Over the years my computer toolbar has established a small number of programs that I use all the time. I would like to use free* software every time, but there are some tools I use for work that I just can’t replicate with a free alternative. Some of the versions I use are ancient by today’s standards but do the job for me.
My most used software 2012
| Free* | Commercial |
|---|---|
| Thunderbird | SecureCRT (SSH client) |
| Firefox | WSPing ProPack |
| WinSCP | Navicat (MySQL management) |
| OpenOffice | MS RemoteDesktop |
| Dropbox | TextPad |
| Pidgin (instant messenger) | Fireworks |
*Free has two meanings in the world of computer software
- Free (as in beer) – this means at no cost. You get the software for nothing.
- Free (as in speech) – this means not closed, proprietary. You could take a aprt the software and rewrite it if you wanted to, and this is explicitly allowed.
Why not let me know what software you can’t live without, by filling in the comment box below.
Tags: useful software
Battersea Bridge Lit up at Night
Had a lovely night on Saturday at the Battersea. Police Ball.
Great night. And they even played old fashioned (i.e. 20th Century) music. Which was nice.
Tags: Ball, Battersea Park
Streatham Ice Rink has a faded look to it, but despite that it’s thriving. There has been an ice rink in Streatham (South London, UK) since 1931 but this came under threat this year with massive redevelopment plans. Thanks to the tireless campaigning of local people, this part of South London will continue to have an ice rink both during and after the redevelopment.
A temporary rink is due to be built on Pope’s Road, Brixton for two and a half years and then towards the end of 2013, a new permanent rink will open.
There will be a Closing Gala at Streatham on Sunday 18th December 2011 starting at 4pm with a Gala performance from 4 to 6pm followed by a party on the ice until 8pm. Tickets will be £7.50 to include the Gala, the skate afterwards and skate hire if required. For more details see Gala Poster.
Please come along to watch, skate or both. It is a chance to celebrate the long life of the much-loved 1931 building and mark the end of one era and the start of the next.
This will be the last day of operation of the rink. The temporary rink will be open on Monday 19th December.
Steve Jobs Biography
I’m currently reading the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and very revealing it is too.
I’m quite a fan of biographies of people in the tech industry and this book is certainly one with the most in depth look at it’s subject’s personality. Perhaps that’s because Steve Job’s personality is more interesting than say Bill Gates!
I’m about half-way through the book at the moment and what strikes me is How did he do it? Almost everyone quoted in the book reminds us of Steve Job’s almost sociopathic personality. He bullied, berated and belittled almost everyone in his life. The fact that he achieved so much and that there is a cult of Steve Jobs amongst fans of Apple products is getting harder and harder to understand the more I read of the book.
I remember a teacher at school, Don Culver, always used to tell us “Hitler liked children and dogs but he was still evil”. The cult of personality seems to depend more on something built in to the person rather than their actions.
In the book I’ve not heard many quotes from people saying the liked Steve Jobs, or that they enjoyed working for him. But there’s no doubt he brought something out of those people that they might otherwise never have discovered.
A good read!
Tags: Apple, Biography, Book, Steve Jobs
An interesting construction in Battersea Park yesterday. Some kind of Art thing, but built only from bamboo and elastic bands.
It’s a dry run for a much bigger construction this time next year, during the Olympic Games.
Tags: bamboo, Battersea Park, rubber bands
Are green buildings actually genuine or is it just lip service to get the planning?
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- Strata, Elephant and Castle
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- Telehouse West, Docklands
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- Kinetica, Dalston
I go past the Strata building in Elephant and Castle regularly and have never once seen the wind turbines going round.
The Telehouse West datacentre was hailed at “Green” during it’s construction but according to the press, the electricty from it’s solar panels only goes to provide charging facilities onsite for non-existent electric cars, and it’s heat exchange service ends at the site perimeter with no local housing within practical distance.
The Kinetica building I passed by on Sunday at Dalston’s Uprise festival and again no sign of the turbines moving despite the moderate wind.
The attacks on America 10 years ago today are being marked by many memorial events today. US President Obama is visiting all 4 sites and here in the UK there are many ceremonies and special religous services.
I was in Italy at the time of the attacks, on honeymoon with Jeanette. As often is the case when on holiday, daily news wasn’t part of the routine but on that particular day we’d turned on the television in our hotel room and watched in disbelief and then horror at the unfolding events.
The changes in American politics since has been dramatic and (to me) unfortunate – Guatanamo Bay, State approved torture, rendition. A survey into attitudes ten years after the 9/11 attacks has found over half thought that torture of suspected terrorists was OK, and a similar number favoured “harsh interrogation techniques.” It seems the USA has become desensitised to violence and I wonder if there is a way back to being the benign world policeman that has helped keep the globe largely at peace since World War II. On a more hopeful note, the survey also found that 46 per cent of people felt torture wasn’t justified. I wonder what a similar survey of UK citizens would reveal.
