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FREEWARE
Dropbox and Directory Junctions for Automatic Archiving
I migrated my computer over to the Beta release of Windows 7 before the new year. Every time I re/install an OS on my machine, I back up a few folders stored in the AppData folder containing Pidgin's chatlogs, Thunderbird's e-mails, and Firefox's browser preferences.
Dropbox is a relatively new automated file synchronization service that gives users 2GB of free online storage to synchronize documents to. Using a desktop app (available for Windows, Mac, or Linux), you can specify a single folder as your "dropbox", the contents of which are automatically synchronized to your storage space online. Your Dropbox account can then be linked to any number of other machines, and those machines in turn will download and make available all of the documents that have been synchronized to your account.
What does Dropbox have to do with backing up the three folders I mentioned earlier? Well, through the magic of a few NTFS Symbolic Links, I've managed to move folders that are otherwise in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming and place them in the folder I've designated as my dropbox in my Documents folder; as a result, I can keep all of my chatlogs, e-mails, and browser preferences automatically synchronized online and accessible from anywhere I have internet access, and I can easily restore all of those files the next time I install an OS.
To accomplish this, I used Vista's mklink command:
mklink [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] link target
/D– Creates a directory symbolic link. Default is a file symbolic link./H– Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link./J– Creates a Directory Junction.
You can read more about the /D and /H flags with a bit of googling, but for now we'll focus on the /J flag. When set, the /J flag tells the OS to point any requests to the link directory to the target directory. Here's an example:
mklink /J "C:\Users\AppData\Roaming\.purple" "D:\My Dropbox\Pidgin"
First, we initiate the link program with mklink with the /J active. Next, we give the program the folder path that we want to link to another folder somewhere else in the computer. We're telling it to point (a hypothetical) Pidgin's settings and chatlogs folder to another location. That location is specified in the last folder path. In this case, I'm pointing it to the Pidgin folder stored within the Dropbox synchronization directory.
Before you hit enter, make sure the link folder is completely empty of any file or folder. When everything's set, hit enter and you'll have made a directory junction between the two folders.
It's worth taking a moment to explain how the OS handles the junction. First, if you go to C:\Users\AppData\Roaming\.purple, though it appears as though files are in the folder, what you're really seeing are the files stored in D:\My Dropbox\Pidgin. To Pidgin, it appears as though all the files it needs to run are in their proper location, but in reality it's accessing and modifying files in the Pidgin dropbox folder.
How does all of this fit in with Drobox? Each of the three Directory Junctions I created points to a target folder in the My Dropbox folder. Whenever Pidgin, Thunderbird, or Firefox makes a change to any of their files, Dropbox see the changes and synchronizes the files to my Dropbox storage space online. With just a few short minutes in the command line, I was able to automate the archival of some of the most important files on my computer and set up an easy means of accessing them should something ever happen to my machine.
I hope this tutorial helps out someone in a similar bind as me. If you find a better way of automating file backups to an online location (maybe even a personal FTP server!), let me know; I'm always looking for new ways to automate archiving of important files!
EDIT: I found out that for Pidgin, it's probably better/easier to just go into Environment Variables (Right-click "My Computer" > "Properties" > "Advanced system settings" > "Advanced" tab > "Environment Variables") and create a System Variables titled PURPLEHOME with the directory path to the folder containing the .purple folder as the value. I might have run into a problem where the junction was causing some system slowdown, so I'll give this method a go and see if its easier on my harddrive!
I was rummaging through some old Lifehacker posts when I came across a little gem called Vista Drive Icon.
What does Vista Drive Icon do?
Click for larger
It implement's Vista's Hard Drive capacity meter in Windows XP! This was one of the few features about Vista I liked; the lack of that feature made the move back to XP a bit more difficult, since now I had to right-click on a drive and click Properties to see how much capacity was available.
And the best part? It's freeware! If you're worried about memory usage, don't be; on my system it only used ~4.5MB of RAM, a measly amount in today's era of 1+GB of system RAM.
In the case of Linux, the old adage "you get what you pay for" is the order of the day.
