I Never Knew...

A few words of wisdom regrading school computers:

1. Apparently we're not suppose to use services to upload files to the Internet from the school. Meaning that I now have to invest in a new flash drive which I'm rarely going to use instead of relying upon a combination of Dropbox and Mediafire. Apparently our school's network can't handle the traffic of uploading a file to the World Wide Web... hmmm.
   
   
2. Right clicking on the Altiris client and poking around is also against the rules, even though its not really disabled and there's not much you can do. Sort of dumb considering that there's nothing to do with the right click menu and you're not the administrator. And come on, if I really want to break the Altiris client, I would've done homework first by installing on my computer and be curious there.
   
   
3. So, while waiting for the Powerpoint to upload to Mediafire, I started to poke around with the explorer window. After looking around, I found the connections to the other schools of the district. It wasn't even hard to find the thing... also there's the thing that I'm an underprivilage user, meaning I couldn't do anything. Remember, not to go explore the networks view...

If you really want to ask more in detail, ask me on AIM.

-runiteking1

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The Overpriced and Dying Gadget

The other day at Rex, our family was looking around for some cheap deals on home theater in a box. I now find it ironic that their name is called Rex (as in T-rex... get it?) as they just announced that they were closing their store here in Tallahassee, just like Circuit City is. Good thing hhgreg came in or it'll be a Best Buy monoply on the big electronic items.

Anyways, the store was almost empty and I saw a few media players. I went there and started looking around, all of them was $50 or so and not very attractive. But one, priced at a whopping $150 caught my eye.

Upon close inspection, I cound out that it was a Toshiba HD-DVD player. Remember what a HD-DVD is? Remember back when there was a format war this past year? No.. not the betamax vs vcr one... yeah, the one with the disks...

Now, its a dead technology with Toshiba abadoning the project.

Why in the world is it still selling for $150?

Went online, and poked around, then I saw this site retailing a HD-DVD player for 400 bucks with no mention on it being dead. I wouldn't trust MyDigitalUniverse...

-runiteking1

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Textbook Torrent is Down (Forever)

Argh, Textbooktorrent.com is down forever now. Seems like running the website has gotten Geekman too much of a headache.

There are a number of reasons for this, but I would be lying if I claimed that the concern of legal action wasn't a major factor in the decision. However, it was by no means the only reason. Upkeep of a site this size is a lot of work, increasingly so as time progressed. What's more, two years is a long time to be running a site of this nature.

I salute geekman and wish him goodbye, meanwhile, anybody want to hook me up with a bitme invite?

http://textbooktorrents.com/

-runiteking1

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Ubiquity

In an effort by Mozilla to connect the web and its user-interface, they have introduced Ubiquity for Firefox some one and a half months ago. After using it for a bit, I've decided on one thing: that it's awesome...

Here's basically what it is:


Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

This video explained it much better than I could using my screencasting software.

A couple of notes though, the "add-to-calendar" command didn't work for me at first. I had to subscribe to a new sets of command to make Google Calendar sync to Ubiquity. Also, for the Mac users out there, one of the dependencies of Ubiquity is Growl, the notification updater(?), which can be easily downloaded and installed here. No need to install anything except for Firefox in Windows.

Since the launch, there have been literally thousands of command floating around in "the herd." They're easily installed by clicking on the links and agreeing to let Firefox to use the code. Some of the most I use is:

• Facebook commands
  
• Latex
• Delicious, Digg, Reddit

The syntax highlight is quite useful during my AP computer science sessions and the various search tools are phenomanal...

Try it out here:
(Firefox Extension)
https://people.mozilla.com/~avarma/ubiquity-0.1.1.xpi

-runiteking1

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"Wii" Can Do It

My family is on a quest for my little brother. A quest for Wii conquest

So this is how it started.

We (no pun intended) got our Wii a while back and is enjoying it, mostly just with Sports. Due to the facts that tennis is the easiest sport to play, I play tennis, and I was pretty bored during the summer, I accumulated plenty of points to make me a Pro pretty fast. Then Brighten wanted to be a Pro...

And that's somewhat of a problem you see, a four year old can't really understand why you tell him to swing a little bit higher. I'm not saying he's a bad player though. While I was gone for Nationals, my little brother apparently beat my parents several times (of course, when I came back, I whipped his butt... but then he cried).

Back to the topic, a kindergartner has a hard time keeping the score, nevertheless hitting the ball but he is doing well. The problem is that it's hard for him to get player points though. When he plays alongside with me, or one of my parents, we usually win, but little points is added so the only course for my little brother to go is to play singles. As you might imagine, he doesn't really have a descent ground stroke game, so he usually loses against better players (meaning no points).

