Me) installations. While trying to find the correct website, 98lite.net, I stumbled into 98lite.com, which is trying to sell pirated software for $25.00. The fine people at 98lite.net also offers a freeware IEradicator, which will cleanly uninstall any versions of IE from your Windows machine.
posted by tamim on Dec 17, 2000 - 2 comments

Codeweavers, Windows software on Linux. I think the average consumer might be very interested in Linux, if they could run their current Windows programs on it. Another step closer to the end of Bill Gates' evil rule.
posted by Zool on Dec 14, 2000 - 19 comments

Spammimic : The novelty wears off quickly, but it's an amusing diversion for a minute or two.
posted by champignon on Dec 12, 2000 - 0 comments

The original programmer of the Broderbund/Mattel "spyware" explains that it's actually NOT spyware. This topic was originally discussed on MeFi in this thread.
posted by grumblebee on Jun 17, 2000 - 1 comment

Aw crap. You *know* their Linux initiative is going to take the blame for this, right...?
posted by baylink on May 18, 2000 - 12 comments