Top 5 Linux Apps I Can't Do Without

AWN (Avant Window Manager) - is a slick-looking animated dock that you can customize to show shortcuts to your favorite apps. Most apps will have their own AWN icons, so don't worry about any apps you might want to add. It also displays shortcuts to any open application, so if you have apps open in different virtual desktops clicking will immediately take you to the desktop where that app is active. Depending on what animation style you choose, the icons will twhirl, throb or twinkle for you when you hover a cursor over them. It also works well with Compiz, so much so that if you have Compiz on, your AWN icons will turn 3D! By default, the dock also has a mini-terminal, good for squirting those quick one-line commands. To find out more about AWN, go to http://wiki.awn-project.org/

Shutter - a screenshot program that takes it to the next level by including simple editing features to make creating screenshots a one app affair. One common example is blurring your personal information (IP address, email address, IM handles) when you intend to post a screenshot of your desktop online. This is quite common for anyone blogging HowTo's and reviews. You can take screenshots of different windows and it will arrange them in tabs until saved. You can crop, resize, blur, add lines, shapes, highlighting and text to the pic. Shutter is so good on features, it can even take a screenshot of itself. How cool is that?! To find out more about Shutter, go to http://shutter-project.org/faq-help/.

VirtualBox - my favorite virtual machine software because it's not as resource-intensive as VMWare and it's compatible with VMWare images. My computer only has 2GB of RAM and rather limited hard drive space (too many old pictures and media files -- LOL), but I can still run VirtualBox with a browser, chat and torrent running. It's quite lean, if you asked me. To find out more about VirtualBox, go to http://www.virtualbox.org/.

Deluge - a BitTorrent client with extras. Most distributions include Transmission by default now. Some include the main branch BitTorrent. But I like this one because of the extent of features it has. Its based of Python and GTK, making it lightweight, as opposed maybe to Azureus. It's also intuitive (for me) to configure features, three of which I most often use -- encryption, blocklists and the tray icon that allows me to change bandwidth allocation easily and on-the-fly. It also has a single-window interface that shows all your torrents and clicking on any torrent plus the tabs below allow you to check on any number of details -- how may peers you're connected to, what percent each file is at, how fast uploads and downloads are per peer, etc. I guess comparing it to Azureus, it's interface is as informative but not as heavy on system resources. Compared to Transmission, it displays a lot more information and a lot more tweak potential. It's good middle ground. To find out more about Deluge, go to http://deluge-torrent.org/.

BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing) - a computing platform that large science projects can use to harness the potential of distributed computing. Basically, distributed computing uses volunteer computers and it starts using your computer's spare processor cycles when you're not using it. BOINC provides a platform for these science projects to just plugin. Since I sometimes leave the computer on for large downloads, I turn BOINC on and it crunches numbers for science projects like Rosetta@Home (protein folding), SETI@home (analysis of extraterrestial radio signals) and ClimatePrediction.net (climate prediction models). There are alot of deserving science projects that you can certainly participate in. You just have to find a cause that you're willing to support. I encourage anyone out there reading this -- if you leave your internet-connected PC on for extended periods of time, consider donating your spare CPU cycles to these projects. Don't let those processor cycles go o waste! Go to http://boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.php to find out more about active projects you can support.

Top 5 Free Windows Apps I Can't Do Without

USB Guardian - it does one simple thing really well. It stops self-executing files on USB drives you connect to your computer. Most viruses and trojans bypass anti-virus programs by being faster. Auto.inf and .exe files launch faster than your anti-virus can say 'Gotcha!'. USB Guardian stops any executables, giving your anti-virus precious millisecconds to react and can. It's not fool-proof, but together with fast proactive anti-virus software it's a potent line of defense. Download USB Guardian from: http://www.usb-guardian.com/downloads/usb-guardian-setup.exe

7-Zip - not all zippers are created equal. This free and open source tool gives me 2 extra features that other zip software will ask me to pay for -- self-extracting zipped volumes and password protection. You will have to zip using the 7-Zip format, but if you create a self-extracting folder it turns into an .exe file instead of the default .7z. That means recipients don't have to have 7-Zip installed in their computer. I've already shared large photo packages with family using public services like Sendspace without fear for privacy because I can set a difficult password on it too. If you do it the same way, just remember to get them a password in a safe way like through SMS. Start using it today by downloading the latest version from: http://www.7-zip.org/

