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For a lot of amateur computer users switching to Gmail, figuring out how to get the emails to show up in Outlook or Thunderbird can be a pain in the butt. Luckily, Google has a Help Center, where it takes forever to find what you’re looking for. Or at least, that was the case for me.

In the mess that is the Google Help center, I found this really helpful video that goes through the steps of configuring POP for your Gmail account, and then configuring Outlook 2003. You can view the video here, or if you you just want to read through the steps in plain text, I’ve included them below.

Here are the steps for configuring POP:

1. Log in to your Gmail account.
2. Click Settings at the top of any Gmail page.
3. Click Forwarding and POP.
4. Select Enable POP for all mail or Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on.
5. Choose the action you’d like your Gmail messages to take after they are accessed with POP.

Here are the steps for configuring Outlook 2003:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click the Tools menu, and select E-mail Accounts…
3. Click Add a new e-mail account, and click Next.
4. Choose POP3 as your server type by clicking the radio button, and click Next.
5. Fill in all necessary fields to include the following information:
6. User Information
   Your Name: Enter your name as you would like it to appear in the From: field of outgoing messages.
   Email Address: Enter your full Gmail email address (username@gmail.com) Server Information
   Incoming mail server (POP3): pop.gmail.com
   Outgoing mail server (SMTP): smtp.gmail.comLogin Information
   User Name: Enter your Gmail username (including @gmail.com)
   Password: Enter your Gmail password
7. Click More Settings… and then click the Outgoing Server tab.
8. Check the box next to My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication and select Use same settings as my incoming mail server.
9. Click the Advanced tab, and check the box next to This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) under Incoming Server (POP3).
10. Check the box next to This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) under Outgoing Server (SMTP), and enter 465 in the Outgoing server (SMTP) box.
11. Click OK.
12. Click Test Account Settings… After receiving Congratulations! All tests completed successfully, click Close.
13. Click Next, and then click Finish.
14. Also, make sure you have the latest updates from Microsoft, so you will avoid some stupid errors that their programs have.

That seems like a little too much work just to read Gmail emails on your desktop, but “ya gotta do what ya gotta do.”

This game from IronZog, a software developer founded in 2001, is a great way to spend you free time. The game play itself is sort of like a Civilization game, but with a lot more technologies that your nation can learn.

War of Conquest is a 2D, java game that runs in a window on you desktop. You start out as a nation owning one piece, or square, of land. As you expand your nation you will encounter other nations. Winning battles against other nations gives you points to level up. Every time you level up, your nation gains a new technology based on what you chose to research. The real objective of the game, though, is to hold orbs with your nation. Orbs pay you money, which in turn you can cash out into PayPal or moneybookers.com, or you can cash in toward credits, which allow you to buy more technologies to make your nation better.

Overall, if you a huge strategy game person, you should try this MMORTS. The battle system may seem a little confusing at times, but after a while of playing you should get used to it. If you do, in fact, decide to try this game out, my name is Fredo and my nation is Pates, so look for me in the new player chat.

I’ve always been interested in the Game Development area, but have never really had the patience to sit down and code and entire game from scratch. RPG Maker XP removes the need for coding completely. It allows you to create an RPG similar to the original Final Fantasy games.

Another advantage of using this program is its low system requirements, which are shown below.

Minimum System Requirements

RPG Maker XP, which will from now on be referred to as rmxp, also works on Windows Vista under XP SP2 compatibility mode.

Rmxp is a program aimed to be easy to use, and allows you to create a game with as little or as much customization as you desire. You use events, which are like little spots of code written in English to make things happen. You also use the database to change the attributes of characters, enemies, items, and more. Also, you can use the artwork and music that comes with the program to make a game, or you can create your own.

One of the greatest features, though, of rmxp, compared to other game makers is its scripting language, it uses RGSS, which is Ruby, but with premade objects. This scripting language allows you to easily customize certain aspects of the game while using a real programming language. Something that I have not seen in any other game maker.

Rmxp also has, by far, the best community surrounding any game maker. This community can be found at rmxp.org. This website is essentially a forum, but it also has a downloads section, a wiki, and even a brand new blogging feature. This site is a must visit for all rmxp users. Be warned, though, if you are using the illegal version of rmxp, called the Postality Knight’s version. They will not help you at all. I do not condone piracy, either. DO NOT download the illegal version, get a job and spend $60 for the program, so that Enterbrain, the creator, will keep putting out more quality programs like it. Also you can download a demo here from download.com.