In the land of computers there is never a shortage of annoyances, issues, and problems. I have been having a weird one recently that has been beyond diagnosis, let alone solution.

ijustwanttofitin.com (follow link = funny article!)

In Firefox, the right mouse button stops working AND I am unable to click the menu bar at all. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. To further complicate diagnosis, it isn't just that I am running Firefox on Linux, but also as a virtual machine inside Oracle VirtualBox on Windows 7. So is it my mouse driver? VirtualBox's Hardware Abstraction Layer? Well, I still don't know but I did find a way to fix it every time it happens.

ALT-F10
That's it. Problem fixed. Alt-F10 seems to toggle full screen / windowed in Firefox. That's not something that should have anything to do with my mouse but for whatever reason it does. If you are suffering from intermittent mouse issues, try it. Hopefully my posting this will help someone else out with the same problems!

--Jack

After using VirtualBox (version 3.0.12) for 3 months now, I've made some notes on things that fall into the 'good to know' category to make virtual computing easier.

1) Don't burn a CD for each operating system, the raw ISO file on your hard drive is just fine.
2) Installing guest additions makes the virtual machine's interface more responsive.
3) Setting up permanent shared folders makes working with files from one machine to another simple.
4) Backing up machines is as easy as copying the .VDI file.
5) Cloning a virtual machine to another physical machine is an easy way to copy your computing environment from a desktop to a laptop.

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I've been experimenting with virtual machines (VMs) recently and am convinced that this is the way forward for computing in general. System or hardware virtual machines are essentially instances of an operating system which share an underlying physical computer platform. The layer separating the virtual machine from the physical machine is the virtual machine monitor (VMM). Put bluntly, I'm running one 'computer' on top of another.

"But why," you ask?

It's simple, really. Our computing needs rapidly expand past the ability of just one operating system to provide. If you own a Mac, you may want to run some software that is only available for Windows. If you run Windows, you might want to run something a little more secure when you do your online banking. If you run Linux then there may be times you want to load a game that just will never run without real DirectX.

Granted, if you stick to just basics, there is absolutely no need to extend your computing beyond the abilities of any one of those operating systems. Mac, Windows, and Linux all provide excellent web, email, music, image manipulation, and office suite programs. If that is all you need to do, stick with the system you've got and look no further. But if you want more, it is easily within your grasp.

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Google's has announced (7/7/2009) that they're delveloping a “new” operating system called Google Chrome. It isn't surprising that they want to translate their success in online search and serving ads into other products. What does it mean when the biggest name next to Microsoft throws itself into the operating system arena? Is this good for us all or just another selfish corporate play for market share and money? (Hint: it's both)

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I’m a big fan of anything that goes against the “System” or sticks it to “the Man”.  It’s hard to believe that I was once a Microsoft fanboy.

I vividly remember the chaotic anarchy of forces pushing the computer industry in so many different directions back in the late 70’s and 80’s. I owned a Commodore 64 when friends had Apple II, Texas Instruments, Atari, or Radio Shack TRS-80 computers. We didn’t share much software. We didn’t have much really, but a couple of cassette tapes or later, floppy disks, with tiny crude programs that entertained and kept us busy. What we did have though was enthusiasm and excitement for the seemingly limitless possibilities that all these nascent computers offered.

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