Good stuff in the weekend

January 21, 2007

Well, this is just another so-so weekend: sleeping a lot, reading the boring course papers for next week, and wandering around the internet. You know, most of the time on the internet is just wasted unless you could find something really enjoyable. Luckily, I got some really good stuff which made my weekend not so tedious:

1. Graduation Speech – Steve Jobs
   iTunes video | iTunes audio | Google Video | YouTube | Transcript
   This is a great speech by Apple‘s visionary CEO, Steve Jobs, at Stanford in June 2005. He talks about his own stories – college drop-out, love and death – which are really moving and motivating life lessons. Besides, I really appreciate his breeze-like and persuasive presentation style, either in this speech or in the keynotes at Macworld. I highly recommend you to take a look at this. It deserves!
2. Zirr.us – an online whiteboard/to-do list
   I admit this should be nothing, yet just another web 2.0 toy to organize your to-do list online with the beta label. But I really like its clear interface and easy-to-use features. It includes a tag cloud of your designated tasks, and you can sort your task by priority, color, and date. It is worth a play if you have time.

Unleash the power of your brain

December 3, 2006

Here is a helpful article which provides 22 ways to overclock your brain. I really recommend it to you if you have the same feeling as me that you are not as smart as you were. Following is what I learned from it:

1. Don’t rely much on the damn computer. Do the daily math with your head, not the calculator; memorize the temporary phone number in your heart, not on the notepad.
2. Ask Why. Yes,we were told to ask why when we are young. However, as we grow up, many of us stifle or deny our natural curiosity. Make it a new habit to ask “why?” at least 10 times a day.
3. Play. Take time to play. Play cards. Play video games. Do puzzles. It gives your brain a chance to keep it working.
4. Write. The greatest benefit of writing is what it does to expand your brain’s capacity. Find ways to write – by writing papers, writing blog for your friends or whatever – just write to be read.
5. Eat. Some oils found in nuts and fish are a brain booster. Eat them, but don’t eat fat. Fat can reduce the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your brain. Also, some drugs are helpful to increase brain power. Ginkgo biloba has been shown to increase blood flow to the brain and improve concentration.
6. Laugh.
7. Do Physical Exercises.

选择适合你的Linux发行包

March 13, 2006

面对庞杂的Linux大家族，如果你不知道该如何选择合适自己的发行包的话，可以试试用Zegenie Studios的Linux Distribution Chooser来做个测试。测试结果说明我比较适合使用以下六个发行包：

	Debian	( http://www.debian.org/ )
	Debian is a free operating system (OS) for your computer. An operating system is the set of basic programs and utilities that make your computer run. Debian GNU/Linux provides more than a pure OS: it comes with over 15490 packages, precompiled software bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine.
	Ubuntu	( http://www.ubuntulinux.org/ )
	Ubuntu is a complete Linux-based operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. Ubuntu includes more than 1,000 pieces of software, starting with the Linux kernel version 2.6 and Gnome 2.10, and covering every standard desktop application from word processing and spreadsheet applications to internet access applications, web server software, email software, programming languages and tools and of course several games.
	MEPIS	( http://www.mepis.org/ )
	MEPIS Linux is a desktop Linux system that is also easy to configure as a dedicated server. It is designed for both personal and business purposes. It includes cutting-edge features such as a live/installation/recovery CD, automatic hardware configuration, NTFS partition resizing, ACPI power management, WiFi support, anti-aliased TrueType fonts, a personal firewall, KDE, and much more.
	Fedora	( http://fedora.redhat.com/ )
	The goal of The Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community to build a complete, general purpose operating system exclusively from open source software. Fedora Core is built to provide choice. It includes the latest versions of many software packages, including both GNOME and KDE desktop environments. Fedora Extras, a repository built entirely by volunteers, provides thousands more packages, and is enabled for use by default.
	Kubuntu	( http://www.kubuntu.org/ )
	Kubuntu is a user friendly operating system based on KDE, the K Desktop Environment. With a predictable 6 month release cycle and part of the Ubuntu project, Kubuntu is the GNU/Linux distribution for everyone.
	SuSE	( http://www.suselinux.com/ )
	SUSE Linux 10.0 includes all of the latest desktop productivity tools to help you with your most common home computing tasks. Whether it’s instant messaging and communicating with friends, creating and designing graphics, or organizing digital picture and music files, you’ll find what you need on our easy-to-use desktop. And to make finding things even easier, we’ve included a preview of the latest version of the new Linux desktop search technology: Beagle Desktop Search. Beagle is the powerful new open source search engine that puts all of the content in your personal information space at your fingertips. Plus, to keep your desktop secure, SUSE Linux includes powerful built-in tools for spam blocking, virus scanning and application-level protection.