Browser skinning simply means to change how it looks. The functionality remains the same, but the icons, background, menus and so on have an altered appearance. In some instances, browser skinning can also include adding in functionality it didn’t have prior.

Here’s how to use an alternative skin for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera.

Internet Explorer

IE has never been easy to alter per its appearance. It’s tough to move around buttons, and any attempt to skin it usually results in it not working correctly due to the fact a DLL or two has to be altered (and that’s not smart.)

The way around this is to simply use another browser that uses the IE Trident engine. A good choice for this is Avant Browser. It is fully "skinnable" and just about everything you can think of can be changed in it. It also has something very desirable: A built-in flash animation filter to cut out unwanted Flash content when browsing. In addition to that it’s compatible with many exiting IE add-ons such as Google Toolbar.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox has several ways in which you can skin it. The traditional way is to browse the themes available, and add in the one you want right from that web site. The second way is to use Personas, which you may find more attractive due to the fact you have more options. For example, you can use any background image you want with Personas and save your own custom themes easily.

The last way to skin Firefox is, if you’re daring, to directly edit the CSS files it uses in the chrome directory. This is not to be confused with Google Chrome. Chrome has two files that you can edit and enable for hand-coded customizations.

Opera

Like Firefox, Opera has its own dedicated directory for skins. An advantage over IE and FF is on that page you can simply pick the color type you want:

..and go from there.

Other apps you can skin to your liking

Windows Media Player 11

This takes some effort but it’s do-able.

First, launch Windows Media Player.

Press CTRL+1 to go to "Library Mode" (CTRL+2 is "Skin Mode", CTRL+3 is "Now Playing Mode", which is the default most people use).

Press CTRL+M to show the Menu Bar.

Click View and then Skin chooser, like this:

Click the More skins button:

You’ll then be taken to a web site where you can download compatible skins.

Skins are single files with a .wmz extension. You can simply run them and they’ll install themselves.

This is what WMP 11 looks like with the Batman Begins skin:

Note: Some of you may get an error on install of certain skins. If you do, try them anyway. Most of the time they’ll work fine. If not, just switch back to Library Mode with a CTRL+1, go back to the skin chooser and try something different or just remove the skin.

Trillian Astra

This instant messaging program has long had the ability to use custom skins. Astra, the latest version of Trillian also has full skin support.

Below is one of the built-in choices, "Cobalt."

You can find many more skins for Trillian here.

VLC

It is, for whatever reason, widely unknown that VLC can be skinned easily. VideoLAN themselves has a whole section of their web site dedicated to it.

One of the most popular skins, oddly enough, is to make VLC look like Windows Media Player 11:

Looks pretty darned convincing if you asked me. The only thing that tips it off that it’s VLC is the orange cone VLC icon at the top left of the app window, and of course the title bar.

Some notes about skinning applications

Customizing the look of apps can be fun, but how it will work is largely dependent on how well a skin or theme is programmed, as there are some crappy ones out there. The general rule of thumb is to choose one that has been downloaded many times, has good ratings and in best case scenario has comments on what work and what doesn’t when using it.

It’s also good to know how to remove skins if you download one, install it but then decide you don’t want it later. Most skins are self-contained, but some put hooks into applications that if left installed may adversely affect functionality of the program. This doesn’t happen often but it’s good to be aware of it.

Said honestly, when I first read this article, I thought it was a joke. I’m not kidding. I said to myself, "There is no way any organization would ask for your personal logins and passwords to the social media sites you use just to apply for a job."

The article asks if the City of Bozeman, MT (which the linked article is about) has the right to ask for this information on a job application.

The answer is flat-out NO, and here’s why:

I can understand if they ask for the URLs. That I could at least grudgingly tolerate. But to ask for your personal usernames and passwords? The line is drawn right there, particularly with the passwords. My passwords I use at home are mine and nobody else’s.

Several commenters on that article stated good alternatives, such as:

• "Friending" the City’s official social media profile so the City can examine your profile that way, which is just as effective.
• Allowing applicants to get the usernames and passwords of the City’s profiles as well. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
• Stating that giving out passwords for your profiles is a violation of the Terms of Use for, oh, I dunno, ALL social media networks?

The fact the City of Bozeman even asks for this information goes against every single web site’s policy about the sharing of login information, i.e. DON’T DO IT. They are literally asking you to completely disregard the privacy for your social media accounts and to trust them 100% with your passwords, because after all, nothing bad could happen, right?

Wrong. Very wrong. It’s a extremely gross conflict of interest.

Whatever genius in Bozeman that conjured this up should learn how to read the Terms of Service for social media sites and get a clue.

One of the most beautiful things about the internet is that anyone can develop a program, post it on a web site and charge for it. And if the program is good at whatever it does, people will readily pay for it.

"But I know very little about programming", you may say.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist. All you need is a decent text editor that recognizes typical programming code (like Notepad++, which is free), and then choose whether to use an SDK or API for whatever it is you want to program.

