The oddly named advanced audio player for Windows, Foobar2000 has a low memory footprint and gets the job done.  Some of the features include:

• Supported audio formats: MP3, MP4, AAC, CD Audio, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC, WavPack, WAV, AIFF, Musepack, Speex, AU, SND… and more with additional components.
• Gapless playback.
• Full unicode support.
• Easily customizable user interface layout.
• Advanced tagging capabilities.
• Support for ripping Audio CDs as well as transcoding all supported audio formats using the Converter component.
• Full ReplayGain support.
• Customizable keyboard shortcuts.
• Open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player.

The audio player interface can be customized to suit your needs.  This is a feature I really liked.  I just wanted an interface that would show me the standard controls and a playlist.  Kind of like the old Winamp player used to years ago.  I just dragged in the album I wanted to listen to, and I was done.  Foobar2000 keeps it simple, and I like that.

You can download it for yourself to see if you like it from foobar2000.org.

Having played with the script for a few weeks, I can tell you that Vanilla offers a great and unique forum package for your website.  A few weeks ago, I set it up for the forums I added to Firefox Facts and I really could not be happier with it.  It seems to almost do everything that I need, plus it keeps things really straight to the point.  Vanilla might be the best forum script for people who don’t want their forums to look like the next guy’s.

The Vanilla forums script it open-source, standards-compliant, and totally customizable to suit your needs.  They also give you all the tools you need to migrate from other forum scripts, if needed too. 

Here is a little more about the Vanilla forum script, from the developers:

Vanilla is an open-source, pluggable, themable, multi-lingual community-building solution. It is specially made to help small communities grow larger through SEO mojo, totally customizable social tools, and great user experience. Vanilla is also built with integration at the forefront, so it can seamlessly integrate with your existing website, blog, or custom-built application.

Some other neat features include:

• Embed Vanilla – Allows you to simply embed your forum installation into a website, like you would a YouTube video.  Just copy and paste the embed code in on the page, and you are done.
• Social Connect – This feature lets users sign into your community forums with their favorite social network.  It has built in support for Facebook, Twitter, Google and OpenID.

Want to see my own install of Vanilla forums in action? Go check out support.firefoxfacts.com. Who knows? I might be adding forums to Mitchelaneous sometime soon too.

Overall I would say if you are looking for a really simple forum script to add a little more functionality to your website, Vanilla is the best way to go.  You can check it out, and download it for your own hosting account from VanillaForums.org.

Did you know Solar Man worked in a sunlight research lab before he went berserk from Roboenza. In his spare time he developed a “Solar Workout” plan which has experienced small success.

• Download the Solar Man Desktop Icon! (.zip)

The icon is compatible with the following sizes:  256 x 256, 128 x 128, 64 x 64, 48 x 48, 32 x 32, 24 x 24, 16 x 16.  It is also in both .ico and .png format.

Enjoy this new icon to decorate your desktop with, and to check out the others – be sure to visit the Custom Icons page!

Mega Man 9 was great, and I have a feeling Mega Man 10 is going to be even better.  Although I haven’t picked Mega Man 10 up yet (trying to decide if I want the PS3 version or the Wii version) I couldn’t pass up the chance to do a few more desktop icons for you.

The first Robot Master I’ve picked to create a desktop icon for is Sheep Man.  Yes, he is over the top corny – but that is what makes him such a great selection.  He is this year’s Plug Man.

• Download the Sheep Man Desktop Icon! (.zip)

The icon is compatible with the following sizes:  256 x 256, 128 x 128, 64 x 64, 48 x 48, 32 x 32, 24 x 24, 16 x 16.  It is also in both .ico and .png format.

Here’s a ‘bit more of a bio for Sheep Man:

Originally a robot created to manage sheep on a ranch. One day he became aware of the static electricity stored in his wool, and changed careers to giving lessons about static resistance at a circuit board factory. However, he’s gotten wary of this and is considering changing jobs again. He can divide his body into cloud-like puffs and rain down static electricity like lightning.

Flashback! Check out the Mega Man 9 Robot Master Desktop Icons!

