What software do you use for Cloning Hard Disks?
With the tumbleweed blowing across this website, a conversation with a friend today has spurred this post...
Cloning hard disks was previously very popular in the corporate environment as a means of ensuring all the PC's were built with the same operating system and applications, as well as standardised configuration settings etc. - this brought it's own set of problems if you didn't sort out the SID properly by using SysPrep or third-party tool to reset (see this post from Microsoft regarding their policy on the matter http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314828) - and of course, the go-to tool for cloning was Ghost.
For the home environment Ghost was perhaps not really viable due to the license costs, especially for infrequent use - let's face it, generally the only time home users are cloning hard disks is either to upgrade their disk or to help out someone else doing the same thing (this is usually where I come in...)
So, what can you use today to do this job, that is both cheap and reliable?
Simple - CloneZilla
It's a Linux based boot CD/USB stick that allows you to boot the PC into CloneZilla's own environment where you can carry out the duplication of either whole disk or partitions as necessary.
And best of all, it's free to use!
You can download your copy here
What software do you use for Technical/3D Drawing?
I've always enjoyed putting together 3D models - from the early days of the ray-tracing programs you could get for the Atari ST, I wanted to put together my own little 3D mini world... but that's another story (I also think Second Life beat me to it)
If you want to design any sort of physical product, you generally want some form of technical drawing, backed up with accurate measurements etc. For my own woodworking designs, I use Google SketchUp.
This is a free (paid-for version available) program that has a wide range of functions available and allows you to create almost any 3D object you wish, one function I really like is the ability to create a "walk-through" of the object/scene you create.
You can download Google SketchUp here
Here is a slideshow of some of the designs that others have created - Slideshow
There are also a bunch of training videos/materials here
iPad App for Podcasts
To keep abreast of technology that is applicable to my work, I must absorb a lot of technical information, reading is fine but in certain instances I find it much easier to listen to a podcast.
There are many podcasts, covering almost every topic you could think of, so how can I listen to these on my iOS device? Personally, I like Downcast.
You can subscribe to many different podcasts and can do this easily through the interface as it provides a list of week known podcasts and categories, you can also add your own subscriptions from an RSS feed posted on the Internet. It works with both audio and video podcasts.
You can download Downcast here
In addition, here are some of the podcasts I find useful:
PCPro Podcast - possibly my favourite and is linked with the magazine of the same name (in UK)
Windows Weekly - excellent video podcast with Paul Thurrott and Mary-Jo Foley, shame about Leo though (he interrupts far too much with nonsensical comments and generally distracts from an otherwise great discussion of technology)
Sound on Sound - Music Technology podcast, linked with the magazine
The Wood Whisperer - Superb woodworking video podcast with practical instruction that really encourages you to go ahead and try these projects.
The WordPress Podcast - This is a newer one for me, but so far appears very useful talking about all things WordPress
What software do you use for Remote Support?
This topic is not for everyone, but if like me, you have to support friends and family's PC's (sometimes from afar) this is a superb tool and definitely helps prevent (at least reduce) endlessly long phone calls and late night support sessions.
In any remote support situation it is always far easier to be able to see and interact with the remote PC directly, this generally means a quicker fix and less frustration by both parties by not having to go through a guessing game of what is actually displaying on their screen at any one time.
With TeamViewer....
You can:
- See and interact with the remote PC
- Copy files to/from the remote PC
- Use a number of devices for remote support - iPhone, iPad, Android etc.
It's free for personal use.
Download it here
There is also a nice little video overview here
IPad App for PDFs?
GoodReader
Reading full page PDFs is one of the plus points of the iPad - although reading a back-lit screen for long periods is not fun...... that's where GoodReader comes to the rescue.
You get a lot of control of viewing the PDF's - from screen brightness to even being able to read the docs in a "flat" text mode which is good for letting you change the font sizes etc for an easier, more comfortable reading experience.
