Duey Finster's Blog

SSH Guide

2008-11-16T16:57:27-06:00

Note: This Guide was written for use by my Computer Science class on Linux (and Mac OS X where noted). I haven't used SSH on Windows; but hopefully someone can make sure this guide works also on Windows by noting differences). SSH comes with nearly all Linux distros and all Mac OS X releases.

OS Specific Colours: Linux - Mac OS X - Windows

Download SSH For Windows

Windows: You need to follow README located in Start > All Programs > OpenSSH > README to set up password directories and files. After that is done; just do Start > Run; type cmd and hit enter to get Windows command line. All commands beginning with SSH should run unmodified.

By default it allows access to your username and password; which is okay but not totally secure! If you are logging on from a machine which has the same username as one you are trying to access you can drop 'myusername@' bit. mylaptop represents the IP address of the machine you are trying to contact!

$ ssh myusername@mylaptop

To forward X server (use the flag -Y on Mac OS X) :
$ ssh -X myusername@mylaptop

To use a different port (where port is WXYZ) also: (use the flag -Y on Mac OS X):
$ ssh -X myusername@mylaptop -p WXYZ

How to get it more secure:

Generate your own key (this will ask for a password; can be left blank but not recommended):

$ ssh-keygen

Copy your key to machine you want to login to:
$ scp ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub mylaptop:~/.ssh/authorized_

keys2
(This command uses SCP (Secure Copy) to copy your key into a list of keys allowed on remote machine. You also have an authorized_keys2 on your computer)

Edit Configuration File:

Finally edit configuration to make it more secure (nano is a lightweight text editor - this command will be very different on Windows; since it won't have sudo command, nano editor or the SSH configuration file in the same place; I currently have no clue what it would be on Windows):
  $ sudo nano /etc/sshd_config

       Options I recommend changing (hash at the start means it is commented out; so remove to take effect) :
           #Port 22 - change to whatever; recommended between 2000-65000

       Enable these three:
           #RSAAuthentication yes
           #PubkeyAuthentication yes

#AuthorizedKeysFile .ssh/authorized_keys

       Set to 'yes' and uncomment to allow forwarding of visuals:
           #X11Forwarding no

       Set to 'yes' and uncomment if you want to use your machine as a proxy:
           #AllowTcpForwarding yes
           #PermitTunnel no

Now save the file with you changes ( CTRL and X; it will ask to save; enter Y and enter key). These will not come in to effect until to stop and start the SSH server!

Stop/Start on Linux

To stop SSH server, enter:
$ sudo /etc/init.d/ssh stop
To start SSH server, enter:
$ sudo /etc/init.d/ssh start
To restart ssh server, enter:
$ sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart

Stop/Start OS X

To stop SSH Server, enter:

$ sudo /sbin/service ssh stop

To Start SSH server, enter:

$ sudo /sbin/service ssh start

That is it!
Most of the options you can skip based on preference. I recommend not allowing password only login and setting up keys. It is much harder to break; and there is no 'known' way to break it....

Web Multimedia Project 1

2008-11-14T18:04:44-06:00

As part of Computer Science you do a couple of general modules which are general in nature about computing; but I think that just reflects the broad use of IT in every part of society today. As things go digital or are created digitally; understanding of this concept is vital; that is where Web Multimedia comes in. For my first project of this second year; I had to do a movie made of stills with custom sound effects. Restrictions on sources of images and sounds (very high percentage had to be self made). Here it is:

Gmail Video Chat

2008-11-12T18:23:53-06:00

I am an avid Gmail user through Google Apps. I use the calender, chat, code, sites, pages, docs the whole lot. One of my friends even jokes "You should just work at Google Marketing". Yes I like most of Google's products; but I am a products guy; I use whats good, cheap and fast (pick two). Google has the cheap down due to ad-revenue; for the moment anyways in the current financial turmoil.

So I was delighted when I seen Gmail Video and Voice released. I have used it on my computer and I can say thats its really good: better than SIP video; better than Skype on the quality front. Google Talk has always had the clearest voice calling from my usage of it vs. the others.

