Misc. Ramblings

I'm a believer in both paying back and paying forward. Among other ways, I've done so by donating my time, documented on these pages, by creating mini-howtos relating to, among other things, running Xandros Linux Deluxe 3.01, which is what I use, (this version costs $89.95USD but you can download a free version that is crippled in some ways) in a Netware environment and how to successfully convert from Windows. I've also paid money to support other Open Source efforts like, for example, the Mozilla Firefox browser. In addition, I've also donated money to the American Red Cross and Salvation Army for Katrina relief. Not to brag or anything, but I've donated close to $3,000USD so far this year to various charitable/non-profit or Open Source projects and have donated at least as much for at least the last three or four years running.

Having done all that, I've very rarely asked for the assistance of anyone but I'm asking for a small favor now.

I have a couple of security cameras at home that transmit their images to a secured folder on my website. Every 30 seconds or so a new image is transmitted from the Seto Shack to my web host in Pittsburgh that overwrites the current one.

My cameras have built in servers that can display or transmit images via the Internet. Although, for a time, I opened a port to the outside world at the Seto Shack so I could access the images directly from the camera via the Internet, I eventually decided it wasn't such a good idea to have a port open at home. So I closed the web port and just have the webcams ftp utility upload images to my website.

Given that setup, what I want to do is modify the image by displaying on the image the date and time that the image was taken. Knowing that fellow Daynoter Brian Bilbrey had a webcam with time/date, I searched his site for what he was using. After narrowing down the search to a number of hits that was usable (using just "webcam" brought up every page with a masthead link to his webcam! My bad.), I found that he is/was using something called Stamp!.

So I downloaded, compiled, and installed Stamp! Although it does add the date and time to an image (it reads the current system and then overlays the image with this information), that's only part of what I want done. I want something that will actually read the date/time of the image file itself and display that in the image. That way, I will know when the image was actually taken, not when Stamp! ran and checked the system date/time (Stamp! runs periodically and is not otherwise keyed to the taking of the image). This would be helpful to me not only for diagnostic purposes (e.g., to check whether new images are being uploaded correctly), but more importantly, also for auditing/legal purposes should an image need to be used in a court of law.

When wouldn't the date/time match when the image was taken? Well, almost every image would be off by as much as 29 seconds but more worrisome is if, for some reason, the webcams should stop transmitting, while at the same time Stamp! keeps running. For example, should someone break into the Seto Shack, it is possible they might disable the security system. Should that occur, no new images would be sent, but Stamp!, running on the webserver that powers seto.org, would continue to run. This means the last image that was sent would continue to have it's image modified with the current time. Over and over again until I turned Stamp! off. In other words, I would have an image that perhaps was taken hours ago, but the date stamp would show the current system time. This would probably cause some problems should I need to use it as evidence before a court.

I tried Googling for something that would actually read the file date/time instead of just reading the system clock but, so far, have been unsuccessful.

In any case, if you know of anything that runs under *nix that could do what I need done, please leave a comment or email using the link in the right column of index page for this web site. Thank you in advance.

I've found a snippet of Perl code that purports to read a file's time stamp. The code is below:

use File::stat;
use Time::localtime;
$date_string = ctime(stat($file)->mtime);
print "file $file updated at $date_string\n";

When I created a Perl script, by adding the line #!/usr/bin/perl and changed the $file place holder with the real file name of test.jpg, and then executed the script (after setting the file permission for execution) I got the following error:

Can't call method "mtime" on an undefined value at ./timer.scr line 5.

timer.scr is the name of the executed file and line 5 points to $date_string = ctime(stat($test.jpg)->mtime);

I know next to nothing about Perl so I don't know how to fix this error.

Posted by DanS at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Speaking of asking for help, the Creative Commons (CC), the needs your support. CC tries to bring "balance, compromise, and moderation" to the world of copyrights. To do this, they've created a set of licenses. These licenses provide you the opportunity to choose something between the extremes of everything is copyrighted and nothing is.

