Spotify for Linux

Spotify is an audio application that allows users to stream audio from Spotify’s servers. But, unlike many other services (i.e. Pandora), it only plays the songs you tell it to. The free version is supported by ads, however a low monthly fee will remove the ads.

Spotify has made a “preview” version for Linux. Currently, Spotify will run under Wine (or under Wine with PlayOnLinux assistance) without much problem, but native versions are always better.

The Linux Preview is available for Debian/Ubuntu by adding a package repository. I gave it a spin, it seems to be fairly stable and works just fine. Occasionally, when it stops to buffer (I have slow internet), it won’t start playing again by itself. Still, Spotify for Linux is definitely an application I will be keeping around.

You can learn how to install Spotify for Linux here:
http://www.spotify.com/us/download/previews/

 

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Gmail and Search Field Trial

What’s this? A middle-of-the-week post?

Google is now testing a new feature with Gmail to allow search results for your email to appear in your web search results (when logged in as yourself). This is a fantastic way to remind yourself when you wrote an email about a given topic that you may be searching about.

Also introduced with this field trial is Gmail’s enhanced built-in search. When you search for a given word or term in the Gmail search box, it will immediately start to show you relative documents and files that are in your Google Drive.

Users can choose to be opted into this field trial by visiting the field trial website:
https://www.google.com/experimental/gmailfieldtrial

What’s the advantage?
Have you ever found yourself searching for something online, and then completely forgotten that you’ve written an email to someone about it? This feature is a great way to let you know that you have had communications about a given term or subject.

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Quick Gmail Tip

Replying to a long email?

In your reply, its easy to select the text that you want quoted at the end of your email.

Simply select the text you want included in the reply email, and hit the “Reply” button. Only the selected text will be copied over.

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Last Results from Spam Testing

November 23rd at 6:13PM:
We shut the spam testing site down.

Since December 24th, 2011, there were a total of:
325,008 posts in 246,957 topics by 291,210 spammers.

If you are interested in receiving a copy of the MySQL database which we used for spam testing, this can be arranged. Please use the contact page.

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Microsoft Surface

Microsoft’s latest operating systems adventures are clearly attempting to pull us into the tablet world. Windows 8 is fully focused around being a tablet OS — even though it will probably be installed on more “regular” (or traditional) desktops than tablets for the time being. Most users are not impressed with Windows 8 as a desktop operating system. But, what about as a tablet OS?

I’ve done some reading. Here is what stands out to me about Microsoft Surface:

There are two versions of the Surface tablet:
The Windows RT version, which features a nVidia Tegra 3 Quad-Core processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB or 64GB of storage, USB 2.0, and a preview of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 (which will automatically upgrade to the official release for no cost). The RT version can only run applications from the Microsoft Store.
I note that the nVidia Tegra 3 processor is an ARM-based processor.

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A business will never sell you something for less than what it is worth.

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Audio Stretching Software: Paul’s Extreme Stretch (Windows, Linux, Mac)

Music is an interesting thing to slow down, but it is difficult to slow down music to the extreme without getting a bad digital effect or chopping noises.

Luckily for those of us who like to massively slow down music, it is possible to slow down music to this extreme without getting a digital effect using a program made to do just that: Paul’s Extreme Stretch.

Paul’s Extreme Stretch is completely free and open source. It is only suitable for slowing down music to major factors, up to 1e+018x times slower (meaning a 2 minute 30 second song would take about 4.27789 trillion years to play) if you really wanted (and somehow had the hard drive space to store something like that…). The program can play the audio live, it does not have to render before it can play the stretched audio.

Interestingly, you can hear a live stream of Beehtoven’s 9th Symphony stretched over a 24 hour period if you want an idea of what this program can do. Read more about that here. 

More realistically, you can slow down the audio to reasonable speeds that can still be followed (such as 5-15x slower). This is extremely pleasant to listen to with classical music.

Slowing rock music down doesn’t sound great, but classical and instrumental without drums and vocals sounds fantastic. You can hear each individual instrument begin playing.

Visit the official website here: http://hypermammut.sourceforge.net/paulstretch/

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Microsoft’s Free Phone Directory: TellMe

A while back, Microsoft released a true answer to the lack of Goog411:
TellMe, powered by Bing.

TellMe is a toll-free number that you can call for free directory search, driving directions, traffic, weather, movies, sports, stock quotes, ‘cheap gas’, horroscopes, news, time, travel, and more. TellMe will connect you to the business you search for in directory for no cost. To try out TellMe just call 1(888) 247-2425 and you will be connected to TellMe. TellMe is voice controlled with the goal of recognizing “natural speech”.

TellMe is very intuitive and easy to use, and a number you should definitely keep in your cellular contact list.

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Comparison of Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, and SumatraPDF Reader Resources

This chart compares Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, and SumatraPDF from a standpoint of the installer size, the installation size left on the disk (as measured in C:\Program Files) and the amount of memory usage the programs use while running idle.

(Continue reading to see some really fancy charts)

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Browser Plugin: HTTPS Everywhere (Chrome, FireFox)

I use my computer on a network of which the security isn’t so great. Much of the traffic is behind a hub and more data is visible to other computers on the network than what probably should be. One way that I combat security issues such as these is by using a plugin called HTTPS Everywhere.

The plugin HTTPS Everywhere does exactly what you might have guessed: It causes your browser to try and use HTTPS everywhere that it can. The plugin has a large, updated database of sites that support HTTPS. Whenever you visit said sites, it forces your browser to redirect from the HTTP site to the HTTPS site ensuring that all exchanged data is encrypted.

This is great for when you are connected to a network similar to mine where other computers can easily see the data you are exchanging (apartments with shared computer networks, dorms, school computers, work computer, &etc.)

Check out HTTPS Everywhere online here: https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere

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