KBM's Web Log

Gnome 3 - recommended

2011-11-21T19:39:00.001Z

Well, this is interesting - some famous people (Linus Torvalds, Mark Shuttleworth) plus folks I respect at work have a real downer on Gnome 3. I installed it today (3.2.1) whilst trying to get something else to work, and gave it a try.

And I think it is great. It looks good, performs well, and is highly usable.

Mouse to the top left of the screen (or press Windows key) gives thumbnails of the running apps (Activities-> Windows)
or you can click on Applications to get a list of apps, which are categorised (All, Accessories, Games etc.).
Hit the Windows key and start typing: this searches for Apps or Contacts (I wonder if it can be made to search for files?)
Also on the Activities screen is a dock which shows favourites. It looks very similar to the Unity side bar except it doesn't pop up irritatingly when you put the mouse over it whilst trying to use the windows max/min/close buttons which are on the left in Unity.
max/unmax is just double clicking on the windows top bar

So I was getting used to Unity, and could see where Canonical were going with it. But it seems to me that Gnome 3 is here now and working well - recommended!!

(PS: Using Ubuntu 11.10 on Lenovo W520)

Links for 2011-10-15 [del.icio.us]

2011-10-16T00:00:00-07:00

Jazz Community Site - Jazz Team Blog » Accelerate time to delivery with Real-Time Planning

Steve Jobs and the WWW

2011-10-08T15:33:00.003Z

Fascinating background on Steve Jobs influence on software engineering with things such as hypercard. What I didn't know was that Tim Berner-Lee used a NeXT machine!

Thoughts on reducing delivery cycles

2011-08-22T17:00:00.002Z

Mary Poppendick:LeanEssays: How Cadence Predicts Process makes some excelent points about the efficiency of delivery from requirement to delivery of thesupporting feature. Along the way she mentions Kent Beck and the affects of reducing the release cycle on sales, support etc. Close to my own heart at present is automated testing and a mention of the book Specification by Example

Android tablet

2011-07-28T15:51:00.001Z

I have dipped my toe in the tablet pond. I have got an Advent Vega, a £200 Android tablet. Cheap price but the processor and screen are great.

I have upped the rom to include Android Market,and have gradually added more Apps.

Have had a couple of glitches where the wi-fi stopped, the screen rotation was 90degrees out, and reboots gave an error. Backup system works!

Why Android rather than Apple? USB port, SDcard, terminal.......

The Vega does not look as sexy as an iPad, but I am happy with its function!

Limits of data

2011-07-01T09:42:00.001Z

1.0FTE

LaTeX: More Than Just Academic Papers and Theses

2011-06-28T22:53:00.001Z

I have long been a fan of Latex for large complex documents. Over the years I have found that it can do more, even for small documents.

However, this presentation is awesome: Malaysian LaTeX User Group: LaTeX: More Than Just Academic Papers and Theses.

The breadth of things Latex can do is fantastic, and the quality is great.

Great presentation.

weblogger.el

2011-06-02T10:43:00.002Z

Just trying out another blog entry system from emacs!

Phil Windley's Technometria | Capture Mode and Emacs

2011-05-17T21:27:00.002Z

Finally got round to setting this up: Phil Windley's Technometria | Capture Mode and Emacs: "Capture Mode and Emacs".

Very easy to add anything to an org-mode file from anywhere. I will have to look at the time-date hierarchy and see whether and how to add to the workflow. In addition to the elements in Phil's video, of course C-c C-l to store a link is also available

Quicklisp needs more love

2011-05-16T20:12:00.003Z

To hear the GigaMonkey Overlord is to obey!!
Quicklisp is fantastic: lisp libraries. In all seriousness this is THE way to install many excellent lisp libraries in a way which also takes care of dependencies.

Buildapp - Create executables with SBCL

2011-05-02T18:01:00.001Z

Buildapp - Create executables with SBCL -cool!

Emacs goes Hollywood

2011-04-06T09:47:00.002Z

"I was tickled that I got emacs into a block buster movie."

Couldn't happen to a nicer editor!!

Using the commandline network utilities from Emacs | Mastering Emacs

2011-03-02T15:20:00.000Z

Using the commandline network utilities from Emacs | Mastering Emacs

I should have known!!

Links for 2011-01-03 [del.icio.us]

2011-01-04T00:00:00-08:00

Heresy Corner: Police admit: "We haven't a Cluedo"
RT @anghelides: @perrins Haha! More news, just in http://bit.ly/ezuoJ4

Links for 2010-12-30 [del.icio.us]

2010-12-31T00:00:00-08:00

KBM's Web Log: blog 12/31/2010
blog: blog 12/31/2010: Test Your GTD-Q tags: ... http://bit.ly/eyZeVn
Oliver Steele’s HTML Avatar
blog: Links for 2010-11-26 [del.icio.us]: Git Supervisual Cheatsheet [panela.blog-city.com]
http://osteele.com/i... http://bit.ly/fK6HIf

blog 12/31/2010

2010-12-31T00:38:00.001Z

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Links for 2010-12-17 [del.icio.us]

