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Entries Tagged as 'Software'

Encrypting a USB Key using TrueCrypt

October 26th, 2008 by James · 33 Comments

If you are a healthcare professional you have a duty to maintain the security of patient identifiable data. Within your job you sometimes need to use a USB key to transfer lists or letters between computers. If you lose your un-encrypted USB key with patient identifiable data then it may deemed negligent and you may […]

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Tags: Free · Medical · Open Source · Software

How to encrypt ZIP files securely using 7Zip

October 18th, 2008 by James · 29 Comments

Windows has had built in zip file support with encryption since Windows XP, unfortunately the quality of this encryption is poor as evidenced by the number of commercial programmes available to crack it. Winzip, WinRAR are trialware commercial programs that offer secure AES encryption to your compressed files but cost between 23 and 30 Euros […]

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Tags: Free · Open Source · Software

Filling in PDF Forms with Foxit PDF Reader

August 16th, 2008 by James · 5 Comments

Foxit PDF Reader is a free closed source alternative to Adobe’s PDF reader. On older machines it feels snappier than using Adobe’s bloated product. In this short how-to I will show you how to fill in forms using Foxit Reader with the 39 US$ Pro-Pack.

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Tags: Software

How to make a UK map for TrekBuddy

February 2nd, 2008 by James · 22 Comments

Sometimes you wish to use your GPS and data enabled mobile phone to navigate but either you do not have a data signal, or the map you require is not available through Google or BlackBerry maps. This short article will talk you through how to create a map to be used with TrekBuddy on your […]

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Tags: BlackBerry · Free · Software

How to install offline Maps on your BlackBerry using TrekBuddy 0.973

February 2nd, 2008 by James · 90 Comments

BlackBerry smartphones are handy for GPS navigation helped by the excellent BlackBerry and Google Maps applications. When you are out of range of a data signal both these applications are unable to continue to provide a map. With TrekBuddy you can use offline maps, from Google and elsewhere, record route speed and waypoints, or use […]

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Tags: BlackBerry · Free · Software

TortoiseSVN and svn+ssh problems

May 15th, 2007 by Mark · 3 Comments

I’ve had problems with TortoiseSVN connecting to a subversion repository on Mac OS X where the connection would just hang when trying to browse or checkout a repository, or would fail with the error “Unable to write to standard output (stderr)”. I show you how to diagnose the problem, and solve it (in my case).

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Tags: Free · Software

Producing Spaghetti Plots using R

April 6th, 2007 by James · 11 Comments

If you wish to analyse longitudinal data sometimes it is helpful to plot each experimental subject’s data at each timepoint to get a feel for the patterns or trends. You can often learn more from this raw data than a boxplot or line graph of the means. I am a habitual SPSS user but have […]

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Tags: Graphics · Medical · Open Source · R statistical computing · Software

Port forwarding with SSH/Putty

March 27th, 2007 by Mark · 13 Comments

I regularly exchange data between computers at University and home. To maintain security, I keep a firewall running on all machines, and “tunnel” through the firewall(s) using SSH – the secure shell. For example, I run a web server on my main machine for web application development, and do not wish this to be publicly […]

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Tags: Free · Open Source · Software

How to use JabRef (BibTeX) with Microsoft Word 2003

March 25th, 2007 by James · 264 Comments

JabRef is one of the best reference managers available and provides a realistic alternative to Endnote, as well as being open-source & free. Unfortunately most users are not aware that JabRef (or any other BibTeX based reference manager) can easily be integrated for use with Microsoft Word. In this guide I will show you step-by-step […]

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Tags: Free · Software

Batch converting PDF to JPG/JPEG using free software

March 21st, 2007 by Mark · 40 Comments

It is often necessary to batch convert PDF documents and graphics into other formats. I explain how to do this using totally free software. Searching for PDF software using Google is fraught with difficulty — one ends up with endless links to commercial sites, who charge lots of money, mislead users into paying for software […]

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Tags: Free · Graphics · LaTeX · Open Source · Software