My family use Gmail; I have converted almost everyone I know to use it. Most of my Computer Science class have it (some just use the student hotmail); so I will really use this feature. There are a few problems however:

Google Talk itself has no video; a curious decision
It is not encrypted like Skype; there should be an option
No Linux client: Unbelievable when Mac OS X is supported!
Not compatible with Nokia Internet Tablets; an early testbed for Google Talk Video
Open Standards but not Open Source: patent issues with licensed video codecs

Features missing which would really benefit me as a CS student:

Multi-way voice calling
Multi-way Video calling
Whiteboard function (Integration into GDocs?)
Compatibility with SIP video
Scheduling of Video/Voice through resource availibility option in Google Calendar

These are mainly organisational for group projects etc. which would be very handy not only to me; but business through apps and Google the company itself. Get working on it Google!

Innovation Right Here: Dept. of Education is Wrong

2008-11-11T19:32:53-06:00

I usually get both of Ireland's daily national papers to my email inbox every morning. I think it's very important to catch up on the latest news; as I think you are more informed and have conversation pieces to talk to people (for those awkward silences where "Ye the weather is terrible" just won't do). So I was highly informed when I read this piece: DCU head hits out at 'out-of-date' O'Keeffe.

"There is a tension between the traditional expectation that universities will primarily teach students, and the more recent requirement for universities to underpin economic development and attract corporate research and development into Ireland . . . not to mention the role of universities as agencies of cultural regeneration and of tackling disadvantage and structural poverty," said Prof von Prondzynski.

I couldn't agree more. I think it is disgraceful that students who try to improve themselves; their standard of living and their community by getting a great education are penalised with higher fees. The equal access to education that the state is trying to promote will be further harmed by an increase in fees. It is [relatively] cheap to go to college as it is; and still the economic underclass are under-represented.

Nothing is for free don't get me wrong... But these students turn in to some of the hardest and most innovative workers in the world; and most get a really good salary to match; which means they pay the most tax on average of any socio-economic class. People in the super-rich category can afford to off-shore; not so for these professional people. People in the lowest socio-economic classes pay the standard rate of 20% as they'd earn under the average industrial wage (about 30,000) and rightly so. So that just leaves the 'higher' if-you-will middle class (although all terms are relative; I don't agree with the labels personally); which pay disproportionate amount. So the Government s policy seems to discourage many of these people from actually educating themselves and getting a good job. This shocking tidbit sums up the government:

"I think he (Batt O'Keeffe) has a view of how universities should operate which is fairly far removed from what my view would be. For example, he raised the issue of whether we do too much research," said Prof von Prondzynski (Dublin City University Head)

Too much research? Oh my god; I actually cannot believe I read that. Maybe I should write to Batt O'Keefe and remind him what research gets you... Just in the Tech field alone (which I know most about); research is everything. The Internet? Check, American Military Research (Arpanet). The Web? Check, CERN Particle Physics Laboratory. Graphical Interfaces? Check, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Not to mention the massive contribution by Bell Labs/AT&T to Unix etc. These are only ones right off the top of my head. All I can say is I hope 3rd Level (as Colleges are known in Ireland) gets their own government minister (and department) and is free of this man: Batt O' Keefe and his 20th century Department of Education.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

2008-10-25T07:18:35-05:00

Seriously: what an awesome song. Every Geek should love it! It's got the famous line "My heart is human, my blood is boiling, my brain IBM". If this is not in every Geeks top ten songs; then I resign! I even listen to it as I type this! Anyways enough sounding like a DJ who just got his Payola check off the RIAA; I'll just post the free video so y'all can watch.... :

Barenaked Ladies also do a cover of it interspersed with their own song (King Of Bedside Manner):

Hurling: Four in a row?

2008-10-25T07:17:47-05:00

One cannot help but be amazed at Kilkenny; true masters of the Irish Gaelic Sport of hurling. I mean as my previous posts mention I have moved to Kilkenny; and rural South Kilkenny at that. They live and breath Hurling down here: it's literally a way of life. That is why they are so good; no mystery here folks: its is literally bred into children in schools and everyone plays it. More people playing means even though Kilkenny is only around 100,000 people it still has a large amount of people to pick from and they get the best training which equals the best results.

