Free CD and Address Label Templates Galore

I have often found the need to create labels, such as for pasting my contact address in a legible manner on my belongings, and of course while burning a blank CD or DVD, in which case I use the CD labels. Thanks to open source and more specifically OpenOffice.org, it is possible to create any number of labels of standard sizes and shapes. To create labels in OpenOffice.org, do the following :

1. Open OpenOffice.org word processor.
2. Click File > New > Labels

... and choose from the plethora of options in the dialog box. Lastly, Click on the "New Document" button to create the set of labels.

But why go through all the hassle of designing your own when you have ready made templates of labels available as a free download ? That is right, WorldLabel.com a manufacturer of labels has been in the forefront in creating free templates of labels of various sizes and shapes conforming to industry standards.

They recently published an exhibition of CD labels and Address labels in Open Document Template (ODT) format. The labels were designed using the CC licenced color palletes from ColorLovers.com which makes them all the more desirable.

Fig: Address Label templates from WorldLabel.com

Fig: CD Label Templates from WorldLabel.com

The address labels are compatible with Avery 5160 size and the CD labels with Avery 5931 size.

How easy is it to use WorldLabel.com free label templates ?

It is as easy as choosing your favourite design from the wide selection of label templates. Once you have choosen the right design, download the respective ODT document and open it in OpenOffice.org to enter the personalized information you wish to include.

Incidentally, since the templates are released in the ODT format, these can be opened in other office suites such as KOffice, StarOffice, IBM Lotus Symphony, or any other office suite which supports the Open Document format, apart from OpenOffice.org. If by any chance you are using MSOffice (perhaps using Wine in Linux), then you will need to download the Sun ODF plugin for MSOffice to read Open Document files.

The templates released by WorldLabel.com can be extensively modified by changing the font size, font style and color. You can even add another textbox for entering more information. More importantly, they are free to use. If you are a designer and wish to convert your design into a free label template, then you can submit your graphics to worldlabel[AT]gmail[DOT]com.

Update [Jan 17, 2009]: Worldlabel recently launched a blog which covers all open source topics. On the blog, I came across Solveig Haugland's in-depth article which explains Mail Merge in OpenOffice.org from start to finish which is quite informative. Also check out their Ebook which is available as a free download.

Getting things done - The two aspects of self management

David Allen is a world renowned Productivity trainer and consultant, who is obsessed with the twin topics of time management and productivity. He is the author of the best selling book titled Getting Things Done (GTD) - The art of stress free productivity.

Recently, he gave a talk at Google where he spoke on GTD and the two keys to sustaining a healthy life and work style. The basic premise of his talk is that a majority of us fritter our time doing senseless things when we should be putting in productive work. This is because we are not focussed and our mind is crammed with too many "what if" scenarios related to day to day life that we end up getting stressed.

Our mind is limited in its ability to manage commitments, because it is handicapped in its ability to remember and remind. And unless it trusts there is a better system, it cannot let go of the job.

David claims there are two aspects of self management namely :

1. Control and
2. Perspective.
   

He goes on to say :

If you want to get things off your mind, you must know that :

You don't do it by stacking it up, meditating about it or dreaming about it. But you do it by capturing, clarifying and organizing your commitments at all horizons. You will engage consciously with them as often as you need to.

Your ability to refocus, rapidly, on the right things at the right horizon at the right time is the master technique of knowledge work athletics.

He segregates people broadly into four roles depending on the level of perspective and control they display. And he calls it the matrix of self management.

              +-------------+----------------+
Perspective   |     Crazy   |     Master     |
              |     Maker   |       and      |
              |             |    Commander   |
              +-------------|----------------+
              |   Reactor   |    Micro       |
              |             |    Manager     |
              +-------------+----------------+
                 --------Control -------->

To be successful in the art of self management, one has to strive to fit in the role of "Master and Commander" as shown in the graph above which means you should have both high perspective and high control.

Do watch the talk he gave at Google campus. It's about 45 minutes duration but is worth every minute of it.

Is Microsoft really scared of Linux

Today I fired up Google search and without any particular reason typed in the search term "About Linux". And here is a snapshot of the search results. What is worth noting is the sponsored link "About Linux" - the third one from top - which is by none other than Microsoft and it goes on to say why Windows server environment is more secure than Linux....

Fig: Microsoft propaganda against Linux

Now having seen this, I was left with a smile on my face because obviously the top Microsoft Execs are spending sleepless nights thinking about the inroads that Linux has made especially in the server arena. Most number of websites and databases that are hosted on the net run on a server powered by a Linux distribution. And with the support enjoyed by Linux from industry leaders of the likes of IBM, it is no wonder that Microsoft has been forced to resort to advertisement to persuade the section of people who are interested in trying out Linux to their side.

