How I Came Full Circle With Linux Mint

IceRocket tags: Linux Mint

Linux Mint

Powered by ScribeFire.

Officeshots.org: Test ODF compatibility: Requests

You want to try which Office software is any good for you or your organisation? It’s very easy. Five steps:

1. Submit a document that contains features you typically require.
2. Take a pick from the supported word processors, spreadsheet and presentation packages.
3. Select what you would like to see: PDF exports, screen output or ODF roundtrips.
4. Wait a bit while we work our magic…
5. Grab the results and compare them!

IceRocket tags: …, ODF

ODF

Powered by ScribeFire.

In “No Longer Minty Fresh“, I recounted my reasoning for “upstreaming” from Linux Mint to Ubuntu. Essentially, I disliked that I would not be receiving current security updates. Since then, I’ve lived through Kubuntu’s move to KDE4 (disasterous… KDE4 is seriously broken and almost unusable… I now use XFCE4 and LXDE [and occasionally OpenBox or IceWM] instead) and the Ubuntu PulseAudio breakage (lost audio in Ubuntu/Xubuntu/Kubuntu 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope” 32-bit and 64-bit versions). I’m nearing seven months in Missouri, working around 12 hours per day, 6 days per week. When I come “home” to the hotel room, I don’t want to fight with my computer (or I could go to Best Buy and pick up a replacement with Vista on it). I want it to do what I want it to do without resisting, and without dire warnings that I might see Microsoft’s Barney underwear if I view hidden and system files, and without someone (whether in Canonical / Ubuntu or in Microsoft) rushing a non-ready product out to hit some deadline set by executives. So “broken” isn’t going to be acceptable.

I also bought a laptop for one of my nephews. I installed Linux Mint for him instead of Ubuntu, reasoning that Mint’s slower pace of updates means less chance of breakage, even if it also means they are slower to support certain peripherals. (Another one got a Dell Mini 10v netbook–running Ubuntu, of course.) Mint has a well-deserved reputation for being “improved Ubuntu”, just as Ubuntu is “a pretty face and reliable applications atop a stable Debian core”.

I’m looking to replace this laptop soon, as in within the next year. Linux Mint is the top candidate to go on the next one. (Fedora, SimplyMEPIS, gNewSense, Ubuntu, and OpenSuse are also being considered.) Yes, I know I had purchased another and even upgraded it from Vista to Ubuntu. But HP skimped on the screen resolution, and it bothered me that I couldn’t view windows as I’m accustomed to viewing them. So I popped in the Vista restore CD and gave the computer to MJ. I even saw an announcement that said that Lenovo would be shipping OpenSuse-powered lappies, and tried to order one. Learned my lesson–do not do business with Lenovo–but they did return my funds eventually.

I’d love it if Toshiba shipped a decent lappy that wasn’t infected with the HE11N0 flu (Infesticus microsoftii spp. Vistus, otherwise known as Windows), especially if Best Buy offered computers with your choice of the three major operating systems pre-installed or at least an install-your-own-OS option. (Question: how can they be the “best” buy, when they can’t offer you a full selection of available operating systems and software? How is it “best” if you have to settle for something that doesn’t meet your needs or go elsewhere?) I did look at Dell’s site, but it looks like they haven’t updated their Linux models in a while. The Linux-powered laptop I saw was seriously outdated in comparison with their Windows-powered models. I haven’t checked in a while, so they may have updated the product line.

I am very likely to return to Linux Mint when I buy the new computer. At that time, I’ll move the data I choose to keep onto an external hard drive (EXT3 or EXT4 formatted, of course), then sledge this lappy’s hard drive (that is, smash it with a sledgehammer), and then bring the data to the new computer. I think I’ll name it TOENAIL, because it’ll spend most of its time in the case (shoe / sock) wherever I’m currently working.

This one is here so I can find it easily next time. I spent most of a day troubleshooting this before I found the solution.

Situation:
User cannot browse the Web. May be able to browse secured (https) sites, but normal (http) sites blocked. Can ping sites. Can use an e-mail client. Can use Telnet, except for port 80.

• Check firewall settings, anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-malware. Run full scan with your security software.
• Check proxy settings.
• Connect another computer to see whether there is something filtering out HTTP upstream.

Done all that already? So had I. Then I found this, which led me to this.

Here’s what you can try next:

1. Reboot the computer into safe mode. If you don’t, you won’t be able to do this.
2. Log in with a local machine administrator’s account. Open the registry editor.
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\vsdatant and set Start to 3. NOTE: if this key isn’t there, this isn’t your problem and this fix will not help you.
4. Restart the computer.

In this case, you’re probably dealing with the leftover pieces of a ZoneAlarm firewall installation.

As the HP discussion site above says:

1. Even if you think you never installed ZoneAlarm (like me), still look out for vdatant.sys, it may be there!
2. You cannot change the registry setting when vdatant.sys is loaded/running, even if you have Admin privileges. You need to boot your machine in safe mode (with or without networking), and then you can edit the registry setting to disable the driver.

Powered by ScribeFire.

