I probably will install Windows 7 soon. I'm noting down the software applications I've installed so I remember to install them on the new system. I see I that use some free software programs that are alternatives to Microsoft programs. People who want alternatives may check them out. They're all free.
Google Chrome and Mozilla FireFox. Web Browsers. Alternative to Internet Explorer.
OpenOffice.org. An office suite. Alternative to Microsoft Office.
VLC media player. A video player for many types of media files. Alternative to Windows Media Player + RealPlayer + QuickTime Player.
Winamp. A media player that's been around longer than Windows Media Player (WMP). I still use it for playing music files like MP3, even though VLC also plays music too. Alternative to WMP.
GIMP. An image editor. Alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
CDBurnerXP. CD/DVD burning. Alternative to Nero Burning ROM or the very slow CD burning function of Windows Vista.
CDex. CD ripper. Alternative to Windows Media Player.
Yes, I dislike Windows Media Player. I find the user interface confusing.
Showing posts with label computer tip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label computer tip. Show all posts
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
Workrave reminds you to take a break
I'm still busying writing a conference paper and marking some assignment reports and programs. So the long lagging post has to wait. I'm just taking a few minutes to write a short post. (It still got long. ha)
I've tried small software application called Workrave for a few weeks. It reminds me to take a break periodically. It works quite well for me.
The application can be downloaded from the official website: http://www.workrave.org/
It helps me to remember to look away from the computer screen and relax for few seconds every now and then. I find that I get tired more slowly. I have less eyestrain. The program is also supposed to help people to prevent or recover from RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury).
It's really simple. You set timers for the intervals that the program reminds you to take a break. One timer is for the micro-breaks, which is to pause and to let your eyes relax for a few seconds. The other timer is for rest breaks, which is to take a break for a few minutes after working for an hour or so.
The application is quite configurable so I can tweak it to make it suitable for my usage. Currently, I use a 10-minute timer for micro-breaks and take 15-second breaks. I use a 50-minute timer for rest breaks of 5 minutes.
It detects your mouse and keyboard input. So if you leave the computer for a moment. It detects that you have no input for a while, it assumes that you've taken a break and resets the timer. This is quite useful so it doesn't remind me again soon after I've just taken a break myself. However, one problem is that I often read documents when I work at the university computer. Because I don't use the mouse and the keyboard while I'm reading, it resets the timer. So, I turn off the function of resetting timer when no input is detected.
Another setting that I set differently for home and work is whether it blocks the keyboard and mouse input during breaks. I'm afraid that I may have more urgent operations to do when I work, so I turn this option off for my university computer. In fact, the program can block the screen too. I guess that forceful approach is needed for people who are recovering from RSI.
I guess many of us use computers for many hours a day. I recommend giving this application a try. You can get rid off it later if you find it annoying. Hopefully it reduces the physical strain of using computers over extended time.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
搬離無名小站
這一篇只跟有網誌在無名小站的人有關。我只是在轉寄資訊。
無名小站要在2009年5月26日終止一些服務，其中包括網誌備份XML下載這個功能，所以一堆用戶現在在備份放在無名的網誌，準備搬家。擔心以後沒有備份功能，放在無名的文章就只能留在無名搬不走了。
所以你也想趁還能搬家時搬走的話，可以參考這個文章和工具來搬家：
如何從「無名小站」搬家到PIXNET痞客邦 ？ （含搬家公告） by 重灌狂人
後來聽說無名小站經營的一些 dodgy 事情，更是被我打進我看不順眼、希望它倒的名單上。dodgy 事情像是它最早是偷偷利用交通大學的學術網路，卻拿來營利；轉成商業公司時招募白金會員卻沒依照原本的承諾；速度慢卻只怪Hinet，還叫用戶打電話去中華電信抱怨；無名小站與交大的回饋金的問題；商業化後也有人發現還有偷用交大學術資源 etc.
Anyway, I haven't put my stuff on their services and I won't use it in the future either. I simply watch it losing its dominance over time.
Related Links:
丁丁大站到底幹了哪些好事? by MMDays
「有名」Q&A by XDite
Friday, February 27, 2009
Computer tip: Ctrl + enlarges text
I use shortcut keys. Most people probably rarely use them. However, there's one I think that's really useful and people should know.
Press 'Ctrl' and '+' to enlarge the text.
This should make long articles easier to read.
In most browsers:
Ctrl + makes the text larger
Ctrl - makes the text smaller
Ctrl 0 set the text to the original size
Also, hold the Ctrl key and scroll the mouse wheel also changes the size of the text.
They also work in some word processors (e.g. MS Word) and PDF readers etc. In this case, they're more like zooming in and out.
