SketchUp - Home
Whoa... another great tool from Google (well, not so much, but Google has it now!).
Google just released SketchUp tool (Free and Pro versions). My first impression is very favorable. I'm not an engineer, so CAD tools are always overkill for me, but to have something like that was always my dream. It's a nice thing to be able to draw your house quickly, set up some landscaping, and see how it all looks together, before you spend all the money! I used some other software before (Total 3D Home Deluxe), but I found it hard to use and it took way too long to learn it. SketchUp seems to bring a right mix of features, power and easo of use. Check it out for yourself...
Friday, April 28, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
Home > Lighting & Appliance Control > INSTEON
Home > Lighting & Appliance Control > INSTEON
I have been looking for home light automation solution for my new house in Florida for some time now. My builder and their subcontractor were not interested (read: did not know how to approach it) in providing any kind of solution for me before the construction was done. In my previous house in Staten Island, I managed to set up a whole house X10 network with some pretty sophisticated control using Ocelot (pretty much, it's a serial, programmable controller with nice X10/IR gateway). Howvere, X10 is rather unreliable, and I wanted something better for my new place. It seems that Insteon product line could be the answer. It seems to be reliable (both power line and RF), fast, has built-in error correction, and is X10 compatible, so I can use some of my older modules. My approach is to start slow, probably from my Media Room, which is the best place for automation anyway. After that, I will slowly start setting up more, if everything works out ok. I will keep mu blog updated with any tips and battlefront stories.
I have been looking for home light automation solution for my new house in Florida for some time now. My builder and their subcontractor were not interested (read: did not know how to approach it) in providing any kind of solution for me before the construction was done. In my previous house in Staten Island, I managed to set up a whole house X10 network with some pretty sophisticated control using Ocelot (pretty much, it's a serial, programmable controller with nice X10/IR gateway). Howvere, X10 is rather unreliable, and I wanted something better for my new place. It seems that Insteon product line could be the answer. It seems to be reliable (both power line and RF), fast, has built-in error correction, and is X10 compatible, so I can use some of my older modules. My approach is to start slow, probably from my Media Room, which is the best place for automation anyway. After that, I will slowly start setting up more, if everything works out ok. I will keep mu blog updated with any tips and battlefront stories.
Friday, April 14, 2006
EFF: DMCA Archive
EFF: DMCA Archive
How bad the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in the USA is? Check out the article at the Electronic Frontier Foundation's web site. We all always new it was bad... but it's much worse than that!
How bad the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in the USA is? Check out the article at the Electronic Frontier Foundation's web site. We all always new it was bad... but it's much worse than that!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Google Calendar
Google Calendar
Google Calendar is out and it looks good. Since it works with the rest of the Google pack (GMail, etc), it seems to be a very useful tool. I'm not sure why Verizon Wireless is not on their list of supported carriers for event remainders. Who knows... Verizon is always behind with hi-tech stuff.
Google Calendar is out and it looks good. Since it works with the rest of the Google pack (GMail, etc), it seems to be a very useful tool. I'm not sure why Verizon Wireless is not on their list of supported carriers for event remainders. Who knows... Verizon is always behind with hi-tech stuff.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
The KOffice Project - KOffice 1.5 Announcement
The KOffice Project - KOffice 1.5 Announcement
KOffice 1.5 is out. It's always nice to know, we have options!
Personally, I prefer OpenOffice, but under Linux, KOffice is a nice option and it seems to run a bit faster. Both are much better tham M$ Office, which is bloated, slow and uses proprietary file formats.
KOffice 1.5 is out. It's always nice to know, we have options!
Personally, I prefer OpenOffice, but under Linux, KOffice is a nice option and it seems to run a bit faster. Both are much better tham M$ Office, which is bloated, slow and uses proprietary file formats.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Mamboserver.com - Home
Mamboserver.com - Home
This is probably the best CMS (Content Management System) around. I'm sure you can argue with this statement, however, Mambo is very powerful, easy to learn and very easy to configure. It can be nicely put together with other Web systems (like phpBB for forums, or Coppermine for picture gallery). It has a nice support community, wide spectrum of addons and modifications (inluding internalization) and can be deployed very fast. What else is there to ask for?
This is probably the best CMS (Content Management System) around. I'm sure you can argue with this statement, however, Mambo is very powerful, easy to learn and very easy to configure. It can be nicely put together with other Web systems (like phpBB for forums, or Coppermine for picture gallery). It has a nice support community, wide spectrum of addons and modifications (inluding internalization) and can be deployed very fast. What else is there to ask for?
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