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Use Ubuntu/GNOME Desktop as Alarm Clock

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Use Ubuntu/GNOME Desktop as Alarm Clock: You may find our Python alarm clock too geeky or complicated, so I thought I should share with you an easier way to use your Linux desktop (particularly Ubuntu and other GNOME-based distributions) as alarm clock. To do this, you will have to install a package aptly called "Alarm Clock".

Alarm Clock is described as the personal alarm clock for the GTK + desktop environment. But other than waking you up on time by making noise, it supports other useful features such as passive window reminders, snooze option, and exception lists for scheduled alarms among others.

In Ubuntu, you can install the Alarm Clock application using the Software Center or via Synaptic Package Manager. For a quick and dirty way of installing Alarm Clock, you may also use the command line:

sudo apt-get install alarm-clock

After installation, you can immediately start using the program by going to Applications --> Accessories --> Alarm Clock.


Alarm Clock has a simple interface where you can easily start adding new alarm schedules. The alarm clock icon sits on the notifications area.


Under "Notifications" setting, you will find some useful options. You can set it up to show a dialog window or display passive popup during event, which is good for scheduling reminders and tasks. Advanced option for executing shell script is also included.


Under the sound preferences, you are given a choice to use a custom sound file. So if your idea of waking up is hearing the song Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine or any of your preferred song, simply install this Alarm Clock application.

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10 Best Hacker Movies (Films about Computer Hacking) of All Time

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As a certified geek, it is always pleasing to see movies that involve computer hacking or hackers in action. Although most of these films don't always represent the real deal, some of them have what it takes to excite, amuse, and inspire those who are passionate about computers.

I have here my top 10 list or my all time favorite hacker movies or films that involve computer hacking. Feel free to share yours on the comment section later on:


10. Swordfish
If you are a big fan of Halle Berry and of course, computers, then this movie is for you. This action-packed film involves a high-tech robber/villain named Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) against Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman), a super hacker convicted by the FBI but who is trying to stay clean. Gabriel is the leader of a covert counter-terrorist unit called Black Cell who wants to steal $9.5 billion worth of money from a secret government slush fund (codenamed Swordfish). But since it's locked up behind a complicated encryption system, he offers the desperate Stanley $10 million to hack into the system and steal the money for him.



9. Track Down (aka Hackers 2)
Track Down, also known as Takedown or Hackers 2, is a film based on the book written by computer security expert Tsutomu Shimomura and journalist John Markoff, which tells the story of how they tracked down and helped the FBI arrest the most notorious computer hacker in the US -Kevin Mitnick. For several years, Mitnick had evaded Federal agents while breaking into numerous computers and gain access to sensitive and valuable information. When he hacked the system of Shimomura, it began a daring chase through cyberspace between two computer geniuses working on different sides of the law.



8. Antitrust
Antitrust is a fictional story of two idealistic computer whiz kids who are best friends. After graduating from Stanford, Milo and Teddy are offered jobs at NURV, a giant Portland company headed by CEO Gary Winston, and is on the brink of completing a global communication system. Milo accepts the job while Teddy declined and continues to work on a media compression program he wants to release for free. Winston takes a personal interest in Milo, whose genius can help NURV meet its launch date, and Milo responds with intelligence and hard work. But when Teddy meets with tragedy, Winston's irrational remark makes Milo suspicious. So he decides to investigate Winston and his company.



7. Sneakers
Sneakers is a star-studded film that tells the story of Martin Bishop (Robert Redford), head of a group of experts who specialize in testing security systems. When he is bribed by Government agents into stealing a top secret black box, the team find themselves involved in a game of danger and conspiracy. After getting the box, they discover that it has the capability to decode every existing encryption system around the world. The problem is that the agents who hired them didn't work for the Government after all.



6. Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard
The fourth instalment in the Die Hard series is geeky enough for me to be included on this list. The story revolves around a group of super hackers/cyber terrorists who plan to hack FBI computers and takes over several U.S. technology infrastructures. Thanks to Bruce Willis' immortality and the aid of non-evil computer geeks headed by Justin Long (aka The Mac Guy), the movie has a happy ending.



5. The Net
Angela Bennett (Sandra Bullock) is a young and beautiful computer expert who becomes involved in a web of computer espionage. Only hours before she leaves for vacation, she discovers secret information on the disk she has received from a friend that turns her life into a living nightmare. Her records are erased from existence and she is given a new identity so she struggles to find out why this has happened to her.



