As you can see, Mikaela's just received some cheese! A week before xmas, she received a gift certificate stating that she could choose between a bunch of gifts online, and one would be sent to her door-step by picking it online. Sho nuff, she wanted it today and it arrived today: three different cheeses, all distinct in age, flavour and consistency. It'll be interesting, a lot more interesting than eating at IKEA, anyway.

Speaking of cheese, I bring you...Hamachi, that's nothing to do with cheese, of course. It is, however, a very safe way to connect computers through a VPN line, sharing files and chatting, all encrypted. I've heard rumours going around, saying although this service is to become pay-to-play, I don't think so, as there's a free and a premium service on offer. More on that here. This is available both for Windows and Linux; OSX support is "in the works". For those of you who are very keen on installing, trying and then RTFM, this involves user and file rights, so read up before you go.

Another technique that doesn't seem to require any little bit of configuration, is Allpeers. So what's that? From the site:

AllPeers is a free extension which combines the strength of Firefox and the efficiency of BitTorrent to transform your favorite browser into a media sharing powerhouse.

Regain control! You decide which media files you want to share with whom and to maximise your privacy, communications are encrypted.

Very interesting, free, and doesn't seem to require the configuration that Hamachi demands. Some very interesting posts on this are available through the Allpeers blog. On the other hand, Hamachi already exists while the first beta-release of Allpeers has yet to see the light of day. Never the less, I think Allpeers have the upper hand for most users.