title:
Put the knife down and take a green herb, dude.

descrip:
One feller's views on the state of everyday computer science & its application (and now, OTHER STUFF) who isn't rich enough to shell out for www.myfreakinfirst-andlast-name.com

Self-Pimpin':
Member of an email list?
You need The Digest Handler!!

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!!! Back-up your data and always wear white.
URLs I want to remember:
* Atari 2600 programming on your Mac
 * joel on software (tip pt)
* resume, mostly for Google * Regular Expression Introduction (copy)
* gpl xbrowser API for dhtml
 * mulder (old css tutorial)
* Using CommonDialog in VB 6 * Free zip utils
* that hardware vendor review site I forget about is here * Javascript 1.5 ref
* Read the bits about the zone * w3c.org index of HTML 4.01 elements
* Mozilla COM control * Quick intro to Javascript
* Editable Firefox Page * Parsing str's in VB6
email if ya gotta, RSS if ya wanna RSS
 
 
Sunday, July 12, 2009

Google, no longer not evil?

Google's Microsoft Moment - Anil Dash:

The era of Google as a trusted, 'non-evil' startup whose actions are automatically assumed to be benevolent is over.

... Today, protestations of 'but it's open source!' are being used to paper over real concerns about data ownership, and the truth is that open code doesn't necessarily imply that average users are in control.
posted by ruffin at 7/12/2009 11:30:00 PM
0 comments
 
Friday, July 10, 2009

Grubes on Chrome OS

Daring Fireball: Putting What Little We Actually Know About Chrome OS Into Context:

But at a practical level, how well will this actually work? Is it feasible to use Chrome OS as your sole computer?... In short, will Chrome OS pass the dog food test: is it something Google’s own engineers will want to use?

I’m skeptical about the prospects of any new system or product that isn’t intended for use by the people creating it. Gmail, for example, is the best web mail system because it was designed to be used not just by “typical” users but by expert users, including the engineers at Google who made it....

Make something intended not for your own use, but for use by dummies, and you’ll usually wind up creating something dumb. The future of computing probably is in the direction of thin clients connecting to network services for storage and software, but my hunch is that Chrome OS is too thin.


Okay, long quote, but I've got to wonder what he's thinking here. Chrome is supposed to be for computers somewhere between desktops and PDAs, and honestly, how much do I do can't be done in a browser? More importantly, how much can I do that Google wouldn't rather I do in a browser?

Our old friend, Joel Spolsky, talks a bit about commoditizing the OS on joelonsoftware.com, and it's exactly what Netscape originally intended to do. A large reason why Netscape didn't work out is that Microsoft took this OS within an OS very seriously. They killed it.

Gmail, Google Reader, Google Docs, Google Talk -- most anything short of programming happens on Google within Google pages. And if the boot time is significantly reduced, all the better. How often am I outside of my browser? I use Thunderbird, iChat/Pidgin, and iCal, but how much of that suffers much moving to the browser? Other things like iMovie and iPhoto or Picasa might have online Google versions in progress now. With Gears, I assume it's happening.

So fast forward another year and a half, and that's if Google ships on time, and assume more moves into the browser, not less. Netscape had a great idea with Navigator, and it looks like Google wants to leverage Linux to make good on that promise.

Btw, Gruber's comparison of Linux to Windows seems spot on.

So I think Gnome and KDE are stuck with a problem similar to the uncanny valley.


If you're always
almost
Windows, why would anyone switch? It's just bizarro world. The reason Linux hasn't ever won the desktop isn't because of Linux, but because of its windows managers. Seriously, you think Apple wouldn't release iTunes for Linux if it had 15-20% marketshare? I can't imagine a few entertainment apps are stopping Linux' proverbial ascension.
posted by ruffin at 7/10/2009 12:14:00 PM
0 comments
 
Tuesday, July 07, 2009

I've broken Netflix


For months now, Netflix hasn't so much as ventured a recommendation -- or, if it has, they have been few and quickly dismissed. This despite my having rated 444 movies. Seriously? You've got nuttin? If I've got Bloodrayne on my list, isn't it likely I'll watch anything? Maybe my queue's long enough and my plan sorry enough they don't feel they need to entice me into using Netflix more. Still, I'd expect recommendations and an upsell.