Their goal is to raise $225,000USD by December 31, 2005. As of last Friday, they only have $33,000. If you have $10 or $20, or more to spare, consider donating. Mahalo

Thanks to Professor Larry Lessig for the link and the short answer to what problem the Creative Commons tries to solve.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:42 AM | Permalink

Although you never want to be in a position to provide bad service due to, in equal parts: bad business decisions, software, and hardware failures. If you end up there anyway, I believe it's best to be honest with your customers. Why? Well, it's about trust.

Nobody trusts someone who hasn't been honest with them. I mean, if someone lies to you, even once, without a darned good reason, then you probably won't trust him or her. And if you don't trust someone, you probably won't give your money to them for something you want. By definition, this is a barrier to an open marketplace. Where you are afraid to trade your money for a product or service, everyone looses.

But, over time, if you've built a relationship with your customers based on trust, telling them the truth about your problems will strengthen that trust. I know it sounds a bit paradoxical that letting your customers know about your problems actually increases the probability that they will stay your customers but there you are. By telling them the truth, you increase the probability that they will trade with you.

Of course, you need to lay out a plan that has a reasonable expectation of correcting the problems. But assuming that is the case, being honest with your customers empowers them. It gives them the information they need to make informed decisions. Having done that, they will usually reward you by continuing to trade with you.

Hence, I have nothing but praise for Six Apart's Mena and Ben Trott for writing about their data center problems relating to their TypePad service. I should note that I use their MovablType (MT) application to run my blog. And though it is not perfect, I gave them money to support its development even though the personal version I use is free.

For those that don't want the hassle of installing MT, and are willing to pay a fee, Trott's TypePad service is an option. For as little as $4.95USD per month, you can be up and blogging in no time.

It is their TypePad service that has been having problems over the last few weeks or so. From what Ben says, due to the exceptional growth of the service, and the one-time software/hardware problems, they must move to a bigger data center to handle the three terabytes of data being pumped out by their customers every day. Once the move is completed, I trust that the exceptional service people have come to expect from TypePad will be restored.

For what it's worth, I trust Ben and Mena. Even though I've been a critic of MT when I felt there were problems. But SixApart has made an effort to address those problems. So if you are a current customer, hang in there because help is on the way. Conversely, if you are looking for such a service, you can't do better than TypePad.

These are honest people. I can't give anyone better praise then that.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:06 AM | Permalink

Sorry, not much going on around here in the Seto Shack. Maybe something tomorrow. Until then, have a good one.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:27 AM | Permalink

My new Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 just came in. As you might expect, given there isn't a keyboard driver for Linux, none of the specialized keys work. Hence, I'm not going to spend anytime on what the keys are intended to do. In addition, the raison d'être for this keyboard is ergonomics. Therefore, my mini-review will concentrate on the feel of this human input device.

With the said, the most noticeable thing about the keyboard is that it has a negative angle. That is, the edge nearest to the user is higher than the edge farther away. I've often wondered why keyboards weren't angled this way because, it seems to me, that it releases some of the tension on the wrists and even the shoulders and neck. If you don't like this angle, you may remove the rather flimsily attached plastic spacer and use the keyboard in a more common angle. In any case, score one for MS.

The next thing I noticed is that the key layout quickly rises towards the center where you will find the 7, t, y, g, h,n, and to a lesser extent the b key caps being substantially larger than the other keys. I can already see that this layout is going to take awhile to get used to. The key placements are just different enough from the Natural Keyboard Pro that I was using that I am constantly hitting the wrong keys. I assume I will get over this but, at best, I have to give a neutral mark on this.

The feel of the key travel is similar to my previous keyboard - that is, mushy and without much tactile or auditory feedback. I know I am showing my age when I say it but I really liked the original IBM AT type keys. They provided terrific feedback and felt like you could hit them with a baseball bat without worrying about it breaking them. These keys have such a soft feel that I have found that I'm getting double letters because I usually rest my fingers on the keys and these are so sensitive that a key press is being registered. So, for me, I give the 4000 a negative on feel although your may feel otherwise [pun not intended -ed].

