January 31, 2006

SeaMonkey 1.0 is out!

As I said a while ago, I'll stop using Mozilla Suite as my browser when SeaMonkey 1.0 or Flock 1.0 comes out, whoever comes first. Well, it seems that SeaMonkey won.


As we can read here, this version was released yesterday, and it has some exciting features, from which I find the most interesting the "drag&drop reordering of tabs". I now wonder if Linux distributions will choose to define seamonkey as a replacement of mozilla suite or if they'll define it to be a fork, and thus maintaining both browsers. I hope they choose the first.

In the meanwhile, those developers could get some time in doing a better logo, since this one sucks in a black background, as you can see...

Patents, Copyright, DRM vs. Evolution

What’s so fundamentally wrong with bogus patents, trivial patents, software patents, copyright term extensions, limiting interpretations of copyright, digital restrictions management and digital copy-protection laws (among other things)?

A lot. It limits the evolution of human culture. Lawrence Lessig has explained how and why, several times, in his presentation ‘free culture’.

Watch it here (Flash needed):







Goobuntu?

Rumors say that Google is going to release an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution, known internally as Goobuntu. If this is truth it is really good news. I just wonder why Goobuntu and not Gookubuntu (based on Kubuntu, and thus KDE). If they go with the idea, and I hope they do, the only "bad side-effect" I can see of this is that KDE would loose user-base to Gnome... But this are good news overall.

Drugs

Brett Parker is pretending to quit on both caffeine and nicottine in two weeks. I think it will be quite hard, but good luck!

January 30, 2006

Blog.Worm


Blog.Worm

KWord 1, OO.org Writer 0

Did you know that KWord can open, edit and save PDF files? I didn't, and wow, THAT's a good feature.

When geekness is more important than privacy...

When geekness is more important than privacy...

Unfortunately, this is exactly how people think and act.

Thrash Pub distributes Merankorii

Merankorii is my Ambiental Music Project, and now Thrash Pub is distributing Merankorii! You can buy the CD for €1.50, shipment included.

The Sysadmin Song

Wanna know a great way of beggining the week? Listen to The Sysadmin Song!

January 27, 2006

My disgust on Webbies

I guess that I've finaly found out why I'm somewhat disgusted with nowadays "Webbies". Without referring names (they are more and bigger than myself ;-)) I'm just... well, if you look to the actual trendies, there are some names that appear quite often. What were they doing two to five years ago? They were just script-kiddies trying to act as "elite motherfucking hackers" trying to rule the world. Well, one thing is certein, they created so much hype around themselves that they're making their way in. Just... don't count on me for the ride. I'm all about Ajax, Web 2.0, RSS and the general evolution on the Computer world. I just don't like show-off's, sorry.

Unmaintained Free Software

You want to support the Free Software movement? You have some spare time you would like to spend programming on something but don't know on what? Unmaintained Free Software is a database of Free Software Projects that aren't maintained anymore. If you want to contribute to something, please take a look to the list and adopt one of this projects!

Larry Page's CES Keynote on Google

Here's the video of Google's Larry Page's CES Keynote from January 2006 at the Las Vegas Hilton to a packed and enthusiastic auditorium. Arguably one of the bext CES keynotes in recent years.

Larry rides out in the car that won the DARPA challenge, Talks about the Google Video, the Google Video Store, a CBS content Partnership, Negroponte's 100 dollar Laptop, Google Pack, Google Earth and his company's plan for the future. A press embargo forced us to omit the parts (including a Q&A) with special guest Robin Williams.

Page, although semi-monotone, delivers an unassuming and earnest keynote to the delight of the crowd.



If you're reading this from a Planet or from my RSS feed, then you're not seeing the video, but you can see or download it here. You'll need a flash plugin.

January 26, 2006

WTF?

Man... MySpace SUCKS!


It appears that you are accessing Myspace.com from a location that is not authorized to view our licensed videos. Please go to the United States or its territories and try again.

WTF? "go to the United States"? Can't you just say something like "we're assholes and won't show this video to you non-USA fucker even if you know that it is freely available on Google Video"? No, you HAD to tell me "pay for a plain ticket and come use our computers just to see a fucking video"? Aw, FUCK YOU.

January 25, 2006

YMail?