4. Hackers
I think this movie is really popular among geeks for two reasons: Angelina Jolie and well, it is a story about hackers. The film follows the adventures of a group of gifted high school hackers and their involvement in a corporate extortion conspiracy. The lead character, Dade "Zero Cool" Murphy (Jonny Lee Miller), is arrested by the US Secret Service for writing a computer virus, banning him from using a computer until he turns 18. Years later, he and his hacker friends discover a plot to unleash a dangerous computer virus allowing them to use their computer skills to find the evil computer genius behind the virus while being pursued by the Secret Service.



3. Tron
Tron is an action-filled science fiction film that tells the story of a hacker who is literally abducted into the world of computer and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is the help of a heroic security program. The movie has been described by a film critic as "a technological sound-and-light show that is sensational and brainy, stylish, and fun".



2. The Matrix (Trilogy)
An all time list of movies about hacking is never complete without including The Matrix. Its trilogy is a mainstream success, so I presume that you have seen at least one instalment or know something about The Matrix. But for those of you who are clueless, the film tells the story about a computer hacker known as Neo (Keanu Reeves) who learns from mysterious underground hackers about the real nature of his existence and his main role in the war against the controllers of it.



1. WarGames
WarGames is a film about a young hacker who unknowingly gains access to WOPR, a United States military supercomputer programmed to predict possible after-effects of nuclear war. He gets WOPR to run a nuclear war simulation, initially perceiving it to be a computer game, which caused a national nuclear missile scare and nearly initiates World War III.



If you would like to share your favorite movies about hackers or hacking, please do so via comment.

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15 (More) Awesome Conky Configurations

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You may have already seen our list of awesome Conky scripts or configurations, and perhaps applied or used some of them on your own Linux desktop. Since that collection was quiet popular, I decided to scour the web once again to gather more Conky scripts that I could share with all of you. Now, here is another list of some of the most excellent and unique conky configurations that you could freely use. Enjoy!


WhiteCircles by WindGarbin



Full Screen by arpbook



WOW Light WorldWide by J3RI3L



Conky by Bruce



Conky by taklertamas



RenjiConky by tsompanis



Conky by vsv



A New Start by alecive



SpaceShip by WindGarbin



Conky by rahulthewall



Black Column by arpbook



Conky by naaamo2004



Conky Arch Theme by belhor



Conky Lucid Blue by djspider



Conky Flavours



If you would like to share with us your own Conky setup, please do so by providing us a link or two via comment.

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Which do you think is the most evil tech company these days?

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The whole Oracle-Google fiasco made me realize that the tech landscape has really changed a lot over the past few years. Microsoft is no longer as dominant as it was and in effect not anymore considered by majority of people as the most evil tech company. Stealing the limelight (in a bad way) from Microsoft is Apple, a company that is extremely successful financially nowadays that they are dubbed as being too greedy. On the Internet, giants Google and Facebook have been heavily criticized on how they handle privacy issues. Meanwhile, Adobe has been lambasted for its pricing practices among other things.


To our dear readers and visitors, we would like to know which tech company do you think is the most evil these days?



You may also share with us the reason behind your vote via comment below.

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Where to Download Free VirtualBox Images (.vdi) and How to Use Them

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Where to Download Free VirtualBox Images (.vdi) and How to Use Them: VirtualBox, arguably the most popular free and open-source virtualization software for Linux is a great tool for trying other operating systems without the need for additional hardware. I utilize VirtualBox for installing and running Windows 7 as guest OS on Ubuntu, and also use it for testing other Linux distributions.

To run an operating system inside VirtualBox, you will need a CD/DVD or image installer of the guest OS so you may have to download it, and then set it up and wait until the installation is finished. If you are always in the mood to try other Linux distros or operating systems, you may find this a time-consuming process.


So what should you do to save some of your precious time? You may download a VirtualBox disk image (.vdi) file of your preferred operating system. Now, where can you download free VirtualBox images? You can go to torrent sites like isohunt.com and search for .vdi. You can also go to virtualboximages.com and virtualboxes.org where you will find direct links to tons of VirtualBox images of different Linux distributions and also BSDs. You may also use Google if you are not lazy enough.

How to use VDI file?

