Windows 7 Upgrade Installation

Do you own a valid copy of Windows XP, or Vista?  Did you purchase a Windows 7 upgrade only to find that you have to install Windows 7 over XP or Vista to get it to work?  Well there is a way to get around all that.  One simple registry hack will allow you to use your Windows 7 Upgrade disk to do a clean install.  Read all about it here...

A few things I like about Ubuntu 11.10

I have been using Ubuntu 11.10 for over a month, it seems like the popular thing right now is bashing Ubuntu because of Unity. Is Unity different? Yes. Does that make it bad? No. I have been an OS X user for years and see some similarity between it and Unity. Unity has made Ubuntu less like Windows and more like OS X yet keeping it unique. One of the reasons I do not have a problem with Unity might be my OS X background.

Feature improvments:
Dash Home. The Dash home icon on the launcher bar is in a better place. The search feature works well. (One of the things I love about OS X) Click the dash home and began typing, bang your application or file is found. (Need to be able to define words and do math to match OS X)

Update Status. With Ubuntu 11.04 I could never tell when I needed an update. 11.10 fixed this problem. Clicking on the gear in the upper right corner drops down a menu. One of the options is update status. If an update is needed a simple click opens the update manager.

Closing frozen applications. In the past frozen applications were hard for me to close. Now clicking on the x force closes them. (I have only had LibreOffice freeze up)

Appearance. This time I am using the background that changes throughout the day. Works well with no noticeable slowdowns. 

Overall I like Ubuntu. For anyone with decent hardware wanting to get started with Linux, Ubuntu is a good way to do that.


More reading:
Ubuntu http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/whats-new 
Ubuntu 11.10 Review : I take it back. Unity is cool.
 http://lunduke.com/?p=1985

Microsoft Pinball For Windows Vista & 7

Remember Space Cadet 3D Pinball that came with Windows XP? I was working on a friend's Windows 7 machine, wanting something to do to kill the time while I waited for the updates to download and install i opened the game folder and realized at once the game I wanted was missing.  I then went hunting for Space Cadet. I was very happy to run across this site: http://mspinball.weebly.com/download.html

It is the same Microsoft Pinball we used to love. I have tried it on Windows 7 and had no problems.

MyWOD: Crossfit App for iOS

In September a friend of mine finally convinced me to try Crossfit. Once I got started I found out that I really enjoyed doing the workouts and then began looking for an iOS App. I wanted an App that would suggest exercises and track my exercises. I also wanted a tabata app (see video). Between my friend and I we tried 3 different apps and he bought a stand alone tabata app, then I found MyWOD. MyWOD includes suggested exercises, tracking and 4 timers, including a tabata timer. All this at a price less then the stand alone tabata timer.

MyWOD comes with a list of common WODs and a link to the Crossfit.com RSS feed. When you click on the Common WODs tab you will see a + in the upper right corner, from there you can add your own WOD. The My WODs tab tracks the WODs you have completed. This is done two ways; the first way is through My WODs, tap the + and manually enter the workout. The other option is to use Common WODs, tap the WOD then tap add to My WODs. There are two other categories, My Records and Max Weight.

I have also been impressed my the response of the developer. Twice I have written with feature requests and within 15 minutes received a reply with a promise for future updates. The first request was the addition of Road WODs and the second is the ability to sync between iOS devices. I have received the promise of both in future updates.

(Update) Two neat features I failed to mention: Number one, the timer continues to run when you leave the timer screen. This is great when doing a WOD for time that includes tabata exercises. You start the overall time then can switch to the tabata timer with out losing track of your total time. The other feature is the share button. I use share to email my buddies after completing a WOD.

(Update 3.0.61) Road WODs added. 

http://web.me.com/jimmytangeman/theDreamWorkshop/myWOD.html
MyWOD can be downloaded from the App store for 99¢:

Screen Shots: