Whether you’re putting together a full-featured Web site or are just maintaining your personal blog - seeing how the layout looks in different browsers is essential in assuring that all your visitors experience the same thing.

In the battle for consistent design there is no more fearsome foe than Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. Despite the browser quickly coming up on its eighth birthday, it is still in wide use - particularly in markets where software piracy is more wide-spread and…

If you happen to be one of the many folks that have a system pre-loaded with an OEM version of Windows Vista Home Basic, or just haven’t stepped into Microsoft’s new generation of OS and are still running XP, here’s a little tip on how you can have your system mimic Vista Aero’s slick new Flip 3D task switcher.

First, I should preface this with the tidbit that I spent a couple hours looking around the net for some way…

Having just taken delivery of a new system that came pre-installed with Windows Vista and not much else, I’m using the opportunity to right some wrongs in my rather horribly maintained file structure.

I like to keep my non-system/program files on a partition, while leaving the standard C drive to hold the bulk of installed programs and system files. This keeps all my media (movies, music, photos, etc.) seperate from the drive that houses my OS - allowing me a quick…

It’s rare that tips come so easily, but Speedtest.net have done their SEO work right and so when scouting for a place to test the quickness of my net connection a while back, I was relieved that such a cool tool was the first entry in the Google SERPs.

The completely free, Flash-based Internet speed test gives you a sweet graphical interface to view while testing your hook-up to the Web. Additionally, the site allows you to choose from a wide selection…

As short as popular microblogging platform Twitter’s history is, I’ve already run the gamut. I joined the site early on, but as updating required logging into the site, I quickly lost interest and dropped it from my bookmarks - until I was introduced to Twhirl.

Twhirl is a desktop Twitter client that runs under the rather clever Adobe AIR platform on both Mac and PC operating systems. At the forefront of it’s impressive feature list is the ability to quickly…

It seems like ages ago that Mozilla Firefox, and all its mod-loveliness, replaced Internet Explorer as my net browser of choice. And when I saw the company also offered an alternative to Outlook Express, it wasn’t long before I switched all my e-mail habits to Thunderbird and bid Microsoft farewell.

The one thing that Thunderbird always lacked, however, was a slick task/event/calendar interface, a fact that very nearly caused me to dig into my dusty MS Office folder to run the…

If you love leaving little memos or sticky notes on everything from your desk to your dog, you’ll love the Firefox plugin Internote.

The browser addon lets you quickly “stick” a sticky note (Post-it®) on any Web page you visit. Write whatever you want on the sticky, and the next time you return to the page the note will be there to remind you of whatever it was you didn’t want to forget.

Once you’ve installed the plugin, you’ll have…

Mytube, Facespace, Flitter, Youbook, Twickr… it’s a full-time job just keeping these oddly-named Web 2.0 social networks straight! Thankfully a new download called 8hands is looking to help.

The free desktop client, which resembles any of a thousand messenger programs in looks, gives you quick access to MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, blogs and pretty much anything with an RSS feed. It puts the notifications of updates on any of a half-dozen social networks (with more in the works) right in…

Tired of Windows XP’s three default colour schemes? Me too. Thankfully the folks behind Microsoft’s Zune mp3 player have a little something to give your Windows XP desktop a slicker Vista-ish style.

The Zune theme, which was previously called “Royale Noir”, has been out for a while - but unless you’re on a serious hunt for XP customizations, or have a Zune player, you’re not likely to stumble across it. However, if you’ve upgraded your Windows Media Player to version…

So this is it - the launching of a new blog. I can’t seem to get the images of a sea-side farewell with a smashed bottle of Champagne lying on the ground out of my head?

Somewhat fitting perhaps, considering the high-tech ocean around us, and its penchant for driving us me to drink.

Jokes aside, this blog is birthed for that very reason - the sea of information looking to crush us with her digital waves. It seems I spend…