Well, now when he plays, our whole family watches him to cheer him on. One of us is designated the "coach" and gives him specific instructions on what to do and the rest of us just cheers. If you were to record us giving him support, you would've swore that there existed an indoor tennis court here and we were developing the next Roger Federer. Yes, we are that tough. Here's some examples:

1. When he would scratch his feet, one of my parents would pause the game and wipe his feet for him.
2. When he loses an easy point, we would be on him, telling him what to do, in a second.
3. All of us would go "oohhhhh" when the ball gets called out.

So today, he finally got to the Pro level by playing a few short games. I was practicing my clarinet when he burst into my room telling me that he's a pro now... a few minutes later, I learned that he lost his next match and is now not a Pro any more.

-runiteking1

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Facebook: Come On!

I mean, what is this? I'm a guy and I'm not interested in dresses. Facebook knows that I'm a male. It's on my bloody profile!

And take a look at the second girl's face, remember this?

-runiteking1

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Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Everything is going digital. From diaries to business forms are all transitioning to a digital format, but some people are still light-years behind schedule. Chances are, you still have a huge pile of papers which would be much more useful if you are able to "search" through the piles and find what you want. There is a way to do this and it is called optical character recognition (OCR).

The technical definition of OCR is

is the mechanical or electronic translation of images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text (usually captured by a scanner) into machine-editable text.

In other words, the ability for a machine to read handwriting. There use to be only one software that I can reccomand but as of right now, another was released... To see some things I done with OCR, take a look at the All-State roster that I scanned and transfered to a digital copy (also that page is the most visited page on this blog by far, a total of  199 times from the beginning of the year!).

1.  Windows Office Document Imaging - This piece of software is a hidden gem in the Office suite. It's located under Microsoft Office folder in the start menu.

Start -> All Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Microsoft Office Tool -> Microsoft Office Document Imaging

When you first run it, it might ask you for the installation CD, there is a way to bypass this problem but I can't really help you as I forgot the error code of whatever... but it's solvable :). Anyways, to scan the document, you can either use the manufacturer's software or Window's built-in Scanner wizard.

To use the built-in feature, open up Control Panel and look for Scanner and Cameras and select the scanner that you want to use.



The one thing that you must do with either software is to remember to save as ".TIF" or else Document Imaging will not work.



Scan the image and open the .TIF file with Document Imaging. Now here comes the magical part. You can click the two buttons indicated below (red then green) or click Tools -> Recognize Text using OCR... then export to Word.



Now voila! The scanned document is in a Word file! The only problem with this is that the formatting is all messed up...but now it's search able!

2. Evernote - Evernote is an amazing piece of software. As of today, it is out of beta and the final version came out for the public. I think the video below can describe Evernote a LOT better than I can using words and pictures (Screencast.com is being stupid and going to charge users now...), so here you go. (LINK)



There are also other options like using the uber-expensive Adobe Acrobat (but it sucks too...) and other software, but these are the only one I have experience with.

-runiteking1

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FAMAT site

Hi everybody, new writer here. I am designing the Florida Assaocation of Mu Alpha Theta (FAMAT) student delegate site, and would like your input. So far the only change I've made, apart from information is that the previous site looked like this:


While the new one looks like this:


This means the only difference so far is the picture on the left. I'd like some input from the readers on more changes that they'd like to see in the site (and is the new picture an improvement?). Any problems that anybody finds as well would be very helpful to know. The current site is floridamaostudents.org, though that may change soon (I will edit the link if needed).

runiteking1 - EDIT: the link was bad... I assume you meant florida not flordia.

-codersarepeople

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Curing Cancer: Folding@Home

You probably heard of searching for aliens by using the Seti@Home project, but I find looking for aliens stupid. On the other hand, trying to find a cure for the following diseases sounds amazingly juicy:

• Alzheimer's

• Huntington's

• Cancer

• Parkinson’s

So how do you help find a cure when you're not a biology/chemistry major? Well for one, you could download and contribute to the Folding@Home Project. It's easy and sometimes fun to use.

To start, proceed to the download page here. Now, download the one with graphical client (I will only be discussing Windows as its the most widespread and Mac/Linux people are generally more savvy about their computers).

Meanwhile, while downloading the client, you might as well go see if your username is taken, but it doesn't really matter that much.

After you downloaded the software, execute the installer and proceed through it. I assume that you're able to do this, if not, get your geeky cousin. Then start up the actual program. You should see something like this at your bar.

That means you're up and running. Now to the actually cool part. If you right click on your little protein like red thing, and click on display or full screen, you'll be able to see something like this:

Now you can see a rendering of the protein you're analyzing.

