For my birthday, my sister bought me a 2gig iPod Nano, the latest offering in the iPod line from Apple. I’ve never owned an iPod, and in fact haven’t really purchased anything directly from Apple for myself in perhaps 10 years. I’ve avoided them because I disagree with many of their business practices, but you can’t argue with the sexiness of their products.
At any rate, I found myself stuck with an Apple product in a Linux world. Of course Apple wouldn’t consider supporting Linux directly, so the question was, how was I to use my new little iPod with my Debian Linux laptop?
Content Managers for generic websites?
I’ve sort of fallen into a task where I need to set up a website for a small group of people. The site will be used for general marketing, schedule information, and as a resource the group will use to pick up materials and information to share between themselves.
As someone who has been pretty active in the Content Management arena, I’m finding myself stymied at how difficult it is to find a simple web-based content management solution that will allow other users in the group (a limited number – onlye 1-2 other technical folks) to maintain the site.
We already know we’ll use a Wiki for the ‘internal community’ aspects – we’re doing this now – it’s allowing uploading, downloading, content editing, etc. But using a wiki to drive the main site seems… out of sorts. Wikis are not made for general-consumption-by-the-public websites.
So I’m looking around. I haven’t found what I’m looking for yet, but I’d like to hear from other folks what they’d recommend.
What I’ve looked at so far, and my feelings on each, follows…
Found while doing some googling…
Found this quote in a thread on the MFC Professional site. The topic is “Will Java replace C++?” – the conversation is from 1996:
No way. Java is far to simplistic to compare with C++. Also, Java is too complex to be a threat to Visual Basic. I don’t really have much hope for the continued existence of Java over the long term. It will probably last a while, but eventually, it will be replaced by something better (easier to use) for common programming. Professional programmers will continue to use C++ (or some future COMPILED language) to do the heavy duty work. Java will go the way of SmallTalk, a niche product that won’t every really go anywhere.
For a second I was worried.
I really do enjoy working in the Mail / Calendar / Groupware application, ‘Evolution‘. It originated as a Gnome project, then went on to be taken on as the core of Ximian‘s operations. It continues now as a product from Novell, and is still free, clean, and rather a pleasure to use.
Every once in a while though, it throws out some very… strange things. Such as this ‘error dialog’ I just got while moving my laptop. I’m glad I wasn’t doing anything important. Success is apparently a problem!
I…
have the COOLEST friends. And tops in that list is my wunnerful wife.
Ya’ll amaze me constantly.
Java vs Linux.
I need to slap in Java 1.5 aka Java5 aka… well, whatever the marketing weenies are using today on our colocated box. Because it’s… well… colocated, I naturally don’t have an console there. So I decide to run the installer anyway…
root@boomer:~/storage# ./jdk-1_5_0_04-nb-4_1-linux.bin InstallShield Wizard Initializing InstallShield Wizard... Preparing Java(tm) Virtual Machine... The installer is unable to run in graphical mode. Try running the installer with the -console or -silent flag.
Okay, that’s fair. So…
root@boomer:~/storage# ./jdk-1_5_0_04-nb-4_1-linux.bin -console InstallShield Wizard Initializing InstallShield Wizard... Preparing Java(tm) Virtual Machine... The wizard cannot continue because of the following error: Invalid command line option: console is not supported (1001) (403)
Just gonna be one of those days.
iPod nano. 2/4gig. LCD color screen. $199
Oh this is not good. Apple has announced the iPod Nano, a flash based successor to the iPod mini. Physically smaller, more memory, and with a SCREEN. $199 gets you 2gig, $250 gets you the 4gig version.
Some of the relevant specs:
- Holds up to 1,000 songs and full-color album art
- Only 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inches and 1.5 ounces
- Bright 1.5-inch color LCD display
- Up to 14 hours of battery life(1)
- Apple Click Wheel
Shields… weakening… hull breach imminent…
Tip o the hat to Dr. Memory for the pointer. The rat bastard.
Katrina Peoplefinder Project
Many folks have seen this elsewhere, but just in case.
I spent an hour or two last night doing data entry on the Katrina Peoplefinder Project. If you have some spare time, this is a great way (beyond financial donations), to help out people trying to find relatives and friends in the area.
The nutshell description – there are zillions of resources on the net where folks are posting messages asking about loved ones. The Peoplefinder Project is pulling all those requests and calls together into one database that will be available as a ‘one-stop’ resource.
This will happen.
Someday, I’m going to sit down in a diner, and this is going to happen to me.
Really. There is no bounds the level of surreality you find in american eateries.
Nifty tool
I was hunting around for a tool that would let me do hierarchial diagrams, and auto-arrange them for me, doing path analysis along the way. I had used GraphViz before, and while the end result was okay, it was totally a batch-driven application. Build the data file, feed it into the tool, it generated a graphic.
Enter yEd, a Java application that is fully interactive, and allows dataset editing, node and edge property modification, save/load styles and graphic exports. The blurb on the website says:
yEd is a very powerful graph editor that is written entirely in the Java programming language. It can be used to quickly and effectively generate drawings and to apply automatic layouts to a range of different diagrams and networks. yEd is available as a free download with unrestricted functionality!
