Technology. Without Error

Launchy

I have used a lot of desktop enhancements, program launchers, docks and I can tell you that Launchy is one of the least intrusive and one of the most useful application launcher. Launchy is a keyboard friendly program(or whatever’s on your PC) launcher. Type in the first few letters of whatever you want to start and Launchy would provide you with a list of matches for those keys. The best thing is, you’ve got an integrated calculator (type and you get the result) as well as integrated search. Plus you can type in all those URLs directly to load them on your default browser (It would’ve been better if Launchy allowed you to set your browser preferences, but then that’s not too much of a problem) If you’ve got Chrome as your default browser then it works super fast. But if you’re like me and prefer to use Firefox, look for the solution below.

Firefox

Firefox. Now I guess I don’t need to even explain this. Most of my stuff is online, just like everyone’s and my browser is my window to the internet. Now if I don’t have the best browser around, then I’m probably missing something. Add extensions and you’ve got one customized superpowered supercharged superbrowser!

Chrome

Now that doesn’t mean I don’t like Chrome. I find Chrome to be perfect in many aspects, especially when it comes to loading time, minimalist interface and the way in which it really merges into the internet. It makes you feel as if there is no browser, its just the internet. Plus, the background updates (I’m going to update to the latest version anyway, so its better if the application does that for me) Chrome is also an awesome companion to Launchy especially when you create applications for web services. You can use launcy to load your Chrome gmail app by just typing in “gm”

Update: I’ve recently shifted to Chrome and I find that it’s more suited to my web browsing tasks than firefox.

Destroy twitter

I’m on twitter and you can follow me here. Everyone has their own favorite when it comes to twitter client and it just happens that I take a fancy to using Destroy twitter. I tend to use the twitterfox extension for Firefox as well, but then DT has to be my favourite AIR app.

Tray it

Tray it is a tiny piece of software which lets you minimize applications to the tray. They run in the background, as simple as that. I like doing that with many of my applications and you can find Firefox, DT and my mail client on my system tray. Having firefox on my tray lets me set up Firefox as my default browser and use Launchy to run searches/URLs real quick (since Firefox is always running in the background). Plus, if you’re a Firefox fan, there’s no way you would want to close the application anyway. Just minimize and send it to the tray.

Rocketdock

A dock is something which I have installed just because it looks good. The best part about a Mac is now available for a windows PC as well. Of the many dock applications, my favourite has been the Rocket dock suite. Easy to use and as light as it comes.

The browser boots up, and gives me a list of all those addons which need updates. Of course I’d like to have the latest version. Isn’t it why I had it installed there in the first place? If its my unlucky day, even Firefox would need an update. And there is nothing I can do except wait until all those messy updates are done. Wait, there’s more..After the updates comes the installation. Its very frustrating I need to use a browser quickly for 2 minutes and I need to wait for 5 minutes until Firefox is done dressing up itself. And I almost forgot, update the browser and be assured that atleast 3 out of 5 extensions wouldn’t be compatible. Very, very frustrating.
Chrome updates in the background. I don’t care what you download as long as its from a trusted vendor. 5 seconds and its ready to browse the web, anytime of the day. Installing extensions or themes is just instantaneous with chrome, no restart required.
Because at the end of the day, all I want is to have is to browse the internet. Not just keep looking at progress screens of addons getting updated. Now that Chrome has all extensions I use on Firefox, its been days since I’ve clicked on the Firefox browser. I’ve still not decided to uninstall Firefox, but then I’m getting there.

P.S. When I opened WordPress to write down this post, I was informed that WordPress needed to update to 2.9.1. Here I go again…

The open source chromium OS on which Google Chrome OS is based on, was launched yesterday and soon many torrents were teeming with the Developer preview edition of the Chromium OS. I tried out Chromium from gdgt who had files for running them off virtualbox, (virtual machine software from Sun Microsystems) . The Chrome OS img itself was around 300 MB compressed and I had to download Virtualbox as well. Gdgt requires you to sign up before you download and you can use your facebook account to accelerate the process(Though, in my opinion they do ask for a lot more fb rights than actually required)

If you do not know what the chrome OS is all about, watch the video below:

If you have not setup a virtual machine before, try using this link here for a complete guide.

