Top 5 Mistakes Made by Linux First-Timers

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/13/AR2010101307731_pf.html

Katherine Noyes
PC World
Thursday, October 14, 2010; 12:19 AM

With the arrival of Ubuntu 10.10, the list of reasons to try Linux for your business just got a little longer. The free and open source operating system is now more user-friendly than it's ever been before while still offering the many security and other advantages it has over its competitors.

If you're among the legions of new Linux users out there, congratulations on making a smart move! Now that you're on your way to a lifetime of freedom from high costs, vendor lock-in, constant malware attacks, and the many other disadvantages associated with Windows and Mac OS X, you should be aware of some of the classic mistakes Linux newcomers sometimes make.

None of these should be deal-breakers, by any means. Nevertheless, an early heads-up can help prevent unnecessary frustration. Without further ado, here are five key things you should avoid when starting out with desktop Linux.

Humans are creatures of habit, so after years of using Windows--or Mac, if that's the case--it's hard not to expect what you're used to every time you use a computer.

Ubuntu and recent Linux distributions have incorporated many user-friendliness features from their Windows and Mac competitors in recent years, so there is actually going to be quite a bit of similarity these days--much more than there used to be. When it comes right down to it, though, even consumer-ready Maverick Meerkat isn't Windows, and you shouldn't expect it to be.

This is not--I repeat, NOT--to say that things are harder. Linux is not more difficult to use, especially if you're on a modern distro like Ubuntu. It is, however, different. It might take you a little bit of time to get used to its slightly different way of doing things. Don't let that put you off--a small learning curve will gain you a lifetime of advantages.

One of the big differences between Linux and Windows is that Linux users don't typically have "root," or administrator, access. That's a very good thing for security, and it's something you should take care to preserve by not running as root unnecessarily.

That said, you should not fear running as root, either. There are some tasks that require root privileges, and for good reason. Just make sure you do it only when necessary.

If you're coming to Linux from Windows, for example, you're used to the hunt-and-peck approach to finding new software packages online--and then, doubtless, paying dearly for them. One of the beauties of Linux, however, is that it makes this process much easier--not to mention generally free.

Most every Linux distribution has a package manager, and that's one of the first things you need to find. In Ubuntu, it's the Ubuntu Software Center, and it is your friend. With the package manager, you'll be able to find just about any software you need, and probably for free.

It's a testament to how far Linux--and operating systems in general--have come that many people have never had to use a command line. With distributions like Ubuntu Maverick Meerkat, you still won't have to, for most purposes.

Don't live in fear of the command line, though. It's no more difficult to type in a few short commands than it is to click through the necessary screens in a GUI, and it can be both faster and more effective. I'm not saying you need to seek it out, necessarily, but if something comes up that requires it, don't stress out.

Change can be hard, no matter how simple the technology you're changing to might actually be. It's important to remember that you weren't born knowing how to run Windows or OS X, either--you had to learn and get used to it.

Same goes with Linux. It might feel a little different from what you're used to, but that doesn't mean it's hard or bad--it's just different. Stick with it just a little longer, though, and you'll soon stop noticing the areas where it's different from Windows or Mac. Stay a little longer, and you'll start seeing that many of the ways Linux does things actually make more sense. After that, it won't be long before you can't imagine going back.

Follow Katherine Noyes on Twitter: @Noyesk.

Google官方SEO培训

http://www.williamlong.info/blog/archives/571.html -月光微博客

　　今天下午，参加了一个Google举办的网络视频会议"Google搜索引擎质量指南-SEO三部曲"，这个网络培训主要是讲SEO的，网站的站长对Google搜索引擎的收录和排名情况是非常关心的，Google的这次培训主要讲述Google搜索引擎在设计与内容，技术细节，质量控制等方面的规范，为站长全面的介绍一个优质的网站所要达到的具体标准，并介绍了Google官方推荐的SEO方法。

