Vista theme for Firefox

Firefox add-ons group has Vista theme for those of us still working in the Windows XP. I tried it and looks pretty close to how you see it in Vista. You will not get the whole 3D like appearance but you get the colors and the aero background for the browser.

Free Remote Access and Desktop Control

I own a old Mac Power PC based system and have not upgraded to the Intel based Mac yet (I guess I am waiting for Leopard to come out). So anyway, I wanted to use my Windows Laptop and remotely connect to the Mac and have the feel of running Mac in my laptop :) The free software from LogmeIn does exactly that!

If you are looking to access your Windows based PC at home or Mac at home, you must give this product a try. The user interface refresh sometimes takes time, but has been mostly good for me. They also have a full-screen mode that will make you feel like you are right in front of the remote computer. They also have some paid versions which you can compare here.

Personally I use the free version it works great for remote access. If you want file sharing and other features you might want to try it out.

(MSN + AIM + ICQ + Yahoo + Gtalk + Jabber) – One browser, Any Browser

If you are not allowed to install softwares at your work, but allowed to browse Internet then you must pay a visit to these guys called Meebo. They have done an amazing job in extending instant messaging to a pure web based experience. So when I am at a friends place or when I don’t feel like home in a different computer, I use Meebo to communicate with others.

Now for the people who enjoy talking encrypted they also provide a HTTP(s) channel to chat, which can be accessed by adding an “s” to the http Secure Meebo.

Virtualization - Open and Free

Few weeks back a friend of mine was amazed (Non-IT) that you could run "two computers in one", at least that is how he called it. What he saw was Virtualization Technology in my laptop being able to run both Windows and Linux concurrently. He was looking for a cheaper alternative to run an almost virus-free operating system and somehow came to know about Linux (maybe through the recent Dell Linux Laptops). Yes, he is also aware of the "Get a Mac" TV Ads, but budget constraints prevents him from getting one.

So anyway, he was looking at my VMWare workstation and was asking if there is a free alternative to VMWare workstation where he can install Linux and enjoy the "almost virus free browsing for a while". I gave him two options.

(1) VMWare Free Player - and use the Browser Appliance
(2) VirtualBox - A nice free virtualization product.

VMWare Free Player I think is great if you just want to use their version of the operating system and your usage is limited to just browsing using firefox. If you are looking for a full fleged free virtualization product that allows you to install Linux using DVD/CD then VirutalBox is definitely worth a try.