The University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Linux Operating System Software

Turkeybytes: Vim Text Editor

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for Vim. Vim, which stands for “Vi Improved,” is a text editor that is based on Vi, an older editor that was used with the original Unix operating system. Vim is free, open source software that comes with most modern Linux distributions. It is mostly for writing programs and scripts, but can be used to edit any sort of basic text file. It is designed so that the user never has to take their hands off of the keyboard or touch a mouse. If you use Vim properly, your palms can stay in the same position while only your fingers move. For this reason, Vim users are occasionally referred to as keyboard cowboys.

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Linux Mac OSX Operating System Software Windows

Turkeybytes: UNetbootin

With the release of Windows 8.1 I finally decided that it was worth replacing the trusted Windows 7 with Microsoft’s latest and greatest. Windows 8 is awesome; it provides many behind the scenes system improvements that will make your PC run more fluidly, and with Windows 8.1 Microsoft has fixed many of the user interface flaws that users and critics have been complaining about. I highly recommend upgrading to Windows 8.1 if you are a UMass student, faculty or staff because it is FREE through Microsoft Dreamspark!

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Operating System Windows

Turkeybytes: Classic Shell

The program that I am most thankful for is Classic Shell. Classic shell replaces the start button on Windows 8 so that instead of taking the user to the metro (blocks) interface of Windows 8, it brings up the traditional start menu of Windows Vista or 7. You may ask why not just use Windows 7 instead of 8? Well, Windows 8 is a much lighter operating system than 7 meaning that it uses less storage space on the hard drive and uses less RAM, or memory. Overall Windows 8 is much faster than Windows 7, but some people have found the metro interface unpleasant to use. Classic shell helps to bridge the gap between the two by giving the faster, lighter Windows 8 with the familiar interface of Windows 7 that many people have become accustomed to.

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Hardware

Turkeybytes: Solid-State Drives

For Thanksgiving this year I am most thankful for solid-state drives. I had an HP notebook with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and recently bought a refurbished Lenovo laptop with an SSD (Solid State Drive). It is a great deal faster than my old computer. Though my new computer also has a better processor and more RAM, part of the significant difference in speed has to do with now having an SSD. It is much more expensive than the hard disk drive counterpart, but it was well-worth the cost because I value speed more than disk space.

Categories
Linux Operating System

Turkeybytes: Elementary OS

This week I’m thankful for Elementary OS!

Elementary OS is an open source Linux distribution that’s sure to hit home with anyone who loves minimalism and simplicity. With all the functionality of Ubuntu 13.04 and some design ideas similar to OSX, Elementary OS is lightweight and compatible with most Apple computers and PCs.

Elementary OS

The newest release, called Luna, is easy to use and free to download. Just like any other Linux distribution, Luna is highly customizable. Want to swap out your dock for something more OS 10.9-esque? No problem. You also already have all the functionality you need – there’s a software store, system settings, and some preloaded programs. If you’re comfortable with Ubuntu, you’ll have no problems navigating this interface.

Check out this site for more information, and to download Elementary OS for free. If you want a physical DVD sent to you instead, you can buy one at the store for $10.00.

Categories
Google Software Web

Turkeybytes: Google Chrome

If you find yourself browsing the internet all over the place like I do, you may be looking for a more streamlined approach to browsing on multiple devices. I have found that the easiest way to do this is with a browser called Google Chrome. It can be run on any popular operating system such as Windows, Mac and Ubuntu and can even be run off of a flash drive without installing it first. It even syncs from your computer to your Android phone running the Chrome Browser app.

Users can create a google account or use a pre-existing one to sign into their browser. From there you can change your sync settings and manage any content saved with your account. All of this information and usernames and passwords and such are migrated to any browser on any computer that you sign into from there. This can be managed from your Google account dashboard. In addition to usernames and passwords, the synced content includes things like browser history, bookmarks, theme, your Voice history, saved Youtube videos, your Wallet profiles and purchases and much more. Give it a try by downloading it from the Google page!

Download: here

For more information check out this: tutorial

 

Categories
Hardware

Building Your Rig 101: CPUs

Welcome back! For those of you who are first time readers, this is a series dedicated to covering the different aspects related to building your own computer. This week I will be going over CPUs, and discussing what you should have in mind when choosing which to get.

Categories
Web

Web Browsing Advice

If there’s one thing that almost every single student at UMass does with their computer, it’s go online and look at websites. You may be looking at websites just for homework, to check out Facebook, browse reddit or do some research for a class. No matter what you use it for, though, there’s a lot of helpful hints and useful keyboard shortcuts that can make your web browsing experience better.

Categories
Hardware Operating System

New Technologies Releasing The Potential of Ultrabooks

Ultrabooks are the future of the PC industry because they offer an affordable, lightweight, and quality computing experience. New technologies are enabling companies like ASUS, Acer, Apple, Samsung, Dell, and HP to produce relatively inexpensive ultrabooks with exceptional battery life and performance. This article will examine some of these new innovations that unlock the potential of ultrabooks.

Categories
Mac OSX Operating System Security

Time Machine: Automatic Backups for your Mac

What is Time Machine?

Time Machine is automatic backup software that comes with Mac OS X. It allows you to backup your entire Mac, including system files, applications, accounts, preferences, email messages, music, photos, movies, and documents to an external drive. After the initial backup is complete, Time Machine will continue to perform hourly backups on any files that have been changed since the last time it ran. When your external drive is filled, Time Machine will start to delete the oldest existing backups in order to free up space.

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Apps Google Apps Security Web

Digital Wallets The Future of Buying Products.

 

Technology has become integrated in our society, we are using it every day at work, home, and in some states there using IPad’s to teach kindergarten class. With technology becoming more of a necessity than a luxury in past years, the number of people shopping online has increased at an astounding rate. The online shopping market is projected to be worth 370 billion dollars in 2017.

Categories
Hardware

Building Your Rig 101: Video Cards

If you are planning on building your own computer, whether it is for a high end workstation, or a custom gaming rig you will definitely be looking at different video cards. This post will cover the overwhelming variety of different video cards, and hopefully answer some questions that you might have.