Create DVD Video using ManDVD

This is my second post on creating DVD video, on the first one I used a program called DeVeDe. Now I want to do the same using another program called manDVD. This was recommended by an anonymous comment on the other post. I really like manDVD, the step by step process makes converting to DVD video very simple. It also lets you create really nice looking menu's for your DVD. To get a hold of the program check the links at the end.When you run the...

Happy New Year

Happy new year to all, I hope 2008 is even better. We still have few more hours of 2007 left here in the UK but I can already hear the fireworks going off outsi...

Effects of GSM Signals on Sleep

A story in slashdot highlights the results of a research project carried out in Sweden regarding the effects of 884 MHz GSM radiation on sleep of the subjects studied. The results show that subjects exposed to the radiation compared to placebo exposure displayed a prolonged latency to reach the first cycle of deep sleep (stage 3), the length of stage 4 sleep also decreased in exposed subjects. Moreover, participants that otherwise have no self-reported symptoms related to mobile phone use, appear to have more headaches during actual radiofrequency...

Alternative Start Menu for GNOME

The GNOME start menu, like almost everything else, is fully customisable. On one of my previous posts I showed you how you can customise the look of Ubuntu, now I want to show you the alternatives to the standard start menu you get in Ubuntu.Standard Menu BarHere's what the default menu bar looks like, you actually get it at the top but I have my panel at the bottom.You can change the layout or even add/ remove the menu items by right-clicking on...

The Theory of Evolution Made Easy

With so much confusion and misunderstanding around, spread by creationist nuts, someone has created these seven excellent videos explaining everything from the history of the universe to the theory of evolution. Enjoy.Link:http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=pothole...

Hardy Heron Theme Mockups

Here is a list of some interesting looking theme mockups for the next release of Ubuntu. I personally like the first one, it looks clear and fresh. It looks like Gelatin, as the first one is known as is being officially considered a candidate for Hardy Heron. You can also download it from here. It needs a little bit of polish but overall I think they are heading in the right direction with this the...

Ubuntu Bluetooth Remote Control

I have a Sony Ericsson K800i phone and one of its coolest features is the ability to control your pc using bluetooth. It's pretty straightforward in Windows but Ubuntu needs a little bit of work to get it going. Open up your terminal and follow the steps below.Install bluez-utils, Gutsy comes with this installed but here's how you can install it if you don't have itsudo apt-get install bluez-utilsNext let's search for our phonehcitool scanYou should see your phones MAC address and identifier appear, something like this00:11:22:AA:BB:CC MyPhonesNameNow,...

Nanosolar: Solar Power for the Masses

Nanosolar, a Silicon-valley start-up has managed to do what a lot of people have been trying for a long time: they have developed solar cells which create energy that is cheaper than burning coal. That is a huge achievement considering cost was the biggest drawback for solar power generation.What differentiates Nanosolar from others is that they focused on the manufacturing process instead of just increasing efficiency of the cells. The result is...

Euler's Prime Generating Equation

In the eighteenth century, Leonhard Euler discovered (no one knows how) that the equationproduced primes consecutively when fed with numbers n=0 to 39. Even though the equation fails when n=40 it still manages to spit out more prime numbers than any other quadratic equation. Of the first 10 million values the proportion of primes is about one in three. Euler then showed that you can substitute 41 with k=2,3,5,11,17 and the formulawould still produce...

Asus LS201: Arrow proof monitor

The Asus LS201 is not like your average monitor, it is protected with a panel made out of crystal-sapphire which makes it not only scratch proof but hammer, nail and arrow proof. I'm not sure how useful that is but here is a video of some Ukrainian guy testing it o...

My Ubuntu apps

I just thought I'd list some of the programs I use in Ubuntu, most Linux folks would probably have the same or similar list.FirefoxI do most of my browsing with firefox but I also use Opera now and again.GimpI made the banners for this blog using Gimp, not bad considering all I've used Gimp for previously is cutting and pasting.DeVeDeFor converting my avi files to dvd, read more about it here.K3BA fully featured CD/DVD authoring application. I often used it to burn the DVD's I made using DeVeDe.OpenOfficeI do all my uni work with it.TimeVaultBacks...

Gambas, Visual Basic for linux

The first computer language I learnt was BASIC. I taught myself using the examples on my first computer, a VTech(can't remember the exact model). I remember thinking how easy it was to learn and use, I wrote my first program after about a week, and it was to solve equations for my maths and physics school homework. Even though I later learnt C and a little bit of python I still used visual basic whenever I needed to make something really quickly....

Wipe files/folders using Nautilus-actions

Here's how you can add the wipe command to your right-click menu using Nautilus-actions. This will enable you to securely delete one or more files/folders without having to use the command line. To install Nautilus-actions, enter the following in your terminal.$ sudo apt-get install nautilus-actionsIf you don't have the wipe command installed already, you can get it using the following command. $ sudo apt-get install wipeNautilus-actions is located...

Robot that can learn

HOAP-3, a robot made by Fujitsu, can learn new tasks thanks to software created by Sylvain Calinon at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. It can learn by watching someone demonstrate a task or through kinesthetic teaching. It gets better at a task the more times it does it by refining it's movements through self observations. It can even draw portraits of people it recognises. Looks like our days are numbered. For more information and video's of the robot learning check out the link below.Link:Sylvain's webs...

Linux MCE demo

Here is an impressive demo of Linux MCE, it is a media centre and home automation system with some amazing features. I'm going to download and install it myself.Link:Linux ...

Convert AVI to DVD in Ubuntu

When I first started using Ubuntu, one of the things I found tricky was video converting. In windows I used to use winavi. Then I discovered a program called DeVeDe. DeVeDe is an open source program that you can use to create video DVD'S or CD'S. It supports popular formats such as avi, mpeg, wmv, quicktime, ogg and others.To install the program you can either use the 'Add/Remove Applications' menu or use synaptic. Alternatively you can enter the...

Favourite gadgets of 2007

This year has been pretty big in terms of gadgets. Here, in no particular order, is a list of some of my favourite.IphoneI'm not really a fan of the iphone but I can't really ignore it. In terms of gadgets 2007 will probably be remembered by most as the year of the iphone. Its in Time magazines gadget of the year list. The things I like about the iphone is its huge touch screen, cool user interface with a mini version of os x and the excellent build...

Sum equals product

I love investigating patterns in numbers and shapes, I particularly like finding equations describing the patterns. Few years ago, while working on a maths assignment, I wondered if the number 2 is the only number that gives the same answer when added together and multiplied together i.e 2+2=2*2=4. It seemed obvious that 2 had to be the only number that you can do this with, but was there other numbers that when added together N number of times would...