Firefox, our favorite web browser, is coming closer and closer to its version 3. I’ve been using Firefox v3 beta 5 for quite some time now and I can say it is working amazingly fast and more stable.
Today Mozilla released Firefox v3 release candidate 2. Compared to the old Firefox v2, the new release is safer, faster, easier to manage with their plug-in management, and even looks nicer! The full list of features for v3RC2 is here.
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Looking to loose some weight? Open source multi-platform program CRON-O-Meter helps you keep track of your diet.
It looks like a pretty neat program. You tell it what you’re eating and it’ll give you a nice report of the vitamins, minerals, proteins you’re taking in each day. The program will even give you suggestions on what you should eat, so you’ll never be in doubt again on whether you should eat a salad or a burger for lunch.
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Gnome Do is very similar to the Windows-only app Launchy, but much more powerful. If you’re using Gnome on your Linux distro it may worth trying out Gnome Do to help speed up your productivity.
Although not a new application, I was hesitant to use Gnome Do just to avoid having another service running in the background sucking my computer’s resources. But, after trying it out the 40MB of RAM it uses on my machine is surely worth it.
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Have you ever used another computer to find out it doesn’t have a program you really enjoy using? Or, not have it fine tuned to your own style? To avoid situations like these, I always try to carry my pen drive full of Portable Apps.
Portable Apps are programs you can install and run directly from your pen drive, without the need to install anything on the machine itself. The list of applications available is pretty good, including: ClamWin, The Gimp, 7-zip, OpenOffice, VLC, XAMPP, GnuCash, Firefox, Thunderbird, and a couple dozen more.
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Duplicate files finder will help you get rid of duplicate files clogging your hard drive. This program runs on Windows, Linux, and since it supports Unix it may work on MacOS X. Any one willing to make this confirmation?
The program is very simple to use:
choose the directory you want to sweep; see the list of duplicates and where each file is stored; remove the duplicates you choose and create symbolic links when needed to fill file dependencies.
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Need a dictionary, thesaurus, translator? StarDict works well for all of these purposes. Install this program on a Linux or Windows machine and just add free dictionarydatabases to it.
StarDict does some pretty interesting things such as:
translates with google or yahoo engines; uses a “glob-style pattern matching” to find associated words plus more functions such as direct access to the web based Net Dict, and what is called “fuzzy query” (I don’t know what this last one actually does but I like the term).
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Nowadays you can find several really good open source or freeware BitTorrent clients. Why choose Deluge? Because…
it is open source: you’ll be much safer against having a sneaky hidden process running on your computer; it is multiplatform: if you use (or you’re planning to use) more then one operating system, you can install Deluge wherever you want: on Linux, MacOS X, or Windows. Choosing multiplatform apps you’re more likely to remove yourself from the claws of proprietary operating systems.
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Nowadays it is rare for me to go one week without discovering a new site and having to create a test account. I still remember the late 90s when I had to remember at most just a couple of different email passwords and usernames. Now I have a myriad of information I need to memorize (like it’ll actually all fit in my brain).
Keepass is my solution for this information overload.
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VirtualBox is a great program I’ve been exploring these past few weeks. The folks at Download Squadwrote a good article about VirtualBox. With it you can run your own virtual machines inside your operating system of choice. Do you want to run Windows inside Linux (or vice-versa)? Or, do you want to learn how to setup a small network inside your own computer? The possibilities are great with Virtualbox.
The program is open source, a great alternative to the free (but closed) VMWare.
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Windows users are quite familiar with the need to defrag the hard drive every once in a while. It is specially important if you’re moving large files (like movies), installing, and removing programs. Linux though doesn’t have to worry much about this.
In the open source world, you can also find a very nice tool that will help keep your windows running smoother. JKDefragis a pretty small, nice, and effective, defrag utility program.
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