Technology Discussion: February 2010

20 February, 2010

Hide Closed Projects in Eclipse Project Explorer View

Ever wanted to hide all those closed projects in eclipse? Well, here is a simple trick that you may not know already.
Imagine your Eclipse workspace is filled with many projects that you created in past just to test some small functionality. Now you are done with these projects and hence you have closed it. Eclipse by default show all the closed projects in Project Explorer. Hence your project explorer may look like following where only two projects are open and rest competing for your attention although they are closed!

Eclipse comes with a cool tiny feature that many of us not know. You may want to Hide all those closed projects from your workspace in Project Explorer tab. Simply follow following steps and do this is few seconds!
Step 1: Click on right corner of Project Explorer tab and open context menu. Select Filters option from menu.

Step 2: Check Closed Projects option from Filter and press Ok

Now check your project explorer tab, all the closed projects are gone! Doesn’t it looks more clean :)

We used Filters option to remove closed projects from Project Explorer tab. Filters provides more options to select and remove from displaying it from explorer view.

Courtesy: Viral Patel
Author: Viral Patel

18 February, 2010

What if…Apple only offered the 64GB/3G iPad and sold it for $499

Even though the iPad is still more than a month away from shipping, iSuppli conducted a preliminary itemized parts breakdown. The results aren’t that surprising: Apple’s making a boatload on these things. iSuppli concluded that the $499 16GB/no 3G model only costs $229 to manufacturer with the $829 64GB/3G model costing only $117 more to make even though it carries a $329 premium. Nice, eh?

These numbers can be broken down even further showing Apple’s insane margins. The 3G module only costs $24.50, but Apple charges $129 more for the option. The NAND memory chips are really the only difference between all three options, but their real costs of $29 for 16GB, $59 for $32GB, and $119 for 64GB are nowhere near proportionate with the iPad’s prices. All this data shows that Apple’s abandoning its long-held K.I.S.S. strategy.

So what if Apple got back on the keeping it simple bandwagon, only offered the high-end 64GB with 3G iPad and still sold it for $499? After all, the company would still be making at least $153 on each iPad sold. Would that turn around the iPad’s outlook?

The vast majority that participated in our poll the other day said that the iPad needs a lower price, specifically $349 for the base model. That clearly shows people are not satisfied with what the iPad offers at its $499 price point when it only offers 16 GB of storage and without the 3G wireless option along with a host of other letdowns such as lack of USB, SD card inputs, and multitasking. Surely if the iPad were only offered in a 64GB/3G kit, at least more would be able to look past some of the other transgressions.

In fact this model structure of six different options for the same device is new for Apple as of late. Previously Apple was known for its no nonsense approach of just a high-end or low-end option. (MacBook or MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac Pro) Now consumers have to decide not only how much extra they want to spend for storage, but also if they want to spend $130 more for 3G access.

GPS units are known for this type of rubbish. There might be a dozen different models available, but each step up only adds one or two slight software or hardware change that’s a nominal cost difference, but seems to be enough justification for the gradual price increase up the model line. Only the iPhone and iPod touch share this type of pricing structure, but even though they share a lot of the same parts, their core functionalities are different, justifying the difference. That can’t be said about the iPad, where a unit without 3G will be severally limited compared to one with the option.

Maybe Apple doesn’t need one iPad option priced at $499, but rather only two with both offering 3G access, since it isn’t tied down with a wireless contract anyway. Offer the 32GB option for $399 and then the 64GB one for $549. Something needs to change as clearly consumers aren’t thrilled with the iPad’s current pricing, and now that the whole world can see that Apple is downright robbing buyers of the high-end model, that perception will not improve. Apple, get back to your roots and keep it simple, stupid.

Courtesy: Crunch Gear

Author: Matt Burns

Which Social Network Is Right For You?

Between Twitter, Facebook, and Google's new social networking tool, Buzz, it's hard to turn a corner without running into another social network. But how do you know which networking tool fits you best? We're here—with big charts and all—to help.
Last week Google Buzz made us ask ourselves what we wanted out of social networking. To answer that question, we charted what we liked and disliked about setup, privacy, usability, and other aspects of Buzz, Twitter, and Facebook. Here's the result.
This chart doesn't cover everything about every network out there. MySpace is (seemingly) on the decline or, at best, re-purposing itself. LinkedIn is really a business contact pool, FourSquare a geo-location game, and other networks generally too niche to be compared in the same aspects and categories.
For the simple read, here's the full chart of our Buzz, Twitter, and Facebook comparison. We color-coded each answer to give a context of where it stood, in comparison to what we know is possible and what a smart user would like to see. Red means that you can't rely on this network for this feature. Yellow indicates that the network offers it or makes due, but could definitely be better. Green means something works, and can be considered a selling point.

