Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com Download Squad. http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/downloadsquad.switched.com/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com prods@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Producers) support@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Web Support) en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. View our terms of service here: http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[Internet radio Day of Silence in action]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/06/26/internet-radio-day-of-silence-in-action/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/06/26/internet-radio-day-of-silence-in-action/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/06/26/internet-radio-day-of-silence-in-action/#comments As we reported previously, today is the day that hundreds, if not thousands, of online radio stations are going silent, broadcasting static, or PSAs and other messages to their listeners to bring attention to the impending royalty rate hike from the Copyright Royalty Board.

Across the net you can see signs of the protest in action. Yahoo! Music's radio station guide is featuring links to SaveNetRadio.org at the top of its list. SomaFM, a popular indie radio station broadcasting from San Francisco is playing intermittent PSAs against the background of the BART. Rhapsody has a large banner across their front page showing a woman with duct tape across her mouth, with a zipper drawn on it. ShoutCast has information posted where its normally lengthy radio station guide sits, issuing a call to action.

If you care about online radio, and want the luxury to be able to turn it on a year, two years or even five years from now, then act today and contact your Senators and State Representatives. Don't sit idly by and let net radio become a victim of senseless royalty rates, while terrestrial FM & AM stations continue to play the same boring material over and over, without having to pay the same exorbitant royalties. Post links to other net radio stations participating in today's protest in the comments.

Update: KCRW Santa Cruz is joining the protest today by interrupting all programming to discuss the upcoming royalty rate hike with Mike Riksen of NPR, Kurt Hanson of AccuRadio, Tim Westergren of Pandora, Caryn Mathes of American University Radio, Ian Rogers of Yahoo! Music, Ted Leibowitz of BAGeL Radio and Johnny Floater of Live365.com. Check their site for more info. (Thanks Brad!)

Related:
Download Squad Interview: Tim Westergren of Pandora
Net Radio gets two more months to live

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Internet radio Day of Silence in action originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> day of silenceDayOfSilencerhapsodysave net radioshoutcastsomafmyahooyahoo music Chris Brentano Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[AIR, what's it good for? 3 sample apps]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/06/12/air-whats-it-good-for-3-sample-apps/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/06/12/air-whats-it-good-for-3-sample-apps/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/06/12/air-whats-it-good-for-3-sample-apps/#comments As we reported earlier today, switching gears from alpha into beta, Adobe has revealed Apollo's true name, AIR. Short for Adobe Integrated Runtime, the framework remains largely the same but gains some new functionality under the hood. Expect to find embedded SQLite support, WebKit HTML rendering, drag & drop support, support for PDF and general improvements to window management and networking.

So what's in it for users? Sure, its got some great functionality geared towards web developers, but what's the use unless there are some real useful applications for AIR? I did some digging around and have found 3 AIR apps that I think have some usefulness, and show some promise for AIR. If anything, by the end of this article you'll get tired of reading the acronym AIR.

Salsa - A simple Amazon S3 client
Salsa is a super simple client to copy files between Amazon S3 and your computer. It's just a simple uploading and downloading interface, that's all. Amazon S3 has been called a cost-effective backup solution, and this app could make that practical on a desktop level. Salsa is considered 'alpha' quality, but if I needed a simple, secure method for backing up files I can see its value. Salsa is available on the Adobe Labs AIR:Applications:Samples wiki page. It would be great to see this little app mature a bit and move beyond the lab.

Tweetr - Twitter client
Yeah, we love Twitter around here at DLS, it's a little shameless. There's no shortage of ways to go about tweeting, and Tweetr is a nicely done implementation in AIR. The interface reminds me of a little bit iChat, a little bit Twitterrific. While not perfect, it's lightweight and does a fine job. I like how you can view your replies and direct messages as well. Check it out at http://www.tweet-r.com.

Fresh - RSS feed reader
Another one straight outta Adobe Labs is Fresh, a straightforward feed reader app. What I like about Fresh is that it's pretty full featured for only being a sample: OPML import/export, tabbed interface, integrated web view for stories, themes and more. Obviously an application like this isn't very innovative or groundbreaking, but it's a good demonstration of AIR's abilities: structured content, feed retrieval, ui elements, and HTML rendering. Check it out on the Adobe Labs AIR:Applications:Samples wiki page.

If you'd like to keep an eye on upcoming AIR applications, here's some good sites to keep your browser or feed reader pointed at:

Gallery: 3 sample AIR apps

SalsaTweetrTweetr settingsFreshFresh

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AIR, what's it good for? 3 sample apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> adobeairapollofreewarefreshhtmlsalsasqlitetweetrwebkit Chris Brentano Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Interview: BarCamp Portland organizer Dawn Foster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/06/06/interview-barcamp-portland-organizer-dawn-foster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/06/06/interview-barcamp-portland-organizer-dawn-foster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/06/06/interview-barcamp-portland-organizer-dawn-foster/#comments BarCamp PortlandLast month in Portland, Oregon, approximately 250 people convened on Cubespace, a co-working space, for BarCamp Portland 1. BarCamp, if you aren't familiar, is an unconference - an Open and free event whose content and direction is decided by its participants. It's a great way for people to come together in the spirit of community to share knowledge, talk about technology (generally related to Web apps and Open Source), and generally geek out. Started two years ago in Palo Alto by Andy Smith, Chris Messina, Eris Stassi, Matt Mullenweg, Ryan King and Tantek Çelik (among others), it has grown quickly to an international scale. To date there have been BarCamps in Amsterdam, Austin, Shanghai, Milwaukee, Paris, San Francisco, Chennai, London, and many, many more places.

Dawn FosterOne of BarCamp Portland's organizers, and artisan of all things community, Dawn Foster, took a moment to answer some questions relating to BarCamp Portland and the BarCamp phenom in general. Read on!

DLS: What inspired you to take up organizing BarCamp Portland?

