November 22nd, 2009

Stupid DROID Tricks, Volume 1

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 1:12 pm

Categories: Desktop, General, Google, Linux, Personal Technology, Web Technology

Tags: Google Android, Shortcut, Photograph, DROID, Widgets, Power Control Widget, Mobile Operating Systems, Smart Phones, Corporate Communications, Consumer Electronics

Android 2.0 on the Verizon DROID Smartphone is indeed sophisticated, but for a new user can also be daunting or even overwhelming.

The Google Android 2.0 OS built into the Motorola/Verizon DROID is by far one of the most sophisticated smartphone UIs I have ever seen — and with that UI comes additional complexity which may confuse some users.

Also Read: My First Week with DROID

Since a lot of my friends and family tend to follow my lead on the gadgets and technology I use, I’ve had a few of them ping me on the DROID and how to get the most out of it. Here’s my first installment in what I think will be a series of Tips and Tricks posts related to Android.

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November 19th, 2009

Chrome OS: Some Early Preview Videos

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 10:29 am

Categories: Business, Desktop, General, Google, Linux, Open Source, Personal Technology, Software Infrastructure, Web Technology

Tags: Jason Perlow, Video, Corporate Communications, Open Source, Marketing

Today Google released a number of early introduction/preview videos regarding their upcoming Chrome OS. (UPDATED: Demo from November 18 at Google Headquarters added)

While the software does not currently appear to be in an easily installable state, requiring developers to build their own Chrome OS environments for the time being, the OS does look quite promising and Google’s “Stateless” objective where all user data resides in the cloud reflects an extremely modern concept in OS design.

What is Chrome OS?:

Chrome OS Fast Boot:

Chrome OS Security:

User Interface Concept Video for Chrome OS:

Chromium OS and Open Source:

Live Chrome OS Demo from Google Headquarters

Do these videos provide encouragement or interest in Google’s stateless, cloud-based OS offering? Talk Back and Let Me know.

November 2nd, 2009

Psystar: From Hell's Heart, I Stab at Thee!

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 9:09 am

Categories: Apple, Business, Desktop, Software Infrastructure

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Apple Inc., Psystar, Star Trek, Desktops, Apple Mac OS, Hardware, Operating Systems, Software, Jason Perlow

Much like Khan detonated the unstable doomsday “Genesis Device” in Star Trek II before his defeat at the hands of Captain Kirk and crew, Miami-based Psystar’s last deed may very well be to inflict as many casualties on Apple Computer as possible before it dies. (Photo: Paramount Pictures)

In two weeks, last April’s blockbuster re-imagining of the classic Star Trek series and characters will be available on Blu-Ray, on November 17th. Since buying my Blu-Ray player I’ve only bought a few HD discs, saving my purchases for those films I really am a big fan of and am likely to watch multiple times. Star Trek will be one of those films, and I can’t wait to see it again on my home theater system.

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October 25th, 2009

It never works right when you demo Windows 7 on Japanese TV

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 1:57 pm

Categories: Desktop, General, Microsoft

Tags:

It’s always awful when you try to demo something to a large audience and then it fails miserably.

I found this video on Jason Calacanis‘ Mahalo.com site, a snippet of a Windows 7 demonstration on a segment of “Tokudane” on Fuji TV, a show roughly analogous to the “Today” or “Good Morning America” show in the United States. While clearly the SONY touchscreen PC had some driver issues, and it would be hard to point the blame directly at Windows 7, it’s still painfully hilarious to watch.

[EDIT: Apparently, they eventually got it right. :)]

And for more comic relief, check out CheapAssGamer’s utterly stomach-churning video review of the Windows 7 Whopper, also only sold in Japan. I love the guy’s quote “I’m just glad it wasn’t Windows 95″. Hey, it could be worse, it could have been a Windows 2000 burger.

October 24th, 2009

Ding Dong, The Vista's DEAD!

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 12:14 pm

Categories: Business, Desktop, Microsoft, Personal Technology, Software Infrastructure

Tags: Microsoft Windows Vista, Halloween, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Jason Perlow

This Halloween, let’s all celebrate what we’re really feeling: The Wicked Vista is DEAD!

In the United States, we’ve got a bunch of frivolous holidays.

I’ve always regarded Halloween as a particularly frivolous holiday, one in which we encourage our children to engage in mischief and vandalism, of which the original purpose has been co-opted by business, like Easter and Valentine’s day, all of which seem to be of a single mindset which is to support the mass-market confectionery and High Fructose Corn Syrup industry.