Its been seven months since my last foray into Linux, and yesterday I found myself sacrificing my laptop to test out Kubuntu 7.04, code-named "Feisty Fawn". For those of you who don't know, Kubuntu is the same OS as Ubuntu, except it uses an alternate desktop environment, KDE (instead of Gnome). Part of my motivation to test out Kubuntu originated from many articles I'd read on Digg.com about how easy Ubuntu is to upgrade to, how much better laptop-hardware support has become, and how nice Ubuntu looks after installing and configuring Beryl/Compiz. With Windows Vista's recent price tag set at around $400 (plus or minus $20), I figured, what the hell, why not see if my less-powerful laptop (compared to my tower) can survive on a steady diet of Linux; if Kubuntu received my seal of approval, then I could save myself $200 (OEM is SO much cheaper than Retail!).
Lets start off with installation. Getting Kubuntu onto my laptop was, for the most part, hassle-free. I hit a couple snags installing from a 6.06 Live CD, but the installer did warn me that I was using a beta Live CD installer, so I worked through it and managed to get the OS installed.
A quick reboot later, and I behold! It booted! I proceed to log in, hooked it up to the internet, and played around with all the shiny (literally, the icons were incredibly reminiscent of any Web2.0 company's logo) programs.
I soon noticed a program telling me that I needed to upgrade, and upon clicking the notification, I proceeded to wade through the > 380 files I was told I needed to download. Not wanting to actually read them all, I just hit update and sat back to watch the magic happen...
...for TWO HOURS...
And that was just to download them all! Needless to say, I didn't sit through the entire upgrade process, but by the third hour, all the updates had installed, and I could move on with the experience.
Now, I'm using a copy of Kubuntu 7.04, the version of Kubuntu that comes out...after...the next version of Kubuntu...which isn't out yet...
Go figure.
To cut this (literally) 12-hour-long story down to size, I'm just going to bullet point everything else. Yes, I know its a lazy means of writing an article, but I'm sure you won't mind saving a few minutes:
> Automatix2 is a program designed to easily install MANY Linux programs, including MP3 SUPPORT and DVD PLAYBACK! I got it installed, but it wouldn't run because I wasn't running Ubuntu...that fact STILL confuses me, because as far as I know, Kubuntu IS Ubuntu with a different desktop environment.
> MP3 support had to be installed! I thought there were some freely-available DLL's that one could install for MP3 support, but are all of those in violation of some kind of patent for the MP3 compression algorithm? That could be the case.
> Wireless support for my laptop was non-existent after installing AND upgrading, which was one of the breaking points for me. If I can't move around with my laptop and still get internet, then I can't use the OS, simple as that.
> There is no safe-mode if you screw up the video driver. I learned that the hard way after installing the proprietary ATI driver. Luckily, I knew my way around the console enough to get back into the config file I modified and remove the modification, thus restoring my desktop.
> I had read an article talking about running Windows applications side-by-side Linux apps, something akin to Parallel's Coherence mode for Apple laptops. This was one of the features of Linux that intrigued me, since it held the promise of being able to work with some of the Windows applications I use on a daily basis (Web coding in Webuilder 2006, for example). Unfortunately, after attempting to set up three different virtual machine programs, Linux freaked out (I am almost certain it was because I canceled an installation script half way through the install procedure) and wouldn't install any other VM program I tried. I could have gone in and fixed the problem, but I was at 12th-hour and was too annoyed to proceed much further.
I'm sure there were a few other things that turned me off of the idea of migrating to Linux, but those were the major annoyances. Perhaps I was simply too spoiled with the ease at which I get things done with Windows, or maybe I went into the whole experience expecting not to get anything done. In any case, I reinstalled Windows, upgraded it, and installed the basic list of programs (Gaim, Windows Live Messenger, Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice, IZArc, Foxit PDF Reader, Comodo Personal Firewall, AVG Anti-Virus, and some hardware drivers)* in about two hours.
Two hours with Windows[/b] and full hardware usability[/i]...or [b]12 hours with Linux and [i]more time needed to get everything working...
If only I'd know this yesterday! But as those crazy French say, sest la viyay! I mean, c'est la vie!
*All of these programs are freeware, enjoy!
Ever wanted to run your own railroad? Become a free tycoon today!
I played around with Railroad tycoon for a bit, but to be honest, I've never really been that good at micromanagement games or real-time strategy games so I failed horribly...I have a hard time keeping twenty things going at the same time, something about a broken X chromosome or something...in any case, there's the link if you're interested, and enjoy!
It is official, HDTP can start r0xx0ring your box0rz!
Happy World Firefox Day!
Do it now and save yourself a lot of trouble later!
So now, I must hit the streets again and play the "oh please sir, may I have a job?" card in the hopes that someone will bite and give me work. If I don't find some work as an employee, I'll have to bust my ass at some web design work, and hope that I can get enough that way. So far, I have one web design job I'm working on, so it looks like I'll have to kick it up a notch with my design skillllllz....
And Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 is pretty awesome. I used it to type this entry and for the most part, I must say I'm impressed...at least with the spell-checking feature. I don't know if I like my tabs each having a "close" button on them; it was for this reason I never used one of the earlier extensions that put those same buttons on the tabs. The search bar is also unusually long for some unknown reason...huh. I know there's a "how to tweak Firefox 2.0" article floating around on http://www.Digg.com somewhere, I just have to find it now.
Well, that about wraps it up for now. I hope you're all having an awesome time over July! Oh, and before I forget, there's a map I'm working on for the Deus Ex: MIB mod that I'll post screen shots of, so for people who like DX and the mod community (*cough*EER*cough*), stay tuned!
The single best FREE file recovery program you will ever find. Ever.
Enter the freeware file recovery application PC INSPECTOR File Recovery.
PC INSPECTOR File Recovery is the best software-based file recovery program I've ever found that is completely free for anyone to use. I got a crash course on how it worked early last year, and I was very impressed. Here's my story:
I had to recover files off a drive that, for some unknown reason, prevented me from viewing its contents. I was upgrading my parents' computer to Windows XP when the old hard drive containing their previous OS and files failed to be recognized by the new OS. The drive in question was receiving power and was spinning up, but there was no easily identifiable reason for the drive not being accessible through XP. That's when I found the File Recovery program.
Using this program, I was able to read the contents of the improperly functioning hard drive, recover all of my parents' important documents off the drive, put them onto my computer, and then transfer the files to the new hard drive.
File recovery in general is not for the weak of heart or the eagerly excited. This program takes some patience to learn and patience to sit through one or two entire drive scans because you accidentally chose the incorrect scan options. I would advise anyone interested in using this program to get a competent, technology-savvy individual to help you out. There are times when impatient individuals may mistake their computer freezing up for a system crash, when in reality the program is using 100% of the CPU to scan the culprit drive. Scans of drives can also take upwards of 15-20 minutes; it is important during this time to leave the computer that is scanning the drive alone unless you want to brick your drive and lose all of your data (or, if you prefer to to pay for professional, $1000+ harddrive recovery...).
I took the liberty of capturing some screens of the program to show you what it looks like in action:
1. You have the option of recovering accidentally deleted files, scanning a drive for accidentally formatted files, and recover an entire drive if it fails to show up.
2. After your computer is scanned for attached hard drives (regardless of if they're recognized by Windows or not), File Recovery shows you all the drives it can scan. Choose one and click the check-mark.
3. You'll see a progress bar displaying how far into the scan the program is; don't expect it to move real fast, especially if you're recovering files off of a large-capacity drive.
3a. During the scan, its not unusual for the program to use close to 100% of the CPU and for your computer to run like molasses.
4. When the scan is complete, you'll get an explorer-esque file tree of all the files that you've "deleted". To recover a file, click on the folder you want to recover, right-click and select "Save to...". Choose an output folder (on another drive, obviously) and the program will recover the presumed-lost files. The same works for drives that no longer display under My Computer on XP.
There are 2 main suites of programs I use on a regular basis that I have become very comfortable with and that form the back-bone of any work I do on my computer. A recent talk with a teacher of mine (who also owns his own business) got me thinking, though, that my violating each program?s EULA could get me in big trouble if someone audited me on a (perhaps vengeful) whim.
SO! In the interests of preventing any future jail time, I?ve decided to make the switch to freely-available programs that accomplish the same task as the programs I?m illegally running. I have some past experiences with many of these programs, and as painful as it might be to learn new programs, I figured I?d turn this into a post to get you guys thinking about alternatives to programs that people "just can?t live without":
- Microsoft Office 2003 --> OpenOffice.org
I tested OOo about 4 months ago, at a time when it received a lot of praise for the way it offered Microsoft Office functionality in a free package. OOo is a suite of programs and includes a word processor (Writer), slideshow creator (Impress), spreadsheet (Calc), vector drawing tool (Draw), and mathematical function writer (Math).
At the time I tested it, OpenOffice was very promising. I could open and edit all of my documents I created in Microsoft Word with Writer, and my Powerpoint slideshows crossed over well to Impress (thought not without minimal loss due to Powerpoint-specific features). I was very impressed with Math, as it offered a replacement to MathType 5, and would definitely come into use on future math assignments. Calc was almost a copy of Excel, making it easy to learn and use.
