bt.gd

There are many URL shorteners out there such as bit.ly and tr.im. However, Jeff from BestTechie has just recently come out with his own URL shortening service called bt.gd. It is the same basic concept as any other URL shortening service, but since it is brand new, it has shorter links. Yes, this won’t last forever, but it is still a great service to use.  It is still in the early stages of development but it still works good. There is a Mac OS X widget out now available for free from here. Also, I would like to thank Mike for assisting Jeff with this and making the desktop widget.

ScreenGrab

I have used a few programs in the past that automatically upload screenshots to your website, but I think ScreenGrab, so far, is the best. ScreenGrab is a free piece of software developed my someone named Mikey that I know on the Wyldryde IRC Network. The application, for Mac OS X (Windows and Linux versions are made by a different developer), uploads screenshots automatically to your website. All you have to do is install the software, put in some FTP and set some options as you like it. You can download this software from apps.mikebuntu.info. The screenshot below is the program it self and it automatically uploaded to my website via ScreenGrab.

Google Apps

For all of my domains, instead of setting up a mail server on all of my servers, I use Google Apps instead. Google apps is like having your own Google account, except for your domain. The main feature I use is Email, but there is also Docs, Chat, Mobile, and much more. It is very easy to setup, more so than setting up a mail server of your own, because all you have to do is put in a few MX records. There are a few versions of Google Apps, one is free and the other isn’t. I use the free version because I only need about 5 accounts maximum on each domain. I really encourage you to get Google Apps if you have your own business or just for your own domain rather than setting up your own mail server.

The Ugly Truth

I am not that big on doing movie reviews because I don’t really write good reviews on them. However, I just got done watching The Ugly Truth, starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, and it was really good. First off, it is definitely not a family movie, so don’t show it to young kids. It is about a movie producer named Abby who is getting low ratings until she gets a new host named Mike to host the show, The Ugly Truth. I don’t want to ruin the entire story, but if you like comedy movies, and a kind of sexual humor, then this should be a good movie. I think the story line is great and that you should go see it. It came out on DVD today and if you prefer to order online, you can get it for $15.99 if you check out the deal on Super Deal Finder.

CentOS

For the past 2 years or so, I have been lucky enough to manage my own servers. Throughout this time, I have been able to use quite a variety of operating system’s including Debian (my favorite), Ubuntu, Gentoo, Red Had, FreeBSD and CentOS. Now, CentOS is the very first OS that I ran as a server, and I have to admit, It is not all that great to use like Debian is. However, I can tell you that it is the most secure and stable operating system I have used. Where it may sometimes be a big pain, It has to be one of the best Linux distros to run. I still may use Debian as a main OS, but I manage about 5 or 6 servers for a friend of mine and 3 of them have CentOS. I am also thinking about putting CentOS on my home server pretty soon.

Transformers

About two years ago, the first Transformers movie came out starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. I never was a fan of the cartoon series, so I never did plan on seeing it. However, two things happened that made me go see it. One, all my friends said it was awesome and two, well… Megan Fox is pretty good looking. So I saw it and I was blown away at how good it was. The story line was great, the acting was great and especially the CGI was great. They really put a lot of work for the effects in this movie. Then last year, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen came out. Of course, since I loved the first one, I went to go see the second one. Yet again, I was absolutely blown away. The CGI got a lot better and they even added more humor, which I liked. The storyline was really good, like the first one, and… Megan Fox was still good looking. Some people were not giving the second movie a lot of good reviews, but I still really enjoyed it. If you still haven’t seen it, go out and rent it to see how you like it and feel free to post here how you liked it.

iTunes 9

Since I am short on time, this will be a post on my thoughts on the latest version of iTunes. At first, I wasn’t to fond of the new iTunes Store look, but after I started to adjust to it, things got better. The nice UI is definitely a win when it comes to iTunes. The iTunes DJ, in my opinion, is pretty good….. if your a DJ. The home sharing feature is excellent, especially since I got my MacBook. I can transfer everything I have on iTunes via this feature and it has saved me a LOT of time. As I said, this is a short post, but my overall opinion of iTunes 9 is that it is the best one yet.

MacBook

Coming up on two weeks ago, my Windows laptop died and I decided to purchase a MacBook. Since then, I no longer have any Window’s computers in my house. I have been using a Mac as my primary OS since June of 2008 and have loved it. This is the second Mac I have every owned and it runs better than any other laptop I have ever owned. The laptop is fast, reliable, and actually works for me. Now, as some of you may know, a few days ago Apple introduced the new MacBook. Since I bought the MacBook at my local Apple Store less than 14 days ago, I was able to bring in the previous model MacBook and get the new one for no extra charge. The new MacBook runs even better due to a little bit faster processor and memory. The LED back lit display and the multi-touch glass track pad is better as well. There is nothing really bad I have to say about it, and I highly suggest purchasing a Mac over a PC any day.

TwitterFeed

If you have a website that you would like to automatically update your Twitter every time you make a blog post, then TwitterFeed is for you. This is basically a free service that allows you to plug in your Twitter (and Facebook) account in and asks for some RSS Feed information from your site. You can make it so that the TwitterFeed bot checks your RSS feed every so often. You can also tell TwitterFeed what format you want your tweet to be along with what URL shortening service you would like to use. It is a really great service, and I highly recommend it  because I have been using it for months for my other site,Super Deal Finder, and it has never let me down.

iGlowStick

Today, i am going to be talking about a very simple app that is not very useful, but is one of those little holiday type apps. Halloween is coming up in a few weeks and we all know the theme of that day. Well, some of you might know that they sell those glow sticks that you crack and then shake to make the light illuminate. Instead of getting packs of those at the store, why not get it for free? There is a free app in the App Store called iGlowStick which is a simple app where you can choose what color/design you want your glow stick to be. All you have to do to get it to light up is to crack it and shake it, just like you would with the real ones. Like I said, not that much use for this app, but is definitely a good Halloween item.