Tag Archives: windows

AuctionSieve: the best multiplatform (Linux, MAC OS, Windows) software to manage your ebay searches

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AuctionSieveChristmas time! And you want to buy some presents… ebay could represent a good option to save some money but it needs a lot of time because you want to be sure you are bidding at the right price to the best (used or not) item.

The web is full of websites which help you to discover and follow items on ebay but, in the real world, from the moment you find something to the end of a winning auction many days pass and often you have not time to follow and properly bid for your “catches”.

The software I use and recommend for ebay auctions is AuctionSieve. This software is written in Java and consequently it is multiplatform. In the Download Page you can always find the right version for the OS you are using.

On Linux, download AuctionSieve, extract the file and save it to (e.g.) Home. Open the folder you created and give the permission to execute as program to auctionsieve.jar (right button on the mouse –> Properties –> Permission –> Allow executing file as program”). Then open it with (in my case) -OpenJKD Java 6 Runtime-.

AuctionSieve is intuitive but you have to “play” with it for a couple of hours before dominating all its features. You can save your searches, focus on just one category, filter items using “catch” or “trash” words options, create personal watchlists and evaluate the price of a particular item using the “Price History” tab. If you repeat a  specific search you did in the past, you can decide to automatically exclude all the items you have already seen before and you will spare more time examining the results. Moreover, when you begin a “New Sieve”, you can also import the same search criteria you created and selected during a previous search you did.

Let me suggest you to read the AuctionSieve Tour page before using it. In this way you will skip all the most common mistakes that beginners usually make.  AddThis

Multiboot CD /DVD and USB Builder: Sardu

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The last generation of external 3.0 usb disks allows us to create fast multi-boot drive that can be used for different purpose. Commonly we use these “special” drives as recovery tools when something goes wrong in our computers or when we would dig, in a deeper way, a particular desktop.

The best software to create multi-boot disks or ISO have been developed for Windows and the only exception is a French, multi-step solution named LiveUSB Multi-Boot.

Today we focus our attention on Sardu a multi-language Italian project developed for Windows machines. After you have downloaded it you can unzip and save the folder in your favorite location. The sardu.exe file will run the program and you can start to decide if you prefer to create a multi-boot ISO or a multi-boot usb key.

The menus are complex but in a couple of minutes you will be able to properly navigate them and select the software and ISO you’d like to have in your CD or USB key. You can also decide to manually add a specific ISO which is not directly supported.

The CD-DVD burner is included in Sardu consequently you can create your bootable CD-DVD in just few clicks.

In the everyday world, Sardu is also useful to test computers when you want to quickly install a Linux distribution and you are not sure about the best one to choice.

Moreover, Sardu is plenty of extra freeware which can help you to recover the GRUB, partitions, lost files and passwords.

Unfortunately Wine is not able to run Sardu in a correct way and when we tested it on Ubuntu we were able to use just few basic features. AddThis

Another way to share files between Ubuntu and Windows

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This tutorial will show you another way to share and to access the network share folders between Windows and Ubuntu machines. When file sharing is enabled, both systems can access files and folders on any of the PCs. Users with accounts on Ubuntu systems will also be able to access the content directly from your home.

1. To begin, you will need to log on to your Windows operating system. Click ‘Start’ -> search for ‘Network and Sharing Center’ and click on it.

2. Access the ‘Change advanced settings sharing. ” option.

3. Enable file sharing and backup as well.

4. At this point, you need to switch your operating system to Ubuntu. Once you log in, click on ‘Ubuntu menu -> System Tools “

5. Then select ‘Ubuntu Software Center. “

6. Find and install ‘Samba‘. This software is required for a better compatibility between the two operating systems.

7. After Samba is installed, you should go to ‘System → Administration –> Samba’.

8. Then click ‘Preferences -> Server Settings’.

9. Write the name of the workgroup you set for your Windows PC(s). If you do not know the exact name because you did not set it, the default name for Windows Workgroups is set to ‘WORKGROUP‘ (capitalizing is not required, however, since Windows is generally not case-sensitive). AddThis

Auto Mount Drives at System Startup on Ubuntu

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Ubuntu is capable of reading and writing files stored on Windows formatted partitions, but partitions must be ‘mounted’ before they can be accessed each time you start up the system. With these steps, you can auto mount the drives or partitions without the need to manually mount them for access.
Install Storage Device Manager if it has not been added.
- go to Applications (or Main Menu) > Ubuntu Software Center.
- enter pysdm in the Search Box.
- select Storage Device Manager, click the “Install” button.
- go to System > Administration > Storage Device Manager.
- extend the list of sda and select the sda you want to auto mount, click ‘OK’ to configure.
- click the “Assistant” button.
- uncheck “Mount file system in read only mode” and keep “The file system is mounted at boot time” checked.
- click the “Mount”, “Apply” then “Close” button, and restart the system.
In case you wish to remove the auto-mount of a certain drive or partition, you can similarly use Storage Device Manager to do the setting.

