Koozie Notes

Clean Software

(via Slashdot) Jem Berkes puts together a new software download site, CleanSoftware.org, that contains 'spyware free' Windows software. This looks like a good place to start when searching for new Windows software.

TinyApps.org is another site that tracks non-bloated software available for download. I even found a link to the original VisiCalc application which came in at a whopping 27K.

-Chris

Update
Pricelessware.org - voted best of the best by alt.comp.freeware

History of the Graphing Calculator

Scoble linked to an interesting skunkworks story about two software engineer sneaking into Apple Computers to work on their canceled software project.

There was one last pressing question: How could we get this thing included with the system software when the new machines shipped? The thought that we might fail to do this terrified me far more than the possibility of criminal prosecution for trespass. All the sweat that Greg and I had put in, all the clandestine aid from the friends, acquaintances, and strangers on whom I had shamelessly imposed, all the donations of time, expertise, hardware, soft drinks, and junk food would be wasted.

-Chris

16 JUL 2005 Release Date Set for 6th Harry Potter Book

Looks like the 6th Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," will be available in your local book shop on 16 July 2005.

“We are delighted to announce the publication date [16 JUL 2005]. J.K. Rowling has written a brilliant story that will dazzle her fans in a marvelous book that takes the series to yet greater heights. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince delivers all the excitement and wonder of her best-selling previous Harry Potter novels.”

I still rank the 4th book, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" as my favorite in the series.  I hope the movie version doesn't disappoint either.
-Chris

AutoRuns Ver6.1 Released

SysInternals has updated their cool AutoRuns.exe utility to version 6.1.

This [Windows] utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes  them.

-Chris

OpenOffice.org 2.0

Inquirer posted a review of the preview 2.0 release of OpenOffice.org.  According to article, the 2.0 version will include a database program similar to Microsoft Access. 

I'm going to wait until the official 2.0 release becomes available, but I'm very interested to see how well the database application compares to Access.

-Chris

Cotton Bowl List Eater

The Texas A&M student paper, the Battalion, published an uncanny story about a female student who stuffed a paper list into her mouth.  Students who witnessed the event started to taunt her with the nickname "List-Eater."

The woman now known on Internet online communities as "List-Eater" was second in line at ticket window 8. She said there was no line when she arrived at the Kyle Field ticket windows at 4:30 a.m. because those camping out were still asleep. There were lists at each ticket window of those who had been camping out for tickets as early as Sunday afternoon.

Another aggie has created a website to keep track on any news about the list-eater.  He even posted some video of the incident.

Gig'em Ags.

-Chris

Update 9 JAN 2004
The list-eater gets farked on SoonerFans.com.

Linux Consultants Making $75-$250 an Hour

I enjoyed Corinne McKay's piece on Linux consultants titled, "Linux consultants find a niche in growing market."

With Linux consultants reporting billings of $75 to $250 and up per hour, while working flexible schedules and freeing themselves from the strings of a large employer, consulting seems an appealing field to enter. At the same time, successful consultants stress that entrepreneurship requires a mix of skills that is often the opposite of what's appealing to a corporate employer.

Billing from $75 up to $250 seems like a pretty decent gig to me.

-Chris

Mac Software

(via MacSlash) Mac Specialist posted a concise list of mac software.  Plenty of comments to shore up any loose ends.

-Chris

What are .DS_Store Files?

This morning I finally got around to researching Apple's .DS_Store files.  I've notice these files on my Windows server, whenever I connect my powerbook to move files.  I have found .DS_Store files on my USB thumb drives as well.  If you use Apple's OS X operating system, you probably have these files littered all over your file system.  The best explanation I found on .DS_Store file is listed below. (via TinkerTool)

The .DS_Store files are created by the Finder during its normal course of operation but they are invisible by default. The Finder will automatically put a .DS_Store file into every folder you have opened. These files are used to save the positions of icons, the size of the respective Finder window, the window's background, and many more view options. While professional users consider the .DS_Store files to be a design flaw of the Mac OS X Finder, a mechanism like this is necessary when opening Finder windows for exchangeable disk media to give former users of the classic Mac OS the same user experience they had in previous operating system versions. If you don't like to see the .DS_Store files, replace the Finder by a better file management application.

I located another site, Rixstep,  discussing .DS_Store files with an Apple employee.

If you need a short script to remove these peevish files, try the one-liner I found on Macromedia's site.

sudo find / -name ".DS_Store" -depth -exec rm {} \;

-Chris

OS X Audio Recorder

(via BoingBoing) Looks like I found another candidate for audio recording on my powerbook.  Mark Frauenfelder also recommends Listen&Type for transcribing audio.  I might have to give both a try.

-Chris