Several updates to OOo have come out since I last tested it, and I?m looking forward to seeing if it is still the Office-killer it claims to be.
- Macromedia Fireworks --> Gimp for Windows
Fireworks is an excellent program for graphic design, and it?s been my weapon of choice because I?ve had a hard time figuring out Photoshop. The Gimp is a free graphic editor that some say rivals Adobe?s Photoshop, so of course I?ve had a difficult time learning this program.
I used The Gimp for about a month, and what I experienced was incredible! This program had so many different types of filters and ways to manipulate pictures, from image embossing to drop shadows, and many others that were lost to me. What amazed me even more was that such a program (which I am convinced is on-par with Photoshop) was and still is offered completely free of charge!
With a bit of determination, I?ll be able to get a handle on such an excellent program, but for now I?ll stumble through like the newbie I am.
- Macromedia Dreamweaver--> PHP Designer 2006
I spent a good deal of time testing out some possible replacements in this category, trying to find one that I would feel comfortable enough to replace Dreamweaver with. I believe I've found the best FREE PHP editor with PHP Designer 2006. I was looking for a program that had syntax highlighting and code hinting for PHP commands, and this program fit the bill nicely.
I tested out the Beta release, version 4.0.6, and though it was not without its quirks (all minor annoyances, like the PHP debugger info mysteriously deleting itself!), most of the functionality of Dreamweaver had made it into PHPD2k6. I could organize the sites I work on into various "Projects", syntax color schemes were demonstrated and easily changed from the Options > Properties menu, and I could also preview my PHP code straight from inside PHPD2k6!
Until I scrounge up some decent money for a commercial PHP editor, there's no doubt in my mind that I'll be using this program to work on future PHP pages.
That just leaves one more program I need to find a suitable alternative for:
- I use Macromedia Flash for animation and drawing, and I have yet to find ANY program that could be a replacement. This is the one program I may have to do without until I earn enough money to buy legal copies of Macromedia Studio 8 (around $1000).
So yeah, that about wraps this post up. I?ll let you all know how the transition works out, and let me know if you think there are any better programs out there than the ones I mentioned; I?m always eager to try out new things!
[quote]--Edited 4/30/05--
- Inserted "Dreamweaver --> PHPD2k6"
- Removed section about finding replacement for Dreamweaver[/quote]
My Commonly-Used Firefox Extensions Part 1: Web Design
--Extensions for Web Developers--
The Web Developer toolbar features an insane amount of tools for web developers that allow you to play around with and manipulate the layout of websites. I find that I use it mainly to:
- See the page layouts without styles attached (hint: hit [CTRL] + [SHIFT] + [S] with the extension installed)
- Disable JavaScript on a few clients' sites that use anti-rightclick script (which prevents me from easily accessing the source)
- Resize the browser window to a set "resolution", to imitate viewing the site on 1024x768 or 800x600 (I run at 1280x1024 resolution, but most people are still stuck on the lower resolutions)
- Outline certain elements, such as table cells and divs, to check for nesting and organization of sites
- Validate the CSS or markup of a site without having to navigate to each individual validation site
--IE View Lite--
IE View Lite is a nifty little extension that allows you to right-click on any site you're viewing in Firefox and open it in Internet Explorer without having to open the program and type the address in manually. It saves a lot of time, and lets me quickly see my code in the other browser... :P
--Html Validator--
Html Validator offers the functionality of an HTML code validator inside Firefox. Normally, you have to go to http://validator.w3.org/ to get your website's code validated, but with this extension, you can see the number and location of errors in your code.
--ColorZilla--
If you're like me, you've found yourself needing to get the Hexadecimal code for a particular color you've seen on a picture or website; rather than Print Screening the color, then Copy > Paste-ing into an image editing program to get the code, ColorZilla gives you a built-in eyedropper tool that you can use to pick a color within Firefox and get that color's Hex code. Very handy!
--FireBug--
I just got into JavaScript recently, and the built-in Javascript Console in Firefox is fine for some basic work. FireBug is like the Javascript Console on steroids. Each error received with either bad JavaScript or CSS code is displayed, and this extension will even highlight where in the source code the problem lies so you can fix the problem with minimal searching.
So there you have it. Five Firefox extensions that I commonly use, and that you might enjoy. So go ahead, give these extensions a try, and if you don't have Firefox, go here to download it!
Check back sometime next week for another Firefox Extensions post, this time with general-use extensions :D