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Internet Relay Chat (IRC) clients don't usually get the exposure that some of the other, more well-known chat clients do, but they can be even more useful than their big-name cousins. While most online chat has evolved into a way to communicate exclusively with friends, family, and co-workers, you can still meet new people with common interests if you use the right program.

Join Jason Parker in this First Look video to find out more about mIRC and to see if Internet Relay Chat is your cup of tea. Packed with useful features, it's easy to see how … Read more

Even at the ripe old age of 26, MTV is still determined to make its way into your home one way or another: It may just not be on a television set. Instead, the network is literally leaving its stamp on various forms of electronics and computing gear by co-branding designs.

Recently, for example, it partnered with HP to sponsor a global design competition for an "Artist Edition" of the Pavilion laptop. And it's latest offering is a limited-edition "multi-room box" produced in collaboration with U.K.-based Sky TV, which had already been coming … Read more

There's got to be a better way to relive your stoner days than wearing those Jamiroquai MP3 shades and, whatever it is, it's probably better done indoors where no one can see you. One solution could be this "Room Palette Skyrium" from the appropriately named "RelaxStyle" line of products from Japan's Banpresto. (But be careful of Japanese relaxation products, because they have a way of sneaking some perverse form of fitness into them.)

With any luck, this lighting experience will be totally devoid of physical exertion as it cycles through nine LED colors … Read more

Power Downloader knows one of the most difficult things about studying and writing papers is staying focused. When he received a stressed out e-mail from Kitty Kilobyte recently saying she was trying to write a paper for school, but kept getting distracted, Power knew all too well what she was talking about. Even when Power Downloader needs to get to work, he will sometimes find himself surfing the Web or checking e-mail, so he knows how easy it is to get distracted. Over time, Power is sure Kitty will develop the skills necessary to focus on her work, but for … Read more

What do Roto-Rooter, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and the ultimate high-tech bathroom for women have in common? We have no idea, but they all came together at an event in New York City for the launch of Roto-Rooter's Pimped Out Powder Room Sweepstakes, which is a follow-up to last year's Pimped Out John Sweepstakes.

Around 300,000 people signed up for a chance to win the ultimate john and you gotta think just as many will be interested for a shot at the powder room. Roto-Rooter calls this the "ultimate bathroom destination for the modern woman," but I can't see too many dudes complaining about hitting this head. (See the bathroom sans cheerleaders after the jump.)

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There's good news and bad news about the popularity of something like the "RoomWizard " scheduling system: One one hand, it means companies are apparently growing and hiring enough to demand a product like this; on the other, it means they're having more meetings.

The RoomWizard is kind of a digital referee that can avoid inter-office fisticuffs by keeping track of schedules for conference rooms that are always in high demand. Spaces are booked with touch screens outside the rooms or online through the system's Web server, according to OhGizmo, and information can be downloaded to … Read more

Microsoft has been trying to work its way into the living room for some time. Now the company is trying to target the most easily wooed addresses: those belonging to its employees.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an interesting write-up on how Microsoft is letting some of its workers try out elaborate digital living room set-ups to get a better sense of how its technology plays inside actual homes.

It's a start. But, of course, how Microsoft workers enjoy their own technology is often vastly different than how ordinary consumers do.

Microsoft also does plenty of field testing of its … Read more

REDMOND, Wash.--Tired of having to fight for a free conference room, Microsoft's security chief, Mike Nash, decided in early 2005 that the company needed a dedicated "war room" where his team could handle emergency responses.

And while he was at it, why not have two? That way, the folks working on fixing a security crisis could have a little breathing room from those drafting the public and customer communications around the issue.

"They were tired of the communications people hearing of things that were half-baked," Nash said.

The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) was … Read more

TiVo is finally delivering some long-promised features to its two high-def models. In the coming weeks, the company will roll out software updates to the TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD that will add support for expandable storage, Multi-Room Viewing, TiVo To Go, and progressive downloading of Amazon Unbox and TiVoCast videos. Full details on each, after the jump: … Read more