computing quibbles

You might recall a while back I decided to give Thunderbird a trial run. Well, as with all things computing, everything's come down to the novelty over productivity. At least in the short term.

So to follow up, nowadays I'm really enjoying Thunderbird's built-in RSS reader functions. Since I'm the sort of person who has their mail client open pretty much all the time, it's handy to have all my RSS bookmarks available in the same app - this is even better than the "Live Bookmarks" in Firefox. It's particularly great for notifying me of updates on sites that just don't update that often... (I frequently find myself forgetting to check a site because they just haven't had anything new for so long I've given up on it).
...certain bloggers, for instance. No names mentioned. *ahem* ^_^;;

And what about the whole thing about syncing my PDA with Thunderbird? Well, actually, I never did find a suitable Mozzilla conduit for that. But as I said before, it's all a novelty. As a government employee, I'm bound by certain security protocols - one of which is the restriction on non-certified hardware. So while I love my old Sony T-615C, I'm not allowed to sync it at work - which effectively reduces any usefulness it could be to me on a day to day basis. I used to take notes at meetings on it, but well, without the ability to sync myself at my desk, I'm forced to transcribe everything later anyway (which can be just as well done by paper and pencil).

In any case, I've been using any "real" function on the PDA less and less. These days I just use it to store ebooks to read while sitting on the can, etc... (yes, that was probably too much information).

Speaking of novelty... I've decided to unplug my wireless router for a bit. The novelty of sitting in bed upstairs and surfing the web on my PSP has simply worn itself out. At one point I thought perhaps it'd be handy to have wi-fi in the house if my brother would drop by with his laptop and he'd have the convenience... but if you've been reading FusionAce - it seems less and less likely he'll ever bother to show his face around here.
Maybe in a few days I'll get around to plugging the wi-fi back in - I must admit that it does come in handy in the mornings if I quickly want to check my email before leaving - a PSP boots in only a few seconds - way faster than a PC booting into Windows.

In the meantime however, I've been leaving ZeroPrime running overnight crunching data anyway. Besides the usual J-pop torrents, I've also been working to get a backlog of downloaded videos through PSPVideo9. Kamen Rider Kabuto finally ended (pretty good ending too). And now I'm going through my old CD-R archives. It's amazing how I have complete series predating even DVD-R! I have fansubs of Gundam Seed I never even watched! Hmm... the follow-up series Gundam Seed Destiny is licensed commercially now but I wonder if I can track down any outdated fansubs.

Before anybody gets on my case about illegal downloading, let me just say this: realistically, it's the only way to stay ahead of the curve. We're all fighting a losing battle and everyone's out to profit as much as they can by their own means. I've chosen my option and I'd be crazy to pass it up. I mean, I could say "I can live without it." But then why would I want to deny myself an extra luxury? And anybody who's seen my collection can vouch for the truth - I've done plenty to support the DVD companies... especially the small-fish companies like anime distributors.