giovedì 11 marzo 2010

Backup strategy with rsync

Everyone knows backups are important.
But usually everybody doesn't care much about them until an unrecoverable event happens.
So, why wait for that very moment, if, with a little bit of effort, you can have a rock solid data backup strategy.

A very good review on how to use the standard *nix rsync program to backup your valued electronic data.

Easy Automated Snapshot-Style Backups with Linux and Rsync

mercoledì 10 marzo 2010

Mac OS X print presets

Let's say you have a color laser printer installed in your system but you usually print in black and white.
It is very likely that the printer presets are in color.
So, every time you need to print a document, and you need it B/W, you have to go through the printer settings and choose the appropriate parameters.
That could eventually become annoying.
Yes, it is possible to create one or more personalized presets to choose from, before hitting the Print button, but that is not always the perfect solution.
There are programs, i.e. the MS Office suite, that have a nice little button with a printer, which sends the document directly to the print queue, bypassing the print dialogue screen.

If you want to modify the "Standard" presets there is a straightforward solution. Just fire up your browser and fill the URL bar with the address below or just click the link

http://localhost:631

It'll be presented the CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System) page. From there, you can change whatever you want regarding the printer or printers settings that will became the new defaults.