The steps below will instruct you how to do this.

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It seems to be debatable as to whether or not the latest Flash client addresses the problem (the exploit is embedded to the file on the server), but regardless the safest measure is to simply disable Flash on your browser. Using IE7Pro for Internet Explorer or Flashblock for Firefox, you can selectively enable when you want Flash content to be displayed.

Not only do we have to deal with the utterly worthless “Flash intro’s” (who watches these anyway?), but now malicious exploits. Surely something else can come along and replace Flash for the only use it has which is a web video player.

In this 101-level article, I’m going to talk about what Adobe Air is and why you might want to take note of it.

What Is It?

Adobe AIR is a cross-platform runtime environment. In plain English, it is a way for applications to be built and run on any operating system. The programming languages used to build an AIR app are Flash, Flex, HTML and AJAX. These are all inherently web-based programming languages. But, using AIR, those languages can now be used to create a desktop application.

From the programmer’s standpoint, imagine being able to use HTML and AJAX and a webpage editor like Dreamweaver to build a desktop application. It can be done.

Of course, chances are you’re not a programmer so you don’t really care about all that. But, from the end user standpoint, this means you’re going to see (and are seeing) desktop applications that allow you to better interface with Internet services.

How To Get And Use It

In order to run any application programmed with Adobe AIR, you need to download Adobe AIR and put it on your computer. You just download it and install it like any other application.

Then, when you want to install an Adobe AIR app, you just click the link on the website for that app (it usually says “Install Now”). It will automatically launch a small popup window asking if you want to install the application. Confirm and it will do so. From there, the application you install will work just like any other desktop application on your computer.

Whenever an application or Adobe AIR itself gets an update, you will be notified and walked through updating it. Very easy.

Examples

To best understand what AIR is cool for, you need to look at some of the applications that are available.

Ebay Desktop
A full desktop application which allows you to fully interact with Ebay. Overcomes the limitations of using the web browser only.

Twhirl
If you’re a Twitter user, it can suck having a browser tab open all the time for it, tapping F5 to see if there are new tweets.

Pownce
Pownce is another Twitter-like microblogging network and they have their own application.

Nasdaq Market Replay
Stock traders will probably find this AIR app extremely convenient.

Color Browser
A neat way to develop color palettes when putting together a web design.

Google Analytics AIR
Yes, the power of Google Analytics for your website, but in a desktop application.

Klok
A personal time tracker

There are others, of course.

Web apps are are grabbing a huge chunk of the mindshare these days because people are discovering the benefits. AIR is a way to bring that web app mentality back to the desktop. Check it out.

Google Calendar is one of their flagship products. And people sometimes underestimate the power of this free, web-based app. So, in this article, I am going to provide a full rundown of how to master your schedule with Google Calendar.

In fact, because there is so much to cover here, the remainder of this article will be for PCMech members only. We will cover how to use multiple calendars, how to take advantage of reminders, mobile phone interaction, interfacing with Calendar via text message, keyboard shortcuts, etc. My goal is to have you jumping into using Calendar and enjoying the benefits of having your schedule online rather than sitting on your computer. Read on…

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Several security issues were found in the original Firefox 3.0. One critical flaw was stated by Mozilla this way:

Vulnerability can be used to run attacker code and install software, requiring no user interaction beyond normal browsing.

Obviously, not good. So, 3.01 fixes this and several other issues. In fact, 3.01 is nothing but a maintenance release, as the release notes show.

It is recommended that all users upgrade ASAP. If your browser has not yet automatically prompted you to upgrade, you can select “Check for Updates” from the Help menu.

IE7Pro is a free add-on which adds loads of functionality. From their web site:

IE7Pro includes Tabbed Browsing Management, Spell Check, Inline Search, Super Drag Drop, Crash Recovery, Proxy Switcher, Mouse Gesture, Tab History Browser, Web Accelerator, User Agent Switcher, Webpage Capturer, AD Blocker, Flash Block, Greasemonkey like User Scripts platform, User Plug-ins, MiniDM, Google sponsored search,IE Faster and many more power packed features.

Those familiar with Firefox’s functionality will probably recognize that this add-on nearly levels the playing field with ’standard’ functionality. Without a doubt, this is a no-brainer download for IE7 users.

There are 2 episodes in particular that really nail it when it comes to tech.

Make Love, Not Warcraft

Description: The boys dedicate their lives to defeating a mad gamer and saving the World of Warcraft.

If you’re a gamer at all, you know this episode and have probably seen it a few times. It shows the lifestyle of “basement dweller” gamers and what happens when you have a full blown gaming addiction.

This episode also has the distinction of introducing the phrase “How can you kill that which has no life?” (in reference to people who “have no life” so to speak).

In addition, this episode did win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).

Watch the full episode here.

Over Logging

Description: One day the citizens of South Park wake up and find the internet is gone. When Randy hears there may still be some internet out in California, he packs up his family and heads west.

This episode raises up a very important point. Can people function without internet? Is it that integrated into our society that we simply can’t live without it?

Dave (the boss of PCMech) actually recommended this one to me. He personally found it funny that “the internet” is depicted as a huge Linksys router.

Watch the full episode here.

What is the single largest difference between using a free webmail account from a provider (such as Yahoo, Microsoft or Google) and your included from-ISP e-mail? The difference is that your ISP has an obligation to keep the e-mail service running whereas the free providers do not.