The 4000 also includes a padded, integral wrist rest that seems pretty comfortable. I don't know how it will feel after hours of use but I think it's better than the hard plastic I had before. A plus on this feature.

One thing lacking that was present in my earlier keyboard is a USB hub. The Natural Pro included a two-port hub that came in handy since the location of the ports were more accessible than the back or front of the CPU case. In addition, the 4000 is a USB keyboard and, in at least my case, did not come with a USB to PS2 port adapter. I happen to have a couple of those adapter laying around but if your motherboard doesn't support USB keyboards you may need to purchase such an adapter. I guess, given most modern motherboards and operating systems will not have problem. Still, I will also grade this as a neutral.

Finally, a word about esthetics. This keyboard is predominately matte black with accents in silver/gray and polished black. To my eye, it makes for an attractive product and was one of the key selling points (since it matches the color of my Dell GX260 at work). For me, this is a plus.

The bottom line is is a net positive. But as in almost all cases, this score may be different for you depending on your personal likes and dislikes. Still, I grade this as a step up from the previous keyboards and look forward to many years of happy keyboarding.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Okay, I know you've been waiting for this ... San Francisco in Jell-O(r). No, not EssEff covered in Jell-o. I mean a model of SF made of Jell-O.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

OpenOffice version 2.0 was released yesterday. You can read the OpenOffice 2.0 press release and see what's new. A few of the highlights are found in the OO v2 feature guide and, of course, you can download OO v2 for free here.

Posted by DanS at 06:59 AM | Permalink

Over the average lifetime, the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics says many people of the baby boomer generation hold an average of 10 different jobs. The reasons for moving to another job are many, but this list of Seven Questions Employees Should Ask Before Joining a Startup is a good start at keeping you from making a serious mistake when you decide you need a change. The list attempts to balance the upside of moving to a startup (energized work atmosphere, little bureaucracy, an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the company and make a significant amount of money, etc.) with the significant risks. That is not to say you shouldn't switch jobs. Far from it. Sometimes you have to take a risk. But, I think, you need to carefully weight the benefits versus the risks and not make a hasty decision. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Posted by DanS at 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My wallpaper for the week comes courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It's an artist's rendering of what the new moon lander could look like. Maybe. Someday. But I wonder if it will be in my lifetime.

Apollo 17 landed on the moon on 11 December 1972. Seventy-five hours later, on 14 December at 22:54:37 UT, man left the moon and has not returned since. It is too soon to predict whether it is NASA, China, or a private agency that first makes it back. But I can say for sure that if someone doesn't at least try, we never will.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I wrote earlier about problems with the Linux UDF driver. This driver is used to access DVD-RWs and CD-RWs that are formated in Windows using, for example, Roxio or Adaptec's UDF drivers for multiple read/write operations. In other words, the disc has been formated in Windows to operate like a very, very large floppy. So, you can read, write, add, delete, edit and just about do everything you could do with a floppy disc.

At first, I thought I had to either re-compile the kernel, upgrade to the 2.6.11-1x kernel (see more below), or just forget about ever accessing the gigabytes of backed up data that I created while using Windows and wrote to CD-RW discs. But this is not the case.

By reading the CD-ROM How-To and especially the linux.faqts article on Linux: UDF: Windows Roxio I am now able to at least read my CD-RW backup discs. I can't write to them, but I can at least read them.

Here's what I had to do in Xandros Linux. I emphasize that the commands below may be specific to Xandros and you may need to use something else.

First, I needed to create a directory to mount the CD-RW to. To do this, I began by opening a console window to get to the command line. Note, you could do a lot of what needs to be done from within KDE or Gnome but it's easier to go to the command line. You need to be root when issuing these changes so you may was well as type in, su, hit the enter key, and then type in the password for root (if you didn't log in as root, which as a security precaution you shouldn't be doing) now. Then type in mkdir /mnt/cdrw and hit the enter key. Note, what you call the directory you are creating is up to you, as long as it isn't already being used or is a system reserved word. Otherwise, you can call it whatever you want.