The City's mayor Pat Crotty said (paraphrased as I read it and cannot find the quote): "People say Kilkenny winning all the time is bad for hurling, not with displays like that". That is referring to the utter decimation of the county that adjoins South Kilkenny: Waterford. They were beaten by the biggest scoreline in over 50 years I think it was; yes it was a savage display. I speak as a Kildare man from a county that has achieved little to no success (sorry lads lets face facts!); and I wish they would emulate Kilkenny's prowess and agility. The press raved about how it was the best display of Hurling this century. As things go I was working; but the vibe was unreal. I was also working when over 25,000 people showed up to greet them home.

Anyways in South Kilkenny where my folks live is called Danesfort; and to prove how into Hurling they are they even have a song (bear in mind this is not a town or village; its basically a pub, church and houseS with less than 80 people living here); proof if it's needed Kilkenny are mental about Hurling:

Geek Thug: "I Had to Beat Up a Girl"

2008-10-25T07:16:48-05:00

I just read one of the most informative and insightful blog posts of my entire life. Half serious a guy takes a look back at when he had to beat up a Girl. Weird stuff!

Yes, you read that right, I had to beat up a girl … not a woman. She was asking for it and she deserved it.

I Had to Beat Up a Girl

Yamaha YQ: Aerox; best moped ever?

2008-10-25T07:15:07-05:00

Well I think so! Got one there 2 months ago and forgot to write a blog post about it. I got a '01 model for a bargain price I believe; but this theory has yet to be tested (I'll wait for a year to be up). As I mentioned before in previous posts my parent's house is now in a remote location with no train/buses anywhere nearby. So transport was essential! At this time also there was a major crack down on learner drivers not being accompanied by a fully licensed driver (of two years). So by the time I'd saved the money for the car; got 10 lessons and convinced anyone I knew with over two years full driving experience to accompany me; even to work - was just to much hassle - hence the moped which has no such onerous requirements. In fact only one it does really have is that you can't have passengers - I won't be carrying anyone anyways - so I am not too bothered. Anyhoo take a look at the photos I took when I got it. I have done it up since then: new tyres, resprayed exhaust, full service; new mirrors; repaired exhaust; flushed out radiator and put in proper coolant just to name a few. So it sounds allot better and drives better than ever!

Wordpress 2.6

2008-10-25T07:13:05-05:00

Open Source star of the blogging world:

Summer: One Month On.....

2008-06-29T17:41:01-05:00

Well one month in Summer 2008! Summer has been okay so far; I've had nothing much to report hence lack of Tech posts. Sure the iPhone 3G looks good, Google/Yahoo/Microsoft spats interesting but after a while it become a bit circular and repetitive.

I've recently started working at the UK's leading retailer for touring/car/bike and accessories; as well as a move to the south east of Ireland; that much further to the capital: Dublin. It's Ireland's smallest city and home to Ireland's very first Parliament about 400 years ago: Kilkenny. It's steeped in culture and it's the only city in Ireland to rival Dublin's culture, nightlife and restaurants and hold it's own.

I am trying to acquire a moped (aka. Scooter or Italian 'ped) to have a run-around to work and back. I am doing it in reverse however as were still moving to our house in the county of Kilkenny (in the city rentig at the moment until it's ready!). I'll be getting Scooter first, then license so in other words it will be arseways! Their is always a backlog in summertime as students like me clamour to get driving!! Whoops should have scheduled during the leaving cert (Ireland's answer to SAT/GCSE)!!

More will follow soon as I complete the move and get the bike; expect a few picture posts dedicated to the bike!!

