Category: ifttt

By Guy McDowell, MakeUseOf – February 18, 2013 at 09:00PM

At a very basic level there are really three major components to the World Wide Web and the information we get from it. Google, Facebook, and…well…porn. Seriously, porn accounts for over one-third of all Internet traffic. That pretty much leaves the other two thirds to Google and Facebook. Google gets the lion’s share of that.

But there ARE Google Reader alternatives! You don’t have to be locked into the Googlesphere for your news anymore. You can customize the news you want to see and view it the way you want with these tools that aren’t (yet) owned by Google. Not that Google Reader is bad, but it is having its difficulties apparently. Google Reader works and lead the way in RSS feed readers for a long time, but it’s boringly simply, even for Google design ethics. These readers add new dimensions! They add new ways to physically interact with your news. They grow with you and if life does anything, it grows. So, prepare to breathe new life into the way you use news!

RebelMouse

This Google Reader alternative is gaining traction like a thousand pound man driving a monster truck.  Mind you, I don’t like the name. I thought we were past the days where web applications had names that had nothing to do with their functions. But it’s kind of cool. The news that you are getting is news that means something personal. No, it is much more than an RSS feed reader, and more than a social network aggregator. Look at what you can bring together here: Twitter feeds and hashtags, Facebook statuses from your primary and up to two of your secondary Facebook pages. Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and the grand-daddy, RSS.

“RebelMouse is your public home on the web, representing what you share and care about.” Isn’t that the point though? What good is news about what Obama ate for breakfast or which Kardashian farted this morning? I want to know how my friends and family are doing. I want to know what game changers in the different fields I’m interested in are doing. RebelMouse does that AND I can share my custom newspaper-ish site with the world.

I have to say, I’ve been putting off signing up for RebelMouse for several months. Then I watched as some of my favorite writers for television started piling on it. Then web writers, developers, and designers. Then I signed up for the purpose of this article. Now, I really like it!

FlipBoard

FlipBoard came pre-loaded on my Samsung Galaxy SZ XVI or whatever number it is. I love it. FlipBoard and the phone that is. Although the phone’s rounded rectangle shape and touchscreen are suspiciously like the iPhone. Apple should sue.

Justin Pot already did a really good article on FlipBoard especially as it relates to the Android OS, so you should check that out and then come back here. Go away. Come here. The main point I want you to take away from Justin’s article is that FlipBoard allows you to add feeds from pretty much anywhere, even Google Reader. And it’s fun to use. Those are the two main points. Yes, I’ll leave it at that, otherwise it’ll become too much like Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition skit.

Google+

Sadly, perhaps happily,oh dear I’m not sure, Google+ IS a good alternative to Google Reader. I’m not sure how I feel about Google+ still after over a year of trying to use it off and on. It’s kind of like when someone sticks their finger in your belly button. It’s a weird feeling, but not sure if it’s a good feeling. At first it seemed like Google was playing, “Me too!” to Facebook, kind of like Orkut did with MySpace. Look where they are now. In the basement behind that $400 coat hanger someone once called an exercycle. You were so proud of it once, now you look at it in shame.

Google+ does work, as essentially a Google Reader on growth hormone. It is garnering much more attention and use, especially amongst the tech crowd. Which probably includes you. Apparently, Google+ can also have a significant impact on SEO rankings as well, which is no real surprise. I believe that’s an engineered marketing feature to get the tech crowd using it.  It is working.

These three new Google Reader alternatives are going into my kit bag for keeping up with my world, connecting others to my world, and sharing my world with you. They are breathing new life into the way I stay connected to my sphere of influence and my sphere of concern. That’s the news that matters. That’s the news that shapes our lives.

How do you get your news? Let us know in the comments. If you work for any of these companies, I’d be glad to hear what you think of my reviews, or about features I may have missed. In the comments, right down there. Yep, right there.

The post Bring The News To Life With These Slick Google Reader Alternatives appeared first on MakeUseOf.

By Jamie Condliffe, Gizmodo – February 18, 2013 at 06:04AM

When you’re starting out in photography, with your shiny new DSLR, the world of lenses can be complex and scary place: prime this, wide angle that, and what the hell is focal length anyway? Don’t worry! This video should have you covered. More »

By (author unknown), Dilbert Daily Strip – February 18, 2013 at 01:00AM

By Steve (Editor-In-Chief), The Firearm Blog – February 18, 2013 at 12:13AM

Gun blogger (and TFB guest blogger) Olav has updated his Gun Spot iPhone app. The new Gun Spot 2.0 features …

Updated the FFL data to include January 2013…

✓ FFL Holders Records updated: 12,700+

✓ FFL Holders Records added: 6,700+

✓ FFL Holders Records retired: 3,500

Total records available for searching: Almost 70,000!

