iPod Shuffle

So, we now own an original iPod Shuffle (not the newer ones). Need to replace the battery as it doesn't hold a charge. We are "drinking the Apple juice" according to one of my coworkers.

Prototype, Firefox, and Iframes

If, for some reason, you are using iframes, and you try to call a parent frame's AJAX function from within that iframe, and care about Firefox compatibility, use window.setTimeout(realFunctionHere, 0) in that parent window's function. Because Firefox doesn't like iframes calling AJAX in a parent frame/window at all. Info gotten from here, I ran into this because FF stopped working for one of my AJAX handlers where I was coming from an iframe. I thought the iframe might be the culprit, and that it was an anti-XSS issue, but nothing was saying "security violation". Specifically, I was getting '0x80004005 NS_ERROR_FAILURE prototype.js :: anonymous :: line 1035' (in case anyone's Googl(e)ing this entry). Also, being as to Google is now a verb, how does the active tense work? Does it have an 'e' or not? Hmm... things to ponder.

Many IM networks in one client

For those of us who login to a bazillion IM systems (okay, 6 or so for me), WengoPhone is pretty nice. Unlike Pidgin (prev. Gaim) or Adium, WengoPhone does SIP without crashing on my machine. So I can log in to my SIP, AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo! and Jabber/Google Talk accounts all with one IM program. Which is nice, since I still have to login to Skype for work, and I'd like to keep the number of programs/windows I run to a minimum.

ubuntu UI goodies

Okay, to get a really cool UI in Ubuntu, first run "compiz --replace" - this will replace your window manager (for this session) with a 3d-accelerated one. This is cool enough itself, but then install awn. This installs a Mac-like taskbar on the bottom of the screen. But even just using compiz is cool enough on it's own.

Call Me via GrandCentral

GrandCentral

You know, VOIP is pretty cool. We're already on AT&T CallVantage, and I love paying just over $25 including fees per month (compared to my mom paying > $50/month and not getting much long distance with that), but GrandCentral is even cooler. I can do custom routing per group, and have multiple groups. So I can route friends one way, coworkers another, and everyone else a third way. I can have it ring my home, cell, or even Gizmo (a VOIP/IM/SIP client). Wish it supported forwarding to Skype without using money (as it has to route through the PSTN network), whereas with Gizmo it's all VOIP/SIP so there's no charge (at least right now). I can even listen in while you leave a voice mail and pick up at any time, like the old style answering machines. And, the real cool thing, I can get international numbers. I could have an Israeli number, an Irish number, or a Russian one, among others. Very very cool, IMHO. It doesn't do outbound calling, but just having a local-for-your-friends inbound number is cool, and the advanced routing and other features are great as well. Of course, right now it's only set to forward to my Gizmo login (so as not to use cell minutes), it is of limited use right now. But definitely something to play with, and see if I would be willing to pay a nominal amount for.

HP parody

Here's a parody of book 7 of Harry Potter - do not read until you've read the book. I found it rather funny, personally (the parody, that is).