Linux
gregladen | May 13, 2009First, the video, then the discussion:
Sean claims that 'cat' is short for 'concatenate' ... which is what I always thought (I'm sure 'cat' is 'concatinate' in at least one relatively common computer language other than bash).
If you man cat you do indeed get a statement that says "cat - concatenate files and print on the standard output."
It has become fashionable over the last few years for shell programmers to eschew cat. It is often the case that using cat is redundant with some other way of doing something which is seen as better for some reason, but that reason is often rather obscure…
gregladen | May 5, 2009We have been discussing the relative quality of support in OpenSource v. proprietary software, and I am reminded of some other issues that we've spoken of before. We had a fight here some time back (in November) over the question of Black Boxes in research software (I won the fight), a topic which has been touched on in the present discussion. The code has to be exposed. (see also this for a specific example)
Another argument we've had is how a system like Linux is maintained vs. a system like Windows. Developers argue about this, but the truth is that since Linux and most of what is…
razib | April 28, 2009Installed Jaunty Jackalope with Wubi. Definitely feels like a smoother UI on my Lenovo.
gregladen | April 14, 2009The other day I wanted to print a single 4 by 6 photo on the all-in-one printer Lizzie gave me last year. I was doing this from my Linux computer. I assumed that this would be tricky because this is one of those machines that's gotta have a complex and strange printer driver and maybe it would not work on my humble Linux box.
I don' t know why I had such a stoopid thought. I got the image up in The Gimp, opened "Printer Properties" and specified that I wanted a 4 by 6 photo quality, and hit "Print." And it was done.
Linux in Exile has a post on Windows Printing and how much of a pain it…
gregladen | April 13, 2009A couple of days ago I told you about a "getting started" guide for Linux. Here is another free PDF file that you may find interesting. This is a 170 page Ubuntu reference guide. It predates the current version of Ubuntu, but the vast majority of the contents are 100% useful.
You need to go here to down load it.
gregladen | April 12, 2009"ubuntu" is a southern and/or eastern Bantu word ... one of those words that is found in a number of languages and that no one is quite sure of the origin of. But this does not mean that it can't be pronounced correctly.
There are very straight forward rules of pronunciation for Bantu words in general. Especially in Eastern and Southern Bantu languages (of which there are hundreds) you can think of the vowels as always being pronounced the same way whenever and wherever they are encountered. There are not really any silent vowels, and although there is some elision, there is very little.…
gregladen | April 10, 2009There are a lot of ways to do this, but I just ran across one that may be just what some people need. This is an Open Access book called The Linux Starter Pack produced by Linux Format (which is an over-priced but entertaining Linux magazine).
The "starter pack" is a giant PDF file, 130 pages, which tells you how to install and use a common Linux distribution known as Ubuntu. You've probably heard of it.
Here is where you download the PDF file and learn more about it.
gregladen | March 23, 2009Everybody knows the answer is almost always Linux, and one of the reasons for that is because Windows cheats. Mr. Exile has run a test in which he compares two laptops, one with four times the memory and about double the processor speed and a more advanced processor, with the hotter computer running XP and the older, less powered computer running Linux.
Since the valid test is not when the desktop pops up (because Windows is still busy booting when that happens), Mr. Exile instead timed how long it took for him to have a browser opened to his web based email page.
If you are a Windows…
gregladen | March 21, 2009Why is Linux the coolest erector set in the world, that you should be willing to pay for? In part because Linux lacks the kind of freaky design oddities that arise when the makers of the software must go to meetings with a marketing department and a bunch of liability conscious lawyers, alternatively. In part because the fundamental design of the system is such that it is powerful yet lean at the same time. In part because basic security is so much easier to manage in Linux that it is not necessary for the processor to spend a sizable amount of time (using big chunks of memory) fighting…
gregladen | March 18, 2009No, this is not a post about which one is better. Not yet, anyway. I just want to mention that today, March 18th, the next version of Gnome is expected to come out, and yesterday, March 17th, I finished my personal test run of KDE 4.whatever.
I like KDE ... the new version .... to recommend it and to seriously consider using it just for fun on some computer somewhere. But my main desktop will remain Gnome because, well, it has not annoyed me and it works.
Keep an eye out for the new Gnome. Details here.
gregladen | March 18, 2009As has been predicted, with the economy in a down turn, businesses (and everybody) are abandoning sucky proprietary software for free and excellent OpenSource software ...
A February survey of IT managers by IDC indicated that hard times are accelerating the adoption of Linux. The open source operating system will emerge from the recession in a stronger data center position than before, concluded an IDC white paper.
Sixty-five percent of the 330 respondents said they plan to increase Linux server workloads by 10% or more this year. Sixty-three percent said they will increase their use of…
gregladen | March 3, 2009Emacs is exactly like a religion. A western religion, at least, operates by testing the faith of its participants. The god coldly allows babies to die of unexplained illnesses, violence to affect the innocent, wars to break out, natural disasters to ruin everything. That we mortals have faith that this is a loving and intelligent, all knowing god causes us to question reality itself, our selves, our church or temple, and our religious leaders. But this questioning followed by resolve, strengthens character. Or, ruins character. It could really go either way, which is why so many object…
gregladen | March 2, 2009The Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds is a rather unique product, targeted squarely at mobile professionals who require the power, features, and performance of workstation-class machine on the go. We previously evaluated the standard ThinkPad W700 and praised the system for its performance and stand-out integrated features, like a Wacom Digitizer Tablet and X-Rite Color Calibrator. The ThinkPad W700ds takes all of the features offered by the W700 and ads a secondary, slide-out display, which increases monitor real-estate by 39%.
Gigs of everything too. Linux plays well with Lenovo laptops, even if…
gregladen | March 1, 2009Should OpenOffice.org (OOo) writer (the text editor unit of the OpenSource office suite) have the horizontal ruler, on the top of the page, visible by default, or should it be hidden by default? This is the argument that it should be hidden by default. If you become a registered user of the OOo web site, you can actually vote on this. Let me know how that goes.
Xfce 4.6 is released (yesterday). Xfce is a gnome-ish desktop for Linux that uses very few resources (and has very few bells and whistles). "Xfce 4.6 features a new configuration backend, a new settings manager, a brand new sound…
gregladen | February 17, 2009First, I want to tell you that I think I might have accidentally broken facebook. It is going to be a while before this becomes apparent, but I think it might be true. Then, I've got some cool links for Linux Lovers.
Here's the story with facebook. I get a form from the University's Central Administration every semester or so asking "WTF is going on with certain students, because they seem to have a lot of credits and we just want to make sure they have a plan to finish soon." However, my students never need to have a form sent from Central because they are always good. So I get this…
gregladen | February 15, 2009I still have not found a satisfactory way to sync my calendar and to do list between the University's calendar server, my Windows "computer" at work, my Linux Laptop, the iPod Touch, and the main computer in the Blog Cave.
But we may be getting there.
To-do syncing has always been one of the gaping holes on the productivity side of the iPhone and iPod touch. Several third-party apps have filled this hole, but with Google Sync, to-do syncing gets even better.
The Knowliz weblog details how to set up popular to-do list manager Toodledo (and it's calendar feed feature) to work in conjunction…