December 28, 2013

Are your applications portable?

Installing software applications on your computer is one thing. However, what if you want to use them on a different system? Or how about the situation when your OS has to be re-installed? This brings up the question posed in the title of this blog post: Are your applications portable?

One solution is to use “portable” versions instead of “installable” versions – meaning, you’d be able to just extract the application binary to just a directory directly and use it from there on. Having portable versions of the programs is good. Wouldn't it be better to have an entity to manage all such portable applications? This is exactly where the solution offered by this Techbit, PortableApps comes into picture.

PortableApps lets you install various applications and manage them easily. It can be downloaded from http://portableapps.com/. Not all the applications are covered as of now but the positive side is
PortableApps is gaining popularity and we should be seeing the application repository of PortableApps ever increasing.

To summarize, following approach is what I would generally suggest in the context of installing software:
  • If the software has a portable version compatible with PortableApps, use it.
  • If not, check if a portable version of the software exists and use it if so.
  • If the software does not offer any portable version, only then install it in the installable mode.

December 24, 2013

Donate blood & Save lives

Quite a while, it has been, since I shared something that is not only non-technical but also in sync with my blog's caption.

Being helpful to one another is the least that we could do. We should not only be mindful of not harming others but also equally mindful of helping others. This is still more relevant in these changing times.

Blood donation is one such act of reaching out and helping those in need. Regarding titling this blog post "Donate blood & Save lives" in old fashioned manner, few things are better that way! In any case, as old as it sounds, it is as much valid and important even today :)

Donate blood

Blood donation is a very special way of volunteerism. One may not always have the required resources to be of assistance to others. However, blood donation does not require anything else except your good health and willingness. While other forms of giving bring joy to you psychologically, blood donation is unique in the way that it additionally gives many health benefits and improves you physically too.

Register yourself
 
Register your willingness to donate blood at any of the noted blood donor registry sites like the following; look out for other equivalent sites or channels depending on where you reside.

http://www.bharatbloodbank.com/
http://www.friends2support.org/

http://www.redcrossblood.org/

Make a list

Build a handy list of the people you know with details like their blood group, contact number, when did they last donate etc. This is like a local repository that is available only with you and your folks. You can have different repositories for different groups like family, friends and colleagues. Having such list(s) can come in very handy at unexpected times. Get started by creating an excel with columns like below:
  1. S. No.
  2. Name
  3. Blood Group
  4. Last donated
  5. Notes
Create awareness

Being aware is one thing. Creating awareness is another altogether. Understand the necessity & benefits of blood donation; explain the same to others. Encourage your family and friends to register and come forward to donate blood. Spread the word around and ask the folks to do the same in turn.

Experience & enjoy the joy of giving and being of assistance to others!

December 13, 2013

EPIC: Eclipse-based Perl IDE

Are you a programmer? And, is Perl one of the languages you use? If so, then this Techbit is for you.

EPIC is the point to start from for your Perl programming. It is imperative that one uses IDE for programming and it is precisely where EPIC comes as aid in the case of Perl-based development activities. As an IDE, EPIC provides all the standard functionality like syntax highlighting, syntax checking, content assist, debugging aids etc.

EPIC is located at http://www.epic-ide.org/.


For a quick head start, you can go through http://web.archive.org/web/20120113222246/http://www.cs.wcupa.edu/~rkline/Ubuntu/eclipse-perl.html (archived version of the no longer accessible http://www.cs.wcupa.edu/~rkline/Ubuntu/eclipse-perl.html). The detailed documentation can be found at the official website listed above.

December 9, 2013

Process Hacker

Process Hacker is similar to Process Explorer, which was covered here as part of an earlier Techbit.

There are differences though. While there are parties taking sides on either of these as usual, it is commonly said that Process Explorer is more helpful from a process inspection perspective whereas Process Hacker is stated to excel in process manipulation. As you use both the utilities, you’ll find the use-cases that only one of them can realize or those that can be realized in a better manner though one or those that can be realized equally well through either.

This utility is homed at http://processhacker.sourceforge.net/.

December 4, 2013

Command Line Snippet Store

Straight from the words as described on the site itself, http://www.commandlinefu.com is the place to record those command-line gems that you return to again and again. Delete that bloated snippets file you've been using and share your personal repository with the world. That way others can gain from your CLI wisdom and you from theirs too. All commands can be commented on, discussed and voted up or down.

December 1, 2013

Process Explorer

You tried to delete a file on your Windows system and the system complained that the operation cannot be completed as the file is being in use. Which process or processes have the file handle? Or is it due a runaway process that did not do proper cleanup before exiting, in which case system restart is the only option? How about finding out what process does an open window correspond to? And, how about then checking the details like description, corporation etc. of that process?

Process Explorer lets you achieve the above tasks and much more.


This utility was from Sysinternals and later became part of Microsoft’s kitty as part of an acquisition. This utility is hosted and available for download at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.