mdm-adph

Dell is trying very hard.

2009-11-02T15:31:00.000-06:00

Come on Dell -- now you're just trying too hard. :P

Plastic Logic's eBook Reader

2009-10-19T15:37:00.000-05:00

plastic logic ebook from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

You think a Kindle is fancy? If this thing has support for open formats and protection against Amazon-style "remote book deletion," then I think we've found the eBook reader of the future.

Is a Type of "Uncanny Valley" Preventing Linux Adoption?

2009-10-16T13:32:00.011-05:00

I've recently been working with a lot of "netbook" based distributions of Linux lately, like Intel's Moblin project or the Ubuntu Netbook Remix. In fact, I'm probably going to start doing a lot of my Linux virtual machine testing using these distributions only. Why?

Because I believe that these types of distributions are the only way that Linux is ever going to get a foothold in the consumer market.

The Facts

The "Year of Linux," as it's been thought of for years, isn't going to happen. Let's be honest. It's just not. Not because Linux isn't a capable operating system -- Linux can do everything the common computer user needs to do (which today is mostly just running a web browser).

No, it's because for Linux to catch on, it has to fill a need -- "fill a hole" -- and right now there's no hole for it to fill. People have been using Windows on their personal computers for years. Yeah, it's got its problems, but it's got loads of support, and it does everything they need it to.

Sadly enough, one of the main techniques that promoters and evangelists of Linux use to increase its adoption is actually the biggest problem -- trying to make the Linux "experience" as similar to the Windows environment as possible. Tools such as Wine, complete Linux distributions such as Linux Mint -- they all seek to "mask" the typical Linux environment by either allowing the user to run Windows applications or by providing the same positioning for elements that Windows provides (the main "Start" menu being in the lower left corner of the screen, a task bar at the bottom of the screen).

However, whenever Linux tries to "simulate" the experience of Windows by offering a simular UI or running Windows binaries, instead of actually mollifying the user, this actually has the opposite effect.

You've all seen the reactions.

"It just doesn't feel right.

"The colors look odd."

"Can I use the same programs? What -- why not?"

Why does trying to ease the transition to Linux actually repel them in strange, seemingly ridiculous ways? Honestly, I think it's because of a little thing called the "Uncanny Valley."

The Uncanny Valley of Linux

Okay, first off -- yes, I know the "Uncanny Valley" is an idea typically used in the field of robotics and other human simulacra (fancy word!) and shouldn't apply here.

Think about it, though. Just replace "robot" with "operating system" and "human-like" with "Windows-like," and it's basically the same effect. The more closely Linux distros try to simulate Linux, even if they're being designed that way for benevolent reasons, the more distasteful they usually seem to someone outside the OSS community.

Mark Shuttleworth, founder and CEO of Ubuntu, understood this when he made his controversial decision not to include Wine with installations of Ubuntu sold by Dell:

"I do not want to position Ubuntu and Linux as a cheap alternative to Windows," Shuttleworth said in an interview with eWEEK following the May 1 announcement that Dell plans to preload Ubuntu on some consumer machines.

"While Linux is an alternative to Windows, it is not 'cheap Windows.' Linux has its own strengths, and users should want it because of those strengths and not because its a cheap copy of Windows," he said. [eWeek]

And I agree with him! In order for Ubuntu to be successful, you have to get away from people's preconceived notions of what an operating system is supposed to do, even if it's just getting away from running the same applications.

The Solution?

The solution is that image over to the right. That's Ubuntu Netbook Edition (9.10) -- does that look anything at all like Windows? There is no "desktop" -- there are no "windows." Everything you're doing takes up the full screen, one application at a time.

Combine that with a small netbook or tablet device, and you've got a winner. The user, having bought a small (properly marketed) netbook or tablet isn't going to be thinking of Windows, since in their mind Windows is "something that runs on laptops or desktops or my work computer."

Conclusion

This is the "hole" that Linux can fill -- a useful operating system for a device bigger than a phone, but smaller than a desktop computer (or large laptop). Microsoft doesn't have much to fill this need right now -- Windows XP (though still capable) is getting incredibly long in the tooth, and Windows Vista running on the typical Atom-based netbook is... a bad experience, to say the least.

Users today are already used to cell phones with their decidedly non-Windows UI; they're already used to their DVR's with their non-Windows UI; they're already used to their car's built-in navigation system. Stretching this acceptance for non-Windows systems to netbooks and tablets really shouldn't be all that hard -- hell, even just calling them "netbooks" instead of "laptops" is a damn good start (and that's why I've never had a problem with the name "netbook" like some have).

The New Dell mini10 Prominently Displays Ubuntu

2009-10-14T13:56:00.000-05:00

This is the screen you get when you're buying a mini10 on Dell's site -- some Linux purists may scoff at the side-by-side comparison, but it's really not that bad.

I'm just amazed it's so prominently displayed on the main description pages for the mini10, but I've always said netbooks are a great market for Ubuntu -- people don't expect a netbook to be able to do everything a desktop running Windows XP can do anyway, and that's a market where Ubuntu could take hold.