There's a lot of text there already to parse through, but it's obviously segmented and specific to each function. Having dug into the settings of each network and debated it with my fellow editors, I'll try to offer up a concise take on how I'd explain each network to someone completely new to any of them. I hope it might spur some thought about which network you're using now, too, and why.

Facebook

Facebook's strongest feature, as it stands now, is that it's relatively easy to figure out who your "friends" are. You can pull them from your webmail address book, sure, but you have to check off those you want to be a friend with, and they have to reciprocate. After that, you start seeing their status updates, photos, and other activities on Facebook.com, right when you log in. Simple enough, right? Not exactly.
You can't, or at least shouldn't, create two separate Facebook accounts for personal friends and work contacts/co-workers/casual acquaintances, all of whom are likely to hit you up on Facebook sooner or later. So it's up to the user to create groups of friends and set what those different friends can see. Also, your Facebook identity is tied to certain "networks"—an employer, a school, a location—that you have to remember to set controls for, too. Dig around and you'll almost certainly find the very fine-grain controls you might need. But then, every few months, Facebook changes up their offerings, for better or worse, and it's up to the user to notice and re-learn how to decide what's private, to whom, and, in a much more worrisome way, what's being made public and search-able on the web.
Facebook does have a pretty great iPhone app, and offers a good amount of access to third-party clients like Brizzly and TweetDeck. But they're still limited in some ways meant to drive you to the web site, and their non-iPhone mobile apps and sites are tough to love.

Twitter

What's easy to like about Twitter is the simplicity. You get an account, you see a suggested list of famous users that you can feel free to ignore, and then you're asked to write 140 characters about something, anything. It will be made public, search-able, and able to be re-broadcast by other users, unless you've decided to lock your entire account and require your permission to view it. You can follow other people, block the occasional jerk from following you, reply to others' posts, message other users privately (if you both follow each other), and, over time, you'll learn about third-party apps and context tricks that make the service make more sense. I started using Twitter one day into my first SXSW, and I had it mostly figured within one or two over-eager days.
That simplicity, and reliance on third-party sites and apps for picture posting, link shortening, and the like can be confusing to newcomers that aren't into digging around, for sure. And the speed and volume of the main stream can be overwhelming and off-putting. But Twitter has grown slowly into a network that adapts to users' needs, whether by force or through user innovation. If you don't like how noisy and fast your main feed is, creating a list of high-priority friends and thinkers will do the trick. As you figure out what you like and don't like about Twitter, you'll be able to find third-party apps and interfaces that cater to those interests. We'd love to see expanded features here or there (for discovering who's following you, and perhaps hiding certain posts from all but a few close followers, for example), but Twitter is a pretty novel solution for those who like to share short updates with the web at large.

Buzz

Whatever we write about Buzz will be slightly inaccurate in a week's time, most likely. Buzz is brand new, and already it announced an apology and upcoming "fixes." From what we've seen, though, it seems like it wants to be the solution that FriendFeed never was to tracking your friends and contacts' multi-varied interests. Some friends change their IM status to say what's up, while others post on Flickr, Twitter, their own blog, and other places. Rather than making you head to each site, or make those friends become endless self-promoters, Buzz aims to connect you to everything your friends are doing from a place you're already familiar with—your Gmail and Google contacts.
And that, of course, is where the uproar started. Buzz showed up, suddenly, inside Gmail, and when asking users to sign up, assumed too much that they'd like to turn their email contacts into people they "follow," and maybe make that following status public. If Google could reassure Buzz users that what they did on the network was only among their followers they've individually approved, it would be more appealing. The service also needs a dedicated home, instead of being spread across mobile sites, Gmail, Google Maps, and elsewhere, and gain better controls for how much "buzz" flies at you. But it's promising, still, because it's not a public-type Twitter, or a walled-off Facebook, but something else entirely.

Courtesy: Life Hacker

Ollie the bluebird/Twitterrific

17 February, 2010

Why Web Developers Should Switch to Google Chrome

Check out Chrome 4's great new features for developers, such as cross-platform support, awesome web inspector integration, and handy new extensions. It's becoming more and more difficult to deny Chrome the title as the new browser for web developers. If it's not quite there yet, it will be soon!

