Here’s another little gem that I found a few months ago and that I use everyday to backup my personal files to an external hard disk. The software’s called Vice Versa Pro.

It basically compares two folders (or drives) and can synchronize them afterwards or just make a mirror image of one to another. It is a small software to install and it’s not that expensive. But God it’s useful!!!

Since I have a little lack of inspiration these days, I’ll share with you a funny clip that a colleague of mine sent me this morning. It is quite original but at some point quite realistic, at least in terms of the message.

To see the clip, follow this link.

If you are a Windows power-user like me and you like to know more about what’s going on under the hood of your OS, here’s a small but so useful utility for you: SystemExplorer.

This software does the same basic job than Windows’ own Task Manager but it does it 100 times better. In fact it provides a lot more information about your system than Microsoft’s counterpart. And once again, this little gem is totally free!

So click on the link (above in the post) and download SystemExplorer without asking. It’s worth the try!

Here I am 15 days later and still playing with that little beast called Linux. As far as it gets, I can say that the thing works pretty well but not as well as Windows though. I am still struggling to find fixes for little bugs I have with Ubuntu (ex.: play fullscreen Youtube videos smoothly; have my Pidgin sound files sound properly like under the Windows version; have a decent WiFi connection to my router that doesn’t disconnect here and there; etc.).

Apart from that, I can definitely say that it is viable to work full time using Linux and with the software that can be found in the various repositories. I admit that the numerous equivalents are often not as “satisfying” and their Windows counterparts but they are at least acceptable.

I think that the most interesting thought I have about all this can be summarized to this simple little question: What do I gain by using Linux in the first place? I have not found an answer yet. I works well, yes indeed, but I have not found any aspect for the moment that Linux does really better that my Windows Vista. Sad to say maybe but it is a true fact. I still can’t see concrete benefits to use Linux instead of Windows. And I must admit that the vast majority of software I use under Windows are freeware so I cannot say that I save a lot of money for the moment…

But let’s see. Ubuntu’s next version will be released in 9 days. My system will auto-update itself. I’ll maybe find something very entertaining through that update to convince myself once again that the switch is still a good thing for me, thing that is far from being the case at the moment…

People who know me know that I’ve been goofing with Linux here and there since a couple of years. I have always tried the thing but never seriously enough. I installed several distributions over the years: Mandrake in the early 00’s, Suse and of course Ubuntu more recently. And for a reason I can’t explain, I never found enough motivation to pursue the tryout. It’s weird because I like the concept and the philosophy behind open source software very much but I think I haven’t been persevering enough. The fact that I’m so used to the software I use on a day-to-day basis probably plays a good role in my reluctance to make the switch. If there could only be an open source version of Roboform for example, this would make my life a lot easier. But yes I know that there are some alternatives out there…

I have installed Ubuntu 8.04 (codenamed “Hardy Heron”) a few weeks ago. I logged in a few times but did not do much with it. The following version of Ubuntu (8.10 codenamed “Intrepid Ibex”) will be released on the 30th of this month, and so will be OpenOffice 3.0 on the 13th. The reviews I read about these product are very positive. This sounds very good to my ears…

So this being said, I think that I am going to try Ubuntu at home for the next month without switching to Vista. If I do not ever give Linux a serious try, I’ll never be able to make my mind about it. So I’ll do as if I had only Linux at home and nothing else. I will force myself to use it for 30 days and I think that after this period I’ll know if it’s good for me or not. This time I’m going at war my friends and I hope I’ll reach my goal and that Linux will answer my expectations.

I’ll keep you posted with my “adventures” in the following weeks.

I’ve read about this little Windows-only freebie and gave it a try: Free PC Audit. You just have to download it and run the executable (no installation required). It scans your PC and give you a clean overview of the hardware you have, the software installed and the processes that are actually running one the machine. It does a similar job than SiSoft Sandra Pro, but with a price of 0$, it’s worth a try. Don’t you think?

Today, there are a lot of people who still believe that open source software is not reliable, poorly designed and programmed, etc. The reality is really different from these fictionnal assumptions. A lot of very impressive open-source software is available out there; Firefox, Openoffice, The Gimp, etc.

One of my favorites is actually named Truecrypt. This little (free) gem is a mandatory tool for every user who is concerned by security and privacy aspects related to his data. Truecrypt easily permits you to encrypt a portion of a drive or a full drive. This is very useful for people like me who carry their personal data on external USB drives or keys.And configuring the tool is quite easy too for users who have a little bit of knowledge about modern computing and OSes.

It’s definitely a must have!!! And it is available for Windows (2000/XP/Vista), Mac OSX and Linux!

And by the way, did I tell you that this piece of software is totally free hehehehe…

I’ve just added an online chat widget in the right column of this website. This widget will give you the possibility to chat with me live while visiting cyberutopie.

The widget is provided by digsby, the multi-protocol instant messaging software that I use since a few months and that I find absolutely perfect for my needs. You should give it a try.

I stumbled across a very useful website this morning: Quarkbase.

This tool asks you to enter a website domain name and it will gather tons of useful information about this website for you. It can seometimes be useful for people who want to know a bit more about the creators or the owners of a website or if it is frequently visited…

OK. I just read the news that Google is planning to release today a beta version of its new Chrome browser. Chrome will be an open source product, which is a good thing. But I am still asking myself why does Google want to enter the browser war? A lot of us use IE (not me!). Another big bunch of people use Firefox (me!!!). And people on the Mac like to use Safari. So is there really a need for another browser in the ring? I don’t think so. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what Chrome has to offer. But if it is not revolutionary, I just don’t see why I should abandon my precious Firefox for such a product. I guess time will tell. Let’s be patient. The first reviews will hit the web probably by tomorrow. We’ll then have a better idea of what Chrome has under the hood.