What’s New in Version 2.0

The Gun Spot iPhone app has been completely updated with a new look and features to make it even easier to find a gun store near you.

New Gun Spot App features include:

✓ Updated to iOS 6

✓ Radius search option for nearby searches to increase area being searched in more isolated areas.

✓ ZIP search now includes a radius search option.

✓ Address search includes a radius search option.

✓ You can now share on Facebook, Twitter, Message and email your favorite gun store using iOS 6 integration. Inform your friends about ammo availability and more!

✓ Share web pages with double finger tap on page.

✓ New interface

✓ New overall look

✓ Now you can orient the nearby map results.

✓ More cool features included and exciting technology roadmap ahead!

By Alan Henry, Lifehacker – February 17, 2013 at 11:00AM

When your computer starts behaving strangely, won’t boot, or you start getting strange errors that you can’t pin down, a great way to troubleshoot the problem is to boot to a rescue disc and see if you can isolate the problem. It might be your operating system, it could be hardware, but you’ll never know until you boot to some other media to take a look. That said, there are tons of great system rescue discs to check out if you want a tool to save your ailing system. This week we’re looking at five of the best, nominated by you, our readers.

Earlier in the week, we asked you to nominate the best system rescue disc for our roundup. You rolled in with tons of great suggestions, and now we’re back to look at the top five.

The Trinity Rescue Kit

The Trinity Rescue Kit is a customized Linux distribution that’s designed specifically for troubleshooting and reviving ailing systems, whether you’re running Windows or Linux. It fits nicely on a CD (or a USB stick if you prefer) and once booted gives you tools to reset lost Windows passwords, scan hard drives for viruses and malware, clone drives, recover lost partitions, even open up the drives as network shares so you can get files off of them and to other computers on your network. It’s completely free, although a donation to the developer behind it is always appreciated and keeps the project alive.

---

Hiren’s BootCD

Hiren’s BootCD is pretty legendary, and anyone who’s ever worked in support or systems administration has probably used it at least once (or has several version of it lying around still.) The rescue disc is aimed squarely at repairing Windows systems, and includes a wealth of tools to that effect, including antivirus tools to scan your hard drive, anti-malware utilities to clean out spyware and adware, even rootkit detection tools. Hiren’s BootCD can also help you repair, adjust, or re-flash your system’s BIOS or wipe your CMOS, clean out temporary files and folders, securely erase files, back up your data to another hard drive or to the network, update and back up hardware drivers, scan your system for hardware failures, repair lost or damaged partitions, and much much more. We’re only scratching the surface here. It’s completely free and always has been. Even if there are other tools in your toolkit, Hiren’s BootCD should be among them.

---

The Ultimate Boot CD

The Ultimate Boot CD is another tool you’ll probably find in most technician’s disc binder. The Ultimate Boot CD is designed to troubleshoot Windows and Linux systems, and comes with a wealth of hardware testing, hard drive management, and partition troubleshooting and repair tools. The UBCD packs memory testing, CPU testing, and drive testing tools all onto the same disc, and even includes some BIOS management tools as well. If you’re having serious PC problems, the CD also includes a number of drive cloning and data recovery tools to help you get your files off of a problematic hard drive and somewhere safe. If you’re looking for a specifically Windows-targeted version of the Ultimate Boot CD, there’s always the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows, a rebuild of the disc that uses BartPE to create a pretty fully functional version of Windows XP once booted—and is also packed with many of the same troubleshooting tools. Both are free, but donations to the creators are always welcome.

---

Knoppix

Knoppix is a bootable Linux live CD that gives you a fully functional operating system once booted. You can use Knoppix to get familiar with linux (although it is highly customized) or just to boot to media other than your hard drive for troubleshooting, but in either case Knoppix is a whole OS—not just a customized interface to give you access to diagnostic and repair tools. It comes packed with a web browser (Firefox), Open Office, GIMP, and more, just in case you want to use it to get things done. Knoppix’s greatest benefit is its flexibility, and it can be customized to suit almost any need—you can download it and build your own installation with the troubleshooting tools you use most often, package it up, and then burn it to a CD or DVD yourself. If you’re a developer, the DVD version of Knoppix has even more extras for you. If you do need to use Knoppix for troubleshooting, there are data recovery and cloning tools built-in to make it easy. It’s free, and you can donate to the cause if you want, but since it’s completely open source, the developer notes that your time, code, and input is a more ideal way to contribute.