SDK: Software Developer Kit. An example is the Microsoft Office Developer Center. Lots of stuff with plenty of how-tos. SDKs are available for almost any popular application out there. Just do a Google search for "[program name] SDK" and it probably exists.

API: Application Programming Interface. For most people this is easier than using an SDK. And the best part is that you can use your web site (via PHP, Perl, MySQL and so on) as the testing grounds.

APIs are what make new and interesting things happen with a lot of different web sites.

Two examples: YouTube API, Twitter API.

Using YouTube as an example, be examining the Getting Started page there are things just about anyone can do even with the most basic of programming knowledge. And once you get familiarized with that you can move on to bigger and better things.

Another example: World of Warcraft API.

If you play WoW, you’ll learn things about the game by studying the API that you never knew before. And you may be able to put together the "ultimate" add-on that players would be willing to pay for. You never know unless you try.

SDKs and APIs are by nature openly available because software makers want you to program stuff for their products. When you do, this increases sales/popularity of their software and can also make you some money in the process. It’s a win-win situation.

The only thing you truly have to spend is time. Programming, especially for the beginner, is a slow learning process. But once familiarized you’ll be able to do some amazing stuff.

You wanted "hands-on" learning without spending anything? Well, it doesn’t get any more hand-on than this concerning making your own programs/applications.

IRC is one of those things that either you get or you don’t. You probably know IRC as chat rooms. But if you said that to a diehard IRC user, he or she would give you a dirty look or two because "chat room" is a term originally popularized by AOL. And to be technically correct, IRC has no chat rooms. They’re called channels. Maybe that’s a nerdy nit-picky thing, but it wouldn’t be the internet without nerds getting ticked off over minutia like that.

The best app for IRC depends on what OS you’re using. IRC is best used with a true client rather than the web-based way (like Mibbit, which seems to get increasingly banned on many IRC servers these days, hence the reason I don’t use nor recommend it).

On Windows, the best IRC client is mIRC. It’s been around seemingly forever (even as far back as the Windows 3.1 days) and has proven time and time again to be a solid, stable chat app.

On Mac OS X, the IRC app used most is Colloquy. Were I using OS X I would use that and nothing else for IRC purposes. It is the best for the Mac, no question. And you can even go mobile with it.

On Linux, XChat is the best. I have tried several different IRC apps over the years with Linux, but time and time again I keep going back to XChat whenever I’m using a Linux distro.

Platform independent IRC applications (works in any OS):

• Chatzilla – A Firefox add-on.
• Pidgin – Primarily an instant messaging client but also does IRC. Note for Mac users: Adium uses the same backend Pidgin does and also does IRC the same way.

Do you use IRC?

If you do, what’s your OS and preferred IRC app of choice? Let us know in the comments.

CPU-Z is a freeware application for Windows that is as easy as it gets when it comes to getting quick – and useful – system information about your computer.

Let’s take a look (see screenshot below):

Above is a screen shot taken from my older Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop. On the first tab, CPU, you’re told what kind of processor you have, it’s socket type, supported instruction sets and a whole lot more.

Above is the Mainboard tab. This will tell you who made your motherboard, the model, chipset and so on.

Above is the Memory tab. You’re told what type of RAM you have, its size, channels and other information.

The SPD tab will give you information on RAM based on what slot its in – and will even give you the manufacturer information of the RAM (even if they differ from slot to slot).

This is a cool free little app that’s sometimes necessary to have to answer quick questions like:

• Who made my motherboard?
• What family of processor do I have?
• Who made my RAM?
• What’s my overall speed (core, bus, etc.)?

This is definitely a handy app.

You can get it here: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

And yes it is periodically updated to support the newest/latest/greatest processors.

You’ve heard time and time again from Linux fans that "Linux can do anything Windows can do". Is this true? Yes. However what the Linux fans usually don’t mention is how to do the stuff you do in Windows in Linux.

Bear in mind that "equivalent" in this context is a subjective term, because more often than not the apps you use in Linux to do what you do in Windows usually have more features.

Also bear in mind that the apps listed here are all available from Add/Remove in Ubuntu if you use that particular distro, so they’re really easy to get and install.

MSN / Windows Live Messenger

The Windows way: Windows Live Messenger

The Linux way: aMSN

aMSN does just about everything the standard Windows Live Messenger does. And yes it’s also a really good Hotmail notifier (for notification of new e-mails). In addition, aMSN has a Windows version so if you want to try it out on Windows, you can. And when you use it in Linux, it looks and acts exactly the same as the Windows version.

Multi-protocol instant messaging

The Windows way: Trillian, Miranda, Pidgin

The Linux way: Pidgin

Pidgin is available for both Windows and Linux, but strictly speaking of Linux it’s the best IM client they have. It connects to just about every IM service on the planet – including AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk (Jabber) and lots more.

The other IM clients for Linux (aside from aMSN) really aren’t that great. Yes, they do the job but Pidgin is the best of the lot.