I've decided: I'm decidedly middle class

2008-05-14T17:07:55-05:00

I had a trip in to the faire capital city of Ireland today: Dublin. Okay I'll get this out of the way: I had a Frappacino in Starbucks and I'm a student; so not too poor of a student ;)

But I saw the inside of Brown Thomas for the first time. I don't shop for fashion at all: but what I found was the kind of vulgarity and fake-ness I'd expect of London or New York; not Dublin. To paraphrase Bono: "In America if you have your mansion on a hill people look up to you and think 'I want to be like him and afford a house like that one day'; if you have the same mansion in Ireland people say 'look at the fucken eejit on the hill with that house; thinks he's god or sumthen'" and that to me was always an endearing part of Irish culture; people around you being the great leveller if you thought you were the bomb. Inside BT (Brown Thomas) was all the names you'd expect; all the major names more at home in Paris, London or New York. I confronted my friend who was showing me round about my opinions (in my usual polite manner: just say it). To my surprise he agreed 110%. Yes he said: for the people who buy this stuff can tell who else is wearing it; and I think he meant that by this logic movers and shakers also wore all the brands to look the part. Soon after he told me he was also learning Golf because he knew it would be a great benefit for his future career: "All important people also play golf" he assured me.

I see this divide in society and I admit it bothers me. Where I go to College, there is an estate across the road which is by any standards not had the full benefit of the Celtic Tiger (the Irish Boom Economy). I get the bus from this place and everytime it bothers me that I see some social problems: everything from unruly kids trying to ruin the place to alcholics. But I also have people in my class from that estate: some of the nicest you'd ever care to meet. I've been asked by them my opinion on where they live and what do I think other people think.

Then comes my home town. It is on the border of Dublin (city) and Kildare (farmers and horsebreeders) and we've got a mix of both. But Leixlip is decidedly middle class; low enough crime; not much social tension to be heard of; certainly nowhere near the likes of South Dublin (seen as upper class) or North Dublin (seen as lower class). Which is why I don't feel comfortable in either: maybe middle class is the real stigmata?

Will Google Buy Skype?

2008-04-11T21:18:18-05:00

It's been all over the tech news world lately; apparently Google is muling over taking Skype off of Ebay's hands. Ebay has already written down the value of Skype as a large loss on their purchase price of $2.6 billion in stock and cash. But would Skype's G-branded future be any better?

I think it would be. Skype is a strong international brand for voice calls, instant messaging and video calls; but of course it competes directly with Google Talk. Skype as a company has made a lot of mistakes; but they actually produces some of the best technology for p2p VOIP out there in the marketplace. Skype is particularly strong in redundancy, cost of network operation (since it's p2p every user carries' each others traffic; most people have no idea of this fact) and routing around the most draconian network admins out their through their routers.

All of this is a strict propreitary network and is centrally controlled at the moment for Ebay. All voice is encrypted accross Skype; but it is well-speculated that Skype has a back door to snoop on anyone it so wishes (although it would never publicly admit to this). Legislation hasn't caught up to protect voice calls like they are on "traditional" PSTN [Pretty Simple Telephone Network].

I think Google could open up Skype's network; to what extent is anyone's guess. I hope they integrate XMPP like Gmail Chat capability (which is an open standard); and do the same for voice/video (could take a while based on patents) . I predict the client will most likely stay propreitary and closed-source; as opening it up could reveal back-doors; patent and copyright issues and more. But overall I think the transaction could go quite well for both parties...

Letter to EU Commissioner on 95 Year Copyright Extension [Updated]

2008-04-11T21:24:30-05:00

I recently read a Slashdot article "EU Commissioner proposes 95 year copyright". I am a staunch supporter of the European project; or at least the ideals it is based on to create a peaceful, demcratic union of countries with a common background and share similiar goals. Intrigued by the article I read it only to find out that a local man who used to represent my area was responsible. I had to write to him to ask how he lost his mind....

Dear Mr. McCreevy;

I am writing to you from Kildare. You have served our county over the years; and I even thought you would become Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland) one day (being the Minister for Finance is a front-runner position- let's be honest) but then you went to Europe.