ImgBurn - free and one of the most reliable burning software I have used, this one has all the features that  I need. I use it mostly to burn images files to disc, create data backups, the reverse. I mean create images of discs and copying data discs, that is. It doesn't suffer from the bloat of some other burning software and it's lightweight. It comes with a few extras that I need, like verify mode and reading information off blank discs. That's useful when your scouting for reliable media -- yes, Taiyo Yuden DVD-R's are still the best! Try out ImgBurn and let me know how it goes for you. Get it here: http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download

TeraCopy - Need to speed up your file copying from drive to drive? This is the app for you! So named because it was created to maximize copying speeds for large files, TeraCopy just maxes out whatever available speed there is on your drives. It has made copying large folders a breeze for me. Very useful indeed for that Terabyte of data you've been itching to move from a friend's PC to your portable drive [Seagate FreeAgent, anyone?] ;-) So hurry up and download it already, it's free for home use: http://www.codesector.com/download.php

VLC (VideoLAN Client) - originally intended for streaming media to other computers in the same network, VLC is just as capable as a media player. I like to call it 'codec-agnostic'. Well, not really. But it will play practically anything you throw at it. Mostly because it already includes most codecs in it's plumbing. No more codec hell. Don't let the traffic cone throw you off. This is one very capable media player. Certainly the best media player that I've used in the past 10 years. Go download it now at: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Missing Your menu.lst? You've Got Grub2!

If you're like me, you'd have been taking advantage of the popularity of Virtual Machine software to try out new Linux distributions. Or if you have a dual-boot (with Windows on one end and a Linux favorite on the other), you've been content at upgrading Linux from version to version without doing a full reinstall. Then there comes the confusion when doing a fresh install and you realize you don't know what that heck happened to the /boot/grub/menu.lst file on your Grub.

Since Ubuntu 9.10, Grub 2 has become the default boot loader. If you are looking for the menu.lst file that used to be what you edited to specify which OS to boot into by default, then I'm telling you it is gone. In Grub 2, the file that closely resembles its functionality is /boot/grub/grub.cfg, but that isn't supposed to be edited. You need to edit something else and then update grub.cfg. Here's how to do it in Ubuntu and Linux Mint, 2 of the distros I usually end up installing.

After installing Ubuntu or Mint and rebooting for the first time, take note of the menu entries. They usually follow the following pattern:

Ubuntu, linux *kernel_version_here*

Ubuntu, linux *kernel_version_here* (recovery mode)

Memory Test (memtest86+)

Memory Test (memtest86+, serial console mode)

Windows OS

Here's a sample of how it looks like on my desktop, Linux Mint as it were:

Now note that the default entry is "0", which points to the first option in the list above. That is to say your linux distro in normal mode is "0", your linux distro in recovery mode is "1" and so on. Counting from 0, Windows is then option 4 as listed above. Now as a sample, let's edit it so it boots to the Windows OS by default:

1. Open a terminal and type in "sudo gedit /etc/default/grub" (without the quotes). Type in your root password when asked:

2. Edit the entry GRUB_DEFAULT=0, replacing zero with the option you want to boot by default. In our sample way above, Windows is number 4:

3. Save the file and close it.

4. To update /boot/grub/grub.cfg with the new settings, go back to the terminal and enter the command “sudo update-grub” (without the quotes). Type in your root password if asked:

5. Reboot to test.

There you have it. Now if you'd want to go further and tweak the heck out of Grub2, you can go to the following links for very detailed instructions:

Ubuntu Grub2 Community Documentation - https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2
Ubuntu Forums Grub2 Tweaks Thread - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1287602
Ubuntu Forums Grub2 5 Common Tasks - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1302743

Hybrid Drives - A Cost Effective SSD Alternative

I've posted before about SSD's as an interesting way to boost your computers performance OS-wise. Well, a lot of people scoff at the high price versus the actual storage that SSD's offer. Seagate just came up with a viable alternative to you speed junkies out there with a major upside -- substantial storage.
Hybrid Drives have been around for a while. Windows Vista was actually launched with this technology as one of its optimization features along with ReadyBoost. With ReadyBoost, Windows will use a USB or other flash device to boot up faster, storing frequently used applications and data on the flash memory to make Vista boot faster. Hybrid drives work in a similar fashion by allotting flash memory built-in to the drive to store and deploy frequently used data. The result is faster boot times and near instant response when launching applications. Recent developments it SSD technology have overshadowed that, as a pure flash-based solution is definitely faster.