Google Streetview Car... Go Into the Light...

2009-09-21T14:54:00.000-05:00

Just something I found while navigating Google Streetview in Atlanta, GA. Don't do it, Google Streetview Car!

Links for Aug 2009 (Mostly)

2009-09-14T14:32:00.001-05:00

Haven't had much time to blog lately, but I have been collecting up links of interesting things that I find here and there:

The New 3G Android phone: Motorola CLIQ with MOTOBLUR
http://www.t-mobile.com/promotions/GenericRegular.aspx?PAsset=Pro_Pro_MotoCliqLaunch&WT.mc_id=637m3

My next Android phone.

Once Again, Music Licensing Harms The DVD Release Of A Classic TV Show: The State Goes Generi
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090910/0306546149.shtml

This is just sad -- I loved this show way back when.

Evolution for Mac

http://forge.novell.com/modules/xfcontent/downloads.php/evolution/builds/Evolution%202.6%20for%20Mac%20OS%20X%20/

The latest version of the Evolution email client ever released for MacOSX.

Arcus cloud - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelf_cloud

Freaky clouds!

Listen for Android Finds and Plays Podcasts, Audio Clips - Podcasts - Lifehacker
http://lifehacker.com/5342445/listen-for-android-finds-and-plays-podcasts-audio-clips#comments

Finally, a decent free podcast player/organizer for Android. :P

Video Mailbox: Like Netflix, Only 15 Years Too Early
http://consumerist.com/5341320/video-mailbox-like-netflix-only-15-years-too-early

Nothing is new.

Android Rooting in 1-click (limited time only… until it gets patched)
http://www.ryebrye.com/blog/2009/08/16/android-rooting-in-1-click-in-progress/

I did this! Now running CyanogenMOD 4.0.1.

Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin - TIME
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html?safasklnas

An interesting read -- aye, getting thin and fit (if you're not, presently) is a complete lifestyle change.

Physics Games - Demolition City
http://www.physicsgames.net/game/Demolition_City.html

Don't start playing this. I warned you!

USB Geek: Retro SD Card Radio
http://www.usbgeek.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=1128

This thing is stylish in a certain kind of way -- it's totally unecessary with today's common household appliances (PC's, laptop's, etc.), but I'd still buy one.

Canonical Certifies IBM Lotus Symphony for Ubuntu Repositories

2009-08-11T08:23:00.002-05:00

Lotus Symphony wiki

Well, good job IBM! Bout damn time -- not only did it show up right away in the repositories, but it even updated the older Symphony 1.2 installation that I had installed earlier.

One problem, though -- when I initially tried to open Symphony 1.3, the program exited without doing anything. Wondering what was going on, I typed "symphony" from the command line to see, and it was apparently IBM's text-based EULA for Symphony that was failing to show up, and thus not allowing Symphony to start.

IBM really, really needs to change that text-based EULA into something else. :P

ExtJS 2.0 Extensions and Plugins, the Movie

2009-08-06T09:56:00.003-05:00

Well, the book. Apparently I'm now writing one about this. Wondering if I should be permitted to -- not that I'm a novice about the subject, but I'm sure there are people far more knowledgeable than me about this subject in the world.

However, if they're all busy (and with their blessings -- to the forum!), I have no problem doing it.

Links for July 2009

2009-08-04T13:52:00.003-05:00

07/2009

Review: IDE to SD card adapter @ Mods n Clocks
Perfect to turn an old PC into a server without having to rustle up a hard drive.

Microsoft Yahoo merger - The Denver Post
How can you find more information about the uniting of MS and Yahoo? Why, google it, of course.

Notes 8 performance - beware of realtime virus scanning - lekkimworld.com
Going to have to watch out for this when I finally upgrade to 8.

GV Mobile Available for Free on Cydia - Google Voice - Lifehacker
Apple's starting to piss off people with actual clout, now, apparently.

Creative Zii Egg Plaszma: Android-Wielding iPod Touch - Zii egg plaszma - Gizmodo
This is seriously cool.

Launch loop - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Well, we might actually get these before we get space elevators.

Bookmarks Archiver Automatically Cleans Old Bookmarks - Featured Firefox Extension - Lifehacker
Not as neat as CheckPlaces, but still pretty cool.

Official World of Goo Corporation Download Centre
Haven't played this, but I'm amazed they had a Linux client. Pretty neat.

And now, a few words from Carl Sagan : Pharyngula
One of the last interviews Carl Sagan gave.

Strange Horizons Fiction: Let Us Now Praise Awesome Dinosaurs, by Leonard Richardson
An odd story.

Pro Camera Gear on a Student Budget
Always a good idea.

Conclusion - Review Tom's Hardware : Phenom II 955 Versus Core i7 920: Gaming Value Compared
Yes, Intel is faster, but it's still a better value to get AMD.

