Maybe it is the perfect timing to tell you about gaming messenger named Xfire.

Xfire™ is a new, free tool that automatically keeps track of when and where gamers are playing PC games online and lets their friends join them easily. It works regardless of game type, server browser, or gaming service that a player is using. Xfire eliminates the hassles of running multiple programs like IRC, instant messengers, or in-game friends lists to keep track of when and where a gamer’s friends are playing. It supports the best and the latest online PC games including server and non-server-based First Person Shooters, Real Time Strategy, and Role Playing Games.

But how good is Xfire really? It is time for a…

Review

The Look

First Look – it is a free software you can download. So what do you expect? The website looks great, but it doesn’t help to evaluate the casing of the software as there is no casing.

Installation – using the usual installer. Nothing spectacular, but it allows you to chose the installation path and if you want to create icons for the desktop, start menu and quick launch. It also shows which files it is installing. 4 of 5 points

First Time – The look is cool, but of course you either have to create a free account first or you have to log in with your account to actually use the messenger. 5 of 5 points.

Requirements and Look – The requirements are low, the look is great. Full points.

Installation Process

Time – Installation begins with downloading the software: The download is pretty fast if you got broadband. And 10 MB aren’t that large either. The installation process is also quick, so just give a fast 4 of 5 points.

Complexity – The installation is easy, which means I end up with 5 of 5 points.

Usage and Performance

Requirements, Look and actual performance – Xfire has surprisingly low requirements:

• PC with a Pentium processor running Windows XP, 2000 or Vista
• 10 MB available hard drive space recommended
• Desktop resolution of 800 x 600 at 256 colors (1024 x 768 at 16 bit color or higher recommended)
• Internet Explorer 5.0 with Service Pack 1 or higher
• Internet connection (broadband recommended)

It runs smooth on my old computer and it runs even smoother on the computer I use to write this article. I’d give full points, but the fact that you need Internet access and Internet Explorer makes me give 4 of 5 points.

Complexity – Xfire is easy to use, but there are some parts you will only use when you running Xfire as your major messenger -> 4 of 5 points.

Learning Curve – Using this gaming messenger, you do it by using your intuition. Full points.

Bugs – Unfortunately there are a few bugs in the software. Occasionally the file transfer won’t work, a supported game is not recognized or, although very rare, Xfire crashes without a reason. 3 of 5 points.

Personal Impression

Xfire is a very, very useful messenger. At least for me. It allows me to keep track of my gaming times, play a game and chat with my friends without having to “tab out” or getting issues with the messenger running in the background. Unfortunately there are some games which are not supported, but there is hope that they will be supported in the near future. There are many people in the community who suggest new games for support and so far the developers listen to the community. You can even suggest features or, for the more experienced user, create your own Xfire skin (or you just chose one of the many existing already).

Summary

I believe Xfire deserves the 4.4 points out of 5 possible points. It is one of the best messengers for the gamer. There are a few things I had to leave out as those don’t belong to a review. I’ll write another article in the near future to talk about some of the more advanced parts of Xfire.

Fortunately we are not alone. A fellow sufferer, named Nick Hodges, decided to write a useful tool called CapsLockBeGone and I think it is worth to review it on here after I had a lot of time to evaluate the program.

Review

The Look

First Look doesn’t apply here because this software is freeware.

Installation
The program uses the default Microsoft Installer, if I’m not wrong. So I give it 3 of 5 points.

First Time
Plain simple, easy to use, ‘nuf said, full points (5/5).

Requirements and Look
CapsLockBeGone is not a game, so I don’t evaluate this point.

Installation Process

Time
After installing in less than a minute I guess I’m allowed to give it full points again.

Complexity
The installer is easy to use and if you are not experienced enough, you can run it with the default configuration. 5 points.

Other
It doesn’t require a reboot, so I give this software another 5 points.

Usage and Performance

Requirements, Look and actual performance
It is some kind of run-once program. You only use it once to disable the caps lock key and you may use it again to enable the caps lock key again. The look is ok, it fits to the easy to use style. Requirements? The only requirement, as stated on the website, is only Microsoft Windows and it should even run on Windows 95! Performance…I don’t know how to evaluate this because it is a really easy program… Overall I give it 5 points.

