In many collaborative projects it is often necessary to share ideas, images, documents, ect.. but, as everyone could testify: ideas fastly flight away; it is not easy to remember video and photographs and so on… In a traditional office a common board could effectively help to coordinate trends and share photos but when working in internet it is high the possibility that many of this stuff will be lost before next meeting with colleagues. Moreover, now it is possible to use Stixy, a simple intuitive but powerful online application which allows you to display and share all you want (notes, photos, documents, to-do lists and also music) on the web. We tried Stixy (better its Beta version) and we enjoyed it a lot: clean, easy to share and positively influenced the mood in our team. For some more information you can read a brief review in our Freeware Page. Something to try!

Category Archives: Computers & Internet
gOS
In our personal opinion gOS could be the -OS + hardware solution- for everyone. In fact we do not think useful to distinguish tech developed countries for the personal income of their citizens. Everyday we do meet many people with big problems in using pcs and internet also in the most developed countries so why do not spread new technologies using a simplified (we mean simpler to use, not a less featured Linux) OS which can run using cheap hardware? gOS could be one of the possible solution. This week in our Linux Page (in Spanish) we have posted a detailed review about this new (not so new because it has been built on Ubuntu) OS and we also give some technical information about transforming your Ubuntu in gOS (Beware! We were not able to downgrade to Ubuntu so, if you are not an expert, consider as definitive your Ubuntu changes to gOS!!) gOS is clean, easily (and immediately) usable OS with many intuitive icons which simplify the way of using your pc. gOS integrates many Google online services as Mail, Docs, Calendar, Maps, Docs, Products, News and other Web 2.0 websites as Meebo, YouTube, Blogger, Wikipedia, etc.. In few words this OS hasn’t any new “revolutionary” feature but uses -at their best- many Web 2.0 websites. Highly recommended (and not only to the youngest and the elders)!

Clonezilla-SysRescCD 1.3.0: the best free rescue and backup/restore system for ext2, ext3, reiserfs, xfs, jfs, fat and ntfs!
Clonezilla-SysRescCD is something we have been looking for since months. In our Linux Page (in Spanish) we have posted a brief (full of links) review about this rescue Cd in its 1.3.0 version. Clonezilla-SysRescCD is a very interesting merge (multi boot CD) between Clonezilla and SystemRescueCD which allows you to solve many (better quite all, for what we read) “disasters”; that can be made by everyday pc users like us. Just to sum up the features contained in Clonezilla-SysRescCD we add some brief notes about the two different “parts”; contained in it. Clonezilla is a fast and reliable OpenSource clone system (OCS) which supports ext2, ext3, reiserfs, xfs, jfs, fat and ntfs partitions. On the other hand SystemRescueCD, based on a bootable Linux OS, allows you to repair your system and/or recover your data after a crash. We simulated some “disasters”; on an old Pentium4 (running Windows XP) and the results we obtained were substantially very positive.

Skype 2.0 and Google Earth 4.2: two new (finally) updated versions for Linux!
In our Linux Page (in Spanish) we have posted a brief but complete review (with all the links for the downloads) about the new Linux version of Skype and Google Earth. Finally, in Skype 2.0, not only we could use the audio and chat features but also the video option using our favorite webcam also in the Linux version. The new Google Earth 4.2 has been implemented with new options as Clouds, Radar, Conditions & Forecast and Information. This new Google Earth version seem to be very complete and the 50,000 (not bad !) cities now covered will be more during the next months. I personally think that this new versions of Skype and Google Earth cancel the gap between Windows and Linux we all have stood till now. Well done!

Rockbox: how to improve the firmware on iPod, Sandisk, Archos and iRiver mp3 players!
Rockbox is the best alternative you can find to many firmware of mp3 player currently on sale. for many models it can be installed without removing the original firmware and in this case you can decide at every boot up what firmware you prefer to use. This week, in our Freeware Page, we have posted a brief review about this open-source firmware which really adds new features to your mp3 player; for example, Rockbox allows you to play movies on a iPod Photo or adds games to your Sansa e200 or c200 series. The installation is not difficult but a minimal previous experience in this field is preferable: if something goes wrong, please, don’t panic but try to solve it following the many tips contained in the Rockbox website or reset your mp3 player. Last but not least, in the “Customizing Rockbox” section you will find a huge quantity of resources to customize your mp3 player. Recommended (and really funny)!

Crystal Diamond: one of the most impressive icon Theme for KDE!
Today, in our Linux Page (in Spanish) we have written few lines about a very particular icon Theme for KDE and Gnome (not till ready at the moment): Crystal Diamond. This icon Theme is really complete and the graphical effects are bright and very smooth. Moreover, the creator (an Italian geek) has developed different mods for the main Linux distribution (Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse, Mandriva RedHat, Debian, Gentoo etc..). We like this Theme also because it contains different icons for any application, so it is possible to 100% personalize our desktop and continuously change it tasting always new graphical solutions.

Neo1973 will work with Openmoko and Qtopia
Today, in our Linux Page (in Spanish) we have posted some updated news about Neo1973: the new opensource mobile based on openmoko which will be on sale during this month or at the beginning of December. Neo1973 is also able to run the Qtopia platform (used for the Greenphone project) and it will cost ca. 500 Euros. During the last months some few feature have been improved or added: “802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, SMedia 3362 graphics accelerator, two 3D accelerometers, Samsung 2442 SoC, and 256MB Flash”.

How to install Ubuntu 7.10 on a USB Key!
After only few days from the release of Ubuntu 7.10, the pendrivelinux.com has released the new manual to install this new version of the famous Linux distro on a USB key and we have posted a short but effective review about this new manual on our Linux Page (in Spanish). As usual the instruction contained on the site are very clear and simple to follow. We have been able to create our Ubuntu 7.10 Key in less than 40 minutes and without any particular problem. Unfortunately, we were not able to save the changes we had made to personalize our USB key but we really enjoy the possibilities offered by a so powerful OS as Ubuntu (if someone knows how to save the changes, please, post a comment – Thanks). Strongly recommended!

Pingdom Tools: a couple of “must have” online tools for blogger and webmasters!
Today, in our Linux Page (in Spanish) we have posted a recension about Pindom Tools: two useful (and free) on-line tools which can be very useful for blogger and webmaster. Using Pingdom Tools you can have a fast report about the loading time of your web-pages. The Pingdom report is very easy to understand, with just one glance you are able to better understand the hierarchy and the load order of the graphic objects in your blog/site. Using Pingdom tools you can dramatically improve the time for loading your site and change all the objects, scripts, images or plugins which slow your sites. Last but not least, Pingdom offers an accurate ping and trouceroute service to better understand your network response time and track down possible errors.

GP2X versus PSP: a long term match!
This week, in our Linux Page we have posted an effective review about GP2X: the Linux challenger against the proprietary PSP. We personally think that this new open source gaming device developed by a Korean company. The GP2X is very easy to use and in a long term perspective, it has many interesting possibilities (multimedia, MP3, etc..) if compared with PSP. When purchased with its cradle, it can easily be connected to any USB devices (as keyboards, external Hd, etc..). Moreover the open source platform can potentially offer nver ending solutions for new applications or games. At the moment the games available for this platform are not so many as the games for the PSP but we believe that in six-eight months the number of games will dramatically increase. Last but not least, the new GP2X-F200 has a crystal bright touch screen with functions. Recommended as reliable open source alternative to PSP! 
