Milton PC petercook.com.au

Feed Hungry Americans

2009-09-12T07:30:00.003+10:00

If you have a Windows computer and you still use Internet Explorer 6 then go to this site Browser for the Better and download Internet Explorer 8. Microsoft will donate meals to needy Americans and you'll get a better browser, for free.

Ubuntu 9.04

2009-04-05T18:53:00.003+10:00

I've been using Ubuntu on various machines for a few years now. The last version was 8.10 which released October 2008. I connected an Optus 3G USB stick and booted up the computer and after answering a few short questions it connects each time I boot up automatically, no hassle. I have more trouble getting XP pro to detect the stick correctly.

If you have an old PC bogged down with viruses, spyware and other clutter then wipe it clean and load Ubuntu. If you have a new PC with a huge hard drive then why not run the Ubuntu installation CD and make use of the space you may never use. You can have Windows and Ubuntu on the same hard drive and you just choose which to use when you turn the computer on. You can also access your Windows files when using Ubuntu and if or when Windows gets sick just boot up Ubuntu and get online and find a solution, or just stay on Ubuntu.

Small Handy Laptops

2008-08-11T21:32:00.004+10:00

There are now a number of small laptops available for under $1000 (AUS). There are also a number of normal sized laptops available at this price but they are not so portable. I think these smaller laptops could be a good alternative to a pda.
Here is a list of the websites of the currently available devices:
Acer Aspire One
ASUS eee PC
HP Mini 2133
MSI U100 Wind
All these laptops would be fine for internet, email and basic file editing and because they are small one could sit on a table or bench and give quick access to the internet. The thing they need is to have instant on like a pda though if you plug one into mains power you could leave it on standby.

Content Management Systems

2008-04-19T08:32:00.004+10:00

I have been playing with the following website building content management systems,

A CMS (content management system) provides a skeleton site which can then be adapted to suit your needs. The style can be changed and functions can be added and removed. Most CMS have functions for adding users and storing user information and records. General systems like Drupal and Typo3 can be used to make sites with forums and blogs but lots of other features can be added.
Some CMS are built for a special purpose. Moodle is one of these. It provides a platform for online course management. Other systems exist for building online shops, blogs, forums, wikis and customer support.

Windows XP or Vista ?

2008-01-05T15:58:00.000+11:00

If you are wondering whether to get a new PC with Windows Vista then take a look at the February edition of the PC Authority magazine. It has a comparison of XP and Vista over various categories. Overall they have Vista coming out on top but in the last two categories, Performance and Responsiveness they rate XP as better than Vista.
For now I think I will stick with XP. Vista certainly looks very nice but I think I will wait and see what they come up with next.

2007-11-26T19:55:00.000+11:00

This entry has been made using Google Docs. It is a test to see how the format is effected when it is displayed in a blog.

This is a heading

This is written in Georgia font.

point one
point two
point three

The picture should be centred.

Which leader are we searching for?

2007-10-30T20:54:00.000+11:00

Google have an interesting tool called Google Trends which can be used to see how much people search for various terms.
If you enter "fishing" you get the following graphic:You can search for more than one term and make comparisons. So are Australians searching more for John Howard or Kevin Rudd? The following image gives a comparison for searches from Australia for the last 30 days:

So what does it tell us? Who is going to win the election? I've got no idea.
See the Google Trends page for the various search options and more details.

Ramblings

2007-10-27T11:22:00.000+10:00

After a bit of experimenting I have decided to move my ramblings to this blog. The top heading links to my website. The top sub-headings link to the sections of my site except for the Ramblings link which points back to this blog.