Wifi Dangerous?

I saw this on MobilitySite today, and thought it was interesting. Apparently, people are becoming concerned that Wifi (wireless networking) is causing people health problems. It is somewhat hard to test, because access points seem to be popping up everywhere (entire cities are covered). This reminds me of the concern over brain damage by cell phones, though that seems to have died down recently. Of course, microwave ovens run on a similar frequency (a lot more power though), makes you wonder if we are cooking ourselves ;-)

Anyway, check out the article, and see what you think.

Picasa

A couple days ago, Google announced a port of their photo viewer, Picasa for Linux. The interesting part about this particular port is that it isn't a native port, but the Windows version working under a patched version of Wine. For those of you fellow Linux users, Picasa for Linux works amazingly well (especially when compared to other programs under Wine). Since it ships with its own copy of wine, the download is a bit big (~26M w/ an installer). The installer version installs to a users home directory or /usr/bin if its run as root, or you can opt to use an rpm or deb if your distribution prefers. The installer works like most others, you make it executable with chmod a+x picasa*.bin and run it. The installer managed to put links in my Gnome menus which surprised me. The program its self is almost identical to the Windows version, though some desktop integration features are controlled by scripts in whatever directory it installed to. I pointed it at my picture folder and over the course of about 20 minutes it seems to have found all my pictures (~18G of jpegs and NEFs). The dates aren't correct on all of them though. I was particularly pleased that picasa can handle my Nikon RAW files (.nef) as well as many other RAW formats. I have been wanting a tool that can generate thumbnails of RAWs for quite awhile. The only downside that I have found is that picasa is a bit hard on the system (100% cpu usage if you are doing much of anything).

Google was even nice enough to give its patches back to the Wine project, so hopefully we will see some improvements in Wine soon as well.

If you use Linux and a camera, I would give picasa a try (good for Windows users too), though it is still an early release it is very useful.

Other people's comments:
Google Blog
Slashdot
LinuxToday

Remote Access

Here's a quick tip for you:

If you want to be able to access your computer over the Internet from another machine (think PCAnywhere or GoToMyPC) you don't have to spend money. There are three good free options. The easiest being VNC.
There are a number of different versions of VNC available, though the protocols are mostly the same. I like TightVNC because of its "tight" compression, which makes things much more responsive than regular, vanilla VNC. VNC is easy to setup, particularly if you are running Windows. TightVNC comes with a handy installer (download it, run it, and click next a few times). Once it's installed you can start up the server, and open up the settings dialog from the icon that is put in the systemtray. Set a password and any options. If you are behind a router, be sure to forward the necessary ports to your computer (assuming your server is listed as [something]:0 these should be 5800 and 5900, tcp. more on this in the FAQ). On the client you should download vnc viewer (although it is possible to use a web browser also) and enter your server's ip address in vncviewer. You may want to play with the connection settings, depending on how much upload bandwidth your server has. Note that VNC doesn't use any encryption at all, so everything you do is sent clear-text, not that this matters much usually (don't enter credit card numbers over VNC).

Another alternative is NX, by NoMachine. NX is encrypted, and much faster than VNC but it can be pricey and is mostly targeted at Linux users. There is a Windows Client, but the server software is Linux/Solaris only right now. There is a free version of the Server called FreeNX, but it can be challenging to install unless your distribution has a package for it. Look at the NX and FreeNX websites for more info.

If you run Windows XP Pro (or Windows Server), you can always use Remote Desktop, though it requires some major port forwarding if you are behind a router (search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more info). Other than the port forwarding this is easy to setup, just set a password on your account, right click my computer and go to the remote access tab. Simply check the boxes. The client is built in to Windows XP (under accessories=> communications).

If you use any of these, you may want to consider getting your computer a memorable host name, unless you have a static IP which you can memorize. DynDns will give you one for free.

If you are looking for something like this, I would definitely give TightVNC a try, but you can give the others a look too. Both are faster than VNC but have their own configuration issues. When you get VNC setup, try pointing a web browser at http://server:5800 (assuming the server is running in "slot" 0)

Edit: Minor spelling error fixed (you have to be careful with spell checkers)

Hit Counters

I have been meaning to write about hit counters for awhile. I have used a couple in the past, and have recently switched this site and my other one to use Google Analytics. You may also have noticed the feedburner counter on the right side of the index page. That keeps track of the number of current readers on the rss feed.