Somewhere in your ISP Terms Of Service (abbreviated TOS) agreement is a blurb or two stating that the e-mail they provide to you the customer must work. You are paying for internet access; e-mail is provided with this access; it must be working. If for any reason the e-mail provided by your ISP does not work, you the customer can demand a refund for a breach of TOS.

However if you’re using a freebie mail provider, that provider doesn’t owe you anything if the mail service fails - including the e-mails you lost from any outage.

Do the “big three” of free webmail providers have paid accounts to give you the same level of service commitment the ISP does? Yes.

With Gmail, there is Google Apps Premier Edition. It costs $50 yearly. (Important note: It’s only a matter of time before Google will offer a paid version of Gmail without the need to be a Google Apps customer, and it will be cheaper per year - but they haven’t quite gotten around to it just yet.)

With Hotmail there is Windows Live Hotmail Plus. It costs $19.95 yearly.

With Yahoo there is Yahoo Mail! Plus. It costs $19.99 yearly.

What are the perks?

Google’s biggest perks are the 99.9% uptime guarantee and phone support. This is what you get when you “go corporate”, so to speak. The uptime is a big, big deal because regular Gmail has no uptime guarantee at all.

Hotmail has quite a few perks when you pay for it. It starts off with a 10GB inbox, no ads, 20MB file attachments (it’s limited to 10MB in regular Hotmail) and the biggie: Integration with Outlook. As in the Microsoft Office Outlook. The availability of synchronization of Hotmail with Outlook is a very big deal for those who swear by that software.

Yahoo Mail’s perks are somewhat different but still quite useful. It’s similar to the paid Hotmail version but you get a few extras such as “Disposable addresses”. In Yahoo’s words: “Create disposable email addresses to use when you don’t want to give out your primary address. Messages sent to your disposable addresses will be delivered to your inbox or to any personal folder you designate.” Very cool. You also (finally) get POP access.

From my personal experience

I have paid for Yahoo Mail Plus in the past and recently forked over some cash for Hotmail Plus (yes I admit it, I did). I have also used Gmail and ISP-based mail.

What I can say about each is this:

Gmail

Unfortunately there isn’t (at present) a paid Gmail available. Some would ask “Why would I want to pay for it?” To that I say consider the fact that some actually do tap the 7GB limit of the inbox as crazy as that sounds.

Google could easily offer a paid 25GB version with no ads anywhere and better integration with some of their services.

And you know they’ve got the space. People would totally go for this. And I’m betting Google could get away with only charging $17.95 a year instead of $19.95/99 like the other guys do.

Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail

I lump these both into the same category because no matter which you use, you do so because you like the service. Both offer roughly the same level of performance.

I prefer Hotmail over Yahoo because of the Windows Live Mail client. It is the only webmail service I know of that has a client that synchronizes both mail and contacts seamlessly and that’s why I went with it. (Yes, I’m stuck on using mail clients, I know this. Personal preference.)

The paid versions of both mail services are outstanding. In addition, both offer very clear easy-to-read verbiage on REFUNDS in case you’re not happy with what you get.

ISP E-Mail

I’m not going to lie to you - this is the best e-mail there is. Seriously. It’s the fastest. It doesn’t have ads. It’s extremely reliable.

But there are two major drawbacks:

The first is that there’s no way to access the mail via IMAP. POP only. Very few ISPs offer IMAP e-mail service. The only way to keep mail on the ISP’s servers is to use their webmail interface; you usually have no other option.

The second is that the mail isn’t portable. If you decide to switch ISPs, you lose your e-mail address. ISP-assigned e-mail addresses are not like phone numbers that you can transfer from one provider to another. When you switch, you lose it.

While Zoho’s web site does appear eerily similar to the look of Google Docs, it actual does boast a more impressive selection of online applications. Zoho does offer many of their services for free, but if you want access to their more intriguing online applications (CRM, project management, etc.), you will have to join with a pay subscription after the trial ends.

I did try Zoho briefly while researching my online office suites article, but found Google Docs to be more to my liking. Overall though, it comes down to personal preference as Zoho is a polished product.

Web-Based Methods

Here are several websites that will allow you to download and/or convert a Youtube video:

• Media Converter
• Vixy
• VideoDownloadX
• KeepVid
• ZamZar (see below)
• Youtubia

A website I recently discovered called Zamzar will easily allow to you to download YouTube videos. While Zamzar is still in beta, I have used it extensively and haven’t encountered any issues with it. To start, you go to the site www.zamzar.com. Click on the “Download Videos” tab. Then you copy and paste the YouTube URL, choose the video format that you would like (most will prefer .avi or .mpg), enter your email address and click “convert”. It couldn’t be more simple. It then uploads the video, and depending on the size of the video, you will have a downloadable file in your inbox in about 5 minutes or less. Quite simple, no?

Zamzar will also convert between many different formats. It has the capabilities to convert to and from many common image, document, music, and video formats, all without downloading any software and all for free. The converted file is stored for 24 hours after you receive the email, so be sure to download the video shortly after you get it.

Windows Software

Windows has a lot of software available so that you can accomplish the task locally:

• VDownloader
• Youtube Grabber
• Orbit Downloader
• KeepV
• VideoGet

Mac Software

TubeTV or GetTube are your best options.