Samsung files patent for sweep-wing cellphone keyboard | Boing Boing Gadgets
This is ridiculous.

White House Confronts Cookies - Tech Insider

2009-07-30T09:37:00.000-05:00

White House Confronts Cookies - Tech Insider

The White House may lift its policy barring federal Web sites from tracking users' online behavior. A Federal Register notice published on Monday seeks public comment on revisions to an existing ban on persistent cookies -- common software programs that commercial sites deposit on a visitor's computer to collect usage information.

Seriously -- who cares. Let the US government use cookies.

Honestly, your privacy isn't being affected -- they're the government. The bloody NSA is already logging everything and everywhere you go on the Internet, anyway.

Bookmarked Links for June 2009

2009-07-09T13:42:00.003-05:00

Amazon.com: SoundGate iO Series IOBTA35C 3.5 mm Jack Universal Bluetooth Adapter: Electronics
This is just the thing I was needing to use in my car.

10 purchases not to put on credit cards | Marketplace From American Public Media
Well, I'll be damned.

BBC - Glow JavaScript Library
Actually might use this just for fun.

Jake Archi bald
Lead web developer for the BBC.

nativeclient - Google Code
Emulating x86 code in a browser?

Open Letter to Apple: Let us Augment Reality with the iPhone! « Games Alfresco
It's true -- Apple better get this done quick or someone else (Android) is going to become the platform of choice.

Gemsta Viva, a SONY VAIO P style notebook | Cloned In China
I'd actually rather have one of these than I would the Sony.

Picasa Web Albums RSS feeds - Picasa Help
I love Picasa, but compared to Flickr it can be a pain in the butt.

13-year-old trades iPod for Walkman, reports on mysterious ancient artifact
Won't be long until the same is true for CD's, too.

Hack: use Google Voice to add visual voicemail to your G1, Dream, or Magic
Still waiting on my invitation to Google Voice.

Recent scenes from the ISS - The Big Picture - Boston.com
This picture of a river valley taken from the ISS almost looks like a creature crawling over the landscape.

CIA Realizes It's Been Using Black Highlighters All These Years | The Onion - America's Finest News
Funny, AND true.

Gizmodo - This iPhone is Freakin' Hilarious - Funniest iphone
This made me laugh out loud at work.

Yahoo! Media Player
Yahoo makes some neat stuff.

Physics discussion ends in skateboard attack
Out of work quantum physicists?

HTC Dream vs. Nokia E71 | SYP
A nice review of the G1 vs. Nokia's best.

career advice blog and podcast - Jobacle.com BLOG - Bored at Work? Play Office BINGO!
Yeah, I printed one of these out.

40Hz: Courier
One of the best web browsers for the old Apple Newton.

toilets.com - Porta-John Systems, Inc.
Your waste matter is being harvested by companies for drug research. Weird, but legal!

Windows Internet Explorer 8: Get the facts
We've all seen this.

Lifehacker - Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Mac Downloads - Lifehacker Pack 2009
Anytime you find free Mac application downloads, get them.

http://blogs.trb.com/cheeseburgershow/
A neat food blog I found, about Cheeseburgers in the Chicago area.

Canonical to boost Ubuntu usability by tackling "papercuts" - Ars Technica
A very good idea -- it's the little niggling thing that pisses me off about Ubuntu (but I still use it!).

The Legacy of Firefox

2009-06-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

Slashdot Comments | Firefox 3.5 Reviewed; Draws Praise For HTML5, Speed:

"Am I the only one who doesn't see the multiplicity of real competition as a threat, but rather as the greatest success of the Mozilla Foundation? Had it not been for Firefox, Opera would still cost money, Google Chrome wouldn't exist, a few people who paid way too much for their computers would be running Safari, and most (l)users would be stuck with the latest version of IE -- IE6. Thank you, Firefox, for reigniting the browser wars, and here's hoping that this time around the wars will be fought with functionality, stability, security, and speed, rather than with a new incompatible extension to JavaScript every week."

That pretty much sums up how I feel about it, too.

Even When Microsoft Gets It Right, They Still Get It Wrong

2009-06-19T08:12:00.009-05:00

Microsoft Gives you the Straight-up

Of course, I'm talking about this page, Microsoft's "Get the Facts" page about IE8. Go ahead and read it if you'd like.

Every now and then Microsoft will come out with one of these pages when it's releasing something new -- it's an opportunity for Microsoft to show the strengths and weaknesses against their competitors' products. However, sometimes Microsoft squanders that chance by either exaggerating greatly, flat-out lying, or just honestly getting their facts wrong.

There was a famous example of one of these pages that came out a year or so ago, in which Microsoft compared their new Windows Server software to Linux and tried to show how Windows Server was actually cheaper (no, really, don't laugh -- that's what they tried to do).

