I recently bought an upgrade to Sage's Simply Accounting 2008 thru their Website.  When I received the package I was shocked to see that the software box was not inside a shipping box; Sage just placed the shipping labels directly onto the software box.  For a moment, I was shocked and not happy but thinking about it, it makes sense for the environnement.  Why put this box into another box (more dead trees) and fill it with styrofoam filling material?

I would have liked at least a brown paper wrapping so the content is not directly exposed to everyone but I guess Sage figured out that no one would be interested in stealing accounting software 

Yep, that happened to me a couple of times: buying a CD or a DVD that I already have.  Maybe because I'm geeting older and my memory is not what it was.  Yikes!  Nah, I just have too many items, that must be the reason 

I started looking for a way to catalog all of this when I found the Collectorz.com Website.  They have software for CDs, DVDs, books and more.  I downloaded trial versions and liked the software especially how it retrieves information from Amzon and IMDB.  This means a lot less typing.  Still, you have to manually enter the movies names or barcode unless you use their barcode scanner so I decided to give it a try.  The scanner is very small and what's great, you can detach the cable, go scan your stuff where it is and come back to your computer later.  The barcodes are stored in the scanner's internal memory.  They say that the internal memory can store around 500 barcodes.

The only drawback is that the scanner comes with a serial cable and it's kinda hard to find serial ports in today's laptops.  The Collectorz Website state that you can connect the scanner to a USB port with the included cables but this is wrong.  I had to buy a serial to USB cable.  So be prepared to spend an additional $20.  I bought a Trendnet TU-S9 converter and I worked without problems.

[UPDATE: I did received the cable: http://guy.dotnet-expertise.com/PermaLink,guid,722ac58e-fbde-41cb-b5c2-c281e4ddeeaf.aspx]

Once you're done cataloging, you can export the list to HTML and display your collection on a Website or your mobile device.

If you don't want to spend a dime cataloging your movies, you can use Ant Movie Catalog, a free open source software.

Seen a strange new icon in your Messenger lately?

Here's the explanation: http://im.live.com

i’m is a new initiative from Windows Live™ Messenger. Every time you start a conversation using i’m, Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes. We've set no cap on the amount we'll donate to each organization. The sky's the limit. There's no charge, so join now and put our money where your mouth is.

i’m is about making a difference. Not in a huge expensive way, not in a time-consuming way. But in a simple, effective way.

You won't have to change your conversation to change the conversation. With every instant message you help address the issues you feel most passionate about, including poverty, child protection, disease, and environmental degradation. It's simple. All you have to do is join and start an instant messaging conversation. We'll handle the donation.

Once you've signed up, every ad you see in your message window contributes to the grand total we send to the causes.

At this time, the i’m initiative is available only in the United States.

Within Windows Live Messenger, click Tools and select Options. Place the text code corresponding to the cause of your choice into your Display Name.

Text Code      Cause
*red+u          American Red Cross
*bgca           Boys & Girls Club
*naf             National AIDS Fund
*mssoc         National Multiple Sclerosis Society
*9mil            ninemillion.org
*sierra          Sierra Club
*help            StopGlobalWarming.org
*komen         Susan G. Komen for the Cure
*unicef         The US fund for UNICEF

 

I’ve been tagged!

For those who don’t know, there’s a little game going on in the blogger’s community right now.  If someone tag you, you must tell 5 thing about yourself that most people don’t know.  I’ve been tagged by Étienne Tremblay so here it is...

1-I never broke a bone. Niet, nada, never, jamais.  I’m touching wood right now 
2-I programmed the music that you hear on my podcast: www.visualstudiotalkshow.com
3-I started drinking coffee at the age of 45.
4-I like a good LBV Port.
5-I never smoked.

So I'll tag Georgie Boy, Kimmy, Ronny and Donald.

I went to see Mozart's The Magic Flute by the Metropolitan Opera but I didn't had to travel to NY to see it live.  I just went to a local theater where the opera was presented live from an HD satellite feed.  The sound and the image quality were very good.  Of course, the image quality of a live TV feed even in HD will never be as precise as a film but none the less, it was very acceptable and you can't beat the price: $20 instead of a fee hundreds 

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events.aspx

The Magic Flute, December 30, 2006
Celebrated director and filmmaker Julie Taymor, who directed The Lion King on Broadway, brings her dynamic theatrical vision to Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Dancing bears, flying birds, a giant serpent—all are brought vividly to life through Taymor’s ingenious use of puppetry. This abridged 100-minute version of Mozart’s opera is sung in English and features a winning young cast conducted by beloved Met Maestro James Levine.

I Puritani, January 6, 2007
The sensational Russian soprano Anna Netrebko (“Audrey Hepburn with a voice,” according to one critic) has taken the opera world by storm, dazzling audiences in Vienna, Milan, Berlin, New York, and Los Angeles. Now she inhabits the role of the fragile Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani, who delivers one of opera’s wildest mad scenes when she is abandoned at the altar. With its vocal fireworks and opportunities for real acting, this has been a supreme role for great singing actresses from Maria Callas to Beverly Sills.

The First Emperor, January 13, 2007
The world-premiere broadcast of Chinese composer Tan Dun’s epic opera, The First Emperor, features the legendary tenor Plácido Domingo as Emperor Qin, who built the Great Wall and gave China its name. Tan Dun’s music is a fascinating mix of East and West, and the monumental production is staged by revered Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers), with costumes by Oscar-winning designer Emi Wada (Kurosawa’s Ran).

Eugene Onegin, February 24, 2007
The beloved American soprano Renée Fleming joins Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky for this broadcast of Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous and lyrical Eugene Onegin. The sweeping dramatic arc of this opera—youthful longing, rejection, regret, a desperate plea that comes too late—is perfectly mirrored in Tchaikovsky’s achingly beautiful music and in the stunning lighting of this strikingly minimal production.

The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), March 24, 2007
The instantly familiar music of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) has been featured in cartoons, commercials, and TV shows galore, but it’s best heard in its original form, where its infectious charm and bubbling joy are given free reign. In the Met’s new production, by acclaimed theater director Bartlett Sher and his Tony Award-winning team from The Light in the Piazza, the dashing young Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez proves why he is one of the world’s greatest Rossini singers, in his calling-card role of Count Almaviva.

Il Trittico, April 28, 2007
Jealousy, murder, suicide, religious rapture, intrigue, young love! No, it isn’t a soap opera— it’s Puccini’s triple-bill of one-act operas, Il Trittico. This gripping new production by Broadway luminary (and Tony Award-winner) Jack O’Brien and a team of leading theater designers showcases the amazing technical resources of the Met stage as well as a brilliant ensemble cast, not to mention Puccini at his most hauntingly lyrical and dramatic. The Met’s celebrated music director, James Levine, conducts.

Testing dasblog!