Dawn Foster: Last year, I was lucky enough to be invited to FooCamp, which is a yearly invite-only O'Reilly event that was the model for BarCamp. Spending the weekend having discussions with some very smart people from across the technology industry was an amazing experience, and I wanted to replicate that experience here in Portland. We have a great tech scene in Portland with so many users group meetings, but very little cross pollination between groups. I wanted to create a monthly meeting that brought a diverse group of techies together for networking and discussions about a variety of technologies. As I was talking to people about this idea, I learned that Raven Zachary was starting to plan BarCamp Portland. The two ideas were so similar that Raven and I decided to merge them into a monthly BarCamp Meetup that we would use to plan the BarCamp Portland event.

Continue reading Interview: BarCamp Portland organizer Dawn Foster

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Interview: BarCamp Portland organizer Dawn Foster originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Jun 2007 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> andy smithbarcampbarcampportlandchris messinadawn fostereris stassifoocampmatt mullenwegopensourceoreillyraven zacharyryan kingtantek celik Chris Brentano Wed, 06 Jun 2007 08:45:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Switching your family and friends to Linux]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/05/16/switching-your-family-and-friends-to-linux/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/05/16/switching-your-family-and-friends-to-linux/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/05/16/switching-your-family-and-friends-to-linux/#comments Switching to LinuxLast weekend at BarCamp Portland, I gave a brief talk on switching family and friends to Linux. I hear you asking, why would you want to do that? Well, for a number of reasons really: cost, principle, maintenance, all of the above, or any reason what so ever. In my case, my father's work PC was a constant source of trouble for him (and me). So, with his agreement (and my assistance), he made the switch to Ubuntu Linux. So far it's been a success, barring a few minor problems (printing envelopes from OpenOffice, for example). It might also be good to note that my own personal affinity for computers does not, to the best of my knowledge, come from Dad (thanks Mom!).

However, I don't want to give the whole story away. Instead I invite you dear readers to take a look at my presentation slides. Do you have family or friends that you have given thought to switching? Have you already switched someone? Let me know your experiences in the comments. I'd also enjoy any feedback or additional ideas that you may have.

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Switching your family and friends to Linux originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 May 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> barcamplinuxopen sourceopenofficeopensourceubuntu Chris Brentano Wed, 16 May 2007 12:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[VMware Fusion Beta 2 available]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/21/vmware-fusion-beta-2-available/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/21/vmware-fusion-beta-2-available/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/21/vmware-fusion-beta-2-available/#comments VMware Fusion Beta 2VMware's desktop virtualization application for Mac OS X, codename Fusion (seriously, what isn't Fusion these days?), has hit Beta 2 and with it a handful of new features to boast: experimental 3D acceleration for Windows XP SP2 & DirectX 8.1, Vista support, improved networking, 64-bit OS support on Core 2 Duo Macs, and a slew of other improvements.

Having tested the first beta release, I can indeed say that this update is much faster and more stable. I don't know if I would give up Parallels for it, but the two are a close match. In fact, it almost seems like VMware Fusion is less processor intensive on my Core Duo iMac than Parallels is, but without any formal testing I'm just going to chalk that up to first impressions. Like Parallels, it allows custom screen resolutions for your Windows virtual machine after you install the VMware Tools, and also has drag-and-drop copying from Mac OS X to Windows, both cool features that I certainly appreciate. If you are interested in testing it out, you can sign-up and download VMware Fusion Beta 2 for free.

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VMware Fusion Beta 2 available originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> commercialfusionmac os xparallelsvmware Chris Brentano Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Surf TV listings with your Wii]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/19/surf-tv-listings-with-your-wii/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/19/surf-tv-listings-with-your-wii/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/19/surf-tv-listings-with-your-wii/#comments Couchville on the Wii There have been a number of things you can do with the Wii browser (tabbed browsing, watch videos) and here's another one to add to the list: TV listings. Sure it seems like a simple enough idea, but the trick is having a TV listing web site that is simple, easy to search, and is legible on a TV itself: enter Couchville.

Fire up your Wii and launch the Internet Channel. Once it's up, click on 'Enter a Web Address', punch in www.couchville.com, and hit OK. While the page loads, you might notice the progress bar hang, and if you do just hit stop (I think this might be the browser getting hung up in processing the JavaScript). Then, enter your zip code, television source, provider, and hit the Enter button on-screen.

Once the guide has loaded up, it's (almost) like viewing Couchville in a desktop browser: You can drag the listings around by holding the A button the Wiimote, and if you've got good aim you can click on the title of a show to see its details listed. If the text is too small and illegible, you can zoom in by pressing the + button on the Wiimote. While this hack isn't terribly original or perfect, it's a quick and fun trick for the Wii browser.

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Surf TV listings with your Wii originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> browserbrowsertipscouchvilleoperawii Chris Brentano Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring RC1 first look]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/19/mandriva-linux-2007-spring-rc1-first-look/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/19/mandriva-linux-2007-spring-rc1-first-look/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/19/mandriva-linux-2007-spring-rc1-first-look/#comments MandrivaThe Mandriva team released Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring RC1 on Thursday and here's a quick look at the Spring release. Some of the major updates in this release are KDE 3.5.6, OpenOffice.org 2.1 and Firefox 2.0.0.2. Mandriva Linux, for those who aren't aware of it's history, first started as and was formerly known as Mandrake Linux, a RedHat Linux based distribution. However, it has over the years matured into its own, and has it's own distinct tools (Rpmdrake, urpmi) and personality. Mandriva Linux is available in a few different flavors (Discovery, Powerpack, Powerpack+ and Mandriva One) which are subscription based, but is also of course available for free. The main advantages to the paid versions are additions of non-free software (such as DVD playback).

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Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring RC1 first look originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> linuxmandrakemandrivaopen sourceopensourceosupdates Chris Brentano Mon, 19 Mar 2007 09:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Using gzip to optimize your CSS for speed]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/18/using-gzip-to-optimize-your-css-for-speed/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/18/using-gzip-to-optimize-your-css-for-speed/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/18/using-gzip-to-optimize-your-css-for-speed/#comments photo by klynslisThere are all sorts of tricks that web developers have for decreasing page load times and optimizing their content, here's another quick and easy one using gzip and PHP. If your web server's PHP installation supports zlib (most do), you could squeeze a few KB worth of precious seconds out of this trick. Paul Stamatiou, the author of this handy tip, gives an example of Digg's stylesheet, which weighs in at 26.3kB, and after compression comes out at a featherweight 6KB. Not a bad savings in exchange for a few minutes of your time, if you are so inclined.

