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Better Explorer Brings a Windows 8-Style Explorer to Windows 7, Ribbon and All - Lifehacker
I just installed it and it is awesome.
I may do too.
Over the edge I haven’t tried this but judging by the above screen shot, I have to say it looks cluttered and messy. Why are programs getting impractical again?
Simultaneous TV and Tablets Usage
Taking a tablet Media consumption is changing—and this comes as no surprise.
Spot on There’s an extra spot in the bottom-right of my Firefox window. Anyone know what it is? It’s not clickable. Is it a computer equivalent of acne?
WordPress Dominates Top 100 Blogs
Via Pingdom:
We just completed a study and found that WordPress is in use by 48% of the top 100 blogs in the world. This is an increase from the 32% we recorded three years ago.
Other developments since then include that custom blog publishing platforms are more common now, TypePad has all but disappeared from the top 100, Tumblr has made an entrance, and some companies really don’t want to spill the beans about what solutions they use.
Nice to see Tumblr is in the top 100.
Wordpress FTW The end of Blogger among serious bloggers?
(via deanminifie)
A true multitasking machine.
Four out of sixty-four International Soccer was cool.
(Source: 80s-touch)
Ubuntu 10 Looks like it‘s ready to go, even if the graphics driver took ages to get installed. The only glitch is having to type Control-Shift-U-2018-enter just to get a (proper) apostrophe (which Facebook doesn‘t like when commenting, as it thinks it‘s a hard return). No one seems to have a speedier way, unless I begin reassigning keystrokes (not a bad idea). Other than that, it‘s a fairly practical tool to have and I don‘t mind having it as the second OS on this system.
And, unlike Ubuntu 11, it works.
I‘ve downloaded the Gimp, which might be something else I will play with in the near future.
I also have to give props to my colleague Steve Matteson for his Liberation typefaces. They really are quite wonderful, especially the sans serif. Proof that you don‘t need to create something as ugly as Arial to get a type family with Helvetica metrics.
Dragged into the 2010s The last time I got a new computer (as opposed to the team) was 2009, so getting dragged into 64-bit land as 2012 dawned brought with it quite a big jump for me.
Here’s a wee list of things to note for others who might be upgrading, based on the things I had to do.
I managed to salvage my old hard drive, which made life a lot easier. I could shift files over to the new one, and use the old one for a dual-boot set-up.
Day 1
Get clips for the second (old) hard drive, which the retailer forgot to give to me.
Think about what to install. The scanner software was first, since it was a recent purchase and I remembered where the installation discs were.
I needed Firefox and McAfee on there quick-smart. Then I set about getting the rest in there. FontLab, WordPerfect, SFTP programs, other bits and pieces.
Delete the Arial family, or, at least, render it lost in the registry.
Get the printer drivers, which weren’t easy to find from the legit Epson site. I had to go to another country’s to find one for a 2003-era printer.
Install the Oracle VirtualBox as there are some programs I need from the 32-bit days.
Make sure the fonts from the old system are on the new one.
Whole bunch of Windows Updates. I let Internet Explorer 9 on, thinking the bug from March 2011 would be fixed. I was wrong (why do I continue to have faith in these people?). I remove Internet Explorer 9, and in the process it messes up Firefox. Firefox now has to run in Windows XP compatibility mode.
Day 2
Ubuntu 11 failed to install using Wubi. Reset the computer several times.
Downloaded Linux Mint 12 to see if that would work. It doesn’t.
Still making sure the fonts are the same on all systems.
Another trial of IE9, after reading some so-called fixes. None of the fixes work. IE9 just doesn’t display. Obviously Microsoft never tested it before launching it.
Watched the Windows 7 introductory videos. Clever. Learned a few more tricks. They are worth watching.
Day 3
Adobe Acrobat won’t print—I can’t install the old v. 7 that I had. This is a bug going back to 2008. So I had to get Tracker Software’s PDF viewer.
Word 97 might be useful for copying and pasting. They never made a better one after that. WordPerfect peaked decades ago, but it’s still more usable than Word.
I realized I was missing the drivers for the motherboard and downloaded the whole set. Make sure you have all the drivers.
Finally get the fonts the same on each computer at the office.
Amazed at the speed as I find I am waiting less for the computer to catch up with my moves.
Oh, that’s right. Tell Google Ads Preferences Manager to naff off. Then put in a whole bunch of cookies to block.
Tested an alpha for Firefox, just because I can.
Downloaded Ubuntu 10.
Day 4
Ubuntu 10 loads properly. Hooray! Lesson: never get the latest as it will be full of bugs. But it won’t pick up my screen resolution, so other than a brief play, it’s back into Windows-land.
Figure out where your Firefox bookmarks are on your old system, copy the file into the new directory, and rename it with today’s date. Then get Firefox to import them.
I am told of a fix for my Firefox 9 by one of the Mozilla techs after giving some v. 12 feedback, so I no longer need to run it in compatibility mode. Instant karma, within 24 hours.
Weekend now. I might just have to see how this computer performs for entertainment.
Ubuntu fail Either I get a screen that’s a deep mauve, or I get Linux code that freezes. This is regardless of whether I use Wubi or a CD-ROM. I really wanted to like Ubuntu, but till they fix its installation—after all, they’re only up to v. 11—it looks like it ain’t going to happen.
I have only had to reset my computer using the dreaded button five times since I bought it on Tuesday. All five times were due to Ubuntu’s boot sequence failing.
Like the mean judge in ice-skating You spend all this money and one thing still prevents you from getting a high score.
… I really don’t know who has the time to sit around and make groups on facebook but every time I log on I always seem to have 4 or 5 requests to join various groups. Some times these groups are legitimate, like a team you are part of, a school you used to go to or a cause you support. It’s a good way to keep in touch and find out important information.What’s becoming more disturbing however is the amount of racist, sexist and just plain rude groups I have been invited by friends to join. I think anyone with Facebook will know what I am talking about; those random groups that have no point, have no content and are just there, I guess, to make people laugh.
On Sunday I was a bit bored and read down the homepage thing where you can see what all your friends are up to and was pretty shocked at the groups they had liked.
One in particular had liked the following groups;
- Making your girlfriend sleep on the wet patch because she didn’t swallow.
- We’re going to have sex tonight, why? Because I am stronger than you are.
- You know you have got a keeper when your girlfriend picks and iron in Monopoly.
- No women, no kai (kai is Maori for food).
- Some girl in China lost her virginity at 13, her name was ‘Sum Yung Ho’
- Put your girlfriend on a lead mate, she is barking again.
- Smiling at Asians so they don’t eat your pets.
- If Rihanna is so hard why didn’t she knock Chris Brown out of it? …
Daft Facebook “statement” groups I’m with Lauren on this. And if Facebook removes some groups based on racism, then surely those that promote violence should fall outside its terms and conditions?
