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BumpTop Turns Windows into a 3D Environment

April 23, 2009 By 6 Comments

bumptopWell, I’m assuming that by now just about everyone who reads my blog also checks out GeekBrief.TV at least occasionally. Neal and Cali produce that show, and they just covered a very cool looking application for Windows called BumpTop.

BumpTop is a desktop replacement application which allows you to have a 3D environment instead of your boring flat desktop. This will let you pin things on virtual walls, have news delivered while you work, automate the sharing of photos with Flickr, and just a bunch of other things.
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Filed Under: Computing, Videos Tagged With: , , , ,

50 Free iPhone Apps I Love and Use

April 22, 2009 By 15 Comments

apple-iphone-in-handI kicked off a trend at work after I got my iPhone, so I’m putting this handy little guide together for all the new iPhone owners out there so that you don’t have to go downloading every crappy free app to try. I already did that!

So, here is my list of top apps in a wide range of categories. I’ll keep it updated as I add or delete things.

And if anyone has suggestions for other really great free apps, let me know and I’ll give them a try. Leave the name, description, and link to the app in the comments. (To get the link to an app, look it up in iTunes, then right click on the Apps icon on the top left.)
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Filed Under: Computing, Reviews Tagged With: , ,

Tutorial: How to Burn a VIDEO_TS Folder to DVD on a Mac

April 15, 2009 By 11 Comments

Let’s say that for some reason you decide to make a copy of a DVD. Like you want it for backup purposes or whatever. If you’ve got a Mac, it’s your lucky day. Here is how to do it:

  • Use the Finder to copy the VIDEO_TS folder to your local hard drive.
  • Download the DVDImager application and install it.
  • Stick a blank DVD in your Mac.
  • Launch DVDImager and then drag and drop the VIDEO_TS folder onto the DVDImager icon

The rest should be simple. Enjoy your new disc copy!

Filed Under: Computing, Tutorials Tagged With: , , , ,

Yoics Delivers Free Remote Desktop Sharing for Macs, Linux and PCs

April 6, 2009 By 9 Comments

Yoics!I just signed up for a new Beta service called Yoics today. (I wonder how that is pronounced by the way?) It’s a very interesting Remote Desktop sharing service, and it works with PCs and, most importantly, Macs. The underlying technology appears to be VNC, which I appreciate because it is a mature technology. But it seems they’ve managed to make it extremely simple to use.

Yoics allows you to share not only your remote machine’s desktop, but also the drives in your machine and even devices like Webcams!

Yoics Supported Devices
That’s right, you could set up Webcams all over your house, and use Yoics as a remote security monitoring system. But wait! There’s more! If you happen to have a Drobo file storage unit and the accompanying DroboShare network adapter, you can also directly connect to it via Yoics.
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Filed Under: Computing, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

I Broke My MacBook Pro

February 19, 2009 By 10 Comments

dead-macbook-proSo, I have this backpack that holds my laptop in a zippered pouch on the back, and all of my awesome camera gear on the front. Of course, the primary security mechanism for the laptop is a zipper to actually hold it inside when you walk around.

Yeah. This is what happens when you don’t actually zip that zipper and let your laptop fall out onto the concrete as you walk around like a complete dumbass.
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Filed Under: Computing Tagged With: ,

WordPress’ Newest Data Center

February 17, 2009 By 5 Comments

WordPress Server RacksFor those of you who don’t know Barry, he’s the mastermind behind the infrastructure that powers WordPress and all of their various services (Akismet, bbPress, Gravatar, etc.). He seriously knows a lot about hosting infrastructure, as he demonstrated when he gave this lecture about WordPress performance at WordCamp SanFrancisco 2007.

Anyway, this morning he posted a little article about the newest WordPress data center and included a video shot by Aaron Phillips. Watch really closely and you might catch a glimpse of my cameo…
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Filed Under: Computing, Videos, Wordpress Tagged With: , , ,

Cali Lewis, Layered Tech and the Robotic Data Center

January 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Oh, my. Cali Lewis, everyone’s favorite video podcaster, stopped by Layered Tech to learn about our top secret project (code named Astro) a couple of weeks ago – even though we made her keep it under wraps until yesterday!

Cali Lewis and Josh Bosquez

Anyway, Cali interviewed LT’s Director of Software Development, Josh Bosquez, in part one and learned all about whats been under development for like a year. In part two I give a mini-tour of the data center and you get to learn a few things about it. The data center tour was more extensive, but some of the video had to be taken out for security reasons. Still, it’s pretty cool!
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Filed Under: Computing, Work Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Review: Parallels Desktop 4 Offers Kick Ass Virtualization For Macs

January 13, 2009 By 4 Comments

parallels_desktop_for_macWell, my good friends over at Parallels hooked me up with a free copy of Parallels Desktop 4 for my MacBook. But before we get started here, you should know that Microsoft, VMware and just about anyone else with virtualization software will hook me up too. So my comments here are unbiased as always. I only tell you exactly what I think.

Anyway, did I mention that Parallels 4 is a fantastic product for running virtual machines within your Mac environment? No? Well, let me go on record as saying that I think Parallels 4 kicks ass. Yeah, I said it. Now let’s move along shall we?
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Filed Under: Computing, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

A Direct Comparison of Picasa for Mac vs. iPhoto

January 7, 2009 By 68 Comments

picasaYesterday was the day I’ve been waiting on for months. Google finally released the popular, and FREE, Picasa image management software for the Mac!

Let me explain. You see, a while back I was forcibly converted to the Mac at work. At first I complained. A lot. But later it grew on me. Now, even though I hate to admit it, I have to say I actually prefer the Mac for most computing operations. One of the things that I did not enjoy, however, was the pathetic iPhoto software which was pretty much the only game in town for Mac users… until today.

So, Picasa, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Computing, Google Tools, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,
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