(Thanks, Paul!)

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Using gzip to optimize your CSS for speed originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> cssgzipopensourcephpzlib Chris Brentano Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Find your happy hour with Unthirsty]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/18/find-your-happy-hour-with-unthirsty/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/18/find-your-happy-hour-with-unthirsty/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/18/find-your-happy-hour-with-unthirsty/#comments UnthirstyIt's been a long day, 5 o'clock is rounding the corner, and nothing could sound better than getting together with some friends and quaffing a pint, right? Unthirsty helps you find the nearest and greatest happy hour based on your location and preferences. In my opinion, this is a home run Google Maps mashup that is done right. Need your nacho fix? Want to find a pub with Wifi? Looking for a cheap martini and outdoor seating? Check, check, checkity check.

With a clean interface, easy to use search, user comments, and a features key, they have seemingly covered all the bases. If you're already out with your friends and want to find the next ratskeller to wet your whistle at, their mobile site has you covered too. And, if you discover a new watering hole during your travels, you can submit it to their database.

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Find your happy hour with Unthirsty originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 18 Mar 2007 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> google mapshappy hourunthirsty Chris Brentano Sun, 18 Mar 2007 10:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Quickly speed up Mail.app with a vacuuming]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/06/quickly-speed-up-mail-app-with-a-vacuuming/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/06/quickly-speed-up-mail-app-with-a-vacuuming/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/06/quickly-speed-up-mail-app-with-a-vacuuming/#comments

Not with a real vacuum, silly, but with SQLite's vacuum command! If you fancy yourself a bit of Terminal adventure, this simple command can supposedly increase Mail's responsiveness. Especially helpful if you have a hefty mailbox like I do.

  1. Quit Mail (if it's open)
  2. Open Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities)
  3. At the shell prompt, type: sqlite3 ~/Library/Mail/Envelope\ Index and press Enter.

    4. You'll be greeted with: 
    SQLite version 3.1.3
    Enter ".help" for insructions
    sqlite>
  4. At the sqlite> prompt type: vacuum subjects; and press Enter.
    5. There will be a short delay while sqlite optimizes the subjects table, depending on how large your mailbox is this could take anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes or more.
  5. Once you're returned to the sqlite> prompt, press Control-D to exit.
  6. Restart Mail and enjoy your newfound speediness!

Please be aware that you do this at your own risk. There's a potential for data loss, so if you want to be extra cautious backup the ~/Library/Mail/Envelope Index file before attempting this trick.

[via Hackszine.com]

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Quickly speed up Mail.app with a vacuuming originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> applehowtosmailsqliteterminalvacuum Chris Brentano Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Creative Commons version 3.0 has arrived]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/03/creative-commons-version-3-0-has-arrived/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/03/creative-commons-version-3-0-has-arrived/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/03/03/creative-commons-version-3-0-has-arrived/#comments Creative Commons 3.0Last week the folks over at Creative Commons released version 3.0 of their licensing suite for user-generated content. The bulk of the changes center around clarifying the existing licenses, and addressing the growing internationalization of Creative Commons content. With 3.0 also comes a compatibility structure that will allow them to identify and certify other licenses as CC BY-SA (Attribution Share Alike) compatible. They have also attempted to address concerns voiced by Debian and MIT.

Since the beginning of the Creative Commons in 2002, the language of the licenses had always been based around US copyright law and "generic" in nature because it was not specific to any particular country's laws. So when it came to applying CC licenses to works from other countries, the licenses had to be "ported" to conform to the law of those countries. In fact, the core license has been ported to 30 other countries, or "jurisdictions", to date. To this end, CC have spun the old "generic" core license into two parts: "Unported" (which is based around the language of international intellectual property treaties.) and a separate United States specific license.

If you are already licensing your content under a CC license, you may want to take a look at the updated licenses. But if you haven't taken a detailed look into the Creative Commons yet, there's no time like the present.

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Creative Commons version 3.0 has arrived originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 03 Mar 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> cccopyrightcreative commonsCreativeCommonsdebianintellectual propertymitopensource Chris Brentano Sat, 03 Mar 2007 12:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Windows Home Server Beta 2 open to the public]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/02/13/windows-home-server-beta-2-open-to-the-public/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/02/13/windows-home-server-beta-2-open-to-the-public/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/02/13/windows-home-server-beta-2-open-to-the-public/#comments Windows Home Server
Announced back at CES, Microsoft is holding an open beta for Windows Home Server Beta 2, given of course that you meet their criteria. As long as you have 2 or more PCs, a broadband connection (with a router, of course), and a spare PC kicking around, you may very well qualify as a Windows Home Server guinea pig.

Windows Home Server is a very interesting concept, and I'm curious to see how it will play out in the market. Maybe I'm just a jaded, cynical, communist Linux user, but I can't see any compelling reason for someone to drop a few Benjamins on WHS when they could easily turn that doorstop of an old PC into a robust file server (and much more) with Linux. Granted, Linux in many cases is not as 'user friendly' as Windows, however I would assume that someone who is of adequate skill level to setup and administer Windows Home Server could handle setting up Fedora or Ubuntu. However, I'm still curious to see what Windows Home Server holds--it may just prove me wrong.

The beta is only open to a limited number of testers, so if you are itching to get your hands on WHS, I suggest you sign up quickly.

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Windows Home Server Beta 2 open to the public originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> betacommerciallinuxmicrosoftwindows home server Chris Brentano Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Republish the net with SplashCast]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/02/01/republish-the-net-with-splashcast/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/02/01/republish-the-net-with-splashcast/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/02/01/republish-the-net-with-splashcast/#comments Announced Tuesday at DEMO, SplashCast is a Portland, Oregon start-up bringing a new publishing platform to the masses. Users create "channels" - a collection of audio clips, photos, video clips, text, or an RSS feed of content, which you can share or embed into your blog. The content is presented in slide show format and you have the option to include background music. As far as content goes, either upload your own, or you can pull photos and video directly off Flickr and YouTube, respectively.

