ProjectLibre

Microsoft Project is a great tool, but what if someone sends you a Project file (e.g. .mpp) and you don't have the software to view it?  Unlike Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio, Microsoft does not provide a free viewer.  Well, you could nicely ask to the sender to resend it as a PDF or XLS file. Or you could use the free (I love free) Project Libre software and open it yourself.

http://www.projectlibre.org/

Office Online

Microsoft has free (I love free), web-delivered versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint as part of their Office Online service.  Files can be uploaded to Microsoft OneDrive (previously SkyDrive), then opened and saved there.  OneDrive comes with 15GB of storage free.

https://office.com

Carillon Brewing Company

Dayton is really hopping (pun intended) with the recent opening of The Carillon Brewing Company, located at Carillon Park.  They're almost ready to serve up their own craft beers, with some favorites from Deschutes, Goose Island and a few others flowing now.  The food is delicious, with several German-style items being my favorites.  The large, two-story building with outdoor seating looks like it came out of the 1800's, complete with the staff wearing period clothing.  Two thumbs up!

http://www.carillonbrewingco.org/

Android to Chromebook Via USB

Chromebook and Android Users Only:

The latest stable release of Chrome OS includes read-only USB-attached file access via MTP (Media Transfer Protocol).  Look for your Android device to show up in the Files app on your Chromebook. I launched a movie directly from my phone, then later copied the file to the downloads directory on the Chromebook.

This combination allows me load several movies on my HTC One, which has a large 32GB micro SD card, and play them on the larger screen of the Chromebook.  This just might replace using my iPad to watch movies on airplanes.

http://9to5google.com/2014/10/07/chrome-os-updated-with-usb-file-transfer-support-for-android-phones-and-tablets/

Encryption Demonstrated

Encryption is a highly effective way of keeping your information private. The gibberish below started off as the text of The Ten Commandments, then rendered indecipherable by an encryption algorithm. Unless you know the secret key. Then it's easy to reverse the process.

B2yJ0hpk+4d+Y0Crqo6R+VweGYpCPqZYZS3IgOOFmlU8vRuCTU65jzQf4HwIVUCV5dtd7fQpt6QaBhvh

yO9bjgdvTvHYm4ZQXGCso7h8BxuleDXl/A9Bxps6lCnp04NEAbbEUg5wLixL+AiyUD4MO6OZ1cB+B7ev

B0t+76V0P62eoyLPk9Pcw7eyUI+IixvPL2IoJyUOHPQkURi2PokPhvgUfgfJZieMklLrndySUr0qCzfX

Vq2Mj7N0T6Gehz6OLkzZTZ42iAfz5w/fDz9yfpOsjq3G++ThLG4FpMD0NNTUjoopdxaL05pNyKiNndf3

o6YApVW0g0MggXnUtBA7EIPbIpIzqIC/BCZjdNG7DLfZbQZ87HdvLgfULUQcPOeJsmidcQzrLHvC0qXb

4jSx2JrrUT0tg2z4xGBh+MIHbQwCZeDq1+cWT2MZicpyz4GiwX3bWfs0DY1hPRjDD+8YQ8YLY25iuJRp

HpC8su8GBa6FVI+WI1pFqxfSgz9YvKsnhhyfkYTjyrLbmvn3aP6qQHbRzIkXWaViilBHiClRrVWsPxIt

DaorhIZrqUdyUuD6

To demonstrate how a small change to the input completely changes the encrypted output, I removed one period from the text and generated the cyphertext again using the same secret key.   Notice how very different it is from the one above. This is a key attribute of a good encryption algorithm.

BqSvG0iqGZvi0/4BWd240zTHrUNd6csaQwBPZn0vY2iwG3VmydYJLWYW4Ym04eL0vVgdPcvlj/0d7AJQ

xDr0U8oQ3W4yUt6rtaDI+jJbyIQiKa7inRkR2X4t4OT1Mj6y77mdx0/dy1jGDuoT+NrMW/QI9YQ69tad

kbOVyG4cfadd2WhIhE4vmUk9V6wvfioZ/Z5ILrWACfc9aglz2liz0+iVY/wH/l9g0fAIMnQEGux/7xVt

KRculeNZWsWor8w6HZ3gZDibuHpGuoOeSxxBXYrueZz24jl5HlqsqqnZ0AfIWSmC6PihQ+xdb/HIA7zg

jPopJjbMC4KSdX+XODS05uMtK5ddvhS6CveRqVpjK611BRVfQ3OsO2MggyLqkCSGfdT8Sp/Zii3KyiA4

QRWF+hOG1A9ytSYV2RmkyrN7FUK4781UsLEGmQyLppYOD/4C/JqgcpeeqVnj8qdxBCZfyQ3/60fm2Q0d

fSXyq4CDsWVRyOBfWNSjBiYljFt8qXe+9nSi7fLbVMDVuLl50gjyZVNbywTazZKfcRUVbl53JulGRTzX

aunzAlP7KKQbgWKK

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encryption

Roku Screen Mirroring

Android 4.4.2 and higher only:

Roku recently introduced screen mirroring on the Roku 3 and their Streaming Stick.  It's still listed as being in beta and my experience, which included choppy video and audio playback, they have some work to do.

The photo below was taken from my Android phone's camera taking a picture of my big screen TV which was displaying what was on my phone's screen, resulting in the recursive, infinite mirror effect.

http://support.roku.com/entries/56698214-Roku-screen-mirroring-compatible-devices

Herding Cats

Hump Day Humor:

EDS's 2000 Super Bowl commercial about herding cats is one of the all-time best.  Never gets old. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8

Noise Isolating Earphones

I purchased a pair of Monoprice's Enhanced Bass Hi-Fi Noise Isolating Earphones for $6.02 on special last month (a $2 saving), which included free shipping (I love free, particularly shipping).  I used them with my iPad while watching Spiderman 2 on flights between Cincinnati and Hartford last week, and was totally impressed with the fit, audio quality and lack of tangling.  What's even better is I can tell the left from the right without using my reading glasses.  

I thinking stocking stuffer here.  Ho ho ho!

http://www.monoprice.com/

General Fusion

Fusion produces usable energy by combining atoms and harvesting the little extra left over.  General Fusion, a Canadian company, is working to bring a full scale, demonstrable fusion system to life. Could this be the answer to abundant, clean energy, or another failed attempt to mimic the Sun's source of power?  

http://www.generalfusion.com/

Matchstick Streaming Stick

I have a Roku 3, three AppleTV's and a Chromecast, so (of course) I had to back a new Kickstarter project that's delivering a streaming stick built on Firefox OS, with the hope that an open source version will eventually lead to new and exciting capabilities.

And it's only $18 (I also love cheap).

This project blasted through its funding goal in just a day.  I think they're a little surprised.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2040419302/matchstick-the-streaming-stick-built-on-firefox-os