Portable Apps - Carry all your favorite Open Source applications where ever you go

Recently while visiting a friends house, I ran into a situation where I had to use his computer. His computer is a rather old one which he has seldom maintained properly. He still has Windows 98 loaded on it. The very same Windows OS which came pre-installed on his computer when he bought it a couple of years back. And most applications including the web browser (IE) have not been updated. In fact the web browser he has on it is IE 4.0. And as you will know, IE 4.0 does not have good CSS support and so render most websites poorly. And on top of all that, he is so tech phobic that he was not inclined to allow any other software on his machine.

That was when I felt the need for a solution where in I could use a standalone version of my favorite applications. And after some googling, I came across this unique website called portableapps.com which has a collection of many Open Source and GPLed software which I use on a daily basis.

The idea is that you can use these applications without installing on the hard disk. For instance, faced with a situation such as mine, you can easily carry all the applications on a USB stick and then just plug in the USB stick and click on the necessary application to start using it. It is as simple as that.

The website provides the portable applications bundled as a suite in two different formats which is :

• Standard format 89.5 MB and
• Lite format 30.4 MB size
  

At present, there are over 50 different open source applications including the latest version of Firefox (2.0). And all the applications are guaranteed to work in Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Vista and Wine. Some applications are also known to work in Windows 95 too.

Advantages of using portable apps
You can carry the following things with you on a USB stick ...

• Your web browser with all your favorite bookmarks
• Your calendar with all your appointments
• Email client with all your contacts and settings
• Instant messenger and your buddy list
• The whole office suite (OpenOffice.org) along with your documents and presentations
• An anti-virus program and other computer utilities
• All your important passwords and account information securely.
  

You can also put portable apps to use in diverse ways such as ...

• Have your favorite websites handy to recommend to a friend or colleague
• Have your presentation AND the required software ready to go for that big meeting
• Have your password with you if you want to bank online while traveling
• Have utilities handy when visiting family or friends that are having PC problems
  

If you are always on the move and are forced to use computers not your own, then this handy suite of open source applications will be a real convenience to you especially if you are wedded to using open source applications to get your job done.

15 extra ways to keep your brain healthy

As kids, each one of us were endowed with bountiful energy and we were raring to go and do things. Some of them which could have put us into trouble at one time or the other. But as we grow older, and reach our 30's, our high energy levels taper and hit a plateau and then from there by the time we hit 40's and 50's it is a steady decline....

... Unless we do something about it. Ririan a student in Bucharest, Romania has put together an article explaining simple ways by which you can maintain your level of brain activity and thus keep your brain healthy and save from deterioration. In short this is his list.

1. Take 20-30 minutes time off everyday to empty your mind.
2. Hit the streets - in one word exercise.
3. Vary your exercise routines - try out multiple exercises and mix it up.
4. Read a book - or a blog (Ps: You could make it a habit to daily read this blog for instance *wink* *wink*)
5. Occasionally consume some caffeine drink (Coffee ??)
6. Engage in a debate - Plain yakking will not do. It has to be serious thoughtful conversation.
7. Play video games - Playing video games will help develop stronger visual skills and make decisions 85% faster. Ps. Pacman is still my favourate. You can also find a lot of games in Linux.
8. Subscribe to a daily newsletter - You can find a box on the left side of this blog to enter your email and subscribe.
9. Eat Curry - More specifically Indian curry. Make sure it is not Chicken Tikka Masala (The national curry dish of Great Britain) ;-). It's anything but healthy.
10. Grab a cue and play pool - You could also play Chess which is sure to increase mental clarity.
11. Learn an instrument - Now that is beyond me. But I do love listening to people play a wide variety of instruments.
12. Eat lots of low fat dried fruits such as dates, apricots and so on.
13. Fresh air golf playing - Those who can't afford to play golf can also try croquet.
14. Less stressed with Yoga - This I like. Yoga is truly great to relieve stress.
15. Build a miniature model - Time to buy Lego...
    

Do read Ririan's article which explains these 15 ways of keeping ones brain in shape in more detail.

HTML entry character lookup

I am sure most people will know the HTML markup for an & or a © (Copyright). But what do you do if you have to display other non-english characters such as currencies of countries like the Japanese Yen, Pound and so on... You refer a HTML entry character lookup.

In Linux, if you are running Gnome desktop, you have the Gnome character map which can be used to copy the required characters and paste in the HTML document.

