I send my picks to 140,000 subscribers every day - join them by sending an email to picks@lockergnome.com. If you blog and encourage others to subscribe to the list, your site will be placed in the queue to be featured in an upcoming Pirillo’s Picks!

• [TEXT] Virtual index card program for writers
  (tags: writing, freeware, text, software, indexcard, writers, writer, productivity)
• [FREE] 8bf Plugins for Photo Editors
  (tags: plugin, photoshop, plugins, photo, free, irfanview, freeware)
• [GEEKY] LiveScience Information Portal
  (tags: science, news, technology, education, reference, research, daily)
• [FREEWARE] Windows Clone of OS X’s Expose
  (tags: vista, windows, expose, software, freeware, utilities, tools)
• [NEWS] Blogger Immunity from Comment Lawsuits
  (tags: federal, court, law, legal, lawsuit, immunity, blogger)
• [SMART] Free ear training software
  (tags: music, software, eartraining, opensource, linux, training, education)
• [SCOOP] Domain Name History Tool, Traffic Verification
  (tags: tools, domain, dns, seo, web, online)
• [TOOL] Free PDF Converter
  (tags: pdf, free, freeware, tools, software, windows, Converter)
• [POLITICS] The Julie Amero Trial Transcript
  (tags: julieamero, amero, politics, transcript, court, trial, legal, law)
• [DOWNLOAD] Open Source Audio / Video in-a-box
  (tags: video, opensource, audio, NGO, Software, media, floss)
• [SOCIAL] What do you want to change in the world?
  (tags: activism, social, community, nonprofit, charity, collaboration, change)
• [FILM] Stray Cinema, an open source movie project
  (tags: video, Film, filmmaking, opensource, community, art, media)
• TheNerds.net Deals Of The Day”>[DISCOUNTS] TheNerds.net Deals Of The Day
  (tags: nerds, discount, savings, special, coupon, save, deal, deals)
• [ASK] How to Secure Your Computer
  (tags: security, software, computer, help, question, ask, howto)
• [HELP] Malware Protection In Vista (Part I)
  (tags: safety, spyware, malware, windows, microsoft, vista)
• [AUDIO] Extend the Range of Your Zune FM Transmitter
  (tags: zune, audio, fm, radio, transmitter)
• [FREEWARE] Tab bar for Windows Explorer
  (tags: freeware, vista, windows, software, free, tab, xp)
• [GADGET] Apple and Cisco Make Nice Over iPhone Trademark
  (tags: apple, cisco, iphone, gadget, phone, trademark)
• [SOFTWARE] Cross-platform iPod management - even Linux!
  (tags: ipod, software, iTunes, tools, music, windows, linux)
• [VIDEO] If this doesn’t change your life, nothing will
  (tags: education, video, technology, statistics, future, trends)
• [STATS] FeedBurner’s View of the Feed Market
  (tags: feedburner, feed, rss, atom, syndicate, syndication)
• [NEWS] DVR Owners Don’t Always Skip Commercials
  (tags: dvr, commercials, tv, television, tivo)

Okay, here’s a little bit of informational fun to lighten up your day…

This is how we clean a keyboard: the Pirillo way!

You could put ‘er it in a dishwasher. Some swear by this method, but it’s never worked for me. I’ve only ruined peripherals with water. Or, you could remove the keys and soak everything in a bathtub full of lukewarm water. Proceed with caution, though. Then again, you could go with my favorite method; turn ‘er upside down over a towel and shake vigorously.

It’s easier to show you than it is to explain:

Not sure why I’m suddenly starting to get junk email about metastatic colorectal cancer, but… is there an epidemic I don’t know about?

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC) you might want to take some time to learn as much as you can about this condition and how to stay actively involved through the course of treatment. Facing MCRC is a program that provides you with access to reliable information about colorectal cancer and its treatment options. Facing MCRC can also help you talk with your doctor and care team about your condition and ways to manage your treatment and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Normally, I wouldn’t see this kind of junk mail - but I’ve been relying on Outlook’s lackluster spam filter (instead of my trusty SpamBayes). Dunno. I understand getting spam about lifestyle pills and whatnot, but isn’t spam about cancer taking it a bit too far?