One of the other main features I use all the time is GoodReader's ability to synchronise my PDFs and other files with SugarSync (we'll cover SugarSync in a separate post), this way I can access my files anywhere and also makes it easier for me to upload new PDFs I've downloaded on my PC.
Other features I like:
- Opening multiple PDFs in tabs
- Page skimming/skipping
- Annotations & Bookmarks
So, go ahead, download it here (it's not free, but well worth the cost IMO)
What software do you use for Saving Passwords?
Nowdays, almost every website you visit requires some form of registration with username and password - and keeping track of more than a couple is almost impossible (you DO use a different password for each website don't you!!??). So how exactly do you keep a safe, secure list of passwords?
Simple - use LastPass
It saves your passwords as well as secure notes and you can access them from any PC or mobile device (once you have properly authenticated yourself of course!).
This has certainly made my life much easier.
Download it here
What software do you use for Making Music? Part 1
We've all got to have some down time, and for many (including me) making music is a good outlet. Making use of computerised instrumentation and recording can be a good next step if you play a musical instrument and want some backing or accompaniment. (without all the hassle of getting your mates round regularly and potentially annoying the neighbours with the inevitable sound levels that are required for live playing/recording)
There are many, many options in this area with options for whatever style of music you are Interested in, and many price points to match - from free to £1000s...
Of these, my current tool of choice is Reaper by Cockos.
It has many great features and stacks up very well against the big boys but at a fraction of the price (there is tiered pricing depending whether you make money out of music production or not - which is a great way to do things).
I like the straight-forward interface, it's simple to add/edit midi as well as take in live audio feeds from real instruments or microphones - I also particularly like the VST interface and have made good use of this (more of that in a later post).
The documentation is also easy to follow, and there are a number of sites hosting video tutorials if you prefer to "see" the information being presented.
You can get Reaper here
You can find tutorials here, here and here
What software do you use for Chinese 3-Line Input?
Not the standard sort of recommendation I confess, but nonetheless it's still software that I use regularly.... I've been attempting to learn Chinese for a few years and this is very useful for translating editable chinese text (i.e. from a copy/paste) with either Chinese simplified or traditional text, as well as being able to construct your own documents (something I do for public speaking and preparing discussion material) - here's an example of the output.
It outputs into either MS Word or OpenOffice (not sure if that automatically extends to LibreOffice), which is useful. It is a paid-for app, but well worth it if you need to create Chinese (with translation) docs.
You can get it here
What software do you use for Communicating with Family?
Nowadays we have many many ways to communicate in the digital world, email, social networks, instant messaging, video conferencing etc. that it can all get very confusing if you and the ones you want to speak with are not on the same networks... there are even programs that will consolidate your access to these many networks for you but are generally a little more advanced and require more time to understand. I'll cover these in a later posting...
Hence, as a very simple recommendation, I continue to mainly use Skype for voice and video calls.
Skype has been around for a long time and continues to be free for PC-to-PC calls ( and you can even get skype for mobile phones and smartphones like the iPhone or Android devices which continue the free theme) - although there are still benefits from the paid-for additions (calling phones abroad etc.), I find the free version still does everything I need for voice and video.
This is a great way for parents/grandparents to keep up-to-date with the goings-on of their children/grandchildren and adds that extra special something being able to both see and hear their excited expressions!
Go ahead, download it here and start communicating with family - whether near or far...
What software do you use for File Compression?
This one has a number of uses, not only to decompress files you download or receive via email but also to be able to bundle a group of files together and compress before sending out via email. The almost de-facto software for this is WinZip but a free alternative that works very well is 7zip.
7zip works will all the major file compression types, including rar, tar and gz - the latter two of which is a plus if you're dealing with files from a Linux or Mac OS machine.
You can download it here
Recent Posts
- What software do you use for Cloning Hard Disks?
- What software do you use for Technical/3D Drawing?
- iPad App for Podcasts
- What software do you use for Remote Support?
- IPad App for PDFs?
Recent Comments
Archives
Categories
Meta
