Freeware for Ubuntu

With the rise of ubuntu in the mainstream OS market one can see the rise in free everyday productivity applications. Free Geekery has compiled a list not only for a newbie but also for a nerd.

Thanks to Lifehacker.

Fuzzy Fundamentals

I have two recommendations for those who are interested in fuzzy logic.

1. Paradigm shift - an introduction to fuzzy logic.
2. Fuzzy fundamentals by Cox, E.

This first article was published in IEEE Potentials on Jan.-Feb. 2006, Volume: 25, Issue: 1, On page(s): 6- 21. The second article was published in IEEE Spectrum on Oct 1992, Volume: 29, Issue: 10, On page(s): 58-61.

Synergy

Do you use a laptop and desktop in a single desk like me? Are you tired of the keyboards and mice that clutter your desk?

We finally have an solution to all our problems in Synergy (Thanks to Lifehacker)

I have been looking for one such tool for quite some time. The best part is that it is cross-functional.

Edgy Eft gives way to Feisty Fawn

Finally, it looks like ubuntu has the solution to all my cribbing about earlier versions of ubuntu.

Ubuntu 7.04 is the most user-friendly Ubuntu to date and includes a ground-breaking Windows migration assistant, excellent wireless networking support and improved multimedia support.

Here is a guide that can get you started quickly.

Programming Quotations

I happened to read some of programming quotes. Here is a collection of my favorite quotes. Someday, I wish to categorize them.

... the designer of a new system must not only be the implementor and the first large-scale user; the designer should also write the first user manual. ... If I had not participated fully in all these activities, literally hundreds of improvements would never have been made, because I would never have thought of them or perceived why they were important.

Donald Knuth

The process of preparing programs for a digital computer is especially attractive, not only because it can be economically and scientifically rewarding, but also because it can be an aesthetic experience much like composing poetry or music.

Donald Knuth

A charlatan makes obscure what is clear; a thinker makes clear what is obscure.

Hugh Kingsmill

I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.

Bjarne Stroustrup

The most important single aspect of software development is to be clear about what you are trying to build.

Bjarne Stroustrup

A most important, but also most elusive, aspect of any tool is its influence on the habits of those who train themselves in its use. If the tool is a programming language this influence is, whether we like it or not, an influence on our thinking habits.

Edsger Dijkstra

Increasingly, people seem to misinterpret complexity as sophistication, which is baffling---the incomprehensible should cause suspicion rather than admiration. Possibly this trend results from a mistaken belief that using a somewhat mysterious device confers an aura of power on the user.

Niklaus Wirth

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Leonardo da Vinci

It’s so easy to become mesmerized by the immediacy of a result that you don’t question its validity.

Naomi Karten

Every program has (at least) two purposes: the one for which it was written, and another for which it wasn't.

Alan J. Perlis

You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.

Richard Feynman

The primary duty of an exception handler is to get the error out of the lap of the programmer and into the surprised face of the user. Provided you keep this cardinal rule in mind, you can't go far wrong.

Verity Stob

Complexity kills. It sucks the life out of developers, it makes products difficult to plan, build and test, it introduces security challenges and it causes end-user and administrator frustration.

Ray Ozzie

Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.

Albert Einstein

First, solve the problem. Then, write the code.

John Johnson

Introduction to Windows Vista

As always CNET Tips and Tricks is doing a good job of educating and introducing users to new software. This time it offers a free course on the secrets of Vista. I peeked into the lessons offered and I vouch for it. A great and useful read.

Icons

Icon overviews gives an overview of icons and its creation.
An Ico file contains multiple size icons. By default, the Resource Editor opens the icon in default type. However, the icon may be used as other type in the application. That is why you cannot get the right icon sometimes. Use the following steps to edit an icon:

1. Double click the .ico file in Solution Explorer
2. Right click the blank area of the Editor
3. Select Current Icon Images Types -> 16 * 16, 16 colors
4. Edit the Icon and save
5. Repeat 2-4 steps untill all images are changed

Clustering based search engines

Clustering technology is increasingly used in search engines for better and organized search results. It all depends on how a person would want to view the results. If you are tired of the text-based searches that google or yahoo returns, you might want to try these engines:

Clusty

Mooter

KartOO

Webclust

On another note, Blogdigger.com is a RSS search engine, providing full-text search, as well as metadata search on RSS information. It has link search functionality, as well as searching by date, topic, title and other fields.

Macbook Freeware

Matthew Hirsch provided an extensive compilation of essentials of macbook software. Recently, Jake came up with a concise collection of free software for Mac users.

Alternative Windows applications

How nice would it be if someone gave you a list of applications that are not only free but also exert less load on your already famished Windows Operating System.
Matt compiled a list of applications that are "lighter or lighter weight" for Windows Operating System. It is a very concise list.

iTunes and Video

I had trouble playing some video files on iTunes. I followed tips from this website and disabled Direct3D video acceleration in QuickTime and restarted iTunes.
Now, it plays fine.

Uninstall Linux in a Windows XP– Linux Dual Boot Machine

I followed the following steps while uninstalling Ubuntu Linux on my laptop.

1. Use Windows XP installation CD to boot.
2. Go to recovery console and enter fixmbr
3. Restart the system. Now it should boot in Windows
4. Remove Linux partition by using the disk management utility of Windows XP.

Values of Environment Variables

To display value of environment variables in command prompt in windows use the following command

echo %variable_name%

For example to display the value of CLASSPATH variable type

echo %CLASSPATH%

Way to learn Algorithms

Excerpts from The Art of Computer Programming-Fundamental Algorithms by Knuth, Page No. 4

“...the reader should not expect to read an algorithm as if it were part of a novel; such an attempt would make it pretty difficult to understand what is going on. An algorithm must be seen to be believed, and the best way to learn what an algorithm is all about is to try it. The reader should always take pencil and paper and work through an example of each algorithm immediately upon encountering it in the text.”

Fuzzy Systems

If Approximating Nonlinear Areas, then Consider Fuzzy Systems
is an interesting read. According to the authors, based upon antecedent-consequent part of the rules, fuzzy systems can be broadly classified as follows:

• Linguistic fuzzy models
• Fuzzy relational models
• Takagi-Sugeno (TS) models

System Dynamics and Agent based toolkits

• Swarm
• Recursive Porous Agent Simulation Toolkit
• Zeus

According to this article, Swarm and Repast “deploy unsophisticated agents”, whereas Zeus “deploys sophisticated” agents. I agree with the author’s view point that software agents can model humans as well as other technological components. The author uses the term “dumb” agents to represent the technological components.

Parameterized Unit Testing

I am looking for a demonstration of Parameterized Unit Testing. This is an interesting topic. Parameterized Unit Testing with Symbolic Execution is an interesting read. But, I am looking for some free software or prototype to work on my code.

Google SketchUp

Today, I played with this 3D modeling software. I am totally falling in love with Google SketchUp. Both Windows XP and Mac OSX versions are available for download. I hope my knowledge in introductory mechanical engineering is helpful to create 3D models.

Insilico

Biology, never interested me, when I was in school.
The article, Combatting Disease with Computer-Aided Drug Design, by A S Nair interests me in Computer-Aided Drug Design.

He stresses that biology is migrating from natural science to information science.

Hamachi VPN

Hamachi seems to be a very good vpn lan setup system.