---

System Rescue CD

The aptly named System Rescue CD is a linux-based rescue disk designed to troubleshoot Linux and Windows systems and servers. The disk is packed with tools to help you manage or repair partitions, back up your data or clone your drives in case of a failure, and supports a wealth of file systems (even network file systems like NFS) so you can work with just about any file on any drive anywhere. The disc also comes with replacement bootloaders, system file editors, network troubleshooting and diagnostic tools, and disc burning tools so you can burn while you use the disc. There are also antivirus, anti-malware, and rootkit detection and removal tools. It’s completely free.

---

Now that you’ve seen the top five, it’s time to put them to an all-out vote to determine the winner.

What’s The Best System Rescue Disc?

Honorable mentions this week go out to Parted Magic, which a number of you nominated to handle those tricky MBR and partition problems in Windows and Linux, and to Puppy Linux, a great distro to get familiar with Linux, but that also has some great troubleshooting tools to resuscitate your computer if something goes terribly wrong.

Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn’t included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don’t just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it’s not because we hate it—it’s because it didn’t get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it’s a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

Photo by Karin Dalziel.

By (author unknown), Dilbert Daily Strip – February 17, 2013 at 01:00AM

By Brian Barrett, Gizmodo – February 15, 2013 at 01:40PM

A man named Parker Reed has uploaded an hour-long video of a coin rolling on a treadmill. You’re skeptical. It’s okay. I was too. But then I started watching, and I haven’t yet been able to stop. You won’t be either. More »

By (author unknown), Dilbert Daily Strip – February 15, 2013 at 01:00AM

By John Biggs, TechCrunch – February 13, 2013 at 02:08PM

As a fan of monsters and 3D printing, in that order, I was intrigued by Autodesk’s new iOS app, 123D Creature. Aimed at beginning 3D modelers, the app allows you to build cute (or scary) monsters right on your screen by pinching, grabbing, and rotating a lump of virtual clay hanging on a skeleton.

The free app is the latest in Autodesk’s line of free 3D apps. The company sells much more expensive and complex 3D solutions like Maya and 3ds max but these 123D apps are designed to allow users with little experience to build objects, paint them virtually, and output mesh files that can be used on 3D printers. You can even order 3D prints of your creations right from the app.

Given the perceived difficulty of 3D modeling, these are an interesting way for Autodesk to sneak their tools into the hands of younger designers who could go on to use the company’s more lucrative tools.

How does it work? Fairly well, to be honest.

I tried the app briefly today and was able to design a pointy-headed little man and print him on my home Makerbot. Sadly his arms didn’t quite make it through the print process but his tiny legs and pin head look just fine. I’m no 3D artist, to be sure, so it was fun to be able to make a cute little being and then pump him out of my extruder in a few minutes. Not only does this give 3D novices the chance to experiment with 3D design, it makes folks with 3D printers happy because of the seamless system for making and outputting mesh files for quick prints.

By Matt Reid, Planet MySQL – February 13, 2013 at 08:09AM

I’m pleased to announce that my first book, the InnoDB Quick Reference Guide, is now available from Packt Publishing and you can download it by clicking here. It covers the most common topics of InnoDB usage in the enterprise, including: general overview of its use and benefits, detailed explanation of seventeen static variables and seven dynamic variables, load testing methodology, maintenance and monitoring, as well as troubleshooting and useful analytics for the engine. The current version of MySQL ships with InnoDB as the default table engine, so whether you program your MySQL enabled applications with PHP, Python, Perl or otherwise, you’ll likely benefit from this concise but comprehensive reference guide for InnoDB databases.

Here are the chapter overviews for reference:

1. Getting Started with InnoDB: a quick overview of core terminology and initial setup of the testing environment.
2. Basic Configuration Parameters: learn about the most common settings and prerequisites for performance tuning.
3. Advanced Configuration Parameters: covers advanced settings that can make or break a high-perfomance installation of InnoDB.
4. Load Testing InnoDB for Performance: learn all about general purpose InnoDB load testing as well as common methods for simulating production workloads.
5. Maintenance and Monitoring: covers the important sections of InnoDB to monitor, tools to use, and processes that adhere to industry best practices.
6. Troubleshooting InnoDB: learn all about identifying and solving common production issues that may arise.
7. References and Links: informative data for further reading.

PlanetMySQL Voting:
Vote UP /
Vote DOWN