I think that this is a really ambitious but really cool idea - it provides a place where user-generated content can be user-rebroadcast and reach a broader audience. Instead of people nibbling away at single videos on YouTube, or single photos on Flickr, they can bring it all together into one easy to digest kibble of media. It's like a simple to use mash up interface.

The one thing that concerns me is that it doesn't seem to have any controls in relation to copyrights. There's a cute warning when you go to upload media which says, "We don't allow copyright infringement, porn, or hateful stuff." but that seems pretty weak. I can only assume that they are monitoring uploaded content, which seems like a daunting task when faced with policing user-generated content. It would be cool if it endorsed Creative Commons licensing, or was able to detect CC content. Also, the entire interface is Flash based, which can be a turn off for some folks. It's also not as flexible as I would have expected (I can't specify a Podcast RSS feed, for example). All my gripes aside, it looks like a cool concept and will be interesting to see where it heads.

[Via PodTech.net]

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Republish the net with SplashCast originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blogdemoflickrsplashcastsyndicationuser-generated contentyoutube Chris Brentano Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Resize your Parallels drive, and make Windows like it]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/02/01/resize-your-parallels-drive-and-make-windows-like-it/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/02/01/resize-your-parallels-drive-and-make-windows-like-it/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/02/01/resize-your-parallels-drive-and-make-windows-like-it/#comments Parallels and GpartedFor those who have tried out or even purchased Parallels, odds are the first virtual machine you created was for Windows XP. I'm also willing to bet that you underestimated how large to create your virtual hard disk. If that's the case, then that clever chap Dan over at UNEASYsilence has put together an über-handy how-to on making some more elbow room for yourself.

Using a combination of the Parallels Image Tool and the GParted LiveCD you can, with little effort, add as much or as little space that you like to your Windows XP virtual hard disk. And since it's all virtual, you can test it out by making a 'backup' copy of your existing virtual hard disk just in case you run into trouble. (While you're over there, make sure to check out ToasterClone as well!)

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Resize your Parallels drive, and make Windows like it originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> commercialgnomegpartedhowtoslivecdopensourceparallelsuneasysilencewindows Chris Brentano Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[FreeSBIE 2.0 - FreeBSD live CD hits major milestone]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/30/freesbie-2-0-freebsd-live-cd-hits-major-milestone/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/30/freesbie-2-0-freebsd-live-cd-hits-major-milestone/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/30/freesbie-2-0-freebsd-live-cd-hits-major-milestone/#comments FreeSBIEReleased on January 15th, FreeSBIE 2.0 is a FreeBSD live CD for those looking to experience FreeBSD without making any commitment. Version 2.0, based on FreeBSD 6.2, is the result of almost 2 years of work by the FreeSBIE team (the last release was Dec 6th, 2004). FreeSBIE includes many popular desktop packages such as Gaim, Firefox 1.5, AbiWord, The Gimp and others (including MP3-playback codecs). I like that it also includes Wireshark and NmapFE, both handy tools for troubleshooting network issues and anomalies.

By default it features Xfce as its desktop environment and alternately Fluxbox. Both are not as popular as the obvious picks Gnome or KDE, but both are perfectly usable and are a nice change of pace. If you decide to do some actual work you can save and restore it from FAT32, UFS2 (Unix File System), ext2 (Linux) or ReiserFS disks or "slices" (partitions), including USB thumb drives - just use the mountdisks cheatcode at boot.

While not as mature as comparable Linux live CDs, FreeSBIE 2.0 is a big milestone for the team and good step forward for the project. If you are curious about the Unix-world beyond Linux, FreeSBIE is a great and easy way to get a feel for FreeBSD.

[Thanks, Dolores!]

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FreeSBIE 2.0 - FreeBSD live CD hits major milestone originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> fluxboxfreebsdfreesbielinuxopen sourceopensourceunixxfce Chris Brentano Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Ubuntu Studio announced for April release]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/22/ubuntu-studio-announced-for-april-release/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/22/ubuntu-studio-announced-for-april-release/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/22/ubuntu-studio-announced-for-april-release/#comments Aimed at being a "multimedia editing flavor of Ubuntu for the Linux audio, video, and graphic enthusiast or professional", Ubuntu Studio was announced this week, with the goal of building a solid multimedia distribution based on Ubuntu's custom flavored Gnome environment. Planned packages include the Soma Suite, Cinelerra, Jahshaka, and Wired, so far. I'm sure, or at least hope, that other popular tools such as Audacity and Blender will be included as well.

This is not the first media-oriented Linux distribution (see dyne:bolic, Studio to Go!, and 64 Studio) and hopefully not the last. Democratization of media editing tools, especially in regards to user-friendly Linux distros, is a good thing in my book. Have you used any open source media creating tools, and if you have what has your experience been? What areas do you think some are better than their commercial counterparts, or where can they improve?

[via Slashdot]

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Ubuntu Studio announced for April release originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 64 studioblendercinelerradynebolicjahshakalinuxopensourcesomastudio to goubuntuubuntu studiowired Chris Brentano Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:55:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Spyder - Offline MySpace client for Mac OS X]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/21/spyder-offline-myspace-client-for-mac-os-x/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/21/spyder-offline-myspace-client-for-mac-os-x/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/21/spyder-offline-myspace-client-for-mac-os-x/#comments SpyderIf you are a reader of our sister (or brother) site TUAW, you may have seen this covered a little while back. Spyder is a handy offline MySpace client for Mac OS X by Michael K. Link that you may find useful if you are a hardcore MySpace user. Its clean interface, which seems to be inspired by a little bit iTunes 7, a little bit Delicious Library, allows you to manage your social network with relative ease. A demo/free version is available which handles about 70% of all functions available on the MySpace web site (you can't send friend requests, for example) but if you pay for a license all features are enabled.

It's definitely a clever application - since there's no published MySpace API (as far as I know), what I presume it's doing is making the HTTP requests and crawling the document to pull the necessary data (screen scraping). The $34.95 price tag may turn all but the most serious MySpace users away (or folks who can't handle dealing with some of the more, ahem, 'customized' profiles). At the moment only MySpace is supported by Spyder, but the developer has promised Facebook and Flickr support in the future.