But that's not the subject of this correspondence. I am writing to you to voice my disgust for your proposed levies and taxes in conjunction with an even longer copyright extension. What are you thinking Mr. McCreevy? The average musician does not live for 95 years. I am responding to points made by you in the International Herald Tribune (Original article: AP Newswire; Published 14/02/2008) and the legislation proposed at your level in the commission (through which you will have direct influence).

1. Your Misguided view of copyright:
"If nothing is done, thousands of European performers who recorded in the late 1950s and 1960s will lose all of their airplay royalties over the next ten years," said EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, the union's internal market chief. "These royalties are often their sole pension."
I don't know about you Mr. McCreevy; but I will have to set aside money from my earnings for my pension;. why shouldn't artists? Copyright is supposed to encourage innovation; not reward old creations. Copyright on these works should have rightfully expired on these a long time ago; forcing these musicians to create more music we all love and enjoy, instead of idly collecting money for work done sometimes as much as fifty years ago. These Musicians were already paid for their works a long time ago; and they signed it over to a [record] company. You are only enriching a company that contributes zero cultural value back by extending a copyright term. This has been proven time and time again if you would do your research.

2. Extra Copies / Levies
The EU executive also wants to look again at reforming copyright levies charged on blank discs, data storage and music and video players to compensate artists and copyright holders for legal copying when listeners burn an extra version of an album to play one at home and one in the car.

Why should as a consumer I have to pay twice for a music recording? You know this will only have the effect of driving up the cost of a CD and increasing piracy? "You can't charge me twice if I choose to pirate it!"; and this is how a lot of consumers will see it; like double tax evasion only easier with less risk! You must recognise also that the music collection agencies are run by cartels that is the music industry (Big Four: SonyBMG, Warner, EMI, Universal ) which is almost never fair to artists? (Look at SoundExchange in the United States for this). What about when I use disks for backup of my data (which is the only reason I use them for) why should I pay royalties for music I never pirated? How also can you tell which artists deserves more royalties than the next? You can't; and that is why this idea is so stupid you should put it to bed now!

3. Who it benefits?
The extension would not benefit only stars such as French crooner Charles Aznavour or British pop star Cliff Richard, McCreevy said. Session musicians who played on a recording would also be able to draw on a new fund.

Ah-ha-ha-ha You see Mr. Mc.Creevy case in point! These men actually own; or have very liberal licensing terms with their record companies; allowing them in the first place to be spokespeople for longer copyright terms. The same cannot be said for the vast majority of artists; who don't have that luxury. Please remind me what exactly these men have contributed to society musically in the last few years? Oh riiiiiight; thats nothing; zero; zilch! What about others of that era? Elvis? dead and buried! Beatles? no longer around! and I could go on and on and on about how they are literally getting money for nothing..... The only beneficiary will be the record companies who own the recordings to 70's and 80's material which is lucrative (for this see Michael Jackson owning some of the Beatles catalogue).

My plea to you is to stop this insanity and work towards less copyright restriction not more. Copyright was originally designed to safeguard an original author to make back the time and the effort he/she put into the creation which benefitted society (ie. compensation usually in the form of monetary gain). With this understanding it's plain to see these people have long since got back many times the creative energy they put in and societies debt to them has long since passed.

Regards,
Your former constituent;
N Grogan

14/02/2008

P.S. I am eagerly awaiting you reply and any comments you have on what I have said...

I got a reply from someone in the commissioners office (I have removed the name); better than nothing but I'd still like to hear from him on the matter.... Anyway here it is:

Dear Mr Grogan,

Thank you for your e-mail of 14 February concerning the term of protection for sound recordings.

The Commissioner has noted your most interesting comments. These will be taken into account in the elaboration of the formal Commission proposal.

Why I think Amarok rocks....

2008-04-11T21:18:18-05:00

I just purchased an Amarok hoodie and t-shirt; and I couldn't be happier supporting one of my favourite open source projects! What makes it so good? Have you ever heard of Amarok? Chances are if your an OS X or Windows user; you haven't. All this is about to change! The amarok team are busy porting it from it's UNIX underpinnings to Windows and OS X.

Whats to like about Amarok then?

