Wubi – unofficial Ubuntu installer for Windows

I’d wager that there are a huge number of Windows users who would probably be quite happy with Ubuntu Linux as their day-in day-out OS of choice. If only there were an easy way to try Ubuntu out on your windows machine without breaking anything, repartitioning or dealing with the diminished performance of a Live CD.

You’re in luck. Wubi takes the hassle out of installing Ubuntu on a loopback file system located on your Windows partition, while making it bootable just like a real-deal Ubuntu install. In fact, it _is_ a real-deal Ubuntu install, albeit in a slightly unconventional manner. If you go glassy eyed at the word “loopback”, don’t worry.. it’s just a fancy way of saying that your whole Ubuntu install is self-contained and stored in a single large file on your Windows drive.

source [downloadsquad]

Niceify your Windows with Pitaschio

Pitaschio adds a few very basic window manipulation features to Microsoft Windows which probably should have been included in the first place. Essentially, Pitaschio tries to make Windows a slightly better neighborhood in which to live.

With features which allow you to minimize regular windows to the system tray, keep windows from opening with any part outside the desktop area, window transparency adjustment using the scroll wheel and a whole list more, Pitaschio goes a pretty long way towards enhancing the rather bland set of features available for window management in the world’s most common OS.

If you’re unhappy with the weak feature set in Windows, Pitaschio could help close the gap.

 

source [downloadsquad]

Swaptree – online swap market

Justin over at Gadling has been trying out a new online swap market called Swaptree. Users can trade books, music, movies, or video games with other users. No money changes hands, and Swaptree doesn’t take any money off the top (we imagine they have plans to make money eventually, perhaps through advertising).

All you have to do is type in an ISBN number for the books you want to trade, or UPC code for your other media. Then list the items you want in a “want” list, similar to an Amazon wishlist.

Swaptree will automatically search for users who have what you want, and want what you have. When it finds a potential trading partner, the service will send you each an email. If you both accept, Swaptree will provide each user with the others’ mailing address.

You can even print shipping labels directly from Swaptree. And with media mail rates, most items should cost $2.50 or less to ship.

The service is in private beta at the moment, but Justin’s got a few invites to give out.

source [downloadsquad]

Firefox Extension – HighlighAll

Windows/Mac/Unix (Firefox): The HighlightAll Firefox extension highlights any text on a web page matching the text you’ve selected with your mouse.

Like most good Firefox extensions, Highlight all does one simple thing well. This performs the same function as the “Highlight all” button when you’re searching a page with Ctrl/Cmd-F, without the need for typing or watching your screen jump around to matches as you search. After all, you’ve already found the text you want highlighted, so just select it and you can see all other instances. You can toggle HighlightAll with a configurable keyboard shortcut (F8 by default), so matches to your highlighted text doesn’t always need to show up in yellow. This seems like a great research tool for quickly digesting web pages by keyword.

HighlightAll [Mozilla Add-ons]

 

source [lifehacker]

LightZone – Powerful Photo Editing Software

LightZone, the RAW photo converter, can cost you hundreds of dollars for the Windows or OS X versions, however, the Linux version is free. LightZone is a powerful photo editing software package based on tonal zones with an easy intuitive interface.

The Windows and OS X versions are available in a Basic edition for $150 and a Full version for $250. The Linux version is functionally equivalent to the Full version, and did we mention, is free? LightZone is copyrighted by Light Crafts of Palo Alto, CA. They do not provide online support for the Linux version however, Anton Kast, Light Crafts’ chief architect and Linux devotee maintains a separate page to keep the Linux version updated and to provide technical support.

source [Linux.com / downloadsquad]

Snapper – manipulate sound files on a Mac

The folks at Audio Ease are working on a new Mac utility called Snapper. It basically makes it easier to access and manipulate sound files from Finder.

Every time you click on an audio file, a little window opens up, docked to the bottom of Finder. You can play files, or set Snapper to autoplay files when you click on them. You can also perform rough edits, like saving a selection of the audio as a new clip.

You can also convert files to mp3 with a click of the button, email a file or a selection from that file as an mp3, or import a file into Pro Tools for editing.

