I would like to publicly thank the folks at ECPI that did an awesome job with hardware, network troubleshooting, research, and documentation for our Midland Park lab at Stall Rd.
Anyone that uses Firefox can experience a faster browsing experience by simply installing the Adblock Plus Add-on. Adblock Plus is a free subscription based blocking service that runs before your webpage loads and prevents advertisements from loading in your browser. If you want to install the Add-on, simply go to –> Tools –> Add-ons –> and search for “Adblock” without the quotes. When your browser reloads, enjoy the subscription service (Fanboy’s List) by clicking the OK button in the lower right hand corner and enjoy faster, reduced advertisement browsing! I always add the EasyList subscription in addition to Fanboy’s List of blocked advertisements.
After having the OBi100 for a week, I am very pleased. The OBi100 provides good call quality, and the best thing about this setup is that calls are free using Google Voice. I hated the idea of paying for “land line” phone calls, especially when most of my incoming calls were telemarketers. Since I only had an old corded handset laying around at the house, so I had to order a cordless phone to use. I ordered the Panasonic KX-TG6512B DECT 6.0 PLUS Expandable Digital Cordless Phone System and will be sure to post a review once I have a chance to use it.
Setup was easy. I just followed the instructions and had the system going in about 15 minutes. This post has some really good information and good detailed instructions. Just so you know, in order to have incoming calls on your Google Voice number to ring the OBi100, you have to go into your GV settings and check the box fo Google Chat.
Here’s how you can use Gnome Classic instead of Unity in Ubuntu 12.04:
1. Launch Synaptic.
2. Type in “gnome shell” without the quotes into the search box.
3. When you find Gnome Shell, right click, then click the Install button.
4. After the install is complete, logout out of Ubuntu 12.04.
5. Choose Gnome Classic from the login screen and you’ll use that instead of Unity for your desktop environment in Ubuntu 12.04.
Thanks to the recommendation from a friend of mine, I purchased the OBi100 VoIP Telephone Adapter last week while it was on sale on amazon.com for under $40. This is a cool gizmo that allows Google Voice users to make and receive phone calls for free as long as they have a decent Internet connection. I opted for the free shipping from Amazon.com, so it should be in sometime by the end of the week. I will be sure to post once I get a chance to try it out!
Have you ever wanted to share a large file with someone and it was just too big to email? Have you ever wanted to synchronize files between computers at home and at work? Both Dropbox and SugarSync will do both of these for you, but the question is, which one is better? Well, the answer depends on you!
Dropbox is very simple to use and has a single folder where you put all of your files you want to sync with the Dropbox servers. If you don’t mind moving some of your files from their current location, then this is the simplest way to go. Dropbox gives you 2GB of space for free, but if you use my referral link, we will both get a bonus! I use Dropbox to keep my email synchronized between my virtual machines, to keep files handy for use on my phone, and to share files with friends.
SugarSync is a little more complicated to use, but has some advantages over Dropbox. First, you get 5GB of storage for free, and they offer a bonus too if you use my referral link. Just like Dropbox, you get a dedicated folder for synchronization, but they call it a Magic Briefcase. The second advantage is that you can pick and choose additional folders on your computer to synchronize to the SugarSync servers using the client, albeit a little complicated to use. The third advantage of SugarSync is that it will synchronize your photos on your Android mobile device to your computer effortlessly. Dropbox has since added this feature, but I still prefer to use SugarSync for this because I have more space available and don’t have to worry about running low anytime soon.
Either way you prefer, these two services will give you a secure cloud storage capability that makes your digital life simpler. These give me a way to replace Floppies, CDs and DVDs to get data to someone that has Internet access.
Mike Halsey details Windows 7 in depth in Troubleshooting Windows® 7 Inside Out by discussing everything from the basics to the intricacies of virtualization. 
Halsey did a good job explaining a lot of the issues in a very easy to understand method, but sometimes critical details are not discussed. Partitioning is explained in depth and is explained very well, but partitions should be created relative to the size of the Hard Drive and is completely determined by how the user will be utilizing the space on the disk. I agree with his thoughts on shareware and to steer clear of it, but there are many great open source options out there under the GNU GPL that could give the user something free to accomplish their needs. A great example would be LibreOffice, a completely free alternative to Microsoft Office.
I really liked that Halsey included some Linux based tools for recovering from disaster when it hits. There have been many times when I have used Ubuntu or some other flavor or Linux to resolve an issue. Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone wanting an in-depth view into dealing with some of the common and even some of the not so common issues faced when working in a Windows 7 environment. There is a lot of good information, but it may not be easy to find since the index isn’t very detailed. Additionally, if you want details on how to do something covered in the book, it is a good idea to read the entire chapter for the extra bits of information in the INSIDE OUT snippets.
