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| Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 150056 |
| Visitors Out: 2390 |
| Total Visitors Out: 3436 |
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| Kiba - the dock that makes other docs look like flat, 2d thingies. |
| 2007-05-17 19:30:03 |
Get an OS X style dock that knocks Mac out of the water! The Kiba Dock by far is the most incredible Dock replacement out there. It runs using a fancy Physics Engine. When I saw this dock in action for the first time my jaw literally dropped. This will make your desktop the talk of the neighborhood and office. Pimpyourlinux.com is featuring this article, and gets a post on AG for the name alone, if nothing else.
read more | digg story...
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| Ad web widgets to Vista’s Sidebar using Amnesty |
| 2007-05-17 17:24:03 |
No, this isn’t a plea for a web widget safe haven. Amnesty is a handy program that will allow you to convert many web widgets, flash games and and flash video into Vista gadgets. You can read about it here and grab it here.
This looks really handy if you want to slip a Google widget into your Microsoft gadgets, or drop your favorite YouTube vid into your side bar. SWF games may work as well....
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| 5 steps to create a PDF printer (print to PDF) in Ubuntu |
| 2007-05-17 16:48:01 |
Ever wanted to print a document of just about any sort to a virtual printer that would then turn it into a PDF? It’s pretty easy to do in Ubuntu. In fact you’ll need just 5 steps and about as many minutes of your time to set this up.
Step 1. Get cups-pdf installed. Open up a terminal session (or use Synaptic) and type the following:
sudo apt-get install cups-pdf
Step 2. Go to System -> Administration -> Printing and then Printer ->Add Printer.
Step 3. Take a good look at this screen. You won’t have to change anything, but it sure is nice to see. Click the Forward button.
Step 4. Set the Manufacturer to Generic and the Model to PostScript. Click the Forward button.
Step 5. Set the name to something simple and easy to remember, like “LeChicArsGeekPDFPrinterMakerThingy”. Click the Apply button and you are done.
Now you can happily churn out PDFs to share with your friends, family and co-workers.
Technorati Tags: ubuntu, pdf, virtu...
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| You can now buy IBM products in Second Life |
| 2007-05-17 15:34:52 |
IBM has opened up a new sales presence in Second Life. Not only will you be able to purchase stuff - up to the point of exchanging funds where you’ll be offloaded to an IBM website, but you’ll also get access to IBM’s documentation, including their semi-famous Redbooks.
You can teleport via Slurl to the IBM Business Center or just wander around Second Life until you bump into it....
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| Virgin declares Herpes has an upside |
| 2007-05-17 14:47:59 |
Dr. Herbert W. “Skip” Virgin lead a research team which determined that some forms of the Herpes viruses, including those responsible for Mono (the disease, not the OSS) actually boost the immune system and help protect us from pesky little things like food poisoning and the plague.
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| An ArsGeek Exclusive – New Linux Ultra-portable Phone/PC/GPS/Sonar/Media Player |
| 2007-05-17 03:49:53 |
An ArsGeek Exclusive – New Linux Ultra-portable Phone/PC/GPS/Sonar/Media Player unveiled by Hong Kong Based FarSight/NearSite.
FarSight/NearSite’s new device, perhaps a bit ineptly named the Reaver combines cell phone technology with a 766 Mhz Intel M chip, along with 256MB of system RAM and an 8 GB flash drive this ultra-portable device does just about everything. It runs an embedded version of Darn Small Linux (for reasons of translation, DSL is known as Darn Small Linux in Hong Kong) that’s been modified a bit by the folks at FarSight/NearSite.
We got to unbox and preview this delightful device here at ArsGeek a full six months before it’s going to the Asian markets and most likely a year before it makes an appearance in the United States.
First, let’s get down and dirty with the specs. The Reaver is 6” x 5” and weighs in at just under a pound. As mentioned above, it features an Intel M chip clocked at 766 Mhz, 256 MB of RAM and an additional 8GB fl...
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| Skype 2.6 Gold for Mac released |
| 2007-05-16 21:18:18 |
Skype announced today the release of 2.6 Gold for the Mac.