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Spyder - Offline MySpace client for Mac OS X originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> michael k. linkmyspacesharewarespydertuaw Chris Brentano Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Apple's downloads page gets a facelift]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/15/apples-downloads-page-gets-a-facelift/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/15/apples-downloads-page-gets-a-facelift/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/15/apples-downloads-page-gets-a-facelift/#comments Apple DownloadsApple's web site has always had a fairly nice Downloads section, but most recently (to coincide with MacWorld SF maybe?) they've beaten it with the pretty stick and made it more functional. It's now easier to find great new Mac software, new Dashboard widgets and of course movie trailers. Mainly the Mac OS X section and the front page have seen the biggest changes - I'm especially psyched about the addition of RSS feeds for the top downloads, newly added items, and their staff picks. The latter two being great places for indie Mac developers to get some time in the spotlight.

[Via MacDevCenter.com]

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Apple's downloads page gets a facelift originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> applecommercialdownloadsfreewaremac os xmacdevcenteropensourceshareware Chris Brentano Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[PayPal to offer two-factor key fob authentication]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/14/paypal-to-offer-two-factor-key-fob-authentication/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/14/paypal-to-offer-two-factor-key-fob-authentication/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/14/paypal-to-offer-two-factor-key-fob-authentication/#comments PayPal Key FobIn an effort to crack down on phishing and account theft, PayPal will trial new key fob devices to their customers. Available for free to all PayPal business users, and for $5 for personal PayPal accounts, the devices were developed jointly with VeriSign. Every 30 seconds it displays a new one-time password which is used with your existing PayPal password for authentication. The idea with two-factor authentication (think of it like using two keys to unlock your front door) is that even if an attacker steals your username and password, without the key fob they are unable to compromise your account.

PayPal has been testing the devices internally for the past couple of months and plan to test it with customers in the USA, Germany and Australia as soon as next month. Depending on customer response, and a measure of its effectiveness, I can imagine this type of service likely used by other commonly phished web sites such as banking web sites and popular web mail services (Hotmail, Yahoo!).

[via CNet News.com]

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PayPal to offer two-factor key fob authentication originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> key fobnewspaypalsecuritytwo-factorverisign Chris Brentano Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:32:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Frozen Bubble - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/13/frozen-bubble-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/13/frozen-bubble-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/13/frozen-bubble-todays-time-waster/#comments Frozen BubbleFrozen Bubble is a free/open source Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move style game for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. The game play concept is very simple: Match colored balls in the playing area with the piece in play to remove them from the board. Once the board has been cleared you advance to the next level, where a different arrangement of playing pieces increases the challenge. If you don't move fast enough, the playing field starts to shrink and push pieces towards the end of the board.

For Linux users, you have a leg up on your Windows and Mac counterparts - version 2.0 features multiplayer LAN/Internet matches. But until v2.0 has been ported, v1.0 is available for Mac OS X, Windows, Series 60 and there's even Java applet and Flash versions available.

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Frozen Bubble - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 13 Jan 2007 08:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bust-a-movefrozen bubbleFrozenBubbleopensourcepenguinpuzzle bobblesdltimewasters Chris Brentano Sat, 13 Jan 2007 08:16:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Macworld 2007 Stevenote roundup]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/09/macworld-2007-stevenote-roundup/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/09/macworld-2007-stevenote-roundup/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/09/macworld-2007-stevenote-roundup/#comments
The dust is just starting to settle around Moscone West in SF, so while everybody is enjoying their post-Stevenote cigarette ("Was it good for you?") here's some details on Apple's new announcements.

First up - the State of iTunes address. To date, 2 billion songs have been sold on iTunes, current rate is over 5 million a day. Over 50 million TV shows and 1.3 million movies have been purchased and downloaded, yow! So to top all of that good news, Apple announced that Paramount will be bringing their stable of movies to the iTunes store. I don't know about you, but I'm totally psyched to buy Wrath of Khan once it's available.


Second, the Apple TV (formerly iTV). It's a set-top box (rather than an actual TV), will cost $299 and is shipping next month. Lots of goodness packed into a teensy box - USB 2.0, 40GB HD, WiFi & ethernet, HDMI and component video, analog and digital (optical) audio out, 802.11b/g/n, and the ability to stream content from up to 5 computers (Mac and PC). Be forewarned, it only outputs a 720p video signal, so it may be time to upgrade your TV as well.


Third, one for the history books, the iPhone. Yes, it's very real, and it looks very cool. Time to finally put all of those iPhone/widescreen iPod/Mac Tablet rumors to rest. Available through Cingular starting in June it will come in two models, 4GB ($499 w/ 2 year contract) and 8 GB ($599 w/ 2 year contract). The four main functionalities are phone, iPod (including video), mail and web browsing. It features quad-band GSM, EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, a 2 megapixel camera, an accelerometer to switch to landscape mode as you rotate the phone, full touchscreen display, and it runs Mac OS X. It is capable of running full desktop applications, so I expect to see lots of iPhone 'hacks' and neat things that people come up with. It has IMAP and POP3 support, features Safari as its Web browser, Google Maps support and of course Widgets! Battery life is reported to be 5 hours (ouch) but can run up to 16 hours for just audio. Check out the iPhone gallery over at Engadget for more pictures.

Also check out the keynote coverage from Engadget and TUAW!

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Macworld 2007 Stevenote roundup originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> appleapple tvcingulariphoneipoditunesjobsmacmacworldnewssteve jobs Chris Brentano Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[How to make your own Dashboard Widget with Dashcode]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/08/how-to-make-your-own-dashboard-widget-with-dashcode/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/08/how-to-make-your-own-dashboard-widget-with-dashcode/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/08/how-to-make-your-own-dashboard-widget-with-dashcode/#comments DashcodeMaking your own Dashboard Widgets for Mac OS X is nothing new, but making your own Widgets using the Dashcode Developer Beta changes the entire process. Apple has taken the ease of use of Xcode and whittled it down to scale, providing all the tools necessary to quickly and easily develop your own Widgets. In this How To I'll show you how to go about creating a Download Squad RSS widget. Follow along if you like, but by all means feel free to improvise.

