Productivity Sauce

Installing Firefox on Puppy Linux

Sep 26, 2009 GMT

SeaMonkey, the default browser in Puppy Linux, is good, but what if you prefer Firefox? No problem, it takes only a few simple steps to install your favorite browser onto Puppy Linux. Download the latest version of Firefox from Mozilla's Web site. Use then the following command to unpack the downloaded archive into the root directory: tar -jxvf firefox-x.x.x.tar.bz2Launch then the Rxvt terminal and run the firefox command. Instead of launching Firefox from the command line, you can create a desktop shortcut. To do this, drag the firefox script in the firefox directory onto the desktop. To change the generic script...

Format Writer Documents with Any Markup

Sep 25, 2009 GMT

Although I use OpenOffice.org Writer for all of my writings, most publishers I write for require plain text files with a dash of markup formatting. This means that pretty much none of my articles are delivered as .odt files. So before I can send the article, I have to format it using one of many markup dialects. For example, all my blog posts must be formatted using markup supported by eZ Publish software, while articles for Linux Pro Magazine must be formatted using a special in-house markup.Doing formatting manually is both tedious and time-consuming, so I wrote an OpenOffice.org macro that does the donkey job for me. The way the macro works is pretty simple: it searches for formatted...

Using Eye-Fi Card on Linux

Sep 24, 2009 GMT

The Eye-Fi card is a nifty solution for adding wireless capabilities to virtually any digital camera, but it does have one serious drawback: the card relies on proprietary software that runs only on Windows and Mac OS X. Fortunately, the standalone Eye-Fi server written in Python will happily run on Linux, courtesy of the enterprising hacker Jeff Tchang. Better yet, the server is extremely easy to configure and run. You do need to have access to a Windows or Mac OS X machine to initialize your Eye-Fi card, though. This must be done in order to obtain the upload key required for the Eye-Fi server to function properly. On a Windows machine, install the Eye-Fi manager software and use it to...

WikiCrowd: Lightweight Wiki for Collaborative Editing

Sep 23, 2009 GMT

There are a few things that set WikiCrowd apart from other wiki engines. Take, for example, its installation procedure. WikiCrowd doesn't require any database back-end, so you only need a machine with an Apache server and PHP 5.2 for it. WikiCrowd comes as a single install.php file which does the donkey job of installing the wiki on your server. Drop the file into the document root of your server and point your browser to http://yourserver/install.php. Fill out the required fields and specify the access rights for your wiki. You can either choose one of the available access profiles or specify your own by choosing the Your choice option and ticking the appropriate check boxes. Hit then...

Time for a New Puppy: Puppy Linux 4.3

Sep 19, 2009 GMT

Mac OS X Snow Leopard? Windows 7? Forget it. The coolest OS release of the year is Puppy Linux 4.3. By now you already know that I have a soft spot for Puppy Linux, so for me each new release of this nifty little distro is a cause for a minor celebration. And the freshly-baked Puppy Linux 4.3 is no exception. In fact, the previous 4.2 release left me somewhat unimpressed, so I've had especially high hopes for the 4.3 version coordinated by Barry Kauler himself. Let me tell you straight away -- I wasn't disappointed. Despite the minor version number bump, the new release represents "a massive upgrade, right from...

Flogr: Flickr Your Way

Sep 18, 2009 GMT

Flickr is, without doubt, an excellent service for shutterbugs and professional photographers alike, but if you are looking for a more streamlined interface that makes it easier for you to view and manage your precious shots, you might want give Flogr a try. This PHP-powered application doesn't add new functionality, but rather makes essential features more accessible and wraps them into a slick and easy-to-use interface. To install Flogr, you need a server running Apache and PHP. Grab the latest version of the application from the project's Web site, unpack the downloaded archive, and move the resulting directory...

Manage Tasks with myTinyTodo

Sep 16, 2009 GMT

Running a Web-based task manager on your own server makes a lot of sense, but what application should you choose? If you are looking for a lightweight, user-friendly task management tool, you might want to give myTinyTodo a try. This little app is easy to install, it offers all the essential features, and it sports a slick Ajax-based interface. To install myTinyTodo, grab the latest version of the application from the project's Web site, and unpack the downloaded archive. By default, myTinyTodo uses a SQLite database to store its data, but this requires the SQLite database installed and configured on your server....