Tag Archive for: Technology

Installing Ubuntu with Wubi

I installed the Ubuntu Hardy Heron release onto my desktop via wubi. This isn’t a how-to on how I did that. You don’t need a how-to, the installation was that easy. You burn the cd, put it in the tray and follow the installation procedures that follow. It’s like installing any other program in Windows. Once you’re done, you reboot and choose which installation you want to run, Windows Vista or Ubuntu in my case. The install doesn’t touch your Windows files, doesn’t change your boot record, and if you want to get rid of your Ubuntu install when you’re done trying it out, you just remove it from Add/Remove Programs in Windows’ Control Panel like you do with any other program. I’m quite pleased by all of this.

As for Hardy Heron, there isn’t much new to talk about. It’s very similar to Gutsy Gibbon that came out 6 months ago, with the addition of some new program defaults (Transmission for Bit Torrent, among others) and some under the hood changes that a casual desktop user won’t notice too much. Ubuntu is definitely making it easier and easier to transition from Windows to Linux with each release. If you were ever afraid to take the plunge, now is your best time. You have nothing to lose by installing it via wubi and trying it out.

It’s 3 AM

This is Shep and I approve this message:

3am.jpgIt’s 3 AM and something terrible just happened. Somewhere, someone is trying to call me. Unfortunately, my battery has died. Instead of hearing my voice, the caller is redirected to a cold, almost robotic voice of the voice mail. Is this who you want answering the phone at 3 AM? This April, vote for quality. Vote for excellence. Vote for reliability. Please, donate now to ensure when that phone rings at 3 AM, I’m able to answer it.

My birthday is in April and I’d really like to buy an iPhone. Here’s the problem, I’m a poor teacher that can’t afford the hefty $500 price tag. I really would like the iPhone for all it’s great features and so it can help me stay more organized. So, my lovely, sexy, smart, funny, witty, beautiful readers, won’t you do your part? Help me get the best birthday present ever!

Find it in your heart this spring to click below and donate to a worthy cause!













(paid for by The Committee to Buy Shep an iPhone)

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Today I purchased Super Smash Brothers Brawl for the Wii. I remember playing a SSB game on the N64 and finding it entertaining, but I never bought it. That was one of the only times I ever rented a game. I swung by Best Buy after work and picked up a copy. I got home and was instantly thrilled with the game. The introduction showing all the Nintendo Universe characters was amazing. I’m really impressed with the graphics in this game. The Wii definitely continues to amaze me. I played the game solo and find it quite fun being the different characters with the different powers and moves. The scenery is amazing as well. Skippy invited me to play with him and his daughters via the Wii Connect feature where you can play across the internet with other people. So, we played and it was fun, when it wasn’t lagging. Since the game just came out, and it was a highly anticipated release, Nintendo servers were being bombarded. This meant we kept freezing or being disconnected from the servers. I can see how it will be really fun playing against other people. I can’t wait until the servers calm down so I can have some online SSB fun!

New Cell Phone

I would like a new cell phone. I don’t really need a new one, but I’ve had my Razr for two years and it’s time to upgrade. I can get a new phone with a discount from Verizon at the end of this month, or I can wait until April when my contract is up and go with another company. Really the only company I’ll consider switching to is AT&T. One reason I don’t want to switch is because I have a good deal with Verizon and the family plan I’m on with my sisters and brother-in-law. On the other hand, Verizon cripples their phones with their crappy OS and they disable features. That bugs me. I’ve had T-Mobile and I won’t go back to them and I’ve heard bad things about Sprint in the St. Louis area.

Lately, I’ve been taking notice in the phones offered at various stores and kiosks. I’m not impressed at all. At all. Many of the phones are either feature-less or have too many features. No Verizon, I don’t want an mp3 player phone with your horrible interface. If I really wanted an mp3 player on my phone, I’d go with the iPhone. I want something simple, but one thing I would like it to have is a web browser, and I don’t mean a WAP browser. I would like an HTML browser. The problem is, most of the phones that offer these are the Blackberry, the iPhone, and Windows Mobile smart phones. I don’t need something that complex because I’m not someone who needs to constantly sync up with his office and be in constant contact with people. I would like to have IM that works and web access so I can check Gmail and whatnot. I also want the phone to be relatively small, and if possible a Qwerty keyboard, though that’s not crucial. Why can’t I find a phone that suits me and why does it seem like Europe has all the best phones?

Quick Launch with Launchy

Ever since I got my MacBook I’ve fallen in love with the Quicksilver feature of typing control and space then typing the first few letters of the application I want to launch to launch it. This keeps the desktop and the dock clean and is quicker than going to your applications directory and running the app from there. I got so used to this that when I was on my Windows machine I missed having a feature like this. That’s when I found Launchy. This is a free Windows program that does just that. I type alt space then the first few letters of the program I want to launch.

I’ve been wanting to get rid of Windows Sidebar for a while but kept it because of a quick launcher I have on there. I didn’t want to overload the standard Windows quick launcher with programs and I didn’t want to clutter my desktop with shortcuts. Also, I think we all know how painfully slow the Windows Start menu can be at times, so that was out of the question too. So I kept Windows Sidebar just for the Quicklauncher Gadget I had. Now I can finally get rid of it. Here are some screenshots of Launchy in action on my machine. (Click the screenshots for larger versions).

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Here I am launching Photoshop. I type the first few letters and a drop down list pops up with suggestions. When I find the one I want I simply click it. Launchy is also fully skinnable so I can get one that matches my desktop.

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Here I am adding a directory to the Launchy options. Not only will it look for programs, but files as long as you add the directory in which you want Launchy to search. Here I’m adding my Music folder.

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Now I’m adding what extensions I want Launchy to index in that folder. Since I added my Music folder, I added .mp3. You may want to add other formats too, such as .m4p, .m4a, .acc, .ogg, etc.

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Finally, we have my search for “Tupac” now that I’ve added my Music directory.

Launchy works quite well and was the perfect solution to what I was looking for. It doesn’t hog system resources and is extremely fast at bringing up results when you start typing. If you’re looking for a quick launch solution, make sure you give Launchy a try.