the world out there

An here is the text.

Just downloaded the software and this is the first try. I was as always skeptical when it comes to Microsoft products (bought a new notebook with Vista three weeks ago ... incredible crap, Vista is instable beta at best ... went back into the box to collect dust ...) but the reviews of the Writer where quite positive.

So far things went well. The installation was done in a few minutes. Connecting to my blog (blogger) was easy and quick. Once the login data was entered the Writer connected to the blog, retrieved data covering the style, font, etc. and then it was all set to go.

Her more information about the functionality

Miranda IM is a small, fast, easy to install instant messenger with support for multiple protocols. Miranda IM is designed to be resource efficient and easy to use while still providing many features including support for AIM, Jabber, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Yahoo, and more. Supplemented by hundreds of plugins and other content, Miranda IM is very flexible. ..... the official description on the web site ... and this is pretty much true.

I use it since it is less resource eating compared to trillian.

goowy is a fun tool to set up your personal desk top web based. It is a service that offers you simple, intuitive tools for communicating and sharing on the web.

Consumer technologies are invading corporate computing. An interesting article about how web based services like google and others are gaining importance in the business environment. Described are the pros and cons. Well done, as expected from The Economist.

emoze - push email & pull email software for mobile devices. A clever solution to set up push email for free. I have not tried it as we use exchange and win mobile 5, but of course not for free.

emoze is probably a good solution for the kids to have push email, as they all want to be up to date on technology all the time. Plus it will reduce the cell phone bill. Once they can email, they talk less on the phone.

Pando | File Sharing Allows to share files up to 1 GB. It is easy use and quick to set up. Just install a little application and off you go. I have been using pando since it was out in beta. Many people have thought about how to send large files - IM file transfer has limitations, other options as well. Pando solves the problem.

The World Is Flat : A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century: Books: Thomas L. Friedman Here is another interesting book about globalization . It shows underlying trends and main drivers and effects globalization has on our life, politics and business. The only downside is redundancy and repetition, which makes up maybe 20% of the book. Still, I think a book offering great value in terms of understanding what's going on and how things might develop.

Here we have another application which might be useful for many people. AllPeers

AllPeers has developed a little piece of software which is an extension to the Firefox browser. Once installed you can set up your own private network (invitation only)and share files without any limits on size by simply dragging a file or folder onto the name of the recipient. The recipient then gets a notice that the file can be downloaded. The application is based on the bittorrent system. It's still in beta but has certainly great potential.

Most people using the Internet frequently have thought about their privacy and the traces they leave when surfing.Torpark offers a simple solution to surf anonymously. Torpark The software does not need to be installed. It is only an .exe file which needs to run.

Quickly we are in the next debate - freedom vs. security. The software may easily be used by bad guys planning evil crimes using the Internet. Considering the fact that bad guys tend to invest more energy in securing their communication than good guys, it's probably not a bad thing that applications like Torpark are publicly available, instead of being only used by terrorists and criminals.

If you have limited spare time and still like blogging, this might be a good solution Dragon NaturallySpeaking. naturallyspeaking is a voice recognition software which works very well. The new version is out now (9). I've been using the software for some time now and am very happy with it. The accuracy is amazing and it doesn't take long to get familiar with the way to talk in order for the software to work precisely.

This is an interesting offering to make int. calls cheaply or even free (North America, Europe, China, etc.). JAJAH - web-activated telephony. The phone calls are made using regular phones. The side receiving the call does not even have to be online, the side initiating the call does this with one click .... great stuff...

By the way the company behind jajah is from Austria. They could not get financing in Europe and went to the US. Got money, apparently moved into the same building Google started in and is rapidly expanding now with their interesting business model.

This seems to be a very interesting idea. Ning - Create your own Social Websites! Ning allows anyone with a minimum effort to set up their own social web site including option to upload pictures, create a blog and upload video....

Phil Zimmermann is back with a neat little application allowing to encrypt VOIP conversations Zfone. it's still in beta, but worth trying. the idea is good, the tool seems to be working reliable and is easy to use. Phil Zimmermann is also the guy who invented PGP, a software to encrypt e-mails. also highly recommended, since there is no reason to send e-mails open for everyone else to read like a letter without an envelope.

Report on the existence of a global system for the interception of private and commercial communications (ECHELON interception system) European Commission Final Report on Echelon. This report also covers the effectiveness of e-mail encryption systems like PGP. This report is interesting, because it confirms some of the assumptions that the US government is trying to control global electronic communication.

The following article shows how seemingly close the interaction and cooperation between criminal elements, religious fundamentalists and the authorities are in Iraq. Basra Militias Put Their Firepower Above the Law. The question which came to my mind reading this is how this conflict will develop, once the allies have left Iraq and, if they can really bring peace, stability and democracy to the country, how long this will take.

I have been watching TV again – this is happening about 30 min a week …and I am always surprised at the quality ... or the lack of quality of what is showing. This certainly explains what is going on around us every day.

Now today was again a very important day for Germany. Mr. Schroeder made a speech about the state of the nation. As expected, he talked a lot but said very little. Major changes, which Germany needs so desperately, where not announced. Instead he took too much care about the unions, the guys who block everything, as have not left the 19th. century. It is a unique situation that the Germans had to reelect the Schroeder-government a second time after four years only to find out after 3 month that he and his government team has no clue what to do.