I’ve been in Missouri recently. I’m working about 70 hours each week, so I haven’t had a lot of time for anything else. However, I recently took some time off. I visited my granddaughter (no, I’m not posting photos… everyone that knows me in person has seen enough photos to last them for a while… if you haven’t, I still have more).

I went to see the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes host the Modesto Nuts. Their mascot Tremor was there, but I guess they must have retired Aftershock.

Quakes game July 30

I also got to see the Springfield Cardinals play.

Corpus Christi Hooks batter swings at pitch

Court Blocks Microsoft Word Sales in U.S. | News | The Mac Observer

According to i4i’s suit, the company owns a patent that saves users from having to embed command codes in their documents to control text formatting, and Microsoft’s XML formatting feature infringes on that. The patent in question, number 5,787,499, describes a system that removes the need for individual, manually embedded command codes to control text formatting in electronic documents.

The Judge’s order blocks Microsoft from selling or importing into the United States any version of Word that can open documents containing custom XML which includes .XML, .DOCX and .DOCM files. While the injunction blocks the sale of Word in its current state, it doesn’t prevent Microsoft from selling versions of the application that open XML documents as plain text.

As everyone knows by now, Microsoft has again been burned by the application of the patent system to the field of software. I maintain that the present patent and copyright system violates the Constitution, but even those who support the present system have problems with the way it was applied in this case.

Incidentally, both HP and Dell are asking to file “friend of the court” briefs supporting Microsoft’s appeal of this judgment.

I note that Andy Updegrove, whom I respect highly, doesn’t seem to think this is going to be the big, world-ending thing that everyone else seems to think. He’s right, of course, but I think it will be bigger than he thinks, particularly when coupled with the potential effects of Microsoft’s own XML in word processing patent.

Microsofties, I sincerely hope your company wins this case. I support you in this, even as I continue to disagree with the way that companies (including yours) are filing patents based on a misinterpretation of the clear meaning of the Constitution.

Storing text docs in XML may run afoul of Microsoft patent – Ars Technica

The patent appears to cover both the creation of the XML document and the file that’s created. That would allow a certain degree of leeway in terms of interoperability, as there is nothing here that would seem to cover reading a Microsoft-generated XML document, for example. But it certainly seems that Microsoft could assert that any word processor that used this class of XML storage as a native format was violating its patents.

The key question going forward is what Microsoft chooses to do with this patent now that it has been granted. The company is under pressure in both the US and EU to increase its software’s interoperability with that of its competitors, so a rigorous enforcement of this patent would seem like an express lane to further legal trouble, something the company has seemingly been anxious to avoid.

I hope that SteveB and company will awaken to the dangers posed by unlimited patents and copyrights and join me in calling for a greatly restricted scope for such “intellectual property”. Misusing patents and copyrights to lock up information for private profit harms everyone, as Microsoft is again learning. See the GeekPAC position paper for more information.

IceRocket tags: Software Patents, Microsoft

Software Patents, Microsoft

Powered by ScribeFire.

Movie/record industry rep says that you shouldn’t expect to be able to play your media for as long as you own it – Boing Boing

“We reject the view,” he writes in a letter to the top legal advisor at the Copyright Office, “that copyright owners and their licensees are required to provide consumers with perpetual access to creative works. No other product or service providers are held to such lofty standards. No one expects computers or other electronics devices to work properly in perpetuity, and there is no reason that any particular mode of distributing copyrighted works should be required to do so.”

The context is a discussion over whether it should be legal for users to strip off TUR (technological usage restrictions), also known as DRM, when the validation servers for their legally-purchased content (that is, music, video, and software) are shut down. Should Windows XP stop working when Microsoft shuts down its Genuine Disadvantage servers? Should people who bought “protected” music lose when Wal-Mart or Microsoft or Apple decide to shut down their authorization servers?

But the real issue is whether “intellectual property” as we currently know it is even allowed under our Constitution.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
…
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
….
(US Constitution, Article I, Section 8)

A simple reading of the Constitution (and the only reading that makes sense) tells us a few things about patents and copyrights. First of all, the purpose is to promote progress, to benefit society as a whole. In order to do so, a monopoly may be granted for a limited period of time, to authors and inventors, creators. Wikipedia has some background on the subject.

Now, nothing is created, except through the efforts of individual humans or groups of individual humans. Corporations have no creative ability, save their ability to help fund and organize the efforts of humans. Therefore, I will make my first shocking statement: the provision of copyright and patent benefits to any entity other than the specific individuals involved in creating the thing protected is a clear violation of the US Constitution and ought to be legally prohibited. Corporations, by the Constitution, have no authority to own or acquire copyrights or patents for themselves, and Congress cannot grant that authority.

Secondly, the specific purpose of copyright and patents is to motivate creators to continue creating things for the benefit of society as a whole. Therefore, there are no grounds in the Constitution for copyright or patent to last longer than the life (or lives) of the specific individuals involved in creation of said invention or artistic work. To be more direct, the lifetime (s) of the creators is the limit of the time that Congress (and by extension the government as a whole) is allowed to grant these monopoly rights. The day you die, you can no longer write music, nor invent new things. Thus, it is clearly impossible for copyright or patent to motivate you to continue creating things after that date.