Seems that Yottabyte is giving one Yottabyte of mail, in a services somewhat simillar to Google's GMail. Of course that the mail space Gmail gives is enough, and until now only one person reached their limit, so, why do GMail users should swap to Yottabyte Mail? Well, I'm not a GMail user (and I don't want to be), but I can't understand why GMail doesn't accept e-mails with more than 5 Mb, which sucks, at least for me, since I swap via HTTP some files and give the URL's via e-mail with Mordor's guitarrist because of that limitation. Like this, I'm sure that I'll find other people to whom I can't send what I would otherwise, and others probably feel the same. Yottabyte e-mail has an 1GB attachment limit (due to a limit of the system, for which they feel sorry!). So, yes, I think that GMail users should swap to this new service, that is in a "subscription with an invitation-only period" like GMail once was.

Bush in a MUD

If you know what a MUD is and you don't like Bush, you'll find this brilliant.

The geniality behind Marilyn Manson


Many people insist that Marilyn Manson has nothing of a genious. More than disagreeing with them, I just don't really care anymore on explaining the facts. There are those who just cannot see (which I tend to consider stupid), and those who don't care or never cared about Marilyn Manson. For those I have completely nothing to say: I know that are lot's of birilliant artists I've never cared too much to know, and, specially if you're not found of hard music, it's easy to disregard about the existence of Marilyn Manson. So, this post ends being for those that do care about Marilyn Manson, being fans or not.

First noticed as of January 3rd, 2006, the website of Marilyn Manson has been undergoing numerous progressive changes towards the upcoming era, which we all suspect having it's climax in the release of another album. These updates have been such a popular topic amongst the several Marilyn Manson fan communities that they have warranted much discussion. I'll expose some things that aren't to be taken as certain, but as a speculation on the meaning of this new era.

January 3rd - 1st Transformation


The opening image from the (s)AINT video began its first change. Whereas up to that point it had remained on screen for a number of seconds before fading away, it then began to fade in and out of focus, and in the upper left hand corner of the screen the cross of Lorraine could be seen for a brief moment of time. Due to lighting issues, a lot of people were unable to witness the Cross of Lorraine, but nonetheless, it was there:

For those who can't see it well in this colors, where's a negative:

In addition to this, the Merchandise section of Marilyn Manson’s website began reissuing three shirts: "The Believer", "Old Man" and "Final Beast".
While all of these shirts are reissues, the Believer tee has been signifigantly modified, including the recent trifaced painting of Christ. In addition, it also states "BeLIEver" instead of the 1996 edition which said "BeLIEve". It has also lost the previous message which stated "See no truth, hear no truth, speak no truth", and now features sleeves which read "Against All Gods".

The news section was expanded, and once again offered archived news as far back as 2004, which had previously been unavailable for several months.

January 5th - 2nd Transformation


Marked by the date of Marilyn Manson’s birth, another metamorphosis occurred. Music was added to the splash opening, setting it as a taste for the musical development of the upcoming era. The fading of Manson’s face began to synchronize with the surging electronic bass sound, and the ticking of a clock could be heard. A higher pitched voice (or voices) could be heard as well. Two theories currently exist to explain these voices: the first is that it is a distorted soundbite from an Aleister Crowley recording, while another popular explanation is that it is the voice of children.

This is also the likely launch of the number game. Though the first report of the numbers was at 2:44 A.M., January 6th, the music was first reported 11:50 P.M., January 5th, and it is likely that the discreet numbers simply went undetected for the first few hours while the fans attention was focussed on the new music.

The numbers originated from the bottom left hand corner of the screen, and proceeded on to the right, vanishing at a certain point midway, and reappearing near the end before it disappeared entirely. This number (from left to right) is: 13053135015503113501.

As has been noted by many members up to this point, only four numbers appear in this segment: 0, 1, 3, and 5. First brought up by Galaxy Girl, it has been mentioned that you can create the Cross of Lorraine by using the alt code, ALT + 0135, though how this is relevant to the number game is still uncertain. Thematically these numbers are also of importance, as of those four numbers the year 1350 can be formed - the end of the first great black plague of Europe.

January 7th - 3rd Transformation


The seventh of January became an essential part of the transformational process, as it was the first date to introduce a set of three pictures. Now with the music, number sequence, and images present, this presented a clear view of the new era. The three photos which appear only momentarily and blurred, are presented below:

The first picture displayed was actually revealed prior to this date in the booklet for Lest We Forget:

as well as in the video for Personal Jesus:

All of the images depicts the palm of a hand, bloodied by a strong puncture wound. This stigmata is considered to be a mark of the devout, which in turn with Manson’s new “BeLIEver” shirt, is hardly coincidental. In the brand of humour which only Manson can provide, the hand has been covered with a band-aid, positioned in the form of a cross, which is failing to prevent the obvious loss of blood. I can't stop thinking that this can have some relation (maybe only inspiration) with Scarling.'s "Band-Aid covers the Bullet Hole", which is somewhat probable if we think that Marilyn Manson is friend of Jessicka since somewhat between 1989 and 1992, and was one of the guest to the "Scarling. is born" party. He was yet one of those who got a copy of a promotional "Band-Aid covers the Bullet Hole" recording, previous to the single being recorded.

