Geeky Info

ubuntu

About a month ago, I installed ubuntu on an old sony vaio laptop that I have. It only has 128meg of RAM and I am having trouble getting it upgraded to its max 256 meg, so naturally Windows XP runs a bit slow.. did I say a bit??

My needs are pretty simple for what I want:

1. ability to connect to my other computers which are running windows xp
2. download from bittorent sites
3. play divx and dvd’s
4. browse the web, collect email if needed and wordprocessing.
5. instant messaging and maybe skype

I have not played with linux for a couple of years and I must say that I most impressed by the progress that has been made. Ubuntu looks sexy, installs easy and detected almost all of my hardware. Unfortunately the internal model was not detected but I suspect that is usual for internal notebook modems – which are often software based and tied to the windows operating system.

So far ubuntu has done needs 1, 4, and 5 (not skype yet) very well. I haven’t tried 2 but I am sure that will not be hard. I am having some difficulty getting divx’s and dvd’s working. I need some codecs and I spent a bit of frustrating time trying to get it to work yesterday. Still no luck.

You know there is nothing more frustrating than being an experienced windows computer user and being reduced to “I have no idea for even the basic tasks” status. It is soooo frustrating. It is simply like not being able to speak the language in a strange country.

In some ways this experience makes me wary of my temptation to move to a Mac. I don’t like this feeling of not knowing even the basics.

sniping dvd scenes

When I speak, I like to use scenes from movies or even TV shows to illustrate a point. Usually the scene is no more than three or five minutes so it seems a bit silly to carry the whole dvd or even tv show bittorrent download to show. Does anyone know a easy way to clip a scene from a DVD or a DIVX and create something that I can play on, say windows media player?

Over to Perth

Tomorrow, I (Phil) am heading over to Perth in Western Australia for three days. So, posting will be a bit lighter as I probably will not have access to the net.

I have scheduled some posts to keep the site ticking over.

indy500 meets tablet pc’s running onenote

Engadget reports on a cool use of tablet pc’s and onenote in a blog about Fujitsu Tablet PCs and Microsoft OneNote at the Indy 500 .

“Julian Robertson, Chief Engineer for the #33 Target Toyota IndyCar, said racing the Target Racing team members prefer Tablet PCs to laptops when working in the pit lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where harsh conditions can severely task both engineers and their tools.

Our tablets are fully functional PCs, but they are lighter and easier to use, he said. “We save a lot of time writing on the screen with a stylus rather than keyboarding.

To make life at trackside easier, Ganassi Racing recently deployed Microsoft OneNote, a Tablet PC application that helps a highly mobile staff to pull together engineering data, meeting notes and data from other sources, according to Robertson.

He said OneNote’s file structure has allowed them to replace paper notebooks, and lends itself well to the particular challenge that all race teams face when setting up a race car. “

another review of desktop sidebar

Regular reader of geekyinfo – Tim sent this by email in regard to Desktop Sidebar which we looked at here.

After reading Phil’s post on the Desktop Sidebar I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve previously used apps such as Konfabulator which provide equally cool functionality. Desktop Sidebar is definitely handy, it provides easy access to all that information you always want to get without having to go anywhere. As you can see in the screen capture, I set it up to show RSS feeds, email status, bittorrent client information, my chat client and the all the normal functions that the windows taskbar plays. I was thinking that I could offset the valuable desktop real estate loss by eliminating the need for the windows taskbar and only having the Desktop Sidebar.

Unfortunately the coolness and usefulness of the Desktop Sidebar are negated by the performance of the software. I have a pretty beefy PC, but once I’d added the features I noted above I noticed pretty serious performance issues. Also I found that not all the plugins (or panels as they are called) worked like they should. Some panels were quite glitchy and kept breaking in various ways.

Overall it’s a cool tool, but I’ve shelved it until they do some major speed and stability improvements and it doesn’t slow me down to a crawl.

tasktoy

This web based program was written to manage tasks GTD style. It is worth checking out if a web based solution is your thing. I am still not convinced about web programs for this kind of application. I am still waiting for the uber-sexy program to manager my information and GTD processes. At the moment, I am using a combination of onenote and outlook and I need more time to assess if this will work as I am finding myself still unsettled by the process.

But for those of you who would like a web based solution for your GTD needs check out tasktoy

“Tasktoy is a task management program that I wrote for myself after reading Getting Things Done by David Allen. While I wasn’t trying to build a complete implementation of his system, the book inspired me to start keeping track of everything I need to get done. I decided that I really needed the following:

A Homepage. Task lists are useless unless you look at them regularly. This meant that it would need to load quickly, have a clean design, a Google search box and customizable links.

Place dependent lists. If I’m at work, I only want to see things that I can do at work. Same thing at home. The site needs to know where I am.

Time dependent tasks. Tasks should appear only when necessary and not clutter up my lists in the meantime.

Low resistance. One click to add to the current list. Two clicks to add to a different list. A screen where I can paste in several items at once.

Repeating tasks. I need to be reminded to move my car for street sweeping, and that it’s been two weeks since I last vacuumed. I used this feature in Outlook and I wanted it in tasktoy also.

Lists of “whenevers”. I’m often at work when someone mentions a restaurant or a book. I wanted to add these quickly and easily but have them not show up on my to-do lists.

Simple project management. Sometimes I have a list of things that need to be done in order. There’s no point putting an item on my to-do list until the previous items have been completed.”

onenote powertoy competition

Microsoft is running a competition which requires you to submit a powertoy that will extend the power of onenote. If you win you will get a Toshiba Portege M200 Tablet Pc which is very nice.

Buzz. you should submit activewords and see if you win.

I think this is great as when I installed onenote a month or so ago, I was disappointed by the number of powertoys available. So, I am hoping that the competition will whip up a storm of new powertoys for users like me.

office extreme makeover

Getting Things Organized [A Whole Lotta Nothing]

Matt Haughey has performed an extreme makeover on his entire home office and recorded it all on Flickr here:

Very nice work Matt and it is worth checking out simply for the inspiration. I have just performed a major cleanup to my home office. One of my problems is that I simply have too much furniture in my office. So, I am thinking of removing some items and maybe down the track buying some new furniture at ikea too, just as Matt has done.

One of the things that I was interested in, while checking out Matt’s digital photos on flickr was the use of the lamps. Matt uses both a lamp that illuminate from under a cupboard onto some desk space, as well as a tall lamp in the corner of the room. You can see the effect here. 

I am a made keen fan of the tv series west wing. One of the things that I notice in the show when they show their offices, they make good use of lamps. I am sure in west wing it is to indicate that they are working hard and late in the office, even after the rest of the world has gone to sleep. Yet, there is something about the softer glow of the lamp rather than the harsh room lights. I am not a very visual person but it struck me looking at Matt’s photos.

Hat tip to lifehacker

yahoo’s unlimited music store

yahoo has unveiled a new music store offering a “all you can eat” smorgsboard of rmusic. There is a try it for seven days option as well as some introductory prices.

PC magazine review says:

“Yahoo! Music Unlimited, a music store and download service from one of the Web’s biggest players, looks very promising. While it’s still in public beta (with the sluggish performance and occasional glitches that go therewith), it nonetheless matches the competition on selection—and beats it on price. “

Read the full article here.

rotation power points

Now this is a good idea! Nothing is more frustrating than having a spare power point, only to have it covered by the base of a another plug that goes in sideways.  

360electrical makes electrical outlets that swivel in your wall to accommodate bulky plugs and transformers — if your plug blocks the other outlet, just rotate it until it doesn’t. Link

I am looking forward to the power-pack versions.

Hat Tip TP Wire Service