The hit counters I have experimented with are CQCounter, Sitemeter and Google Analytics. Each service gives you a bit of code to add to the bottom of each of your pages. CQCounter and Sitemeter both put a small logo on your page, though Google Analytics doesn't. Once that is done, Google Analytics checks to see if the code is entered properly, the others just assume it is. From here, the differences between the services are mostly features, though sometimes I think CQCounter and Sitemeter slow down a site's load time. I like CQCounter's interface, in that it gives you options to look at the last 20 visitors (about as many as I get in the average day) in detail or some basic stats. CQCounter does have some irritating popups that can get around FireFox's popup blocker. I don't like SiteMeter very much, though It does work and gives you the option to make your stats public which the other two don't. Google Analytics has the most features by far, offering every stat you could ever want, and maps of were your users are and are coming from. The only thing I don't like about Google Analytics is you can look at the settings of a specific user, just a pie graph of common settings (like video resolution and operating system). All three services have a limit to the number of daily hits they will allow, so if you get several hits per day, you might have to pay. For a small site like this one, any of the services will work, though I prefer CQCounter and Google Analytics. Google Analytics, unfortunately takes several months to get into, so I would give CQcounter a try if you have a blog or website of your own. (if you have a blog, paste the code you are given into the template, Sitemeter can do this for you).

Remember that a hit counter gives you only the most basic idea of how popular your site is.

Back to homework, enjoy your evening.

Beware what your "buddies" offer you...

If you use Yahoo Messenger, or others watch out for this and similar attacks!

Only click links in IM windows that have been thoroughly explained, from real people, with content that you want.

End Warning of the Day! ;-)


Also seen on Slashdot.

Comments

I appreciate feedback greatly, but there is no need to post similar or identical comments on every recent post. Since many of the comments posted recently are nearly identical, I am guessing it may have been done automatically, and have turned on the semi-irritating picture verification to prevent this. Sorry if this inconveniences anyone.

Thanks for the positive feedback, but please keep it to a dull roar ;-)

(50 some comments, only about 10 visitors last night)

I will try to post something more interesting in a  little while

Windows Vista

If you are a follower of Microsoft, you may be interested to know that Microsoft has released an "Upgrade Advisor" for Vista, to make sure your machine is "ready". Of course, they must not want to sell me a copy, since the website doesn't even load in Firefox on Linux (not converting me anytime soon I guess). At this point, this has made Slashdot (they are also linking a CNET article), but I don't know how many of my readers also track Slashdot (if you don't, you really should).

For your enjoyment, Microsoft's Vista site under Linux on the latest version of Firefox:

Google Video: New Web Uploader

I have some friends who experiment with Blender animation in their spare time and like to post their results on Google Video for the world to see. One of them is on dial-up and has had some trouble getting the upload tool to work on his slow connection. I saw today that Google has a new web based upload page, so hopefully that will work better. For those of you with problems with the uploader (like a different OS in my case or slow connection in my friend's) you can find the new upload page here.

If you aren't familiar with Google Video, you should really give it a look. If you are looking for something to start you off, you can find some government archives here, or check out GVOD

Citations

I'm guessing most of the people this applies to already know about the Citation Machine, but for those who don't it is a useful enough tool to be worth a mention. Citation Machine is a website that takes in citation information and gives you a proper citation without trying to understand the picky syntax required by academic organizations. If you are writing some sort of paper, its defiantly worth a look. The Citation Machine can do MLA and APA style citations.

Back to my paper ;-)

Free Calls to POTS Phones from Skype

Two posts in one night!

Catching up on my email for a minute, I noticed that Skype had sent me a note saying that they were offering free calling to POTS (land line) and cell phones until the end of the year.

If you aren't familiar with Skype, it is a free VoIP service, offering free calls between computers and calls to normal phones for a fee. They also offer you the option of registering an incoming number for a fee as well. I did a round up of VoIP services quite awhile ago, which you can view here.

Skype is very simple to use, just install it (they have installers for most common operating systems/platforms) and you will be prompted to create an account. From there you can dial the echo tester (echo123), or during this promotion any other phone number (you will need a microphone/speakers or a headset). Skype is P2P based, and usually works very well. If you use the Windows version you can try out a large 100 person voice chat, similar to someplace between a conference call and live radio. Some versions also support webcams and file transfers, check out the Skype website for more info.