The second photo we are also familiar with -- The Cross of Lorraine (Also known as The de Gaul cross or the Double Cross), is representative of everything Marilyn Manson represents: the presentation of dichotomy, and the collaborative union presented through those dichotomies. Whether it be man or woman, light or dark, Jehovah or Lucifer, Marilyn or Manson, the cross in itself embodies the physical and spiritual balance that Manson has spent many years trying to achieve.

The third picture is all new, and is heavily laden with the imagery of his new era. The stigmata concept is featured again, with visible puncture wounds in both of his hands.

Present also is a Skull and Crossbones atop Manson's head which can be readily attached to the subject of the Black Death. This too was hinted at in LWF:

Despite the most obvious connection to the Black Death, the Skull & Crossbones has connections to many groups, being a symbol heavily used by the Freemasons, the order of the Skull and Bones, Alchemists, the supposed Illuminati, the Egyptians, and even the Romantics and the Victorians. The acknowledgement of death (memento mori) served those very same groups a sort of metaphorical rebirth, enabling them to take into account their own mortality, and make the best out of their lives. This continual cycle of death, rebirth, and transformation is at the very heart of Manson's work.

In terms of numbers, the number fifteen seems to be a powerful and reoccurring number for Manson's new work (as it was some era's ago), as there are fifteen swords surrounding Manson's head. Though the original image bore 16, it is unlikely that Manson did not realize he was only obstructing the view of a single dagger. In addition, there are fifteen Crosses of Lorraine around the new MM seal, along with 15 triangles:

The seal of MM reveals a circle which almost makes a full rotation, but just stops short, creating a C - likely representing the concept of Celebritarianism, which Manson brought up in his recent interview with MansonUSA. The symbol, much like the Cross of Lorraine, reflects an astounding level of balance in its physical structure.

To a certain extent this can draw a Freemason connection (among other esoteria), and will likely be covered in future updates at The Nachtkabarett.

The hands present in the new image bare many strong similarities with the movie poster for the film M:






(comparison image created by the astute Sanssouci)



The film M, a 1931 film noir directed by Fritz Lang, follows the story of a serial killer who preys on children. It's also of importance to note that in the film, there are a League of Beggars, which also make an appearance in the Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weil collaboration of The Threepenny Opera, which Manson has drawn on prior to this upcoming era (see The Nachtkabarett for more information). This tie in to death and Celebritarianism blends seamlessly.



This film will be watched closely for any other influences that may appear.



As if this wasn't enough to take in for one night, within the time frame of 12:00 - 3:00 A.M., Manson's site was updated three times with a series of cryptic messages, which appeared predominantly in the lower left quadrant of the screen.




The first was “LISSTEN TO GALAXY GIRL THEY MIGHT KNOW”, followed by “THISS CAN BE SOLVVED”, and “HURRY TIME IS”. Some of the messages were followed by a variety of numbers, suggesting a cipher relationship between the two.


There is now an webpage continuing the explanation of this developments, so if you're interested check here. But be ready to got more news on the issue here in by blog too, as far as I get the time to post more on my analisis...

January 24, 2006

Planet Noori Update

If you are a Planet Noori reader, not from the RSS feed but from the site itself, you've already noticed some design changes. As a matter of fact I did it because I needed to do it in order to fix one of several bugs I've just fixed on the Planet today. I know I should upgrade the planet version for a less-hacked more-stable version like the more recent tarball, but I have to feel like doing it, and today I was just plain tired before even starting to play with it. And I should take a look to the latest bazaar version of it, since I think they might still have one bug I've just corrected on Planet Noori...

Optimus keyboard

It seems that this keyboard is going to be launched this year. I wonder when will they make laptops with this kind of keyboards. The idea is preety cool: OLED keys that change to fit your needs. The same keyboard may be Portuguese or English or whatever you like... Imagine running up a game and having your keys switching to this:


Need to say more?

January 20, 2006

On Woody Allen and GiTS

Nuno posted on his blog something that I wanted to reply. Since I couldn't because the text was considered spam (I really wonder why!), here's the reply. Please, read his post first if you want to understand mine.

