Category: How-tos

Short explanations on “how to” to things. Most probably this involves computer and software issues.


  • Optimise nonlinear functions using Matlab or Octave

    Optimise nonlinear functions using Matlab or Octave

    For my diploma thesis I needed an easy-to-use optimisation algorithm which could minimise a given function. I had access to Matlab, but surprisingly, none of the supplied optimisation functions seemed to satisfy my needs: I wanted to globally minimise a non-linear function within boundaries without using gradients. So I did a little research and found…

  • Mathematical Formulas in Microsoft Word

    Formula typesetting can be a tedious work in most typewriter software. Word (here: Version 2003) is no excuse. When you are — like me — forced to use this software for writing technical reports containing formulas, then this tip might be useful for you. The “typical” way of writing formulas is creating formula objects which…

  • How to use custom-made Themes under Windows XP/Vista/7

    How to use custom-made Themes under Windows XP/Vista/7

    Deskmodding is the art or the act of customizing the appearance of the graphical user interface. Usually this is done on the level of the operating system, but there are also single applications that allow to modify their appearance by so-called skins. For the operating system Windows it is not possible to easily change the…

  • Using Funambol to sync Thunderbird(s) and Windows Mobile phone

    Using Funambol to sync Thunderbird(s) and Windows Mobile phone

    This is an article explaining how to synchronise one calendar (+tasks) and one address book of two PCs with Thunderbird (Lightning plugin for calendar) and a Windows Mobile phone. It is based on the open source synchronisation server Funambol and needs one of the computers to act as a server. The advantage to other solutions…