It was taken down a while afterwards, after a little bit of protest against their "profiling" section -- this was a section of their Linux-comparison page where they profile various Linux user "types" and how you should convince them of Windows Server's superiority. My favorite was the "open-source zealot" -- Microsoft would advise you not to debate "philosophically" against the zealot. (I'm guessing it was partly because it's an argument they know they can't win, and partly because debating with those people can sometimes be a bit trying, even if you agree with them.)

About Internet Explorer 8

I like IE8. There, I said it.

There's many in the web design community that'll argue with that, but honestly -- I've been forced to design in IE6 for years now (nearly a decade?), and starting development in IE8 is like finally getting reassigned to a new seat in a class where you've been forced to sit next to the stinky kid who never bathes. It's that refreshing to me.

No, it's not the greatest web browser; yes, it's still got a long way to go with certain technologies that have been around for years and which Microsoft still just refuses to support (like SVG). But compared to IE6, it's like IE8 exists in a whole other universe. (I'm not really going to cover IE7 -- it's really just a stepping stone between IE6 and IE8, as far as I'm concerned, and my organization never even upgraded to it, anyway).

It's got tabs. It isolates each tab into a separate OS thread, where if one web page crashes, it doesn't take down your entire browser -- this is a feature even Firefox doesn't have. Its built-in development tools (though an obvious copy of Firebug) are great to work with, including something I've been dying to have in IE for years: a built-in JavaScript debugger.

That being said, it's still got its faults.

Microsoft Comparing IE Against Other Browsers

Honestly, Microsoft should just stop doing it -- we all have to design for IE, whether we want to or not. There's no need to "sell" IE. To those in the know, when they do something like this, they're bound to piss the web-development community off, no matter what.

What I'll do is break down each comparison with other browsers (Chrome and Firefox) that Microsoft makes, and try to give my own personal opinion of where Microsoft stands. And considering Firefox 3.5 is going to be out in a month or so, I'm going to use it for my own personal comparisons -- if I recall, Microsoft did the same thing with the IE8 RC a while back when they claimed IE8 as being the "fastest" web browser, too.

"Security"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? IE.

"Internet Explorer 8 takes the cake with better phishing and malware protection, as well as protection from emerging threats."

Reality: Winner? None as far as I'm concerned.

All browsers have problems with security -- be it XSS attacks or (in Microsoft's case) too much integration with the host operating system. I don't know why MS thinks IE is superior for having "phishing protection," or checking to see if an URL is being spoofed -- all browsers have that today. And "protection from emerging threats" -- what does that even mean? For all we know, by "emerging threats" MS could be thinking of Google Chrome, for goodness sake.

If you ask me, all browsers are either equally safe or equally unsafe, whatever way you want to look at it.

"Privacy"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? IE

"InPrivate Browsing and InPrivate Filtering help Internet Explorer 8 claim privacy victory."

Reality: Winner? All.

If you're looking for privacy, all browsers have got your back today. Sorry, MS -- Google Chrome has had "incognito" mode for a while now, and Firefox 3.5 just got their private browsing mode, as well. What I can see of Microsoft's "InPrivate Filtering" sounds pretty neat, though it sounds a lot like the Firefox "NoScript" extension.

"Ease of Use"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? IE

"Features like Accelerators, Web Slices and Visual Search Suggestions make Internet Explorer 8 easiest to use. "

Reality: Winner? Chrome

I'm sure those features make IE8 easier to use, but no one's ever going to use them. Come on, let's be serious. IE is your grandparents' browser -- do you think they're going to take advantage of "Web Slices" and "Accelerators?" Do you think they're ever even going to know they exist? I still find users who don't even know that bookmarks/favorites can be grouped into folders. (I'm sure we've all sat there helping someone on a computer at one time or another, as they've sat there and scrolled for minutes through their list of bookmarks, looking for a particular one.)

On the other hand, Chrome wins the "ease of use" category for it's extremely simplistic UI alone, in my opinion. Even though I don't think it's revolutionary, it's still refreshingly uncluttered.

"Web Standards"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? All

"It's a tie. Internet Explorer 8 passes more of the World Wide Web Consortium's CSS 2.1 test cases than any other browser, but Firefox 3 has more support for some evolving standards."

Reality: Winner? All.

They're actually right about this one. Microsoft's made some great leaps to try and standardize the way programming in their browser should work -- there's even some areas in which Microsoft now surpasses other browsers. Seriously, I never thought I'd see the day. (I was even privy to one conversation on the Internet where a group was complaining about IE using the W3C standard for a certain thing instead of using "what's commonly used." You've got to be kidding me. I almost felt sorry for Microsoft -- they can't win for losing.)

And I'm going to wag my finger at the WebKit world here (browsers like Chrome and Safari). Yes, some of the unique extensions in JavaScript and CSS you're making are neat, but they're still proprietary and go against standards! You're starting to do the same thing we've been complaining about Microsoft doing for years!

"Developer Tools"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? IE

"Of course Internet Explorer 8 wins this one. There's no need to install tools separately, and it offers better features like JavaScript profiling."