You can read a long list of features and fixes after the jump, or just go here and get it.
new feature: Manage API Clients window
improvement: it is possible to edit the phone number of SkypeOut contacts
improvement: added a yellow alert message to chat if notifications are turned off (alertsoff)
improvement: after dialing a number by using the SkypeOut dialer the call window is not moved anymore
improvement: contact list and history list filtering improved to better match names which include special characters (for example öüäßøæå)
improvement: improved the way Skype Prime price quotes are shown during video calls
improvement: it is possible to escape editing chat topic
improvement: main window can be moved by dragging the bottom bar
improvement: positioning of call windows on secondary monitors improved
improvement: SkypeOut dialer window can be moved by dragging the bottom bar
improvement: warning is displayed if Sk...
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| Alter Ego: Avatars and Their Creators |
| 2007-05-16 15:32:53 |
Title: Alter Ego: Avatars and Their Creators
Authors: Robbie Cooper, Julian Dibble and Tracey Spaight
ISBN10: 1905712022
ISBN13: 978-1905712021
Publisher: Chris Boot
Cost: $29.95
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
Published: May 2007
Alter Ego is a book I was genuinely excited to read. It’s about about Avatars – our extensions into the virtual worlds that act as ambassadors, representations and alter egos for our selves. I’ve been interested in the concept of the avatar and in virtual worlds since as long as I’ve been using computers. Unfortunately I’ve just reached 25years of consistent computer use. Since that time I’ve had many avatars, ranging from text based MUD presences through halfings and high elves in Everquest.
This book is an interesting survey of avatars and their creators, placing them side by side for our viewing pleasure. When I first cracked the cover I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect and I was gratified to see it wasn’t si...
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| Continuing our space themed mornings |
| 2007-05-16 14:36:40 |
Planetary Blog had this amazing post up.
Tvashtar in motion
In this amazing animation from the New Horizons flyby of Jupiter, the 330-kilometer-high plume erupting from Io’s Tvashtar volcano is visibly in motion, its fountains of lava spraying up, out, and back down to the Ionian surface. The animation contains five images taken over an eight-minute span of time beginning at 23:50 UT on March 1, 2007. Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI
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| Live in New England? Like Gerbils? Read on. . . . |
| 2007-05-15 21:26:35 |
The 6th Annual American Gerbil Society Show will be happening on May 19 in Bedford, MA. This makes me wonder how I managed to miss Annual New England Gerbil Shows 1-5. Admission will cost you a buck.
The extravaganza will be hosted by the American Gerbil Society, which prior to reading this announcement I did not know existed.
If you’re a…ah…gerbil enthusiast and want more information, you can visit Boston Central for more info. More from the site:
Serious gerbil owners and breeders may compete for the Best-in-Show honors. Amateur gerbilists can enter their pets in a free, fun Pet Class competition with ribbons awarded for Cutest Face, Fastest Wheel Runner, Friendliest, Best Shoulder Rider.
Seriously folks, the American Gerbil, or Meriones unguiculatus is under appreciated in our modern society. How many of us grew up with these hardy rodents as pets, or possibly food for other, hardier reptiles? Where would American society be without urban myths featuring these...
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| Linux/Gnome quicktip - Connecting to a network share the fast way |
| 2007-05-15 21:16:28 |
Want to connect to a network share without going through the long and arduous process of mounting it?
Try this: hit (gently) the Alt-F2 keys to bring up a Run Application window.
If you’re trying to connect to a server called sarcasm.arsgeek.com and a share named ‘haha’ enter the following:
smb://sarcasm.arsgeek.com/haha
Alternately, if you have an IP address and share name, and that IP was 192.168.0.1, then enter:
smb://192.168.0.1/haha
Easy as pie.
Author’s Note: neither the server nor the share really exist, so trying that will get you no love and all errors.
Technorati Tags: linux, gnome, smb, connect to network share, easy as pie...
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| ArsGeek and No Starch Press book giveaway - Part III |
| 2007-05-15 19:08:38 |
ArsGeek and No Starch Press have teamed up to do another book give away!We’re currently giving away a copy of the wonderful book The Unofficial Lego Builder’s Guide. Learn the secrets of grand master Lego construction. Master your medium, if your medium happens to be Lego bricks! You can read our review of it here.