Fig: Gnome character map

There is another easier way though; you can use the online HTML entry character lookup which prints out the HTML code for the characters you are searching. For example, if you want the code for the Pound sign, just type "Pound" in the text box and the web page spits up the equivalent code for what you have typed.

Fig; HTML character lookup

The features of this facility are as follows :

• Search for entity characters based on how they look (taken from the W3C list of entities)
• Switch between standard and compressed views
• Copy the HTML entity to the clipboard
• Add your own keyword terms and characters to entities
• Settings stored in a browser cookie
  

Check out the website here.

Getting access to gmail accounts of the deceased

Do you have a gmail address ? And do you store sensitive information in your gmail account which you have received from your contacts ? Then you (or rather people close to you such as your family) might be interested in knowing the ways in which someone can gain access to your account in the event of your demise.

You have to follow a number of procedures to eventually gain access to someones gmail account. This article explains what it takes to make google reveal the password of a gmail account not your own.

While this is not strictly related to Linux, I am sure you will find this information useful as I have because, I have an email address at gmail.com.

Kernel comparison between Linux (2.6.20) versus Windows (Vista)

For those of us who are used to dual boot between Windows and Linux, at one point of time or the other, we might have wondered in what way these two diverse OS kernels differ from each other. Other than the well known fact that one is open source and the other is proprietary, I knew very little about the technical differences of Linux and Windows kernels.

Johnathon Weare aided by Paolo De Nictolis has put together an extensive list of the inherent technical differences in Linux and Windows Vista. The Linux kernel used for the comparison is the latest one - 2.6.20.

A few things which caught my eye in the list were the following:

• Almost all the drivers for USB, Printing, FUSE and Graphics for Linux are in the user space where as in Windows they operate in the kernel space. And as Andy Tanenbaum put it, it is better if more and more drivers run in the user space than the kernel space as this makes the OS more reliable and secure. [Advantage Linux]
• Both Linux and Windows kernels are developed using C and assembly language but apart from that Windows also has a significant percentage of C++ code. Not surprisingly, the kernel size of Linux is just over half of that of Windows.
• Linux kernel boots on diverse hardware architecture (around 22) including some game stations such as Sony Playstation. Where as Windows support only a measly 3 architectures. [Advantage Linux]
• Linux kernel has inbuilt support for the most variety of file systems.
  

Having gone through the list, I couldn't think of even one area where Windows kernel was ahead of Linux except perhaps the types of hard disks supported where Windows kernel had support for flash and hybrid hard drive which Linux kernel doesn't.

If you are interested, do read the full list of comparison between Linux and Windows Vista kernels.

Play this game to get 20% off on all Logitech products

Planning to buy a keyboard or a mouse or some other PC peripherals ? Then here is a good chance to get 1/5th of the price of the hardware you buy slashed. All you have to do is play this simple game - well it is not that simple; and complete 10 levels of the game. Once you complete the first 10 levels, you are eligible to get 20 % OFF on all Logitech products.

The game called Jelly Jumper is a simple game. You have to jump the lump of green jelly from point A to point B. The point B is highlighted in green color. But as I said, the feat is not as simple as it looks because in between, there are a lot of pitfalls which you have to avoid while crossing from point A to B. More over, you have to use less than the maximum number of jumps (highlighted in red) for each level to be taken to the next level. At the least even if you do not cross the 10 levels to be eligible for the 20% discount, the game is a good time killer. So you might as well give it a try if you have enough time to kill. Who knows, you might just qualify for a 20 % discount.

Fig: "All About Linux" blog author is eligible for 20% discount of all logitech products.

Note: The offer is available only in the European Union. So the rest of us residing outside have to contend with just playing the game and having a nice time.

A word of caution though... If you are indeed buying any peripherals, make sure they support GNU/Linux ;-).

A University to learn more about batteries

In this age, most of mankind are very much subservient towards power - the electrical kind. In fact, we cannot think of a situation where we are left for want of power. Think of all those mobile devices, be it laptops, mobile phones, PDAs, music players, radios, automobiles ... the list goes on, they all have one thing in common which is the ubiquitous battery.

What many don't realize is that there are different kinds of batteries. For instance, the nickel based battery, the lithium-ion kind, lead acid battery and so on. And each of them have their own pros and cons. And to enlighten us about the difference between these variety of batteries, a portal has been created called batteryuniversity.com. Here you can learn the basics of every battery, getting the most from your batteries and lastly the people behind this very useful website which caters to a niche but useful subject as the batteries.

Now you tell me if there is even a single GNU/Linux user who does not find use for a battery....