Reality: Winner? (Tentatively) IE

Chrome's a close second with the WebKit Inspector tool, but IE's speaking truth, here. Now, the IE8 tools are nothing you can't get with Firefox+Firebug (who honestly uses Firefox for web development without Firebug?), but if you're talking about true "built-in" web development tools, IE's got them.

"Reliability"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? IE

"Only Internet Explorer 8 has both tab isolation and crash recovery features; Firefox and Chrome have one or the other."

Reality: Winner? (Tentatively) IE

They've got a point here, too. I've always spoken highly of IE8's tab isolation, even if Chrome has the exact same thing (across multiple operating systems, too). And if IE8 can recover all your tabs after a full browser crash (like Firefox has always been able to), then they've got the best of both worlds.

However, in my months of using Chrome, I have to admit I've never had it crash even once... :P

"Customizability"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? All

"Sure, Firefox may win in sheer number of add-ons, but many of the customizations you'd want to download for Firefox are already a part of Internet Explorer 8 – right out of the box."

Reality: Winner? Firefox

This is the bullet point I had the most problem with -- Microsoft mangled the hell out of it.

Number one, Chrome doesn't really have customization. You don't change the theme of it -- you can't add extensions (for now). So, Microsoft didn't even need to include them as a winner in this point.

And Microsoft, just because you have some nice features doesn't mean you're more customizable than Firefox. If that's the case, I could've claimed that Firefox was your equal in Developer Tools because you can easily download Firebug. You can't have it both ways.

This bullet point wasn't about "nice features," it was about customizability. And in that case, Firefox wins hands-down, both because of the existing size of the extension base, and the ease at which you can make those extensions.

"Compatibility"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? IE

"Internet Explorer 8 is more compatible with more sites on the Internet than any other browser. "

Reality: Winner? Unnecessary?

Eh, what? Is this even a problem today? I've been using Firefox for about 5 years now, and I can't remember the last time I had to open up Internet Explorer to get a site to "work." Especially now with IE8 (since Microsoft has finally made it work more like other browsers), this shouldn't even be an issue.

The only reason why Internet Explorer would "work better" with a website is if that website was specifically using features that only work in IE, which is just wrong to begin with.

"Manageability"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? IE

"Neither Firefox nor Chrome provide guidance or enterprise tools. That's just not nice."

Reality: Winner? IE, as far as I know.

Yeah, believe it or not, IE works better when used in "enterprise" level Microsoft shops. Imagine that. I'm not a SysAdmin, so what do I care? :P

(Okay, okay, I'm joking -- as far as I know, Firefox or Chrome can't be managed and installed across large-scale offices using many Windows installations. Honestly, though, this is only a problem in the business world, and only if you're locked into using Microsoft Windows for some reason.)

"Performance"

Microsoft's Take: Winner? All

"Knowing the top speed of a car doesn't tell you how fast you can drive in rush hour. To actually see the difference in page loads between all three browsers, you need slow-motion video. This one’s also a tie."

Reality: Winner? Chrome

This is a contentious point -- Microsoft's been claiming for a little while now that their browser is at least as fast as other browsers when it comes to "page loads." Yeah, about that:

How much time do you think you spend "loading" a web page compared to actually using it? Yeah, that's what I thought -- it's not even close. This is like Microsoft saying that their "car" (to use their analogy) is faster because it "starts up quicker."

Sorry, Microsoft -- Chrome wins this thing, hands down. Web pages are quickly becoming like mini-applications (thanks to Ajax) -- you load up a web page, and then you stay in that web page doing everything you need to do. The page's elements change around you, and sophisticated JavaScript routines create a seamless experience, free of page loads.

Chrome's JavaScript engine has been consistently tested to be about the fastest there is (only behind Safari 4, which I didn't test here because I don't have experience with it) -- Firefox 3.5's new JavaScript engine is leaps and bounds faster than Firefox 3.

IE8, however, despite all the improvements they've made to it, is still so far behind it's not even funny.

Conclusion

That about wraps it up. IE8's not a bad browser, and Microsoft coulda been all cool about it and said something like, "we know we've farked up in the past, but here's some ways we've made our browser better," but instead they had to pull out the ol' "WE ARE MICROSOFT RESISTANCE IS FUTILE" line.

Though, arguably, they've toned that down from the way they used to be, just a bit.