How do you win this fabulous book? Simply use our contact page to send us your favorite link. It can be anything tech/life related, including but not limited to great pictures, how-tos, your own site, your favorite antique computer or just about anything else you may normally see on this site.
Who can win? Anyone in the US or Canada who cares to send us a link. Oh, you can’t work at ArsGeek or No Starch Press.
This contest will end on Monday, May 21 at 8pm so get your links in now.
Have fun!
The ArsGeek Team
Technorati Tags: contest, lego, no starch press, arsgeek, give away, giveaway, win this book...
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| Ubuntu 7.04(Feisty Fawn) Screenshots Tour |
| 2007-05-15 15:42:46 |
Ubuntu is a community developed, linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.The most recent version, Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn), was released on April 19, 2007.
Full Story...
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| Flip Video 30 minute camcorder on sale for $99 |
| 2007-05-15 02:43:07 |
Our friends over at Pure Digital Technologies let us know that the Video">Flip Video camcorder I’ve been raving about lately is now available for less than a hundred bucks.
In fact, it’s on sale at Best Buy for $99 through May 27th. If you’re so inclined to pick one of these little gems up, now would be an ideal time.
So far my family has managed to fill our 60 minute version several times. I’ve also made my wife a lovely DVD with images from this camcorder for Mother’s Day....
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| Here’s 965 model rockets launching in under 5 seconds |
| 2007-05-14 18:16:31 |
Scout’s attempted to launch 1000 of them. 965 is pretty darn good and smashes the previous record of 420.
As a one-time model rocket enthusiast, I find this pretty cool.
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video...
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| Vermont to become first E-State |
| 2007-05-14 13:02:11 |
From the Fractals of Change blog. Vermont, home to countless cows, Ben & Jerry’s, Cabots and lots of ski places has passed a new bill designed to make it the first e-state.
What the heck is an e-state? No, it’s not fully Web 2.0 enabled. They are however promising to have “cellular and adequate broadband coverage – fixed and mobile – everywhere in the state by 2010. The initial definition of adequate fixed broadband is 3 megabits per second service in at least one direction; but the bill contains a mechanism for ratcheting that up as requirements escalate. It is estimated that this requirement may be as high as 20 megabits in both directions by 2013. “
Read more about it from the source....
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| Visit me over at BBT |
| 2007-05-13 15:05:02 |
My latest rant on virtual meetings (future of, the) is up at BBT!
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| Anyone else remember this? |
| 2007-05-12 17:02:46 |
Damnation Alley, circa 1977 and replayed endlessly on the telly while I was growing up.
“Tanner this is Denton! This whole town is infested with killer cockroaches. I repeat: KILLER COCKROACHES!”
I distinctly remember the vehicle used (a customized rv/tank) called the Landmaster. Also the giant insects and scorpions and the fact that the were trying to reach Albany, because it’s the only place they’d ever gotten a signal from.
Apocalyptic nightmare travel had never seemed so fun! Shortly after seeing this about 30 times on one of my local stations I also picked up (courtesy of Cavtroop) two books that have stuck with me. Warday and Emergence....
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| Another flip product - the FlipStart |
| 2007-05-11 20:43:46 |
I’m not sure what’s going on with the word “flip” and the tech industry but it’s certainly being associated with some cool products.
The FlipStart is the next thing in ultra-portable computing. This little device can run XP or Vista, is WiFi capable, has bluetooth wireless, a port replicator with USB and VGA connections, audio out, 10/100 Ethernet, Spring Mobile Broadband EV-DO Rev A and power in.
It’s got a full QWERTY keyboard (which is backlit no less) weighs in at less than 2 pounds and measures in at 5 3/4″ x 4 1/4″ x 1 1/4″. That’s tiny! The resolution on the FlipStart’s 5.6″ display is 1024×600 SVGA.
It also comes with an InfoPane - an LCD display on the lid which allows instant access to Outlook email, contacts and calendars.
