Have you ever sat staring at your PC monitor wishing you had the cool and clean set up of a Mac desktop?  This is something I always wanted.  Although I like Macs and hope to have one some day, I'm still more familiar with the way of the PC.  But I've taken the first step and started the transition directly on my Dell ... with RocketDock.

This free program was designed for people that want the look of a Mac screen but can't transition to an Apple machine (for whatever reason).  The Mac set up features a dock that can be positioned on any side of the screen.  This keeps applications organized and neatly in place allowing for more working space.

Another way to make your desktop more Mac-like is to get rid of the Windows taskbar at the bottom of your PC screen.
1. Open the taskbar and start menu properties panel by right clicking on the taskbar.
2. Uncheck "lock toolbar."
3. Resize the taskbar until it is a thin line.
4. Open the properties panel again by right clicking on the line (what's left of the taskbar).
5. Uncheck "keep the taskbar on top of other windows."

Although I kept my taskbar, I did install Rocketdock.  I love the look of my desktop now with all my applications docked together on the left side of my screen.  I included a screenshot below of my new view.

Does anyone know of any other applications that can make a PC more Mac-like?

McAfee recently completed an experiment involving unprotected web surfing and spam messages.  Their findings: web surfing without proper virus protection will leave the average web user with 70 spam messages each day.

The study asked 50 people from around the world to surf without spam filters.  The US tops the global spam league.  Participants in the US received a total of 23,233 spam emails during the course of the experiment.  The second most spammed country, Brazil, only received 15,856 during this same time period.

The results show that spam is not showing any signs of slowing down.  However, it is slowing down computers.  Guy Roberts, director of McAfee's European labs, said, "Many of our participants noticed that their computers were slowing down.  This means that while they were surfing, unbeknownst to them, websites were installing malware."

Here is a breakdown of the countries that participated in the study and how they rank in the Global Spam League:
1. US - 23,233
2. Brazil - 15,856
3. Italy - 15,610
4. Mexico - 12,229
5. UK - 11,965
6. Australia - 9,214
7. The Netherlands - 6,378
8. Spain - 5,419
9. France - 2,597
10. Germany - 2,331
Data supplied by McAfee

Blackle.com ... yeah, I had never heard of it either and was a little skeptical that it even existed.  But here it is!

As more things in the world are starting to "go green" to help the environment, this search engine (powered by Google Custom Search) decided to "go black" to save energy.

Here is how Blackle explains the concept, "Image display is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows.  A given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen."

It's estimated that a black Google would save 750 megawatt-hours a year. A megawatt-hour is the equivalent of ten thousand 100 watt light bulbs burning continuously for 1 hour. On the Blackle hompage, the creators provide a count of the number of watt-hours that they claim the users of Blackle have collectively saved.

Because it is not owned by Google, Inc., the Blackle site lacks many of the features of conventional Google.  It is a Google Custom Search partner, which allows for the customization of the returned search results. Therefore, a search in Blackle does not necessarily return the same results as a Google search.

Blackle believes that there is a value in the concept even if the energy savings are small, they all add up.  Every time a web surfer loads the black web browser they are reminded that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.

Here are some other energy saving tips courtesy of Blackle.

"Blackle.com - Saving energy one search at a time."

UPDATE (11:18 a.m.): Dave (a fellow Newfangler) just sent me the following research regarding this search engine.  Check it out.  Does Blackle really save as much energy as they claim?

The era of Windows XP is coming to an end today.  PC makers will no longer be able to sell the XP based system on mainstream notebooks and desktops.  If you are in the market for a new Windows computer and wanted to avoid Vista, you may be out of luck.  Then again, you could always go with a Mac.

You've probably heard the grumblings associated with Microsoft's latest Windows system.  But despite a brief "save XP" cry from the world, it appears that Microsoft is not going back on their decision.

While XP disappears as an option for most computer buyers, the operating system will continue in other ways:

- XP will be available on PCs from smaller computer makers (system builders) until January 31, 2009.

- XP will be available for ultra low cost computers until June 30, 2010.

- the low-end Windows XP Starter Edition will continue to be available in emerging markets until June 30, 2010.

- Microsoft is not ending support for Windows XP.  Mainstream support ends in 2009 and extended support ends in 2014.

I have to say, XP was my favorite operating system thus far from Microsoft.  And to avoid Vista, my next computer will be a Mac.  But that's just me.

