Post from: ]]> http://blog.freetechu.com/windows/microsoft-knows-best/feed/ http://blog.freetechu.com/open-source/ai-knowledge-base-20-years-in-development-is-now-open-source/ http://blog.freetechu.com/open-source/ai-knowledge-base-20-years-in-development-is-now-open-source/#comments Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:46:47 +0000 Howard http://blog.freetechu.com/?p=26 In 1986 I met Doug Lenat as he was just beginning the Cyc project. He had a daring and bold vision that is yet to be realized. However, the knowledge base developed over the past 20 years is probably the most comprehensive available and now that the full Cyc knowledge base is available, it’s the perfect foundation for building some exciting projects.

Cyc is one of the most notorious projects in artificial intelligence. Now spanning for over 20 years it has yet to deliver on initial promise of human-reasoning capabilities. While initial goals were too ambitious, we should still be quite happy with the achievements. Especially now when it seems Cycorp (owner of Cyc) is seeing the potential in opening up its knowledge base to third party developers. Yesterday OpenCyc was released under CreativeCommons 3!Zemanta Official Blog, Aug 2008

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Post from: ]]> http://blog.freetechu.com/open-source/ai-knowledge-base-20-years-in-development-is-now-open-source/feed/ http://blog.freetechu.com/open-source/infoworlds-oss-awards-give-you-a-good-view-of-open-source-software/ http://blog.freetechu.com/open-source/infoworlds-oss-awards-give-you-a-good-view-of-open-source-software/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:41:41 +0000 Howard http://blog.freetechu.com/?p=21 Open source software (OSS) has come a long way. Once only the most adventurous, tech savy users would run business operations on open source software. Now good OSS rivals that of commercial software. Microsoft is facing a signficant challenge from open source in all areas, from operating systems to word processing. Just one year ago I didn’t use any free or open source software. Now my newest businesses run completely on a combination of free and open source software.

Notice I said a combination of free and open source software. While open source software is free, all free software isn’t open source. Much of the software I discuss here is free, as in free to use. Sometimes the providers of free software make money from their product by including advertising within the product. However, OSS is free to download and install on your personal computer or server AND you may see and modify the source code. Now if you aren’t a programmer that might not seem important to you. But it could be…

You can find free to use, web based software to do nearly anything. From editing photos to business spreadsheets, there are lots of free options. However, when you run your business with free software that is not open source, you run the risk that the product could be discontinued, or the provider is acquired by a bigger company just to eliminate competition. By using open source software, you will never be at the mercy of another company. You can even find a programmer to modify open source software to fit particular business needs.

InfoWorld has done a great job of reviewing some of the most popular open source options and you should take a close look at an OSS alternative before making another software purchase.

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Post from: ]]> http://blog.freetechu.com/open-source/infoworlds-oss-awards-give-you-a-good-view-of-open-source-software/feed/ http://blog.freetechu.com/windows/remove_crapware/ http://blog.freetechu.com/windows/remove_crapware/#comments Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:46:12 +0000 Howard http://blog.freetechu.com/?p=17 If you recently bought a new Windows computer, odds are it came loaded with lots of software you don’t want or need. Often referred to as crapware, this unwanted software often runs when your computer starts and uses memory and processing power, making your computer take longer to start and respond sluggishly.

Even experienced computer users have trouble eliminating crapware. Who knows which programs are drivers or support software for hardware features, or simply junk the manufacturer was paid to install? I have never purchased a computer that came with a list of all the software installed with explanations of what it does or what will go wrong if I remove it. So what do we do? Most of us simply live with sub par performance because we’re afraid to remove anything that came with the computer.

A few companies have produced tools to help us deal with this problem. One notable company is ZSoft. ZSoft Uninstaller will automatically find entries that are considered crapware. Now there’s no way ZSoft can recognize all possible junk software, but at least you can have confidence that you’re removing known junk and not something your computer really needs to function.

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Post from: ]]> http://blog.freetechu.com/windows/remove_crapware/feed/ http://blog.freetechu.com/productivity/my-favorite-online-photo-editor/ http://blog.freetechu.com/productivity/my-favorite-online-photo-editor/#comments Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:47:45 +0000 Howard http://blog.freetechu.com/uncategorized/my-favorite-online-photo-editor/ Picnik - edit photos the easy way, online in your browser

I’ve used several online photo editing tools and most left me reaching for my expensive desktop tools. My editing needs are actually simple; adjust exposure, crop, resize, and occasionally add some text.

Lately my desktop tools have been collecting dust. I’ve been using picnik, an online tool that does everything I need and is easy to use. So, if you’re tired of photo software that expects you to be an expert to use it, or you’re just now looking for photo editing tools, picnik is a tool you should try. Its basic version is free (that’s all I’ve needed) and it integrates with flickr, Picasa, facebook, photobucket, myspace, and webshots.

This is one web application that doesn’t dissapoint.