The blazingly cool name: Amarok is an intuit name for a wolf and also is cool phonetically: am a rock!
Album covers in full glory (see picture right)
Full lyrics support; even for the most obscure songs you have laying around!
Wikipedia integration: truly a gem; you can do what Amarok says "Rediscover your Music" in looking up artist, song or album in the free encyclopedia.
Playlists form the backone of the player; great for people like me who like to compile sub-sections of songs for car journeys and the like!
Smart playlists: you get playlists which can update based on how your rate them; which artist or what genre; sorting conditions ar infinite! Example is a 5 Star playlisat with all my top rated tunes!
Dynamic playlists: built from your static and smart playlists; it can show the last X songs you played and Y upcoming. So I could select my 5 star faves and my Strokes favourites; set it to show 5 last played songs and 15 upcoming. I never need to edit the playlist again as it will auto choose and update the list!
Statistics: Show all your stats on your collection! From favourite artists to most played albums: it's all there waiting!
Last.fm & Tags: Tag and compiles your music listening tastes with integration in the most popular social music site online!
IPod integration is second to none (as well as many 0ther popular players!)! Amarok will convert it to mp3; sync podcasts and playlists; transfer ratings and even submit listened tracks to last.fm!
All the added extras: Equaliser with presets; Random and Repeat capability; Visualisations! You can even sort you collection by mood with Moodbar installed!
Scripts!?! One of the coolest thing is scripts: think Firefox extensions only slightly more powerful!
Built-in editing of song names; album names and all info! Don't bother telling Amarok to add the music you just ripped; as long as it's in your music folder its automatically picked up and added!
An intuitive interface: built for function and power: Amarok is almost perfect in its balance between feature and function. The OSD )On-Screen Display) with show you any details your playlist does; like Artist Name; Album name; Rating and how long a track is!

Man I am exhausted already and I haven't even covered all of the features; their is just too many hidden gems I wouldn't be doing you justice by telling you them all (see: Scripts)! That's why Amarok rocks my world! (As a side note: yes I will get my picture on this page eventually!)

A few days with A Nokia N810

2008-04-11T21:18:18-05:00

I last discussed the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet in October; when details were only starting to filter out. It wasn't expected for Nokia to introduce an upgrade to the N800 Internet Tablet (which I also reviewed here) so soon. I certainly don't envy the position of a small team getting the hardware and software for a mini-computer right in such a short space of time. But needless to say the N810 feels right; in fact it feels more right than the N770 which I thought had the best design of all (be it functionality not so much style). The N810 has bags of style; in a flashy brand-new-car sort of way; it looks expensive and I believe Nokia plays to this in their pricing.

Well the best new feature has to be the operating system: OS 2008. It is clean; stable enough and illustrates beautifully in a Apple Mac sort of way when hardware and software are matched beautifully you get an unrivaled product. But that runs on N800 also; so why bother with the N810? GPS is inbuilt for one; but the mapping software is pretty horrible. Luckily the Open Source MaemoMapper is the original (and still the best) GPS program for any maemo platform (OS 2007, OS 2006). No offence to WayFinder but their software isn't ideal and feels like a shabby port to the Internet Tablets; like it was ripped off another device and thrown at Nokia's devices. Nokia also dropped the ball in other areas; such as keylocking and the home applets: home applets are little bubbles of information you immeadiatly see on the N810's home screen. The problem you ask? The move (by design; older OS ones were fixed) and the keylock made to keep them stable is not functional as I believe it could be. Why can't I set an auto screen lock when I flip the keyboard back in? That kind of commission is what I'd call a 'schoolboy error'.