Howdy y'all. Brian Egan, web cowboy, here. I'm a designer & front end developer working for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries, where I get to build websites that house fascinating photographs of Mining Boomtowns, Howard Hughes, and more upcoming goodies! You can find me on Twitter or check out more of my work and writing at brianegan.com.

Introduction

With quick load times, a snappy JavaScript engine, solid WebKit foundation, and big-name backing, Google Chrome has been gaining a respectable market share, even surpassing Safari to become the 3rd most popular browser in December. For developers, however, Firefox has been the sweetheart of many due to its ability to run on any operating system and because of its rich offering of web development add-ons, such as Firebug and the Web Developer Toolbar. But it’s important to test JavaScript in all browsers, and having a robust set of tools in each (including Internet Explorer), is precisely what developers need to make the most of their code.
Lucky for us, the Google folks have been working hard to make Chrome cross-platform, integrate WebKit’s fantastic Web Inspector, and add extensions, making Chrome 4 an amazingly useful tool for web development. In this tutorial, I’ll demonstrate some of the features that make Chrome 4 a great addition to the web developer utility belt.

Downloading Chrome 4

As of January 25, Chrome 4 has been officially released as stable for Windows. Mac and Linux users, however, we have to be a bit more brave in order to experience all that Chrome 4 has to offer. Mac users need to download the "dev" version, and Linux users the "beta" version, and it's highly worth it! Check out the following links to get a copy of Chrome for your operating system that supports everything we'll discuss in this article:

Web Inspector (aka Developer Tools)

Now let's get into the nitty gritty! In Firefox, Firebug is a godsend for developers, providing a debugging console, HTML & CSS manipulation, JavaScript profiling, and a whole lot of other goodness. The WebKit folks took notice and over the last couple of years have been perfecting a set of tools called the Web Inspector, which offers a similar set of features to Firebug. Within Chrome 4, the Web Inspector is labeled “Developer Tools.”

Accessing the Web Inspector/Developer Tools

A demonstration of how to access the Developer Tools on Google
Chrome for Mac

In addition to Chrome 4, the Web Inspector has been in action for a while from within previous versions of Chrome and Safari, although it’s a bit hidden. To access the Web Inspector in various browsers:

Safari 4

Select “Edit > Preferences” (Windows) or “Safari > Preferences” (Mac)
Select the “Advanced” tab
Check “Show Develop Menu in menu bar”
A new menu item, “Develop,” will appear
Select “Develop > Show Web Inspector”

Chrome 3 (Windows only)

Select the Wrench
Select Developer
Select JavaScript Console (the whole range of tools are hidden under this name)

Chrome 4

Windows / Linux: Select the Page Icon > Developer > Developer Tools
Mac: Select View > Developer > Developer Tools

JavaScript Console

A screenshot of the Console Panel within the Chrome Developer
Tools

If you haven’t worked with the Firebug or Web Inspector console, then you’re missing out on a great way to help debug JavaScript. The JavaScript console serves several important functions, such as capturing errors and presenting them in a useful format, testing short bits of JavaScript, and as a convenient place to log useful information like variable values and execution times. Practically speaking, I use this tool regularly to evaluate the performance of my programs and to ensure that certain variables are being calculated correctly.

Elements Panel

In addition to the JavaScript console, it’s always nice to have a tool that allows you to quickly view the HTML and style information of particular elements on the page. The Web Inspector Elements panel gives a tree-structure view of the Document Object Model (DOM), allowing you to drill down into the document to select an item of interest. You can also access the information of a certain object by right clicking on an item within the browser and selecting “Inspect Element.”
Finally, I should note that the Elements panel allows for much more than simple inspection. You can modify and add styles, edit html, and in the latest versions, view event listeners attached to a selected DOM element. These features can all come in very handy when you’re dealing with little quirks that you can’t quite figure out.

Resources

The last feature I’d like to highlight within the Web Inspector/Developer Tools is the “Resources” tab. If you’ve worked with Firebug’s “Net” tab, then you’ll notice several similarities. Essentially, the Resources tab gives a breakdown of all the information that is exchanged between your browser and the server, from the images to the JavaScript to the document itself. It also shows a ton of handy information, such as:

A graph of the time it takes to download each component
A graph showing the size of the various components
A way to sort the requests by type, e.g. Documents, Stylesheets, Images, etc.
Image previews with dimensions, file size, and MIME type displayed below
Request and Response Headers
XML HTTP Request (XHR) information

An elegant tool that allows for easy inspection of page speed, the Resources tab can aid you in identifying and squashing performance bottlenecks. Give it a try and see where your page is too fat, then slim down your chunky images and code to provide a better experience for your users!