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October 23rd, 2009

Frugal Friday: Mac refresh, Magic Mouse, Verizon DROID, The Nook, Windows 7, Likewise

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 8:00 am

Categories: Business, Desktop, Linux, Microsoft, Open Source, Personal Technology, Virtualization

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Mouse, Verizon Communications Inc., Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, E-books, Mice, Operating Systems, Software, Personal Technology

Frugal Networker Ken Hess and I discuss the 4th quarter 2009/Q1 2010 Apple hardware refresh, the new Apple Magic Mouse, the quaintness of keyboards, the new Verizon DROID smartphone, the Barnes & Noble “Nook” Android-based ebook reader, the Windows 7 launch and Windows XP migration solutions, and talk with Barry Crist, CEO of Likewise Software, the Windows networking and identity management interoperability company for Linux, UNIX and Mac.

Click Here to Listen to the October 23rd, 2009 Frugal Friday Podcast.

October 22nd, 2009

Windows 7's latest fan: Linus Torvalds

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 5:40 pm

Categories: Business, Desktop, Linux, Microsoft, Open Source, Software Infrastructure

Tags: Linus Torvalds, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Jason Perlow

Linus Torvalds, pictured at an unidentified Yodobashi store in Tokyo, Japan. Source: Chris Schlaeger (click to enlarge)

I was determined to not write about Windows 7 today, because any analysis I wrote would get buried in all the other news. I was going to wait to deliver my “last word” sometime next week. But then a co-worker emailed me the photo above, clearly of Linus Torvalds at the software counter at Yodobashi, a Japanese consumer electronics store in Tokyo in front of a huge display of Windows 7 boxes, giving it the international sign of recognition: Thumbs Up. I HAD to post that.

Of course, if you happen to be Japanese, the custom is to make the “V” sign rather than a “Thumbs Up” when you are being photographed, but I won’t criticize Linus for his trivial knowledge gap.

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October 20th, 2009

EvriChart: A Linux Success Story

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 6:53 pm

Categories: Business, Desktop, Enterprise Computing, Free operating systems, Hardware Infrastructure, Linux, Open Source, Podcast, Security, Server, Software Infrastructure, Web Technology

Tags: Desktop, Hospital, Imaging, Health Care, Server, Computer, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Document Management, Operating Systems

Tony Maro, CIO of EvriChart, a hospital records management and archiving business, successfully migrated his company’s Windows-based line of business document management extranet application and his employees’ 40-odd Windows-based desktops to a 100 percent Linux-based server and desktop infrastructure.

Jason Perlow interviews Tony Maro, CIO of EvriChart, Inc.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Tony Maro, who is CIO and an owning partner in EvriChart, a medical records management company based out of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

EvriChart had some unique requirements which included replacing a Windows-based line-of-business application for document management that would not scale with the continuing growth of their business. By migrating to a Linux/Open Source-based Web application, it paved the way for full desktop Linux adoption at his company. I asked Tony to summarize his experience so that I could share it with you in the hopes that you might gain some valuable insight from the process he had to go through.

Next –>

October 20th, 2009

Who's a candidate for Desktop Linux? Your Kids.

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 11:03 am

Categories: Desktop, Linux, Open Source, Personal Technology, Software Infrastructure, Virtualization, Web Technology

Tags: Desktop, Children, Desktop Linux, Linux, UNIX, Operating Systems, Open Source, Software, Jason Perlow

“Hannah Montana Linux” may not be ready to give to your kids yet, but it’s an idea that has legs.

My partner in crime in the Frugal Tech Show, Ken Hess, who blogs over at Daniweb, recently published his list of Top 10 Linux Distributions for 2009. His readers gave him a lot of feedback due to the exclusion of some of their favorites, so he published a second piece, a “Reader’s Choice” list of their Top 10 based on their submissions.

One of the distributions on that list that caught my eye was “Hannah Montana Linux”. No, I’m not joking.

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October 15th, 2009

Sneak Preview: Chrome OS Browser Video Tour

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 3:47 pm

Categories: Desktop, Google, Linux, Open Source, Web Technology

Tags: Jason Perlow

Recently, various outlets, such as TechCrunch, had reported that an early build of Chrome OS has been leaked into the wild. Well, I hate to tell you but those reports weren’t exactly accurate.

What leaked was in fact was an Alpha/Beta implementation of the Chromium browser that will be used in Chrome OS. As such, it was distributed in .deb package format, which is the very same format used by Debian-based Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu.

Chromium Browser for Chrome OS Sneak Preview from Tech Broiler

I was able to install this build of Chromium (4.0.222.6-r28902) on Ubuntu 9.04 simply by downloading the .deb package distributed on Rapidshare. Ubuntu immediately recognized this as a .deb package and prompted me to install it. What you see here is clearly a work in progress but may bring a little bit of early insight into what Chrome OS actually is.

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