Anyway, for people who are still afraid of trying Linux or free/open-source software in general, here is a list of 20 lightweight window managers that have been available for Linux for quite a few years, just to show that UNIX/Linux is not all about a blank terminal with a blinking cursor! So, why not give it a try? Or, better still, try alternative OSes using a virtualisation program such as Virtualbox.

1. Opera Web Standards Curriculum.
2. W3 Schools.

However, after reading about it from a non-technical person who managed to pick up enough to start working on site development (an amazing story in itself in my opinion), I think I will add the Yahoo! User Interface Library and in particular the YUI CSS Grid Builder. It’s fantastic for doing a quick layout of websites.

You have a solemn obligation to take care of yourself, because you never know when the World will need you.

Rabbi Hillel, 30 B.C. - 9 A.D.
Jewish Religious Leader

1. Intel’s 15 Most Unforgettable x86 CPUs
2. The Mother of All CPU Charts Part 1 : Introduction
3. The Mother of All CPU Charts Part 2 : AMD Processors From March 1994 To December 2004
4. Tom’s Hardware’s Interactive CPU Charts (check out also the very illuminating tree diagrams of Intel and AMD CPUs up to 2006)
5. CPU Socket Basics: Intel
6. CPU Socket Basics: AMD

Surprisingly, I have read quite a few of those on the list:

• Foundation, by Isaac Asimov. (and the rest of the Foundation series)
• Time machine, by H. G. Wells.
• Animal farm, by George Orwell.
• War of the worlds, by H. G. Wells.
• I robot, by Isaac Asimov.
• Ring world, by Larry Niven.
• Dune, by Frank Herbert. (and all 3 books from the originally intended trilogy)
• The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, by Douglas Adams (all except for the final book in the expanded trilogy)
• 1984, by George Orwell.
• Ender’s game, by Orson Scott Card. (and the rest of the Ender, Shadow series)

Others that are already on my to-read list:

• Neuromancer, by William Gibson.
• Pattern recognition, by William Gibson.
• Down and out in the magic kingdom, by Cory Doctorow.

A couple of the ones which didn’t make it to that list but are nevertheless among my favourites are:

• The black cloud, by Fred Hoyle. I read this during my secondary school in the early days after my family migrated to Australia, when I was struggling with English, which kind of explains the fond memory of this novel!?
• Citizen of the galaxy, by Robert Heinlein. Can’t recall exactly when I read this, but I just remember being very touched by the ending.
• The Childe Cyle series, by Gordon R. Dickson. I read this during the last years during undergraduate. To me, the scale of the series is definitely on par with Asimov’s Foundation saga. In fact, I have been waiting eagerly for new books to the series. However, it was after reading about the list and a bit of Googling that I eventually discovered that the author had passed away in 2001. A pity really. I would have liked to read more of his works.

1. Steps for RAM upgrade from ifixit
2. Another guide from Macinstruct
3. All you’d want to know about RAM for Powerbooks

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

Buckminster Fuller, 1895-1983
American Visionary, Architect and Poet