I’m really starting to get pissed off with the distributed lynch mob that’s forming around my recent decision to drop VIsta for XP. Now, the saddest part of this is - I’m not pissed off at the people telling me to switch to OS X, I’m really pissed off at the people who are blaming me for Vista’s shortcomings. Witness Ed Bott’s jabs:

It’s vintage agitprop from Chris…

Hey, Ed? How much money did you make from your book, “Windows Vista Inside Out?” No, seriously - let’s talk about full disclosure here. If you honestly believe that I’m the only Windows enthusiast who thinks the way I do, think again. Moreover, since going public with my decision and reasoning, I’ve received at least THREE separate emails from WIndows community leaders who have also decided to work regularly inside XP (in some capacity) rather than stick it out with Vista.

Despite the glitches (and yes, I’ve had a few), my productivity is up, way up, thanks to Vista and Office 2007. On balance, I prefer Vista over XP. I do, however, have an XP system running in one corner of my office because the drivers and supporting software for my Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner won’t be ready until April.

Good for you, Ed. I’m happy you’re content with running A SECOND SYSTEM IN ANOTHER AREA OF YOUR OFFICE TO DO WHAT YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO ON YOUR PRIMARY SYSTEM!!! You’ve proven my point, Ed - “agitprop” or not. Let’s turn our attention now to Dwight’s perspective:

If he were to take a moment and look back, chances are he’d find he was jumping through the same hoops 5 years ago, when he was working with the initial release of Windows XP.

Bullsh*t. If XP had acted this way in the beginning, I would have moved back to 2000 in a heartbeat. That didn’t happen, however - as I was able to get all of my hardware and software to work well inside of XP. I’ve already come out and said that I was “forced” to upgrade from Outlook 2000 to Outlook 2007 since Vista didn’t support the older version at all, but that hasn’t been without its own share of frustrations. You weren’t there with me when I made that move, and you’re not here with me when I have to make these decisions. What’s more, I’m still willing to stick with the Windows brand altogether - much to the dismay of my colleagues.

Chris says he’ll be back to Vista when Service Pack 1 releases, a familiar refrain for those who are holding off upgrading. But you’d think that, as long as he’s been involved in technology, he’d learn that it just goes with the territory.

Again, you’re missing my point - I’m telling you, I simply can’t deal with this right now. I need my operating system to do the things I need it to do TODAY - not six months from now. I’m fully willing to concede that my problems are partially tied to hardware choices, but that still doesn’t make your argument to “stick it out with Vista” any stronger (in fact, it further serves to support my decision). Don’t apologize for anybody but yourself. Adrian takes a similar stance, but redeems himself with a counterpoint:

If you ask me, all Chris is doing by avoiding Vista now is being a weasel to his future self. The problems he’s having now are likely to be there 12 months from now, and 24 months from now. There might be less driver and software hassles but different hassles will replace them. Fact.

Weasel? Tell ya what: I’d rather run Vista in a virtual machine on an XP desktop than vice versa. I realize there are always going to be hassles, but when those hassles cause me to pause my own workflow… they become more than hassles, they become obstacles. I have to start thinking around my operating sysetm instead of my operating system doing the thinking for me. If you want a REAL, TANGIBLE fact… I rely less and less on desktop-based software and more and more on Web-based apps. Hey! Watch replaced a thousand media problems in one fell swoop.

Ed, Dwight, Adrian… I respect each one of you, but you’re not giving me salient arguments for why I, or anybody else, should stick with Windows Vista if we’re running into problems with it on a regular basis. You act as if I’m totally alone here, an exception to the rule… and that’s wrong. I did my best not to make knee-jerk, blanket statements like Jason did this morning, although I understand and share his frustration.

Believe me, nobody feels worse about this decision than I do. I’ll still be running Vista on my laptop (despite recently having to reinstall the OS after something went awry with a Windows Update procedure), but my primary desktop will soon be XP again. Oh, and let’s just pound one more nail into your argument’s coffin: French researcher says Vista’s user interface suffers from more ‘friction’ than XP. Booya!

No, seriously. When I have the time, I’m “upgrading” from Windows Vista to Windows XP. My keyboard is completely ambiguous.

