Linux and Friends

The other day, I had reviewed a fabulous open source mind mapping software called XMind. It is loaded with features that will help anyone give a visual representation of their ideas or thoughts. The following is an almost complete video tutorial which provides a birds eye view of the true power of XMind and what all it can accomplish.

Mind Mapping

XMind Video Tutorial - November 19, 2008
XMind Open Source Mind Mapping Software - November 17, 2008

If you are hesitant about embracing cycling (biking) as a mode of transport, then the following are 10 pertinent reasons you should set your doubts aside and start riding a bicycle.

1. It is an environmentally friendly mode of transport.
2. You save money on fuel (Gas, Petrol, Diesel or what ever you call it in your country) by riding a bicycle.
3. A bicycle requires comparably less maintenance.
4. Riding a bicycle is good for your health. You develop a strong heart and muscular limbs.
5. You can weave in and out of traffic.
6. Riding a bicycle is a quicker way of getting around the city. I have found that inside city, while driving automobiles, you can hardly go above 35 Km/hr. And many times you are forced to move at a crawl.
7. There are no parking problems. And you do not have to pay a toll for parking in special spots.
8. Riding a bicycle to work everyday, you do not have to set aside time for exercise as this in itself is an exercise. Thus the time saved can be used for other tasks.
9. The slow pace of travel helps you be receptive of the sights around you, which you might in all probably have missed while riding an automobile. And finally …
10. At the end of the day, you feel much better - Physically and Mentally.

Mind Mapping is a process of pictorially representing your thoughts on paper or any other medium such that you as well as others are able to track and comprehend your thoughts better. Now a days, the trend is to use a specialized software to create mind maps and export them to various file formats. There are numerous mind mapping software around, some of them open source and others propritery. XMind is one such mind mapping software which has recently been released as Open Source software. It comes in two versions - XMind and XMind Pro. The Pro version has a few additional features such as exporting your map as  PDF, MSWord Doc, PowerPoint or Gantt chart.

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Talk by people - who are experts in any field - is truly inspiring. It injects new ideas into our minds and motivates us to do something similar. This being so, a couple of websites have sprung up which invites inspiring people and leaders to give a small talk on their field of expertise and their experiences to a select audience. These talks are then made available online, free for all to view and get inspired.

• Ted.com - Ideas worth spreading.  This site hosts talks by world’s greatest thinkers and doers. Celebrities from all walks of life have presented a talk at Ted. The talks are related to Technology, Entertainment, Design, Business, Science, Culture, Arts and Global issues.
• The Do Lectures - The Do lectures are all about getting a handful of speakers together in one place, in the hope that they may inspire you to go Do something. To give you the tools and the desire to change the things you care about. The talks are related to any one of Business, Design, Environment, Food, Sport and Technology.

Microsoft Office which includes PowerPoint is the de-facto office software used in almost all corporate offices. While there are alternative Free office suites such as OpenOffice.org, they have yet to make a dent in the Microsoft stranglehold. But the good news is they are fast getting there.

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One month back, I had written a review of Avon bicycle which is an Indian Roadster. I had mentioned in the review that I was very satisfied with my choice of bicycle. I stand by that opinion. But this review is not about the bicycle, rather it is about a small, albeit very relevant and important part of the cycle namely the saddle.

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Why do you want to create a copy of the packages installed in Linux on your machine ? This is mainly to speed up in scenarios such as - upgrading from an earlier version to a newer version when you choose to do a fresh install, or installing an exact copy of Linux right down to all the packages installed on one machine to another machine and so on.

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Here is an interesting video which provides tips on how to ride your bicycle safely in wet weather. Very useful tips.

Rats, Cats and Dogs are considered to be natural enemies. But sometimes it seems even they can co-exist without any problem. Check out this interesting video in which a rat perched on top of a cat which rides on top of a dog. The pets belong to a homeless person named Pike who lives in San Francisco. Even though he is homeless, he makes around $100 each day through handouts which is quite a feat.

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