I really like that film. In fact I really like most of Woody's films and as I was chating with Tuxa about the film after it had ended, we came to the conclusion that none of us know anyone else who really likes Woody's films the way we do.
Well, probably not like the way you do, but I also think that WA's movies rock :-)

On "Personal Memory Assistants", it's quite like the envision you have in "Ghost in The Shell" (both manga, movies and series), and yes, it's a way of living so far away of nowadays that it's difficult to entitle it as an utopia or dystopia... Probably the best way to define it being just "future" - nor better or worse, just different. If you didn't watch it, then forget for some time that you don't like Anime and try to see it :-)

Wishes

I wish that, in 2006:

  • Fedora core 5 comes with a Pine RPM;
  • Gaim 2.0 comes out, and has an option to de-activate the CTRL+W binding;
  • Evolution has a way to de-activate "replying in HTML to HTML e-mails"

January 19, 2006

HCL 2.1 already in alpha stage

Help Center Live is a Live Support tool written in PHP, using a MySql database, that allows visitors on a webste to hold a conversation in real time with a representative of the website. Help Center Live also allows other projects to be integrated as modules.

The latest stable version is 2.0.6, but the development of HCL 2.1.0 is already in the works, and you can find the alpha versions here.

Shut me Up

Some people complained about my review of MSI's latest album since I didn't told them about "who the fuck are MSI" and "how they sound like". For you, here's Mindless Self Indulgence's latest video, "Shut me Up". If you can't hear it is because you don't get a flash plugin...



Oh, BTW, this is a censored version. Yeah, I know it sucks, but that what I've managed to give you, so...

January 18, 2006

CV Update

Some people told me that my CV was way too long, that it should have four pages tops. After getting that complain several times, I finally did a four page only version of it, and it is now online.

Grab the Challenge

First of all, a note to self: loosing yourself in the largest city of a Country by night is fun. You should try it again, but in a country that's not yourse.


This post is about the biggest piece of art I've came across for a long time: Mindless Self Indulgence's last CD, "You'll Rebel to Anything". I managed to get the "Explicit Studio CD" version, but now I want to get the limited edition of the Clean CD and the Explicit Double Vinyl Version... Even if I think that this is the best one of the three, you can only have the hole album if you get this three versions... Well, first of all, I have to say that Metropolis Records surprised me and I want to give them the best "congratulations". They did it - I don't know how, but not only they've managed to escape all the censorship by having the several versions of the album, but - and this quite surprised me - they've managed to (legally, I suppose) have the stupid "Parental Advisory" on a sticker, and that on the plastic around the CD! When you open it, goodbye advisory. I have no clue how is this CD legal... And I think that there are chances that it isn't, on USA. Anyway, if you know that that's something, when you open the CD you read this:

A WARNING for those of you lazy, self absorbed and/or just plain inattentive parents >>> all the censorship in the world won't make up for bad parenting. If your child is more influenced by our music than by Mommy & Daddy, both you and your offspring have much bigger problems than our lyrics. So, before you go hauling us or any other artist into court, look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you did the best you could, because if you're considering taking us into court, you didn't.

But this is just only the start, this was my two first minutes with the CD in my hand. The whole CD is worth the money you'll pay for it, and I'm not considering yet the media itself!

But let's talk about the media. Mac fans, this CD was recorded using Mac OS X. It has a .mov with the main song, that gives the name to the CD: "You'll rebel to anything (as long as it's not challenging)". If you like the title, then wait to see the video-clip. No, I would tell any spoilers, you HAVE to see it. For those who're asking, yes, it has Bush. Lyrically, is Mindless Self Indulgence as always - lyrics are never too explicit for them. Grab this mic:


You think you're saying something relevant as you connect the dots
You never realized you have to get in line to suck a cock
You're telling me that fifty million screaming fans are never wrong
I'm telling you that fifty million screaming fans are FUCKIN MORONS


But hey, I don't want to spoil any more this CD for you: you should get it. For those who already know and like Mindless Self Indulgence, let's just say that this is the album. Forget those early EP's - yes, they are good, but they turned into this. Of course that anyone who buys this CD will get the others also, but this is their album. This closes one MSI's era, and let's hope they'll tour more promoting it and that the next era will be at least as good as this one is. For those wondering about 1989, Tom Sawyer, Stupid MF, 2 Hookers and an Eightball, yes, you have these songs in older CD's, but this is the best and final version of each one...


The bass + the rock + the mic + the treble - I like my coffee black + just like my Metal


Oh, by the way, the CD has less than 40 minutes, so technically speaking it's not a CD but an EP, right? Well, I guess that Metropolis Records managed to circumvent that too! ;-)

So, grab the Challenge, buy the CD, support the band.