Extensions

Now, while I’ve always been blown away by the speed of Safari 4 and Chrome as compared to Firefox, they’ve both lacked a critical feature: add-ons. In Chrome 4, that all changes with the addition of “extensions.” You can add functionality to Chrome by downloading and installing extensions or by using the standard tools of the trade: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to write your own. Extensions can be downloaded from the Chrome Extensions Repository, and should be fairly simple to install. Already, a number of very compelling extensions have been created which aid web development, from quick validation to resolution testing. Let’s take a look at a few.

Speed Tracer

A web developer can never really be obsessed enough with performance, and the more tools that identify sluggish performance the better. That’s just where Speed Tracer, a Chrome extension developed by Google, comes into play. Speed Tracer takes the “Resources” panel to the next level by providing a visualization of the time it takes to execute low-level tasks, such as rendering CSS or parsing HTML and JavaScript. I’d highly recommend taking a look at a video demonstration of Speed Tracer put together by the folks at Google to get a better idea of how it can help you improve the performance of your applications.

Pendule

Moving from Firefox to Chrome, one extension everyone is going to look for is a replacement of the fantastic Web Developer Toolbar. For those who don’t know, the Web Developer Toolbar deals with the tasks Firebug wasn’t meant to handle, such as quick validation of HTML and CSS, the ability to quickly disable JavaScript or images, and a tool for checking links. Those functions are all handled with style by Pendule, which offers much of the core functionality of the Web Developer Toolbar (not quite all), while offering a few goodies of it’s own, such as a color picker.

Resolution Test

Web Developers often need to ensure that their designs work at a variety of resolutions. Resolution Test allows developers to efficiently resize their browser window to a number of common resolutions for quick and easy testing. The latest version even allows you to open multiple windows at different resolutions with only a couple of clicks. Resolution Test is fantastic for making sure your target audience is seeing the page you want them to see.

Webpage ScreenShot

There are occasions when its necessary not only to grab a screenshot of the current visible portion of a website, but a screenshot of the whole page. For example, you may want to print a full page for peer critical review or to demonstrate in your portfolio. I formerly used a Desktop tool for this, but now Webpage ScreenShot does a nice job of capturing full-page screenshots in a few clicks.

Chrome Sniffer

Do you ever stumble upon a fantastic page and wonder, “what are they using to build this?” I do, and often find myself digging through the source code trying to figure out who the man behind the curtain is. While it is a useful training exercise, and a necessary one if you really want to know what’s going on, Chrome Sniffer can usually give you a snapshot of which JavaScript and PHP frameworks are in use for a particular page. For example, navigate to NetTuts and Chrome Sniffer informs us that it’s run on Wordpress using Google Analytics and jQuery.

Conclusion

The future of web development continues to look brighter and brighter! While only a few years ago we had a limited set of tools for debugging JavaScript, tinkering with CSS, and viewing HTML, today we have a variety of powerful options. Now that Google Chrome has become cross platform, fully integrated the WebKit Web Inspector, and added extensions, it is a versatile tool for helping developers improve their own pages. I encourage all of you to download a copy for yourself and give it a shot to see if it can help you improve your pages, then come on back here and share your favorite plugins and tools with the rest of us!

Courtesy: Net Tuts+

Author: Brian Egan

14 February, 2010

What Are Meta Search Engines & How Do They Work?

Search engines are an integral part of the Internet. Could you imagine the Internet without Google? And I am not even talking about all the services that Google offers as a company. Just imagine the Internet without Google search and you will realize how important search engines are. The Internet has billions and billions of websites with loads of content but it’s the search engines that make them discoverable. So is there any difference between search engines and meta search engines? What exactly is a meta search engine?
Before I even attempt an explanation, let me tell you that search engine technology is one of the most well kept secrets of computer science. No company will give you complete details on how they index, search and sort the results. That being said, I shall try my best to convey as much as I know and as much that is possible within the constraints of an article.

What is a Meta Search Engine?

To understand what a meta search engine is, first you have to understand how a search engine works. The search engine visits billions of websites and creates a database or repository of sorts of the various sites. This is known as the index. Then whenever a user enters the search query, something magical happens (algorithms if you are a computer geek) and the pages that are deemed relevant to what you asked for are returned. Pretty simple, huh? If only you could improve those magical algorithms you could create the next Google (although Google is smart enough to hire you instead!).
So now back to how a meta search engine works. Meta search engines don’t have a repository or index of their own, they take advantage of indices created by other search engines. In fact they present this as their strong point. A typical meta search engine pulls off the results from a number of search engines, say Google and Bing, and then apply their own algorithms in some cases to re-order the results.

