Apple’s SMS (Sudden Motion Sensor) has been used to create some pretty useful as well as useless programs. I wrote an article a few weeks ago about iAlertU and it’s uses. Smackbook is a program that makes use of the SMS to switch between workspaces in Leopard. To change workspaces, just tap the left or right side of your laptop. Here’s a quick look at what it does:

Now I know there are a lot of people out there who would not want to hit their laptop (me being one of them). There is another option for us, but unfortunately only for those of us who have MacBook Pros with the built in light sensor:

I have found a great tutorial that not only explains how to install Smackbook, but also shows you (yes it’s another video). Here’s the link: http://reviews.cnet.com/Turn_your_MacBook_into_a_SmackBook

Go here to download the light sensing version.

Go here to download the regular Smackbook.

What do you use to switch between the workspaces on your Mac? Let us know in the comments.

Do you have trouble installing the driver for your video card in Ubuntu? Does your XServer often crash or fail to start? Are you afraid to manually edit your xorg.conf because you might mess something up? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should give Envy a try.

Envy is a program written in Python that will automate the installation of video card drivers in Ubuntu. Envy works with several versions of Ubuntu and Debian and supports both ATI and NVIDIA graphics cards. Envy will detect the model of your video card and select the appropiate driver. It will then contact the appropriate website (ATI or NVIDIA) and package the driver. Next, it will install the driver package. Lastly, it will even configure your xorg.conf for you.

To use Envy, begin by downloading it from Alberto Milone’s website. If you use the new Hardy Heron version, you should download “EnvyNG“, otherwise download “Envy Legacy.” There is a table on the website that displays this information.

Next, install the Envy package you just downloaded. Once installed, Envy should be located in Applications –> System Tools –> Envy. Click on Envy to start the program. Envy can also be run from the terminal by typing ‘envy -g’. Envy will then prompt you for your admin password to continue. Once you type in your password and Envy opens, you should see the following window.

From here you can install and uninstall both ATI and NVIDIA drivers. To do so, simply click the corresponding option that applies to your system and then click ‘Apply’. This will start the installation process. A small terminal window will appear that will show you the status of the install.

Once the installation is complete, Envy will ask if you want your xorg.conf to be automatically configured. Unless you have dual monitors or some advanced monitor setup, I recommend clicking ‘Yes’ to this option.

Lastly, it will ask if you want to restart your computer now. Again, this is recommended.

This completes the installation process. If for some reason, when your computer restarts, your desktop environment (GNOME, KDE, etc) did not start, use the following commands:

envy -t
This will open envy using the textual interface
envy --uninstall-all
This will completely remove what Envy has done
reboot
This will completely restart your computer

For more information on Envy and how to install it, check out the following links.

Albertomilone.com – Envy wiki

Linuxgamingtoday.wordpress.com – Easily Install Nvidia Drivers Using Envy in Ubuntu

Ubuntu-tutorials.com – Restricted Drivers Manager vs Envy

Envy logo credited to http://www.albertomilone.com

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format commonly used to exchange documents. The beauty of PDF files is they don’t depend on what computer you use, or what kind of operating system you have, it always looks the same. This is perfect for exchanging documents between offices because they can use different hardware and still open the PDF file. This is also the case for college students like me, because professors prefer papers in PDF to ensure the readability of the file.

Open PDFs
To open a PDF file, all you need is a PDF reader. One of the most popular programs is Adobe Reader, which is available for Windows, Linux and Mac. However, some people feel Adobe Reader is too system intensive at times. If you are one of these people, or if you just want a lightweight PDF reader, Foxit Reader is for you.

Save PDFs
There are many programs that allow you to save files as PDF as well as convert files to PDF. You can actually configure a PDF printer that will allow you to “print” your files to a PDF file. In other words, instead of printing your file on paper via an inkjet printer, it will export any file in PDF format. If you already have a file and need to convert it to PDF, I recommend using a PDF converter such as PrimoPDF or ExpressPDF. If you are Mac user, saving to PDF is available in most versions of OS X by default.  If you are in need of an office suite that allows you to save files in PDF, give Open Office a try.

For more information on Open Office, read my recent post Open Office- The [Free] Microsoft Office Alternative.

For more information on printing to file take a look at these websites.

