Tag Archives: Tech Tuesday

The Ubuntu Way

Thanks for joining my for Tech Tuesday! Did you know that Linux has surpassed Windows in instillations? But that is mostly on professional machines like web servers and data centers. I think it is time that we see widespread acceptance of Linux on personal computers! Which brings us to the star of this week’s Tech Tuesday: Ubuntu!

Ubuntu is a free Linux operating system and it rocks! Before you all panic, you can install it so you can dual boot (when you can boot up in Ubuntu or Windows).  But why? It is a system maximizing operating system! We have it installed on a kids computer that only has 512 of ram and the kids have no problem playing all their internet games! It doesn’t crash and it runs so much faster than the same system would run on Windows!

Some people tell me that they don’t want Ubuntu because of all the Windows programs they like. Well, a lot of these problems are eliminated by either living in the Google Cloud (with Google Docs) or by using Open Office. I have found that Open Office can convert most documents for me and save them back to a Windows readable format. Anyone can send you a pdf if all you need is the information.  And I do have a dual boot system to help me print my coupons but that is all I use it for;).

Ok, so you all can see I love Ubuntu! Get it, use it, love it;).

Have you used Ubuntu? What is stopping you from using it? Or are you using it and loving it? Let me know!

Tech Tuesday: Dropbox

Everyone knows that backing up your data is vital! And in this age of cloud computing (not being tied to one computer) you want to be able to has great mobility. Well, for this issues and more, I introduce Dropbox.

Dropbox is installed on your computer(s) and you place your files right in it. They are still on your hard drive but when you change them they are automatically backed up online. When you sign up you can get 2 Gb right off and more if you have referrals (so please sign up through my links;).

You can log in from any computer and access those files. NerdDad uses 4 different computers and doesn’t have to keep track of a jumpdrive;). I use is on our media computer and both sides of my laptop (Windows and Ubuntu). You can also share files with others. NerdDad and I no longer have to email documents back and forth!

So there is my ringing endorsement for Dropbox and if you don’t believe me, Techzilla also endorses it;). And if 2Gb aren’t enough, you can buy more space!

Make sure you come back next Tuesday to see what free (or nearly free) tech resource I am going to blog about on Tech Tuesday!

Tech Tuesday: Original Video Content

So for the last Tech Tuesday I talked about places to get free television content. But there is other stuff out there to watch! Original content is something that is really developing. Right now there are just a few sources that I currently go to.

Revision 3 is a great producer of podcasts! They have podcasts on tech, pop culture, etc.

TWiT (which stands for This Week in Technology) produces shows beyond just TWiT. They cover just about everything in tech.

YouTube is of course a source of tons of original content. I have found great comedy stuff, parodies, you name it. There are some great web series available. The most notable may be The Guild.  Now that YouTube is taking the 15 minute limit off submissions I think we are going to be seeing even more original content with more full series.

I am always looking for good, quality, family friendly content so I will post as I find more! But do you have any great sources? Please share!!!

Tech Tuesday: Favorite Browser

First off let me admit that I really, really like Google;). I like their products, I like how they treat their engineers (from what I hear), I like Google products.

I, like many people, ran from the Internet Explorer browser as soon as a viable option was available. I have run Netscape (yes I am old) but that didn’t really compete with Internet Explorer in ability so I really consider Firefox the first real post IE browser. And I liked Firefox. It had great extensions, didn’t lock up as much as IR but, there is always a but, it is a memory hog.

Then came along Chrome. It ran faster and more efficiently that Firefox so I tentatively started using it. Then I found it cloud capabilities. I can sync my bookmarks and access them from any computer. So I don’t need to worry about losing them no matter where I am working. They have a bunch of cool extensions that you can use to make bookmarking, blogging, etc easier. We aren’t even talking about how well gmail works with it (and the awesomeness that is all the gmail capabilities). The one drawback is that the coupon sites still haven’t updated all their coupon printing software to work with Chrome. But I am sure that will come and come soon!

Well now there is a Chrome App store!!! This includes both paid and free apps, extensions and themes. I am so stoked! There are games, VNC utilities, I mean all kinds of cool stuff. It just came out yesterday and I can’t wait to get my little fingers into all the fun!!!