Google Desktop for Linux

According to Linux Insider, 'Google has expanded its Desktop application to be available to Linux users. The search utility comes in 10 languages and is made for users of Debian 4.0, Fedora Core 6, Ubuntu 6.10, Suse 10.1 and Red Flag 5, but it also requires an x86 processor. It allows the user to search his or her own hard drive in much the same style as an online Google Web search.'

See full item at www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/58078.html

Linux on flash/pen drives

Many people would like to try Linux but are worried about installing it to their computer. One solution is to use a 'Live CD', of which many abound, in particular Knoppix (www.knoppix.net).

An alternative that we are experimenting with is to run it on a flash/pen drive (or dongle, to use the technical term ;-)) ). An introduction to how to set this up is at www.pendrivelinux.com.

For those who wish to explore installing Linux, a good guide on the use of GRUB bootloader (to facilitate dual boots) is at:
www.foogazi.com/2007/06/14/getting-started-with-grub.

Friday light relief

Just in case the blog gets too serious, a little light relief ...

there's a new film out of New Zealand called 'Black Sheep' (nothing to do with the beer, I suspect - www.blacksheepbrewery.com/).

The film's website is at www.blacksheep-themovie.com and there is a review at >>>


The trailer (on YouTube) is hilarious (IMHO).
See it at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMp8mSRiHow (sorry, embedding it has been disabled)

Health informatics blog carnival

A health informatics 'blog carnival' is being planned. For information on what this is all about, see the relevant posts at healthinformatics20.blogspot.com

The first event will probably be held in mid July, and we will try to do another just before, or around and themed on, medinfo2007 (www.medinfo2007.org)

If you want to be involved, contact Peter Murray on peterjmurray[at]gmail.com

Feel free copy this post, link to it, and otherwise publicise the event. Watch this and other health informatics blogs for further information.

Diane Skiba keynote at Rutgers 2007

Our colleague Diane Skiba gave the closing keynote at the recent Rutgers 2007 nursing computer technology conference. A report on her presentation is on the conference blog - see differance-engine.net/rutgers2007/

Her theme was 'Predicting the Future' and she covered a wide range of ideas. A useful adjunct, as she mentioned YouTube and other Web 2.0 tools, is the article 'Nursing Education 2.0: YouTubeTM' on the 'Nursing Education Perspectives' website >>>

The "The Medieval Help Desk" video on YouTube is also worth watching - see www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek

Rutgers2007 conference and blog

CHIRAD members Peter Murray and Scott Erdley will be at the 25th (Anniversary) Annual International Nursing Computer and Technology Conference. The conference is organised by the College of Nursing Center for Professional Development of Rutgers The State University of New Jersey. This 25th Anniversary annual event will be held on 14 - 17 June 2007 at the San Francisco Marriott in San Francisco, California, USA.

We will be blogging the event as well as presenting.

Keep an eye on the conference blog at: www.differance-engine.net/rutgers2007/

Free software news sources

FSDaily (www.fsdaily.com) is a news hub entirely dedicated to free and open source software, where users can vote stories up and down. It uses Pligg (www.pligg.com) - so, is like Digg, but just for free software.

This new resource is developed by Free Software Magazine, an online magazine dedicated to the promotion of free software as a whole - see www.freesoftwaremagazine.com

Their pages also have a useful 'beginner’s guide to understanding free software' >>>