I'm usually pretty lazy when it comes to change of habit, so my list of Firefox add-ons haven't grown or changed much over the years. Recently, as I find myself doing quite a bit of reading online, I started looking around for language add-ons to help me stay lazy without having to resort to using a dictionary for word definitions. Here's an update on what my add-ons list is consisted of:
[Context Search 0.4.3]
An old timer that I've used since the Mozilla days. Still use it quite often.
[Converter 0.7.1]
There's been no update for version 0.7 since I migrated to Firefox 3, but when I searched for it on the add-ons site, there it is! Just got it back a few days ago and haven't the chance to use it yet, but my list cannot be complete without it. :)
[DicionarySearch 3.0.0]
Another old timer. My usage of it has decreased lately due to Rikaichan and FetchImi, but it's still useful. I'll probably set the English and Japanese dictionary entries I have now to Wikipedia or something when I have time.
[FetchImi 0.9.5]
My latest addition to the list. I was originally looking for a English dictionary add-on that will allow me to look up definition without leaving the tab. Finding none suitable for my need, I found this one. While it's still in the experimental stage, this English-to-Japanese add-on is likely the most heavily used add-on on the list since its installation. Now if only the pronunciation hot key isn't set to a single alphabet and thus conflicts with my search-text-when-typing setting, it would be perfect.
[MeasureIt 0.3.8]
I haven't used this one in a loooong time, but it's so small that having it there doesn't bother. Just in case I want to play around someday.
[NoScript 1.8.2.8]
I actually don't use this very often and only installed it to stop pop-ups for two particular sites. I might remove this if I cease to visit the said sites regularly.
[Personas for Firefox 1.0a6]
Same Groovy Blue for me since I started using Personas last year. The server seems to be unstable at times lately and causes my Firefox to revert back to the default skin (which is pale green due to my Windows setting), but I don't see myself changing to an actual theme any time soon.
[Pronounce 1.1]
A little add-on I put in to help me with word pronunciation. The thing is, I have music playing most of the time so it doesn't get used as often as I hope. I can't read the pronunciation key, btw, which explains why I suck at pronunciation.
[ReminderFox 1.8]
I haven't gone to the library in the longest time (cry) so this has been reduced to a mere bill payment reminder...
[Rikaichan 1.04]
My trusty companion when I visit Japanese websites. Its slick interface and efficiency was what spurred me to find a counterpart for English. An absolute must have for me.
[text/plain 1.1.9.1]
Another old timer. I used it quite often back when I on Niconico a lot. Very useful and light.
[Niconico Douga Downloader 0.5]
This is compatible with the Summer version of Niconico. Not sure if it works with the current Fall version. I haven't the chance nor time to go on Niconico since I got back to work two months ago... >__<
And there we have it, a list of a total of 12 add-ons. I think the list is pretty complete to accommodate whatever I may be doing online. I don't really want to install too many add-ons and drag my Firefox down. Let's keep the number down! :)
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Saturday, November 08, 2008
It's been a month since the new shows started. I've picked out 10 or so shows for this season but haven't the chance to watch too many of them. As usual, there's a few must-watch ones that I save up for later when I have time. For this season, it's Gundam 00 S2, CLANNAD AFTER STORY (I was hesitant since it's Nagisa-centric, but I decided to go for it anyway), Tales of the Abyss, Tytania, and Nodame Cantabile Paris.
Here's some thoughts on what I've seen so far for this season.
伯爵と妖精 (Hakushaku to Yousei) ep.1
I'm not terribly interested in the theme and only decided to pick up the show for the seiyuu; it's not often that I get to hear Midorikawa Hikaru as the male lead. The art is suitable for the story but too generic for me. I'll continue to watch this for the seiyuu and maybe see how the story turns out.
夜桜四重奏 (Yozakura Quartet) ep.1-2
I'm vaguely interested in the theme and decided to try the show out. Not familiar with the lead male and female seiyuu, but the cast seems pretty good and this is my first time hearing Fujita Saki not as Hatsune Miku. XD The art is clean and the pastel colour palette is pleasing to the eyes. The story seems promising. I'll be watching this.
黒執事 (Kuroshitsugi) ep.1-3
I read the first chapter of the manga at Iwase when they put it out as sample some time ago. Since it was grouped together with other maid and butler titles on the shelf, I didn't suspect it to be much different. I realized it's not that simple ten seconds into the anime. The art is good and the cast is great. Sakamoto Maaya is so good with her young boy act that I almost didn't recognize her. I'll be watching this.