I stand by my original assertion that the shipping version of this OS is late beta, at best. I realize that other enthusiasts are leaving Windows altogether (and leaping instead to Apple’s OS X), but there’s not yet enough momentum behind my willingness to do that. I’ll leave the installs of Vista 32 and 64 on this PC, but I’ll spend most (if not all) of my time back in tried-and-true Windows XP.

I’ll give Vista a second chance when the first service pack is released later this year, but until then…

1. My scanner doesn’t really work (Hewlett-Packard Laserjet 3052). HP hasn’t caught up with support yet, and software updates won’t be available until SP1 time-frame. The software works like a charm in XP - amazingly well, as a matter of fact.
2. Windows Movie Maker crashes on a regular basis.
3. My IPFax software doesn’t work (the driver will likely never be updated to be Vista-compliant). Never, EVER caused me a problem in XP. I need this software to work, and dual-booting to use this is not an option.
4. I still can’t get my Lifecam to work, but wound up purchasing the vastly superior Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision instead (which puts Microsoft’s new webcam software AND hardware series to shame).
5. On the same machine (AMD Quad FX), XP trumps Vista in terms of performance. I don’t have specific benchmarks on hand, but I can tell you the difference is quite palpable. This is even with most of Vista’s eye candy tuned to a dull roar. We’ll see if it runs just as quickly when everything’s reinstalled there. I only discovered this after rebooting to try my scanner in XP - blazing differences, similar tasks.
6. NVIDIA chipsets and video cards. Need I say more?
7. I simply can’t get to my OS X machine from Vista (or mount a WebDAV server).
8. Copernic Desktop Search, a far superior desktop search client to Microsoft’s, either doesn’t like Vista or Outlook 2007 - not sure which, yet. Either way, I can’t run it right now - and the Windows Desktop Search tool is still as lame as ever (sorry, Brandon). I’ll miss the new Start Menu, but I think there’s similar third-party software that’ll keep me happy in the meanwhile.
9. Explorer keeps losing my view settings. THIS IS DRIVING ME UP THE FARKING WALL! Now, I realize that XP suffers from this problem as well, but it’s never been this bad. There are so many new options that it’s difficult to reset each window’s view every time - including column headers, which are now permanently stuck on “Tags” and “Date Taken” (even though I may not be in a folder with objects supportive of these fields). Yes, I realize this problem stretches back centuries - but it seems to have gotten worse, not better.
10. My workaday software still seems to suffer from weird quirks now and again. I really don’t have the time or patience to wait for each developer to catch up just so I can go on living my life. All these little annoyances are starting to add up to one major headache. Instead of detailing each one separately (and extending this list exponentially), I’m just wrapping all of ‘em together into one point.

If you think I’ve missed something somewhere, think again.

Sorry, I… I gave Vista a real chance. I just can’t use it as my primary OS anymore. It’s NOT horrible at its core (by any stretch of the imagination). If all of your hardware and software are fully baked, you’re good to go - but that’s not the world I live in. I will continue to recommend Windows Vista for some users, mind you. I wish I could take the best parts of Vista and bring them back with me to XP. I’m still more than willing to help Microsoft improve Windows and get the message out to users, but I simply can’t sacrifice my own time and productivity without benefits in clear sight. I’m begging Microsoft and all of my hardware and software vendors to make Windows better for me. Until then…

The Whoa starts now (and is continued here).

How do you clean your keyboard? Personally, I take the “shake and quake” approach. Some have suggested that I actually place the peripheral into a dishwasher to get all the gunk out. Others have suggested removing the keys and soaking it in a bathtub. No, I honestly think the best approach is to get a new keyboard every year (even though compressed air is fun to shoot). Seriously, these things aren’t usually all that expensive - at least, the ones I’d suggest chucking on a regular basis. Unfortunately, they don’t make my favorite model anymore (A Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro with two USB ports off the back). I’m either stuck with a sticky keyboard, or forced to find a new favorite.

Yeah, so subscribe to my YouTube channel or I’ll shake your keyboard next time. I’ve also posted five ways to clean your keyboard over on Lockergnome.

I attended Northern Voice, physically - but I’m afraid my brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders. For that, I deeply apologize to everyone there. NV is the one event I look forward to attending every year (not just because of its close proximity, not just because I love Vancouver, but because it’s my chance to meet friends and make new ones).

