Apple’s OS Edge Is a Threat to Microsoft

A recent upgrade to the Mac operating system moves Apple closer to challenging Microsoft for overall computing dominance, even in the corporate market

Apple Wireless keyboard - Review - Tech.co.uk

Someone sent me an Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mighty Mouse as a gift (with a beautiful dua)… This is an absolutely stunningly beautiful keyboard…

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scottberkun.com » Favorite MLK quote on tech innovation

On days like this when someone famous is honored, I try to dig up something they wrote to compare what I think I know about
that person and why they’re famous, with what they actually did
and said. It’s always enlightening, but sometimes I find
unexpected gems like this:

(yes it’s 3 long paragraphs, but I bet you $50 it’s the best writing you’ll read today).

Modern man has brought this whole world to an
awe-inspiring threshold of the future. He has reached new and
astonishing peaks of scientific success. He has produced machines that
think and instruments that peer into the unfathomable ranges of
interstellar space. He has built gigantic bridges to span the seas and
gargantuan buildings to kiss the skies. His airplanes and spaceships
have dwarfed distance, placed time in chains, and carved highways
through the stratosphere. This is a dazzling picture of modern
man’s scientific and technological progress.

Yet, in spite of these spectacular strides in science and
technology, and still unlimited ones to come, something basic is
missing. There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in
glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The
richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and
spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea
like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as
brothers.

Every man lives in two realms, the internal and the external. The
internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature,
morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices,
techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we
live. Our problem today is that we have allowed the internal to become
lost in the external. We have allowed the means by which we live to
outdistance the ends for which we live. So much of modern life can be
summarized in that arresting dictum of the poet Thoreau:
“Improved means to an unimproved end.” This is the serious
predicament, the deep and haunting problem confronting modern man. If
we are to survive today, our moral and spiritual “lag” must
be eliminated. Enlarged material powers spell enlarged peril if there
is not proportionate growth of the soul. When the “without”
of man’s nature subjugates the “within,” dark storm
clouds begin to form in the world.

If we believe this, then why is so little of what we talk about when
we use the word innovation directed at helping people make, in MLKs
terms, internal progress?

Read the full transcript of MLK’s amazing acceptance speech for the Nobel prize, from Dec, 1964.

How to tackle dreaded tasks - Lifehacker

The Happiness Project blog offers six tips for powering through procrastination to accomplish dreaded tasks. A sampling:

• Do it first thing in the morning. If you’re dreading doing
  something, you’re going to be able to think of more creative excuses as
  the day goes along. One of my Twelve Commandments is “Do it now.” No
  delay is the best way.
• Have someone keep you company. Studies show that we enjoy
  practically every activity more when we’re with other people. Having a
  friend along can be a distraction, a source of reassurance, or just
  moral support.

We’ve looked at plenty of procrastination-killers in the past, like the 10-minute rule and 50 ways to get your stuff done. What’s your favorite way to face down a terrible task? Don’t procrastinate–put it in the comments, now! —Rick Broida

Six tips for tackling a dreaded task [The Happiness Project]

Download of the Day: Ditto (Windows) - Lifehacker

Windows only: Open source application Ditto is a clipboard manager that lets you save, manage, and retrieve all of the countless clipboard grabs you make in the course of your day.

Ditto lets you bring up it’s Quick Paste tool with a handy Ctrl-`
shortcut. From there, you can search you clipbloards or paste anything
contained therein with a stroke of the Enter key, a double-click, or a
simple drag-and-drop. Ditto supports all kinds of copies, including
files, so literally anything you can copy will find a place in this
clipboard manager. You can even keep your clipboard data synced across
multiple computers is you need it. Best of all, the Windows-only Ditto
is free and open source. — Adam Pash

Ditto via FreewareWiki]

Why you need indexing software. Right now. « Tech for PR

So, you probably have a gajillion files on your computer — press releases, drafts, media lists, passwords written in Word documents and forgotten — and a whole lot more on your company intranet. I can’t tell you the number of times I had to put together a briefing document for a meeting I’d set up with a reporter and used my indexing software to look up a document made for this reporter by a colleague. It was just sitting there on the intranet, likely never to be used by anyone again — but it ended up shaving 15 minutes off my task.

I’m going to show you how to take back control of your information and how to make use of all that data that is languishing on your intranet. …

I highly recommend Copernic’s Desktop Search, hands down the best indexer available. After you run a search, Copernic provides a handy dandy preview of your document within its own window so you don’t have to open it up to see what’s inside. It has a swanky interface and, of course, is blazingly fast. Better yet, it can easily be told to index the contents of your intranet.

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click | The rise of technology addiction

The seemingly exponential growth of portable technology has sparked fears that people are becoming addicted or swamped by gadgets and their uses. One major consequence of this phenomenon is that the line between work and private life is much more blurred, now that e-mail and phones provide a 24-hour link between employers and staff.

See also:
Technology Addiction Makes Us Unwitting Slaves - ZDNet UK

Making PDFs with free software | Free Software Magazine

As demand increases for this format, many are wondering, what tools can be used to create PDFs with free software?

Fortunately, there are a variety of free software that is available to author PDF files. I’ll specifically highlight two packages that are easier to use and require less configuration. While the advantages of the uniform presentation are usually advantageous, I feel that the emphasis should be on the content, not the container.