喰霊-零- (Ga-Rei Zero) ep.1-3
I was anticipating this since I've read the first five volumes of the manga, then I realized that this is more like a prequel to the manga, hence the zero in the title. I was kind of lost while watching the first episode until the last few minutes, when Yomi showed up and killed everyone within seconds. I'm not familiar with Mizuhara Kaoru and not a fan of Chihara Minori's acting, but the cast is not bad, especially with Wakamoto Norio in the mix. I'm watching this one for sure.
Skip Beat! ep.1-5
I enjoy the manga so I immediately picked up this series when I found out that Miyano Mamoru and Konishi Katsuyuki are playing the male leads. The art is below average and has a dated look, but at least the human proportion is not so bad as the manga. Judging from the length of the still ongoing manga, the anime probably won't go far enough to touch on Kyouko's romance prospect (I vote for Sho x Kyouko, btw). I'll be watching this.
黒塚-KUROZUKA- ep.1-3
I decided to watch this when I found out Miyano Mamoru and Park Romi as the lead seiyuu, even though I knew nothing else about the show. The show turned out to be rather dark and, once you get past the confusing time jump, the setting changed to futuristic ruins which reminded me of the 2300 A.D. epoch in Chrono Trigger. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Kuwashima Houko as well as a few other seiyuu, which makes this show heavy on the seiyuu cast for me. I'm still not very clear on everything, but I'll find out by continue watching.
魍魎の匣 ep.1
This one was confusing from start to finish for me. While the seiyuu cast seems on the heavy side and the character design is done by CLAMP, the theme and overall tone is too creepy for me. As a general rule, I don't do horror or brutality genre. I didn't see any element in the first episode that would prompt me to continue, so I'm dropping this one.
Here's some thoughts on what I've seen so far for this season.
伯爵と妖精 (Hakushaku to Yousei) ep.1
I'm not terribly interested in the theme and only decided to pick up the show for the seiyuu; it's not often that I get to hear Midorikawa Hikaru as the male lead. The art is suitable for the story but too generic for me. I'll continue to watch this for the seiyuu and maybe see how the story turns out.
夜桜四重奏 (Yozakura Quartet) ep.1-2
I'm vaguely interested in the theme and decided to try the show out. Not familiar with the lead male and female seiyuu, but the cast seems pretty good and this is my first time hearing Fujita Saki not as Hatsune Miku. XD The art is clean and the pastel colour palette is pleasing to the eyes. The story seems promising. I'll be watching this.
黒執事 (Kuroshitsugi) ep.1-3
I read the first chapter of the manga at Iwase when they put it out as sample some time ago. Since it was grouped together with other maid and butler titles on the shelf, I didn't suspect it to be much different. I realized it's not that simple ten seconds into the anime. The art is good and the cast is great. Sakamoto Maaya is so good with her young boy act that I almost didn't recognize her. I'll be watching this.
喰霊-零- (Ga-Rei Zero) ep.1-3
I was anticipating this since I've read the first five volumes of the manga, then I realized that this is more like a prequel to the manga, hence the zero in the title. I was kind of lost while watching the first episode until the last few minutes, when Yomi showed up and killed everyone within seconds. I'm not familiar with Mizuhara Kaoru and not a fan of Chihara Minori's acting, but the cast is not bad, especially with Wakamoto Norio in the mix. I'm watching this one for sure.
Skip Beat! ep.1-5
I enjoy the manga so I immediately picked up this series when I found out that Miyano Mamoru and Konishi Katsuyuki are playing the male leads. The art is below average and has a dated look, but at least the human proportion is not so bad as the manga. Judging from the length of the still ongoing manga, the anime probably won't go far enough to touch on Kyouko's romance prospect (I vote for Sho x Kyouko, btw). I'll be watching this.
黒塚-KUROZUKA- ep.1-3
I decided to watch this when I found out Miyano Mamoru and Park Romi as the lead seiyuu, even though I knew nothing else about the show. The show turned out to be rather dark and, once you get past the confusing time jump, the setting changed to futuristic ruins which reminded me of the 2300 A.D. epoch in Chrono Trigger. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Kuwashima Houko as well as a few other seiyuu, which makes this show heavy on the seiyuu cast for me. I'm still not very clear on everything, but I'll find out by continue watching.
魍魎の匣 ep.1
This one was confusing from start to finish for me. While the seiyuu cast seems on the heavy side and the character design is done by CLAMP, the theme and overall tone is too creepy for me. As a general rule, I don't do horror or brutality genre. I didn't see any element in the first episode that would prompt me to continue, so I'm dropping this one.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Man! That was one of the biggest scares I've had in quite some time.
Being cheap and poor as I am, I've always just used the free Zone Alarm and AVG for my internet security. I had the chance to get a copy of Norton Internet Security through a vendor training program but was too lazy to bother. Anything involving a system restart is usually frowned upon by moi. That's how lazy I am. Plus, I try not to bog down my four-and-a-half-year-old Coordinator with too much stuff. Try being the keyword here.