Are Meta Search Engines Better?

The obvious thought that comes to mind is that meta search engines get their results from multiple search engines and since two is better than one the results must also be better. The truth however is different, in fact let me put it this way – it is a matter of personal preference.
Let me explain with an example. First off, you need to keep one thing in mind that no search engine can index the entire Internet. Yes, not even Google. Now, suppose you are looking for something that is on website ‘Z’ and say you search for the term in your favorite search engine and you get no results. So now the only way a meta search engine is going to be able to respond with a result is if any other search engine has indexed website ‘Z’. If other search engines have indexed website ‘Z’ then of course a meta search engine is better than the one you are using. But then are you using a good search engine in the first place that doesn’t index website ‘Z’?
I say so because the index of search engines are more or less the same. It’s the algorithms they use to create and search the index and the algorithms they use to order the results that make one search engine better than the other. So if something is missing from a search engine altogether than perhaps you need to switch. But hey, if it works for you, it is the best for you. So if a meta search engine gives you what you need then it is better. Viewed logically, you shouldn’t expect huge differences in results except for ups and downs in the ranks.

Example Of Meta Search Engines

There are probably thousands of them out there, some of the prominent ones are: Dogpile, Vivisimo, Mamma and Metacrawler.

A Different Meta Search Engine

As is often the case, the definition I presented above is only one of the many definitions of meta search engines. Till now we know that a meta search engine is one that searches databases of other search engines to give you the search results. As it turns out a search engine that searches multiple sites but not the entire web is also known as a meta search engine (although the definition is not very popular). Google Custom Search Engines (CSE’s) are an excellent example of such search engines. What’s better you can create one of your own and see how things work. Here is how:
Visit Google CSE , hit the big “Create a Custom Search Engine”

Fill in the required details and then enter the sites you want to search.

Test it out and see how things work. You can even make money with AdSense for search.
What are your opinions on the issue? Are meta search engines better than normal search engines?

Courtesy: Make Use

Author: Varun Kashyap

13 February, 2010

Google vs Apple

Courtesy: GigaOm

12 February, 2010

Is your Windows Computer slow? Fix it.

Your computer running Windows isn’t running in the same speed that it used to run when you first used it. It’s slower, crappy, takes a while to start and tests your patience like anything. There are many reasons for this, let’s try fixing up a few things on your slow Windows PC:
Slow Start Up
There can be a variety of reasons to Windows loading slow during start up. Go to Run, type msconfig and hit enter. Under the ‘Start Up’ tab, uncheck the unwanted programs and press OK. Things should be a bit fine the next time Windows boots.
Another program worth mentioning here is StartUp Delayer which will help in setting after how much time programs should be loaded after Windows boots. For instance, you could set your instant messenger program to load 50 seconds after Windows starts up.
Slow Loading Start Menu
If the Start Menu items are loading slowly, you can open the Registry Editor by typing in the Run menu ‘regedit.exe’ and pressing Enter. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Look for MenuShowDelay, and double click to edit the value. The lower the number specified, the faster the Start Menu will load.
Slow Right Click Context Menu
Probably the Windows Right Click menu on your computer is loading slow because too many programs added unwanted entries there. Just download this program called Mmm, install it and then modify your context menu to remove unwanted items to speed it up.
Slow Send To Menu

If the Send To menu loads slowly, you can type ’sendto’ in the Run Dialog, and remove unwanted items in the Explorer Window that appears. This should add some speed to it.
Slow Defragmentation
The Windows Defragmenter can’t get any slower. You need to have an alternative to the Windows Defragmenter, and Defraggler is just one of the best ones available in the market. It’s free, and works like a charm and can speed up defragmentation manifold.
Slow loading My Computer Window

If the My Computer Window loads slowly, in the Explorer Window, go to Tools >> Folder Options >> View and uncheck ‘Automatically search for network folders and printers”
Slow loading Add or Remove Programs Applet
This is one of the most annoying piece of programs present in Windows, it takes ages to load if you have a considerable number of programs installed on your computer. You can either use the all-in-one CCleaner for this purpose, or get MyUninstaller that comes as a speedy replacement for Add or Remove Programs.
Slow Ending of Unresponsive Programs
If you’ve clicked on ‘End Task’ if any program is running unresponsive, you might have noticed that the program is not terminated immediately. You can alter this by going to Run >> regedit.exe >> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\ and change this value to 1000.
Disable Animations and Appearance Overhauls to maximize performance
If you’re a serious performance junkie, you probably won’t bother about eyecandy. Go to System Properties in the Control Panel. Click ‘Advanced’, then ‘Performance’ and click ‘Adjust for best performance’. This might boost your PC’s performance up a bit.

