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1. 
   Review - Mozilla Firefox for Windows (v2)

   0.8 (Feb 10, 2004)

   Firstly, to the individual saying Fire Fox does not support some "standards" that only IE does: It is a well known fact that IE is incredibly poor at supporting standards at all. Don't believe me? Try hitting up http://www.positioniseverything.net/explorer.html and taking a gander. More like you want to be supporting IE's bugs. Funny.
   
   Firefox is a wonderful browser. It gets the job done and it does it quite well. It has a very intuitive interface, an incredibly strong, reliable standards-compliant rendering engine, and the security that I want.
   
   I'm pleased with its current performance on even my older 166mmx, 128mb RAM, Win98SE machine. I can't wait for this to get out of beta! And hooray for the final name, even if I have to learn to like it!

2. 
   Review - AOL Instant Messenger for Windows

   5.5.3553 Beta (Jan 22, 2004)

   I still use the AIM service as my major method of communication. I can no longer stand the actual AOL AIM software, however, and stick to Miranda IM. It is extremely small and light weight, however the draw back is that it does not support OSCAR yet (I don't use the direct connect and other features much anyway). It's a minimalist client. I would recommend Trillian to those who want something more flashy, with more of the features. I'm disappointed that AOL is "bloating" up the AIM software. It would be very nice to have the option to opt out of the game displays that litter everywhere in the least. I also agree that the multiple user login from different locations frightens me. I much prefer having the other user get kicked off when I log on from another location. I would like to see AOL add more functionality as opposed to flash and advertising. Perhaps multi-tabbed IM window arrangement? There are quite a few good ideas that third party add-on software are incorporating. Pity that AOL has not yet taken any incentive to learn from this.

3. 
   Review - Maxthon (Classic) Standard

   0.9.11 (Dec 14, 2003)

   MyIE2 has been my favorite browser shell for quite a few years. I am extremely pleased with it, however I wish to add that the method I use to "spoof" address bar / other status URL in IE is NOT fixed in this release of MyIE2. However, due to how MyIE2 handles display it is possible to see in status bar that a link is "spoofed".

4. Comment - Apple Updates iPod Mini, Photo Lines

   0.9.11 (Feb 24, 2005 - 12:21 AM)

   The entire audio quality myth that has been floating around about the iPod is, well, a myth. If you are ripping your CDs with LAME using the preset standard option, the audio quality is actually quite amazing. If you are using songs that you purchased on iTunes, however, things may be a bit different.
   
   I would have believed the evil myths floating around about both Creative and Apple DAPs, unless I had bought both options for myself.

5. Comment - Jobs Announces Mac mini, iPod shuffle

   0.9.11 (Jan 12, 2005 - 10:28 AM)

   Sexy? Is that all people care about anymore?
   
   The device is somewhat reasonably priced for what it does, but there is no way to replace the battery, just like all the other iPods. One would think that, by now, Apple would have woken up.
   
   For someone who wants to have a thumb drive that plays MP3s, this might not be so bad. The battery is not replaceable, however, and no USB cable or charger is shipped with the iPod Shuffle, so some new users may have to shell out additional money to get full functionality.
   
   There are flash-based MP3 players which are around the same size as the iPod shuffle, come with an FM tuner, replacable battery, LCD screen (often backlit), functionality as a removable drive, 512Mb-1Gig of storage for about the same price, and more functionality. If a person wants to spend closer to $200, he can get himself 4 or 5gb of flash-based storage.
   
   I can see that the iPod shuffle will work, but it may not be the best buy, and it may not be a good purchase in the long-run, like the rest of the iPod line. I honestly have no clue what Apple is trying to do here, but it is a big risk.
   
   I will admit that I like the Shuffle's minimalistic interface, as I have used cassette players without LCD screens before, and operated Discmans in the dark just fine. The only really good selling point is that it offers 1 gig of capacity for slightly less than other players do. However, it also offers less features than do other flash-based players.
   
   I think people who will buy this will do so because it is iPod, and iPod is the new, hip thing that everyone must have. I have no idea yet as to how much the "battery replacement program" will cost a person for the iPod shuffle.
   
   I see some major design flaws with the iPods, and I am just waiting for Apple to either have this catch up with them, or finally decide to make improvements.
   
   For $150 I can hop on the iPod train with the Shuffle, but for twenty dollars more or so I can get an FM tuner, backlit LCD, self-replacable battery that has longer life, and additional functionality, all at around the same size as the iPod shuffle.
   
   I guess all that people really do care about these days is how cool something looks.
   
   This iPod will be even easier to lose/steal than its previous versions. If anyone is wearing the Shuffle around on a lanyard, just "whoosh", and it is gone; the lanyard hooks in through the USB cap, which is not a great idea.

6. Comment - Apple to Debut Slim, Flash Based iPods

   0.9.11 (Jan 8, 2005 - 7:01 PM)

   "Other companies may be cheaper, but Apple is doing it right."
   
   I don't see Apple doing much of anything right with the iPod. iPods are severely lacking in durability, sound quality, and battery life. One would think that after four years, Apple would have developed a user-replacable battery. Yes, a person can risk breaking his iPod and replace the battery himself, and yes, Apple has a "Battery replacement program" which charges $100 to send you a new iPod.
   
   The Creative Zen Micros will be coming in a wider variety of sizes than the iPod flash is rumored to come in, and the prices are very similar to the iPod flash. Sound quality will, of course, be superior, unless Apple suddenly decided to put more emphasis on audio than style.
   
   I assume that the iPod flash will use standard batteries, but the Zen Micros have long 12+ hour battery life, consistently from my experience, and are user replacable. The next iterations of the Micro will also have built-in wireless technology for headphones.
   
   Apple needs to get its act together with the iPod. When the present fad dies down, they may lose customers, and their hold as the most popular player (based soley on sales).