Freenode.net #linux-india webchat using mibbit

This posting is only for test purposes. I am trying to add #linux-india chat channel (server: freenode.net) using a widget from mibbit.

Free / Open Source OCR software

I came across a nice, easy and free OCR software.

The name is "Softi Free OCR Software"
http://www.softi.co.uk/freeocr.htm




















I have personally found it very accurate and free.
It had a downside in version 1.0, as you were not allowed to perform OCR on a portion of image.
In version 2.4, that problem is not more as you can easily select a portion of image on which OCR is to be performed.

I wish it had automatic layout detection. At least the ability to identify that the image contains two page scans would be really useful when it comes to scanning from paper book.

I hope in future release, they would add the functionality of performing OCR on images in PDF document. That would be really handy.

P.S. :: The software itself may not be open source, but it doesnt matter much as it is only a GUI frontend to popular command-line OCR engine name Tesseract.
http://code.google.com/p/tesseract-ocr/

Pidgin Portable 2.4.1 issues / tweaks

i had a few issues with latest version of pidgin portable.

first, i wanted to use escape key to close chat window
second, type ahead search in buddy list was not working.
third, launching pidgin ( when application was already open ) resulted in opening of new instance. i wanted the buddy list to get opened instead.

solution of first:
add this line to accels file located in .purple directory
(gtk_accel_path "

/Conversation/Close" "Escape")
then you would have to press "Escape" instead of "Ctrl W" for closing chat window

solution of second:
this issue is already discussed in below mentioned link. the problem is not is pidgin, but with gtk software which is a dependency.
http://developer.pidgin.im/ticket/4966#comment:4

Temporary solution is to copy file: %GTK+_WORK_DIR%\bin\libgdk-win32-2.0-0.dll from GTK+ 2.12.6 which can be downloaded from this link.
http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/binaries/win32/gtk+/2.12/gtk+-2.12.6.zip

solution of third:
not yet out. however, i have raised this issue in portableapps forums, and am waiting eagerly for reply.
http://portableapps.com/node/12980
as an alternative, i keep the buddylist window open all the time. in this case i can reach pidgin by alt tab window switching keyboard shortcut.

PodcastAlley.com - one stop location to find podcasts

i recently caught up with the fever of listening to linux podcasts. in the process of exploring web, i came across this website which can be used to find any podcast of your interest.

http://www.podcastalley.com

if you dont know what a podcast is, it is a site which provides audio episodes on some topic, over a regular interval of time, in a format playable by most of the digital music players, like iPod.

CamStudio2.0 : Open Source, streaming video, screen capture / recording software

The first free software that i used for recording my screen with audio. Actually i was wondering how to create a demo or record an embedded video. I am completed satisfied with this software. I used on windows platform. Frame rate was less that expected but i need to find out if that is softwares' fault or my system configuration is too low to achieve that.

What is it?

CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer
and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in
SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly
Streaming Flash videos (SWFs)

Here are just a few ways you can use this software:

• You can use it to create demonstration videos for any software program
• Or how about creating a set of videos answering your most
  frequently asked questions?
• You can create video tutorials for school or college class
• You can use it to record a recurring problem with your computer
  so you can show technical support people
• You can use it to create video-based information products you can sell
• You can even use it to record new tricks and techniques you discover
  on your favourite software program, before you forget them

Why use 2.0 instead of 2.1 version??

CamStudio was originally released by a company called RenderSoft who
were subsequently bought by a company called eHelp who used some of the
technology in their program, RoboDemo ...

Some time later, eHelp was bought by Macromedia who wanted RoboDemo
(which was to become Captivate) ...

Knowing that CamStudio did some of the stuff RoboDemo did for free (mainly
export to streaming Flash), it looks like they released a newer version
of CamStudio (2.1) which fixed some bugs but most importantly, removed
certain features, mainly the ability to create SWFs and you were required
to register to use it and over time, links to the various
webpages that had CamStudio and its source code were became broken.

In short: Version2.0 is free open source software(FOSS) and it has more features.

Useful Links

CamStudio: http://www.camstudio.org/CamStudio20.exe

Lossless Codec: http://www.camstudio.org/CamStudioCodec10.zip

Source: http://camstudio.org

LinuxMCE: complete whole-house media solution

LinuxMCE is a free, open source add-on to Kubuntu including a 10' UI,
complete whole-house media solution with pvr + distributed media, and
the most advanced smarthome solution available. It is stable, easy to
use, and requires no knowledge of Linux and only basic computer skills.

FEATURES Media & Entertainment • 3D alpha-blended GUI optimized for displaying on a TV and using a remote control • Media browser presenting all content on all devices in the home on a 3D rotating cube • Plug-and-play detection and aggregation of network storage and DMA's • Built-in NAS providing centralized backup and whole-house media server • "Follow Me" Media, each family member's media follows him/her through the house • Automatically controls all existing av devices, like TV's, Stereo's, etc.) • Many control options: mobile phone, webpad, pda, phone Smart Home • Home Automation: Control lighting, climate, security, camera surveillance, and more • Communication: Phone system with auto-attendant, voice mail, call forwarding/routing for VOIP and POTS lines • Security: Uses your existing home alarm, surveillance cameras, lights, phones and tv's to notify you on your mobile phone of any security alerts with the option of reseting the alarm or broadcasting your voice in the house over the tv's Source: http://www.linuxmce.com http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Main_Page Cool Demo Video (MUST SEE): http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2176025602905109829

ScribeFire: Firefox extension to enhance blogging experience

This blog is being written using a popular Firefox extension named ScribeFire 1.4.2.

I personally find it as a great utility. I liked the concept of blogging as most often i find my relevent information in a blog written by somebody else.

ScribeFire (previously Performancing for Firefox) is a full-featured
blog editor that integrates with your browser and lets you easily post
to your blog. You can drag and drop formatted text from pages you are
browsing, take notes, and post to your blog.

You can use it as an ideal tool to take notes while surfing on the internet.I surf a lot and if i like a link, i used to create a bookmark.Using ScribeFire i can copy and paste little peices of information i like on any webpage ( including images ).

It would really help me blog more and keep sharing the useful stuff i come across.


Link to download ScribeFire