Besides the Internet, my other loves are words and language.  Here is a cool video showing "A More Perfect Union" spelling out the preamble to the United States Constitution in a high school gym in New York City.  I'm glad they remembered the punctuation, too (I'm such a geek).  Take a look ...

Then (1978) ...


... and now (2008).


Back row (left to right):
Steve Wood: Left Microsoft in 1980 and has worked in the technology sector ever since.

Bob Wallace: Left Microsoft in 1983. Died in 2002.

Jim Lane: Left Microsoft in 1985. Stills works in software.

Middle row (left to right):
Bob O'Rear: Had worked for NASA before joining Microsoft and was the oldest member of staff in the photograph. Left Microsoft in 1983 but stayed within the hi-tech sector.

Bob Greenberg: Responsible for organizing the photo session. Left Microsoft in 1981. Is a member of the family responsible for Cabbage Patch dolls.

Marc McDonald: Generally credited with being Microsoft's first salaried employee. Left the company in 1984 because "it was getting too big" but returned to work there later.

Gordon Letwin: Left Microsoft in 1993. Is now involved with various environmental causes.

Front row (left to right):
Bill Gates: Co-founder of Microsoft. Was 23 years old when the photograph was taken. Stands down from day-to-day control of Microsoft on 27th June 2008 but remains Chairman indefinitely.

Andrea Lewis: Left Microsoft in 1983. Has since worked as a journalist.

Marla Wood: Left Microsoft in 1980. Lives just outside Seattle.

Paul Allen: School friend of Gates, joint founder of Microsoft and one of the Microsoft billionaires. Withdrew from full-time involvement with the company in 1983 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Now engaged in a range of new enterprises from space exploration to bio-sciences.

Tomorrow is a big day for the Internet.  The net's regulators will vote to decide if the strict rules on top level domain names (.com, .org, .net, .us, .uk, etc.) could be relaxed.  This could be the biggest transformation in decades if the plan to open the address system are passed.

If approved, the new plan could allow companies to turn their brands into domain names while giving individuals the opportunity to also cut out their own piece of the Internet pie.  That means, any two or three letter combination can become a new domain name extension (such as .abc or .xy).

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) is in charge of the process.  They oversee the structure of the 'net, acts as a regulator and controls domain name systems.  Icann has been working towards opening up online addresses for the past three years.

Paul Twomey, chief executive of Icann, said, "It's a massive increase in the geography of the real estate of the Internet.  It will allow groups, communities and businesses to express their identities online."

Part of the project would allow for the new domain names to be internationalized.  This means they could be written in scripts for Asian and Arabic languages.  Hundreds of new domain names could be created by the end of 2008.  This will increase even more in the future.

UPDATE (June 26): The votes are in (and it was a unanimous YES). Read the article here.

As old fashioned as a book might seem in today's world, the printed novel is still alive and well.  There is something about holding a good book in your hands, turning the pages and reading the text at your own pace while painting a picture of the story in your mind that can't be replicated.  Besides, we can all agree that the book is always better than the movie.  So in what way can we possibly improve on the book?

How about bringing the book into an online format.  Can a novel really be adapted for the Internet successfully?  More and more reading is being done online, and that doesn't just include the younger generation.  However, most web reading is skimming because of all the distractions in our media rich world.  That in mind, how do you create an online book format that can capture the attention of web users?

Nicola Furlong, a Canadian author, thinks she found the answer with her new web publishing format called "Quillr."  This concept brings together text, video, audio and photos to create a new type of ebook that Furlong believes will resonate with the way we read today.

Furlong's latest novel, Here Ends the Beginning, is the first to be released using Quillr.  Here is what she had to say about her new book and technique: "Here Ends the Beginning is much more than a conventional ebook.  The text is punctuated throughout with video clips and photographs of actors recreating the characters and scenes.  Music and sound effects further enhance this novel experience."

The first five chapters of the 43-chapter book are available for free.  To get the full story and "e"xperience (haha), it will cost you $12.95 CDN.

I'm not so sure about this concept.  Isn't the purpose of reading a book to let your imagination run wild?  If you want someone else to tell the story for you as you read, watch a movie with subtitles.

I don't think books will ever die.  If they do move into the virtual world, I don't think they will outsell traditional hard copies.