In other news, I'm at least temporarily tired of blogging about much of anything, really really like what I've seen of Paintbrush for OS X (which does what Seashore should have done for OS X: provide a Paint replacement), and believe that Ogg Theora will eventually be used more for commercials than anything else.

That's right, the new built-in video codec in Firefox will be used to ensure everyone in that browser sees what are now Flash adverts without a hitch. Until bandwidth costs < licensing, I'm not sure why anyone would walk away from what's already on the scene -- Flash, Silverlight, h.264. In fact, Apple's serving the h.264 Kool Aid as quickly as possible, putting hardware support into every consumer Mac it makes in addition to the iPhone.

I'd like to see Theora do to video what png did for images on the net. Still, the only place they make sense -- file size is small enough and the desire to get the message out there more pull than push -- is advertisements, and even then only for adverts being pushed to folk with Firefox browser strings.

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posted by ruffin at 7/07/2009 12:47:00 PM
0 comments
 
Friday, June 19, 2009

Save the earth with your font choice

I guess this Ecofont deal is an inspired idea. Somewhat reeks of the, "If I'm going to claim to be an environmentalist, I sorta have to use it," slant that makes a certain flavor of personality use a hybrid, buy food from Whole Foods, pay more for recycled paper, yet still use 120 brightness toilet paper. You know, them.

The gist is that they cheese grated the font, and put holes all over it. As they describe it, "After extensive testing with all kinds of shapes, the best results were achieved using small circles. After lots of late hours (and coffee) this resulted in a font that uses up to 20% less ink."

I tried it out at 9 pt like the creators suggest. I must have Thunderbird printing even smaller, though, as I can only barely make out a few holes, and where I see them it looks a little like my toner's running out. TextEdit made the holes more pronounced. I guess that might be 20% less. If it is, kudos. Except for disappearing lines in "n" and "t", etc, it's not too bad.

Do your part, hybrid owners. And for the rest of us, consider saving some toner. Now if they'd just create a monospace version...
posted by ruffin at 6/19/2009 12:12:00 PM
0 comments
 
Friday, June 12, 2009

"New study shows iPhone users to be in a class by themselves"

From AppleInsider | New study shows iPhone users to be in a class by themselves:

iPhone users are richer, younger, and perhaps even more productive at work than those who use competing smartphones, according to a new study released Friday.


In breaking news, a more recent study says that those who have purchased an iPhone after reading this story tend to be poorer, older, and perhaps less productive at work than they wish to appear.
posted by ruffin at 6/12/2009 02:28:00 PM
0 comments

iTunes on Boot Camp sux0rz

Okay, look... There's no reason to use one set of naming conventions on Windows for iTunes when it keeps your music folder organized and another on OS X. None. No, I understand different naming conventions on different plats and formats makes sense on some level. What you do is go back to fourth grade and recall Lowest Common Demoninators.

Make both iTunes versions use a naming convention that works in either OS. Then when I use the same folder for music for iTunes running in Windows and OS X on the same Mac, I don't suddenly lose songs in both when I switch OSes.

That's just good programming, folks.

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posted by ruffin at 6/12/2009 01:28:00 PM
0 comments
 
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Installing Vista Upgrade on OS X? Maybe.

Upgrading a user to Windows Vista from Windows 2000 | User Support | TechRepublic.com:

For this option, when you try to activate the software, you’ll be told, The Software Licensing Service determined that this specific product key can only be used for upgrading, not for a clean install. At this point, all you’ll have to do is install Vista again, but this time you’ll be upgrading to Vista from Vista. That sounds strange, I know, but it’s true. When you install Vista a second time, you’ll want to do it from the new installation of Vista, not by booting from the DVD. You do want to enter the product key the second time around, and you do want to choose the upgrade option.

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posted by ruffin at 6/10/2009 02:30:00 PM
0 comments
 
Friday, June 05, 2009

Note to self: Moving your OS X user dir in 10.5

macosxhints.com - 10.5: Easily change the location of your home directory:

First, copy your home directory to the desired location; for example, to an external hard drive....

Then Control-click on your account's name in the Accounts pane of System Preferences and choose the Advanced Options item that appears. In the new Advanced Options screen, you'll see a field for Home Directory; enter the path to your new home directory here, or click on the Choose button and navigate to the new home directory.
posted by ruffin at 6/05/2009 05:12:00 PM
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