2010-12-18T00:00:00-08:00

Welcome to LinuxInsider
"Linux News:New EU Software Rules Give FOSS the Inside Track" http://t.co/An2vrWp - But EIF is about Open Standards not Open Source!!
Oh shit.... Jordan re-designed the 3's! on Twitpic
@keithmantell RT GizzYGuDDa: IT B MAD FUNNY SEEIN TATTED UP CRAZY BROKE NICCAS LOL .. FUCC U GOIN WIT YA LIFE http://nvp.c0m.li/OfIdK
– velia stclair (letiiciwferrepr) http://twitter.com/letiiciwferrepr/status/15790971111350272
Met Office: British Isles: Infrared satellite imagery

Links for 2010-12-13 [del.icio.us]

2010-12-14T00:00:00-08:00

A Complete Guide to Mastering Eshell | Mastering Emacs

Links for 2010-12-07 [del.icio.us]

2010-12-08T00:00:00-08:00

http://goo.gl/tZpkV
Stephen Neary | The Court of Protection
RT @AutofocusTM: The Orwellian Present - never mind the future http://bit.ly/fOQIQD

Links for 2010-11-26 [del.icio.us]

2010-11-27T00:00:00-08:00

Git Supervisual Cheatsheet [panela.blog-city.com]
http://osteele.com/images/2008/git-transport.png
Oliver Steele › Commit Policies

test new e-blog

2010-09-17T20:25:00.001Z

Is e-blog working on new install?

Ubuntu and Trackpoint

2010-09-17T09:14:00.000Z

How did I miss this gem before? At last I can turn off the trackpad!!

Subtleties of search-and-replace in Emacs - I Still Know What You Learned Last Summer

2010-09-15T18:12:00.001Z

Subtleties of search-and-replace in Emacs - I Still Know What You Learned Last Summer : a great summary of all that is good in Emacs search ( and replace). Now all I have to do is remember the key strokes!!

It definitely helps if you can "live" in emacs. Hmm, I just need an RTC emacs client !!

Results day - the long wait

2010-08-19T10:26:00.002Z

Today is AS result day for one member of the household. It seems that everyone elses child as reported ack in person or by phone... but not ours!! Good sign or bad sign? Or just torture?

Kill the cull, not Wales's badgers

2010-07-13T20:23:00.002Z

Kill the cull, not Wales's badgers | Brian May | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "Kill the cull, not Wales's badgers"

Just saw Brian May talking on the Channel 4 news after the proposed cull was stopped.

I don't know what the facts of the case are, but Brian May came over as a very reasonable, articulate and patient person. He refuted many assertions by the interviewer (e.g. "the cull is the only way to stop bovine tuberculosis", "no, it could make matters worse, inoculation is the only way to stop it"), and as the interviewer did not demure he was either not sure of his facts or Brian May was correct.

I was impressed at how polite Brian remained as he had to repeat his facts several times.

10 out of 10 for what appeared to be a fact-based interview - they seem to be a rarity these days.

Test from e-blog

2010-03-05T17:05:00.001Z

This is a test post from e-blog in Emacs 23

Google Wave

2009-11-29T21:08:00.002Z

Just got my Google Wave account. Looks good, but I am amased at how few of my contacts have accounts. This put a bit of a damper on the collaboration !

Nokia n900 announcement .. I think I'm disappointed

2009-09-01T20:43:00.003Z

So I was indeed correct a new Nokia Internet tablet is on its way. And there are many things to like, such as a phone, a much more powerful processor etc.

On the other hand it looks like the new OS will not run on the N8xx hardware, which is disappointing as I don't think I will be buying the new machine.

I agree with this blog by Pengiunbait, in that the reduced size means a smaller screen ( I need a bigger screen but the N810 is the smallest my varifocal eyes can now deal with), and a less adequate keyboard.

This release seems to be heading to be a phone, but I actually want better internet tablet !! I am happy to have a separate (small) phone if necessary.

So I think my requirements and the Nokia Internet family are diverging. Still perhaps they will have the resources to have 2 variants in the range?

Peter Siebel's new book: Coders at Work

2009-08-20T13:04:00.002Z

Interesting preview by Marc Hedlund. If this book is anything like as good as Practical Common Lisp ( which is very good indeed) then it will be worth owning. Rather a change of topic from Peter but, as Marc points out, the fact that Peter is a coder too allows for a different sort of book from say a journalist doing the interviewing.

See here for a previous entry

N810 prices falling...

2009-08-20T12:07:00.005Z

I am very happy with my Nokia N810. I noticed that the price was starting to fall again.

Perhaps this is the reason why: RX-51/N900
Now with phone! Obviously, the Google Android is not the only Linux based phone from a major player.

I hope that the (non-phone) parts of the OS are backward compatible with the N810.

A great overview of how to use org-mode

2009-06-09T11:15:00.001Z

This is super:
Org Mode - Organize Your Life In Plain Text!

Org Mode - Organize Your Life In Plain Text!

I have not studied all of it, but it certainly clarifies a few things for me, points out some new features which had slipped through my net, and shows how to avoid using one huge file for everything! Storing to-dos etc. in a holding file and then working through (weekly review?) looks good.

I am expecting to be spending some time in .emacs again!!

Google Wave

2009-05-30T21:35:00.002Z

A bit behind the wave (groan), but this looks cool:

Can we integrate it with RTC?