Software - 2

Having strange issues where embedded Flash images do not load on some sites but do on others while using Firefox 2.0 on OS X? Update to the latest Adobe Flash Player. The 9.0 r28 update appears to fix these issues.

The Carbonated Orange Beverage Research Association produces a nifty little menu extra called Slim Battery Monitor for OS X. Whenever using OS X menu extras (which I am rather fond of) it is easy to eat up your menu bar real estate quickly, especially on a laptop. Unfortunately the OS X built-in battery monitor is a space hog. Slim Battery Monitor replaces the built-in with a very slim vertical and tastefully colorized version with quite a few more display options than the standard monitor.

Firefox 2 was released today. I have been using the release candidates for a while now, and recommend getting it now. Spell checking in forms (which is quite handy for this blog), session restoration (handy for trying add-ons; the restart to initialize the add-on comes back up with all your sites), and integrated RSS subscription support rounds out the features I have come to rely on.

Use a Mac and miss Expose when using Firefox tabs? Use a lot of tabs and want an easier way to navigate between them? Try Viamatic foXpose; once installed just tap F8 in Firefox to bring up tiled thumbnail previews of all your current tabs.

As I have a rather long commute to work every day, I use a lot of gasoline. Fuel prices are rather hit and miss though, sometimes the stations at home are cheaper than in Harrisburg, while at other times fuel is cheaper at home. I recently discovered an awesome Dashboard widget aptly named Gas to keep me updated with the lowest fuel rates in my area. It doesn't cover all the available stations, but it gives me a rather good idea of the price I should be looking for today.

NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta is now publicly available. This Aqua version of OpenOffice provides a native look and feel, far better than version 1.x ever achieved. I have been using it for a while for all of my document editing needs (I joined the earlier beta program) and recommend it as a replacement for NeoOffice 1.x or any other obsolete non-ODF supporting software you may be using on the Mac.

While looking around for the latest games and toys, I found this game, called N.  It would be impossible for me to best the developer's short summary:

"play as a ninja trapped in a world of well-meaning, inadvertantly homicidal robots"

This game can be quite frustratingly difficult at times, which the developer also has an amusing quote for:

"the number of attempts allowed is infinite, however, your patience may not be."

However frustrating the game can be at times, I've found it to be quite addicting.  You will know for sure you're hooked when you are walking down the hallways at work and you find yourself looking around, just making sure there are no ninja-seeking rockets or drones following you.