Since the week before our wedding in December, Ponzi and I have been running ourselves ragged with getting our new house in shape - not to mention, I’ve been juggling projects for the past couple of weeks (burning the Midnight oil). I can’t think of a single night in the past month when I haven’t hit the sack before 4AM. Ponzi decided it would be “wise” for us to pull an all-nighter, trying to get our various window treatments in place before heading up to Canada for Northern Voice. At its core, that was a great idea - because you’re seldom interrupted by external events in the middle of the night. However, it turned out to be a horrible idea - because I was running on Empty at the conference.

So, to my friends and loved ones at Northern Voice: if I came across as rude, cranky, mean, offput, or generally unbearable (beyond Pirillo-normal), I apologize profusely. I was, without a doubt, the absolute worst blogger at Northern Voice.

Our daily comic bLaugh is still going strong - and we’re kicking it up a notch with a bit of video learning. Yes, GoDaddy has been an amazing sponsor for us! Brad says that he’s gonna be uploading his “live sketch” videos every single day. Over time, you can learn how to become just as talented an artist.

Who knew learning could be this funny? Did you realize he uses a Tablet PC? He’s like a digital Bob Ross - without all the happy little trees. Then again, Bob Ross never really drew comics. Brad is quite simply the most amazing comic artist I’ve ever met (and worked with, certainly).

I dare you to say that you’re not impressed. If you can’t see the videos below, here’s Part I and Part II.

Okay, so I thought the gag was hilarious. Then again, I’m the one who wrote it - and am actually considering downgrading from Vista to XP, myself. The final product:

• Yes, the quality isn’t outstanding. I’m working on improving the workflow.
• Submit your questions here.
• Sponsored by GoDaddy and recorded on an AMD system.
• I wish someone would take Revver’s API and make it so that my YouTube videos were automatically added to my Revver account.
• Yes, I stayed up all night to do this. Again.
• Oh, and I’m seriously considering downgrading from Vista to XP.
• I’m really, really tired right now. Gnomedex registrations are open for all, BTW.
• Scoble and Maryam are sleeping in our guest bedroom tonight. I miss having them around. :(

I’m starting to become more and more interested in distance learning applications. I mean, we’re totally living in an increasingly-decentralized world - but is the realm of education keeping pace? I remember talking about future distance learning applications back in the early ’90s, but I’m not sure we’ve come all that far since then.

This video response to a video I posted with another video playing back inside of it… *whew* how and where do we begin to manage all of this knowledge? How do we share our wisdom effectively?

Are traditional schools… antiquated?

Okay, I have no idea why I keep getting spam about buying timepieces from Franck Muller. Apparently, these watches are worth tens of thousands of dollars so that YOU CAN SEE JUST HOW LONG IT TAKES TO BE DUPED INTO BUYING SOMETHING THAT WILL DISPLAY THE SAME TIME AS A FREAKIN’ TIMEX PICKED UP FROM ANY CONVENIENCE STORE.

No, really - do people spend that much money on wristwear? Seriously!? No, I mean - I understand that rich people are always looking for ways to spend their money, but how impractical is this? So, let’s say you buy a Franck Muller watch - you can’t wear it in public, or people are going to think you’re a pompous jackass.

Dude. I picked the wrong industry to specialize in. Apparently “telling time” is a cash cow.

When I mentioned in my Picks that we deployed Joomla to drive this year’s Gnomedex site, a Gnomie responded enthusiastically. Jack Bremer operates a handful of Joomla-driven sites, including Prospect Burma and his own 3B Web Design. John and I have been hacking away at it for a while now, but he definitely knows more about the platform than I do - and John offered a handful of tips and suggestions, including his top five “must have” Joomla extensions. From the Bremer’s mouth:

• Joomap (sitemap generator - great for your site AND automatic Google sitemap in the background)
• JCE Editor (& file manager plugin & image manager plugin) - GREAT WYSIWYG editor, a million times better than the standard Joomla editor (I always unpublish the font and style plugins if other people will be managing the site so they cannot screw up the layout of the site!)
• Google Analytics Plugin - obvious really!
• CorrectPNG - IE6 PNG mambot/plugin which allows transparency (although not in png’s called in by CSS)
• Google Maps Mambot (if appropriate) - fantastic map plugin which makes adding maps SUPER easy.

