X-Window System

The X-window system is a system-level application, or rather, a process that handles the display in Linux. Basically, what you see on your screen is coming from X.

ChucK - Audio Programming Language

ChucK is an open source audio programming language.

Chuck’s developers claim it is “strongly timed”. This means that everything can be controlled in real time and code may be modified on the fly, while the program is running. Chuck fully supports MIDI, OSC, HID devices and multi channel audio and works under Windows, Linux and Mac/OS. In conclusion it is a powerful yet simple programming tool that allows the user to develop unique audio synthesis programs.

Parallels Mac Desktop

The New Parallels software is out! Parallels is the first virtualization software that allows Intel-based Mac users to run multiple Windows applications without rebooting your Mac Dock!

With the new Parallels 3.0 for Mac, you can enjoy both Windows applications as well as Mac OS X applications concurrently! And, unlike Boot Camp, you won’t have to restart! Parallels also works with OpenGL and DirectX specifications to let you and play your favorite Windows games during any time, even when still working in Mac OS X. Now you can play Half Life, Hitman, Homeworld 2, Live for Speed, Quake1 GL, Quake 2, Quake 3 and more on your Mac! Cliff Joseph from MacWorld UK says, “Parallels Desktop 3.0 is a surprisingly effective method of running Windows software on your Mac.” Try it today; it may just be the coolest software you’ve ever purchased. And, for $80, you can’t beat the price!

Windows XP Shutdown Shortcuts

Are scheduled defragmentation sessions, downloads, or file transfers keeping you up because you’d like to turn off your computer when they’re done?

Are you frustrated when you click Shut Down on your Windows machine but nothing happens? To have better control of your shutdown procedures, I recommend using the command line. This will allow you to have the computer turn itself off at a specified time, to force shutdowns of Windows no matter which program is “hanging”, restart your computer, log off, and even potentially shut down or restart a network computer for which you have administrative rights.

You can enter this command by clicking Start > Run. Type the command “shutdown” without the quotes and modify it with any of the following parameters or arguments:

• shutdown -i will display a simple graphical interface for shutting down, logging off, or restarting network computers.
• shutdown -l will log your computer off
• shutdown -s the most common variant of this command, this simply shuts down your computer the usual way
• shutdown -r shut down and restart the computer shutdown -a will abort a shut down procedure (if there is a still a countdown running to the shutdown; this command *cannot* be used to halt a shutdown in progress)
• shutdown -f begins a forced shutdown, kills hanging tasks as soon as the command is issued
• shutdown -t ?? replace the question marks with any number of seconds, up to an 8-digit integer (this means you can have your computer shutdown from 0 seconds up to roughly 1157 days, or 3 years and 2 months in the future.)
• shutdown -c if you have scheduled a shutdown, logoff, or restart, you may use 127 characters or less to inform the user about the reason for the shutdown
• These parameters can be applied as a string. For example, if I wished to shut down my computer 4 hours and 30 minutes from now, and to ensure that it did not hang and thus stay on until morning, I would click Start, then Run, then I’d enter “shutdown -s -f -t 16200″ without the quotes. Likewise, if I got up during the night and decided that I should keep the computer on after all, I’d enter the command “shutdown -a” while the timer was still on. The -t ?? parameter is very useful, and can be applied in conjunction with almost any other parameter.
• Please note that arguments for the shutdown command need to be issued in this order: -i -l -s -r -a -f -t ?? -c This means that if you wanted to combine a comment code with a forced restart command and a timer, you’d have to write the string in this fashion: “shutdown -r -f -t ?? -c ???” with the question marks replaced by values

Windows Mobile Today Screen Tools

One of the best tools that Windows Mobile offers PDA owners is the Today Screen. It’s your primary source of information and can be set to appear every time that you turn your PDA on, reminding you of things to do or places to be. With a little bit of free software you can make the Today screen even more useful and there’s nothing better than a bit of extra utility for no outlay.

The first tool is a replacement for the standard calendar Today plugin: Calendar+. The default calendar plug-in is very restricted, only showing the next appointment or next day’s appointments. Not much use for forward planning. Calendar+ however, allows you to select the number of future appointments to display (up to a month), the format that they are displayed in and how much of the Today screen will be dedicated to the purpose.

The second tool is an application launcher from Scott Seligman, which manages to be both slick and lightweight at the same time, visually integrating into the Today screen in a way that commercial competitors fail to do. As first installed the program creates shortcuts to all the applications on your device, however by simply adding or removing files from the launcher folder you can customize this to your own taste.