Bookmarks for May-June

2009-06-11T15:04:00.000-05:00

Beginners Guide For Rooting Your Android G1 To Install Cupcake | Android and Me
http://www.androidandme.com/2009/05/guides/beginners-guide-for-rooting-your-android-g1-to-install-cupcake/

Lifehacker - PdaNet Tethers Android Phones to Laptops with Ease - Android
http://lifehacker.com/5284420/pdanet-tethers-android-phones-to-laptops-with-ease

Lifehacker - Five Must-Have Tools for Any Kitchen - Kitchen
http://lifehacker.com/5284428/five-must+have-tools-for-any-kitchen

Download details: Update to .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 for the .NET Framework Assistant 1.0 for Firefox
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=cecc62dc-96a7-4657-af91-6383ba034eab&displaylang=en#filelist

Save a Raid
http://www.pennyarcademerch.com/pat090051.html

Electronic Arts stages fake protest of game at E3
http://www.physorg.com/news163409626.html

LED cooling fans steal sexy back from liquid-based solutions
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/04/led-cooling-fans-steal-sexy-back-from-liquid-based-solutions/

How to Make Your Client Look Bad, in Three Easy Steps | Citizen Media Law Project
http://www.citmedialaw.org/blog/2009/how-make-your-client-look-bad-three-easy-steps

Lifehacker - Install a Minimal Ubuntu Desktop - Ubuntu
http://lifehacker.com/5252073/install-a-minimal-ubuntu-desktop

Lean Ubuntu
http://leanubuntu.blogspot.com/

The Rage of the Privileged Class As It Loses Its Privileges -- New York Magazine
http://nymag.com/news/businessfinance/56151/

VPC - Press Release - (05/06/2009) - States with Higher Gun Ownership and Weak Gun Laws Lead Nation
http://www.vpc.org/press/0905gundeath.htm

The Coffee Desk » The World’s (Very) First “Netbook”
http://thecoffeedesk.com/news/index.php/2009/05/09/the-worlds-first-netbook/

The Horrors of Internet Customer Support

2009-06-11T10:42:00.004-05:00

God, I feel sorry for the guy having to respond to all these letters -- just read the comments on this page. http://www.pricegrabber.com/user_sales_getprod.php?masterid=4380895&lot_id=6567273

Using .IMG Files with Virtualbox to Test Netbook Operating Systems

2009-05-20T10:09:00.005-05:00

For weeks now I've been trying to test the Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Intel's Moblin Linux operating systems, but have been unable to because I've only been able to find them as .IMG files (and not the .ISO like I'm used to).

Now, there is a practical reason why these distrobutions are released in .IMG form -- .IMG files are apparently intended to be immediately flashed onto USB thumb drives, since most netbooks don't have CD-ROM's at all (the usual destination of an .ISO file). However, I haven't found a reliable way to use these images as a boot source in Virtualbox yet.

I've found where some people have said just rename it from ".img" to ".iso". That didn't work. Some people said try mounting it in Virtualbox's virtual floppy drive, which normally takes .IMG's anyway -- that didn't work.

I know I can just burn it to a USB flash drive that I have handy (if I had an empty one handy :P ), but that defeats the whole purpose of being able to test all this stuff in Virtualbox without having to rely on external physical media!

Oddly, the best solution I found was present at the Debian.org website:

VBoxManage convertfromraw -format VDI [filename].img [filename].vdi

Just use that command (replacing "[filename]", of course). This will convert the .IMG file into a Virtualbox .VDI disk image -- now, simply add that disk image as another hard drive, not a mounted ISO. Here's a pic of the Virtualbox config screen I'm talking about:

Now, just start up your Virtualbox VM and press "F12" to choose your boot drive, and select the drive that you've configured as the converted .IMG.

Whew! Lot of steps for something which is supposed to make stuff quicker! :P But it works, and I'm sure there's an easier way -- they're always is.

That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with both netbook OS's. Ars Technica has a great writeup on Moblin here -- the UI is just amazing. You need a modern computer for it to work on (a CPU with SSE3, at least, I think), and my old Compaq EVO410c from 2001 just didn't cut it, so I'll be sticking with the Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Abandoned Firefox Extensions for May

2009-05-18T09:13:00.003-05:00

I don't dislike these extensions -- don't get the wrong idea. However, every now and then I go through my extension list on Firefox to see what extensions have now had their functionality duplicated by Firefox's native features, what extensions I simply don't use anymore, or what extensions haven't been updated in a long time.

I list them here to remember them by, for some of them have been with me for a long time. (Excuse me, I have a tear in my eye.)

"Blue Ice" Firefox Theme
Hasn't been updated in a long time (since Firefox 2).

MR Tech's "Splash" Extension
An extension that loads a Firefox splash image whilst Firefox is loading. Pretty cool -- just turned it off since it's only eye candy. But a neat extension, nonetheless -- reminds me of the old Mozilla 1.7 days (back when Firefox was only a glimmer in our eyes).

Scribefire: Fire up your blogging
An extension that sought to centralize all blogging from within your browser. I soon grew tired of the bugs. :( A neat idea, though.

Lazarus: Restore lost forms with a single click
While this extension seems like a godsend (how many times have you submitted a web form, only to get an error or a crash or something, and then go back to find all your carefully typed text gone?), it was conflicting with a few of my other extensions, if I remember correctly. Might revist it one day.

Pirates of the Amazon
The infamous extension that provided a shortcut to PirateBay.org torrent pages when you viewed things on Amazon.com. Probably the most over-hyped extension of all time -- it did nothing that you couldn't do yourself in two mouse clicks, but to hear the mainstream news talk about, you'd think it designed by Satan himself.

