Foola the best iTunes replacement – updated

I have many posts about Foola (actually it is called Floola but I keep spelling it wrong 🙂 ) it’s the best FREE iTunes replacement out there.

There is a new update that covers the new model iPods now. The new models had a change in the firmware that stopped people using anything except itunes – this has been overcome. Version 2.1.1 of Floola is available and it now supports youtube and myspace videos!

Floola is a freeware application to efficiently manage your iPod (or your Motorola mobile phone that supports iTunes). It’s a standalone application that can be run directly from your iPod and needs no installation under Linux, Mac OS X and Windows (Windows Vista is supported).

Get Foola HERE

Apple: being smug just makes you look a fool

I admit it, I don’t really like using OSx, not that I have used it for at least a year – I still have a Mac but just haven’t turned it on for ages. Anway, what peaves more than and awkward to use (for me) system is Apple itself.

I don’t like Apples full on idea that looks/design is everything over being functional – the silly one button mouse that they perservered with for years or even the silly two button one now – a cheap Logitech or Microsoft mouse works a million times easier (but of course doesn’t look as pretty). I don’t like Apples adverts, most are exaggerations and half truths but , I guess, it sells products. I don’t like the fact the Apple took ages (6 months after Vista was released) to make iTunes work on Vista and wrote on their site it was Microsofts fault.

I know I haven’t explained properly but here is a prime example of over the top Apple showing how smug (or stupid) they are. The new updated OSX that has just been released a few days ago – the icon they use for Windows computers (and for that matter, I have read, lots of Linux and other Unix machines show up as Samba file shares, meaning they’ll be presented as unstable blue-screening machines, despite the fact that they’re likely more stable than OS X) is an old CRT monitor showing a Blue Screen fault. It is like little kids fighting and teasing in a playground – really. (read Smug Ugly and and the icon fix here )

I must say, I do like my iPod Nano but some things about that erk me – the battery lost it’s ability to charge a week before the warranty ran out, a year later the replacement is the same – one year for the life of my Nano is a bit short and not being able to easily change the battery is a no-no.

Maybe what I really hate is the blind fans that think Apple is almost a religion and Steve Jobs is god. I remember talking to a blind Apple fan about that I need Windows because I need certain applications – he insisted that I could get all the application I ever need for the Mac – the apps I need are specially written for us at work they are not off the shelf things – why would we get these re-written for OSx or bother with running Windows on Apple hardware when a cheap PC does it anyway? He didn’t believe me!

And of course me saying all this now makes me a Microsoft lover, crazy, stupid and whatever else.

Disposable email addresses – my review

I posted, a little while back, about disposable email addresses , namely Guerrilla Mail. Here is my big list of other disposable/temporary email services – very useful for getting access to some sites that want you to supply and validate an email address and you don’t want to give them your real one. I am sure there are many others, let me know what you find out there.

I have tried them all and rated how I find them, others may think differently. Starting with my favourite.

Guerrilla Mail provides you with disposable e-mail addresses which expire after 15 Minutes. You can read and reply to e-mails that are sent to the temporary e-mail address within the given time frame. Need an extra 15 minutes, just click the “Give me 15 minutes more” button. Simple and well done.

2Prong is very similar to Mailinator and all others but is improved by the programmer adding two features; 2Prong changes the domain weekly in order to prevent the address from being banned, a problem for some other disposable email services., and an interface that doesn’t require you to do any logging in or use the refresh button. Equal to Guerilla for me.

Mailinator offers temp email addresses, to create an account just send an email to it. Mailinator does not assign you an email address and you don’t even need to go to Mailinator before you use it. You choose any email address you want (@mailinator.com of course) anytime you want. Give it out first, then go to Mailinator and check it second. No passwords so anyone can type in the address and see the mail. You can receive you mail via RSS. The mail lasts a couple of hours. This is the original temp email site, the one that started it all.

MyTrashMail is good temporary mail service that gives you a mailbox in the address format e.g. some123@trashymail.com. Much the same as Mailinator. Mail is kept for 12hour to 30days. It’ s a little slow as they say they are running on the servers limits and processing over 10 million emails a day.

SpamBox With this service you can create a temporary e-mail address that will forward all incoming mail to your usual e-mail address. Simply enter your e-mail address and the life time of your spambox and Spambox will generate you a temporary @spambox.us e-mail. Mail lasts 30minutes to 1 year! Seems to work well plus it is available in many languages.

dodgeit.com

Dodgeit provides throwaway address, for example, “myaddress@dodgeit.com”, then you can check inbox from homepage, which is very neat almost Google like, or subscribe to RSS feed to keep an eye on it. Not recommended as I usually can’t even connect (error Too Many Connections)

MailExpire system allows you to create a free email alias for yourself. For a period that you choose, from 12 hours to 3 months, anything sent to this email alias will be passed on to you at your actual email address. Works well if the forwarding thing is what you need.

