(From http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2008/06/02/usb-centos-5-live-install-via-windows/)

The following tutorial covers the process of installing CentOS 5 to a USB flash drive using a Windows host. Once CentOS is installed, it will operate just like the CentOS live cd. A persistence feature is not being utilized in this tutorial so you will NOT be able to save and restore your changes on subsequent boots. A little background info on CentOS; CentOS is an Enterprise class Linux Distribution derived from sources freely provided to the public. This version of Linux is commonly used by many popular web hosting companies as a Linux server platform due to it’s extreme stability. We can use the Fedora LiveUSB Creator to install CentOS to a flash drive. Read more »

I recently had a hard drive die in my laptop. Actually, 3 of them died. I know, fool me once, shame on me…

The problem may not have been with the hard drives, but possibly with the laptop. I read online about issues with some laptops overheating, etc. So I had to buy a new laptop, and it made me start thinking about how I could make this one more resilient to crashes and other problems with the operating system. At work, I do a lot of virtualization with VMware ESX, so my thought was to create a virtual machine (VM) on my laptop that I would regularly backup. In the event that it crashed (not if, but when), I would be able to restore the backup image of the VM and I would only lose the data since my last backup. Also, running the guest O/S’es as VM’s would also let me run other O/S versions, such as Linux. Read more »

I have a Blackberry which does a great job staying in sync with my Lotus Notes calendar. My goal is to have this calendar info available on my Outlook calendar which is on a different, disconnected computer. My initial thought was to use Google calendar as a go-between these 2 calendars (Notes & Outlook). Lotus Notes is my main calendar, and unfortunately, it doesn’t allow for 2-way sync’ing with a Google calendar.
Another constraint is that I cannot install any apps or plug-ins to my Blackberry (IT policy prevents it). So my Lotus Notes calendar is the main source calendar. This calendar syncs wirelessly with my Blackberry, so changes can be made to either of these two calendars. From there, a few one-way sync’s are done to keep my Outlook calendar updated.
Here’s how it works…[list:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Periodically, my Lotus Notes calendar is exported to a .CSV file using a Lotus Notes agent. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]I then import this file into my Google calendar. Luckily, the import process is able to recognize duplicate items and handles them fine. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]With my Google calendar updated, I use the Google Calendar sync program on my computer with Outlook installed to keep them in sync. The Google Calendar sync program can be found here:
http://www.google.com/support/a/users/b … opic=14096 [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]The only limitations are that changes cannot be made on the Outlook calendar because they won’t be sycn’ed back to Lotus Notes. So changes must be made either on my Lotus Notes or Blackberry calendars. [/*:m:23uchxm5][/list:u:23uchxm5]
[b:23uchxm5]Here’s what the setup looks like…[/b:23uchxm5]
[img:23uchxm5]http://localgeek.is-a-geek.com/forum/richedit/upload/2k114ae1c489.jpg[/img:23uchxm5]
Lotus Notes – Create an Agent[list=1:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]In Lotus Notes, open your Calendar view. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Go to [b:23uchxm5]Create | Agent…[/b:23uchxm5] [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Name the agent (for this example, it’s named [b:23uchxm5]Notes Calendar Export[/b:23uchxm5]). [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]In the [b:23uchxm5]Runtime [/b:23uchxm5]section, be sure that the [b:23uchxm5]Target [/b:23uchxm5]menu is set to [b:23uchxm5]All selected documents[/b:23uchxm5]. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Close the agent dialog box. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]In the [b:23uchxm5]Run [/b:23uchxm5]section at the top of the page, select the pulldown menu option called [b:23uchxm5]LotusScript[/b:23uchxm5]. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]In the left pane, click to select the [b:23uchxm5]Initialize [/b:23uchxm5]item. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]In the right page, you’ll see 2 lines of code labeled [b:23uchxm5]Sub Initialize [/b:23uchxm5]and [b:23uchxm5]End Sub[/b:23uchxm5]. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Paste the agent code (see [url=http://localgeek.us/Forum/tabid/290/forumid/3/threadid/170/scope/posts/Default.aspx:23uchxm5]this thread[/url:23uchxm5]) between these 2 lines. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5][b:23uchxm5]Save [/b:23uchxm5]and [b:23uchxm5]close[/b:23uchxm5]. [/*:m:23uchxm5][/list:o:23uchxm5]To run the Agent[list=1:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Open your Lotus Notes calendar. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Click on the [b:23uchxm5]Meetings[/b:23uchxm5] tab. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Select ALLitems.
Note: Selecting all items using [b:23uchxm5]CTRL+A [/b:23uchxm5]or [b:23uchxm5]Edit | Select All [/b:23uchxm5]caused an import error, but if I manually check each item to select it (start at top and run to the bottom of the list), it works ok. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Go to [b:23uchxm5]Actions | Notes Calendar Export[/b:23uchxm5]. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]The file will be saved as [b:23uchxm5]c:\MyNotesCalendar.csv[/b:23uchxm5]. [/*:m:23uchxm5][/list:o:23uchxm5]To import into Google Calendar[list=1:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Sign in to your Google account. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Select the [b:23uchxm5]Calendar [/b:23uchxm5]link at the top. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]In the [b:23uchxm5]My Calendars [/b:23uchxm5]section, click the pulldown menu next to [b:23uchxm5]Add, [/b:23uchxm5]and select [b:23uchxm5]Import Calendar[/b:23uchxm5]. [/*:m:23uchxm5]
[*:23uchxm5]Browse to the [b:23uchxm5]MyNotesCalendar.csv [/b:23uchxm5]file and click [b:23uchxm5]Import[/b:23uchxm5]. [/*:m:23uchxm5][/list:o:23uchxm5]

[b:23uchxm5]Help for Google Calendar sync can be found here:[/b:23uchxm5]
http://www.google.com/support/a/users/b … opic=14097

Recover files with this highly recommended freeware tool

Recently, a friend of mine needed to recover some accidentally deleted pictures from a memory stick on digital camera after a very important European trip. I recommended a freeware tool called PC INSPECTOR smart recovery by a German company called CONVAR. The tool allows you to recover data from Flash Cards, Smart Media, sny Memory Sticks, IBM’s Micro Drive, Multimedia Card and Secure Digital Card or any other data carrier for digital cameras. The software is supported on Windows 95/98/Me/NT4/2000/XP. Read more »

From http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6160062.html

The ability to boot Windows XP from a USB Flash Drive (UFD) offers endless possibilities. For example, you might make an easy-to-use troubleshooting tool for booting and analyzing seemingly dead PCs. Or you could transport your favorite applications back and forth from home to work without having to install them on both PCs. Read more »