Additional Tips:
- Always keep your computer clean. Remove Junk and Unnecessary registry entries. Use CCleaner for this purpose, one excellent tool that just does what it says.
- Don’t keep installing software. Install a program only if it really serves you a purpose.
- Keep as less programs as possible running on the System Tray. This essentially means reducing the number of programs that start during Windows start up.

Courtesy: Make Use

Author: Shankar Ganesh

03 February, 2010

uTorrent 2.0 for Windows sheds the beta tag, goes RTM!

utorrent has been the world's most popular BitTorrent app for quite some time, and today its developers announced another big milestone: version 2.0 has dropped the beta tag.

While many uTorrent users haven't been shy about updating to beta or RC builds, the general public seems to prefer the reassurance of the RTM stamp. If you count yourself among that group, you'll be glad to know that you can now download the new stable release from the uTorrent website or a number of mirrors (like Filehippo).

Yes, the installer still offers the Ask.com toolbar -- so make sure you pay attention to the screens as you click through the install if you don't want the toolbar installed.

One thing a lot of users forget about uTorrent is that it's skinnable -- so why not download a new theme for your new 2.0 install while you're at it?

Courtesy: Download Squad

Author: Lee Mathews

Twitter Clients – Web Apps or Desktops Apps? Which is Better?

Twitter is a beast, in my opinion, that needs to be tamed! If you are to follow any amount of people on Twitter and actually keep up with them, you’ll need to use some sort of Twitter client in order to organize the chatter and get anything out of it all.

In the past, I have written articles on several different web apps including Tweetfunnel and HootSuite. Notice that both of those are web apps, meaning that you don’t install them on your computer but run them directly from the Internet from your web browser. There is another whole category of Twitter clients that you install on your PC, including Tweetdeck, Twhirl and Seesmic.
Therein lies the debate! Which type of Twitter client do you prefer — the web app or the desktop app? Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each and see where we land!

The web app Twitter client

There are many reasons someone may choose to use a web app as their Twitter client of choice.

Running another application takes up more system resources so a web-based app could help to conserve system resources.
It can be easier to not have to switch between another program and your browser windows.
No download is necessary and version control is taken care of for you.
Perhaps you will find more options in the web-based alternatives.

Using web-based applications in general have certain advantages such as having access on any Internet connected computer with a web browser, not worrying about installing and updating, and hard drive space is no longer an issue. It almost seems everything is moving toward the “cloud” doesn’t it?

Currently my web app of choice is still HootSuite because it’s easy to use, easy to track stats, and the Hootlet bookmarklet makes sharing links easy. However, there are some reasons why I find myself using a desktop app also.

The desktop app Twitter client

Desktop apps do have their benefits. One of most used Twitter clients is Tweetdeck and that is a desktop app. So, why do people still choose to use desktop apps in light of the benefits of web apps?

Refreshing some of the web-based clients can become cumbersome.
Many desktop clients make being notified of tweets quite simple.
It’s easy having the program running in the tray ready for access.
Sometimes issues can be resolved by the user by reopening or reinstalling a program whereas if the webapp goes down, you’re out of luck.

Aside from the typical power apps such as Seesmic and Tweetdeck, there are the browser plugins such as Echofon and Chromed Bird.

I prefer to use this type of app because I get notifications directly in my browser window.

Courtesy: Make Use
Author: Tim Lenahan

02 February, 2010

Extensions in VLC

A general introduction to VLC Extensions.
Starting with version 1.1, users will be able to write their own plugins for VLC, codenamed Extensions. The difference with other VLC modules consists in the language used to write these Extensions: Lua, a simple a lightweight scripting language, embbeded inside VLC media player.

Why extensions?