IRC (chatting)

The Windows way: mIRC (for most people)

The Linux way: XChat (for most people)

I put "for most people" at the tail of each listed above because there are actually many IRC clients – however the two listed above are arguably the most used.

mIRC is the best IRC client for Windows. It’s been around a really, really long time and is very well established – but it’s only for Windows. And it’s not free either.

XChat is free for Linux. There is also a Windows version of it but you can only use it free for 30 days, after which you have to pay for $19.99 for it. But the Linux version is 100% free.

E-Mail Client

The Windows way: Microsoft Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird

The Linux way: Evolution, Mozilla Thunderbird

Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail are free but Microsoft Outlook isn’t.

Evolution is free and is usually bundled with most Linux distributions with the GNOME desktop as the standard mail client so you ordinarily don’t even have to download it.

The Evolution mail client is a powerhouse. Overall it’s arguably the most feature-packed mail app next to Microsoft Outlook itself.

Mozilla Thunderbird has been around for a while, is available for both Windows and Linux but is really showing its age. Chances are you’d probably like Evolution better.

Do you use Linux? What do you use to do the stuff you (used) to do in Windows?

Feel free to post commentary about the Linux apps that do the same (or beyond) stuff you do in Windows. People are more than happy to read about this stuff so they know what to expect.

One of the lesser-known features in Windows (ever since Windows 2000 and possibly even as far back as Windows 98) is the ability to have multiple application bars aside from the main taskbar itself.

See video below for details on how to do this.

Launchy is one of those apps that I was immediately hooked on the moment I started using it. It’s one of those apps that just makes perfect sense.

For those that are all about speed, speed and more speed when it comes to productivity, you can’t get much better than Launchy; it is an application launcher that does its thing 100% by keystrokes.

Launchy stays in the background, requires only a bare minimum of memory to run and can be executed at any time by the default ALT+SPACE keystroke.

An example of how Launchy works: You want to launch a Firefox web browser. ALT+SPACE, start typing firefox and before the e in fire you’ll see it. Then press enter. App is launched. If you want to launch Firefox with a specific url: ALT+SPACE, firefox, TAB, [url here], enter. Done.

I use Launchy so much that I can’t use Windows without it. This app launcher does the job better than any other. Google Desktop can’t touch it. Try it and you’ll see why.

We all love some of the internet-based applications that are out there and what they can do for you. But, what if those kinds of applications could be moved to your computer? That is what Adobe Air does.

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.

Continued

You will want to have several different people on hand who will vouch for you as far as your character, your work habits, your work ethics, and your general value and worth as an employee and person.

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This section can be set up much like the job experience section – it all really depends on what format you are choosing for your resume. This section is an important one for most students, and it is a required element of the resume. In this section, you should include:

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When you go to the homepage of the Business Software Alliance, you see this:

When you click on that button, you see a system whereby you can “rat out” an employer using pirated software and do so anonymously. Now, a one million dollar payday would, of course, be limited to people who expose a really big case. But, a recent news release by BSA says they are expanding that program and that they have awarded $58,000 to 14 people who provided credible reports of piracy.

Continued

Google is at it again. This time, they have released what is called Google App Engine. In short, this is a web application platform to allow developers and businesses to host web apps in the cloud (meaning online). Google launched the product in it’s own new blog yesterday.

Google’s blog post describes the service quite well:

Google App Engine gives you access to the same building blocks that Google uses for its own applications, making it easier to build an application that runs reliably, even under heavy load and with large amounts of data. The development environment includes the following features:

• Dynamic webserving, with full support of common web technologies
• Persistent storage (powered by Bigtable and GFS with queries, sorting, and transactions
• Automatic scaling and load balancing
• Google APIs for authenticating users and sending email
• Fully featured local development environment

Google App Engine packages these building blocks and takes care of the infrastructure stack, leaving you more time to focus on writing code and improving your application.

This is a poke in the eye of Amazon. Amazon Web Services is also a platform for developers to run their web applications. Amazon offers S3 (for mass storage), EC2 (for virtual servers) and SimpleDB (database). So, Google App Engine is basically taking on Amazon. But, as Techcrunch is reporting, the Amazon package is more loosely coupled than the Google setup. Amazon allows developers to pick and choose what they need whereas the Google setup is pretty much all-or-nothing. In other words, Google App Engine is designed for people who want to run their apps entirely on Google.

Profy.com says that Google has “jumped the shark“, though. While Google is offering free service up to a certain point (500 MB storage, 10 GB bandwidth daily), Profy points out that Google made a mistake by using Python as the programming language rather than Ruby. They also point out that this is just another “me too” move by Google. They saw Amazon making money and decided to try to “one up” them and give some of it away for free (in classic Google style).

So, has Google really jumped the shark? Is Google App Engine really the next big thing, or is this just another temporary excitement designed to get bloggers excited over nothing?

I can tell you one thing Profy is right on: Python? Yuck. Google, for their part, says they will soon be supporting other languages, but I wouldn’t be interested in this until I see some Ruby or PHP support.