The second thing to do is load the UDF driver. You do this by typing modprobe udf and hitting the enter key. To confirm whether the driver loaded, you can type in cat /proc/filesystems and hit enter. This should list a load of drivers, one of which should be udf.

Lastly, you need to mount the CD-RW by typing in mount -t udf -o ro /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrw and hit the enter key. If all went well, you can now change to the directory /mnt/cdrw and browse the files on your CD. Note, the part of the command -o ro sets the system to read only. You can change it to -o rw but so far, when I do, I get the following message:mount: block device /dev/cdrom is write protected, mounting read-only. I need to figure out why this is happening and what, if anything, I can do about it. The how-tos are kind of vague about this and say you may or may not be able to get this to work.

Before removing the disc, you should probably unmount it by typing the command umount -a -t udf.Once unmounted, feel free to eject the disc.

In any case, I now have read access to the data, even if it's not as functional as in Windows. Oh, one other thing, Windows long file names may be displayed as a truncated 8.3 name. There is apparently a way of enabling long file name support but I haven't found out how to do that yet.

Now, in my earlier post, I had talked about upgrading to the 2.6.11 kernel. I thought I would have to download the more than 30MBs of source code and compile it myself. This was based on my search of the Xandros Network repository using the search term kernel. This search turned up only the source code. Little did I know I needed to search on xandros-kernel to find the 2.6.11 kernel image. Once I found that, installing the new kernel was just a matter of clicking on the install link and Bob's your Uncle, I had the 2.6.11 kernel installed. How cool is that?

Now if I could only get write access to the drive...YMMV. Use at your own risk. Insert disclaimer here.

[UPDATE] I need to add instructions for DVDs. As you might expect, they are very simialr to CD-RW so I won't go into an explanation:

mkdir /mnt/dvdrw
modprobe udf
mount -t udf -o ro /dev/dvd /mnt/dvdrw
umount -a -t udf

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been using Xandros Linux full-time for about a month now. Although I don't think I'll be going back to using Windows, there are things that are annoying about Xandros in particular and Linux in general.

What follows below may appear to be a long list of problems with Xandros/Linux and maybe it is. But there are also problems with Windows. Problems more important than most of those listed below.

With that said, the most important thing is - make no changes. That is, whatever software that comes with Xandros is the software [German_Accent="on"]you vill be using[German_Accent="off"]. I mean that literally. To install something not approved by Xandros, since they modify some of the basic applications such as KDE, may bork your system so badly that you must re-install. Hence, do not try to add anything. Do not try to update anything. Don't do either unless it's directly from Xandros. If an application is not part of the Xandros distribution, but you want it, then it is almost more reliable to switch distributions that trying to install something that is not directly supported by Xandros.

Speaking of KDE, it's essentially that desktop or nothing. Many people like Gnome. But if you are using Xandros, forget about trying to install and run Gnome. And even if you get it installed, you will probably break stuff and loose some of the functionality of Xandros. As mentioned earlier, Xandros has a modified version of KDE specific to Xandros. Hence, many applications that would otherwise run under a plain vanilla install of KDE won't work with the Xandros modified version. And before you try, don't even think about working around the problems created by Xandros. Just deal with the fact that what you have is all that you will ever have. Period. You will be much happier for it. Untill, that is, you learn how to use Linux and choose a distribution that doesn't try to "improve" things. So, again, don't add anything that's not supported by Xandros.

Another nagging Linux problem is driver support. For example: printing. Sometimes, access to my local printer just stops. I don't know why and I don't know how to correct it other than changing printer drivers. Rebooting doesn't work.

In addition, I can get sharper and clearer font rendition in Windows than Xandros. Printed output looks like I'm using a dot matrix instead of the high resolution LaserJet that I have.

I've already talked about lack of driver support problems for my Visioneer scanner so I won't belabor the point. But even my MS Trackball Optical is not working correctly. I can scroll the screen fine until, for some reason, it will stop working. The mouse pointer will still work, but the scroll wheel will not. I don't know why it occurs, but occur it does.

