Technical Happenings

Qu-s desktop notes

Qu-s is a simple desktop organistation tool which allows you to keeps what you need at your finger tips but out of your way!

It has some great features usually reserved for word processing applications which allow you to bring better  bring organization to your ideas and your notes.

Features include:

• bullet, check boxes and numbered lists.
• File and internet links with previews.
• A built in browser with capability of zooming web pages.
• An automated system for storing and clearing completed tasks.
• Multiple ways of organizing and displaying information.
• Export content to use with other applications.

I use Qu-s as a Getting Things Done (GTD) tool, as i find it allows me to better organise my tasks than some of the tailored packages you can buy in this area, such as Things.

iLife 09, IPhoto Review

I have had iLife 09 for 5 days.  I’ve been using IPhoto and the new features are well integrated and the faces technology is very impressive.  I started testing by uploading to  flickr, facebook and the mobileme gallery, all worked first time and the process was (as you would expect) very simple.   I had downloaded the 3rd party add-ons to Aperture, which do the same processes, but these were just not as slick.  I then wanted to test faces, but needed to leave my computer on overnight to process my pictures (12,000).  You then just select a picture and name a person.  Even without any learning the faces algorithm does a great job, but its real power comes when you train it a little; it displays a selection of faces, that it thinks match and you just click to say correct or incorrect.  Once i had it trained it displays 100’s of photos it thinks the face is in and on the whole it is correct.  Its a great way to see your pictures, but, also makes you feel a bit old when you pictures go back years.  I’m sure an aging timeline could be easily integrated.

Webfaction Review

Having been with Webfaction for over a year i think it’s about time i said how good they are.  The plans are all very reasonable and have a very rich feature from static HTML, PHP and CGI to Rails, Django, Turbogears and Plone, these plans let you run any software you want. You can even install your own custom software in your home directory; ive installed both Tomcat and elgg.

The reliability is excellent, i have never had a problem and there support is second to none, the longest i have waited for  a reply on  a low priority ticket is 3 hours and on a high its been almost immediate. You can pay monthly, so it really is worth a try, the lowest plan starts at 10$.

set Our shared hosting plans are perfect for small to medium web-sites. You benefit from all of our features: fast and reliable hosting of you web-sites, DNS data, e-mails and databases; plus you get access to our powerful control panel where you can configure all these features in a few clicks.

From static HTML, PHP and CGI to Rails, Django, Turbogears and Plone, these plans let you run any software you want. You can even install your own custom software in your home directory.