This is a very simple How To and is not intended to teach you how to code a Widget from scratch, but to show you how easy it is with Dashcode to create one. If you would like to find out more about developing Dashboard Widgets, check this guide on Apple's site.

Continue reading How to make your own Dashboard Widget with Dashcode

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How to make your own Dashboard Widget with Dashcode originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> applecommercialdashboarddashcodehow tohowtomacmac os xwidget Chris Brentano Mon, 08 Jan 2007 08:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[DieHard - Memory management babysitter prevents crashes]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/05/diehard-memory-management-babysitter-prevents-crashes/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/05/diehard-memory-management-babysitter-prevents-crashes/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/05/diehard-memory-management-babysitter-prevents-crashes/#comments DieHardDieHard is a joint venture between Emery Berger at University of Mass. Amherst and Microsoft researcer Ben Zorn which is meant to prevent common memory management and allocation crashes. Its creators claim that it prevents errors known as "double frees", "single frees", "dangling pointers", and common types of buffer overflows, amongst others. Even though memory consumption may go up to 50-75% with DieHard running, it promises to protect your system without any major slowdown (as long as you have enough RAM). What does this mean for the end user? Potentially, a reduction in many common annoying crashes. Check out this demo video (AVI) to see an example of DieHard in action.

At the moment it's available for Windows, Linux, and Solaris. The Windows version will only protect Firefox, while the Linux and Solaris versions will work with any application. I can see where something like this can really fit a lot of niche situations where mission critical work is being done and downtime is not an option, but that can come at a price. Not all applications are perfect, but there is a difference between good coding practices and sloppy work. However, preventing common crashes, even potentially preventing overflow attacks, can't be a bad thing, can it?

[Via Techworld]

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DieHard - Memory management babysitter prevents crashes originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> amherstben zornbuffer overflowdiehardemery bergerfreewarememorymemory managmentmicrosoft Chris Brentano Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Fedora Legacy closing it's doors]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/03/fedora-legacy-closing-its-doors/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/03/fedora-legacy-closing-its-doors/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/03/fedora-legacy-closing-its-doors/#comments Fedora CoreAs announced on Friday by David Eisenstein, the Fedora Legacy project is shutting down. As of his announcement (or maybe even earlier) Fedora Core 4 and earlier distributions are no longer being maintained or supported. He said that their current model of maintaining older distributions of Fedora Core are being examined, but right now everything is on (seemingly indefinite) hold. Jesse Keating later followed up and put it on record that the lack of contributors, and zero response to their call for help with the project, lead to the demise. I can't imagine anyone who would be absolutely dependent on Fedora Core 4, except maybe for older servers. If you're a dedicated Desktop Linux user, you're likely running Fedora Core 6, or another distribution like Ubuntu or SuSE.

The real question this leaves in my mind (an no doubtedly others) - is this just another case, in what has seemed like a recurring theme, of a concerted group of people being unable to provide support for Linux over the long term? Will Ubuntu LTS succeed where Fedora Legacy could not? With the rapid pace of Linux development, is long term support just a pipe dream, or a realistic goal?

[Via OSnews via CNet]

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Fedora Legacy closing it's doors originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> cnetfedoralegacylinuxopensourceosnewsosupdatesredhatsupportsuseubuntu Chris Brentano Wed, 03 Jan 2007 12:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[DonationCoder's Best of the Web 2006]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/30/donationcoders-best-of-the-web-2006/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/30/donationcoders-best-of-the-web-2006/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/30/donationcoders-best-of-the-web-2006/#comments DonationCoder

The folks over at DonationCoder have rounded up their top picks for 2006 in a very extensive list of 9 different categories: software, web sites, essays and debates, flash games, humor, gadgets, DonationCoder roundups, programmer stuff, and entrepreneur writing. There are definitely some good picks in there (DownloadSquad and SlashFood made their best web sites list, woot!), and some quirky ones ("Tonight show phony photo booth"), but for the most part they've done a good job covering 2006 from a geek's perspective. I still stand by my claim that "Invisible Bike" takes the cake for the best photo caption of 2006 though, and I'm glad to see that they agree.

What, fair readers, are some of your memorable web moments of '06?

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DonationCoder's Best of the Web 2006 originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 30 Dec 2006 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 2006bestofdonationcoderdownloadsquadinvisible bikeinvisiblebikeopensourcesharewareslashfood Chris Brentano Sat, 30 Dec 2006 17:55:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Path Finder 4.6.1 - The swiss-army knife of file browsers for Mac OS X]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/29/path-finder-4-6-1-the-swiss-army-knife-of-file-browsers-for-ma/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/29/path-finder-4-6-1-the-swiss-army-knife-of-file-browsers-for-ma/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/29/path-finder-4-6-1-the-swiss-army-knife-of-file-browsers-for-ma/#comments Path FinderPath Finder is the uber-replacement for the Mac OS X Finder which has many features (and forethought) that the stock Finder could use. Even after its shiny metal facelift in Mac OS X 10.3, the Finder has felt very little in the way of new features or changes as of late, much like a cute puppy whose name you can't remember. My favorite features of Path Finder are its tabs, the drop stack, the integrated Terminal panel and the wicked Select tool. It can feel a bit foreign to switch from the Finder to something new, but if you are determined I bet you can make it through the 21-day free trial without much trouble. As Merlin Mann shows, you can either have as much "frippery" enabled as you want, or you can play it simple and straightforward.

With WWDC just around the corner and Mac OS X Leopard details gently leaking around the Web, what do you Download Squad readers think would be a good addition to the Mac OS X Finder? What features, no matter how crazy you think they are, do you think would be a valuable addition? Or should it stay simple and sweet, leaving the talented third parties to take it to the next step?

[Via 43 Folders]

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Path Finder 4.6.1 - The swiss-army knife of file browsers for Mac OS X originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 29 Dec 2006 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> browsercommercialfile browserfinderlepoardmac os xmerlin mannpantherpath finderPathFindertabsterminaltiger Chris Brentano Fri, 29 Dec 2006 12:20:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[ForumMatrix - Compare forum software side-by-side]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/26/forummatrix-compare-forum-software-side-by-side/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/26/forummatrix-compare-forum-software-side-by-side/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/26/forummatrix-compare-forum-software-side-by-side/#comments ForumMatrixForumMatrix is a handy comparison matrix to check if you are thinking about running a public forum and aren't sure what forum software to use, or if you already do run a forum and want to switch to a different package. You can select different packages from their list and compare the details (license, features, cost, etc.) side-by-side in a easy to follow table.