After hearing one of my colleagues praising the speed and leanness of the new 2009 Norton, I decided to give it a try last night. With the product key in hand, I downloaded the trial and started the installation. It immediately detected AVG and Zone Alarm and asked me to remove them first, which I complied. Then as soon as NIS kicked in, I lost my internet connection.
No matter how many times I rebooted or tried different things (I even went back to a previous restore point), I could not get it to work and get a proper ip address. Some searches online (with bro's Midori) led me to the Norton removal tool. You can imagine what went through my head when I learned that Norton actually provides a tool to completely remove their product from the system. Exactly.
Anyhow, I used the tool and cleaned all traces of Norton from Coordinator and just turned on the Windows Firewall. By this time, it was already late and I was nodding during the process. So with a heavy heart, I went to bed.
BTW, it was around 2am when I gave up. The system didn't pop up with the time change notification so I was a bit unsure as to whether I should set my alarm clock an hour earlier or later. Thankfully, Little Black's notification came up (yay for Windows 95!). Little Black's been living at a faster pace (about 30 minutes faster) for quite a few years now, but the hour was all I needed to determine the correct time.
It was a little difficult for me to focus during the Sunday service since I was always going over the few hands I had left to try. At last I had to throw in the towel and leave the matter in God's hand in prayer.
With much anxiety, I returned home and settled in front of the computer. My stubborn nature refused to give up, so I re-enabled the LAN and waited. Lo and behold, the Gmail notification bubbles popped up! I'm online again! I'm baaaaaack! XD
I tried installing just the Norton AntiVirus after getting back my connection, but it asked me to remove Zone Alarm so I just cancelled the installation. If you're an anti-virus program, stay an anti-virus program and stop meddling in my choice of firewall program, damn it! Lesson of the day? I'm sticking with my Zone Alarm and AVG.
I still have two extra sets of product keys for the NIS and NAV. Having had to go through the ordeal makes me hesitant to try putting it on Mum's computer, as much as she needs it. We'll see. I don't suppose most people would be as 'lucky' as I was, so it's probably safe to give them out. I hope.
Being cheap and poor as I am, I've always just used the free Zone Alarm and AVG for my internet security. I had the chance to get a copy of Norton Internet Security through a vendor training program but was too lazy to bother. Anything involving a system restart is usually frowned upon by moi. That's how lazy I am. Plus, I try not to bog down my four-and-a-half-year-old Coordinator with too much stuff. Try being the keyword here.
After hearing one of my colleagues praising the speed and leanness of the new 2009 Norton, I decided to give it a try last night. With the product key in hand, I downloaded the trial and started the installation. It immediately detected AVG and Zone Alarm and asked me to remove them first, which I complied. Then as soon as NIS kicked in, I lost my internet connection.
No matter how many times I rebooted or tried different things (I even went back to a previous restore point), I could not get it to work and get a proper ip address. Some searches online (with bro's Midori) led me to the Norton removal tool. You can imagine what went through my head when I learned that Norton actually provides a tool to completely remove their product from the system. Exactly.
Anyhow, I used the tool and cleaned all traces of Norton from Coordinator and just turned on the Windows Firewall. By this time, it was already late and I was nodding during the process. So with a heavy heart, I went to bed.
BTW, it was around 2am when I gave up. The system didn't pop up with the time change notification so I was a bit unsure as to whether I should set my alarm clock an hour earlier or later. Thankfully, Little Black's notification came up (yay for Windows 95!). Little Black's been living at a faster pace (about 30 minutes faster) for quite a few years now, but the hour was all I needed to determine the correct time.
It was a little difficult for me to focus during the Sunday service since I was always going over the few hands I had left to try. At last I had to throw in the towel and leave the matter in God's hand in prayer.
With much anxiety, I returned home and settled in front of the computer. My stubborn nature refused to give up, so I re-enabled the LAN and waited. Lo and behold, the Gmail notification bubbles popped up! I'm online again! I'm baaaaaack! XD
I tried installing just the Norton AntiVirus after getting back my connection, but it asked me to remove Zone Alarm so I just cancelled the installation. If you're an anti-virus program, stay an anti-virus program and stop meddling in my choice of firewall program, damn it! Lesson of the day? I'm sticking with my Zone Alarm and AVG.
I still have two extra sets of product keys for the NIS and NAV. Having had to go through the ordeal makes me hesitant to try putting it on Mum's computer, as much as she needs it. We'll see. I don't suppose most people would be as 'lucky' as I was, so it's probably safe to give them out. I hope.
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