January 17, 2006

GPLv3 first draft

So, the first draft of GPLv3 is out, and Aigarius made some comments on it, from which I think these are valid:

  • Section 5.b - You must license the entire modified work, as a whole, under this License to anyone who comes into possession of a copy.: I suggest adding "legally" before "comes", because otherwise, for example, if a company is making an internal modification of a GPL program with some secret information embedded into the code (some very internal communication routine, passwords, codes, ...) and some industrial thief steals this modified code for a blackhat hacker, he can claim that he "came into possession of a copy" and thus he has all the legal rights use it and that no trade secret laws can apply.
  • in some places "Corresponding Source" is used instead of "Complete Corresponding Source Code" (Edit: I was pointed to a place in the middle of the licence where "CS" is defined equal to "CCSC". Still, not the best style - either declare that upfront or use one style trough the document)
  • Section 9. - it is not clearly stated that using the covered work indicates acceptance of the Licence, but it is explicitly stated for modification and propagation.
  • Section 13. - I really do not like geographic limitations. Anyone can state "this program has a progress bar, which is patented in USA, so you can not use it in USA unless you have the patent" for basically any program thus very easily discriminating against quite a few people. If it is illegal by other means, leave it be illegal by those means - do not impose additional illegality on it via copyright. Law in some countries and patent situation can change more easily then the licence for old free software projects with many contributors.
This and other issues are being discussed in a wealthy way, and I'm liking what I'm seeing about this Draft. I don't know if they'll change the Section 13 to do what I think it should be done, but if they do, I may be one user of GPLv3 when it comes out...

January 16, 2006

Portuguese Politics

Thanks to matarbustos blog, I've read this article that shows that the hole between the rich and the poor is getting bigger and bigger in Portugal. Please, if you're Portuguese, remember that you're participating in the growth of that hole if you're not going to vote next weekend, or if you're go there to vote on Cavaco Silva.

Recording Radio Shows

Is it only me, or those sick bastards are completely stupid? As far as I can remember, anyone is free to record the radio shows that are broadcasted to them. In Portugal, everyone pays a tax (that's right!) for radio and television broadcast, as a public service, even if those like me that don't listen to radio or watch TV. But now, there are ways of recording with fidelity those broadcasted songs, that that was just the pretext needed to try to turn this issue into profit by those, and allways the same, who think about music as business instead of thinking about it as art. That's right, the major record labels and RIAA.

The American Congress has historically come down on the side of the broadcasters in this debate, saying that radio stations can play whatever music they want while paying only a relatively small amount of money to songwriters and publishers for the right to "perform" the song on-air--and not paying record companies at all.

Similarly, the right of consumers to tape songs off the radio has generally been held to be fair use.

However, when Congress set the rules for Internet and other digital broadcasts in 1998, it gave record companies the right to royalties from Internet and satellite radio broadcasts. That's set up a patchwork of different rules for different new media companies, even as technology has brought the way consumers use their services more closely together. This was the biggest mistake they made. After that, RIAA started to claim more and more things like they were their rights, and onfortunately their lobbyism made them win almosr all their fights.

For now, the most pressing issues focus on whether digital broadcasts can be legally recorded and archived. For instance, a new device from Sirius radio called the S50 lets people save individual songs. Sirius and the RIAA are in negotiations over this device.

XM Satellite Radio pulled a PC-based radio receiver from the market last year over music-copying concerns, and the company says none of its devices can now be used to transfer and store content on a computer. XM says it is happy to continue talking to the record industry about its products.

"The year 2006 will be one of negotiation between satellite radio and the music industry," said XM spokesman Nathaniel Brown. "Music is an important partner for XM, and we look forward to continuing our discussions with them in hopes of arriving at a business solution that fits everyone."

Similarly, radio broadcasters are worried about RIAA proposals to change the way digital radio is sent over the air. Labels have proposed several ideas, ranging from a "broadcast flag"-like marker in digital broadcasts, which would prevent recordings from being traded online, to wholesale encryption of radio streams to prevent recording.

This week saw an exchange of letters between the RIAA and the National Association of Broadcasters proposing negotiations over the digital radio issue, rather than an immediate trip to Congress.

"We hope to continue dialogue with you as the radio and recording industries keep working towards mutually acceptable resolution of this issue," NAB Chief Executive Officer David Rehr wrote to Bainwol. "Such formal discussions could move the industries forward aggressively, rather than relying on a congressional mandate."

