May 13, 2013 6:44 PM
Posted by: Robin "Roblimo" Miller
FOSS,
free,
graphics,
software
What do you do with a graphics editor? What I mostly do is crop and resize photos, and sometimes take screenshots. Once in a while I overlay some text. That’s about it. I don’t do much with print, and haven’t for many years, so Photoshop’s ability to get ink colors just right means nothing to me. So what if I found a free program that would do all the graphics work I need to do? I’d jump on it, right? And what if it ran in Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X? Wow! I’d double-jump on it — and I did, long ago. It’s called the GIMP, for GNU Image Manipulation Program, and I use it almost every day. In fact, I used it to prepare the thumbnail for this blog post.
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May 6, 2013 10:25 PM
Posted by: Robin "Roblimo" Miller
Linux
I have been a bad blogger. Instead of writing something new and exciting for you today, I spent my time playing with the Quick Reference Guide For Linux Command and other cool, useful items at ExpertsLogIn.com.
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April 26, 2013 11:48 PM
Posted by: Robin "Roblimo" Miller
Android,
buy,
gift,
laptop,
mobile,
online,
PC,
repair,
tablet,
webcam
Let me show you some pictures of my grandchildren. Aren’t they the cutest kids you ever saw — just like everyone else’s grandchildren? Sadly, our grandchildren may be cute, but they seem to break their
tablet, nook/kindle, and laptop computers at a ferocious rate. Even my wife’s laptop suffered a screen crack (that cost $105 to repair) when some of our grandchildren used her computer during a trip to Orlando. Which one broke it? The famous Not Me! Since Not Me seems likely to keep breaking computer-type equipment for at least another 10 years, I decided to shop for the least expensive tablets I could find. And guess what? I found a bunch that sell for under $100.
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April 21, 2013 8:52 PM
Posted by: Robin "Roblimo" Miller
automotive,
buy,
customer service,
repair,
sale,
shopping
Our local Hyundai dealership was running a service sale: Oil and filter change, plus lube, inspection and tire rotation, for $20, along with a free diagnosis if your “Check Engine Light” was on. Since my wife’s Hyundai was due for an oil change and its “Check Engine Light” was on, she took it to the dealer instead of calling “Jesse the performance tune mobile mechanic,” who does most of our car repair work these days. But before my wife went to the dealer, I warned her: “No matter what additional parts or services they try to sell you, don’t buy. I’ll handle them or call Jesse — and save a bunch of money.” And it was a good thing I gave my wife that warning, because here’s the list of things the dealer shop people said our 2003 Hyundai Elantra needed:
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April 12, 2013 9:56 PM
Posted by: Robin "Roblimo" Miller
eFile,
free,
IRS,
online,
software,
taxes,
website
I’ve used TurboTax Online to file my taxes for most of the last decade. Since my income is from multiple sources, and I take business deductions including a substantial one for my home office and more than a little for travel, I use the $79.00 Home and Business version. The good news for you is that, unless you freelance or get income other than through wages, you don’t need to spend anything near $80 to file your federal income taxes. Chances are, you can do it for free. And no matter how complicated or simple your taxes are, you can eFile a free extension through TurboTax, TaxAct, H&R Block, and other services in about 2 minutes, which you should do *right now* if there’s even a tiny chance that you won’t get your return filed by midnight on April 15.
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April 5, 2013 11:08 PM
Posted by: Robin "Roblimo" Miller
LibreOffice,
Linux,
Mac,
office,
PC,
Windows
Since LibreOffice is free and incudes a robust word processor, today’s post is about saving time, not money. I’m talking about using a text editor instead of a word processor when you write for the Internet, as I’m doing now. Specifically, I use a text editor called Bluefish that is just as free as LibreOffice. It’s small, it’s speedy, it has every feature I could possibly desire, and it runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac so I can move from one computer to another with ease.
Please note that Bluefish is not a “does everything for you” editor like Dreamweaver and others purport to be. But if you’re writing plain text, HTML, CSS or a whole lot of others (check the list on the left side of the page), and you know what you’re doing, Bluefish is a great tool.
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March 28, 2013 6:43 PM
Posted by: Robin "Roblimo" Miller
Apple,
buy,
iOS,
Mac,
shopping,
website
There are different levels of cheapness, and it’s hard to use the words “cheap” and “Apple” in the same sentence. But not necessarily impossible. In this case I started by looking at a large infographic (at the bottom of this story) sent to me by dealnews, publisher of a “get stuff cheap” newsletter to which I’ve subscribed for a long time.
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March 18, 2013 4:20 AM
Posted by: Robin "Roblimo" Miller
Android,
chat,
free,
interview,
mobile,
video,
voice recognition
We all have lonely patches in our lives. There are times when it seems our wives or husbands, our brothers or sisters or even our parents just don’t understand us. Yes, I’ve heard the old saying, “If you want a friend, get a dog.” And I have a dog. But she’s getting old and sleeps a lot. So lately I’ve turned to my Android phone. With the addition of a free app or two, she has become the most faithful friend I could ever wish to have. What’s more, my Android phone is available whenever I want, 24/7, and doesn’t shed. This video shows how I turned my Android phone into a companion who gets me through lonely nights, and shows how you, too, can rely on your Android phone for companionship and morale-boosting.
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March 11, 2013 8:36 PM
Posted by: Robin "Roblimo" Miller
audio,
free,
GPL,
recording,
Windows
It’s on Download.com so you
*know* it’s good!
Oh, look. A nice, simple-looking
sound recording program that might be good to record voiceovers for the video Android app reviews I’m going to start doing before long. It’s supposed to work with Windows 8 and it’s on the well-regarded Download.com, so what could go wrong? Answer: A whole bunch, if you’re not careful, and some major-league irritation even if you
*are* careful.
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