faster.better.smarter

Since I set up iChat to work with my Google Talk account recently, I have been using iChat more. Today I ran across an app that was recommended to me some time ago, but that I never tried because, frankly, I never used iChat. Well today I downloaded Chax, a plugin for iChat, that allows a number of new features. First on my list is tabbed chat window, which is great because you don’t end up with a screen full of chat windows. Growl integration is alo a nice feature. It’s definitely worth installing and best of all its free! Oh, but unfortunately, its not yet compatible with Leopard.

Chax

I really like the idea of iChat for video conferencing, but I don’t use .Mac and I don’t really know anyone that still uses AIM. But I do know a hand full of Mac users that have MacBooks with iChat that use Google Talk, so a few days ago I started loking for a way to hack Google Talk into iChat. Well if I had just paid attention when I was first setting iChat up I would have noticed that it has Jabber support built in. Once I noticed that, it was a just a quick search for how to set up Google Talk through Jabber in iChat, which yielded a great how-to in Googles Help section.

Setup is a breeze. Within about 5 minutes I had set up my computer and my spouse’s computer with our Google accounts and we were able to use iChat with our Google accounts.

I heard a rumor somewhere recently that Google is going to allow users of MSN, AIM, and Yahoo to chat through Google Talk (which can already be down with a bit of work on your part) and that will make iChat the best chat client around.

Happy Chatting

I hate screensavers. I usually just have the screen turn itself of if I haven’t done anything in the last few minutes. But I ran across one the other day that actually has a purpose. It turns your computer screen into a large clock. And not just any clock, the old school flip style alarm clock.

Download it here for Windows or Mac

Play Hourly Newscasts is a great AppleScript that detects when there is a new version of four different podcasts from news networks and plays it in between your normal music listening. Obviously, this is Mac only as Windows doesn’t support AppleScript. Very good way of listening to music and keeping with the news at the same time.

Download it and others at Doug’s AppleScripts.

There are a handful of things that I have launch at startup on my MacBook. I had my favorites that booted up on XP as well, but these little jewels are the tools that I use all day.

1. Meterologist - I have tried several different weather tools on the mac but this is the one that I like the most. It’s nice and compact, but unfolds to offer an extended forecast for the next several days and a radar image of the current conditions.

2. Mailplane - I looked at this a while back and thought it was interesting but not necessarily great. Recently I ran across it again on Simple Help and gave it a second look. Boy was I wrong about this little program. It allows you use gmail as your default email app in a stand alone browser. It manages multiple email accounts for easy switching. Mailplane offers drag and drop uploading and a default folder for attachment downloads. Tight integration with iPhoto’s send photo option and the ability to take a screenshot and immediately email it to someone make this my email client of choice. Oh and did I mention that if you use google apps for your domain that it will handle those accounts as well?

3. Last FM - This is a far cry from a productivity tool, but I leave it runing all the time. It updates my Last.fm account so that my friends can see what I’m listening to lately and the service can recommend new music for me. It also uploads all of my iPod songs when I plug it in. Also allows easy access to Last.fm streaming music.

4. Skitch - I found Skitch while listening to Macbreak Weekly. This is a fantastic little app that gives you a variety of screenshot tools. I can’t describe it all here, but you should download it and try it out.

5. Quicksilver - If you are using a Mac and you haven’t already installed Quicksilver, you should stop what you are doing right now, download it and then come back and read this later. This app is an app launcher, a quick email tool, a way to access bookmarks, and so much more. When I sit down at a Mac I have to think about how to use rather than just use it.

6. Alarm Clock - There are several programs out there that let you use your Mac as an alarm, but this one fre, flexible, and full featured. It allows you to set a one time or repeating alarm. It uses your iTunes library for the alarm source. Also it has an ascending alarm feature that lets you wake up gently, rather than jerked awake by your rock and roll wake up call.

7. Plaxo - Plaxo is a webservice that synchronizes your data across multiple platforms. It syncs contacts, calendars, tasks, and notes, with iCal, Addressbook, Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Outlook, Outlook Express, and certain mobile phones. It also has a mobile version that you can access on your phone’s browser. The day this service has a client for the blackberry, I will be more that willing to shell out 50 bucks a year for this service.

Check all these out, they are sure to please. I also have a few invitations to Mailplane, if you are interested please leave a comment. First come first serve!

Cheap stuff is usually better than expensive stuff. I purchased my first Mac (the mid-grade MacBook, if you must know) earlier this year. After looking around on the site I discovered the refurbished products page and discovered that I could save 200 hundred bucks by buying refurbed. Considering that you get the same warranty that brand new mac owners get, this is a good deal.

Today I discovered a nice widget that monitors the store and reports what the current deals are. This is great if you are in the market for a new iMac or Apple TV but don’t want to have to check back on Apple.com on a regular basis.

I found it on TUAW. You should check it out, if you haven’t already.

I have always setup Mail.app with my email account so that when I click on a mailto link, it will actually allow me to send an email. Now that I have Webmailer, I can set gmail as the default email client. Of course, the Google Toolbar will already do this, but this allows me to click on an email address in a pdf or word doc and Firefox opens gmail in a new tab. Also works with other webmail accounts. A great find and well worth checking out.

Simple Help is great site with lots of useful tips