The success of Firefox over the past few years can be explained quite easily when you have a look at its main features. The major differences between Firefox and IE reside in the Open Source model, and the possibility for community users to write their own plugins. Some of these plugins, like AdBlockPlus, really change the way you enjoy the Web. As a consequence, you can't use any other browser, as long as you need your favorite Firefox plugins.
The same idea can apply to media players. With the constant progress of web technologies, you get more and more access to a lot of free content from your home computer. Why not binding this content with the software you love and the medias you watch or listen to? In less abstract terms, what if you could get the subtitles of the movie you are watching in less that one click, read the lyrics of the current track, learn about the artist's biography and discography right inside VLC?
Well, the answer is that you actual can. Just try VLC Extensions now and you'll see you can forget about your browser when it comes to multimedia-related content.

Okay, but what are extensions exactly?

Extensions are scripts running inside VLC, that will popup windows and fetch information on the web for you. To use an extension, all you need is to activate it from the View menu (if you are a Windows or Linux user). Then, it should be all self-explanatory.
Examples of possible (or actual) extensions include:

Wikipedia: get information about the artist, the album or the movie from Wikipedia.
IMDb: read the plot summary, learn about the cast of a movie and get a direct link to the Internet Movie Database.
Last.fm: Read useful information fetched from the artist's page on Last.fm.
Lyrics: Automatically get the lyrics of the current song.
Subtitles: Find and insert subtitles on top of the video in two clicks.
Concerts: Learn about the next concerts of this artist.

Obviously, if you have other ideas, I'd be glad to know about them!
Screenshot 1 Screenshot 2

Where do I start?

At the moment of writing, VLC 1.1 is yet under heavy development. Thus, in order to try these Extensions, you'll have to install a nightly build of VLC from http://nightlies.videolan.org.
Once this is done, you can find extensions here on the page Extensions for VLC. Download the Lua scripts and copy them to your VLC scripts folder:

Linux: ~/.local/share/vlc/lua/extensions/
Windows: %APPDATA%\VLC\lua\extensions

Launch VLC or open the Plugins & Extensions dialog to reload the list of extensions. Take a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Can I write my own?

Yes you can, but more details and tutorials will come later in another article. If you really want to get started now, read the README files and the example scripts provided. Remember you'll have to wait for VLC 1.1 before seeing them in you favorite media player.

Courtesy: Yet another geek's blog
Author: Jean-Philippe

VLC Media Player To Get Extensions Starting With Version 1.1

Starting with version 1.1, VideoLan Media Player (VLC) will get extensions support, and anyone will be able to write their own - like it is with Firefox extensions:

Jean-Philippe André, one of the VLC developers explains on it's blog:

The difference with other VLC modules consists in the language used to write these Extensions: Lua, a simple a lightweight scripting language, embbeded inside VLC media player.

I must say this is great news but a somewhat expected move since VLC has all the features a media player needs so it's time to give power to the users. Also, just like it is with Firefox extensions: if you would incorporate all the extensions in the default installation, VLC would be bloated, but if you allow users to use extensions, everyone will have the features he wants, without bloating this great app.

There are already some VLC extensions you can try (you will need VLC 1.1 but if you use Ubuntu, fear not: the latest VLC 1.1 from GIT is available in the Web Upd8 PPA, build as of today - read on for installation instructions):

IMDb: read the plot summary, learn about the cast of a movie and get a direct link to the Internet Movie Database.
Last.fm: Read useful information fetched from the artist's page on Last.fm.
Lyrics: Automatically get the lyrics of the current song.
Subtitles: Find and insert subtitles on top of the video in two clicks.

Here are a few screenshots with some of these extensions:

And two concept extensions (or they might already exist, but I couldn't find a link to download):

Wikipedia: get information about the artist, the album or the movie from Wikipedia.
Concerts: Learn about the next concerts of this artist.

Installing and using the VLC extensions

1. Install VLC 1.1

The first thing you need is to use the latest VLC 1.1.

Ubuntu Karmic and Lucid users can download it from Web Upd8 PPA (don't forget to also download the x264 package).

Alternatively, add the PPA (although I recommend just downloading the packages manually):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8

And then:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Like I said when announcing the Web Upd8 PPA, use it at your own risk. Also note that VLC 1.1 is not stable, so expect to find a lot of bugs. It might or might not work. If you want to remove any changes made by this PPA and reinstall the packages in the Ubuntu repositories, see this (will do it automatically).

If the VLC in this PPA doesn't work, or just want to compile VLC 1.1 from GIT yourself, see How To Compile VLC and VLMC (From GIT) In Ubuntu

If you are not using Ubuntu, download VLC nightlies from here: http://nightlies.videolan.org/

2. Download the VLC extensions

Download the extensions from HERE.