Personas for Firefox :: Firefox Add-ons
An official Mozilla extension that would allow you to quickly skin and change the appearance of your browser with far more intense and in-depth themes that normal. Just eye candy, but I may revisit.

Adblock Plus: Save your time and traffic
The famous Adblock Plus -- I just don't use it anymore, but it's still great. My method of blocking ads has changed from a blacklist based approach (like Adblock, blocking things explicitly) to a more whitelist based approach (like NoScript, blocking everything automatically, unblocking as you go). I find the whitelist-based approach to be much faster and easier to adapt to new ads over time.

Connect Betterer - The Daily WTF

2009-05-11T14:16:00.000-05:00

Connect Betterer - The Daily WTF

An article on The Daily WTF about the importance of not solely relying upon client-side validation for your needs.

Though, I guess it's really about just poor, poor, poor web programming in general.

My Bookmarked Links for April 2009

2009-05-11T10:44:00.001-05:00

Diatomaceous earth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

One nation, seven sins - Las Vegas Sun
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/26/one-nation-seven-sins/

NPR: Power Hungry: Visualizing The U.S. Electric Grid
http://www.npr.org/news/graphics/2009/apr/electric-grid/

Lifehacker - Lesser-Known Firefox Feature Slows Down Mouse Wheel Scrolling Speed - Firefox
http://lifehacker.com/5221682/lesser+known-firefox-feature-slows-down-mouse-wheel-scrolling-speed

Gizmodo - I Would Not Be Ashamed to Have Belkin's Micro Auto Charger in My Car - Belkin Micro Auto
http://i.gizmodo.com/5220668/i-would-not-be-ashamed-to-have-belkins-micro-auto-charger-in-my-car

Amazon.com: Universal Mini USB Car Charger Adapter, Black: Electronics
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Mini-Charger-Adapter-Black/dp/B001HZI2ZC/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

Ford Bets the Fiesta on Social Networking | Autopia from Wired.com
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/04/how-the-fiesta.html

World of Warcraft computer cake on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pieceofcaketricities/3319421779/

Webcams.travel - Touristic webcams worldwide
http://www.webcams.travel/

Gmote > Android Remote
http://www.gmote.org/index

Total Recall: The Woman Who Can't Forget
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-04/ff_perfectmemory?currentPage=1

Lifehacker - One Dozen Super-Useful (and Free!) Android Apps - Android
http://lifehacker.com/5212542/one-dozen-super+useful-and-free-android-apps

NOAA Weather Service API Profile
http://www.programmableweb.com/api/noaa-weather-service

List of HTTP headers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HTTP_headers

Understanding the Domino CRUD API - the Basics - Chris Toohey | Domino Guru
http://www.dominoguru.com/pages/crud_1.html

AutoCopy :: Firefox Add-ons
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/383

Gizmodo - Mass Production Planned For HAL Exoskeleton; Your Personal Iron Man Conversion To Cost
http://i.gizmodo.com/5206539/mass-production-planned-for-hal-exoskeleton-your-personal-iron-man-conversion-to-cost-4200

BioShock: Breaking the Mold - Developer's Edition Artbook (Pre-order)
http://take2store.stores.yahoo.net/bibrmodeedar.html

First British woman undergoes 15-minute sterilisation | Mail Online
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1168161/First-British-woman-undergoes-15-minute-sterilisation.html

Zero Takes Electric Motorcycles to the Street | Autopia from Wired.com
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/04/zero-takes-elec.html

Gizmodo - A Pirate's Code of Conduct for BitTorrent - Pirate's code
http://i.gizmodo.com/5202399/a-pirates-code-of-conduct-for-bittorrent

Fun with Cookie Expiration

2009-05-01T09:48:00.006-05:00

So, I had a bit of code that would delete a cookie if the date that I set it ("sessionTimeBegan", which I stored in a variable) turned out to be on the previous day as when I was checking it:


if (MDM.VARS.MAIN.sessionTimeBegan.clearTime(true) < 
     (new Date()).clearTime()) 
{      
     // delete cookie 
}

Then I remembered that you can just set cookies to expire on a certain time and date and that this is utterly stupid.

Don't do this.

That being said, I did learn about ExtJS's "clearTime()" and "clone()" functions for Date objects, and they're really neat.