These ongoing discussions have helped keep tensions in check. But Bainwol said the RIAA is still set on a long-term goal of changing the digital rules so there's "parity" between the different kinds of services that let consumers wind up with a digital copy of a song.

The upcoming year, with congressional elections, war and other big issues distracting legislators, is unlikely to see much action on copyright topics. But early bills, and discussions with legislators, exploring the issue are likely, Bainwol said.

That prospect has prompted continued attention from consumer electronics companies and the broadcasters.

"Our concern remains that this is an effort to stifle technology before it has a chance to grow," said Consumer Electronics Association spokesman Jeff Joseph. "It has never been illegal to record a song off the radio in the context of fair use."

I hope the CEA can manage to put some sense on all this issue, and I hope that American artists start giving their voice to the public on this issue too, like many did regarding mp3's or DRM.

To read the original article about this issue, please click here. Slashdot also has a dicussion on the issue.

January 13, 2006

UK laws suck

I think that Portuguese laws suck, but it seems that UK ones are worse... And I've just read a shocking example of that: unlike Portugal, where DJ's must have the rights to broadcast the tracks they're going to or (what's most common) the bar/disco/whatever where the DJ is going to act must have a license to do so, in UK, it's the DJ who must have to either Jockey directly from the original media (CD or Vinyl) or pay a £200 annual fee to do it via mp3, iPod, laptop or anything else. This is completely insane, and I really wouldn't want to be a DJ on UK: mixing tracks with the original media is a real pain in the ass, even if you have the vinyls of everything and you don't bother to ruin them my scratching.

ESR is Wiccan too

I don't give a flying fuck about this discussion, but it's funny to know that Eric Raymond is Wiccan too... His blog's Javascript errors aren't that funny, tho...

Error: unterminated string literal
Source File: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=249
Line: 57, Column: 40
Source Code:
function swtchon(nav){document[nav].src="http://www.catb.org/~esr/aim/aim-on.png

From the Vaults

My From the Vaults CD has arrived, and I must say that "DevilStone Music" would suck if it was even a record company, but it isn't and the only CD they have is this one. I really don't know how did they manage to get the license from the "Church Of The Perverted" to re-issue "Genisis of the Devil" under this other name... But, hey, at list this made me get a "legal" copy of Genesis of the Devil. I still can't get how can they mix up all this things in one CD without copyright infringements, but they do... First two tracks come from one CD, the third from another one, the forth from another, 5, 6 and 7 from one another, eight from yet another one, and the ninth track is the only reason for someone to buy this (since the other CD's are easily available to buy, complete) because there's in any other compilation of Spooky Kids stuff that I know of. Anyway, it's a Misery Machine Spooky Kids version, and they claim that this is the "First ever recording of Marilyn Manson", which is completely false since there are recordings from Marilyn Manson dating 1989, and Misery Machine wasn't even written until 1992 when the band had been around for a couple of years already.

Anyway, I have now 60 Marilyn Manson Audio CD's.

January 12, 2006

X.Org on Fedora

Users of Fedora think that I'm wrong when I say that I can't get a X.Org uptime of more than 14 days. Well, if you really want the truth, I said I never managed to get an X.Org uptime of more than 14 days on Fedora, which doesn't really mean that it isn't achievable. Furthermore, the reason might be related to the fact that Fedora isn't made to work with the things you can install, but it is made to work with Gnome as a Desktop Enviroment and Firefox as a browser (among other things). That is one of the things that I criticize, and I think that can be the cause of my problems with X.Org on Fedora. Anyway, as I write this my Fedora system is completely unstable, slow and crashy. But...

[root@noori ~]# ps x|grep X11R6|cut -b21-27
384:57
0:00
[root@noori ~]# echo "384/24" | bc
16
[root@noori ~]#

So, I've managed to have X.Org running on Fedora during 16 days, congratulations. Since the thing which is consuming more memory (and this instability is being caused by memory problems, no doubt) is Mozilla, I'll restart it, but I doubt that I'll get an uptime to X much bigger than it is by now...

[EDIT:]
More or less two minutes after posting this my computer was unusable. In those two minutes I couldn't close Mozilla (because of slowlyness). So I took more than half an hour to switch to console, log in as root, get mozilla PID's and kill -9 them. Yes, I'm managing to get my way with X.Org's uptime, but this sucks. Really.

[EDIT 2:]
Restarted KDE to kill all processes running under gdm. It sucks, but that was the only change of getting a functional workspace without restarting X.Org.

January 11, 2006

Google Pack

What is the Google Pack?