And then there's the keyboard. I use an old MS Natural Keyboard Pro because I like its ergonomics best (at least until I get my new MS Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (I wish they had better naming) that I ordered earlier this week). While all the regular keys work, none of the multimedia specific keys do.

Yes, I realize that in the Windows World, the drivers are written by the manufacturers of the specific hardware. Hence, the problem is with these companies failing to port their drivers to Linux. That said, in the early days of Windows, Redmond faced similar problems and therefore wrote their own while at the same time making it easy for developers to support the Windows API. With Linux, writing drivers is left up to amateurs (by that I mean those not employed to do so, not that they aren't skilled). Until better drivers are written, Linux will continue to have these problems.

Lastly, for this post anyway, is the beta quality of so many applications. I mean, programs routinely blowup with the wind from the merest whisper of a butterflies wing. Then there's the equivalent of ini files that routinely become corrupted. Or the multitude of programs written for the command line with no KDE/GUI equivalent. Or the clipboard feature that routinely doesn't work when I want to copy something. Or the anti-virus/Trojan horse programs that do not do on access scanning and what little scanning they do, only write their result to a text file! A text file you have to find and read every time your run the scanner. Otherwise, you would never know you were infected! This is the desktop of the future?

Speaking of infections, Debian, which is what Xandros is based on, is not a cutting edge distro. By that I mean their stable release is just that. Stable. They do not update it very often. You can wait months until there are bug fixes or applications updates. And since Xandros does ther own modifications, if there are security or bug fixes, you have to wait for Xandros to make the changes to their modified files. That is, you can't just download the fixes from Debian. You have to wait for Xandros to incorporate the fixes themselves. In a time where exploits appear mere hours after the announcement of a vulnerability, waiting months for a security related update is not just risky, it may create legal liabilities (I am not a lawyer, insert disclaimer here, this is not legal advice).

I could include other problems like how slow applications load and execute but still, I'll stay where I am for now. Each major upgrade from the various distributions is a step forward. At some point, Linux will reach the stability, reliability, and usability of Windows 2000 and then everything will move forward much faster and more reliably.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:02 AM | Permalink

It really bothers me that some software fail to follow the most basic of dicta - "Above all else, do no harm." For example, Mozilla's Thunderbird email client. It has the nasty habit of, among other things, loosing access to your email. So, I've decided to switch to something else. What that something else is, is a purely web-based IMAP solution. Hopefully, that will reduce, although not eliminate, the chances of loosing email.

In addition, Thunderbird has no built-in way to backup your email nor an easy way of importing saved email. Since Thunderbird is no longer betaware, I must assume the developers do not see a need for either.

Speaking of betaware, the Firefox browser version 1.5RC1 is due out on 28 October. Mark you calendars for those of you who like testing software. For everyone else, hang in there until the final release appears sometime after that.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Having an Easter Egg hidden in software has been well known for a long time. But did you know that some chip designers have etched images into some of their chips?

A site called Molecular Expressions has a gallery of hundred of such images. Take a look when you have a few minutes.

Posted by DanS at 06:08 AM | Permalink

Sometimes, the Internet is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get (hmmm, sounds vaguely familiar). In following an old bookmark that I had, I came upon the new version of what used to be called Mandrake Linux, but under its new name - Mandriva (yes, I know, it sounds vaguely similar to this).

Mandriva 2006 was released last week Thursday and includes not only the old Mandrake, but also what used to be Conectiva and Lycoris. Whether three heads are better than one is not for me to say. But feel free to take a look. Be aware that there are commercial (as in pay)versions and one free version. Still, if you like Mandrake you may like Mandingo, errr, Monrovia, errr, Mariachi. Well, just follow the link.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Love him or leave him, PC Magazine's John Dvorak stirs things up. But sometimes, he accidently stumbles on to a valid point. Recently, his column bored into Microsoft and how there is a built in conflict of interest when MS decides to sell anti-virus or anti-spyware software. The conflict arises because there is no economic incentive to make Windows more secure when you can instead force people to buy additional software to do so. In fact, the more insecure you make Windows, the more money you can make selling add-ons to "fix" it.