So it was a pleasant surprise to find Seagate actually moved forward in R&D and produced the Momentus XT, a hybrid notebook drive that bridges the performance difference between SSD's and spindle (mechanical) hard drives. I first saw a reference to this in Anandtech and read the spec sheets at Seagate. I saw the drives were available at Amazon and thought Seagate is pushing a whole-hearted marketing strategy to niche the Momentus XT as a value proposition (at least performance-wise) to SSD's.

Reading the Anandtech article, I wasn't convinced it would be as fast. They revealed it was apparent from the first boot, as the drive had to "learn" what data the user usually launched to have that reside in the faster flash memory before you saw a performance boost. Seagate calls this Adaptive Memory technology. Anandtech’s testing revealed it really did perform halfway between a super-fast SSD and a mechanical hard drive once it "learned". Boot time increased and so did launching apps. The drive learned fast too. They tested its best speed just after 2 reboots.

But OverclockersClub.com posted benchmarks that really blew me away. They achieved near-parity performance with SSD's by RAIDing 2 Momentus XT drives. It makes a whole lot of sense once you think about it. Using RAID 1 to write simultaneously to 2 drives will practically double the speed of the whole set-up.

Now say you have a desktop that could use a speed boost. Get 2 250 GB Momentus XT drives, mount them using bracket adapter like the Silverstone SDP08 Bay Converter. That bracket allows you to mount 2 notebook drives and use just one 3.5 " drive bay in a desktop case. RAID the pair and use it as a boot drive and you'll have spent $223.23 on it. Compare that to $244.73 you have to pony up if you go with a Kingston SSDNow V Series 128 GB, one of the cheaper SSD options. That's almost equal performance speed and almost four times more storage for the same price. The price difference is even more obscene if you go for the 320GB or 500GB Momentus XT’s and compare that to equivalent capacity SSD’s.

These Hybrid Drives are definitely a win-win proposition for anyone seeking a performance boost on their computer without it costing a small fortune. All I need now is to convince the missus this is a ‘need’ and not a ‘want’ upgrade :-)

Scientist Implants 'PC Virus' on Self

The headlines immediately grabbed my attention: Man Infects Himself With Computer Virus, Scientist Infected by PC Virus, Human Carries Computer Virus in Implant for the First Time, Scientist Implants Virus-Infected Chip In Himself. Sounds like something you'd read in a few years. But these are headlines that dominated news sites in the last 24 hours.

RFID’s, fondly nicknamed ‘arphids’ by many a geek, have been used for several years now as a means of tracking stuff. The most common example I’ve seen is tracking inventory as it is delivered from warehouse to store. I’ve also seen them on CD’s in music stores and in clothes stores. When you go to the cashier to pay for your purchases, they take the RFID’s off. Security scanners near the door of the store bleat when one is taken out of the store premises. Useful :-)

Well, British scientist Dr. Mark Gasson has an RFID chip on his arm. RFID implants aren't new. Researchers have experimenting on ways to make these chips useful for the last 2 decades at least. Implants like these have so far been limited to storing information like medical histories on Medical Alert bracelets that emergency medical teams can use when patients are unconscious. They have also been used to store information about the person's identity, like in the case of passports. In the case of Dr. Gasson's research, he's using it as a swipe badge, allowing him entry to certain portions of their labs in the University of Reading. Although this isn't new (see this article from 2005 on a man who used a similar implant to unlock secured doors: http://www.theinternetpatrol.com/washington-man-has-hand-implanted-with-rfid-uses-hand-to-unlock-door/), Gasson took it further by implanting a benign virus in the implant. The virus replicated itself when it came in contact with scanning devices and again on RFID's that were scanned by these 'infected' devices.

As with other hacks associated with RFID's, this isn't astoundingly new. But the headlines sure do get your attention. With news like these grabbing headlines, I hope lawmakers and governments think twice about requiring RFID's in passports, vehicle identification and other sorts of tracking schemes. If there's anything to be gleamed from this experiment, it's that RFID's need to be made even more secure before they are even considered useful to confirm the legitimacy of identities.