MSN rather quietly (I think) released from beta testing its Web Messenger IM interface last week. If you have a desire to do IM from anywhere, any time, even when you’re away from your computer at home or work, this is for you.

Just don’t sue me for feeding your sick electronics addictions, though…

How do I access MSN Web Messenger from another computer?
In one of the web browsers listed above, enter http://webmessenger.msn.com/ in the address bar. In Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can add this site to your favorites by pressing CTRL+D.
 
What is the difference between Web Messenger and Messenger?
MSN Messenger is a fully featured instant messaging program that you install on your own computer or one you have permission to install on. MSN Web Messenger enables you to quickly and easily use basic instant messaging features on a web browser on any computer without installing any software.

(via BetaNews.com)

Jesper M. Johansson, Security Program Manager at Microsoft, has published the third in his series of three articles about the pro’s and con’s of using passwords or pass-phrases in authenticating users to a network or application.

“This is the final article in our series on passwords versus pass phrases. The first part covered the fundamentals of passwords and pass phrases, how they are stored, and so on. The second part focused on relative strength and detailed mathematical approaches to determine which is stronger. This final installment concludes the series and gives some guidance on how to choose passwords and configure a password policy.”

Read the article here. Also read Rob Hensing’s review and point of view. His comments are worthwhile.

Mark Harrison points out that a new RSS feed is now available on MSDN for SharePoint Portal Server information - cool! It looks like it’s updated when new articles are posted on MSDN, which means not frequently – but all the more reason to have an easy way to know when they’re published without having to go look.

RSS feed here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/understanding/sharepoint/rss.xml

(Or, "Isn't it interesting the ways we meet the coolest people nowadays?")

The world's changing, and changing fast. How we meet people, how we get to know each other, how we communicate and stay in touch over vast distances, how we immediately connect with someone around the world... It not like it used to be when we (those of us who remember the first skateboards, that is) were kids.

Nowadays they have extra wheels on skateboards. We have instant communication of several types, and we share our lives online for others to read and relate to. Sometimes we meet people online that just seem to click, with whom we have something in common. People we want to meet in the carbon world, not just in the silicon one.

That happened to me.

For quite a while now I've linked to Jill's web site, which chronicles her family's progress as they remodel a fixer upper in a Portland suburb. I started reading her web site a while back when the writing style caught my eye. I saw it on ORBlogs, a web site that aggregates blog entries from people around Oregon, or who used to be here.

Charlie, Jill's husband, is a cop. I used to be a cop. Jill's stories (with the occasional Charlie prose tossed in) are hilarious, and paint a great picture of life in general, not just the process of repairing their rather unique fixer upper home, which she nicknamed their own little Kosovo.

Jill and Charlie also embedded into me the term "big ass honking truck," to the point where I have adopted it as my own, because it so perfectly describes what I recently acquired (yes, I know I owe pictures, they're coming...).

Anyhow, it also turned out (in this big small world we live in) that someone I work with and respect greatly is friends with Jill and Charlie. Funny how that happens, eh? You meet in the ether and someone made of carbon makes the connection.

I drove my Big Ass Honkin' Truck to Kosovo today, to go say hi to Jill and Charlie, to show off the Hemi and built-in bluetooth, and to tour the fixer-upper. It's quite a project, but a good one. The front deck is awesome. The fireplace is great. The trim is very nice. Downstairs is ready to paint. It's going to turn out to be very nice, I can tell.

It's fun to meet people you have something in common with - Things like a desire to write in order to clear your mind of the clutter and to think new thoughts is a process that drives bloggers everywhere. I also have a bunch of unfinished home projects (upstairs floor and painting in the "bonus" room, deck plans, yard, fencing... Ummm, you get the idea). Cops always have something in common that others can't quite experience unless you've been there - not in a bad way, just a real-world, seen-it-all kind of way.

So, I'm really glad I got to meet them in person. And the "kids," if only briefly (Random inside info: The anti-fart spray was a bonus, but vegan food will do that to ya. Go-Go Speed Racer. Heh. But alas, another story, for another time. And hey General - take your time and driving will come easily. You'll be fine.).

Have you ever "met" someone online, wished you knew them in person, but never got around to meeting and shaking hands? Stop putting it off. You'll know if it's the right thing to do. Do it and you'll be glad.

I know I am.