Google Pack is a free collection of essential software from Google and other companies. The software in the Google Pack helps you browse the web faster, remove spyware and viruses, organize your photos, and more. Learn more about each of the programs in the Google Pack.

Google Pack also takes the hassle out of downloading, installing, and updating software. You can download and install the entire Google Pack in just a few clicks. And the included Google Updater helps you discover new programs and keep your current software up to date.

What is the Google Updater?


The Google Updater is the program that downloads and installs all the software in the Google Pack. You can use the Google Updater to monitor the status of your installation, run software that's been installed, or uninstall software. A Google Updater icon will appear in your system tray and will display notifications when there are updates or new software available.

Is all the software in the Google Pack free?


Yes, all the software in the Google Pack is free. Some programs may offer paid versions that provide additional features or ongoing updates, but you'll never have to install the paid versions, and your free version will continue to work as long as you have it installed.

The version of Norton Antivirus in the Google Pack includes 6 months of protection updates that enable the program to identify and remove new threats. If you'd like to continue receiving these updates after 6 months, you'll need to purchase an update subscription from Symantec. Purchasing a subscription is optional.

Do I have to install all the software in the Google Pack?


While we believe you'll find all of the software in the Google Pack useful, you're welcome to install as much or as little as you'd like. To customize your installation package, please click the "Add or remove software" link under the download button on the Google Pack homepage. On the Customize page, simply uncheck the box next to any program you'd prefer not to install and click the "Continue" button to complete the installation process.

What if I already have some of these programs installed on my computer?


For programs you select that you already have installed on your computer, the Google Updater checks whether you have the latest version. If you don't, the Google Updater will install the latest version. If you already have the latest version, the Google Updater won't install the program.

Is this good to Open Source People?


While I and many "Open Source People" use Linux and won't use Google Pack, we see this as something real good to the average user of Windows XP. Since this packs up some Open Source Software like Firefox, it will also boost the number of it's users, which is good for those Open Source Projects. Furthermore, it seems that OpenOffice will soon be included to the pack.

Will this piss off Microsoft people?


I'm sure it will, and that makes me full of joy! ;-)

Where's Google's official statements about Google Pack?


Meh, I know you hate me and want to know for sure about Google Pack... So check for yourself.

January 10, 2006

More issues on Google Search

I've ranted previously about a lack of funtionality on Google Search. Since I've been replied with the sollution (thanks Bernardo!) which, unfortunately, is non-documented, I'm posting this wondering if there's any turn-around to the issue that someone might know...

I've just been asked about how to do something for the third time, and it's something I want to do some times and don't know how to either... How do you do a search for a specific file? If I search for file.c, Google will ignore the dot, and do the same search as in "file c"... How do you solve this issue?

Private Mailing Lists

Today, on a private mailing list, I've been reminded on about what's so good in private mailing lists: it seems that nowadays, in USA, annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime. That doesn't include what I do here in my blog when I say that Sony sucks and stuff like that, but just because I say in my blog that "my name is Marcos Daniel Marado Torres, but I'm often known in the Internet by the handle of Mind Booster Noori", and thus showing my identify (or whatever, I don't see how does this shows that I am who I claim to be, but... whatever...).

Here's the news, from where I'll quote:


Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.

In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for small favors, I guess.

This ridiculous prohibition, which would likely imperil much of Usenet, is buried in the so-called Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties include stiff fines and two years in prison.

Wow, go America, go!

January 09, 2006

Dawning

I have to say that I've surprised myself when I really did it past saturday: I've actually sold (second hand) some DVD's and CD's I had but didn't like. Well, as a matter of fact they've only accepted two CD's and one DVD (guess what, the "mainstream" ones), but, anyway, I did it. I never felt well with the thoughts of doing it: after all it is my personal collection of CD's, and I knew in advance that they were going to be poorly valorised. Anyway, I did it, and had a certain feeling of relief by doing it, since the money I got from it was spend in the exact same store buying one CD. In that way, I thought that, at least, those guys where making tons of money buy taking art from people who doesn't value that art pieces and giving others a chance to appreciate that same art.