BugMeNot Email – use when forced to register for a site often you’ll need to provide an email address to receive a ‘verification’ link. Mail is kept for a maximum of 24 hours. Much the same as Mailinator (well most are the same really! ). I guess you use this when the main BugMeNot doesn’t help you.

SpamMotel requires registration, provides mail forwarding, mail can be accessed through desktop e-mail clients, can reply to e-mail from your real e-mail address using SpamMotel e-mail. I guess a real spam solution but not what I would use, more for addresses that will not be so temporary.

Jetable again provides you with a temporary email address. Just type in your real email address, choose the time you want the temp to last and Jetable then makes a temporary address for you. As soon as it is created, all the emails sent to this address are forwarded to your actual email address. Your antispam address will be deactivated as soon as the selected lifespan will expire which is1 hour to 1 month. Another service available with multi-languages. Jetable.org is not an anonymous email service: email headers are not modified and they keep the logs of this service ( a lot of these services do ).

Dontreg is nice and neat and much like a version of Mailinator with a nice web2.0 logo 🙂 If a site requests your email address and you do not wish to give it, you simply type a @dontreg.com mail, for example: john.smith@dontreg.com then go to the DontReg site, type the name of the used mailbox and read your mail. Mail lasts 1 to 2 days and they say they keep no records after the mail has been deleted.

Gish Puppy (strange name) offers disposable email addresses that automatically forward messages to your normal email account. You then create a different GishPuppy email everytime you register on the web, and individually cancel them whenever you want.

PookMail.com

PookMail.com is a disposable email account system. Use PookMail.com to avoid giving your personal email address to suspicious websites. They say it is anonymous and all emails are deleted after 24 hours. A 256KB limit on email size but these services are not about file sharing anyway. It looks basic but works just like the others.

10 Minute Mail offers a temporary e-mail address. You just click the Get Me an Address and it makes one like mail3131863@gorillaswithdirtyarmpits.com is your temporary email address. Your e-mail address will expire in 10 minutes, just like the name suggests. But if you need more time you can click on the “Give me 10 more minutes!” button. You can reply to the mail which in’t available on all of these services.

Temp Inbox is like all the others. You pick a disposable e-mail address (that ends with @tempinbox.com), then check your mail via the tempinbox site. You can also receive the emails via RSS. They don’t say how long the mail is kept but I am guessing less than 24 hours. This service has the most translated languages..Burmese anyone?

Thanks to Snoskred, Duncan, Crespo, Becca, Patrick, Homemom, Andy, Vincentia, Nirmal and Colin Campbell for recent comments in previous posts.

New update for Floola – The iTunes replacement

Floola has a new update, June 2007: beta 49 version with Podcast and Smart playlist support added!

It supports v7.2 of iTunes, and runs on OSx, Windows 98 and above including Vista plus Linux.

This program is coming along nicely. If you are after an iTunes replacement or want to use your iPod on Linux try it out. And of course it’s free (click an advert on their site to help them out or donate)

Funny, I still get searches for Foola, not Floola!

Cancelling or Canceling?

Which is it?

I would have thought that if I choose Australian English as the language for Windows Vista that the error and dialog messages would be in my language as well. I am sure if I choose French I would not get US English in the dialogs. Strike against Vista!

Stuff like this really bugs me!

It still doesn’t mean I want Linux though – (actually, do they do the same?)

Now, I do know that Office 2007 has Australian words in it’s dictionary – some that are included are – G’day, Sickie, Ute, Trackies, Bogan, Dag, Sheila, Wuss, Uluru, Galah, Jackaroo, Dob, Bonza, Cockie, Dinky-di, Ugg, Waratah, Ironman, Ridgy-didge, Bradman. I guess it’s a start.

A new iTunes replacement

There is a new iTunes replacement in town – Songbird.

I have written a few times before about iTunes replacements and Floola seems to be a good one, but Songbird looks like it will blow it out of the water. They have a video of it in use on their front page, very slick. The program is way to much for my needs but I am sure lots will love it. You can use an iPod, USB device, play tracks from the iTunes Store and Yahoo! Unlimited. And , of course, it it cross platform so Linux (eJabs 🙂 ), Mac (Coach 🙂 ) and PC ( the rest of us 🙂 ) lovers can use it

They say “Songbird is a desktop Web player, a digital jukebox and Web browser mash-up. Like Winamp, it supports extensions and skins feathers. Like Firefox, it is built from Mozilla, cross-platform and open source.” The team behind it are the ones that did the great player WinAmp.

Check it out. BTW, if you are after a job they need a few people.