Category5 Technology TV - Tracking Your Projects and Managing Your Time

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This episode is sponsored in part by: Adzerk, netTALK DUO, Netflix, Eco Alkalines.

Topics Covered:

Robbie Ferguson and Rachel Xu present from the Category5 studios in Barrie, Ontario.
{play 2:55}Thanks to our donors, we have been able to upgrade our storage server with enough room to last us another year or so.
{play 6:52}Installing Adobe AIR 3.7 on Debian 7 / Point Linux using wine.
- Obtain Adobe AIR at get.adobe.com/air.
- Installing wine on Linux to allow you to run Windows applications on your Linux desktop.
```
sudo apt-get install wine
```
- Trying to install Adobe AIR on Linux through wine says "This application requires a version of Adobe AIR which cannot be found. Please download the latest runtime from http://www.adobe.com/go/getair, or contact the application author for an updated version." — so which came first, the chicken or the egg? Fix this problem with this simple command:
```
sudo apt-get install libwine-cms
```
  Now, installing Adobe AIR will work fine in wine.
- Locating your Adobe AIR Application Installer.exe on Linux, in ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Common Files/Adobe AIR/Versions/1.0 to install AIR applications (yes, you can create a shortcut to this if you'd like).
- Why Linux users have to go through these hoops to get the latest version of Adobe AIR.
{play 13:35}Feature: Managing, tracking and reporting the time you spend on projects using the Adobe AIR application, Klok.
- The problem: it's too easy to undercut yourself on projects by not tracking your time spent accurately. Distractions (eg., phone call) may also result in loss in revenue, especially if you are providing support to those calls and not getting paid for the time.
- Why you might want the "professional" version of Klok for just $20.
- Downloading a free copy of Klok from getklok.com.
- Using the Adobe AIR Installer on Linux (or any operating system for that matter) to install Klok.
- Robbie enters his license key to receive the full professional version of Klok.
- Why Robbie stores his Klok data files on a separate NAS device through a SMB share using CIFS in his fstab file.
- Walking through the settings of Klok, from the appearance to software updates and automated backups or custom timesheet layouts.
- Why Robbie sets his Klok installation to run automatically on startup: a dedicated time tracking computer using a small monitor.
- Robbie mentions the use of Synergy to connect his multiple systems together. You can get Synergy in your repositories, or at synergy-foss.org.
- Creating and customizing a project to track using Klok.
- Setting Klok projects up to provide automated value of your projects, on the fly.
- Colorizing projects within Klok.
- Creating Sub Projects in Klok so you can track individual pieces of a project.
- Starting work on your project and letting Klok track your time.
- Adding a missed item to your timeline in Klok so it can easily be accounted for on your timesheet.
- Adding a non-billable project item to Klok, such as your lunch break.
- Klok will eventually be an HTML5 application, rather than Adobe Air.
{play 33:26}Top Stories from the Category5.TV Newsroom
- Portal is now officially available for Linux.
- South Korean government web sites came under a cyber attack.
- Munich, Germany is encouraging its citizens to switch from Windows XP to Linux.
- A Facebook exploit has revealed the personal contact info of around 6 million users, but Facebook acts like it’s not a big deal.
- Webcam hackers may be watching you.
{play 46:35}A couple thoughts about the netTALK Duo WiFi.
{play 49:15}Viewer Questions
Viewer Question: Category5 TV is awesome! You're also an amazing singer, and I know you have a YouTube channel where you sing. Is it okay for me to download those songs for private use? I also really like Eric Kidd's music. Is there anywhere I can buy it?
Unofficial Announcement: Eric Kidd will be putting on a live webcast concert through Category5 TV in the not-so-distant future. This concert will be interactive, and the music performed will later be made available for purchase as both MP3 and CD.
Viewer Comment: I think a tablet could be used as a laptop computer, if it were to feature USB ports and HDMI output.
Viewer Question: I saw your video on Wirecast and how to set it up. I would like to be able to broadcast live from parties, but am having trouble getting things going. I installed three Microsoft Lifecam Studio cameras, and have a trial version of Wirecast to test with. My competitor also uses DynDNS for his setup, and I'm curious as to what that's used for. Can you let me know how to do this?
- Why a webcam probably won't work well for broadcasting parties... poor lighting means poor framerate.
- Why broadcasting with Wirecast doesn't require a dynamic DNS service such as DynDNS.