It’s not exactly a full fledged audio editing tool on its own. If you’re thinking about setting up a podcast or starting a career in radio, you’ll need more than Snapper. But it looks like a really nice add-on for Pro tools. It’ll be interesting to see if Audio Ease adds support for other programs like Audacity.

source [downloadsquad]

Sync Google Calendar with Apple iCal

Spanning Sync will make your Google Calendars and Apple iCal play nicely together with devices.

iCal and Google Calendars are great applications for different sets of reasons, one is online with sharing capabilities, one is desktop driven with great notifications and offline capabilities. Get ready to get excited Mac users, Spanning Sync syncs all of these features together and lets Mac users choose which calendar application you want to work in with total two way calendar synchronization.

If you find yourself working on different Macs, or require a calendar that is shared throughout the day, Spanning Sync ties in support for multiple Macs and sharing capabilities. Simply share a Google Calendar, and Spanning Sync will sync them all together. Changes made in iCal, will appear on the Google Calendar, and changes that are made to Google Calendar will be made on the iCal calendars. Apple’s iSync then works to sync up calendars onto capable devices like mobile phones and iPods as well.

There is a 15 day trial period for Spanning Sync, with a one year subscription costing $25, or you can drop $65 to purchase the app outright.

 

source [downloadsquad]

Visual DNA – Personality Test

Visual DNA from Imagini is a very interesting and fairly accurate personality test.

Read the questions and click the picture that feels right. For instance, when asked what your idea of vacation is, you will be shown images of a beach, mountain, road, etc.

The tool then analyzes your personality based on these selections and prepares a neat report. You can also find people who have made similar choices and even connect with them.

Imagini VisualDNA

source [digital inspiration]  2007.03.22

Design Tip – Web Color Palettes

If you missed the color course in college or habitually spend a small fortune on paint tester cans only to recycle them, you can (unlike at the paint service desk at Home Depot) get really good color help online. On the web, there are professional color palettes from infinite sources to help you out. Here’s a few unearthed from Fuzzy Future to help you find the perfect color match for your design project:

ColorBlender
You can slide the RGB buttons to create a core color which then automatically creates a coordinating palette.

DeGraeve
Input the URL of an image and the site will generate a lovely palette to match.

Kuler
Kuler from Adobe Labs helps you create endless colors and you always come out looking like a pro.

EasyRGB
Match your RGB values to real color paint lines (including Sherwin Williams), inks, fandecks, etc.

source [digg / downloadsquad]

換新工作轉換跑道 別忘通知保險公司

不少上班族把握機會，於年後成功轉換跑道，保險公司提醒，年後更換工作，一定要告知保險公司，因為職業等級增加，未來理賠差距最高可能折損78%，若職業從學生轉換成空服員，保險公司還能依被保險人違反保險示範條款規定，拒絕賠償，保費等於白繳。

保險公司解釋，意外險的保費收費標準，是依工作危險等級從第一級到第六級，給予六種分類標準，中間的費率最高相差4.5倍。舉例說明，購買100萬元的意 外險，若是內勤人員（第一級），保滿一年的保費只要1,000元，若是消防隊員（第六級），年保費將調升到4,500元，中間相差3,500元。

若新工作危險性減少，則可依日數比率計算、辦理退費；萬一職業危險等級增加，自然會收到保險公司的補繳通知書。

只是被保險人通常忽略告知的義務，未來若發生理賠時，保費也會面臨同比率打折，以100萬元保額為例，第一級變為第六級職業，理賠金額將嚴重僅剩22萬元，縮水幅度達78%。

值得注意的是，不少社會新鮮人的夢想是希望成為空中翱翔的空服員，這對經營意外險的保險公司來說，空服員早已列為「拒保」的行業，學生一旦轉職成為空服員後，應主動告知保險公司，並前來辦理退費事宜，才不會造成保費白繳。

不過，工作危險等級愈高，並非代表買不到保險，以空服員為例，航空公司通常會在處理航空險時，幫機師、空服員特別包裹安排保單，避免造成保險空窗期。

而主動告知保險公司變換跑道，除了調整保費外，不少上班族以薪資帳戶扣繳保費，或者保單聯絡地址是原本任職的公司，都能趁著與保險公司的聯繫機會，一次全面修改基本資料，才能避免漏接保險公司提供的重要資訊，而造成保險權益流失。

source [經濟日報] 2007.03.22