If you are interested in trying out linux and don't have any experience with Linux systems, I would suggest checking out Suse 9.3. It comes with lots of free programs such as word processors, instant mesasging and email programs, internet browsers such as firefox and konquerer, flash player, image editors, drawing programs, a 3d modeling package, spread sheet, pretty much anything you could possibly need, even games. Best of all it is free. There is even a live CD so that you can try running the operating system from a CD before you commit to installing it.

You can download it here

I also have CDs and the DVD version if anyone wants to try it but can't download it. There are also many other versions of linux.

I recently came across a website for a most interesting place - the Computer History Museum!

If the actual brick and mortar museum is half as interesting as the website, it would be a great place for computer geeks to visit.

It currently has several interesting online exhibits:

Timeline - the significant milestones in the history of computing from it.s beginnings in World War II to the development of today.s Internet.

Visible Storage - ighlights from the Computer History Museum's collection of computing artifacts

A complete list of online exhibits can be found here

Warning: Some of the pages seem to render ackwardly with Firefox (at least in Linux)

--walt

You can use your google mail account SMTP to send mail from any of your email addresses, even on the go using a mobile pda. This is fantastic news for people who are costantly traveling on different networks and having to switch smtp servers.

This probably is not that important to a lot of you but for those who understand it, it is great news. I am copying it from here

* Log in to your Gmail account.
* Click 'Settings' along the top of any page, and then select the 'Accounts' tab.
* Click 'Add another email address' in the 'Send mail as:' section.
* Enter your full name in the 'Name:' field, and the email address you'd like to send messages from in the 'Email address:' field.
* Click 'Next Step >>,' and then click 'Send Verification' to complete the process. Gmail will send a verification message to your other email address to confirm that you'd like to add it to your Gmail account.
* Now go to your e-mail client software to setup your e-mail account.
* Under e-mail address, use one of the verified e-mails you've added to your Gmail account.
* Under outgoing mail smtp server, use smtp.gmail.com. Since it requires SMTP authorization, use your Gmail account as username (e.g. yourname@gmail.com) and your Gmail password as password. You can turn TSL on or off.


My Added Note: Make sure to switch your SMTP port to 465.

--paul

Google has a beta out (what did you expect an Apha?) of a Blog search engine.

it gives interesting but weird e-strip queries.

--walt

Has anyone else driven around Buffalo looking for wifi networks. With the price of an access point down to about $20 they are everywhere! Sometime 6 at at time and even in the poorer neighborhoods. I can't believe how easy it is to get access, I can't imagine what it is like in a bigger city. It must make the telcos so angry. The best part is that most of the residents are not very computer savy and haven't even changed their network name from linksys or netgear making it one giant password free "linksys/netgear" network.

My favorite experience was sitting at starbucks on delaware and kenmore next to the t-mobile store. Of course they have the pay as you go t-mobile hotspot, but some resident has a network right there that was free to log in to and just as fast.

Imagine if all phone went wifi and wifi was everywhere. Who would pay for GPRS? Tehre are some sites that have free wifi listings of stores such as but I am thinking about putting together a site mapping buffalo's residential wifi networks and free hotspots. Maybe if I have time next week. Anyone interested in this?

--Paul