He goes further to contend that Windows cannot ever be made secure because of its core architecture. That is, in order to secure Windows, the very way and the very services MS wants to offer would either have to change or be eliminated.

Since that's not likely to happen, Dvorak pulls our leg a bit and says Windows Vista should come out in the following versions:

• Vista - Won't Boot Edition - $29.95

• Vista - Preloaded with Viruses and Spyware Edition - $39.95

• Vista - Initially Clean but Use at Your Own Risk Edition - $49.95

• Vista - Clean with Firewall and Weekly Protection Update Edition - $200

Posted by DanS at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Speaking of Windows and PC Magazine, there is an article that traces the last Twenty Years of Windows. In it, the author says:

When Interface Manager [i.e. Windows] was first announced, Microsoft described it as an option that would work on top of all the company's operating systems, including DOS and Xenix, Microsoft's version of Unix.

Imagine what a different world this would be if Windows ran on Linux/Unix. MS could call it Windows Vista for Unix/Linux Edition and sell it for $50. Now, that I would buy.

Posted by DanS at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Speaking of legs. Some runners experience what they call a "runners high." If such a thing exists, then the participants of the Ironman Race in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii this weekend will be ecstatic after swimming a "2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to finish."

As a prelude to the race, there is a fun run called the Underpants Run which, as the name suggests, everyone runs in only their underpants, shoes, and a smile (not to be confused with the women's only "Nylon Run").

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I don't know where the University of Hawaii is going with this but two TV stations have reported that the university refused a request by the Oahu Democratic Party to hold a meeting on campus over the weekend. The meeting, open to the public was to identify and discuss what was important to Hawaii's citizens.

Interestingly enough, last year at about this time, the Chair of the Hawaii Republican Party spoke, on campus, during the week, on "the basics of campaigning in Hawaii and organizing the Bush campaign."

Hmmm, it's not okay for the Democratic Party to use a UH meeting room on the weekend to talk about citizen's concerns but it is perfectly fine for the Chair of the Republican Party to speak on campus during the week about how to organize and campaign for President Bush. Why am I not surprised, given that the University professors supported the Republican candidate for governor.

Note, I am not saying it was wrong for the Republican Chair to speak on campus. As a liberal (as classically defined) I think it is a GoodThing that differing views are available to students and citizens. Such views can broaden the mind and sharpen the debate. On these things were our country made. But I guess, by this action, the University believes in freedom, academic or otherwise, only for a certain few.

Posted by DanS at 06:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It should also not surprise people that the National Academy of Science is saying:

The unmatched vitality of the United States' economy and science and technology enterprise has made this country a world leader for decades, allowing Americans to benefit from a high standard of living and national security. But in a world where advanced knowledge is widespread and low-cost labor is readily available, U.S. advantages in the marketplace and in science and technology have begun to erode. A comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S. competitiveness and pre-eminence in these areas so that the nation will consistently gain from the opportunities offered by rapid globalization...

Why is this not a surprise? Well, I believe there are many answers to this. There are differences in the cost of doing business, when compared to other countries, so that manufacturing and the engineering jobs that go with it are moving offshore. There are differences in standards of living such that poorer countries see, correctly, that an advanced degree will increase their standard of living.

But mixed into this is the anti-science, anti-rational thought, conservatives. These conservatives exalt faith and denigrate science. Hence, it should not be a surprise that the US federal government is diverting funds to faith-based education and away from science. Away from critical areas such as stem cell research and STD disease prevention/cure to proving that the Earth is really 6,000 years old.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:03 AM | Permalink

Earlier I talked about lusting after admiring the new Apple Ipod Nano. But I said I would wait awhile until I had seen some of the reviews. I'm glad I did because people are reporting a problem with the case and/or screen being a scratch magnet. I can't say whether the case scratches is a "real" problem or people are just noticing it more because black cases show more scratches than white ones.

