My world is run by computers.
There is one at my office,
one at the shop,
one at home,
and of course my laptop for traveling.
Well, things get sticky when I surf the web.
Now where is that site I found last week?
I am sure I bookmarked it!
Foxmarks to the rescue.
With Mozilla Firefox, I can now add a Bookmark Synchronizer to each of my computers and even access my bookmarks on the web!
Thanks Foxmarks!

I don't know about you, but I have so many passes and numbers I need a good system to log it all!
not only are there all those passwords, but I buy software over the net and they each come with a code! and of course there are #'s associated with my wife to remember also.
Then I found the free, open-source KeePass Password Safe
Talk about a life saver!
I can even import my passwords stored in Mozilla Firefox.
Check it out!

Changing email addresses.
Seems like I could never keep up with everyone.
Every time the changed ISP's their address changed and I was flooded with notices, I never found the time to process. O'well. then I joined a free service called Plaxo. I really enjoyed it. Of course, a lot of my friends will not touch it, as your whole directory goes into cyber space and you know "nothing is really free".
Well, it has been great for me. In Fact, it saved my butt the other day!
I hate backups! the time, the trouble, the remembering, just not for me.
It happened just the other day, my computer went down!
Without my address's and calendar, I was a fish out of water.
After composing myself, I remembered I had Plaxo, and my address directory and calandar were but a click away. I'll never be without it, and neither should you.

My desktop used to be overwhelmed by notebook pages I'd opened to hold clips!
Finally I got a free clip board that saves multiple clips until they are erased, even it the computer is turned off!!
Now that my life is easier I'll pass on this software must;
101 clipboard

The program I use is Irfanview. I needed a program that could handle just about any file format thrown at it and convert into just about any. the effects, cropping,resizing and add text are all editing tools I use alot ,and are super here!
It is free of course. It can be downloaded at IrfanView.com

Wow! just took a try with Picasa2, Google's new addition; another freebie. Really like the light fill option as it recovered some photo that I thought were no good because they were to dark. this system is still pretty confusing for me, but as an addittion,it is a keeper, worth more tinker time. Try Picasa

Neither of these clears focus enough for me guess all have their strong & weak points!?!

I keep getting asked about FTP clients/servers;

FTP's short for " file transfer protocol". and their used to upload files to webpages and webpages to servers.

A most excellet one, that works best for me, also happens to be free (GNU/GPL) and therefore, hands down in my recommendation!

Try FileZilla, you'll be glad you did!

Today, many of us come into contact with different system, be it time, language, measurements, etc.

So let me share a few pieces of software with you that have helped me along the way.

World Time Zone Clocks A neat program that allows you to see and program 1 -7 clocks on your desktop. [It is shareware; free or $10 for full]. A web version can be viewed at Masonic Blog.Net

World Calendar If you love calendars you’ll go crazy over this! This desktop calendar can be translated into 15 different systems with holidays, lunar cycles, and solar cycles too! [It is shareware; free or $10 full].

Unit ConverterConvert 16 different topics that include (Weight, Volume, Temperature, Pressure ...etc) everything but Money! {freeware]

Language TraslatorTourist Aid, teaches you how to pronounce 16 phrases and words in hundreds of different languages. You can also choose any country and display the language/dialects spoken there.
[freeware]

Hope this has been helpful.

Enjoy.

There are many approaches here, but I'm going to make a recommendation.

Webshots is a free download that gives you controls fit for a king with a choice of top notch photos from a seemingly unlimited supply. They deserve a visit at webshots.com
Now you might think that they have great things but then nothing Masonic.

True, But you can do what I did, I added my favorite Masonic pictures & photos into an album for webshots to use. It was pretty simple, with just a few clicks of the mouse and I was done.

My computer screensaver is now a slide show of Great Masonic Pictures.

Download webshots, its great and its free!

Is it my imagination or is movie quality getting better? Sure my cable connection helps, but it is not the whole story. [If you wish to check the speed of your download] -try- toast.net
Any way , there are two clip site I enjoy and want to pass them on. First the is IFILM at IFILM & Best TV Ads at bestads
Well it's a breck, if you have the time?!

I love what you can plug into your computer today. USB ports have made my life so much easier. First it was just downloading photos from my camera, then I pluged in a scanner, wow! no cards! Then I had to take some file to a friend nd I bought a pen drive [flash,thumb are names also used for this]. I was scared I'd lose it [it's smaller then my pocket knife!] Well I was hooked. then I discovered wireless USB plug ins that were no bigger than my pen drive. this may not sound like much to get excited about, but now when a friend brings over his computer to be worked on... la, la ..internet connection!! Well backups were a little to much for my pen drive, so I invested in a portable hard drive. You guessed it. 4GB that plugs in to a USB & its no bigger than a cigarette lighter. My next project is get one of those new shoebox computers![if you have one up and running-would love to hear from you]!!