Extension Watch: Syncpad for Simplenote

Mar 11, 2013 GMT

As the name suggests, the Syncpad for Simplenote extension for Google Chrome and Chromium allows you to access your notes stored with the Simplenote service without leaving the convenience of the browser. Using the extension, you can view a list of all existing notes, search through them, and filter notes by tags. Click on any note in the list to open it for editing. In the editing mode, you can pin the note and assign tags to it. The extension also supports Markdown, and you can preview formatted text by clicking on the Toggle markdown format button. Of course, Syncpad for Simplenote also allows you to create new notes as well as delete...

Monitor ACPI with yacpi

Mar 08, 2013 GMT

yacpi is a small utility that lets you check the battery status, the current CPU governor mode, and CPU data from the command line. If you are running Debian or Ubuntu (or any of their derivatives), you'll be pleased to learn that yacpi is available in the official software repositories. This means that you can install the utility by running the apt-get install yacpi command as root. As is often the case, the repositories contain a slightly older version of the utility, so if you want to install the very latest release of yacpi, you have to compile it from source. Fortunately, yacpi has only few dependencies (libc6-dev, libncurses5-dev and...

Control LibreOffice Presentations with an Android Device

Mar 07, 2013 GMT

Using a mobile device to control presentations is not a new idea, but it's still a very good one. So if you rely on LibreOffice Impress as your presentation tool of choice, and you happen to have an Android device, then you can turn the latter into a nifty remote control using the LibreOffice Impress Remote app. Before you put the app to some practical use, you need to do some preparatory work. First of all, install LibreOffice 4.0.0 or higher on your machine. On Ubuntu and its derivatives, this can be done using packages from the LibreOffice PPA: sudo apt-add-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install libreofficeLaunch LibreOffice Impress, choose Tools...

Read and Manage RSS Feeds with NewsBlur

Feb 28, 2013 GMT

Google Reader is the go-to RSS aggregator for many users who prefer to get their regular RSS fix from the convenience of the browser. But despite being an excellent all-around tool for managing and reading RSS feeds, Google Reader is not what it used to be. The application hasn't received any major updates in a while, and it begins to feel dated. Fortunately, Google Reader is not the only fish in the sea, and if you are ready to try something new and different, you might want to take a closer look at NewsBlur. This open source RSS aggregator offers a fresh take on managing multiple RSS feeds and features some clever tools for sifting through hundreds and even thousands of RSS articles. ...

Copy Files on a Local Network with bcp

Feb 25, 2013 GMT

Need to quickly copy a file between machines on a local network? There are several tools that can do the job, including bcp. This tiny utility lets you broadcast and fetch individual files on the local network. To deploy bcp, grab the latest source code from the project's GitHub repository and compile it: git clone git://github.com/jwilberding/bcp.git cd bcp makeMove the created bcp binary to the /usr/bin directory, and make it executable by running the chmod +a /usr/bin/bcp command as root. To share a file, use the bcp filename command which broadcasts the file on the network. To fetch the file from any other machine on the network, simply issue the bcp command. No muss, no fuss.

nanoConverter: Delightfully Simple Currency Converter for Android

Jan 30, 2013 GMT

A currency converter on your Android device can come in handy in many situations, but which one should you choose? Well, you can't go wrong with nanoConverter. This app has the virtue of doing one thing, but doing it exceptionally well. Like any currency converter worth its salt, nanoConverter supports multiple currencies, and you can choose currency pairs on-the-fly. Using the app couldn't be easier: select the currency pair, enter the desired amount in the Amount field, and behold the result in the Results field. nanoConverter supports multiple exchange rate sources, including the Central European Bank and Forex. The app doesn't require...

Extension Watch: View PDF Files in Mozilla Firefox with PDF Viewer

Jan 29, 2013 GMT

Don't you just hate it when you click on a PDF link in Mozilla Firefox and the browser offers you to download the file? Fortunately, the PDF Viewer add-on provides a quick fix to the nuisance. With the add-on installed, the browser opens PDF files in a simple and elegant viewer. The viewer interface is not overloaded with features, but it does include essential tools that allow you to download and print the opened PDF file, zoom in and out on the current page, jump to a specific page, and perform searches. In addition to that, the sidebar can be used to display the document's outline or thumbnails. In short, if you use Firefox as your...