• Frogmorecs.com – Print to file options and software

• Mrkent.com – How to use Print-To-File

Edit PDFs
To edit a PDF, you will need a PDF editor such as Adobe Acrobat Profressional. However, this software is not free and afterall that is the name of the post. So, to edit PDF files try using an online PDF editor such as PDFescape or PDF Hammer.

For even more PDF software visit Wikipedia’s List of PDF Software.

Images are credited to the following sites respectively:

http://mediakey.dk/~cc/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/PDF-logo.png

http://software.u3.com/Admin/Images/Product/568foxitreader_full.jpg

Do you like the balloon popup notices that come up from the Windows toolbar? I absolutely hate them. I don’t need to know that I’ve connected because I can look at the icon and it will tell me. The balloons annoy me because they won’t close themselves. Have you ever wanted to just turn them off?? Here’s a quick how to:

First click the start button and click run. Type in Regedit

You should now see a screen like this:

Now we’re going to navigate to the correct subfolder so be patient. You’re going to want to click the + icon next to the following folders (moving from left to right):

HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Microsoft -> Windows -> CurrentVersion -> Explorer -> Advanced

You should now be in the Advanced folder and you’ll want to right click and select DWORD Value (it should look a little like this):

You’ll want to call your new file EnableBalloonTips and then right click -> click modify and then make sure the Value date is set to 0.

Recently I was setting up an old computer to be a file server and I wanted to place it in another room without a monitor or keyboard. To do this I needed to have remote access so I could control it from my desktop, or any computer for that matter. A friend of mine suggested that I give NoMachine NX a try. I had never heard of this program but I am glad he told me about it.

NoMachine NX is a remote access program that allows users to control a “server” from any computer with Internet access (the client). In other words, this program opens a window that allows you to see the desktop of your server computer. You can now control the computer as if you were sitting in front of it, as well as have access to its peripherals. I do this so that I can have my server computer do processor intensive tasks while I am working on my desktop.

One of the advantages to this software is security. Authorization credentials are encrypted once the connection is established to ensure a secure connection. NoMachine even allows you to share files and printers using Samba and CUPS.

NoMachine has several professional sever products for use by companies. To compare the features of these different NX products, look at the Features and Requirements. However, they do have a FREE sever edition that is available for Linux/Unix systems. The NX Free Edition comes with both the server and client and is available in 32 bit and 64 bit.

NX server can only be installed on Linux and Solaris systems but Windows users are not completely left out, since NX clients can control Windows “servers” via the Remote Desktop Protocol. NX server is designed to work with any Unix desktop environment, the Remote Desktop Protocol, as well as VNC. NX client is available for Windows, Linux, Mac, and Solaris.

If you download NX Free Edition you will need to install the NX server on the Linux/Unix computer you wish to control. This should take only take a few minutes since the install is fairly straightforward and NoMachine provides very useful documentation. In fact, there is a build compatible for most Linux systems systems.

Once the server software is installed, you need to install the NX client on the computer(s) you wish to control the “server” from. This again should not take long with the supplied builds for Linux, Windows, and Mac.

The final step is to setup a connection between the client and server. To do this, NoMachine provides a tool called NX Connection Wizard. This is where you enter the preferences for your connection such as the protocol, port number, size of the windows, and encryption.

If controlling a Linux system, a new X server session is started upon the initial connection. This way if someone is logged in to the “server” locally, they will not be kicked off by the remote user. In fact, with the Free Edition, two remote users can control the same “server” at the same time.

If you wish to control a “server” running Windows, you need to setup Remote Desktop for that computer. Then, in the NX Connection Manager choose “Windows” as the system and “RDP” as the protocol.

So if you are trying to control a “server” from different operating systems, or if you just aren’t having any luck with the other remote access software, be sure to give NX a try.

For more screenshots check out What NX looks like.

If you want to give NX a try before installing it for yourself, go to their test drive page.

To download NoMachine NX, visit their download page.

For a little more information on installing and setting up NoMachine, visit the following sites.

Linux.com – Get a remote display with NoMachine

Linux-Tip.net – How to install a free NX Server on Debian 4.0

Images were taken from the following websites respectively:

www.linspire.com/nomachineclient

http://www.nomachine.com/screenshots.php