Reviews

Jun 1 2007

Fedora 7 Released

A new version of my favourite Linux distribution was released today. The special thing about Fedora 7 is that it was fully developed by its open source community. It can be downloaded as a DVD or CD ISO format, or as live CD’s if you just want to test drive the operating system. The 2.7 GB DVD will take about 5 hours to download on the typical broadband connection.

Fedora 7 has the 2.6.20 kernel and its the first release to be created with its revolutionary build system, which simplifies the construction of Fedora-based software appliances. It’s desktops have the current version of KDE and Gnome, and there is a wealth of updated applications available with the installer media.

There is also better power management which is great news for notebook computer owners. For those who are dual-booting with Windows, Fedora 7 can read the NTFS file system. I was able to do this with 3rd party tools, but I’m glad that it’s built into the OS now.

You can download Fedora 7 at fedoraproject.org/get-fedora.html.

By Johan • Reviews • 0

May 27 2007

Testing Your Internet Connection Speed

Have you ever wondered how fast your Internet speed actually was? Your ISP gives you a set of numbers, but these are connection speeds in ideal circumstances which may not be what you get in day-to-day usage.

Instead of relying on what your ISP tells you, you can test your own speed with Speedtest.net. The graphics in this web application are very impressive. You determine your Internet speed by selecting the closest city to you. It then displays an analog gauge that shows the speeds being returned by the tests.

The interesting thing is that you can test your speed to other cities around the world. My speed locally (Vancouver) was 1324 kb/s (download) and 546 kb/s (upload). I got about the same results against various locations around the Americas with download speeds, but the further away I went, the lower the upload speed.

Cape Town, South Africa returned 513 kb/s (download) and 153 kb/s (upload). Rome, Italy: 1323 kb/s (download), 224 kb/s (upload). Moscow, Russia: 245 kb/s (download), 133 kb/s (upload). Bamako, Orange Mali: 540 kb/s (download), 107 kb/s (upload). Yokohama, Japan: 1327 kb/s (download), 291 kb/s (upload). Quezon City, Philippines: 1326 kb/s (download), 205 kb/s (upload). Sydney, Australia: 1324 kb/s (download), 248 kb/s (upload).

I was surprised at the number of good connection speeds around the world. This is definitely a web site that you want to have bookmarked.

By Johan • How To, Reviews • 0

May 20 2007

Review: TylerCruz.com

Tyler Cruz is a 23 year old Internet entrepreneur whose livelihood comes mainly from the advertising sales made through his web sites. He is currently averaging $256 per day which is a good income for a home-based business. Tyler lives in Nanaimo, BC, one of the nicest cities in Canada.

Tyler’s blog, TylerCruz.com: An Internet Entrepreneur’s Journey, discusses his experiences (both positive and negative) in his business. It’s interesting that he talks about his failures as well. Most people would prefer to showcase their successes and gloss over their challenges. This is just a reflection of Tyler’s honesty and a genuine desire to help others avoid the problems that he has encountered.

He gives outstanding and timely advice on how to build a successful blog or web site. What he says comes from real world experience as a successful web entrepreneur. It really is worth paying attention to if you are building a business on the Internet.

Tyler makes most of his money through various forums on poker, movie reviews, cooking, and several others. The web sites that interest me the most are PublisherForums.com and PublisherSpot.

PublisherForums has forums on the major affiliate programs and other subjects that would be relevant to web-based businesses, such as web development and management, and financial forums so that you can learn how to manage all of the money your making.

PublisherSpot provides ad network reviews of various Internet ad network companies. It describes each company and user’s review them. This gives you a good idea of customer satisfaction with the service which could be a factor in determining who you sign up with. I find it very difficult choosing which company to affiliate with and PublisherSpot is an incredible resource in helping me make these decisions.

Tyler Cruz’s web sites, and especially his blog, are worth viewing frequently. He is on his way towards great wealth and I hope that he continues sharing his experiences and ideas with those that are still on the early stages of their Internet venture.
 

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By Johan • Reviews • 2

May 19 2007

$139 PC with Linux

Someone once told me that the cost of computers have never changed. They remain at the same price, but you get more computer for the same dollar amount. Well, if your talking about $2,000 computers then that’s true, but computers have dropped in price enormously over the years. My first computer, an IBM PCjr, cost about $1,300 back in 1984. Today, the same dollar amount would buy a good Pentium 4 system with an LCD monitor.

The cheapest computers I’ve seen were around $500 which includes a monitor. Children in 3rd world countries have a low cost (approx. $100) computer designed for them. A very low cost computer is needed even for the wealthier nations. Not everyone can afford to buy a computer, and most families need multiple machines since computers are so essential for school and day-to-day activities.

Yesteday, Mad Tux and Vector Linux announced a Linux PC at the unheard of price of $139. This easily puts computing in the hands of the masses. There are some things to note. The computer doesn’t have a monitor, keyboard, or optical drive, but these are are not expensive to purchase separately.

It doesn’t come with Windows either. You do get a pre-installed version of Vector Linux and if you want add technical support for it, it will cost an additional $24.99.

The specs for the system are the following:

  • VIA C7 1.5GHz processor
  • 256MB DDR2 RAM included
  • 13.5GB 7200RPM Hard Disk
  • 100Mbps fast-ethernet port
  • 128-bit 3D/2D Graphics engine
  • Full-featured AGP v2.0 compliant 4x transfer mode AGP controller
  • UltraDMA EIDE controller
  • Memory expandable to 2GB
  • Two 32-bit PCI slots
  • Two IDE connectors onboard
  • VIA VT1612A 6-channel audio codec, Intel AC’97 compliant
  • Two PS/2 ports for mouse and connector, one serial, one parallel ports, one VGP port, one LAN port, four USB 2.0 ports and audio jacks

Now all you need to is add a low cost Internet connection and your set.

By Johan • Reviews, Technology • 0

May 16 2007

Remote Control with CrossLoop

Dealing with technical support with your customers can be difficult when your not sitting beside their computer. They try to describe what is wrong and then you walk them through a solution. A good way to do this is to have the program they are working on open on your computer while telling them which buttons to press on their end. This method doesn’t always work very well if your client is an inexperienced user or their machine has some strange configuration that prevents you from guiding them to a solution.

Using a VNC server could solve this problem, but it creates additional problems as well. Installing it is not an easy thing to do for novices and trying to get them to find their computer’s IP has always been a challenge. Normally, I would ask them to drop into the command line prompt in Windows and type ipconfig. This is an easy enough solution for someone with moderate experience in Windows, but the neophytes are lost in trying to use the command line.

An additional problem occurs if the computer is behind a firewall or router. Walking inexperienced people around hardware your not familiar with or even granting permissions through a firewall is frustrating.

An easier way to control your client’s computer is through CrossLoop. This application is both easy to use and setup. It will allow two computers to connect to each other. CrossLoop is a client application and it doesn’t stay running in the background when your finished with it. You don’t have to worry about hackers to trying to guess your VNC password when your not around. CrossLoop works through firewalls and it doesn’t need an IP to set it up.

Using it is very simple. The computer that you want to connect to is the host. Your customer opens the Host tab and then presses the Connect button. You then go into the Join tab and enter the Access Code which your customer gives you. After some time, the host computer will receive a message whether to allow you to connect. If permission is granted, you will then be able to remotely use their computer.

When your finished, both users shut down the CrossLoop application and the connection between the two machines is broken. There are no applications running in the background.

This is an amazing program. You can provide real-time tech support to your clients by connecting to their computer and seeing exactly what is going wrong. CrossLoop is a must-have utility for every software developer.

By Johan • Applications, Reviews • 7

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