I signed up for a Spymac account to see what all the buzz was about. They beat Google to the punch with the 1gb of storage, but they could’ve at least rolled it out slowly or made sure that their network could handle the load. First of all e-mail is busted (can’t send, have’t tried receiving), and I can’t publish my iCal. Yeah I know it’s because of all of the new accounts but still. I like the layout and the services (WebDAV, etc), and it’s very generous that they give you a blog and something like 350mb of additional storage, but it’s all moot if you can’t use it. I’ll stick with it for a couple of months and see if it eventually begins to work.

Mental Note: This is NOT the way to roll out new services.

So I’ve been using Firefox for a while now (almost 2 months), and I’m impressed. This is coming from someone who used Safari almost exclusively since it was available and barked at anyone who tried to tell her anything bad about it. Firefox, at this point in its development, is a more sensible browser than Safari. Note that I didn’t say it was a better browser. Firefox is a great browser for people who like to tinker. If you’re not scared to get your hands a little dirty, install some extensions, play with themes, and do a little reading to see what works and what doesn’t, Firefox is the way to go. Some people are content to use whatever browser they download or whatever comes with their system as is. If you’re one of those people, you can stop reading now. Cool things about Firefox: * You can install extensions by clicking on web links for them * There are a lot of themes (but make sure they work on Firefox 0.8 for your OS before you install them * There are TONS of sensible extensions that make your browsing very slick * It’s available for Linux, Windows, and OS X; one browser to bind them * It’s quick like a bunny - no joke * You can add multiple search engines to the search box: Google, Froogle, Amazon, Wikipedia, and IMDB are just a few of my engines * The whole browser is themed in CSS: if you can’t find a theme you like, make your own Currently I am running the Apollo theme done by Aaron Spuler which some people are delighted about. I am also running the Tabbed Browser Extension which allows me to open links from other programs and new page links in tabs in my existing browser window. Today I also picked up Adblock which strips out 95% of the ads on the internet with a little help from the filters on Aaron’s site. With those two extensions, I have a really comfortable surfing experience. I am going to look into other extensions and if I see anything else worthy of mention, it’ll get posted here. Got any extensions you want me to try out? Drop a link in the comments and I’ll check it out.

Some part of me is thinking that tonight’s ER had a bit of a political undercurrent. Gallant is going to Iraq even though he lets Lewis and County’s Lawyer (who might I add played the second Sunnydale High principle on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) believe he has been called up by the Army. He’s really going overseas to protect Carter and Neela in the event there was a lawsuit over the dead patient who’s chart he falsified on the previous episode. Wow that was a mouthful. Anyway, in this same episode Carrie Weaver’s wife Sandy, a firefighter, dies from injuries in a building collapse. Sandy’s family takes their son Henry away and refuses to let Carrie see him. So deployment to Iraq and Gay Rights in one episode. Anyone else think it’s a coincidence that this script made it to air in an election year? I don’t. I’m sad that Sandy’s dead but I think this is going to bring out a new side of Carrie as she fights for her son.

If you haven’t heard by now, Leo Laporte is no longer part of the TechTV family. He walked because of some dispute over shares owed him by the company. You’d think after 9 years of loyal service they would have more respect for him. Leo is not just the host of Call for Help but he’s practically the franchise. At one point or another he’s hosted almost every show on TechTV. I am really disgusted by how he was treated and I can’t wait for Comcast to move in and take the reins away from the current ownership. Hopefully they will have the common sense to bring Leo back even if he’s not on the air all the time. Now here comes the real bad news… Pirillo has been hinting that he might go back to Call for Help now that Leo is no longer in the house. Pirillo is what made me avoid CFH. I didn’t go back to watching it until he got dropped from TTV around this time last year when Leo took the show over again. If Pirillo comes back it’s gonna make me kill CFH on my PVR. He’s puerile, irritating, and has bad diction. He’s too Windows oriented for any tech show. People complain that Leo is too Mac oriented. In my opinion the fact that he actually acts like there’s more than one platform out there is amazing. The current Screensavers crew is too Wincentric for my tastes. Without Patrick there it would be Win-a-palooza with the occasional nod to a new Linux distro release and Knoppix. Very sad. At any rate, Pirillo should be hosting a children’s show on public television somewhere in Utah. It’s keep him off my TV.