20 Awsome Open Source Downloads

Posted on July 22nd, 2007 in software by Domenic M.

“They’re free, but that doesn’t mean these apps aren’t powerful. Created by folks who welcome help and improvements to their work, many of these programs are superior to packaged software.”gimp fox via netzwelt.de

  • Graphics
    • Gimpshop
    • an exceedingly powerful Photoshop lookalike that has far more features than you, or most people you know, will ever use

    • Inkscape
    • a graphics program that lets you create illustrations and graphics, much like Freehand or Illustrator

  • Multimedia
    • Miro
    • subscribe to video RSS feeds, podcasts, and video blogs, download and save videos from YouTube, find TV shows, and play high definition, full screen videos

    • MediaCoder
    • convert media files between formats, shrink files with little quality loss, extract audio from video files, or manage multimedia in other ways

    • Audacity
    • the program to get if you need to record or edit audio

    • компютриMedia Player Classic
    • looks and works much like an earlier, classic version of Windows Media Player, way back in the days when it was a simple, svelte program

    • HandBrake
    • grabs video (including DVD) and audio sources to output a digital file in a variety of formats, including MPEG-4, AVI, OGM for video, or AAC, MP3, and Ogg Vorbis for audio

  • Utilities
    • RogueScanner
    • do

      you have any idea whether any intruders are on your home or small office wireless network? this free program is a great way to find out

    • ClamWin Free Antivirus
    • a clean, mean piece of antivirus software that does just one thing - protect against viruses

    • FileZilla
    • FileZilla has just about every FTP feature you need. it’s a breeze to set up and edit new FTP connections

    • TrueCrypt
    • lets you create special, encrypted volumes on the fly, and then place files in those volumes using powerful encryption technology to keep them safe

    • 7-Zip
    • offers considerable power over compressed archive creation and extraction, including several different archive formats and compression methods and levels

Using a pencil as an emergency light

Posted on July 21st, 2007 in hacks by Domenic M.

Google Acquires ImageAmerica

Posted on July 21st, 2007 in news by Domenic M.

“Google has just announced on their Google Lat-Long blog that they have acquired ImageAmerica - a company that builds high resolution cameras for the collection of aerial imagery.”google lat long via googlified.com

  • Google previously used imagery from ImageAmerica in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
  • Google states:
    • We’re excited about how ImageAmerica’s technology will contribute to our mapping services down the road. Since we’re in the research and development phase right now it may be some time before you see any of this imagery in Google Maps or Earth — we’ll keep you posted on this blog!
  • ImageAmerica was based in Clayton, Missouri and reportedly had patented camera technology and automatic image processing technologies for producing orthographic photography, perfect for Google Earth and Maps

read more at
http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2007/07/google_acquires_imag.html

“Hello World” running on iPhone

Posted on July 21st, 2007 in coding by Domenic M.

“Amidst the frenzy to unlock the iPhone to run on networks other that AT&T, lone hacker “Nightwatch” has been working away to run third party applications on the device.”iPhone via blog.wired.com

  • from the wiki:
    • After many, many hours of intense work from “Nightwatch”, the first independent “Hello World”* application has been compiled and launched on the iPhone. This was made possible using the “ARM/Mach-O Toolchain”, Nightwatch’s “special project”, that he has been working on so carefully over the past few weeks. Certain parts of the toolchain (such as the assembler) are being refined and tested and these will be released as soon as possible.
    • It should be noted that Nightwatch has been instrumental in creating these tools, working in near isolation to get them finished. Nightwatch was also responsible for the “jail exploit” that he developed from information he and other members of the the dev team discovered.

  • the “ARM/Mach-O Toolchain” is built using free and open source software.
  • while unlocking the iPhone might never happen, this hack means that full, third party applications can be written, not just the janky web based ones.

read more at
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/07/hello-world-app.html

Hundreds of resources to improve your online productivity

Posted on July 21st, 2007 in internet by Domenic M.