　　这次培训主要包含以下内容：

　　·搜索引擎优化-网站的设计与内容

　　·搜索引擎优化-网站的技术细节

　　·搜索引擎优化-网站的质量控制

　　质量指南

　　内容为王，用户是上帝

　　链接设置与站点提交

　　搜索引擎之外的流量获取

　　1、重在内容，服务用户（避免跳转）

　　2、避免重复内容

　　3、避免恶意网站

　　4、链接交换联盟（不要随意参加国际交换链接联盟、和内容关联的网站交换链接、不和作弊网站交换链接）

　　5、避免隐藏链接

　　6、提交网站到搜索引擎

　　7、其他获得幼稚流量的方法（电子邮件、博客、微博、RSS Reader； 地面推广，目的：媒体记录和报道； 社区推广，口碑营销。）

　　Google SEO培训视频在线观看地址：

　　第一课 http://www.quanshi.com/google/google100728/google100728.html

　　第二课 http://www.quanshi.com/google/google100811/google100811.html

Gain Administrator Access Without a Password

http://www.pcworld.com/article/206809/gain_administrator_access_without_a_password.html?tk=hp_new

Lincoln Spector, PCWorld

Oct 11, 2010 7:36 am

Alexleonardme acquired a used PC but doesn't have an administrator password. He asked the Windows forum for help.

There are a number of ways to gain access to a password-protected administrator account. I'll offer two.

The first one is quick and easy, but only works in XP. If the used PC runs Vista or Windows 7, skip the next three paragraphs.

XP contains a backdoor entrance to administrator control. The following will only work if the previous owner didn't know enough to close the backdoor.

First, boot into Safe Mode: Start your PC, and press F5before the Windows logo appears. (It may take a few tries to get the timing right.) From the resulting Boot menu, select Safe Mode. When the logon screen appears, it will probably contain a user you've never seen before, Administrator, that does not have a password. Thus, you can enter Windows as an administrator-level user.

Once inside Windows, you can use Control Panel's User Accounts applet to change the password on the other administrator account or create a new one for yourself. And while you're there, you might also want to add a password to the Administrator account in order to close the backdoor. But that's probably the case.

If you're using Vista or Windows 7, or if someone closed that backdoor already, you can remove the administrator password with Ubuntu Linux. This gets a little complicated, so follow it closely.

If you don't already have a live Ubuntu Linux CD, download the current version. Double-click the just-downloaded .iso file. Windows might start a program that burns your Ubuntu CD. If it doesn't, download and install ISO Recorder, then try again. Simply copying the .iso file to a CD won't work.

The instructions below are based on Ubuntu version 10.04.1 LTS--the most current version as I write this.

Once you've created the disc, boot off the CD. When asked, click the Try Ubuntu button.

You'll first need to install the software: From the menus in the top-right corner of the screen, select System, Administration, Software Sources.

In the resulting window, check the two options not yet checked: Community-maintained Open Source software (universe) and Softrware restricted by copyright or legal issues (multiverse). Click Close, then Reload.

After the program is done processing, select System, Administration, and Synaptic Package Manager from the top-right corner menus.

In the resulting window's Search field, enter chntpw. A program with that name should appear in the list of packages below. Click it and select Mark for installation. Click theApply toolbar icon. Click Apply, and wait until the installation is complete.

Now mount your drive: From the top menus, select Places, then your internal hard drive or Windows partition. When it's mounted, a File Browser window (much like Windows Explorer) will appear.

By double-clicking the folder icons, go to the Windows drive's Windows\system32\config folder. Leave this window up.

Now you can remove the password.

From the top menus, select Applications, Accessories, Terminal. This brings up a black window similar to Windows' command line (or the DOS box for you old-timers).

Arrange these two windows so that you can see the top section of the File Browser window behind the Terminal window.

In the Terminal command line window, type cd /media/(note the SPACE after cd) and the path to your config folder, using the folder names at the top as a guide. I wish I could simply tell you to type "cd /media/windows/system32/config", but unlike the Windows command line, Ubuntu's Terminal is case sensitive. Depending on what version of Windows you're trying to reclaim, it may be windows/system32 or Windows/System32, and Ubuntu won't see it if you get the case wrong.

When it's typed, press ENTER.

Now type sudo chntpw -u logon SAM, where logon is the logon name for the administrator account. For instance, if you're trying to take over my account, you'd entersudo chntpw -u Lincoln SAM. Remember, everything here is case sensitive, including the logon name.