Just a quick hit list off the top of my head this morning of things I would like to change or add to my blog app (which is dasBlog, by the way):

• Email notifications on a scheduled basis – I used to like getting an email on my blackberry when someone linked to my blog from another web site (a referrer notification), but then things took off, and I had to turn it off due to the enormous volume of email. If I could schedule an hourly or daily summary that would be sent via email, that would be great. Note that I still want to get my comment email like I do now – as soon as they are posted – so I can continue to reply via email if needed, or at least see what’s going on. I would also like to specify different email addresses for different items – like one for referrers, one for comments, etc., if I want to.
• Better statistics – dasBlog lets me see what’s been happening today (well, actually, more like today on my calendar but data available based on someone else’s time zone, which is kinda weird). It would be nice to see aggregated stats that I can sort through in whatever way I like.
• Multi-user posting support would be nice, not so much for this blog but for another one I am planning.
• SQL server option for data storage.
• Templates 100% CSS, and some of the hard-coded stuff to move out into the templates. I’d like to be able to specify what the “Comments” link says, or to be able to apply the link associated with that function to a graphic on my page (like the one next to the comments link below, for example – you can’t click the image, just the text, since I can’t seem to figure out a way in the templates to add the href to the image).
• IP logging in the event log for the user viewing the page.
• IP logging with comments in the app.

BlogJet v1.2 beta has been released for download. As a paid user for many many months, I am excited to see this coming. A few bugs to work out, but it’s nice to see new stuff!

BlogJet is a windows app that allows to you quickly and easily post to your blog, including text, images and files. New features being worked on in the beta include a properties page that lets you do time and date adjustment, summaries, pings, comments and trackbacks in the UI. Not working for me on the first computer I installed it on, but hey its a first-beta. Can’t wait for the functionality. Very cool.

Ooof…

You know you’re in a real rut when you mean to type:

dating

and it comes out:

dataing

:P

Our world, it is a-changin' ...

The folks over at audioblog.com have recently released a beta of their new videoblogging browser-based service to their users. It's super-sweet, and works great. Nice job!

What will this kind of capability mean down the road for personal Internet broadcasting and media in general? Only time will tell, but the possibilities seem endless.

Of course, videos of me talking to inanimate objects about the technology itself from my kitchen are not exactly great examples of effective content planning... But hey, it's a geek-out kinda thing, ya know?

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and in this part of the world, the day after that holiday is traditionally known as "Black Friday." It's the day when gazillions of crazed people (the kind who can actually function early in the morning) get up even earlier than usual to drive to a store and get in line to gash open their faces and arms as they break through glass doors at thousand of businesses stupid enough to open at 4am.

Uh, yeah. Anyhow, it's a huge holiday shopping day here in the United States, and pretty much marks the start of the big holiday buying season. And we all now the holidays are about that: Buying stuff. Although I seem to recall something about a baby and a barn and wise men and angels. I must be confused.

But I digress... It's called Black Friday because - in theory - it's a huge day for business, it's when many retailers move from red ink to black on their ledgers, meaning it's the point at which they become profitable for the year.

Here is the important part: The web site Black Friday @ GottaDeal.com is a great place to go to see what deals will be available at your favorite stores. You can plan ahead, and make your own list of items. You think the Sunday and Thanksgiving papers are good? Check out http://bf04.com/ - it's cool, and it's digital.

(And no, this blog entry is not paid-for. I just saw the link at Eric's site and decided people here might be interested, if they are crazed enough to wake up that early and risk bodily injury. I'll be traveling. Thank goodness, otherwise I might be tempted.)

A word of caution for Black Friday newbies: Watch out for the ladies trying to get at the socks at Fred Meyer. They're freakin' crazy.

Recently I described how, due to unexpected circumstances that unfolded over the past week or so, I had to find a new vehicle. Well, I did my research, made up my mind, and bought one.

I decided to go the Big-Ass Honking Truck route. A Dodge Ram truck. With a Hemi. With heated leather seats. With cup holders. And with Bluetooth.

Yeah, I said Bluetooth. Built straight into the truck.

That's right, my Big Ass Honking Manly Ranch Truck has the ultimate geek-out feature: Bluetooth built into the rear-view mirror (cabin microphone, computer and two push-button controls) and the stereo system (for high quality audio output to the speakers, text menus that compliment the female voice that prompts you to speak your commands, and more computer stuff). So, I have complete speakerphone voice-recognition and command control of my mobile phone.

I'm talkin' geek-out in a big way, heheheh... It's awesome.

The system is called U-Connect, and Chrysler has taken it from being an add-on knock-off style option to a fully-integrated system. It's all part of the car's fine fit and finish. In fact, if no one told you it was there, you'd probably never notice it til the phone rang and the system switched the audio from your in-dash stereo system over to the phone.

