Oct 312011
 

I’ve recently started to travel more for work, and with it, comes lots of miles from multiple airlines, as well as a plethora of rewards points from travel credit cards, hotels, and car rental agencies. Keeping track of it is a hassle, so I’ve recently discovered UsingMiles. I’t s like a mint.com for rewards points and frequent flyer miles, collating it all in one place, letting you know your status in each, the number of points or miles until the next level, and when they expire. You can even search for rewards flights directly from the site, which will bypass the really annoying search interfaces some airlines have.

Nov 262008
 

“Hi! Do you want to update your computer? No? Well, that’s no problem! I’ll just remind you in 5 minutes! [. . .]Now do you want to update? No? Well I’m a considerate fellow! I’ll just remind you in 5 minutes! [. . .]How about now? No? Oh, I think I finally understand you clearly now! I’ll just remind you in 5 minutes! [. . .]It’s been 5 minutes! What about now? Hello? Anyone there? Well, I’ve waited patiently for a minute, and you stood me up, but I’ll still be nice to you and put all your programs and windows away and restart your computer for you!” Don’t let Windows Automatic Updater ever bother you again. Here are two [more . . .]

Jun 272008
 

If you’re on your computer or online a few hours each day, and you go to a wide variety of web sites, or use lots of different programs, you have probably realized that using the mouse is a slow endeavor, and that keyboard shortcuts rock. Here are two that rock the hardest, in my opinion. 1. Launchy (http://www.launchy.net) Launchy is a text launcher that will revolutionize the way you use your computer. After installing, just press Alt-Space to pop up the launcher, and start typing the name of the program you want to launch, or even non-continuous letters of the program you would like to launch. Then, select from the list using the arrow keys the one that matches. Launchy [more . . .]

Jun 042008
 

Here’s a hypothetical situation that is all too real: A employee has in impeccable record on paper–graduated from Stanford, interned at all the big-name companies, years of experience in key projects at well-known places, both big and small, and a very smooth interviewer, and seems extremely engaged and excited about the job. S/he is hired, and turns out to be a total slacker. He voluntarily leaves 6 months later, and takes a cushy post at another company, with good references from his two friends he made while in the current company. Lather, rinse, repeat. This is really something to look at in the hiring process. If a company were to spend tens of thousands of dollars on some new servers, [more . . .]

Apr 252008
 

Thie great article from Lifehacker details how to ease the transition into the newest distribution of Ubuntu, especially if you’re giving up Windows or Mac OSX for the first time, and are wondering how you can do all the stuff you used to. And of course, Ubuntu Hardy Heron is a Longterm Support Release (LTS), so you will be able to get online support for it for at least the next three years if you have the desktop version, and at least the next five years if you have the server version.