I have to laugh at all of the people who ‘camp’ in one OS or the other…they really don’t understand OSes at all!! ALL of them have problems…ALL of them have advantages… ALL of them have disadvantages… ALL ofthem have quirks. I’ve used them all… Windows from version 2 to Vista Ultimate, Unix System V, Linux (any distro you can name), Mainframe Oses, Mac, proprietary mini-computer OSes like Motorola’s Unix-like OS9 and IV Phase’s Data 4 and Vision… no one is ‘better’ or ‘more secure’ than another… If you understand OSes you can get into them easily and you can take advantage of what they have to offer…
The boot process on a PC has nothing to do with the OS: it’s a process that STARTS the OS, was defined in the early ’70s and has never changed. If your looking for total control over this process look into Bootit NG from Terabyte Unlimited… Iv’e tried all of the boot managers and this one gives the best control and invades the target OSes the least. … I’m still laughing….
digg Life, Productivity, Tech, Utilities
OK… I have a lot of software license keys. I generally keep them with the software as a text file so that if I need to reinstall the software, I will have the key handy. There are many down-sides to that method including the ability for someone to copy the key along with the software and, of course, if I ever lost the media the software is stored on…
KeyFiler is an on-line solution to storing and retrieving your software keys. An account for up to 10 keys is free and if you need to store more, a modest cost is levied. Your keys are stored along with other information about the software they unlock using industrial-strength encryption on the server side and 128 bit SSL transferring the key between your browser. On the server side, the encryption is generated by either a global key (Standard security), where your password can be reset if you forget it, or the encryption can be generated by your logon password (high security) in which case you will lose access to your keys if you forget your logon password (since KeyFiler administrator has no ability to reset your password for high security). Your logon password, unlike a lot of sites, can be a really STRONG one. I’m using 4 words separated by 3 special characters for a total of 26 characters. It would take all the computers ever built millions of years to hack that one. I am using my own logon password as the encryption key (high security) so I feel VERY confident that my data is secure.
Store those keys in KeyFiler and never forget them again!
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digg Life, Utilities, WEB
I have iPods. I love iPods. I have iTunes. I love iTunes. I HATE the DRM imposed on iTunes. Purchasing all of that music on iTunes and then you want to play it on a non-iPod… you CAN’T. WHY? You paid for it… why are you restricted to playing it on an Apple device? The Hymn Project answers this with a utility that removes the DRM on your iTunes music thereby allowing you to play this music on your ‘other’ media player.
Warning #1: Yes, it’s your music, but that doesn’t give you the right to give or sell it away! This utility is only to be used for your own use on music that you own.
Warning #2: This utility is not for the faint-of-heart. It is a techy utility and requires some setup, but it DOES work.
Disclaimer: I am NOT liable for any damage to your iTunes library (highly unlikely – especially if you backup FIRST) or am I responsible for any miss-use of this utility (like selling the unprotected music).
I used it on the latest version of iTunes (7.1) and it converted all of my protected music to non-DRM music. The installation is manual, but not too hard and the conversion is slow. The utility removes the DRM from the music and keeps a backup of the original DRM version.
Just follow the instructions that comes with the ZIP archive and you will be on your way to DRM free music!
Horray! Now I’m playing my converted iTunes music on Windows Media Player!
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digg Application, DRM, Entertainment, Music, Tech, Utilities
Like most internet users these days, I do a lot of searching for pretty much everything. Mostly, I ‘google it’ (’google’ is now an official verb in the dictionary). Many times when I search for something I will also look at Wikipedia to see what is there on the subject. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could ‘google’ something and have look it up on Wikipedia at the same time. Well, now you can with this excellent extension from James Hall. The extension will split the browser screen vertically in half on a search from the Google page displaying the Google search results in the left pane and the Wikipedia results in the right.
Googlepedia: It’s like the mouse scroll wheel, how did we ever get along without it?!?!
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digg Firefox Extension, Productivity, WEB
Recently Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir discovered that a gallery Only-Dreemin was ripping her off. They’d sold thousands of dollars worth of her images. So she did what anyone with a following on the internet might do and she posted about her frustration and plight on her flickrstream. What’s yahoo do? Deletes the image & threatens to terminate account.
read more | digg story
I’ve terminated my Flickr account in support of Rebekka and will now use Zooomr. (Tim)
digg Life, Photography, WEB
When was the last time you backed up your data? Have you EVER backed up??? If you do back up, do you backup to MULTIPLE locations? I violated the last statement once… never again! I backed up my CD collection to mp3 files on a Maxtor USB drive… about 25GB of music. One day the drive disappeared from Windows… all of my mp3 music gone! And I didn’t have an alternate back up of the music anywhere… I was looking at the prospect of re-ripping several hundred CDs again! So I was diligent but STILL lost all of my mp3 music! Lesson learned: BACKUP TO MULTIPLE LOCATIONS. I was able to recover the dead drive and get my mp3 music back eventually, but that is the topic of another post…
I looked at many backup solutions including Nero, Backup MyPC, Norton Backup, Windows built-in backup, Retrospect, Arcsoft, XDrive, and the open-source Amanda. All of these are either very expensive, hard to use, or not robust enough. I was looking for one that could backup anywhere, including USB/Firewire drives, FTP, and Internet. In addition, I wanted encryption, password protection, and a easy to use interface.
I found a great solution at a site called Genie-soft. Their solution called Backup Manager 7 does everything I need and more. I downloaded the trial version and tried various backups to USB drives, FTP to a site I own, and an Internet account with Genie-soft (free limited trial account). The interface is very intuitive and crisp. I have been using it for almost a month now and it has worked flawlessly in both XP and Vista64.
So don’t wait!! Backup your data now to more than one location and sleep like a baby using Genie-soft.
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digg Application, Productivity, Utilities, Vista64, WEB
I am always looking for the ‘ultimate’ program launcher… I just HATE desktop clutter. I’ve been using the Windows ‘QuickLaunch’ toolbar for many years… it helps a lot but viewing those tiny icons gives me a headache!
This is a really nice looking, functional launcher that does the job very well and it looks great also! It has many features not found in other launchers such as application windows minimizing to the dock, multi-monitor support (I LIKE that), Vista support (real-time window previews), and running application indicator in addition to the normal features also found in other similar launchers like auto-hide, drag-n-drop interface, and icon zooming.
I have been using this utility on XP, Vista32, and Vista64 with superb results… I highly recommend this very elegant eye-popping application!
Drag your shortcuts onto RocketDock and clear up that nasty desktop clutter I KNOW you have!
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digg Application, Productivity, Utilities, Vista64