My Bookmarked Links for 03/09/09-03/31/09

2009-04-08T09:30:00.002-05:00

Trapster® - Sign Up For Your Free Account Now
https://www.trapster.com/signup.php

3 Free Ways to Geolocate By IP
http://blog.programmableweb.com/2009/03/31/3-free-ways-to-geolocate-by-ip/

One Man's Experience With the Stop-Smoking Drug Chantix -- New York Magazine
http://nymag.com/news/features/43892/

Drug Agents Raid SF Medical Marijuana Clinic - cbs5.com
http://cbs5.com/local/medical.marijuana.raid.2.968019.html

Nominative determinism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism

Environment Variables in Windows XP
http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/environment.htm

Flash Cookies explained
http://www.ghacks.net/2007/05/04/flash-cookies-explained/

10 Rare HTML Tags You Really Should Know - Nettuts+
http://net.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/10-rare-html-tags-you-really-should-know/

Insurers' proposal requires coverage for all - USATODAY.com
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/2009-03-24-insurers-sick_N.htm

Test Swarm
http://testswarm.com/

State laws and regulations
http://www.iihs.org/laws/default.aspx

jeffgilfelt.com
http://www.jeffgilfelt.com/

r34_18183535.jpg (JPEG Image, 990x513 pixels)
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/recess_03_18/r34_18183535.jpg

Marco Benevento
http://marcobenevento.com/

A Ninja Kit » Giver on windows
http://ankitjain.org/blog/giver-on-windows/

Tombuntu
http://tombuntu.com/

Compatibility Master Table
http://quirksmode.org/compatibility.html

Adobe - Flash Player Version Penetration
http://www.adobe.com/products/player_census/flashplayer/version_penetration.html

Bulletproof JavaScript Detection - The Daily WTF
http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Bulletproof-JavaScript-Detection.aspx

French police: we saved millions of euros by adopting Ubuntu - Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/03/french-police-saves-million s-of-euros-by-adopting-ubuntu.ars

Jalopnik Car Care: How To Fix A Drooping Car Window
http://jalopnik.com/5166862/how-to-fix-a-drooping-car-window#c11299557

Gazelle: The browser that thinks like an OS |Fatal Exception | Neil McAllister | InfoWorld
http://weblog.infoworld.com/fatalexception/archives/2009/02/gazelle_the_bro.html

Session variables without cookies
http://www.thomasfrank.se/sessionvars.html

A quick tip that may speed up your laptop or workstation (Andrew's Blog 03/09/2009)
http://www.thenorth.com/apblog4.nsf/0/914E2673718BBB37852575740083230A

IBM - When mail message is opened in Domino Web Access, the body is blank
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=899&uid=swg21211544

TwitNotes - Twitter sidebar plugin for Notes 8 - lekkimworld.com
http://lekkimworld.com/pages/attentionotes.html

NASA In Colbert Conundrum Over Space Station

2009-04-01T09:48:00.001-05:00

Just a comment I saw over at Slashdot. In case you're not familiar with the story, try this link first.

Name the [part of the] station "Colbert".

The publicity will only do NASA good. It will help popularize space funding amongst an audience of political science students -- and likely future politicians, as well as a whole bunch of other people who simply don't care. Stephen is a friend of NASA, his audience isn't comprised of space geeks on the whole. Having Stephen get them interested in Space is a damned good thing. There is no loss in naming the station after him, no especial advantage in naming it serenity or anything else, but there is a substantial gain in naming it Colbert -- it just makes sense.

Slashdot Comments, NASA In Colbert Conundrum Over Space Station

Flash Cookies: Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em

2009-03-26T15:45:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about them? I learned about these a while back, and nearly kicked myself -- I take great lengths to always get rid of tracking cookies, but had never even known about these (though, now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense that Flash would have its own system for managing stored information).

Want to see what I'm talking about? Go here, and take a look at what it's showing: http://www.macromedia.com/support/.../settings_manager07.html

I'm betting there's a list of almost every single site you've browsed (if it was using some sort of reasonably advanced flash, or flash ads) in probably the past, oh, year or so, right?

That's where Flash stores its own, internal cookies.

Well, you have to take extra steps to get rid of these cookies from your computer -- you can delete them en masse, using that Flash app on Macromedia's site, but they'll keep coming back (yes, even if you set it to "never store this information").

A much easier way is to create you up a few batch files, with either of the following two lines inside them (works pretty much the same on either Windows or Linux):


// Ubuntu Linux
rm -rfv ~/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#SharedObjects
rm -rfv ~/.macromedia/Flash_Player/macromedia.com/support/flashplayer/sys

// Windows XP
rmdir /Q /S "%APPDATA%/Macromedia/Flash Player/macromedia.com/support/flashplayer/sys"
rmdir /Q /S "%APPDATA%/Macromedia/Flash Player/#SharedObjects"

And set them to run either when you start your computer up or when you shut it down.

Mozilla's Ubiquity

2009-03-26T14:17:00.003-05:00

I know I said it before about JSON and regretted it (though it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship).

However, I just don't seem to get Mozilla's Ubiquity project, and I've even watched their whole video, and have seen and read stuff about Ubiquity for almost a year now.

I mean -- is including a link in an email really that cumbersome and terrible? :\ Is having to use an extension to process things with tinyurl.com so horrible you want to be able to do it through text commands?

But, like I said, I've said this kinda stuff before -- knowing me, I'll be designing with Ubiquity in a couple of months! :P

March 17, 1948: William Gibson, Father of Cyberspace

2009-03-17T14:50:00.000-05:00

March 17, 1948: William Gibson, Father of Cyberspace

And a very merry birthday, to you, to you.