In any case (pun intended-ed.), I'll probably still get a Nano at some point but when I do I'll get a case protector.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I forgot to mention yesterday that the Stanford University entrant into DARPA's Grand Challenge robotic vehicle contest won the $2 million USD prize this past weekend. The winning Volkswagen Touareg SUV completed the 131.6 mile off-road course in six hours and 53 minutes (averaging about 19 mph).

Not only did the Stanford entrant complete the course, but so did four others. This is an amazing result considering that the last time the Challenge was run no one made it more than 7.5 miles. This is an incredible leap forward in integrating the systems required to autonomously navigate difficult terrain.

The VW is controlled by seven Intel Pentium M class computers and "four laser range finders, a radar system, a stereo camera pair, and a monocular vision system."

Congratulations to the entire Stanford team in their brilliant achievement.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:34 AM | Permalink

InfoWorld has their Top 20 IT Mistakes to Avoid list. Number one on the list is "Botching your outsourcing strategy." On the upside, our IT did outsource the hosting and running of our Internet site. The downside is that it was done because they are apparently less than clued in on how to run a website. So the good news is that they recognized their weaknesses. However, as the article goes on to say, it is a mistake to "outsourc[e] important IT functions to avoid the hard work of understanding them. Relinquishing those functions can make it hard to get simple things done."

Ditto for number two on the list: Dismissing open source -- or bowing before it. "For better or worse, many IT shops are susceptible to religious behavior -- a blind, unyielding devotion to a particular technology or platform." We loved Wang, even as Wang disappeared. We loved IBM, even as IBM got out of the PC business it never understood nor fully supported. Now, our leadership is in love with Microsoft, even as it is clear that MS is, as a server platform and desktop, insecure by design.

The list goes on but I'm already too depressed to continue. The pitfalls of IT are easy to point out, avoiding the problems is the art of good management.

Posted by DanS at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Speaking of the art of management, Delphi, the largest US auto parts supplier filed for bankruptcy over the weekend. CNN is reporting that employee wages, which are very generous, may be cut by 50 percent, medical and retirement benefits may be reduced or eliminated, and many will probably loose their jobs.

On the other hand, management gave themselves a benefits raise one day before filing for bankruptcy. In addition, "Delphi also has been plagued by an accounting scandal that the FBI and the SEC are now investigating. Six people have resigned because of the investigation, including Delphi's former Chief Financial Officer Alan Dawes." It is dis-heartening to see mis-management being rewarded with increased benefits while they drive the company into bankruptcy.

So it goes in todays upside down world where mis-management is rewarded while employees are left out in the cold.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:27 AM | Permalink

I'm working on finding a Linux friendly HTML editor. Although I have HTML-Kit running under Wine, I would like to find something native to Linux. Currently, I'm looking at BlueFish and N|vu.

Before I get to those two, a digression. I installed the W3C's Amaya editor but found the UI less than user friendly. In fact, the entire application looked like it had been designed by a committee (as in a camel is a horse designed by a committee). Even though its been around since 1996 (the Palaeozoc era in web years), it just doesn't work for me.

I then tried installing Quanta Plus. Unfortunately, Xandros Network said the packages were "broken." So, I tried installing it from the source. After unpacking the download file and running ./configure, I got the first of several errors. The first was libjpeg was missing. I used Xandros Network to install that. But when I ran ./configure again, it said I was now missing libxml. Okay, back to Xandros Network and I installed that and re-ran ./configure. But now it said I was missing Qt. This went through two more iterations: KDE headers and libslt. After installing those packages, the ./configure script ran to completion without errors. But when I ran "make", it ended with three Type 1 errors and one type 2 error. At that point, I decided it wasn't worth my time and deleted Quanta Plus.

Back to the two I did get installed. Both N|vu and BlueFish seem okay, but it will take awhile before I feel comfortable in either. In addition, there is a bug in BlueFish 1.0-0.1 whereby if I try to run the spell checker it will segfault every time. That said, BlueFish seems more polished then N|vu. However, this may be more a comment on the state of Linux applications and the reason why more people don't switch to Linux than a comment on this particular application.

