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December 2007

Table of Contents

• Web Apps and Portable Applications Make Any Computer Your Own
• Get Ready For Next Semester With Online Tools
• In The Mood For Holiday Music? Stream It!
• Be Secure Protects Your Computer From Viruses, But Not From Thieves!

Web Apps and Portable Applications Make Any Computer Your Own

Hate sitting down at someone else’s computer and finding that all of your neatly organized bookmarks are gone, or that none of your favorite applications are installed? Although migrating your information to a web app or switching to portable applications may take some time, it will be well worth it if you can enjoy the personal touches of your own computer anywhere.

Applications: Many applications have an alternative portable version that can be installed on a flash drive or other removable media so that you can use it anywhere you go. To get started with portable applications, visit PortableApps [www.portableapps.com], which offers a wide repository of applications, ranging from the popular Firefox browser to games such as SuDoKu. The best part about portable applications is that any change you make when using the application is stored on the flash drive or removable media instead of the actual computer, so they can travel with you.

Bookmarks: For accessing your bookmarks anywhere, try del.icio.us [www.delicious.com], an online system that lets you tag and note websites for later use. Since it’s a web application, your bookmarks are available wherever the internet is. Furthermore, the integrated tagging and organizing system makes sorting through many bookmarks a breeze.

Linux: Always been interested in Linux, but too afraid to commit to it full time? Try Puppy Linux [www.puppylinux.org], which is small enough to install on a flash drive. You can try out Linux without touching your personal computer’s hard drive. Puppy Linux is also available as a LiveCD, which boots from a CD drive.

Get Ready For Next Semester With Online Tools

Semester didn’t go as well as you wanted it to? Maybe you’re not using the right tools when it comes to staying organized and on task. The tools below are available free of charge, and could come in handy when it comes to planning (and staying on top of) your goals.

• Remember the Milk: An online task manager with a myriad of keyboard shortcuts, gmail integration and other nifty features. This to-do list is super-charged with tools to help you stay on track with tasks ranging from buying milk to finishing a research project [www.rememberthemilk.com]. Another option is Todoist, a simpler alternative to Remember the Milk [www.todoist.com].


• Google Docs: If you haven’t tried out Google Docs before, you’re missing out on an excellent tool to keep all your documents accessible from anywhere. Working in the library when your laptop dies? If you were working in Google Docs, your file would be automatically saved, and you can pick up right where you left off on a workstation nearby. Google Docs is robust, and incorporates most of Microsoft Word’s basic features. It also features a spreadsheet editor which mirrors Microsoft Excel, and a basic slideshow editor for a simple alternative to Micrososoft Powerpoint [docs.google.com].


• myNoteIt: While Google Docs can be used to take notes, myNoteIt is designed especially with student note-takers in mind. Notes can be edited by multiple people at once, and all notes are fully searchable. You can also share notes with classmates easily, and post questions on a class forum [www.mynoteit.com].

In The Mood For Holiday Music? Stream It!

We understand that around the holiday season, you’re in the mood for some theme music (death metal or not). If you’re only going to listen to the songs for three weeks and don’t want to shell out big bucks to quench your thirst for holiday music, stream it instead.

A few advantages:

• Legal: Streaming music online from reputable sites is legal. These sites go to great lengths to license songs to avoid getting in trouble with the RIAA.


• Free: Streaming music is not only legal, it’s also free! While you will not be able to save the songs to your hard drive, you can listen to a mix that changes every day, and in some cases, changes to match your tastes.


• Try before you buy: Instead of purchasing lots of music only to find that you don’t really like some of the songs, try out the songs first before you commit to purchasing them.

The following sites are currently offering holiday music channels:

• Download.com offers a online holiday radio channel as well as weekly downloads of both new and established artists. [music.download.com]


• Pandora offers a music application that learns while you listen. After some training, Pandora will play artists and song styles that match your music genome (your music tastes). Currently, Pandora has a holiday themed radio channel available. [pandora.com]


• Yahoo! Launchcast offers a similar service to Pandora, and also features music videos. [music.yahoo.com/launchcast/]

Remember, the only way to legally download music is to purchase it from a reputable vendor. For more information on legally downloading media from the Internet, please visit www.rescomp.berkeley.edu/besmart/

Be Secure Protects Your Computer From Viruses, But Not From Thieves!

Before you leave the residence halls for winter break, make sure to protect your personal belongings in your residence hall room.

• If you’re leaving your desktop, move it out of sight into your closet or under your desk.
• Put away any portable electronics that you might usually leave out in the open.
• Don’t forget about your game consoles or your DVD collections.

While housing staff do their best to make sure that the residence halls are kept safe and secure over the holiday vacation, a little bit of effort can go a long way towards protecting your computer, your gadgets, and the data that’s on them.