Complexity
The program is self-explanatory, so this point also gets 5/5pts.

Learning Curve
There is no learning curve, see above. 5/5 points

Bugs
I found no bugs at all, so full points.

Personal Impression

Overall this tool is very useful. How often did I swear on the caps lock key and now it is gone. No longer using caps by accident, just because of a tiny, easy to install and use program. Thank you Nick Hodges! Without you, I would still struggle with my caps lock key. Again full points.

Summary

CapsLockBeGone is the first software I’m evaluating using my review scheme. Surprisingly, well, maybe not, anyway, it got full points. I really tried to find any flaws, but no success. Maybe you could be worried about the fact that the program “messes” with the registry to have the caps lock be gone, then again, it is easier to use this program than messing with the registry on your own.

CapsLockBeGone fully deserves the highest rating I can give. What do you think? Is this tool as useful for you as it is for me?

Computer Configuration

If you are evaluating a game or any other kind of software, you need to know the hardware specifications and the environment of the computer.
So before I explain how I evaluate software let me give you some details about my computer.

Hardware Specification

• Processor: Intel® Pentium® D 3.40GHz
• Memory: 3070MB RAM
• Video Card: ATI® Radeon X1950 Pro
• Monitor: Yakumo® TFT 19 WJT XFast
• Sound Card: Realtek HD Audio Terratec Aureon5.1 PCI
• Speakers/Headphones: Sharkoon X-Tactic 5.1
• Keyboard: Logitech Easy Internet Keyboard
• Mouse: Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
• Mouse Surface: Revoltec Lightpad

Software Environment

• Operating System: Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2
• Firewall: ZoneAlarm (the free version)
• Antivirus: AVG (the free version)
• and some other software…

Evaluating Software

#1 Note: There are slight differences when it comes to Games. These differences are indicated by italic text.

I’m giving points from 0 to 5, with 5 points being the best.
At the end, all points are summed up and divided to giving an overall point ranging from 0 (worst) to 5 (best).

When I’m evaluating a software or game I have the following rating categories with a few elements.
For the elements and category point calculation I also use the sum up/divide method. I have an example at the end of the categories list

#2 Note: If a software is for free, I will leave a few elements out. The excluded elements will be mentioned in the review article.

The Look

• First Look – What kind of impression makes the case of the software?
• Installation – Neat design or something you can’t call a design?
• First Time – The impression you get when you run the software for the first time.
• Requirements and Look – Comparison between the look and the minimum requirements as stated by the game description.

Installation Process

• Time – How long does it take?
• Complexity – Difficult or easy to install?
• Other – Autostart? Reboot required?

Usage and Performance

• Requirements, Look and actual performance – Does the Software run as expected? (Games: Frame-Lag or is it running smooth?)
• Complexity – Easy to use/play?
• Learning Curve – Is it easy to get into the software/game or does it take a lot of time?
• Games: Multiplayer – Easy to get into the online part of the game and do you have fun online?
• Games: Singleplayer – Is the “SP” short or extensive? Can you reach the level goal easily or not?
• Bugs – I don’t like these nasty little things…

Personal Impression
Although the above categories are already influenced by my personal impressions, I add this one to express my final opinion.

So, how do I calculate the points software X? Let me show you an example, which is not a game:

The Look
First Look – 4 points of 5 (4/5)
Installation – (5/5)
First Time – (3/5)
Requirements and Look (3/5)
–> 3.75 of 5 points for The Look

Installation Process
Time – (1/5)
Complexity – (4/5)
Other – insert explanation… (3/5)
–> 2.66 of 5

Usage and Performance
Requirements, Look and actual performance – (4/5)
Complexity – (3/5)
Learning Curve – (3/5)
Bugs – (0/5)
–> 2.5 of 5

now we sum each category up:
3.75
2.66
2.5
–> 2.97 points of 5, so the software is moderate, not really good but not bad either

Easy to understand, I hope.

Evaluating Music

Since the taste for music differs I will only provide a personal review of the music, mentioning how much the music costs, how it looks like and so on.
Depending on the music I extend my review on demand while I will stick to my 0 to 5 points evaluation system. Basically I can say that at the end of the music review I will give points. You can tell that this is really influenced by my taste, so don’t take the review too serious

The guy at “whyisfirefoxblocked.com” claim that Firefox users are thieves if they use AdblockPlus or other ways to block the advertisement on a website.

Matt from webmaster-source.com outlines a few holes in their arguments about why blocking Firefox is necessary. After reading it I couldn’t stop laughing, as you can see in my comment.

If you really decide to block Firefox because your visitors don’t want to see the Ads on your page, maybe you should think about a few things:
1. you Ads are annoying (or wasting bandwith for the user)
2. the market share of Firefox keeps on growing, you will hurt yourself on the long run
3. not everyone uses an Adblocker on Firefox, those who do, usually block annoying ads
4. maybe you better download and use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer
5. if you rely on Advertisement to earn money…maybe you should rethink your business plan…

I believe if you fix point 1 and 5 you will see that you get one or more clicks on the Ads…although I doubt that because although I see many ads I rarely click them…

Note #1: whyfirefoxisblocked.com is currently down with a 509 – Bandwith Limit Exceeded. I assume a bunch of Firefox users were visiting it, using a User Agent Switcher Add-On…

Note #2: @the owner of whyfirefoxisblocked.com: Would be nice if you would add a comments option to your website…wait, you will get spammed by the blocked Firefox users, aight? Well, feel free to reply on here if you are brave enough…

Update: I just found a page countering whyfirefoxisblocked.com, so feel free to visit whyisfirefoxblocked.com

Well, I got a 3 day trial for you. I have 8 6 2 0 keys left, so if you want to get one of the keys, send me an email or post a comment with your email.
The key only works for the EUROPEAN Lord of the Rings Online.

You need to do the following steps before you use the key:

Download the Client:
Fileplanet
Gamershell
3D downloads
Filefront
http://hdro.arcor.de
http://www.arena51.be/lotro

Install it, then create an account at codemasters.com (or login) and use the trial key. Creating a codemaster account is for free.

Please note that they trial time starts to count as soon as you use the key.

Update: I have no keys left, I’m sorry if you are still looking for a key. Maybe I will get another set of keys soon. I will post it on here of course

At first I thought about quoting the full article, but I think it is easier to just link you to the article.

oh…and here are a few screens of my desktop

Royale Noir

Royale

I don’t want to talk about Google itself, I’m more likely interested in sharing my experience with Google and Software provided/made by Google.

So let’s get started with my top 4 of the best software and products made by Google….I know, I know, there are more, but I tested only 4 so far

Place 4 – Google Custom Search

Did you ever create a website with a lot of content and wanted to give your visitors the option to search your page?
I guess you either wrote your own search code, which won’t be as good as the Google Search engine or you searched the Internet to find a freeware search code solution…again, it would not be able to compete with the power of the Google Search engine.
If you didn’t hear it already, Google now offers “Google Co-op“. It allows you to embed your own customized Google Search Engine. Either you let it only search your website, or you add a few more. It is your decision.
You can even adjust the layout of the search and the search results page to fit to the design of your website.

After implementing it to one or two of my other websites I also added it to my blog.
Go to the search page and give it a try. If you like it…let me know

Place 3 – Google AdSense and Google AdWords

I didn’t use Google AdWords so far because I don’t need it, but since it is connected with Google AdSense I have to mention it here

Google AdWords allows you to create your own Google advertisements which are then shown via Google AdSense. I don’t know how much you have to pay for AdWords and I’m too lazy to look it up on my own, so if you give it a try or if you are already using it, leaving me a comment with that info would be much appreciated.

As you see on this blog I’m using Google AdSense which is a nice and easy way to earn a little bit money. If a visitor sees an advertisement which catches his or her attention they will click it and with some luck I earned a cent or two…easy, isn’t it?
Well, it is getting better. As the name “AdSense” suggest, the Google Script you have to embed into your website will scan your pages and then place those kind of advertisement which fits best to the content. You no longer have to optimize the ads on your own, Google is doing it for you!