In any case, if you have a favorite Linux-based HTML editor, leave a comment so I can take a look. Thanks in advance.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Usability guru Jakob Nielsen has updated his Top Ten Web Design Mistakes. But the current list looks much like earlier ones. On the list are the usual suspects such as: small font size/low contrast between text and background, JavaScript for links, and frozen layouts with fixed page widths.

The default MovableType CSS/templates have these problems so you may have noticed the first thing I did was change the font sizes and text/background colors. I haven't had the opportunity to change the frozen layout/fixed page width yet but plan to switch to a "liquid" design as soon as I can.

I am always amazed by the number of sites that use extremely small gray fonts on colored backgrounds. These people must use 640 X 480 black and white screens or something because if you're like me, using a 17-inch screen at 1280 X 1024 resolution their sites are almost unreadable. I am constantly having to increase the browser display font size and am getting tired of doing that. Folks, edit the CSS to remove fixed font sizes. It's not hard. You can do it. For example, if your CSS looks like this:

body
{
   margin: 0;
   /* setting border: 0 hoses ie5 win window inner well border */
   padding: 0;
   font-family: verdana, 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;
   font-size: 12px;
}

All you need to do is change the font-size: 12px; to something like font-size: medium; and you are good to go. Now, that's not hard is it? By doing so, you could be solving the number one problem in bad web site design. Not only that, you make it easier for your readers to see your writing. I think that's a GoodThing(tm).

Posted by DanS at 06:46 AM | Permalink

Fellow Daynoter Sjon commented on Michelle Wie being so young that the child labor laws in his area would probably prohibit her from turning professional (insert disclaimer here, neither of us are lawyers). There are child labor laws here too but I'm not sure what it says about turning professional. Wie must still otherwise adhere to all other laws, including staying in school. In fact, although she will be able to buy herself a Mercedes, she can't legally drive it by herself because she's too young to get a regular driver's license (she has what is called a "learner's permit" but that requires that a licensed driver be with her while she drives.).

Still, I think it is the right decision for her. Now is the time to make whatever money she will be able to make. Other than her obvious talent, the main reason she is so popular is that she is an oddity. I don't mean that in a negative way but the reason so many people are interested in her is that she is so young. I mean she is like a child prodigy who can play Mozart at the age of three and Carnegie Hall at the age of seven and is no longer known at the age of 18.

But she won't stay young forever. In fact, I think she has three more years in which she will be popular because of her age. After that, she will have to start winning tournaments to make a living (which she probably will be able to because she is so talented. But I'm not sure she'll have any endorsement deals worth eight to 10 million). But, I could be wrong. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry, no post today. Tomorrow's big news is the rumor that 15-year-old golfer Michelle Wie will be turning pro. Supposedly she is set to sign deals with two companies worth as much as eight to $10 million a year. We shall see if Miss Wie signs with Sony and Nike...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When it comnes to dogs, there's an old saying that there are no bad dogs, just bad masters. I think there's a lot of truth in that. It seems to me, most dog trainers teach the masters, not the dogs. Through the ages, certain behavior patterns have been bred into dogs so the animals instinctively know what to do, it's the masters that need the help.

One of the better known people trainers is a man by the name of Cesar Millan. The 36-year-old Millan, originally from Mexico, has made it is life's work to correct the problems of dog owners. When he first came to California at the age of 21, he noticed that the biggest problem people had is treating their pets like humans. He found people gave their pets unconditional love, but no discipline nor exercise.

Yet, dogs build their social systems around a hierarchical order of who is top dog. Once the dog knows its place in the system, order is restored and peace reigns. But we humans try to make the dogs into equals, which can at best confuse the dog and at worst turn the dog into a sociopath that will have to be put down.

Millan will be coming to the Hawaii Convention Center on October 15th to give a seminar on how to train you to train your dog. There is a charge for the seminar. Millan's website is www.dogpsychologycenter.com. There is also an article in TheMorningPaper. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:57 AM | Permalink