This is more of a "note to self" post than anything, but maybe some folks out there are interested in learning about alternative Windows software installer systems besides Install Shield (one of the most common, I think.)

The Nullsoft Scriptable Install System looks very lightweight and powerful, so maybe some of you can find good use for it? ...Maybe you're not a programmer/software developer and you don't know what I'm talking about?? Well... either way, I wrote it down, so now I can find it later. :P

I'm dropping a quick note for myself and other system admindistrator types looking for good info on network monitoring tool. I've been in need of something to help me monitor both local and wide network stuff, so I finally broke down and did a little research. I am currently tired of doing roughly 20 tasks manually to make sure everything's running properly... yeah, stupid waste of my time, that.

So, here's a great place to start, even though it's a bit exhaustive to have such a huge list of stuff... the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center put together this list of Network Monitoring Tools that I figure will just about get everyone to what they need at some point. It's not showing reviews or anything, but it's a great resource. I would rather have had someone saying "get product Z, it's the best," but I'm not always that lucky.

I'm needing to get back to monitoring the servers and services that I mentioned, so I'm grabbing one of these tools in particular to see how the free version works. iReasoning Network's SysUpTime Network Management System is what I'm trying first (though it maybe be massive overkill), if you want to come play alongside me. Beyond that, I'm not sure where I'll go.

I need to drop a quick note about a new programming language that looks very promising. The haXe Programming Language aims to combine many different platforms under one language... well, I'm having a hard time paraphrasing, so here's a rip from their intro to haXe:

The Web is evolving quickly, with different technologies needed at different places. For instance, if you want to create a website now you’ll have to handle several languages :

* on the server side : a web language such as PHP, Perl, Ruby or Python.
* on the client side : Flash (ActionScript 1, 2 and now 3) and Javascript / DHTML / AJAX.

The haXe programming language is uniting theses different platforms under one language. It brings features that are making it easy to deal with a dynamic world such as DHTML or Databases, while still bringing you a full-featured type system with a compiler that will detect errors early in the development phase.

Basicly, what haXe can do is :

* create Flash SWF files using Flash APIs for Players 6,7,8 and soon 8.5
* generate Javascript code using Browser DHTML API, so you can create AJAX web applications
* generate Neko sourcecode that can be used on the Server side or in standalone executable

Each of theses platforms have their own API, but they share the same programming language and the same standard library, so if your classes are pure code (using no platform-specific API) then they can be compiled and used everywhere, depending on your needs.

Also, haXe make it easy to interoperate between theses different platforms, by providing common protocol libraries. Please note that it’s still possible to use haXe on only one platform if you want for example keep your current working code.

Run over to their site to read more about what this all means... if you're interested. It could be really cool.

Here's a goodie that I use very possibly every day...
Any Password by RomanLab Software

This is what it does:

Any Password is an easy-to-use tool that lets you store and arrange all your passwords, user IDs, and related information in a tree form. The program saves this information in encrypted files which can be protected by a password. So, the only thing you need to remember is the password for the file. Any Password can also generate random passwords with specified parameters (length, used characters, etc.). You can find any stored information using the incremental search feature.

Any Password is free for individual and not-for-profit charitable entity use.

The kicker here is how you can set up folders for grouping up your info. Every time I start up a new account with some nutty online service or register for a discussion forum, etc., I create a new entry in Any Password for it. You can also very quickly generate and store highly secure passwords if you need that in your life (like I do.)

Honestly, it took me a while to relax with this concept and trust a single program for storage of all this critical information, but I've been using it for something like 3 or 4 years and it's an integral part of my computing life. Like anything, keep backups of the data, but you're already doing that regularly, right? RIGHT??

Now, I'm still using version 1.3 and am about to upgrade to the latest version (which is what prompted this post).. and now I see they have a "pro" version with these features. Looks pretty sweet. I might have to drop them a few bucks for helping me out all these years!...

Any Password Pro is an advanced version of Any Password with many additional features:
* ability to store files
* expired password notification
* sending password or other information automatically to other applications