Chat for Earthlings
If just plain old instant messenging bores you, this news should cheer you up: Microsoft has released a new version of its instant messenger client with streaming video capability. If you've got a webcam, and a fast enough connection, now you can exchange video with any buddy running the MSN messenger 5.0 client. Yahoo added video capability to its Yahoo Messenger software a few months ago, but AOL still hasn't announced any plans to add video goodies to its AIM client.

If you're a faithful Webmonkey reader, then you've probably heard of Trillian. For the uninitiated, Trillian is a multi-protocol chat client that lets you connect to multiple services (AOL, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, and IRC) using only one piece of software. You can even see all your buddy lists in the same window. The Trillian client is also skinable, but other than that, it's pretty much no-frills. So you shouldn't expect video capabilities anytime soon, but you can expect rock-solid stability and the standard assortment of useful features. A free version and a "Pro" version are available.

It's just a guess, but I like to think that Trillian is named after the character from Douglas Adams' Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. You know, the woman that Arthur struck out with at the party on Earth only to bump into her aboard the Heart of Gold when he and Ford are saved by the ship's infinite improbability drive? Now, maybe I was too young to get the inferences, but were Trillian and Zaphod Beeblebrox an item? Well, Adams' official site says that they were boyfriend/girlfriend, which gives me pause. I always thought that she could have done better. The dude's got two heads and a whole heap of attitude! Whatever.

robjet d'art
Not only did Webmonkey not-so-secret crush Rob Cockerham get interviewed on All Things Considered (that's right, some scrolling required!) a few weeks ago, but his guerilla anti-target-marketing Safeway card project just got picked up by the New York Times (that's right, registration required!). And yet, in the midst of all this ever-expanding fame, Rob still managed to find the time to conduct exhaustive viscosity tests. How does he do it? No, seriously, how?

San Francisco is a Switchy town anyway
We heard some great news over the weekend. As this article points out, Apple Computer is planning on opening a store right in the middle of downtown SF's shopping district. We say: It's about freakin time! The closest stores to us right now are down in silicon valley and San Jose, not exactly walking distance. This new store will be plop in the middle of our beloved Union Square, and directly in front of the bus stop where you can find the Webmonkey editors Evany and Mike waiting for the 30 Stockton or 45 Greenwich bus line every single morning.

Have you ever been inside an Apple store? They're made of this sleek frosted glass walls, black pipe-and-grill railings, and black vinyl composition tile. The people are always helpful and quite knowing (which in computer store speak means that they actually know what operating system the machines are shipped with), and quite stylish with their matching black polo shirts. Anyway, the real draw is the abundance of expensive toys. iPods, iBooks, cameras, trackballs -- you name it!

We did a quick search and found out that another store is supposed to open at the same time in Japan. Soon these Apple stores will be everywhere... like McDonalds. Two G4s for two bucks?

what's going on?
Did you know that Mike has a new article up at Webmonkey, "Internet2 and You," and it's all about the exciting new better, stronger, faster net that's already in the works? That Jay updated his "Web Hosting for Under Ten Bucks" article? Or that HotBot is hosting a Hack HotBot skin-design contest that you totally need to get in on, I mean it, totally? Oh, OK. Great.

south by southwest
OK, first of all, I just, for the very first time (this is Evany), realized that SXSW is a Hitchcock reference. Decaf sucks!

Anyway, some of our friends and former Monkeys have already started the migration south by southwest, and it's not too late to join them! The trip to Austin is worth the trip, if only for the bats.

Blastoff Soundoff
So did you hear that we may not be able to play with model rockets anymore? Yeah, seems kind of silly. Of course, there are several voices out there who think that allowing just about anyone, children included, to walk into the local toy store and purchase explosives without regulation is the part that's silly. But all you really need is a library card and a well-stocked hardware store... I should stop right there.

If you are a vertically inclined individual who happens to live in an area that's basking in super nice weather right now (San Francisco anyone?), why not explore the delights of water-propelled hobby craft?

Memories of Mister Rogers
As the radio woke me this morning with the sad news of the passing of Mister Rogers, my sleep-rotted brain instantly flashed on one of my all-time favorite memories of the man who could talk to trolleys and make puppets come to life with a simple, "meowmeowmeow, King Friday." One Sunday morning, years in the past now, I was absently chewing my Golden Grahams and clicking through the channels of the television when, just for one sparkling second, the screen filled with the puff of a dandelion and then I heard the soothing, almost medicating voice of Mister Rogers saying, with the awed reverence that other people reserve for gods or movie stars, two magical words: "Sooooo fuzzzzy."

That fond memory of channel surfing and finding sudden, unexpected gold sparked another dim recollection: Dude, do you remember URouLette, the random page generating site? Ha, those were the days.

Good bye, Neighbor Rogers. You made a difference.

Welcome to Utopia
Last night, I attended (this is Mike speaking) an orientation session for City CarShare, an organization that works like a big carpool. You reserve a car when you need one by going to their site and fondling a Web form. You then pick it up from the carshare lot, drive it around, and bring it back. You only pay based on how much you drive the car, so it's perfect for those of us who only need a car once a week or less. No payments, no insurance, no gas (City CarShare even pays for gas if you can believe it!), and no parking hassles. It's a great service for a city like San Francisco, which is so over-populated it's at the choking point. Anyway, I met lots of friendly people last night, all of them Web savvy and well-dressed. We were all excited to be contributing to a large scale non-profit experiment in Utopian ideals and still retain the ability to listen to our own music while doing it.

When I arrived at home, I sorted my mail. I stacked the bills I'll be paying online. I sifted through the grocery store flyers to find a $5-off coupon for my online grocery delivery service. I also found a coupon for my online bookstore. I realized how entirely Web-centric my world has become. I pay my bills online, and I do the bulk of my shopping online. I work on the Web. I communicate with over half of the people I know via email or instant messenger. Now, even the car I drive is connected to a website.

It's kind of silly, but I realized that this is exactly the kind of life that was promised to me five years ago by the big thinkers in the Net world. Back then I thought, "Yeah right, it'll never happen." And here I am, typing a little story about it in a weblog within a Web browser at my Web job. I think I'll go for a walk.

Just Add Water
OMG, they're tearing out the hot tub over on Naked Hot Tub Guy's roof, right across from the windows of Webmonkey HQ! And what's Naked Hot Tub Guy without his hot tub? Mathematically speaking (Naked Hot Tub Guy - Hot Tub = Naked Guy), the removal of the hot tub should still leave us with a naked guy (of our very own), but we know better. Like a fish, Naked Guy is high and dry without a water supply, which means the precious glimpses and flashes of him we've come to rely upon to cheer our days are no more. In tuff times like these, it's the little things that give the most comfort. We know that we can never replace Naked Hot Tub Guy, but the wounds might sting less if someone smart and beautiful gave us our own miniature guide horse. Hello?

eight...nine...nine-and-a-half, nine-and-three-quarters...
Looks like, as someone on the message board hinted, Salon isn't down for the count just yet. Introducing David Talbot's "Raise Limbaugh's blood pressure! Keep Salon in business" last ditch-digging effort.

Come on, people! Content-driven sites are an endangered species these days, especially since no one's found a way to breed them successfully in captivity. So even if you don't read Salon every day, you should still subscribe. It's only thirty bucks, i.e., five cents a day, which is, like, almost nothing ... in fact, we hear the nickle is the new penny.