how to
How to Reset/Restore Your iPhone 3G/3GS
March 2, 2010
In the past I’ve written about my experiences of Apple’s big iPhone 3.0 software update in which I’ve had my doubts over useful the update itself was and found that after two months I had to try to restore my (then) iPhone 3G PAYG as I suspected (or hoped) the problems I had were due to some corrupted files and not a hardware fault.
Now as much as I like to do my fair share of Apple-bashing like any decent PC user and coupled with the highly annoying iTunes sluggishness we experience in Windows, I have to admit that they have made managing your iPhone day-to-day in terms of synchronising, backing up and restoring it when needed very simple and effective.
Unfortunately, iPhones are not without their faults, issues and problems like any other mobile phone or mini-computer, the worst one I’ve experienced a few times now is everytime you try to start an app, it would then immediately crash! Handy eh? Suffice to say, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to become familiar with restoring and resetting the two iPhones that I’ve owned so far.
Continue reading »Linux Training Week: Which Distribution To Choose?
February 21, 2010
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Linux in the past week of using it is how versatile it is. I’ve concentrated on using Ubuntu 9.10 and found it to excel, in many ways, further than Windows and Mac OS X.
Of course Ubuntu is just one of the many distributions available out there, and Linux comes in many forms, including ones you may not expect; even Google’s Android OS runs off a modified version of the Linux kernel.
So with so many distributions to choose from, which should you go for? There are too many choices to cover, but there are definitely some main contenders. If you want an experience close to what you’re used to with Windows, you may want to consider openSUSE – an easy to use distribution with great hardware support and a Windows-esque start menu to match.
Continue reading »Linux Training Week: Customisation
February 19, 2010
One of the great things about any Linux distribution is the ability to customise the look and feel of it to your taste. Throughout the past week, I’ve discussed software availability, compatibility and ease of use, but I haven’t gone as far as modifying the way I use it.
Coming from using a MacBook Pro and its OS X operating system, I was eager to see what docks were available, as I’m accustomed to using a dock on Mac OS X. As well as modifying for added functionality, I also wanted to add a little eye candy with the help of Compiz.
Continue reading »Linux Training Week: Ease of Use
February 17, 2010
For most consumers, the number one factor when buying a computer is for it to ‘just work’ without them having to play around with various settings or install drivers for various hardware components.
There’s certainly quite a long way to go for many Linux distributions, but my experience so far with Ubuntu 9.10 has been painless, with everything seemingly slotting in to place and co-operating nicely. This also applies when installing software, and thanks to the Ubuntu Software Centre, it couldn’t be much easier…
With the introduction of the Software Centre, there’s now one place where the user can install, remove and update all of the software on their computer. Introduced with Ubuntu 9.10 in October, the functionality of the Software Centre will grow with the release of future versions, eventually replacing other applications such as the Synaptic Package Manager and taking over their functionality by incorporating it into the Software Centre.
Continue reading »Linux Training Week: Software Availability
February 16, 2010
One of the biggest issues when moving away from Windows is software availability; what we do on a computer isn’t defined by the operating system, but the third party software we use on that operating system. Because most of the software written for Linux operating systems is open source, it may be difficult to find a replacement for the everyday software that you use on Windows or Mac OS X.
Web Browsers and Email
Everybody has their favourite browser, and you’ll find many available for Linux. I chose to use Firefox (which is installed on Ubuntu by default), Google Chrome (my browser of preference on Windows and OS X) and Opera 10 Browser in addition to this.
When testing each browser, I found them to be on par with each other, although Opera was definitely slower than Firefox and Chrome. I found Chrome to be extremely fast and lightweight in comparison to Firefox, and it remains my browser of choice on Linux. If you make the switch, or already use Ubuntu, I definitely recommend checking Chrome out. Enabling Flash was also an easy process – I simply downloaded the plugin on first use and everything worked great.
Continue reading »Linux Training Week: Setup & Compatibility
February 15, 2010
If you saw our introductory post yesterday, you’ll know that this week on Zath is Linux training week! Over the next week, I’ll be using Ubuntu version of Linux in place of my norm of Mac OS X and Windows 7 to see how it stacks up against its rivals and whether it’s viable for the average computer user to make the switch.
Installing Linux on your hard drive is a much easier affair than it used to be, with an almost automated GUI that takes you through the necessary steps of installation. One of the computers I chose to install Ubuntu 9.10 on was my Mac Mini. I chose to install it side by side with Mac OS X as I didn’t want to erase my personal data or swap out the hard drive in the Mac Mini as it’s a rather tricky operation inside such a small case.
Continue reading »Linux Training Week – Introduction
February 14, 2010
5 years ago, the average person would have never heard of Linux or known what it is, but with the netbook boom carrying along many flavours of Linux with it, more people have become aware of open source alternatives to the Windows 7 operating system.
Despite this, many distributions of Linux are still too difficult to manage for the average computer user – most see ‘Windows’ as the only computer available, and the majority of PC users don’t see any advantage in switching operating systems after learning the ins and outs of Windows over the years.
Continue reading »TasteKid Review (How To Find Similar Music, Movies & Books)
January 20, 2010
Tastekid.com is a great website for anyone who is a love of music, movies and/or books and wishes to expand their library or collection with more similar artists, films or authors. I stumbled upon it whilst looking for a site that did exactly this and it was the first hit. To be honest, I have come to trust any site that hits the top of the prestigious Google rankings.
For instance in the case of music, the site is a database of all artists that are similar to the artist you enter in the search box at the top. Anyone who is a user of sites such as eBay or Amazon will know that they regularly suggest items similar to ones you have purchased before. Tastekid works in a similar fashion to this, only with music, movies and books.
Continue reading »Evernote Review (How To Get Organised & Remember Everything!)
January 13, 2010
It was purely by accident that I came across Evernote. Probably a result of some well planned marketing on their part, but sufficed to say, I was drawn in and carried out a little investigation into the service. I was intrigued and decided to download the program.
In the end I wasn’t disappointed. It is a simple idea which has been utilised to its full potential in my opinion. Basically, Evernote allows you to stay on the ball and organised with reminders, notes and more. They call it your ‘notable world’ and in all honestly I couldn’t have put it better myself.
So, I guess you’re all wondering by this point what it actually does. Well firstly, it allows you take text notes which you manually type in and store them in a pre-determined folder. This can include things such as shopping lists, to do lists and all things similar that you need to remember.
Continue reading »Unlocker Review (How To Remove Windows Restrictions When Deleting Files)
January 5, 2010
One of the most irritating things I find with Windows, even now with Windows 7, is that sometimes, for no apparent reason, Windows will reject any attempt to delete a file after a program that may or may not still be in use has taken control of it and refused to let go. Apparently my files really are that precious. But seriously it must be one of the most annoying things in the world, especially with no simple method of force deleting something.
You can imagine how happy I was when I stumbled upon a little application called Unlocker. Put simply, unlocker, as the name suggests, unlocks files from any connected programs that interfere when trying to move or alter a file.
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