If you aren't sure where to start ForumMatrix has a handy Choice Wizard that will ask you a few specific questions about what features you may be looking for. I can see this as especially helpful for people new to running a forum. It filters results down to flat versus threaded, license type/cost, storage type (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL, etc.), attachments, and more. If you still aren't sure and need advice from other users, you can also drop by their own forums and consult others on their own opinions.

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ForumMatrix - Compare forum software side-by-side originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bbsboardsbulletin boardforumforummatrixforumsinvisionmssqlmysqlphpbbpostgresqlvbulletin Chris Brentano Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:16:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[VMware Fusion arrives for Mac OS X as public beta]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/22/vmware-fusion-arrives-for-mac-os-x-as-public-beta/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/22/vmware-fusion-arrives-for-mac-os-x-as-public-beta/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/22/vmware-fusion-arrives-for-mac-os-x-as-public-beta/#comments For those of you who have been holding out on Parallels, or haven't yet tried Boot Camp, VMware has decided to give you your Christmas gift a few days early and release the public beta of VMware Fusion. "What is this Fusion you speak of?" I hear you asking. It's VMware's foray into the Mac virtualization market, allowing you to run Windows, Linux, and likely most other x86 based OSes, along side your other Mac applications. Head over to their site to sign up and download the public beta today.

[Via TUAW]

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VMware Fusion arrives for Mac OS X as public beta originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> appleboot campcommercialfusionintelmacparallelsvirtualvirtualizationvmware Chris Brentano Fri, 22 Dec 2006 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Pocket SharpMT: Blog on the go]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/20/pocket-sharpmt-blog-on-the-go/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/20/pocket-sharpmt-blog-on-the-go/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/20/pocket-sharpmt-blog-on-the-go/#comments Pocket SharpMTPocket SharpMT is a handy blogging application for PocketPC devices which supports posting to MovableType blogs, including TypePad. It's the smaller cousin of SharpMT, a desktop blogging client for Windows. With full support of all posting options, as well as the ability to upload images, it's great for blogging if you are away from your computer and want to quickly convey your love of milkshakes to the world.

Pocket SharpMT requires the .NET Compact Framework 2.0, which is a free download from Microsoft's web site, so grab that first if you don't have it.

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Pocket SharpMT: Blog on the go originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Dec 2006 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blogmovabletypepocket sharpmtpocketpcPocketSharpmtrandyrantssharewaretypepad Chris Brentano Wed, 20 Dec 2006 11:15:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[PicLens brings you full-screen slideshows for Safari]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/17/piclens-brings-you-full-screen-slideshows-for-safari/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/17/piclens-brings-you-full-screen-slideshows-for-safari/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/17/piclens-brings-you-full-screen-slideshows-for-safari/#comments PicLens is a slideshow plug-in for Safari that adds a full-screen browsing mode for viewing pictures on Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook, Google Images, Yahoo Images, and Ask.com Images. If you've got a newer Mac which has an Apple Remote, you can use it to advance through photos. It's very slick and unobtrusive, and perfect if you've got your Mac setup as a media center to your television. Never fear, Firefox and Internet Explorer users, they are promising versions for those browsers as well.

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PicLens brings you full-screen slideshows for Safari originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 17 Dec 2006 11:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask.com imagesbrowsertipsfacebookfirefoxflickrfreewaregoogle imagesinternet explorerphotobucketpiclenssafarislideshowyahoo images Chris Brentano Sun, 17 Dec 2006 11:49:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yoono - Social bookmarking simplified]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/17/yoono-social-bookmarking-simplified/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/17/yoono-social-bookmarking-simplified/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/17/yoono-social-bookmarking-simplified/#comments Yoono is a social-bookmarking add-on for Firefox (and IE) which is similar to the popular StumbleUpon. It works on the premise of sharing your bookmarks with other Yoono users. When you first install and configure Yoono you are prompted to create an account and also select which of your bookmarks you would like to share. Never fear, you can also specify which bookmarks are private and should not be shared (like ChiaPetFansite.com).

What I like about Yoono is that it takes the work out of social bookmarking. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to use Del.icio.us or Ma.gnolia (or any other social bookmarking site) but since it works with your existing bookmarks it makes the 'social' aspect completely transparent, almost a brainless activity. Depending on your personality, this can be a pro or a con. While you're viewing any particular page, a ticker is displayed below the location bar which suggests similar sites to the one you're visiting. The only problem I had with this feature is that it would show links to the home pages of search sites or social news sites (like google.com or digg.com), which doesn't hold a lot of value for me. Since I can only presume this is based on other people's bookmarking habits, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. It would be nice if it would show only links to actual content. It does also feature bookmark syncing, a la Foxmarks, which I think most people will find useful. Overall I think it's a really fun add-on that is worth checking out.

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Yoono - Social bookmarking simplified originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bookmarkingfirefoxfreewareinternet explorersocialweb2.0yoono Chris Brentano Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:05:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[How to setup WDS between a wireless router and an AirPort Express]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/14/how-to-setup-wds-between-a-wireless-router-and-an-airport-expres/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/14/how-to-setup-wds-between-a-wireless-router-and-an-airport-expres/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/14/how-to-setup-wds-between-a-wireless-router-and-an-airport-expres/#comments WDS LoveThinking about expanding your wireless network but aren't exactly sure how to go about it? Using my trusty Linksys WRT54G, a copy of DD-WRT and an AirPort Express, I was able to increase the range of my network, and also bridge my wife's office upstairs with the network in the basement. Here's how you can do it too.

  • 1 Linksys WRT54G running DD-WRT
  • 1 Apple AirPort Express
  • MAC addresses of both
  • 15-20 minutes of your time

For those who don't know, WDS stands for Wireless Distribution System. It's a simple system that allows you to interconnect multiple access points wirelessly. Wikipedia, as always, has more information on the subject.

