For years I’ve used Mess Patch to customize Windows Messenger and it’s done a decent job. My main problem with the program was that some of the customizations were not explained well and one had to be a Messenger power user in order to understand some of the feature descriptions. But it was the only product I knew that would remove ads so I continued to use it.

But a friend recently told me about A-Patch which feels like a more polished version of the Mess Patch. But it has one killer feature: Real time preview. This allows you to see how your selections will look before making any changes to Messenger.

 
A few of my favorite features include:

1. Removes all ads (from Main and Message windows)
2. Customizes the tool bar (No more Windows Spaces or Live Today buttons)
3. Removes the Search Bar
4. Disables Nudges, Winks and all that stuff that belongs on MySpace
5. Enables more than 3 file transfers at a time

The first chat program I installed (not including MIRC) was ICQ and I loved it until it become a bloated piece of junk. I moved to Microsoft Messenger because it was small, fast and didn’t include a bunch of useless features.

But now the same level of bloat that happened to ICQ is happening to Windows Live Messenger. But with the help of A-Patch you can put Live Messenger on a diet once and for all.

I’m officially addicted to Twitter. It’s a great way to connect with others of similar interests. I also use the same way I used to use IRC but asking questions when I need help or a recommendation. I’ve found the people to be super friendly for the most part. If someone is a dork, Twitter makes it easy to block them.

Several friends have asked what I use to access Twitter. I’ll send messages in three different ways:

1. Twitter.com – The place to go to add followers and make changes to your profile.
   
2. Twhirl – This is my favorite desktop Twitter application. It runs on Windows and OSX and is based on Adobe Air. 
   
3. M.Twitter.com – The Twitter website formatted for mobile phones.

A lot of people also use SMS to send updates but I find M.Twitter.com just as easy. I use Twhirl the most because it color codes the messages as they arrive so I visually see the difference between a message send to everyone vs. just to me or even a direct message.

I’ve found myself using two website recently that attempt to rank Twitter users. Twitterposter has been around a while and shows icons based on how many followers a person has. The bigger the icon, the more followers someone has. At times, I’m not sure that it’s still being updated, but it’s pretty cool.

Tweeterboard is the one I’ve been checking more often. It ranks the top 100 users using what the creator calls a person “reputation score”. I haven’t looked into it much but I was surprised to see myself listed at #67 yesterday afternoon. By evening I was off the list and right now I’m back on at #97. I don’t know that it means anything but it’s sort of fun to track occasionally.

I still check Twittervision a couple of times a week. If you want to find out where a Twitter user lives give Twittermap a try.

Those are the tools I use regularly. The most comprehensive list of Twitter tools I’ve found was put together by Stan Schroeder at Frantic Industries.

Dave Winer nails what I’ve tried to explain to friends since Vista arrived on the scene:

An OS is still just an OS, the purpose of the OS is to stay out of your way until you need it

This explains perfectly why I can’t stand Vista. It’s like the annoying kid in class  who raises and shakes his hand to every question the the teacher asks. Vista constantly yells, “HEY, LOOK AT ME!!!” It’s in your face when you don’t need it.

Down boy, down.

A friend sent me this great link that really nails my experience with Vista.

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