Blog of Hamlesh

• AVG Free Anti-Virus 2008 Released, Much Improved (Windows)
  “Aside from a general interface overhaul and faster performance, the updated anti-virus scanner has added several new features with a focus on web security.”
• Harmony Downloads Album Art for Fullscreen Coverflow (Windows)
  “Freeware application Harmony integrates with your iTunes library to provide an attractive, Coverflow-like interface of your albums.”
• Xobni Beta Now Open to the Public (Windows) <// THIS IS AWESOME!
  “Xobni adds email analytics, better contact cards, fast search, threaded conversations, and more to your Outlook inbox.”
• Cairo-Dock Adds Slick, Custom App-Launching to Linux (Linux)
  “Free utility Cairo-Dock makes a strong showing, not least for its highly-configurable and slick appearance, as well as a good range of plug-ins and third-party applets.”
• OpenOffice 3.0 Beta Now Available, Adds Native OS X Support (All)
  “OpenOffice.org, the free office application suite, has released a beta of its 3.0 version to the public with a few key features rolled in.”
• PandoraBoy Brings Streaming Radio to Your Desktop (Mac)
  “Free, open source application PandoraBoy pulls the popular streaming internet radio site Pandora out of your browser and integrates it with your Mac desktop.”

Web site Linux.com offers a few tips for taking advantage of the second Ethernet port on the back of your computer. For example, in Linux you can bond your two ports for load balancing and fault tolerance.

…bonding [combines] both of the computer’s interfaces into a single interface…. The OS can alternate which interface it uses to send traffic, or it can gracefully fail over between them in the event of a problem. You can even use it to balance your traffic between multiple wide area network (WAN) connections, such as DSL and cable, or dialup and your next door neighbor’s unsecured Wi-Fi.

Most new computers come packed with a perplexing abundance of Ethernet ports—that is to say, two. But with a little know-how on your Linux box, you can get a whole lot more from them. The article focuses on Linux, but if you’ve found a use for your second Ethernet port on your Windows or Mac PC, let’s hear about it in the comments.

What can you do with a second Ethernet port? [Linux.com]

Blue Lock is a free and open source application for Windows, that monitors the proximity of your Bluetooth phone or device and automatically locks your computer whenever it’s out of range (e.g., you’ve walked away from your computer). The usefulness will depend on the strength of your Bluetooth devices, since it’s not really going to do its job if you’ve got a strong signal and receiver that keeps a connection from across the office. But if it works well with your Bluetooth devices, Blue Lock provides a simple way to keep your computer secure when you step away for a few seconds but forget to hit Win-L.