Of course, this is what we call distributed computing, whose definition is

Distributed Computing is a method of computer processing in which different parts of a program, or different portions of data, are processing simultaneously on two or more computers that are communicating with each other over a network or through the Internet.

and the client's default CPU usage is 100%, meaning that if you're using a laptop, it's going to get amazingly hot. If you want to turn down the CPU usage, either because you want to save energy or you are using a laptop, right click on the icon and select "configure"

You want to select "Lowest Possible" for core priority, that way, Folding@Home won't interfere with your normal computer usage. The "CPU Usage Percent" slide bar is the one where you can lower your CPU usage... slide to the right for less, slide to the right for more. Also for laptop users, CPUs suck up energy so you might want to check the "Pause work while battery..."

Also in the configuration box, you can add your username and team number (find a random one to join at the web site) under the "User" tab, edit the method of connecting to the Internet (which should not be messed with unless it does not work for you), the "Display" tab you can change the refresh rate of the pictures ("Molecule Draw Rate"), the type, mess with the screensaver settings and so on...

After you've been running this thing for a while, you'll get down with a few analyzing task of proteins (or otherwise called foldings or a work unit). To check how many you did compared to others, right click icon -> status -> My Folding

I hope you have fun...

p.s. I find it ironic that I'm encouraging global warming by trading in a possible treatment for caner :P

-runiteking1

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Firefox Certificate

I downloaded Firefox 3 and now is the proud owner of this certificate... :), Do you have one?

Download Day 2008 - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Download Day 2008

-runiteking1

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Firefox 3 Coming Tomorrow!

Just to remind all you people, Firefox 3 is coming out tomorrow and you can help set a world record for the most downloads in one day! 

To see a good overview of FF3, take a look at this "field guide."

EDIT: Here's the data for the past month and their browser, looks like people still use IE...

(Green - IE, Blue - FF, Red - Safari, Yellow - Opera)

-runiteking1

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Hulu

I hate TV. No, not the shows on TV, just the waste of time TVs are.

I hate it that shows are locked in there place, and the only way out of that is by using a TiVo or buying it online. I hate it that shows always have stupid and long commercials in between. I hate it that I can't share it with my friends.

Share the same hatred? Join me in my quest for the perfect internet TV experience...

The very first thing that I tried was Joost. What is Joost? Joost is a desktop application using P2P technology to distribute video fast and efficiently. In basic terms, it's a really nice version of Youtube with awesome channels and kickbutt features. Here's a few screen shots (I should edit the blog to incorporate a longer width...):

Watching CSI:NY

Browsing through the NBA channel

Then, I stopped using Joost because all their channels are getting old. CSI and friends gets old really, really fast. Then sometimes later, I found a Techcrunch (?) post on Hulu.com. At that time, it was invite only and after two weeks of waiting, I finally got an account.

Getting an account at Hulu now is quite easy, there's a "sign up" link at the top of the page. All you need is an email address, your name and a quick survey. (Note: After you create your account, you should edit your profile as your email address is displayed on default.)

Now you can browse through the shows and the limited amounts of movies on Hulu. Here's an list of some of the shows on Hulu as of June 12th.

• 24
• The Simpson's (my favorite)
• Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader
• Battlestar Galactica
• Deal or No Deal
• Dirt
• Friday Night Lights
• Family Guy
• Monk
• My Name is Earl
• Studio 60 f the Sunset Strip
• Super Bowl XLII Ads (I know its not a show but...)
• Top Chef

As an additional bonus, some HD content are available though all are only excerpts.

There are a few downsides to Hulu though. Sometimes, the shows are mysteriously "Not Available," there are also very short commercials throughout all the shows and movies, but they are well placed and extremely short (average of 20 seconds for every 20 to 30 minutes). The full screen mode is a bit blurry and the sound is pretty bland. Still, it is marvelous, free and, best of all, available everywhere where there's an connection.

I have to admit, there are a lot more choices for TV online, including Bittorrent and the networks' own websites. But Hulu is the cleanest and the one with the most choices.

In order to entice you, October Sky.



-runiteking1

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Some Tech Notes

1. Recently, I've been backing up my DVDs and it's a real hassle. I could rip the DVD quite easily with either VLC or Mac the Ripper but compressing a DVD9 to a DVD5 for free is almost nonexistent. I tried the Burn software but it screwed up the whole aspect ratio. So as of right now, I've been using Windows Parallels on the mac to run DVD Shrink. Grr... so much for DVD FLOSSing.

2. Mac and Windows compatibility is still a hassle. I synced my iPod with the Mac and now, I can't do it with Windows. So either one, I have to copy all my songs from the Mac to Windows or just stick with the Mac, which is a pain cause the PC hard drive is bigger.

3. Flickr, pshh, go Zoomr. While browsing through last year's Webware 100 winners, I noticed the unlimited everything image hosting service Zoomr (go google it, it's spring break and I don't want to do anything). Since I don't have a Flick Pro, I'm starting to switch to Zoomr as my blog/personal picture hosting service. Of course, I still use Picasa web albums because it integrates well with the Picasa software.

-runiteking1

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