It’s got an Intel Pentium M 1.1 Ghz processor, 30GB Shock mounted hard drive, and Intel Enhanced Graphics processor. There’s even a built in VGA camera!
They star...
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| Reminder - Enter to win before 8pm, Monday evening! |
| 2007-05-11 19:47:22 |
ArsGeek and No Starch Press have teamed up to do another book give away!We’re currently giving away a copy of the super geek book Linux Appliance Design. If you’ve ever had the urge to combine the Linux OS, some hardware and some scripts and programs into your own device, then this is the book for you! You can read our review of it here.
How do you win this fabulous book? Simply use our contact page to send us your favorite link. It can be anything tech/life related, including but not limited to great pictures, how-tos, your own site, your favorite antique computer or just about anything else you may normally see on this site.
Who can win? Anyone in the US or Canada who cares to send us a link. Oh, you can’t work at ArsGeek or No Starch Press.
This contest will end on Monday, May 14th so get your links in now.
Have fun!
The ArsGeek Team...
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| *Listen* to Incoming Instant Messages in Ubuntu Linux |
| 2007-05-11 19:38:36 |
Sometimes instant messages are important enough to break away from what you’re currently doing and sometime they’re not.
In Ubuntu, you can setup your Instant Messenger to automatically speak (vocally) incoming instant messages. Now you can decide they’re importance before clicking away from your current task. Here’s how to set it up.
read more | digg story...
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| Ubuntu Studio has been released! |
| 2007-05-11 16:16:29 |
I’d say you can get it here, but the site is currently on it’s knees fending off billions of packets.
But when it comes back up, you can get it there....
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| Antikythera Mechanism |
| 2007-05-11 14:54:26 |
The Antikythera Mechanism, a device created by ancient Greeks and found over a hundred years ago by sponge divers continues to be an object of fascination for me.
This one little device simultaneously fulfills my interests in history, archaeology, gadgets and computers. You’d be hard pressed to find many other things that can do that.
Recently I came across two excellent resources for studying the device. Or if you prefer, they have interesting factoids and freaking huge pictures.
The first place you should stop into is the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project. Here you’ll find tons of information, reconstructions and explanations for just what this device did.
The next Xtek’s Xray page. Here you’ll find a small image, a radiograph of the device. Click on that image to be brought to their site and a 5120 x 6233 image....
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| Exclusive! Canonical Ltd. and Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth announce UbuntOS. |
| 2007-05-10 17:57:25 |
The ArsGeek team has managed to get an exclusive from Mark Shuttleworth and Canonical Ltd.
Mark Shuttleworth, founder and patron of Ubuntu in partnership with Canonical Ltd. let us know via email this morning that they will be developing and marketing a new “open source cereal” called UbuntOS to promote healthy eating, the sharing of good eating habits and open, chemical free ingredients.
According to Shuttleworth, speaking through Canonical Ltd in an exclusive first-look email to ArsGeek “We’re here to leverage the power and drive behind Ubuntu and the open source community to tackle the global issues of healthy eating, whether it’s obesity or famine. Together we can develop a product that is made from freely grown grains and distributed through an open network for a fraction of the cost of current breakfast cereals”.
“This will be a community project” he continues. His outline is to at first include grains and cereals grown and harvested by well know Ubunt...
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| ArsGeek T-shirts (and other stuff) now available |
| 2007-05-10 16:20:25 |
If you’d like to show off your inner geek, please drop by the ArsGeek store and have a gander at our assorted T’s, dog sweaters, thongs, ceramic placards, postage and other items.
It’s a great way to get your geek on....
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| Beginning Ubuntu Linux |
| 2007-05-10 15:30:07 |
Title: Beginning Ubuntu Linux (2nd edition)
Author: Keir Thomas
ISBN10: 1590598202
ISBN13: 978-1590598207
Publisher: Apress
Cost: $39.99
Format: Paperback, 684 pages.
Published: 2007
Thomas should have called this book Everything You’ll Ever Want To Know About Using Ubuntu. Not only is this a great guide to getting started with Ubuntu specifically and Linux in general but it contains just about anything anyone would ever need to become completely functional and productive with their new OS.
