Yes, GetRight. The Windows-only, paid-for, shareware download manager. Running on Linux. But before you ask – why? (more…)

My own personal rules for effective computing:
1. Don’t buy anything with ‘Norton’ written on it, unless the next word is ‘Ghost’.
2. Don’t buy any program without consulting osliving.com. Open source is often faster, more effective, and doesn’t provide features you don’t need.
3. Half the computer companies are brands of another. Check who belongs to whom, then use Google Shopping to find the cheapest supplier. The product and warranty will be the same, just the price will be cheaper.
4. A 2GHz AMD processor is as fast as a 3GHz Intel, but costs less than a 2GHz Intel.
5. Memory is the cheapest, easiest, and most effective upgrade you’ll ever buy.
6. Most users don’t use anything most Linux distributions won’t give you for free.
7. Free antivirus is better than no antivirus at all, but the best antivirus money can buy is no substitute for common sense.

Specifically, the Windows emulator available for use with Kubuntu 9.10 (“Karmic Koala”). It runs FTP Sync just fine. (more…)

Windows 7 release candidate feels a bit more like a proper version of Windows – it says “Windows 7 Ultimate” on it and everything. However, it’s back to the naughty step with Microsoft, as it overwrote the MBR.

Now to be fair it is a 64-bit OS overwriting a 32-bit OS. But an “overwrite MBR” prompt would be nice. (more…)

Never having tried Ubuntu (or at least, got it working), I decided to take the plunge and “borrow” a few gig of space from another partition to install Kubuntu on (I’ve always been keen KDE and wanted to play with KOffice.) (more…)