Run VirtualBox and start by adding a new virtual machine the way you normally do. But once you reach the “Virtual Hard Disk” part, select “Existing” to open up the VirtualBox Virtual Disk Manager. Using the VirtualBox Virtual Disk Manager, simply attach or add your downloaded .vdi file, and then finish it up. You can now start the virtual machine with your guest OS already installed, so no more waiting.

That’s about it. I hope you will find this useful.

PS. When looking for.vdi torrents, always get it from trusted torrent sites like isohunt, mininova, et. To be safe, read comments associated with the torrent file to find out if it's the real deal. Lastly, use common sense to avoid malware.

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Google Tablet Computer Running Chrome OS Coming in November

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Google Tablet Computer Running Chrome OS Coming in November: Exciting news, or plain rumor? According to several sources, Google is set to release a tablet computer that will run Chrome OS, an open-source, Linux-based operating system that focuses on running web applications. The device is being manufactured by HTC Corporation, the same company that built the Nexus One. The Google tablet computer is said to be released on November 26, 2010 (Black Friday), and it be will be under Verizon contract.

It is worth noting that Google posted some prototype images of a tablet computer running Chrome OS (see below). I'm guessing the design of the Google tablet will closely resemble that of the prototype that they were showing.


As for the hardware specifications, the rumored Google tablet PC will have a multi-touch display capable of 1280 x 720 resolution. It will offer a minimum of 32GB SSD storage, which may be expandable using a multi-card reader. The device is expected to be powered by a Tegra 2 processor that has dual ARM Cortex-A9 cores clocked to 1GHz, and it will be loaded with 2GB of RAM. That is some powerful specs I should say.

Some of the other possible features of Chrome OS tablet computer include WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, GPS, and webcam. A mini-DVI or if possible an HDMI port would be a nice addition.

The Google tablet computer could easily beat the Apple iPad in terms of overall features and may come at an affordable price. So I'm definitely getting it once available instead of the overpriced and locked down iPad.

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Hey Larry, can you sue Google for me? -Steve Jobs

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We've been hearing about this messy legal battle between tech giants Oracle and Google all week long. It started when Oracle filed a patent and copyright lawsuit against Google for allegedly infringing Java-related intellectual property in developing Android operating system. I'll skip the more technical details regarding the lawsuit as they have already been published on various news sites and blogs. But if you want to be further enlightened, you may read this and this.

I've read several comments as to the main reason behind the lawsuit and most of them point to Oracle being greedy and wanted Google and others who have benefited from using Android to pay a huge some of money or royalty. Although I partly agree that Oracle is the evil party here and wanted to bring in more money out of Java any way they can, I'm still not convinced that it is the primary motivating factor on why they are suing Google.

Oracle knows that this is going to be a lengthy and costly legal war, and it is far from certain that they are going to win. And if ever they get lucky and win, we may see the end of Java and Android so it would still be Oracle's loss in one way or another. The backlash from the open-source software community is also expected, which can already felt by now so it’s bad PR for Oracle. So, why did they took the risk and went on to sue Google?

The mastermind here could be the greedy Steve Jobs. He may have convinced his BFF (best friend forever) Oracle CEO and founder Larry Ellison to sue Google after knowing Android is now eclipsing the iPhone in smartphone sales. Never underestimate the convincing power of Jobs.

Steve Jobs loves his iPhone so dearly and he is so obsessed with it that he will do everything he can to crush its competitors. And the main competitor at the moment is any Android-powered phone. Earlier this year, you may remember that Apple sued HTC Corp., Google's key partner in the mobile phone market and manufacturer of Nexus One.

Steve's new baby, the iPad, is also competing head-to-head with Android-powered tablet computers. So imagine how much Jobs hates Android at the moment.

This may sound like conspiracy theory but I think Steve has greatly influenced (probably using reality distortion field or whatever) his best friend Larry on making Oracle sue Google. It is as simple as that.

What do you think?

