Tweaking Firefox

Thursday, March 12, 2009 12:58
Posted in category Firefox, Software

Firefox has grown a lot over the last few years. It’s US market share is currently greater than 21%. With so many of us on line every day, that means a huge chunk of people are using Firefox. By no means is Firefox the best browser in every aspect but because is does a damn fine job at the majority of things. It is constantly becoming better using thanks to the active community of developers and users. The best thing though, is it modular architecture. The Gecko engine that they use allows people write many useful plug-ins while also allowing users to easily tweak many settings to improve performance. Taking a look at my favorites, you will hopefully see why Firefox remains my preferred browser.

Read the rest of this entry »

Updated Block Lists

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 9:03
Posted in category BitTorrent, Security, Software

Yesterday I posted about tweaking Deluge. In there I also talked about the block lists.Today I decided I would take the time to update the script that compiles all the blocklists to one file every weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

Tweaking Deluge

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 14:53

Yesterday I noted that I prefer the Deluge BitTorrent client for my torrenting (is that a word yet?) listing several reasons. Today I want to show you how to set it up to maximize its usefulness. From configuring network connection settings, to setting up the block list plug-in, there are plenty of features to tweak for more speed and reliability. Going tab by tab (in the settings window) I will be sure to point out what is most important. Read the rest of this entry »

Smart-Torrent

Monday, March 9, 2009 13:18
Posted in category BitTorrent

BitTorrent has helped change the way we get files on the Internet. No longer do we depend solely on a single servers maxing out their allotted bandwidth on a first come first served basis.  No, that is the distribution method of the past where as today we have the BitTorrent Protocol.  This new method of communicating and sharing files over the Internet has lots of benefits as long as you know how to properly take advantage of them. Read the rest of this entry »

Favorite Apps for Fresh Systems

Friday, December 26, 2008 16:04
Posted in category Linux, Microsoft, OS X, Software, Vista, Windows, XP

Around the holiday’s there are lot’s and lots of new computers. If your frugal like me however, you just spend time reformatting and cleaning up instead of buying a whole new computer. After setting up my fair share of new systems over the past few weeks/years, there are some default apps that I load on systems to prepare them for use.

However not all apps are suited for everyone, these just happen to be the ones I can personally vouch for. Read the rest of this entry »

In Praise of Hulu

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 0:02
Posted in category Comedy

So thanks to Hulu (and Adobe) supportting (at least not intentionally preventing) Linux users use their services, I was able to find this: Read the rest of this entry »

Basic Ubuntu Security

Thursday, December 4, 2008 15:26
Posted in category Linux, Security, Software

I just got finished reading (and technically flaming) a article from the ITSecurity site. The article, The Big Ol’ Ubuntu Security Resource, starts off by trying to scare you. “So you thought Ubuntu was secure? Think again! I did a Google search with the words Ubuntu and security and you wont believe what I found! ZOMG there are soo many back-doors for those root-kits and h@X0rs that if you don’t do exactly what I tell you your system will totally be vulnerable!” Sorry for the exaggeration there, it’s not what he really said. When you read the article though I cant help but get the feeling like all his information came from the first page of a Google search. So I am going to do the responsible Linux Community member and fight the FUD with facts and then leave the rest up to readers! Read the rest of this entry »

Bits and Bytes and “Bytes”

Friday, October 31, 2008 12:04
Posted in category Hardware

Today the biggest hard drive out there is in the order of 1.5 “Terabytes.” Why do I say “Terabytes” rather than just Terabytes? Well to answer this we need to know how we go from a Bit (a single 1 or 0) to a Terabyte (Trillions of bits). Also we will explore why when you purchase a hard drive that says 80GB or 750GB why it only comes with about 74GB and 730GB respectively.

Read the rest of this entry »

Switching My Grandmother to… Part II

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 18:53
Posted in category Linux

Last time i left you, I had helped my grandmother get accustomed to some of Firefox’s great features and how to use the AOL web-mail interface. Well it has been a few months since then and I was finally able to get my grandmother to, “take the plunge!” We agreed that she would buy a new computer from me and if she did not like it, I would install Windows on it instead. I figured fair enough and went to work.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fonts and Copywrongs

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 16:45
Posted in category Microsoft

I received an email thismorning informing me of a mistake:

Linotype Fonts, File 0013950: Stephen Tanner

——————————–

! Please remove this link!

Dear Sir or Madam,

Dear Mr. Tanner,

I am writing on behalf of Linotype Corp. /Linotype GmbH, Du-Pont-Straße 1, 61352 Bad Homburg, Germany. We recently have been informed by our customers that you are offering on following site:

http://stephentanner.info/public-share/fonts/

Linotypes typefaces without our authorization among these the following:

Palatino

Please note that Linotype GmbH/Linotype Corp. is the trademark/patent holder of these typefaces. The use of any of Linotypes trademarks and patents, without our written consent, is prohibited. Therefore, we kindly ask you to inform us why you think you are authorized to offer this typeface, alternatively where you regularly license this font.
Read the rest of this entry »