What are you waiting for?

Place 2 – Google Mail or Gmail

Did it ever happen to you that you ran out of space on your email account and had to delete mails you did not really want to delete?
Google Mail, also known as Gmail, solved this issue. As I’m typing this, everyone using Gmail has a storage space of 2849.336568 megabytes (and counting). No more deleting emails!
Gmail has even more features.

It organizes your emails to threads, which is useful if you are having a discussion going on via email. You won’t loose track of your previous mails and you can see how the topic you are discussing developed since the beginning. Oh well….there is so much to say about Gmail. You know what? You send me an email with the title “Ruelicke.net Blog – Gmail” to marcoruelicke[AT]gmail[dot]com and I will invite you to Gmail if you don’t have it already.

Place 1 – Google Maps

I discovered many handy maps, but this one beats them all.
Google Maps allows you to search place X in country Y and then it brings you to that place on the map.
You can select between Map, Satellite and Hybrid view, allowing you to see a city map, only the view from the space or both at the same time.
Aside looking for locations you can also search for businesses near your (or a location of your choice) and, my favorite feature, you can “ask” for directions.

Let’s get into detail of the 3 search modes:

Search the Map

As example you can search for the place I’m living at, that would be Magdeburg, Germany. Isn’t it a nice city in the Satellite view?

Of course you can also search for other places, like Area51, London or New York, NY.

Find businesses

You are looking for the next Starbuck? I looked for one in Berlin…I didn’t know that there were so many in Berlin…

Get Directions

You want to go from X to Y but have no clue which way you have to take?
Well, as long as you don’t want to travel from the US to the EU (like this) or something, Google will give you the directions you want.
As example I got you the directions from Magdeburg to a Starbucks in Berlin

You can print that guide and find your way…in my opinion the best thing Google created so far!

It is a toolbar which allows you to stumble through the Internet and every time you rate a website with a “thumb up” or “thumb down” the toolbar learns to filter that kind of websites you like, recommending those instead of pages you don’t like.

The first time I heard about this nice, sometimes time consuming, toolbar was at the Mozilla Firefox Extensions website. After registering for free, since they have to store your “thumb ups/downs”, I used it the first time…and got addicted. I believe I “stumbled” about an hour straight, then I decided to take a break.

Today I “stumble” whenever I’m bored or looking for something interesting and fortunately I’m not as much addicted anymore like I was the first days I got this extension.

I really recommend you get the StumbleUpon toolbar. (and don’t forget to give me a “Thumb up” )

It is free! It is fun! It is StumbleUpon!

After playing the demo single player campaign I can only say: I want more!
It is one hell of a game, you really become part of the Battlestar Galactica universe and I can’t wait to test the multi player demo part as it allows you to try all three included snubfighters: Viper Mk II, Viper Mk VII and Raptor.
Although the graphics are just awesome and the game play makes you really enjoy the experience to be a Viper-pilot, there are a few things I have to criticize:

The in-game menu is…uhm…let’s say, you need to get used to it. It is a bit difficult to keep the orientation there, but maybe they had such a display aboard the Galactica
Also, it takes a bit to get used to the controls, even with the tutorial which explains you everything you need to know about how to properly fly your ship. As a Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance veteran I have some troubles getting used to the aiming as it is very hard to make sure that your shots count. In the SP campaign I had a maximum hit percentage of 28%, maybe I just need to train a bit more to get better

Ok, ok, it is “just” a demo, so hopefully the final version will have fixed/improved some parts…but after all, the fun factor is there. I consider buying the game already, even if it is just for the fun or the graphics….

There is currently no release date for the game, or didn’t find it it. As soon as a date is published, I will update this article

Meanwhile download the demo from the official website any enjoy it!

Although they are nice, I discovered a media which will beat them all. It is based on the same engine used by Firefox and Thunderbird.

The player is called Songbird and you can download it at the official website Songbirdnest.com

I really like this media player and can’t wait for the next updates