This hot new web 2.0 site has taken the novel step of attempting to build small communities around external blogs.

You probably know a ton about your favorite bloggers - what they think about the subjects they write about, maybe some of their work and life history... you may even know what toothpaste they use. But how much do you know about all the other people who read their blogs? And how much do they know about you?

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MyBlogLog is launching this new Communities service to empower authors and readers to operate at the same level. For the first time, everyone who reads a web site or blog can learn about and engage with one another, and in the process take the conversation to a whole new level.

Readers can become friends with other people who read your favorite blogs. See what else they're reading. Check out their MySpace and Friendster profiles and view their Flickr photostreams. Authors can learn more about their readers individually and as a group. What do they like and what are they ignoring? What are they reading elsewhere on the Web?

MyBlogLog enables you to take advantage of your existing presence on the Web and ties it into communities of like-minded readers and authors to add context to the conversations in which you take part.

http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/about/

Addressbook Software Mini-Shootout

I've been wanting to do this for quite some time, and so here it is.  Ever since about 2000, I've been on a constant hunt for the perfect addressbook software, and while some come pretty close, none of them come SATISFACTORILY close (personally speaking that is).  I have a fairly strict set criteria for what I am talking about, and here they are..

What's the best renaming utility?

Weather?
Most people, if they want to know what the weather is like, they'll look out the window, or turn on the television.

For us geeks this won't do.

If I remember correctly, there was a discussion on DC about weather programs or even a review, I can't remember, I may have mentioned xastir in there, but I'd really like to start a thread dedicated to this fine piece of software, because I have been able to use it in so many different ways, and it goes quite beyond just weather.

Xastir website: http://www.xastir.org/

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A user writes, and finds some agreement:

I wanted to see what the 'other-guys' were offering when I saw their Free OpenOffice.org discs adverts every time I saw one of mine. 

So I pop up to thinkall.com and order my 'free' discs for the $5 shipping fee. 

About 30 days later there was a $40 charge on my card. 

Buried at point 7 in the TOS is that if you don't return the 'free' discs within 10 days you'll get their monthly subscription fee.  And when I returned the discs after the 10 day period they did not refund your money. 

Though I'm out the money, at least I can write it off as a business expense on my taxes. 

So please avoid Thinkall.com
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Hello!

I wanted to know of it were possible (and I know it is, I just don't know how!) to make a small server.

What I want is to share a folder's worth of files with my friends, give them an URL and a password so they can download from my pc.

Can anyone tell me the easiest and safest way to do this?