Now, we must understand that copyright and patents do not exist to enrich media and technology companies, but only to benefit society as a whole. The RIAA, the MPAA, and the BSA consist mostly of large and rich corporations. They are large and rich, I surmise, because misinterpretation of a simple clause of the Constitution into a near-perpetual right to compensation has enabled corporations and “stars” to get very high returns for their efforts. The bad thing about those ultra-high returns is the belief that they are entitled to them, which was the reason behind technological usage restrictions in the first place.

In the days of vinyl records, for example, it was relatively difficult to copy and illegally distribute albums. To be sure, it went on, but it wasn’t some high school kid sharing free music with strangers. This made it easy for record companies to control music distribution. Because they controlled distribution, they then had an important service to offer artists. But now? They still control the courts, for now. What happens in ten years when the current under-30 group starts joining the judicial bench? They’ve grown up in an era where music “sharing” is easy and painless, because it doesn’t affect your ability to use the product. They’ve seen online services where music is rented. They know that the current “intellectual property” regime is a scam.

IMPORTANT: I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. If you get crossways with the music, movie, or software companies, you are on your own. Your best bet is to obey the law as currently interpreted, while working to bring the law back to its Constitutional basis.

Hat tip: Jim Robertson

IceRocket tags: Constitution, copyright, technological usage restrictions

Constitution, copyright, technological usage restrictions

Powered by ScribeFire.

How to Layout a Book with OpenOffice.org: Part 1 – Make Tech Easier

It is all in your head: the plot, the characters, the locations, and even the scenes, but for some reason, staring at the blank page and blinking cursor makes you freeze. You like the idea of writing a book but cannot imagine actually completing it. If that feeling sounds familiar, then this might be the right article for you. Even if you have written a book and have it all ready to go, you may intend to self-publish it, start your own publishing company, send it to an editor, or just layout your book so you can see how it looks.

There is a long list of reasons why you might need to prepare an OpenOffice.org document in book form, and once you have learned how to do it, you will have a useful skill that you or people you know may need in the future. You can use this method for both print publications and e-books

Be sure to read the article, the comments, and the next twp parts of the article. One of the things this covers is the file format to use (export to PDF). The PDF export options have improved for OpenOffice.org (OOo) 3.0. I was recently working on a computer that had version 2.4.1 and found myself surprised at how few options there used to be.

Now that Microsoft officially considers OOo to be a competitor, we need to show off the additional capabilities of the software. First up, the ease in setting up and using styles, which makes longer documents and documents which will be subject to extensive editing easier to deal with. Native use of the vendor-neutral ODF file formats is another plus. As other products also implement this format (and improve their implementations so they interoperate), it will be less and less necessary to buy any specific vendor’s products in order to communicate. (Could this account for the way ODF was implemented in MS Office 2007 SP2?)

IceRocket: OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org

Powered by ScribeFire.

I admit it. I use OpenOffice.org (OOo) at home. I use it in preference to most similar products. I use it because its price is zero and because it is free. (Otherwise, I’d be paying a small amount and using StarOffice.) But if price was the only reason, there are other products out there. KOffice, for example, and both AbiWord and Gnumeric are all zero-price freeware as well as free software. And finally, there is WordPerfect, which remains my favorite office product, but is not available on my preferred platform at any price. There is Microsoft Office, which is what I have to use at work.

I also use KOffice. KOffice is my third favorite office product. I use KOffice when I already have multiple applications open and do not want the dragginess that OpenOffice.org would produce. Whenever that drag is not an issue (e.g., only one other application open), I go back to OOo.

I have access to Microsoft Office 2003 at work. So why do I prefer to wait until after work and use OpenOffice? Because OOo offers nearly everything that MSOffice offers, without being so annoying. One annoyance that I commonly find with Microsoft’s product is the way it changes the interface to hide functionality (menu items, toolbar buttons) it decides you don’t need. It was there last week, but now when I want to use it, it is no longer there. Or how about opening attached documents in “reading layout”? Like it or not, most documents eventually get printed onto paper. When I open an attached document, it is not the content that I am looking for (or it would be pasted into the message body), but the way it looks. Switching to a non-page-oriented display is exactly the wrong thing to do.

In addition, using OpenDocument Format as the default file format helps future-proof my documents. After the current producers of “office software” all move on to something else, will you have the right to create a program to read and manipulate your data in the formats it was saved in? Will you be forced to buy a license from someone? Or perhaps be required to use a particular operating system?

If software is female, WordPerfect is the French maid, OpenOffice is MaryAnn (Gilligan’s Island) and MS Office is the Russian weightlifter. I know which one I’d avoid. This may explain why I question the wisdom of soon-coming MS Ad-infested Office, when others think so highly of it. Or it could be the memory of the old “free dial-up Internet if you view our constant ads” days. I quickly went back to a paid service when the ads consumed most of the bandwidth. Just wait until your print preview requires you to wait 30 seconds while an ad banner dances, sparkles, and sings to you.