The View from My Desktop: Lots of great apps

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This was a view from my desktop yesterday as I was working. I thought I would share some of the software I’m enjoying using at the moment with you all.

current print screen

In the background, of course, there’s Firefox 2.0.11 with an unusual theme. I can’t remember what theme I’m using at the moment in Firefox! Oh, got it! It’s LittleFox. My version of Firefox runs a bunch of plugins, some of which are listed, and some of which are visible in the closeup.

firefox plugins

I quite like FoxyTunes, and the Better Gmail plugin. IETab works pretty well for websites where the owners refuse to admit the existence of FF. SearchStatus is also pretty neat as it displays PR, Alexa and Compete scores on your browser. Here’s the complete list.

ff plugins 2008

On the midground, there’s the Flickr upload tool, that I was using to upload photographs from my recent trip to Taichung. It’s a seriously useful tool! And Flickr is a great website for photographs. In the foreground, you can see Trillian running: Trillian is a tool that allows you to chat on four different platforms at the same time – Yahoo!, MSN, ICQ/AOL, and GTalk.

u3 image cruzer

Minimized to the icon area on the right: you can see a U3 Cruzer – a seriously useful piece of electronic wizardry that allowed me to do most things while I was away, simply by plugging it into a PC. So I used it at the hotels and in an Internet Cafe to access most things I needed. The image lists all of the software that I’ve got installed on my Cruzer: it works pretty well, and the OpenOffice is seriously useful. Can’t see Microsoft Office 2008 doing that, can you?

I also have three more applications that aren’t installed but just work: an FTP program, an MP3 Player that just runs, and BlogComment. In fact, Trillian is running from the Cruzer itself. As is the next wonderful mp3 playing software. XMPlay 3.4 is only 305Kb (yes, Kb, not MB or GB!), and it plays many formats including streaming formats from my favorite online radio stations, including the one I’m listening to in the screenshot above: Sky.fm’s Da Tempo Lounge.

Skype is also running but I usually just use it to call people, rather than accept calls. For incoming calls, I just use regular phone calls or chat in Trillian or Skype. I don’t call that much.

Last, two pieces of blogging software that are helping me: BlogDesk is my blogging platform that helps me post to the blog(s) and creates the neat pictures that everyone seems to like; and a late comer, called BlogComment that doesn’t need installed, but that facilitates the entry of repeated information for commenting on blogs: your name, email address and blog address. I can’t find a URL for it.

So, what’s your desktop looking like today? Show us a picture on your blog and tell us about your favorites.

WordPress 2.3.3 Security Upgrade: A simple upgrade technique

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Today’s announcement of an insecurity in Wordpress 2.3.2 may have spooked a few people:

WordPress 2.3.3 is an urgent security release. A flaw was found in our XML-RPC implementation such that a specially crafted request would allow any valid user to edit posts of any other user on that blog. … If you are interested only in the security fix, download the fixed version of xmlrpc.php and copy it over your existing xmlrpc.php.

I have already applied the patch the blog, to ease my mind. To apply the patch, I’d recommend the following five steps:

  • Step 1: Download the patch directly from Wordpress.org.
  • Step 2: FTP to your account and login.
  • Step 3: Find the xmlrpc.php file in the /yourblog.com folder and rename it as xmlrpc.old.
  • Step 4: Upload the new file to the same folder.
  • Step 5: Once everything’s working, move the file to the root of your FTP User account out of harm’s way.
  • (If things go wrong: rename the new file you just uploaded as xmlrpc.new. Then rename the xmlrpc.old as xmlrpc.php until you can fix the problem. Of course, this is a good technique but the patch is a SECURITY patch, so you really OUGHT to upgrade the xmlrpc.php to the latest one.

If you’re ever upgrading plugins or even themes, renaming a current file or directory as *.old is a good way to give you a Plan B, just in case things go wrong when you install the new theme or plugin or file. You can simply revert to the old versions, provided you haven’t updated the database. CAUTION in upgrading is ALWAYS advised.

And, just in case you think hacking can’t happen to you, read several postings on MattCutts blog about his true but less severe hacking. There’s also a post on John Cow’s blog that got me thinking about this issue.

If you know any other great posts about blog security, do add them in the comments!

Buzz: StreamingQuotes dot Net – timely information for investors

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This is a simple buzz for a couple of new advertisers that have recently come on board.

The first buzz is for StreamingQuotes. Streamingquotes offers financial information as well as trading options for institutional and private clients. Such useful information includes financial numbers, stock charts , Stock Market Ticker and news.

streaming quotes screen

Do let us know how you rate the site. I’ve already checked it out for current Google pricing. And it works responsively using Java.

Advertise here

If you are interested in advertising on InvestorBlogger, do check out the advertising page for more information, and contact me.