He added: “If OpenSEF is problematic, Artio JoomSEF is far easier to setup, I just like the control I have with OpenSEF. I recommend never using “static content” and instead publishing a “General content” or similar category in which you put general info - it’s far easier to manage through a single content manager than having some things in static etc.”

I wonder how else we could pimp my Joomla? Ewwwwwww…

Long-time Gnomie Gail Fleming popped into my inbox this evening with an outstanding question:

I was just wondering - do you have any areas in Lockergnome where people can report bad customer support for software products that they have purchased? I have been burned a couple of times, once quite recently and I really think the only way some of these people will listen is if their customers come forward and report their experiences.

It seems unethical of certain software companies (MOVAVI) to produce a product that is laced with bugs that they are aware of and they tell you they are working on a fix in their new version. Then they place the fixes in a new version which if 60 days have passed from your original purchase, you have to buy it all over again as an upgrade. Is this typical in your experiences?

I’d imagine there must be a place for it. Then again, the Internet is like one giant (admittedly, unpatrolled) Better Business Bureau.

I send my picks to 140,000 subscribers every day - join them by sending an email to picks@lockergnome.com. If you blog and encourage others to subscribe to the list, your site will be placed in the queue to be featured in an upcoming Pirillo’s Picks!

• [OOPS] Microsoft apologises for serving malware
  (tags: security, Microsoft, apology, malware, spyware)
• [STARGAZE] Interactive Sky Map
  (tags: cool, sky, map, science, space, maps, astronomy)
• [CLASSIC] Postcards, Mail Art and Letter Writing
  (tags: postcard, letterwriting, communication)
• [FUN] Access your PC from your Wii
  (tags: wii, pc, media, music, game, nintendo)
• [EMBED] Free Video Code Maker
  (tags: embed, html, hosting, flash, vlog, video, free)
• [STARTUP] A Community for Entrepreneurs
  (tags: business, startup, entrepreneurship, community, advice, technology)
• [HABIT] Twelve-steps to curing e-mail addiction
  (tags: habit, addiction, email, 12steps, help, selfhelp)
• [COLLAB] Free Web Conferencing, Windows or Mac
  (tags: conferencing, collaboration, free, tools, communication, web)
• [WISDOM] Limiting Financial Risk Online
  (tags: finances, financial, risk, money)
• [WINDOWS] The Death of the Drive Letter
  (tags: windows, driveletter, cdrive, windowshomeserver, server)
• [GOALS] Free Online Habit Tracker
  (tags: GTD, todo, Tools, lifehacks, goals, productivity)
• [DRINK] It’s All Scotch To Me!
  (tags: drink, scotch, whisky)
• [BRAIN] Normal social restraints are weakened in cyberspace
  (tags: psychology, internet, flame, brain, mind, cyberspace, social)

There’s nothing wrong with being busy, is there? Nothing will kill a blogger’s blogging schedule quicker than moving into a new home and getting married. Seriously.

I wanted to whittle my inbox down to ZERO this weekend, but wound up taking care of personal tasks instead: hitting Home Depot for primer and paint, running to Target for dog food and Kleenex, driving to E.E. Robbins for a new wedding band (since the tungsten didn’t work out, which I hope to blog about soon), etc.

Then, at home, the adventures continued: hanging a few random pictures and masks on the walls, washing the dishes that had been piling up on the countertop for darn near seven days, preparing for another disappointing visit from Office Depot (seriously, they’re at the top of my shit list), scribbling down names and numbers to coordinate with and/or contact throughout the week, etc.

When most people type “etc.,” they don’t really mean it. My “etc.” is really a list of a thousand more ceteras. Which reminds me: I have to sell that old Peter Cetera cassette tape on eBay when I get the chance.

How the deuce do people find time to blog these days!? Seems to me an imbalance between the amount of people who are producing (more) and the amount of people consuming (less). I can’t even remember the last time I hit my newsreader. I’ve been too damn busy with my own life to get caught up with everybody else’s.

Worse yet, I’ve now bored YOU to tears with the laundry list of items that I’ve had to deal with in recent days - WHICH REMINDS ME TO FINISH THE DAMN LAUNDRY.

[I actually wrote this on Sunday night. Didn’t get posted until now. Go figure.]