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Top 10 Pervasive Tech Myths That Are Only Wasting Your Time Linux only: The GRUB boot-selector tool has made dual-booting Linux and other systems easy, but changing how your boot menu looks requires digging through text files and praying you don’t make a single typo. QGRUBEditor, a free visual GRUB editor, takes the guesswork and some of the hassle out of tweaking your boot settings. You can change menu orders, colors, splash images, and defaults, and preview the effects your changes have without having to reboot. The program has a few non-dire quirks, but it’s still easier than guessing and paging through the menu file by hand. QGRUBEditor is a free download for Linux systems only, and requires three QT (KDE) libraries to run.
QGRUBEditor [via Linux.com]There are countless arguments for using open source applications, but one of the strongest is the benefit of learning how to just one app and using it across Windows, Mac or Linux systems. Web site directory Open Source Living helps you find just the programs you’re looking for and points you to where you can get them for free. It’s not an extensive, all-in-one directory, but it seems to narrow its choices based on quality and widespread acceptance. And while not every application listed at Open Source Living is entirely cross-platform, a good deal of them are. For more free or open source applications, check out a Windows and Mac free software bonanza.
Open Source Living [via etc.]Windows only: Free application ASCGEN, or Ascii Generator dotNET, takes in standard pictures and puts out images generated entirely from simple computer text. While free web apps like ASCII-O-Matic do a decent job with small face portraits, ASCGEN can handle larger files and offers the same kind of brightness, contrast and level modifications as standard image editors—it just changes letters instead of pixels. Once you’re done tweaking, you can output to picture, text or HTML files. ASCGEN is a free download for Windows systems only.
Ascii Generator dotNET [via Digital Inspiration]Google Reader has been opening up more sharing features recently, giving users the ability to publicly share feeds and see Google Talk friends’ feeds. Blogger Steve Rubel points out a not-so-obvious way to share only selected feeds with only a choice group of people. His solution:Add a unique tag to feeds you want to share (like “friendshare”) Select “Settings” from Reader’s upper-right menus, then the “Tags” tab Click the RSS icon on the tag you want to share. Share the “View public page” link only with those you want to see it
Now you’ve got a much more productive (and private) means of sharing select information with a project team or contacts. Neat!
How to Share Items in Google Reader and Still Keep Them Private [Micro Persuasion]Even if your refrigerator isn’t fit to burst with leftover turkey, pies and other holiday fare, winter seems to be a season in which food gets stacked up with no place to go. The Serious Eats food blog has a few suggestions for keeping your fridge a showcase for food you really want to eat, no matter what climate you live in. Your fridge’s crisper, for instance, should only be used for delicate, leafy vegetables. Hardier stuff like apples, squashes, root vegetables, citrus, peppers, beans, onions, and many crucifers (e.g., cauliflower and brussels sprouts) don’t require the TLC of the crisper or even the low temperature of the refrigerator for storage. And, once you purge your crisper of all of these and anything else that doesn’t belong, chances are you’ll have plenty of room for all of your delicate produce.
If you plan to make a de-clutterting tear through your icebox, check out these tips on understanding expiration dates. Photo by Chaparral [Kendra] .
How to Unclutter Your Winter Fridge [via Unclutterer]
