Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on November 08, 2007 by CyberNet.

If you haven’t seen of, or at least heard of the “Dummies” books, I don’t know where you’ve been living! Ever since the first “For Dummies” book hit the shelves back in 1991, they’ve been a huge success. At this point they cover nearly any topic possible, focusing on ones that are complex, confusing, or intimidating. Seeing as the entire topic of computers, hardware, software, and the Internet can be a bit intimidating, there’s a whole line of books that fall under each of these topics. Today I thought we’d take a look at some of those books, but more specifically, the ones geared towards Open Source Software.

You’ll notice that there’s a link to the dummies homepage for each book. These books can be found for much less at sites like Amazon, but one of the benefits of linking to the homepage is that there’s an excerpt from the book as well as the table of contents so that you can see what all you’re getting and what it covers. If it interests you, go read an excerpt, and take a look at the table of contents before going to another site to buy it. Here’s CyberNet’s list of Open Source books for Dummies that may be worth taking a look at.

1. Linux for Dummies, 8th Edition
   If you’re wanting to dive into Linux but you’re just not sure where to start, Linux for Dummies will get you pointed in the right direction.  It focuses on Fedora Core 6 but also includes information on other distributions like SuSE, Mandriva, Linspire, Knoppix, and Ubuntu.
   Link
2. OpenOffice.org for Dummies
   This book was published in December 2003 so it’s definitely due for an update.  If you’re at all interested in using OpenOffice.org, it might be a good idea to stop at a book store and take a peak at it just so you can get an idea of what it’s all about. It covers a wide variety of different topics and includes into about templates and styles, creating spreadsheets, and more.
   Link
3. Ubuntu Linux for Dummies
   We talk quite a bit about Ubuntu Linux here at CyberNet because it is one of the most popular distributions.  Published just this year, Ubuntu Linux for Dummies will teach you how to tap into multimedia, graphics and other applications using Ubuntu, generate and mange web pages, print service, and troubleshoot problems you may be having. They’ll also explain how to run Ubuntu right from a CD-ROM and how to install it on your PC or a network server.
   Link
4. Firefox for Dummies
   Given the number of readers who use Firefox, and the fact that Learn Firefox can teach you just about anything you’d want to know about it, this book probably won’t come in handy for yourself. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t recommend it to a friend that’s not so tech savvy to teach them all about what they’re missing out on! Firefox for Dummies is written by Blake Ross (creator of Firefox), it’ll be just enough to get your Friends who have been using Internet Explorer for way to long thinking about making a switch. It’s full of history, and the sometimes forgotten details that make Firefox a browser to love.
   Link
5. Free Software for Dummies
   While this book isn’t completely dedicated to Open Source software, it covers a lot of it from OpenOffice.org to Thunderbird, GIMP (the image editor) and even Blender. They point out how to locate the best free software out there that will work with Windows, Mac, or Linux. Sure you can spend lots of money on software, but why do it when you can get a lot of it for free that works just as well?
   Link

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com

This article was written on November 30, 2006 by CyberNet.

The Firefox crop circle that was made by some Oregon State University students a few months back has now been placed on Google Maps. Every time I see a picture of this crop circle it always amazes me.

First of all I want to say how cool it is that Google already refreshed their satellite imagery to capture the crop circle. From my experiences Google has the most up-to-date satellite imagery available to users compared to any other services that are offered by companies like Microsoft and Yahoo. Nice job Google!

Next, I can’t get over how much work people go through to promote Firefox. With all of the publicity that the crop circle received I am sure it was well worth the work just to be able to say that “I was part of that,” but I’m just talking about in general what people go through. I think that Firefox has to be one of the most viral pieces of software ever created because it relies so heavily on people telling other people about it. Most companies pay heavily to advertise their products around the Internet and even on television…but Firefox hasn’t done any of that. There are millions and millions of Firefox users that use the browser because of people like you and me.

I’m sure it also helps that Mozilla has a whole site, SpreadFirefox.com, that is dedicated to people referring other people to the browser. I just looked up SpreadIE.com and it is a domain squatter…guess Microsoft couldn’t swoop in to get that one fast enough. 😀

Download Firefox 2

News Source: Asa Dotzler Blog

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com

GPS turn-by-turn directions are staid and boring, whether they are relayed by a male or female voice. Waze wants to give us what we really want, which is, quite naturally, driving directions delivered with the gravitas only Hollywood actors can bring. To that end, the social navigation company has partnered up with Universal Pictures to deliver some cross-promotional synergy that’ll have actors in forthcoming films acting as your virtual co-pilot. The first such star of the silver screen is comedian Kevin Hart (promoting the aptly titled film Ride Along), and you can get a taste of what Waze will be like with Hart telling you where to go in the video after the break.