I know it's useful for someone who just got a new 10-inch netbook in Taiwan. hehe. Even for me, my notebook has a 15-inch screen. I still press Ctrl + on most web pages. I don't like straining my eyes.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Micro-blogging
I recently learned there's something called micro-blogging. Basically you can post short messages about what you're doing now, and your friends can see. Here's a 2 and half minute video by Common Craft Show explaining one of the most popular micro-blogging service, Twitter:
Twitter in Plain English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o&feature=user
By the way, Common Craft Show has a number of “in plain English” videos that explain new web tools and services such as Twitter, blog, RSS etc. Have a look on http://www.commoncraft.com/ when you hear about some new web stuffs and you want a simple explanation.
Back to the topic of micro-blogging. So, basically, it lets your friends see your 碎碎念. It's kind of like people writing a short message besides their nicknames in instant messengers. I'm skeptical about the concept, though. My initial thoughts are, wouldn't it be a nuisance to keep writing about what you're doing every moment? And do you want other people to know what you're doing all the time. Also, wouldn't it be annoying to get notifications about what people are doing all the time?
But then I thought it'd be useful in some cases. I think it would be suitable for people who have close relationships and are interested in each other's daily lives and don't mind letting the other person know their own lives. It'd useful for partners or friends living in different countries as they may be harder to keep getting updates about each other. I think it's because micro-blogging is of different time, different location; whereas instant messaging is same time, different location. It would require both people to be online at the same time (for online messages) to use MSN. Sometimes it's not so convenient for people in different countries with time differences.
Twitter and Plurk are the 2 popular micro-blogging services I've heard about. Plurk looks kind of cool with the timeline interface. There are some example Plurks on its home page, such as this example, have a look if you're interested. When you see the timeline, you can click the button on the bottom right that says “only blahblah's plurks”, and select “blahblah and his friends plurks”, to get a better idea what it would be like when many people leave messages.
I wonder if any of my friends is micro-blogging? I guess probably not. Otherwise one of them might have asked me to start micro-blogging too. I guess if I micro-blog. I might write too much for the first 3 days, and find it takes too much time, then abandon it. I'm just guessing though.
Another thing, you can also let other people know what you do in your day by sharing Google Calendars. That wasn't the main intention of Google Calendars, but you can use it that way too.
I'm thinking... I have no idea what Hari does everyday, if he uses this, it'd be cool. But I wonder if I'm willing to publish what I do daily, though. :P
Another possible usage is for my 2 video gaming enthusiasts friends. They leave messages about game stuffs on a message board, maybe they can use this to give updates to each other. Ha.
Twitter in Plain English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o&feature=user
By the way, Common Craft Show has a number of “in plain English” videos that explain new web tools and services such as Twitter, blog, RSS etc. Have a look on http://www.commoncraft.com/ when you hear about some new web stuffs and you want a simple explanation.
Back to the topic of micro-blogging. So, basically, it lets your friends see your 碎碎念. It's kind of like people writing a short message besides their nicknames in instant messengers. I'm skeptical about the concept, though. My initial thoughts are, wouldn't it be a nuisance to keep writing about what you're doing every moment? And do you want other people to know what you're doing all the time. Also, wouldn't it be annoying to get notifications about what people are doing all the time?
But then I thought it'd be useful in some cases. I think it would be suitable for people who have close relationships and are interested in each other's daily lives and don't mind letting the other person know their own lives. It'd useful for partners or friends living in different countries as they may be harder to keep getting updates about each other. I think it's because micro-blogging is of different time, different location; whereas instant messaging is same time, different location. It would require both people to be online at the same time (for online messages) to use MSN. Sometimes it's not so convenient for people in different countries with time differences.
Twitter and Plurk are the 2 popular micro-blogging services I've heard about. Plurk looks kind of cool with the timeline interface. There are some example Plurks on its home page, such as this example, have a look if you're interested. When you see the timeline, you can click the button on the bottom right that says “only blahblah's plurks”, and select “blahblah and his friends plurks”, to get a better idea what it would be like when many people leave messages.
I wonder if any of my friends is micro-blogging? I guess probably not. Otherwise one of them might have asked me to start micro-blogging too. I guess if I micro-blog. I might write too much for the first 3 days, and find it takes too much time, then abandon it. I'm just guessing though.
Another thing, you can also let other people know what you do in your day by sharing Google Calendars. That wasn't the main intention of Google Calendars, but you can use it that way too.
I'm thinking... I have no idea what Hari does everyday, if he uses this, it'd be cool. But I wonder if I'm willing to publish what I do daily, though. :P
Another possible usage is for my 2 video gaming enthusiasts friends. They leave messages about game stuffs on a message board, maybe they can use this to give updates to each other. Ha.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Google Calendar
Yes, I'm still busy. Ray and Andy have failed to get me out in the recent weeks. Hopefully it'll be better After the assignments end on Saturday.
Just thought I should come up and leave a short message or something. Just thought of Google Calendar. I've used it for two weeks after one of my assignment partner told me to use it. Yeah, I think it's quite useful for me to plan what's coming in the future. It's also useful to keep a record of what I did. For example, it showed that I worked more than 60 hours last week, so I guess if I still fail, I've at least given it a good shot.
