IMHO

Linux Software for my Netbook

Written by Administrator
Tuesday, 07 April 2009 00:00
I have been using my Acer Aspire One for a while now and thought I would share my ideas on useful software. Most, if not all, of these programs are available through the repositories in Linux. OpenOffice This one kind of obvious. I use this on all my machines, Windows and Linux alike. However, I would like to mention that on my Netbook I have made good use of the database component. I keep a database of all our computers at work, with all the software and hardware installed on each. Also, notes on hardware issues and when they occurred. Once you have it set up it is pretty easy to use and works really well. eeebuntu As I have mentioned before I found the Linpus OS which is installed by default to be a bit limiting so I have been trying a few different disto's of Linux. Right now I have settled on eeebuntu which was initially intended for the Asus netbooks but works just fine on my Acer. I really like the desktop layout and it has many of the packages I use installed out of the box. Notecase I wanted a hierarchical note manager for the odd bits and pieces of information I need to keep handy. It appears that the most popular program in this arena is Basket but this is a KDE program. And although you can install Basket on eeebuntu it has to download a ton of other dependencies along with it. Plus I felt that it was overkill for what I needed and a little difficult to use on a netbook with a small screen and finicky touchpad. So I settled on Notecase. It is simple, has a tree like structure and saves everything in one file so it is easy to move around. It also has Windows and Mac clients although I haven't tried those yet. KeepassX Everyone needs a secure program to keep all their passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive information. While this program is pretty basic and doesn't have all the features that I have found in other software it is easy to work with and cross platform. It is possible to save your file on a thumbdrive then open it in Windows, Mac or Linux. Dia In my work I like to keep a few diagrams updated such as an office plan with were everyone sits. And all the connection numbers for our network and phone extensions. I have found Dia to be a very capable program for doing this. "Dia is roughly inspired by the commercial Windows program 'Visio', though more geared towards informal diagrams for casual use. It can be used to draw many different kinds of diagrams. It currently has special objects to help draw entity relationship diagrams, UML diagrams, flowcharts, network diagrams, and many other diagrams. It is also possible to add support for new shapes by writing simple XML files, using a subset of SVG to draw the shape.It can load and save diagrams to a custom XML format (gzipped by default, to save space), can export diagrams to a number of formats, including EPS, SVG, XFIG, WMF and PNG, and can print diagrams (including ones that span multiple pages)." Synergy with Quicksynergy I often keep my netbook on my desk alongside my dual monitor workstation. Synergy is a very interesting utility that allows me to use my desktop's keyboard and mouse with the netbook. Basically, as I move the mouse off the right edge of my monitors it appears on the netbook and then I have control with my desktop input devices. "Synergy lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers with different operating systems, each with its own display, without special hardware. It's intended for users with multiple computers on their desk since each system uses its own monitor(s)." Quicksynergy is just a linux GUI to make it a little easier to use on the netbook. Tellico This is a collection manager which I use to keep track of our vast collection of Star Trek books. It is a KDE application but doesn't download a ton of dependencies when installed on Gnome. Like other programs of this genre it can download all the details of a book from the Internet, along with its cover. So you only have to put in a title or ISBN number to fill out a record. Very nice.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 April 2009 13:45 )

MojoPac

Written by Administrator

Sunday, 08 February 2009 16:23

MojoPac

This is something very new and appeals to my inner geek as well as being very useful. Basically this is some software you load onto a removable drive (I am using a 60gb portable hard drive by Simpletech) and when you start it up you are presented with a new XP desktop. You can then install software onto the MojoPac and it goes onto the removable drive. Now the interesting bit, when you log off and remove the drive your computer goes back to the way it was, take the MojoPac drive to another computer and once you have it running you are back to the desktop, complete with software, that you installed on the other machine. Thus you can take your software with you and use it on another computer elsewhere. You can surf the web, use email, do your work etc. and when you unplug the device the host computer has no trace that you were ever there.