Filed under: GPS, Software, Mobile

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Via: VentureBeat

This article was written on September 26, 2006 by CyberNet.

My Dream App is a creative solution that a company came up with to find out what applications are in high demand for Mac computers. There are several rounds of voting that take place and in this round there were 6 (out of 24) ideas eliminated.

Here are the ideas that were “retired” based on the 8,800 voters:

• Savant Carde – Takes the Hypercard concept into the 21st century through direct manipulation. Could this be the next big breakthrough in hyperlinked media?
• Puppet Constructor – Create simple 2D animations with the ease of manipulating puppets. With Puppet Constructor, keyframes are replaced by users manipulating their “puppets” with their mouse.
• iGotPets – Keep track of your pet’s well-being with iGotPets, and share your pet’s profile through the web.
• SweepIt – The solution for messy desktops and download folders. Set folders for automatic cleaning based on user set rules.
• iSightSee – An alternative control method powered by your Mac’s iSight. Control your Mac with hand gestures and movements.
• Bubble Fish – Bubble Fish is the friend who knows everything, but without the annoyance factor. Ever curious to learn about a word or phrase beyond a dictionary definition? Wikipedia, Google, Flickr and more would be just a control click away.

Here are the ones that are left:

• Stick-It – A modernized sticky solution that lets people use virtual stickies just as they do in real life.
• Desktop Wars – A real-time strategy game that brings the battlefield to your desktop with network play, voice commands and more.
• Herald – A modern update to the newspaper, combining the power of RSS, simple newspaper creation and sharing, and an eye-catching user interface.
• Atmosphere – A virtual window to the outdoors for your desktop. View a virtual representation of your area’s weather when too busy to go outside.
• Blossom – A virtual plant that responds to productivity, not sunlight and water. Had a good session in Excel? Your plant will thrive. Play too much Warcraft? Expect some withering.
• Bookroom – Get back into reading, with Bookroom. Presents e-books in a beautiful interface, and supports annotations and Leopard’s VoiceOver support.
• Portal – File syncing from the future. Sync folders and documents between Macs effortlessly and watch transfer progress through a cool, highly visual wormhole user interface.
• Destinations – Plan vacations and trips with ease and tie related photos and notes to locations on the map as an interactive travel album.
• iGTD – A Mac implementation on the popular “Getting Things Done” productivity system with iCal and Address Book integration, iPod sync, and more.
• Minerva – A virtual secretary for your Mac. Minerva can automatically process new contacts, aggregate news, remind you of appointments and more, speaking with Leopard’s voiceover.
• Hijack – A full Cocoa interface for browsing and participating in your favorite discussion forums.
• Chatboard – The virtual, network-enabled whiteboard that adds real-time shared visuals to group collaborations.
• Cookbook – The ultimate cookbook application, with online grocery shopping, thousands of recipes, Leopard voiceover technology integration, shopping list sharing, and more.
• iVlog – Photo Booth for videos, with easy to use video logging (or “vlogging”) support.
• Telepath – Turns your phone into a Blackberry lite. Push important emails, news items, and more to your phone from your Mac via SMS.
• Whistler – Ever had the urge to create a song until you realized it was harder than it was worth? With Whistler, just whistle, hum, or tap out your creation into music app importable form.
• Ground Control – Dashboard done right, with a unified design and modules for your most used apps and important information at your fingertips.
• iStyleIt – Bring your wardrobe into your iLife with iStyleIt, a virtual closet on your Mac. Pick your clothes with ease, store and rate your favorite outfits, and share them with your friends.

I put together the above list from the information that they provide on the contestants page. From this round it looks like Desktop Wars, iGTD, and Cookbook are the most popular but that may change. You have to remember that people get to vote each round, and if one of their applications don’t make it through then they will probably put their vote on another one. I can’t wait to see how this thing turns out!

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com

Canonical’s been working for years to turn Ubuntu into a universal OS for whatever sized screen you use, be it of the television, desktop or mobile variety. Recently, the company showed off the next step in this evolution: unified icon designs for mobile and desktop Ubuntu implementations. In keeping with current UI trends, the new icons have flatter, more stylized appearance when compared to the old desktop iconography. System tiles are less colorful and more reserved in appearance, while apps and folders have been punched up with a flashier look to set them apart visually. Of course, the new icons won’t actually make their way into a Ubuntu for awhile, as the goal is to get them into the 14.04 release for mobile (13.10 is the current version). Should you want more background on the production of the new icons, there’s an hour-long video discussing it after the break. Don’t forget the popcorn.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Source: OMG! Ubuntu!