I think the advantage of using a web based calendar is that it's flexible. It's quite easy to change the events. It also lets you share calendars with other people, which is how my assignment partner and I plan for meetings. The disadvantage is that you must be online, you can't take it anywhere. Although you can argue that if you have a mobile device with Internet, then you can use it anywhere. (e.g. how Andy used his 3G phone stuff in Taiwan.)
Oh, a feature I just started using yesterday is that it can send you reminders via SMS messages. I don't know how they can offer that without charge, but it does.
Anyway, have a look on Google if you're interested. If you start using it, I might share with you my calendar with more public plans (which has nearly no plans). Or I might even show you my primary calendar that shows time durations with events but the details are hidden. And you might wonder why I had something until 2:30am Saturday. You'd be wrong if you guess I was anywhere near Margarita.
Just thought I should come up and leave a short message or something. Just thought of Google Calendar. I've used it for two weeks after one of my assignment partner told me to use it. Yeah, I think it's quite useful for me to plan what's coming in the future. It's also useful to keep a record of what I did. For example, it showed that I worked more than 60 hours last week, so I guess if I still fail, I've at least given it a good shot.
I think the advantage of using a web based calendar is that it's flexible. It's quite easy to change the events. It also lets you share calendars with other people, which is how my assignment partner and I plan for meetings. The disadvantage is that you must be online, you can't take it anywhere. Although you can argue that if you have a mobile device with Internet, then you can use it anywhere. (e.g. how Andy used his 3G phone stuff in Taiwan.)
Oh, a feature I just started using yesterday is that it can send you reminders via SMS messages. I don't know how they can offer that without charge, but it does.
Anyway, have a look on Google if you're interested. If you start using it, I might share with you my calendar with more public plans (which has nearly no plans). Or I might even show you my primary calendar that shows time durations with events but the details are hidden. And you might wonder why I had something until 2:30am Saturday. You'd be wrong if you guess I was anywhere near Margarita.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Site feed again
I came across this 4 minute video explaining RSS and how to use it in plain English, with Chinese subtitle.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1881080775770831914&hl=en
-----
I thought there's only RSS feeds for web sites such as blogs. I just found out there is another common feed format called Atom. In fact, I've been using Atom feed for my blog instead RSS which I thought I was using.
Most feed readers such as Google Reader handle all the formats anyway. So it shouldn't be a problem.
My blog hosting site "Blogger" provides both Atom and RSS feeds, with Atom as the default. My understanding so far is the Atom feed URL is
http://lungchenz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
and the RSS feed URL is
http://lungchenz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
so ND, if one feed doesn't work on your cellphone, you can try the other.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1881080775770831914&hl=en
-----
I thought there's only RSS feeds for web sites such as blogs. I just found out there is another common feed format called Atom. In fact, I've been using Atom feed for my blog instead RSS which I thought I was using.
Most feed readers such as Google Reader handle all the formats anyway. So it shouldn't be a problem.
My blog hosting site "Blogger" provides both Atom and RSS feeds, with Atom as the default. My understanding so far is the Atom feed URL is
http://lungchenz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
and the RSS feed URL is
http://lungchenz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
so ND, if one feed doesn't work on your cellphone, you can try the other.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
RSS
FYI. Just to mention this RSS thing. Hopefully some might find it useful.
If you subscribe to the RSS feeds of web sites, it notifies you when there are new articles on the web site.
For example, I subscribe to RSS feeds of my friends blogs. So I check my RSS reader to see if there are new articles on their blog. I don't need to open each blog page one by one to see. It's like checking the mailbox for new mails.
I subscribe to certain types of news on NZ Herald. For exmaple, if there's a new article about "Chinese in New Zealand". I'll see the feed in my RSS reader.
I start to use it to subscribe it to job web site too. So I get notified when a new job get posted.
(A Screenshot of Google Reader)
To get started, you need a RSS reader/aggregator. You might try one of these:
Google Reader
http://www.google.com/reader/
SharpReader
http://www.sharpreader.net/
I use Google Reader nowadays because it is web based, so I can move between computers without setting up all the feeds again.
If you subscribe to the RSS feeds of web sites, it notifies you when there are new articles on the web site.
For example, I subscribe to RSS feeds of my friends blogs. So I check my RSS reader to see if there are new articles on their blog. I don't need to open each blog page one by one to see. It's like checking the mailbox for new mails.
I subscribe to certain types of news on NZ Herald. For exmaple, if there's a new article about "Chinese in New Zealand". I'll see the feed in my RSS reader.
I start to use it to subscribe it to job web site too. So I get notified when a new job get posted.
(A Screenshot of Google Reader)To get started, you need a RSS reader/aggregator. You might try one of these:
Google Reader
http://www.google.com/reader/
SharpReader
http://www.sharpreader.net/
I use Google Reader nowadays because it is web based, so I can move between computers without setting up all the feeds again.
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