Weekend picks #017

Linux is definitely Getting Things Done

[1]

Getting things done fast
In theory there is nothing wrong about Getting Things Done. The only problem is that sometime the theory of GTD is just a theory and the work you have is time consuming regardless David Allen. I recently had a large number (around 500) of txt files with some URLs in them. I wanted to collect all the URLs in an Excel file. I also wanted to sort them out alphabetically and delete the duplicates. I can’t imagine how much time would take someone to open manually 500 files and copy paste the 5.000 more or less URLs in Excel. I did in less than 5 minutes. In fact the copy paste, the sorting and the removing of the duplicate URLs just took a little more than 2 or 3 seconds. The rest was just me trying to remember and searching the net for the correct syntax of two or three Linux Bash commands.

grep
grep is a Linux program for searching lines inside a text or text files.You can use it to collect lines from a txt file that match a particular pattern. All I had to do is to collect all the lines from the files that started with “http://*” (yes you can use wildcard in grep).
uniq
If you have a sorted file you can use uniq to remove the duplicate lines.
The whole script was just 5 lines. I had to use a “for” command to open the files one after the other and collect the particular lines.

[2]

Cygwin
I recently installed Kubuntu 7.10 so I did all the testing there but I could also have used my Vista installation if I had installed Cygwin
Cygwin is a Linux Like environment for Windows which gives you access to huge number of Linux tools like the ones I used. You can use it to run other Linux programs and scripts within Windows. It’s really something to open up Command Prompt and instead of “dir” to type “ls” to see the files in a directory. The current version of Cygwin runs in all versions of Windows (32 and 64bit) except Windows CE. I tested in Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit and it worked without a problem.

[3]

Exploring Flickr
I really love flickr.com. You can find my photos here. Today I came across a new web application with the name flexplore
How does it work? Well flexplore analyzes your favorites and the photos of your contacts and suggests Flickr photos that you might like. Give it a try, it really works!

Until next time... Keep on talking to your friends.

Weekend picks #014

I really like searching the net. You start in one point and you never know where you will end up. :-)

[1]

Broadband Speed Test and Diagnostics
If you have problems with your connection to the Internet like I do, then you will find Broadband Speed Test and Diagnostics 1.1 a valuable tool. It is, yet another, extension for Firefox  [I can’t believe it; it seems that there is a Firefox extension for everything]. In the latest version the Broadband Speed Test and Diagnostics can perform a diagnostic check in your Network card, DHCP server, local gateway, DNS server and the web site that the browser failed to reach. It can also run and present a bandwidth performance test [download and upload]. Download it here

[2]

ActiveWords
I came across this blogpost yesterday where someone was saying “let me know and I will shoot you a copy of the WordBase to test. We have had great success with people who use David Allen’s methodology.” Well I always liked free software and testing it in my computer so I left a comment saying that I would like to test Wordbase. Few hours later I had new mail [thanks for the immediate response Buz] with the WordBase attached. Ι had already downloaded and installed Active Words They have a 5 days trial version which you could extend to 60 days trial version by simply registering. Wordbase is actually an add-on for Active Words for the users of Microsoft Office 2007.
ActiveWords is a really different and cool way to use your computer. You can assign a word as a shortcut to everything. Every time you write down this word you have an option by simply pressing F8 to launch a program, site or whatever. The clever part is that you don’t have to write that word in a special box [although you can do that also and press Enter]. You can write it in every program that permits you to insert text. You could for example write down excel in a notepad or a Word document and by simply pressing F8 to lunch Excel. [I have already add the word anb as an active one to lunch in a Firefox window what else, the www.anabubula.com. You can even use it as a Spelling Check program just like Autocorrect in Office but you can use it in every text box even in Windows Explorer when renaming a file. ActiveWords comes with 1800 common misspelled English words that you can use it to correct them automatically as you type them. If you use a tablet PC it is even easier. Just write with your pen the Active word and that’s it!
There a lot of free add-in “applications” for the ActiveWords, you can check them out here .Hey Stefanos there is one for MindManager also.

I was so excited with the ActiveWords that I didn’t “test” the WordBase at all [sorry Buzz]. I will look into it and come back later in the week with a full review.

[3]

Vista Rebooting
What’s this rebooting thing for Windows Vista? I left my computer on last night because I started downloading something only to find out in the morning that a few minutes after I went to sleep the computer downloaded an update from Microsoft and rebooted! I have to start all over again. I thought that UAC [User Access Control] was the most annoying thing about Vista but I now believe that rebooting whenever they feel like it, is by far the winner.

Until next time. Keep on... thinking different!

Weekend goodies #005

The weather here is sunshine today :-)

[1]

Rationale: as you probably know I love mindmapping and anytime I found some time I'm looking for new applications about mindmapping and visual diagrams.
Rationale is an argument-maps software [by an Australian company] for producing diagrams of reasoning, helping people to:
* improve reasoning abilities
* develop stronger arguments
* communicate complex cases
* produce better documents
* make better decisions

Argument maps are box-and-line diagrams that lay out visually reasoning and evidence for and against a statement or claim.

I tested this application and I have to admit that is fast, very well designed and gives what it promise: an easy and powerful way to create maps which clarify and organize thinking by showing the logical relationships between thoughts that are expressed simply and precisely.
A great application that use also the new Ofice2007 style bars.

[2]

UniveRSS is a 3D RSS feed reader for Windows Vista.
It provides a stunning way of visualizing RSS feeds and their content. It introduces a full-screen 3D universe where galaxies represent the folders of your RSS feed directory, and the stars are represented by the spinning cubes that hold the feed information. Size and position of the feed cubes indicate how many unread items they contain.

Nice screensaver with a clever name ;-)

[3]

I'm sure that you know PortableApps Suite. Recently I discovered after a quick research the WinPenPack.
WinPenPack is a collection of free and open source portable programs. [click on "English" button ;-) ]
You can choose between some standardized configurations, all small enough to fit on your USB Pen Drive.
Standard configurations include: WinPenPack FLASH 128, WinPenPack FLASH 256 and WinPenPack FLASH 512, containing the best open source and freeware software found on the Internet, made portable and divided by categories: Graphics, Internet, Multimedia, Security, System, Education, Web tools, Business and Utilities.
Beyond these 'Standard pre-made' configurations, you can also choose some personalized suites such as WinPenPack FLASH SCHOOL, containing educational software only, and WinPenPack FLASH EXPERT, very useful for system administrators and advanced users.

You can also create your own personal WPP collection. This can be done by referring to some simple guidelines, shown at: WinPenPack PERSONAL.
Great work!

[4]

Create a gadget for Vista, you can!
The forthcoming Windows version [Vista] has a sidebar that can host gadgets presenting any kind of information you like to have on you desktop.
Bellow you can find some useful links which helps you to create easily YOUR gadget:
* Desktopgizmos
* Gadget Development Overview
* It's time to build...

It's easy, isn't it?

Have a Nice Week!