“Getting things done isn’t easy. In fact, it’s incredibly tough. In this article, we look at four ways to get through your work faster: running your life online, mastering RSS news feeds, aggregating your social networks and using keyboard shortcuts to save precious seconds.”online productivity via mashable.com

  • Word Processing Services
    • Google Docs - A way to create your documents and share them too.
    • Zoho Writer - Serious competition to Google Docs. There are some options present that Google Docs lacks and of course vice-versa.
    • ThinkFree - Think Microsoft Office, except this is the online equivalent.
    • Buzzword - A recently discovered service that is still in private beta. It has many offerings and a slick interface to boot! (Private Beta)
  • Web Portals
    • Netvibes - Generally considered to be the first successful, independent startpage.
    • Pageflakes - Pageflakes could be considered the brother-in-law to Netvibes and both have very similar offerings in customization and content.
    • iGoogle - If you have a Google account, then the iGoogle comes part of the package deal, and since many of us have Google as our home page anyways, why not give iGoogle a trial?
    • My Yahoo - The offerings are somewhat more customizable than iGoogle, but essentially the same concept from a different provider.
  • Calendar Services
    • Google Calendar - I personally use Google Calendar on a daily basis. It is just that freaking awesome!
    • Yahoo! Calendar - Yahoo provides a pretty good, but basic, calendar application for organizing your life
    • 30 Boxes - Has a lightning fast interface that is really easy to navigate makes this a good contender.
    • Kiko - A very nice calendar application with a drag & drop interface.
  • Contact Management Services
    • Plaxo - One of the best known services which allow you to keep track of contacts. Other services that can tap into your Plaxo account and utilize your contacts with your permission.
    • Tabber - was created with the notion of linking together friends from many social sites and services, but it still serves very well as an address book and contact management application.
    • Highrise - A premium option to manage your business contacts. If you are more serious about keeping your contacts and have hundreds of them, this could be a cost efficient solution depending on your needs.
    • HyperOffice - Another premium service that offers control of your contacts. This is for more serious contact management.
  • to see literally hundreds or more resources from other categories including Communication Services, Charting & Diagram Services, Mapping Services, File Storage Services, and RSS readers read more at…

http://mashable.com/2007/07/20/online-productivity-god/

Google bidding high for airwaves

Posted on July 20th, 2007 in news by Domenic M.

“Google said today that it would bid at least $4.6 billion on wireless airwaves being auctioned off by the federal government - if certain conditions are met…”google logo via physorg.com

  • google wants the FCC to mandate that any winners lease a certain portion of the airwaves to other companies seeking to offer high-speed Internet and other services
  • google argues this will give consumers - who traditionally get high-speed Internet access via cable or telephone lines - a third option for service
  • FCC chairman, Kevin Martin, last week previewed draft rules for the auction that did not include this so-called wholesale provision
  • Mr. Martin’s draft proposal did contain a rule on open access that seems to be favored by all potential bidders, and google’s conditions would be at least partially met.
  • open network access would allow consumers to buy the wireless device and software of their choice and use it on the new network.
  • google’s position puts it at odds with major carriers like AT&T and Verizon Communications, which favor the current auction draft rules and plan to bid as well
  • the auction could raise as much as $20 billion for the Treasury

read more at
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/apeegoogle.html?_r=2&ref=technology&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Checkers = Solved

Posted on July 20th, 2007 in software by Domenic M.

“After 18-and-a-half years and sifting through 500 billion billion (a five followed by 20 zeroes) checkers positions, Dr. Jonathan Schaeffer and colleagues have built a checkers-playing computer program that cannot be beaten. Completed in late April this year, the program, Chinook, may be played to a draw but will never be defeated.” checkers board via geocities.com/exploring_citr

  • Schaeffer created Chinook to exploit the superior processing and memory capabilities of computers and determine the best way to incorporate artificial intelligence principals in order to play checkers
  • how Schaeffer did it:
    1. programmed heuristics (”rules of thumb”) into a computer software program that captured knowledge of successful and unsuccessful checkers moves
    2. let the program run, while painstakingly monitoring, fixing, tweaking, and updating it as it went
    3. an average of 50 computers, with more than 200 running at peak times, were used everyday to compute the knowledge necessary to complete Chinook
    4. a database of information that “knows” the best move to play in every situation of a game is created
  • Schaeffer started the Chinook project in 1989, with the initial goal of winning the human world checkers championship
  • in 1994 it won, becoming the first computer program to win a human world championship in any game - a feat recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.

read more at
http://www.physorg.com/news104073048.html

Möbius strip reavealed!