Before we get started, as noted above, you need to have DD-WRT installed on your Linksys WRT54G, or on any AP/Router that supports it. Have a look at DD-WRT's hardware compatibility list to see if your hardware is supported. If you don't have DD-WRT installed, and are using a WRT54G, see these instructions on my personal blog on how to install DD-WRT. You'll also need to have already configured your AirPort Express.

Continue reading How to setup WDS between a wireless router and an AirPort Express

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How to setup WDS between a wireless router and an AirPort Express originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 14 Dec 2006 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> airportdd-wrtddwrthardwarehowtoslinksysnetworkingopensourcewdswirelesswrt54g Chris Brentano Thu, 14 Dec 2006 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Mission in Snowdriftland - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/13/mission-in-snowdriftland-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/13/mission-in-snowdriftland-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/13/mission-in-snowdriftland-todays-time-waster/#comments Mission in Snowdriftland Never content to keep you sitting idly by during the holidays, Nintendo delivers Mission in Snowdriftland, a fun platform-style Flash game. Here's the deal: 'El Pix has entered the Secret Teleport Station and has sent himself to Human World. He has stolen some important game files and flew the coop (Har-har!). Meanwhile, Chubby Snow, an out of work video game actor, who is tired of being cast for the wrong role, is pondering his next career move. In a meeting of the fates, Chubby Snow is asked to go after 'El Pix in his home realm, Snowdriftland, and retrieve the stolen game files.

And that's where you come in. Each day until Christmas Eve, in the spirit of an Advent calendar, a new level awaits you in Snowdriftland. There's no ill-tempered sea bass, but there are definitely evil orcas and penguins waiting for you. At the end of each level, a new game file is recovered, and rewards are imparted to you in the form of wallpapers, game clips, MP3 ringtones and icons. This game is true to the spirit of every platformer out there and definitely a ton of fun. But you better get started, you've got 12 levels to catch up on.

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Mission in Snowdriftland - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> adventchubbyel pixfunnintendosnowsnowdriftlandtimewasters Chris Brentano Wed, 13 Dec 2006 09:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Platial updates MapKit, adds new features]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/11/platial-updates-mapkit-adds-new-features/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/11/platial-updates-mapkit-adds-new-features/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/11/platial-updates-mapkit-adds-new-features/#comments Palatial Platial announced on their blog the other day some fairly major upgrades to MapKit. Some of the new features for MapKit include comment moderation, map updating via RSS (or CSV), interface enhancements, and more. Platial, if you aren't familiar, allows you to create your own maps using the Google Maps interface, and allows you to share your maps with others. For example, you can create a map of great places to go out to dinner, or a map of coffee shops with free WiFi, along with descriptions, pictures, tagging and video. MapKit allows you to embed a Platial map into your own web page, all by pasting a small amount of JavaScript into any HTML document. The thing that I really like about Platial is that it brings so many logical, social features together, without detracting from the ease of use of Google Maps. Based in Portland, Platial shares office space with values of n, the folks who bring us Stikkit.

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Platial updates MapKit, adds new features originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> google mapsmapkitmapsplatialportlandsocialtagging Chris Brentano Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Gran Paradiso Alpha 1 now available]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/08/firefox-3-0-gran-paradiso-alpha-1-now-available/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/08/firefox-3-0-gran-paradiso-alpha-1-now-available/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/08/firefox-3-0-gran-paradiso-alpha-1-now-available/#comments Firefox 3.0Hot on the heels of 2.0, the Firefox team have posted the first Alpha release of Firefox 3.0, "Gran Paradiso". Some of the new features include the use of Cairo as the graphics library, Cocoa Widgets on Mac OS X, and improved SVG specification compliance. Builds are available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Before reporting any bugs, make sure to check the Known Issues list, and happy testing!

[Via TG Daily]

Update: As Stuart Parmenter points out in the comments, this is not Firefox 3.0 Alpha 1, but a build of Gran Paradiso using Gecko 1.9 Alpha 1 - the rendering engine behind Firefox. My apologies!

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Gran Paradiso Alpha 1 now available originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> alphabrowsertipscairococoafirefoxgran paradisoopensourcesvg Chris Brentano Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon now freeware - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/08/sid-meiers-railroad-tycoon-now-freeware-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/08/sid-meiers-railroad-tycoon-now-freeware-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/08/sid-meiers-railroad-tycoon-now-freeware-todays-time-waster/#comments Railroad Tycoon I have fond memories of playing this game on my first computer, a 25 MHz 486 with a whopping 4 MB of RAM. Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon is now being given away for free by it's publisher, 2K Games, via Fileshack. It comes bundled with, and runs inside of, the DOSBox emulator, and also includes the manual and copy protection reference sheet. Go and get your retro on!

[Via Todd Ogasawara]

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Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon now freeware - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 2k gamesdosboxfileshackfreewarerailroad tycoonsid meierSidMeiertake two Chris Brentano Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Disc burning on the easy with Disco]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/07/disc-burning-on-the-easy-with-disco/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/07/disc-burning-on-the-easy-with-disco/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/12/07/disc-burning-on-the-easy-with-disco/#comments DiscoDisco is a relatively new Mac OS X disc burning application that strives for simplicity, functionality, and good looks. It supports common disc burning activities (creating data CDs and DVDs, disc imaging, creating audio and MP3 CDs) but also packs a ton of other handy features: CUE/BIN burning, multiple file system support (Hybrid, HFS+, UDF, Joliet, ISO 9660), disc spanning support, and more. It's unique interface is intuitive, yet minimalist - you insert a disc, it asks if you want to save it to a disc image; you insert a blank CD or DVD, it asks what you would like to burn. My favorite feature is the smoke animation it emits during disc burning. Authored by Austin Sarner (creator of AppZapper), it's currently available as a public beta, but is also available for pre-purchase at a discounted rate of $14.95.

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Disc burning on the easy with Disco originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Dec 2006 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> betabinburningcdcuediscodmgdvdisoiso9660jolietmacintoshshareware Chris Brentano Thu, 07 Dec 2006 14:00:00 EST Download Squad