After you hit ENTER, a lot of text will scroll up very quickly. If you entered the text correctly, the last section will begin ". . . . User Edit Menu:"

Now press 1 (the number, not lower-case L), then ENTER.

At the resulting question, press y.

When the program is done, click the power button logo in the upper-right corner and reboot into Windows. The account in question will no longer require a password.

Read the original forum discussion.

Add your comments to this article below. If you have other tech questions, email them to me at answer@pcworld.com, or post them to a community of helpful folks on the PCW Answer Line forum.

Google's new robot car: Crazy good or crazy crazy?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20019139-71.html

There is something charming about engineers who decide they will alter the world. Just because they can.

So Google's announcement that it has already been testing cars that drive themselves should be met by warm feelings in many of one's more imaginative nerve-endings.

As I grasp this vastly ambitious project, Google is intending that these cars, manned as they are by vast arrays of excellent soft- and hardware, will avoid crashes and allow for fuel savings and more cars on the road (as, deductive reasoning goes, there will be no crashes). They will also allow drivers to get drunk to skunk levels, given that no self-respecting Google car would actually let the drivers take the wheel, even when they're sober.

While several parts of me want to emit songs from the works of the finest gospel authors, there are other parts that yield a B-flat of discomfort.

I am not one of those who whines that Google shouldn't dare develop such a car because there is no obvious route to profit. This is quite clearly R&D set to the rhythm of R&B. Google is reaching for the soul within its copious brains.

One problem, though, lies in what lies within that soul.

Soon we will all be driving them. Or will they all be driving us? (Real picture, by the way. Marin County, Calif.)

(Credit: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

I have the troubling impression that these robot cars will only be efficacious if everyone is driving them. After all, you could have lots of fine responsible people from Marin County, Calif., smugly pottering about in their Googlized Priuses, and still some wayward tourist in a hire car or some manic depressive in a Pontiac could ram them up the back, causing misery and injury in equal measure.

So if everyone needs to get a Googlized Prius, this would seem to feed quite handily into Google's implicit brand trait of wanting everyone to be clutched tightly to its bosom. Which is not so much communist, as just plain dull.

And I am attempting to ignore the fact that Google could, indeed, with all its fine GPS sensorship, track you along every inch of your route. It could also send you nice ads on your laptop or GPS screen, as you'll have all your attentive abilities at the company's full disposal.

The second slight niggle feels even more uncomfortable and therefore even more fundamental. For it concerns the fun part of driving. While some have conjectured that if you don't have to drive your car, you can therefore have more time to search Google for pottery or pornography, I am concerned that your Googlized Prius removes your ability to, well, drive.

Google has declared that these cars can be programmed to drive cautiously or a little more aggressively. But the whole point of driving is that it is not programmed. Sometimes, you just want to put your foot on the gas, waft past the people carrier full of sightseers or pot smokers, and, perhaps, even waft past the speed limit.

One presumes that this might be a little more difficult if your car has to be programmed. And, of course, if your car has to be a Prius.

One can, of course, admire the sheer insane audacity of wresting the steering wheel away from such characters as the Mazda SUV driver who flashed his headlights at me in the outside lane last week and offered me several mouthfuls of breakfast when I seemed to be reluctant. (There were solid white lines either side of me. And, well, did I mention he was driving a Mazda SUV?)

But surely the most important piece of engineering that one's Googlized Prius would require would be the manual override. I mean, we're not really supposed to trust our brains, our enjoyment, AND our lives to Google's software, are we? Wouldn't that be just a little too much?

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20019139-71.html#ixzz11ytz8ibQ

Speccy - Show your System Information

http://www.piriform.com/speccy

Piriform products

CCleaner - Optimization and Cleaning
Defraggler - Disk Defragmentation
Recuva - File Recovery
Speccy - System Information

What's in your computer? If you're like most of us, you can probably name the processor (Intel or AMD, Celeron or Pentium), maybe how much RAM it has, and maybe how big the hard drive is.