Give Skype a try, but I would encourage you to check out some of the other options if you are looking for VoIP, I like FreeWorldDialup, but its hard to setup. GizmoProject is another good option, and is easier to work with. Unlike Skype, both are based on the open SIP protocol, allowing you to use your own client if you want to.

Edit: More info about the promotion from a blog on Skype.com here.

Ibiblio

I don't have time for a big post right now, so I thought I should point out a lesser known source of information on the web.

You may know ibiblio.org as a Sourceforge mirror, but it also hosts a variety of other projects, as well as some books and informational websites. To get an idea what is available, visit the homepage or look at the index. Of particular interest to readers of this site, is the computer section with tutorials for many open source programs as well as some books on programming. If you are looking for something else, I found the Open Source Cookbook (pdf here) interesting (before I was on a restricted diet, I read the .4 version, but I see there is a new one out now).

If you are looking for even more (research oriented) content written by the community, everyone should know about Wikipedia, a huge web encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

For now, enjoy your evening!

Windows XP Startup Screen

A friend of mine was asking about changing your Windows boot splash screen (the black one that says WindowsXP when you first turn on your computer). I was going to write a howto of my own, but a quick google turned up this site, which has a fine one. Note that if you use the resource hacker method, and are clever you can change many of the other logos too, just explore!. You may find that you can make interesting changes in other executables too, or at least change their icons, just be sure to have a backup first.

Enjoy your afternoon, and give it a try ;-)

Google Analytics, Instructables

I thought you might be interested to know that I am transitioning this site to Google Analytics from CqCounter now that Google has sent me an activation code. I am going to try to write a review type thing on both services tomorrow, but I'm busy dealing with the end of the school year and helping a friend setup a new computer at the moment.

Meanwhile, if you are looking for something to do, check out Instructables. Instructables is a community driven (basically a wiki) for DIY engineering/electronics projects. For example, check out these instructions on how to control an R/C car with a computer (using an Atmel micro controller and a max232) that Make linked this afternoon. Along the same lines, HackADay and DIYLive track some of the more interesting projects that people post on the web.

Google SketchUp

I mentioned Google SketchUp when it was released the other day, but I only just got a chance to try it. For those with a short memory (I haven't been posting much lately), SketchUp is a very easy to use 3D modeling program for Windows (Mac version coming?, hopefully Linux eventually?). I find that it isn't nearly as powerful as some other tools I have used (Blender, Alibre Design), but it is great if you want to draw something quickly. SketchUp comes with some tutorials, which seem to cover the basics very nicely, though it took me a minute to figure out what tabs they were talking about (look just below the top tool bar). I also found that the animations in the tutorial were a little choppy, even on my fairly fast computer, but maybe its my older video card's fault (feel free to comment). Once you get it figured out, they have a "warehouse" where you can exchange models. I also noticed that you can import from a couple different CAD formats, but there are very few export options. An interesting feature is the option to import and export to/from Google Earth, though I can't seem to get it to work.

If you have greater needs, you can also buy a "pro" version that supports animations and some more file formats, but I would look into Blender and Alibre (as well as some of the bigger CAD packages, depending on what you are looking for) first.

At any rate, Google SketchUp is an interesting program to play with, and great if you want to draw something in 3D quickly. Worth a look!

Lack of posts (again)

Just to let everyone know, this is the week for AP (advanced placement) exams so I am fairly busy with review classes, etc. I should be back posting more regularly in a couple days. Wouldn't want anyone to think I had died or something and stop reading the site for no reason ;-)

Gaming, Intelligence

BBC News has an article on Nintendo games that are intended to up your smarts ( found via Lifehacker). This is not a new idea, and beyond so called educational games, many games have at least some benefit. From time to time, you hear about the First Person Shooters improving people's observation skills and reaction times. The once popular text (ASCII) adventure games have been shown to greatly improve reading and vocabulary. This doesn't mean computer gaming doesn't have its drawbacks, but if you do some research many games are very beneficial.

Enjoy your evening, and go try a text adventure or MUD

SketchUp

Awhile ago, Google bought a company called SketchUp, which sold a 3D drawing program. They have now released a free version. I have yet to try it out (only 1.5 more weeks of AP test prep), but I'm guessing a few of my readers might be interested.

Get it here or Check out the Official Announcement.