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5 (More) Best Web eCommerce Software for Linux

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I have already featured here some of the best web eCommerce software available for Linux. However, I've noticed that I left out several other high-quality web e-commerce solutions. So, I decided to give you another round of some of the best open-source web eCommerce software that you may find useful:


Zen Cart
Zen Cart is an easy-to-use free and open-source online store management system based on PHP. Its default installation provides everything you need for maintaining a shopping cart web site. Using the administration area, you can manage products, pricing, shipping, newsletters, sales, and other important tasks. The shopping cart is set up to accept payments from any major credit card via the merchant's choice of several available payment gateway services. Some of the main features of Zen Cart:

* Multiple language support
* Multiple customer modes
* Unlimited category depth
* Multiple sales and discounts
* Multiple display modes
* XHTML 1.0 compliant template system
* phpBB integration through external module
* Multiple ad banner controllers
* Multiple shipping options


Broadleaf Commerce
Broadleaf Commerce is an open-source eCommerce solution that utilizes Java/Spring platform. It is designed to be highly-configurable and extendable, and it offers painless integration with your present database and back end fulfilment system. With Broadleaf Commerce, you can easily manage product catalogue through its user-friendly merchandising tool. Also, with it you can showcase and change promotions, designate featured products, cross-sell and up-sell featured products, customize product search, retrieve analytics and reporting, and integrate with social networking sites such like Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Delicious, etc.


Apache OFBiz
Apache OFBiz (Apache Open For Business) is an open-source enterprise resource planning system that provides a suite of enterprise applications that incorporate and automate plenty of the business processes of an enterprise including eCommerce. It offers a common data model and a loaded set of business process. Aside from eCommerce, Apache OFBiz offers a wide range of functionality that includes:

* Asset Maintenance
* Catalogue and Product Management
* Facility and Warehouse Management
* Manufacturing
* Order Processing
* Inventory Management, automated stock replenishment etc.
* Content management system (CMS)
* Human resources (HR)
* People and Group Management
* Project Management Software
* Sales Force Automation


Satchmo
Satchmo is an open-source online store management system utilizing the Django web application framework, providing a number of useful, robust, and tested features. It is highly-flexible having the ability to use any database system that Django supports including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite, and it takes advantage of Django's power internationalization framework. Satchmo supports several different product types such as downloadable products, custom products, gift certificates, and subscription products.


Bots
Bots is an open-source EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) translator and business-to-business electronic commerce software that uses Django as a web framework. As a complete EDI translator for business, it is designed to be very flexible. Some of the features of Bots:

* Very powerful mapping
* Any-to-any-format conversions
* Very flexible by using user scripts (in Python)
* Plug-ins for easy configuration of EDI and examples/learning
* All edifact messages and X12 transactions are available
* Convert to readable/printable format ('EDI-fax')

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Best Online Data Backup Service for Linux Poll

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It has been a while since I last posted a poll here, so I guess it's about time to ask for your participation.

I have previously featured and shared with you some of the best online backup services for Linux, which includes Dropbox, ZumoDrive, ADrive, Ubuntu One, SpiderOak, Wuala, Jungle Disk, and CrashPlan. From that list, which do you think is currently the best online data backup service for Linux?:





You may also provide us a brief explanation regarding your vote via comment.

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Best Load Balancing Hardware

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Best Load Balancing Hardware: A load balancing hardware is a device utilized for splitting the amount of network loads across different servers, somewhat the same way a software load balancer is used. It controls computers to respective servers in a network, built on conditions such as utilization of server processor, the number of server connections, and the total server capability. By using a load balancing hardware, one can reduce network downtime, effectively manage traffic prioritization, apply end-to-end application monitoring, supply user authentication, and provide protection or security against malicious attacks.

Load balancing works by sending network traffic to a shared IP (often called virtual IP or VIP), which is an address connected to the load balancer. The load balancer will decide on where to send the request from the VIP. The decision making is usually administered by a load balancing method or strategy, a server health check, and a rule set (in the case of a next generation device). The request is then sent to the associated server and will response if successful. The response will be relayed either back to the load balancer or straight back to the end-user relying on the kind of the device.

For performance, scalability, and reliability reasons, majority of websites with very high traffic uses some type of clustered server architecture. To equally appropriate the traffic to different web servers, a load balancing hardware solution should sit in the middle of the server cluster and the Internet. For additional level of dependability, it will also route traffic around a failed cluster node.

Here are some of the best and most popular load balancing hardware:

Cisco Systems Catalyst 6500
Cisco Systems is well-known for building networking infrastructure hardware that keeps the most demanding networks up and running. The best selling product of Cisco is the Catalyst 6500 system. It was made to handle with problems at layers 2, 3, and 4. Built on a modular chassis, the Catalyst 6500 is flexible to deal with everything from switching to firewall services to SSL and IPSec services.