U-Connect is very cool. Friendly voice prompts walk you through the menus, and voice recognition software allows you to set it up, pair it with your Bluetooth phones (yes, you can use multiple), create speed dial voice entries, and all the other nifty stuff you'd expect from a relatively high-end piece of software and hardware that does the Bluetooth boogie. And the audio is very good, even when driving down the road. It's really quite cool, and on top of that it's extra safe - two small buttons on the rear-view mirror and your voice are all that's needed to make the system work.

Oh, and the rest of the truck is great, too. Did I mention it's got a Hemi? Woah, dude, a Hemi... Heh... Sweet...

Yeah, sure, the gas mileage kinda sucks, but everything else about it is awesome. As much as I drive, comfort and convenience matter these days, so I am glad for the extras. It's the best of both worlds: Geeky and Tough. So, it's all good.

West Burnside (in Portland, Oregon, where I live) seems to have a recurring problem with sinkholes magically appearing under the pavement. Typically they are huge. They can easily become potholes. Big-Ass Honking potholes if not caught in time.

And in classic Portland fashion, we can blame the problem, like all the other problems in the city, on the sewer system. Butt, of course we can.

Well, it looks like there may now be a solution to the problem of massive caves of poop water, oh ye engineers, and high school kids are the inventors:

Engadget: "Some high school students near Boston have figured out what has eluded transit agencies for hundreds of years: they have come up with the Road Iron, a device that detects and repairs potholes before they have a chance to form. The device looks for cavities below the pavement and then drills in and fills them, fixing the problems before they occur...

[Read more here]

I probably should have pre-ordered, but hey, I already played early, so I can wait. I think... Heh...

Mark Tuesday, November 16th down as the only day in the history of G4techTV that they did something (potentially) right. Let's face it, that network pretty much sucks now.

BUT, credit where credit's due... On Tuesday evening, they are doing nothing but "Half-Life 2 Day" on their channel:

We took a crowbar to G4techTV's schedule to cram in as much Half-Life programming as we could. The result: on November 16th, you can catch special Half-Life and Half-Life 2 segments on many of G4techTV's fine shows, including an entire episode of Icons devoted to the Half-Life phenomenon.

So, even if you scrapped the network like me, you might be interested in checking out what they have to offer on Tuesday.

News is that Half-Life 2 will be released tonight at midnight Pacific time. W00t!

I had the privilege of play-testing a pre-release version of Half-Life 2 for a little while up in the Seattle area while visiting a friend who works for Valve. He sat next to me and watched how I played (not very well I think, heh) and what all I did. Since that release candidate version, they have worked out bugs and - I am certain - created a completely awesome game. For obvious reasons I have not written about that experience, albeit short-lived, here.

It was awesome when I play-tested it, so I have no doubts people will enjoy the new game. Great characters, great story, great new physics, super graphics, and just a general WOW factor.

Midnight... That's just 28 minutes away from the time of this writing. Woo hoo!

Spaceweather PHONE is a geek's after-hours gem, a nerd's nirvana. Subscribe for a small monthly fee, and you'll get phone calls and accompanying emails to notify you when an event is about to happen that you'll want to step outside and watch in the night sky.

I linked through to this site last week when Doc Searls wrote about the Auroras that were taking place and linked to spaceweather.com. I had just taken some pictures of the event near my home. I signed up for the phone/email notification services a few days back, and sure enough, tonight I got my first call and email at about 5:20 p.m. - The International Space Station was about to pass overhead:

Nov 14, 2004: Space Station Flyby Alert

The International Space Station is about to fly over your location.

It will reach a maximum elevation of 61.6 degrees at around 06:14 PM.

To be on the safe side, go outside 5 minutes early and watch the sky for 10 minutes. If the sky is clear, you'll see the ISS rise in the WSW and move across the sky to the E.

Note: To be sure you can see flyovers, Space Weather Phone only sends alerts for visible flyovers that are above 45 degrees elevation.

And here is a recording of the phone call: swp-station.wma (43.23 KB)

If you're an astronomy or science geek, or maybe you're interested in evening and night watching with the family, here is what you can get notified about:

Space Weather Alerts:

• Aurora warnings (early notifications)
• Geomagnetic storms (in progress)
• X-class solar flares
• Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and solar wind gusts
• The Interplanetary Magnetic Field changes
• Solar radiation storms

Backyard Astronomy Alerts:

• Space Station Sightings
• Moon and Planets
• Meteor Showers
• Comets
• Other Unexpected Events

So - Geeks and Nerds who want to see the night sky's events, there ya go. Enjoy.