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Category Archives: LifeTek

Making Ubuntu Linux complete with media capabilities

Starting with Linux used to be a drag. I tried it for the first time about ten years ago, and it did’nt work for me then.
Recently I build a new secondary computer and the new ease of use struck me. I installed Ubuntu 9.10 and it did nearly everything I needed right out of the [...]

Intel produces netbook OS

According to ZDNet, Intel drives a Linux project called Moblin that is aimed at netbooks.
By the looks of it, Intel has a winner. They are probably trying to create a well-established niche for their Atom processors. These Atom processors are in my opinion real winners. They are cheap, use just a few Watts of power. [...]

How to access your HUMAX digital PVR on OSX

An Andrew Smith has a nice solution to access your HUMAX PVR with Apple Mac OSX or Ubuntu Linux. The software that comes with the Humax PVR is Windows-only and actually not that superb. I haven’t had the time to check it out, it should be worth your while (as my Bootcamp partition with Windows [...]

Automating finances

It’s generally low-tech but surprisingly a lot of people don’t have their expenses under control.
Lifehacker has a nice posting about “Getting You Rich”, better to be called “How about making a budget”. Ramit Sethi, who is running a blog http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/ explains some basic stuff about budgetting.
In these times, even simple knowledge like this can save [...]

Prevent “cell-shock” calling home from the USA

On a trip to the USA, calling home can be an expensive matter. A lot of people complain of high mobile phone bills after a nice vacation. This is called “bill-shock”, “roaming-shock” or “cell-shock”. I have had my fair share of it, so for my next business trip I’ll go prepared.
The options

Don’t make phone calls [...]

How to get the best Avatar

In these slow financial times getting out your best on the web might be a good shot. Personally I see activity on sites like LinkedIn soar. Old classmates suddenly want to connect and all profiles start to look better and slicker. This includes getting your picture on Web 2.0 right.
I found a website with a [...]

So-called Folk remedies for tech problems

As anyone knows, high-tech gear can have some problems of its own. Some common problems have unusual solutions - something an engineer would never think about. These are called “Folk remedies” and the New York Times has an article about them.
Next to the solutions mentioned in the article, I can mention some I know of:

rubbing [...]

Mobile Web 2009 = desktop web 1998

The mobile web anno 2009 is comparable to the desktop web of 1998; at least, thats what Jakob Nielsen says. His opinion is valued because he is an authority on usability and has a Ph.D. on human-computer interaction.
The Nielsen’s Law is named after him and states that home bandwith doubles every 21 months. Because this [...]

Designer baby engineering

De New York Times meldt in één van haar artikelen dat in de Verenigde Staten sinds kort een kliniek de keuze biedt of je een jongen of meisje wilt waarbij je ook de kleur haar en ogen zou kunnen kiezen.
Een en ander kan via de PGD ofwel pré-implantatie genetische diagnose-techniek, die bedoeld was om embryo’s [...]

Spacecrash

Het is vast niet écht de eerste keer, maar wel de eerste keer dat het zo duidelijk naar buiten komt. Onder andere De Elsevier meldt dit. In een baan om de aarde zijn twee satellieten tegen elkaar gebotst. Een en ander ging ook kennelijk niet al te langzaam want beide satellieten zijn uit elkaar gespat.