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Post from: ]]> http://blog.freetechu.com/productivity/my-favorite-online-photo-editor/feed/ http://blog.freetechu.com/social/the-social-web-is-good-business/ http://blog.freetechu.com/social/the-social-web-is-good-business/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:29:05 +0000 Howard http://blog.freetechu.com/?p=11 In one day, two companies really impressed me with their attention to their customers. The first was UserVoice and most recently, Flock.

I was visiting a site which used UserVoice’s service for collecting a site’s user suggestions. Impressed with it I visited the UserVoice site and liked what I saw. I posted a tweet mentioning that my company should consider using the service. Within an hour I received a tweet from UserVoice thanking me for checking them out and asking if they could help.

Wow. In an era where companies use voicemail to hide from customers, this was a refreshing change.

My next experience came from Flock. Ed Dale turned me on to Flock. On OS X FireFox had been my browser of choice. On Ed’s recommendation I tried Flock. I love it. But being the sort to always live on the bleeding edge, I had to install the beta of Flock 2. It is wonderful. My productivity increased dramaticlly. Problem is, I use a lot of extensions. One of them really creamed Flock. I couldn’t figure out which one and after an hour of experimentation I gave up and resorted to FireFox (Flock would not even launch at that point.) I just posted a tweet just to vent a little.

24 minutes later I get a tweet from flocker. I know they care. Even if they don’t, I think they do. Makes me all warm and fuzzy.

The first thing on my agenda is to learn from this experience. My companies will immediately start using the tools of the social web. You’d be foolish to ignore it. The tools are free, you just need a little knowledge and a willingness to experiment.

Post from: ]]> http://blog.freetechu.com/social/the-social-web-is-good-business/feed/ http://blog.freetechu.com/collaboration/feedalizr-is-an-attractive-client-for-friendfeedtwitter/ http://blog.freetechu.com/collaboration/feedalizr-is-an-attractive-client-for-friendfeedtwitter/#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:21:07 +0000 Howard http://blog.freetechu.com/collaboration/feedalizr-is-an-attractive-client-for-friendfeedtwitter/ I’ve been experimenting with various Friendfeed and Twitter desktop clients. Twhirl is very feature rich and it supports Friendfeed’s rooms. However, I don’t like having separate windows for each service.

Feedalizr is not nearly as feature rich (it doesn’t support rooms), but it is very attractive, is clean and simple, and easy to use.

Having ignored twitter for a long time, I now realize it’s one of the most valuable tools I have. Twitter created a new meme. Now there are many startups evolving it. Pownce, Friendfeed, and Plurk are some of the notable ones. As the clients being built for these services mature they will become indispensable.

As more people adopt services like twitter, businesses will ignore conversations on these services at their peril. Smart companies monitor these services (see Summize for one good tool) and respond quickly to comments. It’s a great way to provide support and quickly correct misunderstandings.

Follow my tweets.

Post from: ]]> http://blog.freetechu.com/collaboration/feedalizr-is-an-attractive-client-for-friendfeedtwitter/feed/ http://blog.freetechu.com/design/find-free-photos-for-your-blog-website-and-brochures/ http://blog.freetechu.com/design/find-free-photos-for-your-blog-website-and-brochures/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:37:32 +0000 Howard http://blog.freetechu.com/?p=5 Photos and images are essential to good design. They add visual interest, reinforce your message, and entice viewers into your text. A good source for free photos is Flickr. But before you go picking any photo you see on Flickr and using it on your site or blog, remember that just because you find a photo on Flickr, it doesn’t mean you can use it. Photos on the web are usually covered by a copyright and the rights to reproduce a photo may be reserved by the copyright owner.

1. Go to Flickr’s advanced search page
2. Enter the words that describe what you’re searching for
3. Scroll down the search form until you see the Creative Commons section
4. Check the box for “Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content, and the box for commercial use
5. Click the search button

The photos returned by the search are available to use. You might have to attribute the copyright owner. I’ll give complete details on finding and using content in an upcoming Free Tech University tutorial.

The photo on this post is by Mitra Mirshahidi. It’s licensed under a Creative Commons license with attribution and share alike required.

Post from: ]]> http://blog.freetechu.com/design/find-free-photos-for-your-blog-website-and-brochures/feed/ http://blog.freetechu.com/productivity/free-wi-fi-at-starbucks-with-rewards-card/ http://blog.freetechu.com/productivity/free-wi-fi-at-starbucks-with-rewards-card/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:50:33 +0000 Howard http://blog.freetechu.com/?p=4 I do some of my best thinking in a coffee shop. Maybe it’s the change in environment or maybe it’s the caffeine; but it’s the perfect way to recharge (or start) my work day. Of course the coffee shop must have wireless. The internet is now integral to my thinking process. If Starbucks is your coffee of choice they have a deal for you:

Panera Bread has an even better offer. They have over 1200 locations offering free no strings attached Wi-Fi; many without the 2 hour limit. I just can’t work there. The environment just isn’t right.

Most communities have one or more cafes or coffee shops offering free wireless. So, get out and find your favorite hotspot.

Post from: ]]> http://blog.freetechu.com/productivity/free-wi-fi-at-starbucks-with-rewards-card/feed/