Your Favorite Freeware Lately (mine is reviewed here)

[Raydog]

tuqqer wrote:
[quote=lazydays]
Can you please explain your instant messaging setup? Does it require an account somewhere, a server, file sharing, anything weird, etc.? I've been curious and want to try it here at the office, I just don't know where to get started. If you want to PM so the thread doesn't get cluttered with your response, that's OK too.

Heck, keep it here. I'd like to see any dialog on it, too.

Personally, I'm just using iChat. Requires either an AIM account (easy to get free at aim.com) or a MobileMe account. I have it on ALL the time, as do each of my employees. We use it for Screen Share, texting back and forth (especially during times when someone's on the phone, kind of like a sticky note for them to read), and file transfers. It's a brilliant app.

If I had more friends that used other protocols, I'd be using Adium.
About Adium: lazydays, you have to set up accounts for whatever "clients" you want to chat in. I have AIM, Yahoo and Google Talk accounts. They're all free to set up. There's no native video or audio chat in Adium yet.

I wish Apple would allow more options, I'd much rather use iChat exclusively.

[lazydays]

Raydog is correct, I have a yahoo instant message account, a microsoft messenger instant message account and a aol instant message account. I signed up for each at their respective websites years ago. Rather than use a separate client for each one I use adium which can simultaneously log into each one.

When I chat with people, using those various services, my chat window remains uniform so I don't have to deal with three different interfaces. Adium can also join to chat conferences which creates a bridge of sorts between the services if you want to group chat with people. It can also do private chats in case you want to go point to point and discuss something personal.

Fire is an alternative that does roughly the same thing. I don't remember what made me switch to adium but I've been very pleased with it. Also, it does keep an archive of conversations that can be easily searched but it is located on the specific machine you use and not available when you are elsewhere as compared to gmail chatting.

[rgG]

Dock Locker was a life saver for me. I needed to lock the icons in my 83 y.o. mother-in-law's dock. She would occasionally "poof" one, so this makes it "poof" proof. I had to search for an app that would work in Panther, which is what her iMac is running.

Dock Locker was made to keep elementary school kids from "poofing" the icons just to see the little cloud of smoke.

http://www.soft32.com/download_216483.html

[Article Accelerator]

mhale62 wrote:
FinderPop 2.2 gives we Mac users the right-click or Control-click options (and then some) that Windows users have always enjoyed

Yep, FinderPop and Turley are both cool but I'm curious: What contextual items have Windows users always enjoyed that we Mac users haven't?

[onthedownlow]

I think there should be a regular "Favorite Freeware Friday."

[silvarios]

lazydays wrote: Fire is an alternative that does roughly the same thing. I don't remember what made me switch to adium but I've been very pleased with it.

I'm guessing you abandoned Fire because development stopped a long time ago. That's certainly the reason I migrated to Adium.

Speaking of IM for offices. Adium or iChat would work great for anyone wanting to chat with colleagues on the LAN. Either application will allow you to use Bonjour.


Nathan