Posted on July 20th, 2007 in science by Domenic M.

“The Möbius strip, obtained by taking a rectangular strip of plastic or paper, twisting one end through 180°, and then joining the ends, is the canonical example of a one-sided surface. Finding its characteristic developable shape has been an open problem ever since its first formulation…”

mobius strip via math.cuhk.edu.hk

  • how to solve one of math’s oldest problems:
    1. use the invariant variational bicomplex formalism to derive the first equilibrium equations for a wide developable strip undergoing large deformations
    2. formulate the boundary-value problem for the Möbius strip and solve it numerically
    3. solutions for increasing width show the formation of creases bounding nearly flat triangular regions
  • why it’s significant:
    • could give new insight into energy localization phenomena in unstretchable sheets, which might help to predict points of onset of tearing
    • could also aid our understanding of the relationship between geometry and physical properties of nano and microscopic Möbius strip structures

read more at
http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nmat1929.html

Harvard students design a life-size robotic fly

Posted on July 20th, 2007 in engineering by Domenic M.

“A life-size, robotic fly has taken flight at Harvard University. Weighing only 60 milligrams, with a wingspan of three centimeters, the tiny robot’s movements are modeled on those of a real fly….”harvard fly via technologyreview.com

  • other researchers have built robots that mimic insects, but this is the first two-winged robot built on such a small scale that can take off using the same motions as a real fly
  • the researchers say that such small flying machines could one day be used as spies, or for detecting harmful chemicals
  • U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding the research in the hope that it will lead to stealth surveillance robots
  • how it’s made:
    • the team developed its own fabrication process
    • researchers cut thin sheets of carbon fiber and polymer into two-dimensional patterns that are accurate to a couple of micrometers
    • by carefully arranging the sheets of carbon fiber and polymer, the researchers are able to create functional parts
    • to make parts that will move in response to electrical signals, the researchers incorporate electroactive polymers, which change shape when exposed to voltage

read more at http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19068

Ooma’s VoIP Solution: One Time Fee for a Web Based Phone

Posted on July 19th, 2007 in tech by Domenic M.

“It has been possible for several years now for Americans to dump their landline phone companies and pay much less with services that route calls over the Internet instead of over the regular phone network…the leader in this business, Vonage, charges just $25 a month for unlimited local and long-distance calling in the U.S. and Canada…”ooma phone via gadgetell.com

  • pros:
    • cheaper than traditional landlines
  • cons:
    • services can’t connect to 911 emergency call centers in the traditional manner, and must use workarounds
    • others worry that if their Internet service goes out, so does their phone service
    • the stability of the VoIP providers isn’t certain
  • a new type of VOIP option will go on sale in September from a Silicon Valley start-up called Ooma, whose product goes by the same name
  • differs from traditional VoIP in two ways:
    1. Ooma is a $399 piece of hardware that you pay for only once, there are no monthly bills
    2. you can easily keep your regular phone service as an integrated backup, for 911 calls, and in case the Internet service in your home goes out
  • international calls are routed through the Internet by Ooma and the company says they will cost roughly what Internet phone services like Skype charge for nonmember calls, which is well below traditional landline rates
  • Ooma also delivers some added benefits
    • gives you a virtual second line: if a call comes in when you are already on the line, the second call can be answered from another extension.
    • has a built-in answering machine, and allows you to check your messages and call logs online

read more at
http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20070719/ooma-puts-out-a-call-to-ditch-landlines-for-web-based-service/