Note: If you need to identify disk partitions by label, paste ls /dev/disk/by-label -g in Terminal, or to view partition sizes and file systems, enter sudo fdisk -l. Disk Utility mentioned in “Name or Label a Partition” also gives you a glance of device numbers, partition types, sizes and labels. AddThis mp3 link

Enabling remote desktop on a VirtualBox Machine

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To enable remote desktop on a VirtualBox machine, you have to follow these steps:
VBoxManage modifyvm MachineName -vrdp
This command enables rdp on the virtual machine
VBoxManage startvm MachineName -type vrdp

It starts virtual machine, listening for rdp request on port 3389 (default port)
rdesktop-vrdp localhost

Connects virtual machine with rdp (You can use rdesktop too).
If you want to change rdp port, use this command:
VBoxManage modifyvm MachineName -vrdpport

Also, enabling authentication for rdp is possible:
VBoxManage modifyvm MachineName -vrdpauthtype null | external | guest

VBoxManage is the command line interface of the VirtualBox.
You can make these settings with GUI: Settings -> Remote Display -> Enable VRDP Server
If you want to use your virtual machine with vrdp only, you can use this command simply:
VBoxHeadless -startvm MachineName

Note: RDP server is not included in Open Source Edition of the VirtualBox. If you want to use this feature, you have to use closed-source edition. AddThis mp3 link

Remote Control your Ubuntu

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Managing  the Remote Desktop on Ubuntu is quite easy.  You can allow users to access your desktop with VNC Viewer utility that is included in Ubuntu pack and can be downloaded for free also in Windows PCs. The Remote Desktop feature is very useful but follow, at least, one important safety tip: when your desktop remote control is enabled, the only defense against attacks is your firewall and it must be properly installed and configured correctly. In any case, do not forget that Remote Desktop still represents a first level security risk.

To tune up the Remote Desktop just follow these simple steps:

- go to System > Preference > Remote Desktop on the Gnome top menu:


- check the first two check boxes for remote to be enabled.

- if you want to connect your PC through the web and a  “Your desktop is only reachable over the local network” notice appears, please do not forget to forward Port 5900 to the IP you see a line below in the menu

- in the Security section, when selecting the “You must confirm each access to this machine” check box, you will be needed to be at the computer to allow the other person to access your desktop. If you are trying to remote access one of your own computer, you would want to uncheck this box

- do not forget that the password check box should always be checked and you should enter a real secure password You will be prompted for this password when you try to log on

- for a better safety be sure that an icon will be displayed on the Ubuntu upper bar when someone is connected

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DupeGuru: potente applicación para encontrar Archivos, Música y Fotos duplicados

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Hoy os quiero hablar de un aplicación disponible en 3 diferentes formatos. se llama DupeGuru . Me parece una de las aplicaciones mas practicas y sencillas para encontrar: Archivos, Fotos o Canciones repetidas. Desde la propia pagina Web es posible descargase la que se necesites; es disponible para Windows, Mac OS X y por supuesto Linux ( 32/64 bit ) para usuario Debian/ Ubuntu es posible descargar directamente el paquete .deb e instalarlo en un par de click. Con esta aplicación podremos ver los archivos que tengamos duplicados y gracias a los datos que vienen incluidos será posible decidir cual nos interesa guardar y cual eliminar para recuperar espacio y tener mas orden en nuestro PC. En la pagina de descarga es posible elegir cual de las 3 aplicaciones se quiere descargar según nuestras necesitad. En la misma pagina hay disponible otras aplicaciones: MoneyGuru, PictureGuru y MusicGuru. La primera es una aplicación especifica para mantener controlada nuestras finanzas y las otras son aplicaciónes especificas para mantener organizada nuestra colecciones. En fin, os animo a probarlas porque yo ya lo he echo y tengo que decir que merece la pena.
Descarga DupeGuru

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Rediscover Prism by Mozilla (Ubuntu, MAC and Windows tips)

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In 2007, when Prism was launched, there were some enthusiastic reviews about this application. Then the widget era began and Prism popularity decreased. Anyway, Prism is still a powerful application for all that people who desire to run their more often used web application saving RAM and CPU resources. Prism, based on XULRunner, is multi platform, easy to use and very flexible. To use it on Ubuntu you can launch the Terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install prism

or using the Synaptics Package Manager (System —> Administration —> Synaptics Package Manager). Then go to Applications —> Internet —> Prism and a small windows appears. Now, fill in all the required information: the web application URL, the name you prefer, settings and do not forget to click on the Desktop shortcut option. At this point you will find a new rough icon on your Desktop with the name you chose. The first time you use it, with the right mouse button click on it and go to Properties —> Permissions and Allow executing file as program. If you want to change the icon you have to click on it (with the right mouse button), go to Properties —> Basic and choose your favorite icon clicking the icon on the upper left corner. If all are steps are annoying for you, it is possible to use Prism as add-on for Firefox. In this case, on Firefox, go to Tools —> Add-ons —> Get Add-ons and type Prism on the search bar. You will install Prism as a simple add-on for Firefox. Now, you can automatically generate a Prism application just clicking on Tools —> Convert Website to  Application when you are in the web application page.

On Windows or MAC we suggest to download the standalone package directly from the official web page or install Prism as Firefox add-on following the same steps we described for Ubuntu. If you use the Prism standalone package you have to decompress it in your favorite location. For Windows users: when you set up a new Prism application, try the tray menu option but do not forget to click on the Desktop shortcut or you will not be able to find again the application after you close it.

In my experience, Prism is really useful with all the Google web applications, with Zoho services and Pandora. Try and enjoy it! AddThis mp3 link