Personally I have a few programs loaded on my drive that I use at work and at home such as Frontpage 2003. This might be a bit of a grey area as far as licensing is concerned but this has to be its most useful feature. You can have one license of a piece of software and move it around without uninstalling and reinstalling it. Which can be very difficult to do anyway with the current big Microsoft programs because they want registering each time. This is the next best thing to having a laptop.

If this sounds like something you could use check it out at the website.

Half dot com

Written by Administrator

Sunday, 08 February 2009 16:22

Everyone has heard of eBay but not many folk know about Half.com even though they are joined at the hip so to speak. It used to be a totally separate online shopping experience but it was bought out by eBay some years back. They have threatened to merge it into eBay but so far user pressure has kept it open. It is a place geared to media; books, DVD's, CD's, software etc. Businesses and regular users can put their items up for sale, at a fixed price, and other users can buy them.

Basically, you buy an item and the seller is sent an email to say they have sold it and who to ship it to. I have bought hundreds of items on here, sometimes they are used, sometimes new, it is up to the seller to advertise it in a section for its condition. The really good thing is that Half.com/eBay handles all the money so they are the only ones with your financial information.

When I buy something they pull the money out of my checking account, when I sell something the money is put back into my account. Check it out, go to the site and type in any book or DVD you like and see what it is selling for, you'll be surprised.

ING Direct

Written by Administrator

Sunday, 08 February 2009 16:20

I have had my account with ING since 2002 and absolutely love it. If you have money kicking around in your local bank then you should definitely look into this. Regular savings are bringing in 4.5% right now, although that can change, and it is so easy to setup different accounts and CD's. I haven't ventured into Mutual Funds yet but that is all there as well.

You can set up a link between your regular bank's checking account and your ING account to make it easy to transfer funds between them. Although this can still take a few days. I have never understood why, in this day and age, transferring money between banks takes anything more than a few minutes. I used to have my checking at Irwin Union and my Car Loan at Centra Credit Union. I'd go online to transfer funds to pay my car payment and it would take sometimes up to a week for the money to move across town! It was crazy, so I canceled my checking account at Irwin Union and moved it all to Centra.

Anyway, back to ING, they recently opened up a 'checking' type account where you get a Debit/Mastercard which you can use in stores and ATM's although there is only one free ATM in their network here in Columbus and that is in Target. But that's fine with me. The big thing is that even this checking account earns interest at 3% for accounts under $50,000.

Divx

Written by Administrator

Sunday, 08 February 2009 16:19

Here's a controversial subject for you; fairuse vs. the DMCA. On the one hand most folk believe that if you buy a DVD then it is yours to do with as you please, maybe you would like to compress the file and put it on your laptop or play it back on your cell phone or PSP or other portable device. But if you do then you have to break the encryption on the disc which is illegal according to the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Even the simple act of copying a DVD so you can keep the original disc safe and give a copy to the kids to destroy isn't allowed.

Now, having said all that a lot of people do it and I am not here to tell you exactly how to do it, there are a thousand websites out there covering this topic. One of the best I've found for help on video related issues is www.videohelp.com

What I wanted to mention here is how much I like divx. Divx is a compression format, it has done for video what jpg files did for pictures. If you are running a media center in your living room this is a great way to store movies on the hard drive as it can compress an entire movie down to just 1-2gb and retain very good quality. Also, if you have a laptop and want to carry some movies around with you divx is great as laptop hard drives are not usually that large and to be able to put half a dozen movies in only 10gb is wonderful. It does take some time to compress the files depending, of course, on the speed of your computer. There are even divx players available for your PocketPC or Mobile Phone, I have compressed whole movies to around 500mb and they play back great on my T-Mobile MDA.

Another thing I'd like to say is that if you are looking to buy a new DVD player for your living room get one which is divx certified, look for the divx logo on the device. There are plenty out there, I have a Phillips and an RCA DVD recorder both of which are divx certified. Then if you burn divx files to DVD you can usually fit 4 or more movies on 1 disc and they will play just fine on your living room DVD player.

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