The Chromium OS login: Enter your gmail id/pw. I used a makeshift id; just in case.

The Chromium OS with a new tab open

The Menu?

These are the specs of the Virtual machine I used to run Chromium OS. And considering I loaded it on my Netbook, it took around 20 seconds to boot up. If I to install it, I’m sure time boot time would be less than 10 seconds.

Watch the Chrome OS launch:

I got myself a new ASUS EEE PC Seashell netbook last week and have been busy setting it up, customizing it and getting software. Considering that a netbook is meant to run more as an secondary system rather than your only laptop, netbooks are not usually as powerful as laptop (why is why they’re called netbooks, duh..)

Even though they’re called netbooks , its not exactly possible to ensure that they’re always connected to the internet. What if the friendly neighborhood cafe did not have free wifi? And Netbooks without the power of the net are well, just books. Or so we have been lead to believe. Until the making this list that is. My list of perfect software had to make sure it fulfilled two primary needs. Firstly, to be able to run on a machine with limited processing abilities. Secondly, the capability to be used even when you did not have internet access.

Browser: Chrome

Chrome had to be the browser of choice. Light, fast and easy to load. I still am a fan of firefox on my laptop but for my netbook I chose the ultra light chrome with the power of Google Gears. That makes sure I can read my feeds offline, my mail offline, my blog and loads of other Gears compatible stuff offline.

Edited on July 17, 2009: Firefox takes over my netbook. Its impossible not to use firefox especially considering that the internet is the center of your netbook. Plus the font rendering on firefox is much more adaptable to netbooks, which means its much more comfortable to browse the web.

Mail: Thunderbird

I couldn’t find a better mail client than this so I had to surrender to the power of Mozilla. Handles multiple inboxes, junk/spam protection, easy to use. Just like all other good Mozilla products you get the power to use extensions just make sure that you are making an application heavier on a netbook. I just have the minimize to tray extension installed.

Chat: Pidgin

This open source chat agent had to take the cake when it came to chat. Lets me run multiple IM services, light and powerful. Though originally designed to run on linux, Pidgin is now available for windows as well. Pidgin is functional, has an interface that’s the least distracting and comes with a multitude of options to customize it. I use gtalk considering that its the lightest around, considering I do not need multiple IM support.

Office applications: Microsoft Works

I still am using the Microsoft works, but this section might update once I install the Open office. Still considering this section, so do leave your choices in the comments section.

Blogging: Blogdesk

For the first time, I’ve considered the use of an offline blogging tool and after trying quite a few of them, I’ve decided that Blogdesk, albeit its limitations is the winner. Blogdesk has support for most common blogging platforms. I would have recommended the use of Scribefire extension if I were using firefox, but since this is a list, Blogdesk is a blogging tool with a functional interface, but lets you write blogs offline, save them and post them later.

Antivirus: AVG

This is really easy. You would want to keep the resource usage to a minimum and still ensure protection. Stick to AVG . Does a good job and is light on the processor as well.

Desktop enhancements: Launchy

Well, just because its a netbook doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dress up your desktop. How about a OSX styled dock? Rocketdock is only of the fastest and lightest docks out there. I would recommend using Launchy , the keyboard based program launcher especially since it works wonders when the super fast chrome is your default browser.

A recent survey reveals that most enterprises still love to flaunt Internet Explorer as their default browser. Most of the security updates in the organization are for IE as well. Major reasons which could be attributed to this are:

1. It is bundled with Microsoft windows.
2. Most Microsoft office applications work better with IE
3. Outlook Webaccess works better with Internet explorer
4. Microsoft sharepoint services work with Internet explorer
5. Its easier to put in admin policies for a non-open source browser
6. Other software used in the organization are dependent on Internet explorer
7. It gets updated with the windows updater
8. Its “Microsoft” Internet Explorer.
9. The admin does not know about Firefox or Chrome
10. There is so much you can do with Internet explorer
11. There are no Macs which run Safari or Firefox
12. Users have trouble learning to use any browser other than IE
13. The IT policy says so.

Let us know what you think in the comments..Should IE be the browser of choice in organizations?