Ryan and Debi

Tag: technology

  • Kubuntu/Linux – batch convert HEIF images

    Kubuntu/Linux – batch convert HEIF images

    My son recently went on a field trip. The teachers who went with him took hundreds of photos… on their iPhones. Since I want the photos of him, I downloaded all of them so I could skim through them and find the ones of my son. But I quickly realized that I was having issues…

  • Linux: Starting and Stopping Torrents from Crontab

    Linux: Starting and Stopping Torrents from Crontab

    I download my Kubuntu installation images via Bit Torrent and like to keep Bit Torrent running most of the time. However, there are occasionally times when I want to pause my torrents and then restart them (e.g., when I’m streaming videos or otherwise using lots of bandwidth). I can, of course, do this manually, but…

  • Kubuntu 22.04 – Pending update of “firefox” snap

    In the 22.04 version of Ubuntu/Kubuntu, Firefox was switched from a repository to a snap. I don’t know enough about the technical reasons for that, but it does mean that how Firefox is updated has changed. It also introduced a very annoying notification message that you’ve probably seen (and which is why you’re here: Switching…

  • LibreOffice – Set Image as Background/Watermark

    I don’t do this very often, but occasionally I need to write a letter or something of that sort and I want to use an image as a background to the letter. A background image of this sort is often referred to as a “watermark.” (If we’re getting technical, a watermark is really a faint…

  • Google Calendar Time Zone tricks

    Google Calendar Time Zone tricks

    I regularly collaborate with scholars around the world. One problem that arises from that, however, is that we have to coordinate time zones. As a result, I have picked up a couple of really nifty features of Google Calendar that manage that for me. Here are the two I use most frequently. Add a Meeting…

  • Long Term Storage of Gmail/Email using Mozilla’s Thunderbird (on Linux)

    Long Term Storage of Gmail/Email using Mozilla’s Thunderbird (on Linux)

    I have email going back to 2003. There have been times when I have actually benefited from my email archive. Several times, I have gone back 5 or more years to look for a specific email and my archive has saved me. However, my current approach to backing up my email is, let’s say, a…

  • Unethical Amazon Review Modifications

    I don’t always review products on Amazon. I don’t have the time. But there have been two instances over the past year when I have been contacted by someone because of a review I wrote on Amazon. Both times, these individuals have tried to bribe me to remove my negative review of the product. Here’s…

  • Change Doorbell Sound on Ring App and Amazon Echo

    Change Doorbell Sound on Ring App and Amazon Echo

    I’ve had a Ring doorbell (and security system) for quite a while. I never bought the chime that goes with the doorbell because it has always worked through my Amazon Echo devices. However, I only recently learned that you can change the notification sounds you get when someone rings your doorbell. However, how you do…

  • Linux – Failing to Read Encrypted DVDs

    Linux – Failing to Read Encrypted DVDs

    Thanks to the fine folks at VLC and Ubuntu, watching DVDs on Linux is generally pretty straightforward. Install “libdvd-pkg” and follow the prompts and you’re generally good to go. That works for me almost all of the time. However, I recently tried to watch a DVD and had no luck. I would insert the DVD…

  • Linux – tinyMediaManager on Kubuntu 18.04

    I run a network attached storage (NAS) device at home to manage all my media (e.g., music, videos, photos, etc.). I have used various programs over the years to manage the naming and organizing of my music files but just recently discovered tinyMediaManager for managing video files. Since it’s written in Java, it works on…