Encyclopedia of Life

Do you have something to add about the species or plants and animals? Do you want more information about other species that live on this earth? In either case, just check out Encyclopedia of Life. It is a neat website.

Software and Web Software

Last summer, Charles Babcock wrote about the greatest software ever written. I reported the list here.

Recently, Charles Babcock came up with the greatest web software ever written. (I must confess, I thought web application was a more appropriate term.) Here is a comparison table:

Web Software	Software
Apache Web Server Alta Vista Craigslist The Well eBay Amazon.com XMLHttpRequest object set Wikipedia World of Warcraft Hotmail Digg AOL Instant Messenger	UNIX IBM's System R Gene sequencing software at the Institute of Genomic Research IBM System 360 OS Java language Mosaic browser Sabre system Macintosh OS Excel spreadsheet Apollo guidance system Google search rank The Morris worm

Ubuntu

Ubuntu 7.04

If you are living in Socorro and are interested in trying ubuntu, I welcome you to borrow the installation CD from me. I have the latest version ubuntu 7.04 installation CD for 32-bit and 64-bit PC. You can either drop me an email or come stop by my office at Speare 144. With the raving reviews that ubuntu is receiving compared to Vista, I think it is worth a try.

Look at the reviews from Information Week website. You should feel the personal touch to appreciate it. Come and try ubuntu. You will fall in love with it.

SunRocket with InnoMedia gizmo

Instructions for configuring the static ip address in InnoMedia gizmo.

1. Connect your computer to LAN port of the gizmo. Use an Ethernet cable (straight) to do this connection. (Note: Sunrocket does not provide this cable.) Do not use the yellow cable given with sunrocket package. The yellow cable is only for the WAN port.
   
2. Open the browser. Type 192.168.251.1. When prompted type in the username: user and password: welcome.
   
3. Click on IP Network.
   
4. Click on Interface Settings.
   
5. Choose External Port from the drop-down box
   
6. Uncheck the enable DHCP
   
7. Key in the IP address details provided by your Internet administrator.
   
8. Hit Save&Reboot
   

If the Internet service provider has mapped your IP address with your physical hardware address of your computer don't panic. The gizmo allows a technique called as MAC cloning, where the gizmo acts as though it is really your computer. I will spare all the intricate details (Hint: spoofing). The instructions for MAC cloning are as follows:

1. Go to command prompt (Start -> Run -> cmd)
   
2. Type "ipconfig/all "
   
3. Note down the physical address of your Ethernet Local Area Network Connection
   
4. Open the browser. Type 192.168.251.1. When prompted type in the username: user and password: welcome.
   
5. Click on IP Network.
   
6. Click on Interface Settings.
   
7. Click on MAC Cloning
   
8. Check Enable MAC cloning
   
9. Type in the physical address of your computer
   
10. Click update &reboot
    

Symbols in HTML

Do you have trouble representing Greek symbols in HTML format?
All you have to do is tell the browser that you are using symbol font for the corresponding English character.
View the source code of this HTML page for information on Greek letters.

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