Entries from February 2008 ↓
February 21st, 2008 — Microsoft
So you use Remote Desktop to connect to a remote Windows system ? Remote Desktop Connection can come in pretty useful when you need to connect to a remote system be it for work, for some files which are in your home PC or just for solving some technical problem you friend is facing.
Once connected, Remote Desktop gives you mouse and keyboard control over your computer while showing you everything that’s happening on the screen. With Remote Desktop, you can leave your computer at the office without losing access to your files, applications, and e-mail.
What Remote Desktop basically allows you to do is work on a remote desktop system as if you are sitting in front of it. So here are two tips which can help you utilize Remote Desktop for Microsoft Windows even better.
1. Transfer files between local system and remote system
Using Remote Desktop for Windows, you can easily transfer files to and fro between your local system and remote system. All you need to do is turn on a simple setting in Remote Desktop.
Open Remote Desktop and go to Options. Then click on “Local Resources” tab and tick the checkbox “Disk Drives” under Local Devices. Now you will be able to transfer files between the local and remote system.
2. Shutdown Remote System using Remote Desktop
By default, Remote Desktop does not give you an option to shutdown the Remote System. Instead you get a “Disconnect” option. But you can still shutdown the system. Here is how. When you finish working on the Remote System, open a command prompt and type shutdown -s.
The remote system will be shutdown after 60 seconds and then you will be disconnected.
That’s it. Do you use Remote Desktop ? What do you like about it ?
February 10th, 2008 — Linux, Software
Just noticed this. The latest Firefox 3 Beta ( at present Beta 3 RC ) is now available in the Ubuntu Gutsy Repositories. The Ubuntu guys had not updated the Firefox 3 Alpha in the repositories for a long time, but now it is done.
To install the latest Firefox 3 Beta in Ubuntu Gutsy
- Go to System —> Administration —> Software Sources
- Then go to Updates tab, and tick “Unsupported Updates” checkbox.
- Click Close. Ubuntu will ask you to reload the software list. Click Reload.
- Then open a Terminal window and type apt-get install firefox-3.0
After installing, goto Applications —> Internet —> Firefox 3 Web Browser.
The Firefox 3 Beta will not replace your existing stable install of Firefox 2. So don’t worry. 
All your Firefox 2 settings and add-ons will remain intact. 
February 8th, 2008 — Linux
Envied by your friends who use QuickSilver on OS X and Launchy on Windows. Key stroke program launchers can be a real time saver once you get the hang of it.
GNOME Do is a GNOME utility for fast launching of applications and files. It can easily be said to be the Linux equivalent of QuickSilver for Mac and Launchy for Windows. Using GNOME Do, you can easily launch your programs, files, Firefox bookmarks all from the comfort of your keyboard.
Installing GNOME Do on Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10
You can install GNOME Do on your Ubuntu system just like any other application. All you need to add is the GNOME Do repository.
1. Fire up Terminal.
2. Type sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
3. Add the following two lines at the end of the file :
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/rharding/ubuntu gutsy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/rharding/ubuntu gutsy main
4. Save the file, close it. Then in Terminal type sudo apt-get update
5. Finally install GNOME Do by typing sudo apt-get install gnome-do
Delicious Plugins
The plain install of GNOME Do gives you the ability to launch the applications that are installed on your system. But if that’s not enough for you, GNOME Do has plugin support too. Two of my favorite plugins are the Pidgin plugin and the Rhythmbox plugin.
Delicious Plugins !!!
For example you can install the Pidgin plugin, then launch Gnome Do, type the first few letters of the name of the contact and hit Enter. Voila, a Pidgin chat window will open to chat with that person. Same with Rhythmbox you can easily play specific albums or artists using the Rhythmbox plugin. All you need is to type few letters of the artist or album.
Thats not all. You can find the complete plugin list here.
February 1st, 2008 — Microsoft, Yahoo!
The rumours have been settled. Microsoft has formally announced its intentions of acquiring Yahoo! . Leaving aside the complexity of the financial offer, one simple thing is Microsoft is offering $31 per share, a whopping 62% premium on the present share price of Yahoo!.
An excerpt from Microsoft’s press release …
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) today announced that it has made a proposal to the Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) Board of Directors to acquire all the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for per share consideration of $31 representing a total equity value of approximately $44.6 billion. Microsoft’s proposal would allow the Yahoo! shareholders to elect to receive cash or a fixed number of shares of Microsoft common stock, with the total consideration payable to Yahoo! shareholders consisting of one-half cash and one-half Microsoft common stock. The offer represents a 62 percent premium above the closing price of Yahoo! common stock on Jan. 31, 2008.
But what does this mean for me ?
A bigger competitor for Google but no idea how effective the acquisition will be if at all it happens.
Whatever will happen to Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger and Flickr, three services I use almost all the time.
What do you think of this acquistion ? Does Microsoft buying Yahoo! make sense ?
Microsoft Press Release
The TechCrunch post