Tag Archives: OpenSource

Microsoft = Evil

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From slashdot:

“Microsoft is advertising for a new director of open source strategy, but this one has a specific purpose: fight the Linux desktop. ‘The Windows Competitive Strategy team is looking for a strong team member to lead Microsoft’s global desktop competitive strategy as it relates to open source competitors.’ For a variety of reasons, this move is almost certainly targeted at Ubuntu Linux’s desktop success. With the Mac, not Linux, apparently eating into Microsoft’s Windows market share, what is it about desktop Linux, and specifically Ubuntu, that has Microsoft spooked?”

figures. details and links here.

Gedit With It.

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I find myself using a basic text editor more and more often. Even the relatively well behaved openoffice.or Writer had a tendency to do stuff I don’t necessarily want to do with a simple text file, and certainly, something like Word is the work of Satan.For instance, have you ever noticed strange goofy characters that are not supposed to be there in the title of the posts on this blog or elsewhere? That comes from using a text editor. What looks like “Hello World” in both a text editor and a word processor may not really be the same thing, when copied and pasted. Character encodings and all.Anyway, text editors are important, and they are not just for coders. In fact, bloggers need an excellent text editor, as do many normal people.Here is an overview of Linux text editors. I’ll make just a few comments.As the review says, vi (or Vim or Elvis … variants of vi) is installed on virtually every *nix computer. Therefore, if you are a system administrator, you will find …. wait, wait, if you are a system administrator you do not need to learn anything from me about text editors. Move along. northing to see here.OK, the review also discusses Gedit and Kate. I’ve written recently about Gedit, HERE, in what I think is my most under appreciated post … lots of work, good stuff, funny jokes, nobody read it. Go read that to find out more about Gedit. And spornography. And other stuff. Continue reading Gedit With It. →

Talkin’Trash in Linux

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This file is clobbered…
Linux and related operating systems are different from, say Windows, in many ways. One is this: When you “delete” a file in, say Windows, you are asked to confirm the operation, then the file is moved to the trash folder, not deleted. In Linux, when you “delete” (remove) a file, it is clobbered. Gone. It is a defunct entity. Continue reading Talkin’Trash in Linux →

A little wine with your Linux?

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Wine is the software that runs in Linux which, in turn runs Windows programs. I have experimented and I could not believe how incredibly well it worked. At the time, I was able to achieve greater stability and performance, and an easier install, for Microsoft Office and Endnote on my Linux computer than on a comparable Windows computer. The down side in that case was that I had to run an older version of Office than currently (at that time) available. Also, the increase in reliability and performance was almost certainly in the system itself. The Linux computer simply worked (as they tend to do ) and the Windows computer was simply screwy (as they tend to be). Also, from a broader perspective, Wine was limited in what it could run. I could use Word and Excel and integrate Endnote with Word and so on, but I could not run Sim City (for example) . Ideally, a “windows emulator” (and I put that in quotes because Wine is not exactly a windows emulator) should be able to run anything windows can run. On your Linux box. Backwards and wearing high heels.Well, after fifteen years of Mucking around and slowly improving, Wine has some interesting news… Continue reading A little wine with your Linux? →

How do you pick a content management system?

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Joomla! is a Content Management System that is so widely used and cool that you can buy Joomla logo gear, like this shirt. Could that mean that it is a good CMS?
And why would you want one?Before I started Gregladen.com, I went through all of the content management sites that I had available to me in order to consider possibilities for running my blog. I ended up using WordPress, which is a kind of CMS that specialized in blogs, for a number of reasons. But I did use a couple of different content management systems for private or small scale projects. At the moment, I’m looking again at CMS as a solution for something we need to fix at The U.But how do you pick one? Continue reading How do you pick a content management system? →

Microsoft Attempts to Patent the Very Essence of Humanity

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What? Consider this Abstract from the patent:

A software design process includes three elements–an object/component driven element, a situation/scenario driven element, and an arbitrator/communicator element that is logically interposed and serves as an intermediary between the object/component driven and the situation/scenario driven elements. Through an iterative communication process overseen by the arbitrator/communicator, software design can take place and be measured against a metric. The communication process overseen and implemented by the arbitrator/communicator can allow ideas and developments provided by one element to be translated into a format that the other element understands. Once the metric has been achieved, the design process can be terminated.

Continue reading Microsoft Attempts to Patent the Very Essence of Humanity →

Fedora 9 seems very fine.

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There are many versions of Linux. At the deepest level, there are a few fundamentally different Linuxes, and each of these may appear in one or more, sometimes many, different “distributions.” So, most Linux distributions are based on either Debian, RedHat/Fedora, Gentoo, and a couple/few others. Off hand, I’m not sure how many different core systems one has to add together to reach 50%, or 80%, or whatever you like.Ubuntu is based on Debian. Debian is part of the GNU project, and is in some ways the philosophically purest, or main distribution. Many, many people will hate that I said that and comment below, and I look forward to their different perspectives. Continue reading Fedora 9 seems very fine. →

How to help people find their love of Linux

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Linux is not for everyone.Linux is an operating system that is idea for people who need their computers for important tasks, require reliability, and who do not need the hand holding and eye candy that some of the other operating systems seem to focus on. In short, Linux is for people who are smarter and more serious than average….. Continue reading How to help people find their love of Linux →

Yochai Benkler: Open-source economics

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Law professor Yochai Benkler explains how collaborative projects like Wikipedia and Linux represent the next stage of human organization. By disrupting traditional economic production, copyright law and established competition, they’re paving the way for a new set of economic laws, where empowered individuals are put on a level playing field with industry giants.

Continue reading Yochai Benkler: Open-source economics →

Felton, California, will go Totally Linux

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i-61dadb9c68f2f211888e5e03ecfc21e8-linux_cut.jpgOn July 4th, a significant percentage of Felton, Calif., will go Microsoft-free for one week…maybe an entire month. Maybe for good. The arrangements have been made and the news is going forth in Felton. Businesses and home users alike are excited about one of their own — Larry Cafiero of HeliOS Solutions West in Felton — joining a committed group of volunteers into their town to show them a better way to operate their computers. For a week…maybe a month…If things go right, we can start talking about forever.

This is part of the LINdependence 2008 project. Details can be savored here.

Microsoft Works

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… I’m talking about the “office suite” known as Microsoft Works. I’m not suggesting that Microsoft works.Increasingly, more an more people don’t know what Microsoft Works is because it has fallen into increasing obscurity. It is a kind of office suite that has a word processor, spread sheet, and maybe some other stuff. It is very inexpensive compared to, say MS Office.In years gone by I’ve taught a number of classes designed for High School Teachers. I discovered that a lot of teachers used MS Works. I discovered this the hard way when I started receiving assignments and other documents in a format that could not be opened by any software on my computer (then a Windows computer). At that point in time, anyway, even Microsoft Office would not read Works files. Continue reading Microsoft Works →