Archive for July, 2009

Use Gmail as default mail client using Opera on Ubuntu

July 18, 2009 at 1:15 am · Filed under Internet & Network, Miscellaneous, Software, Usability Tips

Click here to view a tutorial detailing how to use Gmail as your default mail client. This could be adapted to work on other systems as well. I am using Ubuntu 8.04 and the latest version of Opera.

A quick alert: Adobe’s Flash Player 10 doesn’t seem to want to play nicely with the latest version of Opera on Ubuntu so I recommend downgrading by removing Flash Player 10 and installing Adobe Flash 9.x through Add/Remove. I hear Gnash (the open source version of Flash) supports YouTube now, but it still doesn’t support necessary sites like Google Analytics.

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Windows 3.1 Calmira Shell

July 13, 2009 at 3:08 pm · Filed under Software, Usability Tips, User Interface

I have always had an interest in different operating systems, which is basically just the software you use to run all the other programs on your computer. PC’s are usually sold with Windows (and there are different versions of Windows out there, from Windows XP to Windows Vista to Windows 7) and Mac’s are sold with Mac OS X.

However, other operating systems exist. Linux, for example, is a free, highly customizable operating system that is gaining popularity. I am writing this post using Ubuntu Linux.

I have an old computer that still runs Windows 3.1 – I have a Commodore 64 too, but I’ll save that for another post. Windows 3.1 is fast and stable; I was quite surprised actually. For light web browsing, checking email, and word processing, I see no disadvantage to using Windows 3.1. However, the interface is a ugly and difficult to control at times. It gets in the way.

I was looking for some way to modify the interface when I found the perfect program: Calmira! “Calmira is a free 16-bit shell that lets you manage files, launch applications and control tasks. Free means that everyone can compile his or her own version of Calmira, this is possible because the source code is available for everyone. It brings Windows 3.1 up to date with some of the advanced user interface enhancements from the Windows world, and for most people, provides welcome relief from the awkwardness of Program Manager.“

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Ad Block for Opera

July 3, 2009 at 11:47 pm · Filed under Internet & Network, Software, Usability Tips

So I’m using an old hand-me-down laptop… it’s a Dell Inspiron 1100 and it’s reputation with Linux has been less than stellar. However, Ubuntu 8.04 runs relatively nicely and it’s easy to setup.

Unfortunately the Firefox web browser has become a resource hog. So I’m stuck with Opera for now – it’s multi-platform, speedy, it has themes and it has a content blocker.

The content blocker can be used to block advertisements. This website outlines a fairly easy-to-understand “how to” for blocking the majority of advertisements using this feature: http://my.opera.com/Tamil/blog/ad-block.

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