The best part about it is it’s a pure Java Swing application, and it’s set up via WebStart, so to install and run it just takes a single click on the Webstart logo, no matter if you’re on a Mac, Windows, or Linux platform.
The program does has it’s faults. It crashes on a fairly regular basis (just plain quits without an error message). I’ve become fond of the ‘save’ button in the toolbar – I click it regularly to make sure my work is up to date. Other than that, this is an OUTSTANDING demonstration of a thin, portable, webstart-enabled, WORA application.
Donations ticker is online.
Donation rates at http://www.redcross.org/
I’m running a small program that’s watching how fast money is flowing into the Red Cross from donations. As of this morning, the rate is running between $9k and $17k A MINUTE.
|Total amt | Last Datestamp |donated |minute --------------+----------+-------- 20050902-1332 | 35332065 | $54340 20050902-1333 | 35344485 | $12420 20050902-1334 | 35354175 | $ 9690 20050902-1335 | 35369140 | $14965 20050902-1336 | 35385620 | $16480 20050902-1337 | 35397525 | $11905 20050902-1338 | 35412485 | $14960 20050902-1339 | 35428895 | $16410 20050902-1340 | 35443220 | $14325 20050902-1341 | 35460745 | $17525 20050902-1342 | 35470625 | $ 9880 20050902-1343 | 35487250 | $16625 --------------+----------+--------
I’ll have a live version of this up and running in the next hour or two.
Update at 16:09pm -The live version is online. See this post.
Ergonomics 101
Now that I’m back behind my desk regularly, the setup I have for my desk, mouse, chair, and keyboard is starting to be problematic. I rather like how it’s arranged – I have a nice monitor and natch keyboard (I can’t type on flat keyboards anymore. Ow ow ow), but my chair is really becoming a problem. My older leather standard joe office chair finally fell apart, and I’m using a similar shaped one now, but it’s causing all sorts of aches and pains.
I don’t trust ‘ergonomic’ chairs in general, since it’s just a buzzword nowadays. The concept is totally valid, but you can’t ‘shop’ for an ‘ergonmic chair’ – you have to go sit in a lot of chairs until one clicks in. I was under the impression that most chairs are basically the same, and there are minor improvements left and right, but really, being 6’6″ means I’ll never be totally comfortable.
Oh, woe, was I wrong. I found a chair and a situation that is incredibly comfortable and perfect and great. But there’s a catch.
Next to my current favorite lunchtime spot there’s a Relax the Back store. I’d seen these around, but never actually stopped in. I figured, in my search for a good chair, lets start with a specialist.
Had a great chat with the owner – the store was large, had some normal-looking office chairs – they don’t look particularly edgy or special, just regular high-back chairs.
I sat down in one, and started fiddling. And then fiddled more. And the manager fiddled some more, and… eventually… it just clicked in. The position was right, the support was right, the armrests were right… it.. was just right. I’d never been that comfortable in an office chair before. We added wrist rests (sort of palm-sized cups for the hands), and a foot rest (normally I don’t do foot rests, and actually started to tell him that, but then he adjusted it right, and… voila! It worked!) and I felt I could work there all day without a single twinge. Delightful!
So, after 15 minutes of this, realizing I was running a little late for lunch, I finally asked the fellow how much the chair was, with the accoutrements I was using (wrist rests and headrest). “Oh, that chair is… lessee… 1495.”
1495. One thousand, four hundred, and ninety five dollars. For a chair. Granted, an amazingly cool comfortable wonderful chair. But YIKES!
Ah well, guess I’ll keep shopping. At least I have a baseline to compare it to now.
<small voice> yeah, but, it was a really nice chair. </>
Familial Geeking.
One of the fun bits about having kids when you’re a geek is you can justify going back and playing with cool kids toys all over again. When I was a kid, (boy isn’t THAT a lead in), we didn’t have Rokenboks but I sure as patootie wish we did.
Zach and I spent 2 hours tonight setting up the layout again on the train table we had from back in the Brio days. This table is perfect for Rokenbok setups, because it has high sides and is a fixed physical dimension, so the layout won’t spread all over the place.
We have misc pieces from at least two starter sets, a couple bridges and roadways sets, and at least 2 elevators and mixers from pumping stations. We have 3 RC trucks (two loaders and a skipjack) and 4 controlers. It can make for quite a complicated setup.
It’s a great system and a great toy, and Zach and I love spending time together on it. I have great fantasies (!?) about getting a barrelful of rokenbok pieces and building huge structures all over the place. Doesn’t every kid?
A brief bit about Katrina
There’s not a lot to be said here that isn’t being said everywhere else on the web. It’s not a time for finger-pointing, blame-gaming, or politicing. None of that will help the people who need help right now.
The logistics for me going to Louisiana to help out in person would be complex and ultimately not very helpful, as I’m not a trained emergency volunteer. It may seem crass, haughty, or elitist, but the best thing we can do right now is send money. The American Red Cross has consistently and IMHO skillfully handled disaster after disaster, avoiding politics and scandal (other than those created by folks who like nothing better than creating scandal out of nothing). During this time, they need our support more than anything, as they are the most organized and have the best planning for this sort of disaster.
I’ve donated. I encourage anyone who has the means to donate. $100 to them would mean meals and blankets and shelter to a family for weeks. There are thousands of families who need this help now.