So, with the money I got from that trade and 0.80 € I've managed to buy Mindrot's "Dawning" CD. I was looking to their music (mostly hyper-commercial stuff like Britney Spears and stuff like that) and when I saw "Mindrot" I thought that I've already heard it and didn't like much, but I didn't well recall why... I picked it from the shell and when I saw it was from Relapse Records I got it: I like Relapse buy what they do and how they support their bands, and I have some CD's from them (the latest I've got was "Shape of Despair", bought last December), but the feeling I generally have about their works is that "I almost like this enough to buy it", but, then, it's just "almost"... When I started to listin to "Dawning", this Mindrot's album from 1995, I've got it: even without recalling when did I've heard this for the first time, I'm sure the impression was the same - this guys do an excelent Doom Metal, but I can't get to like the voices, neither Dan Kaufman's, nor Adrian Leroux's, nor even Matt Fisher's. That doesn't mean I regret to have bought this CD: as a matter of fact I'm still judging if I should buy more Mindrot's albuns, because this CD, at least, is very musical, and that part is just great... And the vocals sometimes variate between the bareble and good in some tracks, like Forlorn's main vocals. In that aspect this CD quite reminds me of Novembers Doom's "Amid It's Hallowed Mirth" (which is fairly better, but - then - it's the only CD from Novembers Doom that I like)...

So, if you like Doom Metal, I recommend that you give Mindrot's a try...

Now I know that Mindrot is over, and two of their former members formed a band named "Shiva", then renamed to "Eyes of Fire". I guess I'll have to check this band...

January 05, 2006

Portuguese Presidencial Elections (Part 3)

Next 22nd of January Portuguese people will vote to their next President. As I've said before, I was planning to vote on Manuela Magno, but unfortunately she was injustifiedly hindered of being a candidate. That being, we have now six candidates, all polithical and partisans. From right to left, we have: Cavaco Silva (PSD), Mário Soares (PS), Manuel Alegre (PS), Jerónimo de Sousa (PCP), Francisco Louçã (BE) and Garcia Pereira (PCTP/MRPP).

I'm not trully found of any of those, but from all of them I'll have to vote on Garcia Pereira. Which is going to be the one with less votes, undoubtly.

From the Vaults

Seems that "Devil Stone Music" decided to make a re-edition of Marilyn Manson's "From the Vaults" CD. I have a CD called "Genesis Of The Devil" and, guess what, it's exactly the same CD, with different name and covers. So, why will I buy it? Check the link I gave you about "Genesis Of The Devil", where they say:

This CD should be avoided by anyone other than collectors.
Well, I think that having 59 Audio CD's of Marilyn Manson makes me officialy a collector, but that's not why I've just ordered "From the Vaults": in fact, from all the Nightingale/Eastworld Marilyn Manson Bootlegs, G.O.T.D. is the only one I didn't manage to get an original. All those tracks I have in original, but the last one. So, buying F.T.V. will make my G.O.T.D. a legal copy.

Sum up: My wishlist has been updated.

Debian schedule plan

For those of you that use Debian, you may want to read this message, where you can see the next version of Debian release schedule:

N-117 = Mon 30 Jul 06: freeze essential toolchain, kernels
N-110 = Mon 7 Aug 06: freeze base, non-essential toolchain (including e.g. cdbs)
N-105 = Mon 14 Aug 06: d-i RC [directly after base freeze]
N-45 = Wed 18 Oct 06: general freeze [about 2 months after base freeze, d-i RC]
N = Mon 4 Dec 06: release [1.5 months for the general freeze]

January 04, 2006

2006 resolutions

I never made things such as these, but since it seems that everyone is making a list of resolutions for 2006, here are mine:

  • I'll get and listen at least one new CD per month;
  • I'll get and read at least one new book per month;
  • I'll watch at least one new movie per month;
  • I'll do at least one website (from those sites where I contribute or mantain) per month;
  • I'll contribute at least once per month to an Open Source Project.
Of course that any of this resolutions for 2006 are impressive, and it's quite obvious that they'll be painlessly achieved, but hey, if I do them it means that 2006 didn't went really bad, right? ;-)

title search

Wouldn't it be great if Google had a "title search", so I could do a search for a string and get only the results who had that string in the <title>?

Linux Kernel

So, Linux Kernel 2.6.15 has been released, and I've compiled it yesterday on my laptop. So, finally I have a stable kernel that supports (well) everything my laptop has without the need of patches. From now on, and at least while I don't have an internet connection at home, I'll stick with the stable releases of Linux.

Indentation

Matthew Palmer has a quite sarcastic post about code indentation, and about why should people use tabs instead of spaces for identation. I totally agree with him: specially because you can configure your editor to show tabs as you like, and don't piss off the people who like to see more or less spaces per tab than you. Furthermore, tabs will make easy for you to quickly look at the code and see what's inside what. Oh, and people who use spaces instead of tabs usually tend to use sometimes more spaces than other times, which makes the code a mess. No, no, no: there are no advantages in using spaces instead of tabs: at all.