Coyote Point E350si
Coyote Point provides the Equalizer line of products aimed at both the SME and higher-end markets. The E350si is its most popular product because it is loaded with features but comes at an affordable price. The layer 7 capability of the Equalizer makes it feasible to identify among users to direct them to the correct server. Other supported features include URL parsing, persistent cookies, and a virtual cluster technology that allows you to assign pools of servers to the highly or heavily utilized applications and services.



F5 Networks BIG-IP 6400
The BIG-IP line of products from F5 handles the application acceleration problem (or layer 7) and the network traffic management problem. Also, BIG-IP helps provide security and and protection against threat of network attacks such as denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. F5 started the concept of application traffic management with the BIG-IP product line. Version 9 of the BIG-IP systems provides a suite of application acceleration and optimization features. F5’s Traffic Management Operating System architecture is specifically made to increase network reliability while enhancing end-user performance.



If you have used or know other excellent load balancing hardware, please share them with us via comment.

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Dell Streak: The Versatile Android-powered Tablet Computer

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Is Dell Streak (formerly known as the Mini 5) a tablet computer or a smartphone? We could say both since it is big and powerful enough to be considered a tablet PC, and small enough for those with big hands and can make calls to be considered a phone. I was impressed with the 4.3-inch display of the Motorola Droid X, but the Dell Streak's 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that is capable of 800 x 480 pixel resolution is even more impressive. Its sleek and elegant design makes it a certified head turner. Based on looking some of the photos and videos, I would say that it's one of the most gorgeous-looking Android devices that I've ever seen.


Like the Google Nexus One, the Dell Streak is powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm QSD 8250 Snapdragon ARM processor and 512MB RAM, and it uses Adreno 200 GPU. It has a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED flash and video recording capability. It also has a front-facing VGA camera that can be used for making video calls. The Dell Streak offers 2GB of internal storage but the storage capacity can be increased via microSD slot, which can hold up to 32GB of memory card. Its 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display makes it possible to conveniently type documents, browse the web, read eBooks, and watch videos. The three buttons that can be seen at the bottom of the device are also capacitive.

The Dell Streak still runs Android 1.6 (Donut) operating system and features a customized user-interface. However, Dell promised that the OS will be updated to Android 2.2(Froyo) later this year. Talking about the UI, its homescreen icons are placed in shaded boxes, and there is a drop down menu from the top that can shrink to a favorites bar. On the top bar, you will have quick access to homescreen-switching button and you will see the notifications and status area.

Here is a video of Dell Streak in action:



The Dell Streak can be purchased for $300 with a two-year AT&T contract, and $550 for the unlocked version. If Dell wants to compete with the iPhone or the iPad, I think they should lower the price. Also, there are already several Android smartphones that are more affordable and are equipped with similar high-end features like the Streak but with a slightly smaller display.

If you can't decide whether to get a new smartphone or a tablet computer, then the Dell Streak may be the one for you.

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World's Funniest Tech-related Demotivational Posters

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Motivational posters are made to inspire us by making us achieve certain goals and change our way of thinking in a positive way. It often uses a catchy image inside a black background with inspirational caption at the bottom. Demotivational poster is a parody of motivational poster that is always filled with wit and humor. I've gathered several funny tech-related demotivational posters that I would like to share with you all. I hope this will somehow brighten up your day. Enjoy!


Internet Explorer, not completely useless


Denial. Viruses are gonna get you.


Hey buddy! Could you spare a couple of bucks...


The truth. It hurt, doesn't it?


Computer addicts never die, they just go offline.


Linux. Your grandma can do it.


Gamers. Growing old is inevitable...


Priorities. He knows what's important.


You look worried. This is the guy that gets fired...


Solitaire. Because no matter how boring it is...


Video games. A lot has changed over the years.


The Beowulf Cluster


Apple. Everything they do turns to... well you know.


Stargate is the truth!


Linux. It has super cow powers.


Software testing


Priorities. Because having two of the three next gen...


Bing. I guess Microsoft didn't check...


Microsoft. Stealing ideas since 1975.


If you want more demotivational photos, go HERE.

You may also want to check out our list of world's funniest computer pictures.

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