VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing. It is remote control software which allows you to view and interact with one computer (the "server") using a simple program (the "viewer") on another computer anywhere on the Internet. The two computers don't even have to be the same type, so for example you can use VNC to view an office Linux machine on your Windows PC at home. VNC is freely and publicly available and is in widespread active use by millions throughout industry, academia and privately.

IM: The real killer app? - The Register
By IT Analysis
Posted: 05/12/2001 at 12:42 GMT

Instant messaging (IM) looks set for a seat at the high table of enterprise technology debates. In November, IDC released its IM report which showed how the technology is likely to experience compound annual growth rates, in the enterprise, of 140 per cent over the next few years. This will give IM technologies almost 180 million corporate users by 2004 - generating a staggering 2 trillion messages per year.

IM, if applied correctly, can do an awful lot for an organisation. It cuts time, increases communication, and serves as a catalyst for a whole new generation of connected individuals. That, however, is only the internal benefit. Incorporate IM into your online sales processes, and you can tap into a whole new batch of benefits. And these could generate revenues, which will undoubtedly keep the FD happy.

A new report from Basex claims that IM tools can significantly reduce the number of discarded shopping trolleys which litter ecommerce sites. The firm reckons that, through the incorporation of services such as IM, could add around $20 billion per year revenues to the coffers of ecommerce player. Far fetched? Probably. But there is a point.

You can put a salesperson alongside the customer to coax him or her through the process, answer any questions and, ultimately, close the sale. Such practice would, or could, be quickly usurped by VoIP (voice over IP) applications enabling a salesperson to talk to the customer rather than type to them, but still it offers a potential revenue boost.

Free tools from Protect-me.com:

Active Favorites
Active Favorites (AFAVOR) - simple and easy to use tool for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 that allows you to very quickly access Internet Explorer Favorites (bookmarks). When AFAVOR is running, an accurate miniature icon appears on the taskbar on the end opposite the "Start" button. When you click it with the left mouse button, it displays the full list of your bookmarks.

Self-Extrtactor Archive Recovery
SEA is a free utility that lets you repair self-extracting ZIP files created by Winzip. It rebuilds a file's header if it were damaged by a virus or download corruption. The process is fully automatic and returns a message indicating the level of success achieved. Tested with WinZip Self-Extractor Personal Edition (1285) and WinZip Self-Extractor 2.1

Active Server Watcher
Active Server Watcher (ASW) - easy to use tool for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 that periodically checks given Internet resources and notifies you when they become unavailable. ASW can monitor Web pages and scripts (CGI, ASP, PHP, etc.). You are able to define a list of resources you wish to monitor. If a resource from this list becomes unavailable, ASW executes a special action (display message, write log file, execute external file, etc.). Also, for each resource you can define the periodicity of checking and number of retries. ASW detects when your computer goes offline and stops checking for resources to prevent you from the misoperation.


SmartSchedule
Interface for Windows NT/2000 schedule service (AT command). You can add, delete or change tasks on remote and local computers.

SmartClock
Give your desktop a wrist watch.

dBpowerAMP Music Converter (dMC), is one of those must have utilities, indispensable for converting audio files from one format to another. Part of dMCs formidable arsenal, is its ability to rip music straight from Audio CDs!, or LPs [optional install].

Building Web service applications with the Google API
Nicholas Chase

An excellent tutorial from IBM

World Wide Web Research Tools as suggested by Prof. Robert harris of Virtual Salt

FavOrg scans the Web sites in your Favorites list for favicons -- custom icons provided by the Web site. The icons are displayed on the Favorites bar, the Favorites menu, and the Address bar. Custom icons make the Favorites list easier to scan, letting you locate a given shortcut faster. Microsoft added the custom icon feature to IE5; FavOrg brings this functionality to IE4 as well. Favicons are usually lost when you delete your Temporary Internet Files, but FavOrg preserves them. The program also lets you associate any icon you choose with a given shortcut, even if no favicon is provided. Since FavOrg must check the validity of an Internet shortcut before attempting to download the favicon, it automatically flags dead links as it goes through your Favorites list. If you like, it can update redirected links or reset dead links to the site's root. FavOrg was written by Patrick Phillipot, and first appeared in PC Magazine November 7, 2000 (v19n19). Source code is included.

Solaris 9 for x86 Systems

Sun has releaed version 9 of its superb operating system for x86 machines

Onlinenetiquette.com - whatever happened to good manners. Get your online manners sorted our here.

80211hotspots.com is the leading resource for finding wireless access points around the world. Thousands of locations are listed and new sites are added daily. To learn more about 802.11 networking, visit 80211- Planet.com.

Looks like Paddington has a public wireless lan point

From Searchday:

"Google Web APIs

Download the developer kit and register for an account from Google here.
Also includes links to FAQs and other sources of help.

Building Web Service Applications With the Google API

This free tutorial from IBM takes you step by step through using the
Google API. Registration is required, but you can opt out of receiving any
email from IBM. You should be familiar with Java programming language,
and will need an Internet connection to access the Google service. An
understanding of Web services is not required to use the API.

Google APIs Discussion Group

Help and discussion is available via this Google Group dedicated to web
APIs."

PC Magazine Utilities From A-Z

"Can't find the utility you're looking for? Browse through our alphabetical list of utilities from the past 5 years.

Some of your favorite utilities have been updated or enhanced. Find out about and then download the latest versions of FileTip, Web Highlighter, ButtonBoogie, FileSnoop, Hotkey Detective, ListZapper, Registry Robot, TapeCalc, FormWhiz, and CookieCop."

4guysfromrolla.com - the definitive ASP supersite

Expand Your Desktop
By Steven E. Sipe

"Have you ever wished you had more room on your Windows desktop? Running many applications simultaneously can result in a cluttered screen that's difficult to navigate, much less organize. This issue's utility, XpanDesk, can help. By letting you create up to nine virtual desktops, XpanDesk gives you a separate, uncluttered desktop for each set of applications you use. For example, you might create a desktop dedicated to Internet access, and place your browser, file transfer utility, and other internet-related programs there. Another desktop could hold office applications, such as your word processor and spreadsheet program. When you're working on the Internet desktop, your office applications are invisible, and vice versa. If you use certain clusters of applications together, you can assign them to a particular desktop permanently. When you launch an assigned application, XpanDesk will automatically place the program on its assigned desktop. You also can assign applications to appear on all desktops. XpanDesk is an update of a previous PC Magazine utility called ZDDesk.

XpanDesk runs under Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP. The Microsoft Visual C++ source code for XpanDesk is provided with the utility for those interested in seeing how the program works. Note that PC Magazine programs are copyrighted and cannot be distributed, whether modified or unmodified. Use is subject to the terms and conditions of the license agreement distributed with the programs."

Ximian Evolution 1.2 - The Outlook for Linux, is out.

Attachment Options is an Outlook 2002, Outlook 2000 SP3 and Outlook 11 COM add-in that provides a user interface for changing which file types are restricted as Level 1 attachments. Level 1 attachments are hidden by Outlook, and cannot be seen, saved or opened from Outlook items. Moving an attachment extension to Level 2 enables the user to see the attachment and to save it to the file system. The attachment saved to the file system can later be opened by the user.