Traveling

May not be around the blogger for a couple weeks as preparations are under way for a family trip to Florida. There will be several computers awaiting repair upon my return I'm sure... all in time.

Great Applications

Every now and then you come across a computer app that you just have to tell everyone you know about.... such is the case I have found with Rainlendar 2. 

 

 

It is a cross platform calendar that you can synchronize to multiple devices over the internet via use of cloud storage such as Dropbox, UbuntuOne or Google Drive. Once you install Rainlendar 2 on the first computer export the iCalendar file to your cloud storage and then redirect Rainlendar 2 to use this location to monitor and make changes. Set up each additional computer making sure to direct each one to the iCalendar file in your cloud folder.

Right clicking on the calendar and refreshing ensures changes that have been made on one computer are properly shown on the one you are currently on. Set the program for auto-start (something I do not normally recommend) and it is always ready.

There are other calendar apps out there... but this one has really gained my respect very quickly. It has been the easiest to set up by far, and being cross platform allows me to make use of it on ALL my systems, not just Windows OR Linux OR Mac. I offer the developers of Rainlendar a huge Thank you for a wonderful Application!

A Wonderful Way To Look Around

Just had a wonderful online tour of the most recent Ubuntu release... what a wonderful way for people to get a look around the Ubuntu desktop. Please take the  Ubuntu Tour and poke around my system of choice and get a look at what "FREE" can do.

My Theory About Computer Virus'

A question on Yahoo Answers got me thinking about this the other day. Why does Windows have so many viruses at work? Who is behind them and who benefits from them? I have to tell you that I have a theory about this, and like everything else it is driven by money... so it does make quite a bit of sense. If you can follow along for a moment I will try to explain my theory to you... think about it and see if you can fathom my thoughts.

To start out, why does Windows OS have so many viruses at work? Well the answer to this one is actually quite straight forward. Windows is the OS that has a majority of installed systems on PC's that are sold. There are more PC's out there running Windows than any other OS. That is one answer and perhaps the most widely accepted one, another answer that also fits is that Windows was designed for as interactive and immersible an experience as possible over the Internet... it is loaded with vulnerabilities by design making it a very easy target.

NOTE: Microsoft “sells” the OS to the consumer once, when the PC is sold to them. Unless it is a PC destined for use in a corporate setting they more than likely have made all the money they ever will on the sale of that OS, most home users will never pay for added support.

Now we ask “Who is behind the viruses and who benefits from them?” Let me answer this one backwards in relation to the above. …:who benefits from them?” Well, people may jump right in and say hackers that are out to steal from others... true, Hackers can benefit, but I see that only as a secondary attack. My theory puts the benefit to Microsoft itself, the maker of the OS itself. Look back at my “NOTE” above again. For the majority of the vast number of PC's sold MS(Microsoft) only makes a profit ONCE!

Now I weave in the first half of the question, “Who is behind them?”...MS has to find a way to continue to bring money in from the sale of their OS. They all ready know the vulnerabilities of the system and know that to keep it secure they need a program to monitor these shortfalls... (is there a light turned on yet?) So, now MS invests in or starts subsidiary companies aimed at securing their flawed system that sells Anti-Virus software with a monthly or yearly subscription rate. These companies (perhaps backed by MS) now start to gain revenue by the sale of Anti-Virus software AND continue to do so by subscription on a monthly / yearly basis... now there is a continuous income from / on that OS! Ooops, but wait a minute, once there is a “fix” for one virus the Anti-Virus becomes not so important... well, time for a new one to maintain the threat, and thinking, that it is important to maintain the subscription to the Anti-Virus software! Viola... continued income!

Now, as I stated... this is all theory and my personal opinion (or rather my personal take) on the whole Anti-Virus rat-race. Personally I don't buy into it and years ago came to realize that there were other ways... other OS's that offered safe and secure ways to enjoy the many uses of a home pc with no worry about viruses at all. I broke the bonds with the corporate strife of MS years ago and migrated to Linux in its infancy and have enjoyed the freedom it has offered ever since.

Reflect for a while on my theory and see if you can follow my thinking... I feel it makes perfect sense and is a viable explanation to the questions.

                                                                                          'The Setup Artist'

                                                                                            March 2013

                                          

The Cloud, Storage and Synchronization

Besides the use of the cloud for simple storage and backup of data... it can be used for much more. In fact it gives you the ability to synchronize information between your devices that you use on a regular basis virtually automatic. No need to worry about which device has the most current version of the file you have been working on... with the following three cloud apps, any update to a file is automatically synchronized between all your included devices. The addition of Cloud storage by the use of the following 3 services gives you the addition of 12 additional GB's of storage, and gives you the ease of mind that the data you have placed in the cloud is safe from any inadvertent crash of your system and will be available to you at any time from any place.




For anyone running Ubuntu, or for that matter any other version on Linux, Ubuntu one is seamless in its integration into any version of the Ubuntu desktop, be it Unity, Gnome or KDE.








Ubuntu One also offers integration into the Windows desktop environment as well.

The online storage cloud offers 5GB of free storage with the option to expand as needed, also offering music streaming and downloading services. You can download Ubuntu One here.


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DropBox is a cross platform Online cloud storage service that is cross platform. It offers integration with Widows, Mac and Linux. The free account offers online storage and synchronization of files, but with a limit of only 2GB unless you opt for paying for a larger storage capacity. Dropbox can downloaded here.




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Google offers a 5GB free account and is for the most part a cross platform service. Windows is fully supported as is Mac. Linux support is in the works, but does all ready have an app in place that supports Google Drive.

Insync (available from the Debian repositories) can be installed via the Ubuntu Software Center and facilitates full integration of Google Drive into the Unity, Gnome (Cinnamon), and KDE GUI's.







Google Drive is available to anyone that has or signs up for a Google account.