Hope you enjoy this newest one of the bunch, and I hope to get more created very soon.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Fav4.org provides users with a really simple way to start their browsing on the Web.  The idea here is to setup a simple web site as your browser’s default start page.  You can add up to four of your favorite sites to be highlighted by icons.  I really like the idea here because I like keeping things clean, organized and simple.

So, can you customize it to suit your own needs?

Yes, you can!  To customize the settings, just click on the “Site Settings” text at the bottom of the screen.

From there, you have four sections that you can change and edit to suit your own needs.  Each section is pretty self explanatory, so let I will just cover the basics for each one.

• Info – This page gives you the basic instructions on how to get started.
• My Fav4 – From this page, you can select four links to highlight (in icon form) on the front page of your own Fav4 page.  As of right now there are over 75 different sites to choose from.
• Options – The options page allows you to set the links to open in a new window, place a search box on the page, or change the theme from lights on (with a light gray background) or lights off (with a black background).
• Suggest – Have a suggestion of something you would like to see?  Send it to them via this page.
• About – On this last section, you can learn more about the Fav4.org project, and how to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

So there you have it.  Fav4.org might soon be one of the new favorite destinations on the Web, because it helps you simplify your favorites in a very unique way.  Go check it out at Fav4.org.

Who doesn’t love Mega Man?  The challenge, the cursing at the level, the broken controllers, and then the satisfaction of beating that (insert random thing here) Man boss.  Then, of course the grim realization that you have at least seven more bosses to go.

Here are some of my favorite Mega Man inspired wallpapers I could find out there on the Web today:

Seems that there are slim pickings when it comes to finding a Mega Man wallpaper that is not overly tacky or has text all over it. Know of another Mega Man wallpaper that might be better?  Be sure to leave a comment and share.

Looking for a wiki script for your next great web site project? 

As somebody who’s built one from the ground up – I can tell you picking the right script for the job, is not an easy task to do.  With a surprising amount of flexibility and power, BoltWire might be one of the easiest to use wikis out there. 

It takes the cake when it comes to mixing the strengths of various script categories together.  Is it a CMS? Is it a wiki?  It is a little ‘bit of both.

The install process is simple.  All you do is download, unzip, upload and install.  It runs on just about any server with PHP4 (although PHP5 is recommended) and has a simple upgrade process too. The entire download is less than 100k, so should just take a couple of seconds to get started.

What about the Features?

Here are some of the best features about BoltWire:

• Easy to install and upgrade
• Run multiple sites off one installation
• Built in member and group management
• Easy to use wiki markup system
• Powerful search engine capabilities
• In-browser editing of skins & CSS
• Standards compliant
• UTF-8 and multi-lingual support
• One click installation of plugins

If you are new to the script, or you get it installed and start to wonder, “What’s Next?!” I would suggest checking out the documentation.  They also have a nice selection of tutorials to help you out too.

Customization?  Yes, you can customize BoltWire in many different ways.  It comes with both plugin and skin support so you are able to make it do the job you want it to do, and get it looking the way you need it to look. 

All in all, I would highly suggest checking BoltWire out, if you have a web site project that needs just a little ‘bit of wiki and a little bit of a content management system rolled into one. 

Download the Mario and Yoshi Desktop Icon! (.zip)

The icon is compatible with the following sizes:  256 x 256, 128 x 128, 64 x 64, 48 x 48, 32 x 32, 24 x 24, 16 x 16.  It is also in both .ico and .png format.

More Free Icons – Enjoy this icon? Be sure to check out my archive of custom icons I have created to share with all the citizens of Mitchelaneous-land.  Feel free to download, share, and use any of them.  The only thing I ask for in return is a cheap and shameless plug or two thrown back my way.

Download the Disco Kid Desktop Icon (.zip)

The icons are compatible with the following sizes: 256 x 256, 128 x 128, 64 x 64, 48 x 48, 32 x 32, 24 x 24, 16 x 16. It is also in both .ico and .png formats.  You have Disco Kid ready for download!  Feel free to use, distribute and what not.  Just remember, if you do share it around, please be sure to give me at least a little ‘bit of credit.

So are you ready for this? Be sure to also check out my other free Punch Out icons too!

Extra One-Two Punch: More Free Video Game Desktop Icons!

Here is some of the best black and white widescreen wallpaper I have found out there.

Know of another favorite, feel free to link to it in the comments and share!