Sync files over the network/internet using P2P

Today I was reminded how efficient, simple and non-intrusive it is, I haven’t thought about it much at all since I started using it. It just works, the signature of a nice piece of software. For Windows and Mac Live Sync is just that. P2P file sync for your personal needs. If you have more than one computer, and ever have the need to just simply have access to the same files or simple programs, I highly recommend that you try it out if you haven’t already.

Currently these are my private sync shares (yes you can share with others too, with different levels of access):

• Tools –All computers, including work computers, participate in synchronizing this share. Programs like: process explorer, cpu-z, notepad2, winmerge, putty etc
• Documents –My personal computers share this.
• Backgrounds –Background pictures I like and encounter. If I find a new one somewhere I just add it to this folder and it is automagically sync:ed to all others. On some computers they are used as screen savers as well (windows built-in photo album screen saver). Computers with Windows 7 switch between these backgrounds automatically.
• Transfer –To be able to simply transfer files between computers. Just drop files in this local folder and they appear on the other computers. Regardless of firewalls etc.
• Favorites – Bookmarks for your selection of browser. Just share the folder where your browser keeps your bookmarks. Then without any hassle or logins somewhere you always have all your favorites/bookmarks right where you want them, in your browser as normal, on all your computers.

Does anyone have any other neat ideas of what you can share like this? Music I don’t really need to share or even download as Spotify has taken care of all that in a great way, and it is legal too.

Lägenhet till salu

(Swedish only, putting up my apartment for sale)

Så var det dags att sälja lägenheten, en fin 2:a i Mölndal/Göteborg på 65kvm, låg avgift, 100mbit/s bredband. Känner du någon som är intresserad, tveka inte! Visningar i januari.

Länk till mer om lägenheten

Update: Sold!

JavaFX vs Silverlight vs Javascript vs Flash vs Java

JavaFX 1.0 final has been released. Go check out some samples at JavaFX.com. A quick performance test reveals that JavaFX is able to reach really good performance, which I was afraid it wouldn’t even though it is using the best performing VM there is underneath.

Now if they only could get rid of that java tray icon by default too…

A simple performance test was created some time ago for Flash and Silverlight, also available as an JavaFX version. Here are some performance numbers from my laptop when increasing the input number by a factor 10:

Technology	Time
JavaFX 1.0	3.963s
Silverlight 2 C#	4.257s
Flash 10	27.840s
Javascript, Internet Explorer 7	~20times slower than Chrome *
Javascript, Chrome	22.989s
Java 6	3.948s
Java 6, interpreted	22.973s

Result above are the best out of 4-5 runs.

* = IE7 complains about slow running script. Using the default input number it takes just over 20s. Chrome does that in around 1s and JavaFX and Silverlight under 0.2s.

I think someone put it well when he/she said something along the lines of: Adobe people will continue to use flash/flex/air and dot-netters will use silverlight, but now the java-crowd has a choice that integrates better than everything else into their own environments. As java is the most widely used/popular programming platform that alone helps assure some amount of success… maybe.

JavaFX really requires the latest and greatest java version, update 10 (update 11 is also available now by the way) and with that I see JavaFX’s greatest advantage: It integrates fully with the normal java environment and provides true seamless web and desktop integration for both users AND developers. Server/Enterprise (and soon mobile) integration is also nice for the developers.

Goodbye ajax. JavaFX, Silverlight and Flash just does it better and easier… Why restrict applications to html and a browser?! ;-)

Update June 2009: JavaFX 1.2 has some great performance improvements (graphics/scene graph related I guess). See this for an example of a 3x speed up in performance: http://piliq.com/javafx/?p=1010

Tools I use

Another updated round of some of my favorite free general software/tools I use currently. This is what I’ve found to be the best in each category currently and I prefer simple non-bloated efficient software of course.

Maybe you are looking for better alternatives, you’ve just reinstalled your system, or you may even find a tool you didn’t know existed or needed.

In no special order:

7-zip	Free and great de/compression tool for many formats.
ClamWin	Anti-virus software, on-demand and scheduling only.
CoreTemp	Accurate and small CPU temperature monitoring tool.
CPU-Z	CPU, memory module etc information tool
Daemon Tools	Use a CD/DVD-image file as a real CD/DVD-drive. Be careful what you choose during the installation.
FolderShare	Easily and efficiently keep the same files, documents, bookmarks/favorites spreadsheets, tools, etc synced and updated between multiple computers over the network or internet. Highly recommended
Google SketchUp	Great sketching tool for 3D, easy and nice concept. Quickly produce nice 3D sketches.
GPU-Z	GPU frequency, memory, temperature, information tool
IE7pro	Great addon that makes Internet Explorer a much better experience
MPC HC	Mediaplayer to complement the built in WMP
Notepad2	Notepad replacement, still quick and easy but a lot more powerful.
Paint.NET	Free image and photo editing software, it isn’t Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro but it is free and rather nice.
Putty	Ssh/telnet/serial terminal program
ImgBurn	CD & DVD burner software
WinMerge	The best diff-tool, shows differences between contents of files and even directory structures in a clear manner.
WinScp	Transfer files through scp, sftp and ftp.
Vista Codec Pack	Active and non-bloated codec pack that makes everything work, all you need but nothing more. Works for WinXP too. Perfect substitution for tweaking together it all on your own.
Live Messenger	IM-client. Yup you will need it, eventually you need to easily use remote assistance through it, the 100% compatibility, etc. Though the message size limit… argh!
Gmail Notifier	Small simple email notifier in your tray area for gmail.
All CPU meter	Vista gadget for CPU and memory info. Works with both dual and quad core.
ProcessExplorer	Sysinternal/MS software for a lot more process information than the task manager offers.
ProcessMonitor	Details about file I/O and registry operations for your processes.
ZoomIt	Nice simple screen zoom and overlay drawing tool, perfect for presentations!
Google Chrome	Fast, screen space and usage efficient web browser.
µTorrent	Small and great Torrent download software
CCleaner	Removes unused and temp files, registry cleaner etc. Fast!