tech.thingoid

“I’m thinking of buying my first computer…”

Some advice on buying a new computer from an ex-computer trainer. Read the rest of this entry »

Programming with Karel J Robot - Part 3 of 4

Welcome to part three of Programming with Karel. In this episode we are going to start controlling more than one robot and have a look at how robot names work. But first I’ll make a comment. Read the rest of this entry »

Teaching a young robot new tricks

Programming with Karel J Robot - Part 2 of 4

In the previous article, I left readers with the task of modifying the example program to make the robot close the L-shape into a square, as shown here:

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The ingredients

To follow along with my Karel J Robot programming exercises, you will need four things Read the rest of this entry »

Programming with Karel J Robot - Part 1 of 4

Computer programming is an absorbing and challenging hobby and a valuable occupational skill. It helps develop many useful intellectual abilities, including analytical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. But most importantly, computer programming is fun.

Welcome to the first in a series of articles intended for people with a moderate level of computer experience but little or no knowledge of programming. Let’s say you know what files and folders are, you can use a word processor, you don’t need detailed instructions on how to install software, and if I say “Run Program X” you’ve got a pretty good idea where Program X is and how to get it going. That’s all you need - no expertise required. Read the rest of this entry »

Free PDF!

Most Windows applications that can print can also produce PDF files. Here is a way to produce PDF files for free. The secret is that a PostScript printer driver produces a PostScript file as output. Freely available utilities can then be used to convert the PostScript output to PDF.

It’s even easier on Linux and Macintosh. And OpenOffice.org does it too. Read the rest of this entry »

An arbitrary top twenty

It’s great to hear about some handy tool or program that you haven’t tried before. And it’s all the better if you can get it gratis. This top twenty was collected from the opinions of friends and workmates who were asked to suggest their favourite useful programs. The top twenty were chosen from those that:

• cost nothing,
• don’t require “registration” of any sort,
• are fully functional and may be used indefinitely, and
• are not known spyware (or any other nasty).

The list is completely arbitrary - it is neither review nor recommendation - but hopefully there’s something here that you will want to test-drive.

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Are you thinking about taking the plunge and installing an open source operating system? Or would you prefer to enter open source waters more gradually? Either way, you need to consider a few issues before you do. Read the rest of this entry »

Freeware. Shareware. Free software. Open source software. What’s the difference?

Everyone loves getting something for free. And with software licenses being the way they are these days, “free software” sounds pretty attractive.

The trouble is that the word “free” is somewhat problematic - at the time of writing dictionary.com has 17 primary definitions for the adjective “free” and only definition 7a (”Costing nothing; gratuitous: a free meal.”) refers to money. What’s more the term “free software” actually has a specific definition that has nothing to do with money.

So maybe we should start there. Read the rest of this entry »

The World Wide Reb is the tongue-in-cheek name given to the network of distributed REBOL applications accessible from the REBOL/View desktop - more formally it is known as the REBOL Distributed Desktop. Once you’ve setup a rebsite you can add it to distributed desktop and make it available to all REBOL/View users.

The REBOL folks reckon that setting up a rebsite is easier than setting up an ordinary HTML web page. Let’s put that claim to the test. Read the rest of this entry »

If you browse around the web or newsgroups long enough, especially on computer-related topics, you may soon get the impression that practically everything is “… Considered Harmful”. These two words crop up again and again. If “… Considered Harmful” appears in the subject line of a posting to a newsgroup or mailing list you know you’re in for a one-eyed diatribe. Read the rest of this entry »

wiki. To hurry, hasten; quick, fast, swift.

–Hawaiian Dictionary, Revised and Enlarged Edition

What is Wiki?

A Wiki Wiki Web is a web site that the users build for themselves.

Even the inventor of Wiki doesn’t quite know how to define it, but it could be described as a system for collaborative web publishing that allows web site visitors to edit and update web pages. Visitors edit the site through their browsers with no need for any special tools or even any knowledge of HTML. It allows people to contribute actively to the information provided by the site - maybe making a correction, adding new content, or venturing a different opinion. Read the rest of this entry »

Seth Godin’s “The Big Red Fez” is to Internet marketing what Steve Krug’s “Don’t Make Me Think” is to web usability. They’re both thin books written in a glib style that allows the authors to cover a lot of ground without delving too deep. It would be easy to dismiss both as lightweight if the advice were not generally so sound. Read the rest of this entry »