The book is comprised of 8 parts, 33 chapters and four appendixes. The divisions are well thought out and guide the reader from the concept of Linux as an OS and as a philosophy to the appendices with information about BASH, a Linux glossary and more.
Part 1, Introducing the World of Linux gives a brief history of Linux along with a realistic look at what it’s like to run Linux every day, with the obligatory quote of Linus’ Usenet post.
Part 2, Installing Ubuntu covers the whole g...
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| Flip Video update - flipping cool little digital video camera |
| 2007-05-09 19:57:31 |
I’ve had Video">Flip Video now for just about a week and I have to tell you that I haven’t been able to use it for the past three days.
Not through any fault of the unit itself but because my wife has it and wont give it back! I’m told I’ll be able to see my neat little DVR on the weekends, and possibly late at night if I can can stay awake longer than her.
In all seriousness, this thing is seriously fun. We’re still using the two AA batteries that came with the unit. We’ve recorded a bit over an hours worth of video with it and probably logged an additional four hours watching them on the LCD display or simply mucking about with Flip Video.
The software is very intuitive and very useful. It’s not just easy, it’s effective and fun too. Several friends and co-workers are running off to Amazon.com to purchase one for themselves after impromptu demos by myself or my wife.
I don’t get anything from Pure Digital for saying this or pushing ...
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| The Encyclopedia Of Life |
| 2007-05-09 18:26:06 |
Ultimately, the Encyclopedia will serve as an online reference source and database for every one of the 1.8 million species that are named and known on this planet, as well as all those later discovered and described. Encyclopedia of Life will be used as both a teaching and a learning tool, helping scientists, educators, students, and the community at large gain a better understanding of this planet and all who inhabit it.
Now that’s just cool....
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| ISS, Venus and you |
| 2007-05-09 15:09:25 |
Bad Astronomy is running this picture (with story) featuring the International Space Station and Venus photographed in broad daylight. Click the pic to get the scoop....
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| A word about our reviews |
| 2007-05-09 14:58:11 |
You all may have noticed that ArsGeek has recently started reviewing books, software, gadgets and hardware. We’re also moving towards reviewing games (both tabletop and video) in the near future.
We’ve been looking at a lot of other review sites and have noticed that a number of them do nothing more than supply a few pictures of the latest gadget or book and regurgitate whatever press release may have come along with the press kit. It’s a great way to feature a lot of products on a site and generate lots of traffic.
We don’t agree with that and we won’t do it. Every time you read a review on ArsGeek you can be sure that whomever is doing the review has spent time with the product. We’re looking for the good and bad in all of our reviews. If something is amazing and we love it we have no problem sharing that with the world. If there’s room for improvement we’ll let you all know. If you should stay away from a product because it fai...
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| NFS Server and Client Configuration in Ubuntu |
| 2007-05-08 21:14:48 |
NFS was developed at a time when we weren’t able to share our drives like we are able to today - in the Windows environment. It offers the ability to share the hard disk space of a big server with many smaller clients. Again, this is a client/server environment. While this seems like a standard service to offer, it was not always like this. In the past, clients and servers were unable to share their disk space.
Full Story...
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| How to get realplayer working in Firefox on Ubuntu 7.04 |
| 2007-05-08 20:53:05 |
If you want to get realplayer going on your Ubuntu install, and get it working in Firefox without sound issues or flickering, then this guide is for you.
Props are due to the Ubuntu forums folks and Ubuntu Guide.
The first thing you’ll have to do is get Realplayer installed on your system. There are two ways to go about this.
1. Install Automatix2 and then have it install Realplayer 10 for you.
2. Install it yourself. To do this, open Synaptic (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager) and go to Settings -> Repositories. On the Ubuntu Software tab (the first tab) make sure everything is checked off except “Source code“.
Now in Synaptic do a search for realplay and mark it to be installed. Also do a search for alsa-oss and mark that to be installed. Install the two programs (by clicking the Apply button) and we’re off to the next step.
Go to Applications -> Sound & Video -> RealPlayer 10 and then go to Tools -> Preferences ...
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