All-in-One Sidebar | Firefox Add-ons | Mozilla Corporation

All-in-One Sidebar (AiOS) is a sidebar control, inspired by Opera’s. Click on the left edge of your browser window to open the sidebar and get easy access to all your panels. It lets you quickly switch between sidebar panels, view dialog windows such as downloads, extensions, and more in the sidebar, or view source or websites in the sidebar. It includes a slide-out button and a toolbar, all of which can be extensively customized.

You can set the orientation to left or right, set the minimum, default and maximum width and the behavior on browser startup. Furthermore AiOS provides enhancements for many built-in features.

Enjoy a clear browser window, more toolbar space and much more…

PC World - Build the Perfect Browser

Today’s browsers are sophisticated and highly functional programs–but they can become so much more. Here are 46 great (and free) add-ons for Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 that offer safer browsing, easier site sharing, improved searching, faster news gathering, and more. Plus, we offer tips to help you manage add-ons in both apps without bogging down your browser.

SunniPath Answers:
Downloading files from the internet - Permissibility of torrents

Question: Nowadays, many Muslims download files (Such as music, movies, video clips) from the internet through torrent sites.

Some people say that these sites are haram as the US Government finds torrents illegal as it constitutes of piracy. However, in places in the East (Like Pakistan, India, etc…) pretty much all the movies are all “piracy.” If someone in the West uses torrents, is he sinning?  Answer

BBC NEWS | Business | Multinationals lead India’s IT revolution

When 13-year old Taylor, who lives in Modesto, California, wants help with her homework, she no longer goes and asks her mother for help.

Instead she goes to her computer and gets on the internet, where she dials up an e-tutoring service, TutorVista, based in Bangalore, India, for help with her maths and English.

The Need For Wisdom and Knowledge

Fath al-Mawsuli (Allah have mercy on him) said:
Doesn’t a sick person who is deprived of food and drink die?… It is the same with the heart: if it is kept from wisdom and knowledge for three days, it dies….”

Imam Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) comments:
He has spoken the truth, for the nourishment of the heart is knowledge and wisdom, and it is through them that the heart has life.

[Ghazali, Ihya’ `Ulum al-Din, 1.7]

Browser Smackdown: Firefox vs. IE vs. Opera vs. Safari

People may be passionate about their favorite sports team, but if you really want to get them fired up, ask what Web browser they use.

There’s the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” crowd who tend to stick with the browser that’s included with their operating system — Microsoft’s Internet Explorer on Windows and Apple’s Safari on the Mac. There are the “I’ve just gotta be me” folks who prefer lesser-known browsers, such as Opera from Opera Software. And there are the “live free or die” open-source true believers who champion Mozilla’s Firefox above its commercial counterparts.

Then there are those people who simply demand the best browsing experience there is. They’ll defend their favorite browser to the death because they think it kicks all the other browsers’ butts in terms of elegance, features, security and so on. But if a better option comes along, they’ll happily switch and speak out just as loudly for their new browser of choice. At Computerworld, we fall into this camp, always looking for the Next Great Browser.

Wired News: Test Tube Meat Nears Dinner Table

What if the next burger you ate was created in a warm, nutrient-enriched soup swirling within a bioreactor?

Half of Apple’s iPhone Price Expected to be Pure Profit - News and Analysis by PC Magazine

According to a preliminary bill-of-materials estimate by iSuppli, the $599 Apple iPhone could net Apple over a 50 percent gross margin, the analyst firm said Thursday.

Hyperwords - One of the Most Useful Firefox Extensions

Interact with all the words on the web, not just the links with the Hyperwords web-browser extension.

The Apple iPhone runs OS X - Engadget

Office 2007 voted most innovative product of 2006 - Download Squad

Office 2007 is actually amazing. It is light-years beyond the last iteration of Office, which took four years, but hey, at least it is done right? Its new features and interesting Ribbon have garnered much praise and criticism alike. PC World has named it the most innovative product of the year (last year, 2006).

Faraz Rabbani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

… and I wonder who you are…

BlackBerry Orphans - WSJ.com

The growing use of email gadgets is spawning a generation of resentful children. A look at furtive thumb-typers, the signs of compulsive use and how kids are fighting back.

Feature from PC Magazine: 2006 Year In Review

We rate the best and worst of the year in technology, from ultra-cool PCs, phones, and cameras to a company called Revoltec.

		•	2006 Year In Review
		•	Desktops
		•	Notebooks
		•	Handhelds
		•	Media Gadgets
		•	Cameras
		•	HDTVs
		•	Software
		•	Services
		•	Extras

Informit.com has ten very useful tips on how to improve your Google searches:

Tip #1: Use the Correct Methodology

250 free templates for MS Office - Lifehacker

Productivity blogger Dumb Little Man has compiled a monster list of 250 free Microsoft Office templates.

There’s a lot here - everything from address books to wills. Templates are great because half the job is done for you before you even get started; it’s a great way to make your worktime more productive. And there’s such a wide variety on this list that I’m sure you’ll find something right up your alley.

fzami | Firefox Add-ons | Mozilla Corporation

Adds Muslim prayer times for your area in the Firefox status ba