When you go to a computer store and see all the bright shiny PCs laid out next to each other, most will have tags or stickers indicating the:

• Processor brand and model
• Hard drive size and speed
• Amount of memory (RAM)
• Graphics card
• Operating system

Two or three years later, when it comes time to upgrade your computer, that tag or sticker may be long gone. Speccy was designed as a free electronic "what's inside" sticker for your PC.

Isn't this information in Windows?

Yes and no. Some of the basic information can be found by right-clicking My Computer and then clicking Properties. The General tab lists some statistics, and the Device Manager on the Hardware tab lists all of the hardware you've got installed. But it misses out lots of information that you need.

Speccy will give you detailed statistics on every piece of hardware in your computer. Including CPU, Motherboard, RAM, Graphics Cards, Hard Disks, Optical Drives, Audio support. Additionally Speccy adds the temperatures of your different components, so you can easily see if there's a problem!

Why do I need Speccy?

At first glance, Speccy may seem like an application for system administrators and power users. It certainly is, but Speccy can also help normal users, in everyday computing life.

If you need to add more memory to your system, for example, you can check how many memory slots your computer has and what memory's already installed. Then you can go out and buy the right type of memory to add on or replace what you've already got.

If you're going to be selling your PC, you can use Speccy to quickly list out the components. Or, if you're buying a PC, you can use Speccy to check that the computer has what the label says it has.

Also, Speccy comes in handy for support. If you're on the phone with technical support and they want to know what video card you have installed, there's no need to hunt around Windows. Speccy has all the information on one easy-to-understand screen.

How to check your Computer’s Hardware Components?

http://www.windows7news.com/2010/07/01/ever-wanted-to-check-your-computers-hardware-components/

Well, Windows itself has a shortcut tool allowing you to peek inside the box.

1. Press WinKey + R.
2. In the Run box, type msinfo32.exe
3. Click the Ok button.
4. The System Informaton windows opens.

Note: In the left hand section clicking the + button opens additional details.

Taking a Peek!

The Device Manager contains a lot of useful information but lacks detail. For example suppose you want information on the RAM installed on your computer, whether you have any free slots how do you find out apart from opening up the computer itself.

The answer to this is to download a useful little tool called Speccy. Speccy is a sophisticated System Information tool for your PC.

It is available from this WebSite: http://www.piriform.com/speccy/download/standard

Speccy will give you detailed statistics on every piece of hardware in your computer. Its opening screen displays a Summary of all components in the right hand side of its screen. On the left is a list of individual components. Clicking on each one opens a new windows detailing information on the component selected.

Here is the opening screen for Speccy.

Summary of My Computer's Hardware

In the next screen I checked on the RAM on board.

Details of the RAM on my computer

This is a very handy little tool one worth adding to your collection. As a matter of interest, the same website Piriform has other goodies – Ccleaner (Optimization and Cleaning), Defraggler (Disk Defragmentation) and Recuva (File Recovery).

As yet I haven't checked these other applications!

Javascript slideshows, carousels and sliders

http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/top-10-javascript-slideshows-carousels-and-sliders

When you're looking for a very eye-candy way to display your content, slideshows are always a good choice. Here's our selection of 10 cross-platform, absolutely stunning slideshows, carousels and sliders, based on Mootools, JQuery, Yahoo! User Interface, and Script.aculo.us.

Written by Jean-Baptiste Jung • Published on August 7th, 2008

SpaceGallery

SpaceGallery is a new JQuery plugin that provide an impressive Time Machine like effect to your images. Very good.

Noobslide

Definitely one of my favorite slideshow. Based on Mootools, Noobslide allows numerous variations and customization, despite of its lack of offical documentation.
Anyways, we recently published Noobslide tutorials, this one for the first sample and another one for sample 7.

SmoothGallery

In my opinion, SmoothGallery is one of the best Javascript slideshows available. In addition of the "classic" sliding effect, Smoothgallery also provide a very smooth fading between items. We're using on our homepagehere at CatsWhoCode. If you're interested about integrating SmoothGallery to your blog homepage, you should definitely read this tutorial.

jQuery Multimedia Portfolio

Based on JQuery, jQuery Multimedia Portfolio can handle a large variety of media : text, photos, but also flv videos and mp3 audio and is simple to use. A good script.