The Barrel

We have recently covered how to use your Android phone to access the internet on your computer. This process is known as tethering. By connecting your phone, via a USB cable, to your computer you are able to use the phone’s data connection to browse the web on your computer. In places where there aren’t any wireless hotspots, tethering is incredibly useful.

Yikes I guess I was ahead of the curve I used this months ago but it is neat use of a phone but watch the battery they go fast, Baldy

As a homeschooling parent, I’m a big fan of educational software and I’ve written quite about about various programs in the past. But, as a programmer, I’m also a big fan of any program that makes computer programming more approachable by younger children. So, when I heard about Scratch, I was pretty enthusiastic.

Really nice program to get kids interested in programming with over a million projects turned in it sounds as if a lot of folks like it , Baldy

If you are on the hunt for a do-everything photo management app, check out Album Shaper. Considering its solid, user-friendly design, Album Shaper is packed with a hefty toolset of features that newcomers to image manipulation programs will appreciate. That does not mean more experienced digital shutterbugs will feel left out. Album Shaper’s simple menu-driven structure, though, may make the app seem too basic for them. Just don’t let the simplicity lead you to that conclusion too hastily.

A little for everyone in this little gem, Baldy

Content control software, also commonly known as web filtering software, is software which is designed and optimised to determine what content can be viewed by the user. This software is particularly relevant to information supplied by a web browser.

Good read for those of you that have munchkins and also run Linux good parental tools, Baldy

I show step-by-step how you can setup your own using Ubuntu 10.04 super-computer. A student should be able to setup and play with a computer cluster system at home without spend days reading through Linux systems-administrators books and manuals.

This is a howto that is a must read for those wanting a super computer at a bargain price, Baldy

Linux’ share of the desktop market grew to 1.13 percent, says Net Applications, making Linux the only OS to gain in May. Meanwhile, Linux server revenue share grew to 16.8 percent, says IDC, and Linux is now running on 91 percent of the 500 fastest supercomputers. Linux has soared in recent years in the embedded world, especially with the Linux-based Android giving it a boost in smartphone sales. More fun is on the way, according to ABI Research, which recently projected that Linux-based mobile operating systems, led by Android, will own 33 percent of the global smartphone market by 2015, with a growth rate that is faster than the robust smartphone market at large.

Here is that report Randy, Baldy

Most of the people I know think Linux is very difficult for a layman to understand. They fear that after installing Linux they will not be able to do the normal tasks they do with Windows and thus they prefer paying money to Microsoft instead of even trying Linux.

I have been asking this question for years now, Baldy

It seems fair to say that the relationship between programmer and platform is in many ways like a romantic one, characterized by mutual respect and a balanced exchange of give and take on both sides. Just as so many of us love and respect Linux, for instance, so it surely loves us back with all its many virtues — no strings or price tags attached! So happy are many in the Linux community with their favorite OS, in fact, that it was difficult not to feel mortally wounded by a recent accusation that Linux does less for programmers than Microsoft does.

Humm this is getting to be a regular subject these days, Baldy

The last time I looked at SimplyMEPIS was the 8.0 release. In this review I’ll be taking a look at the latest version, SimplyMEPIS Linux 8.5.

A review worth checking out, but then I am a tad jaded towards Mepis to start, Baldy LOL

I have used a few converter programs on Linux in the past like, Avidemux, OggConvert, and Pitivi. However, a few months ago I stumbled on a media converter for Linux that I had not heard of before and discovered they had a deb file already created for Ubuntu Linux, so I figured it was worth the few clicks to check it out. I was surprised to discover a simplistically elegant interface although importantly it also worked perfectly each time I threw a “family video” at it.

Darn it really worked and without a ton of hassles and I have a old odd ball camera that up until now has been a “major project” to convert this is one I have to say thanks for the point in the right direction, Baldy