3. Installing and using the VLC extensions

Copy each of the .lua files downloaded in step 2, to the following location:

Linux: ~/.local/share/vlc/lua/extensions/ (you can enter: sudo nautilus ~/.local/share/vlc/lua/extensions/ in a terminal to open Nautilus with root permissions to the location where you must copy the .lua files).

Windows: %APPDATA%\VLC\lua\extensions

Extensions are scripts running inside VLC, that will popup windows and fetch information on the web for you. To use an extension, all you need is to activate it from the View menu. Then, it should be all self-explanatory:

Courtesy: webupd8

Which Fonts Should You Use for Saving Ink

Though we are headed towards an era of paperless offices where all the information would be in strict digital format, the pace is quite slow. That ink-sucking printer is still an indispensable part of your home office because you are frequently required to print invoices, emails, web pages and other documents on paper.
Since ink is still the most expensive component in the print workflow, you can reduce printing costs of documents if you can figure out ways that will decrease the consumption of ink while printing. For instance, when printing a document in Microsoft Word, you can switch to “Draft output” and the toner will last much longer.

Use a Font with Holes
An interesting option to help you save ink is Ecofont. Ecofont is like the popular Arial font but it has these little holes punched in the letters. These holes aren’t really visible in the printed document (that uses standard font sizes like 11px) but will save money as no ink is required when printing these dots.
Ecofont is available for download on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. It may not be a good idea to use Ecofont in client communication but you can definitely consider using this font for personal or internal use.
Printing Web Pages with Custom Fonts

If you are printing web pages, I highly recommend Readability – this is a bookmarklet that will not only remove images, ads and other clutter from web pages but will also replace the font that was originally used in the formatting of that page.
Readability can sometimes remove sections from web pages that you would like to see in the print version. If that’s also a problem for you, check out PrintWhatYouLike.com – this is also a printing bookmarklet but it gives you complete control over the page layout including the font family that is used for rendering that page.

Both the above bookmarklets require a live internet connection to work. If you are looking for an alternative that will work offline, check out Green Print – they have a free version for Windows though the Mac edition costs a few bucks. Another good option is Smart Web Print from HP but that’s only available on Windows.
Which is the Best Font for Printing Documents
Now consider the third scenario. You have a document – say some training material or presentation handouts – that you want to print without sacrificing readability.
Fonts like Arial, Times News Roman, Courier, Helvetica, etc. are generally available on every machine but which one among them is the most economic typeface when it comes to printing?

Matt Robinson recently conducted a fairly unique study to determine the ink usage of these different typefaces. They used ballpoint pens to hand draw the same text at the same size but using different fonts and here’s the result.
Garamond* followed by Courier turned out to be the most economic fonts of them all while Impact and Comic Sans consumed the maximum ink. This is definitely not a “scientific study” but you still get the idea.
[*] Most Harry Potter books are set in 12pt Adobe Garamond.
Courtesy: Digital Inspiration

Gmail - Email for every purpose

Let’s say that your email address is ‘GeorgeBush@gmail.com’, basically everything sent to any of the following email addresses will be forwarded to your primary email.

GeorgeBush@gmail.com
G.eorgeBush@gmail.com
Ge.orgeBush@gmail.com
GeorgeBus.h@gmail.com

GeorgeBush@googlemail.com
G.eorgeBush@googlemail.com
Ge.orgeBush@googlemail.com
GeorgeBus.h@googlemail.com

And that’s not all, you can place as many dots as you want, it can be even something like ‘G.e.o.r.g.e.B.u.s.h@gmail.com’ and you’ll still get it on ‘GeorgeBush@gmail.com’
Additionally, I just also found out that you can embed random text to your email ID using ‘+’ sign. That is to say ‘GeorgeBush+anythingyouwant@gmail.com’ can be used as your email address, as well.
Ok I got it. Now what ?
1. One email for every purpose
Instead of using different email addresses for various purposes (work, school, friends, etc.) you can use different variations of your Gmail and filter incoming mails by ’sent to’ address. For instance, all incoming mail sent to ‘Name.Surname@gmail.com’ can be put to folder ‘work’, messages sent to ‘NameSurname@gmail.com’ can be put to ‘friends’, ‘N.ameSurname@gmail.com’ can be used for newsletters, and so on.
2. Track/Block spammers
When signing up for some website, say thatwebsite.com, you can add thatwebsite to your Gmail user ID (eg. GeorgeBush+thatwebsite@gmail.com). This way you can block your subscription whenever you want and even identify those websites that distribute your email address to spammers.