Apps make any device

and the N810 has a few good ones; but nothing totally wow or killer just yet. Skype as many people are aware is semi-included in the device (after a download) and as of yet unlike its desktop Linux counterpart; it lacks full video support (on a device with a decent vga webcam camera - no sense here!). There is also full GoogleTalk integration; with SIP support coming up (perhaps with full video on SIP; maybe as of yet with GoogleTalk if they adopt SIP?). Other than that great apps include FBreader a great Windows/Linux ebook reader; and some fun pass the time games like TuxPuck, IceBreaker and LXDoom can be downloaded. What about the apps included I hear you ask? Well the Web Browser is quality from Mozilla and far outshines the Opera browser which graced both the N770 and N800. Updates are not really noticeable in the core non-essential apps like Email (an awful excuse for an email client), RSS reader (decent enough) and Filemanager. To the core I suspect they made a bevy of changes; but I'm not that hardcore so I'll skip technical details like that; needless to say its startup time was reduced; battery life seems longer; and it feels more responsive on OS 2008.

So should I buy it?

If you don't have a N800 I would say definitely go for it; as long as you think the price is right. As with any tech device; shop around for a bargain on the price over Nokia's retail listed price. Who is it aimed at? People in college like me who like to keep in touch with friends; read their pdfs docs; and cringe to be away from some sort of connectivity. This also applies to business users who would have similar uses with clients; but unfortunately the necessity of a second device in non-wifi connected areas kills this devices true potential until Nokia decides to inbuild 3G or Wimax.

Nokia N810 Tablet to hit the shops soon...

2008-04-11T21:18:18-05:00

Nokia have announced an upgrade to the N800 Internet tablet, called the N810. I suspect its called that because it is more of an incremental upgrade than a total visual refresh it was going from an Nokia 770 to N800. Here it is:

(Picture Courtesy: Internet Tablet Talk)

It sports a nice new hardware keyboard; inbuilt GPS (For satellite mapping) and OS 2008 (an upgrade to the operating system it runs). The N800 will also benefit from OS 2008, which will include GoogleTalk, Skype, Mozilla browser, among the usual such as its email client, media player, file manager, control panel, assorted games and an image/PDF viewer. The one feature it will emit is an inbuilt FM Radio, which was axed to make the N810 a smaller tablet. It still retains the best screen size for web browsing, bluetooth connectivity, and of course Wifi which is central to the tablets existance! No word on what easter eggs are included if any; on the N800 it was a radio and the N770 it was the microphone. Engadget has a great writeup on it, choc-a-bloc full of high resolution photos with size comparisons to Apples iPhone.

Apple Mac OS X: the most popular Desktop Unix?

2008-04-11T21:18:18-05:00

Apple does it again: explosive growth in the computer market, no doubt in part to its Macbook/Macbook Pro line of laptops. As Ars Technica points out:

As predicted last quarter, however, Apple broke its tie for third place with Gateway by shipping 1.33 million units and growing by a whopping 37.2 percent (double that of any other US vendor) from third quarter 2006 to claim 8.1 percent of the US market for the quarter. These numbers also continue the company's trend of steadily gaining market share every two quarters for at least the past year.

Here's the graph of the figures:

Is it the most popular desktop UNIX? No, as until Leopard comes out it is not officially a UNIX stamped and sealed POSIX compliant system; but then again neither is Linux. Apple has the benefit of reporting numbers with hard sales; something thats impossible for Linux. With estimates of 22 million Mac users, compared to Ubuntu and Fedora (the two most popular user-friendly distributions) which reported 8 million dynamic IP's updating from mirrors (16 million total). That doesn't include SuSe, Red Hat, Slackware, Debian, Mandriva and other popular distributions, which means Linux has most likely a bigger install base, although Apple is gaining ground fast. As Rob Malda (founder of popular geek news site: Slashdot) said:

Linux will have a strong position on the server for a long time, but as GNOME and KDE bickered with each other, Appl e came along and gave the world a great desktop UNIX. It's sad, but true, and there's a huge lesson to learn there.

Linux and Patents: Just Patently Wrong

2008-04-11T21:18:18-05:00

So I read the news Novell and Red Hat are being sued for patent infringement. This is all about multiple workspaces that can hold various graphical user elements, a Xerox Parc patent which dates to the early 1990's. Xerox Palo Alto Research center invented the graphical user interface in the 1980's, only to been, licensed and used by Steve Jobs in Mac OS Classic. Now IP Innovation, a submarine patent troll, who make no products and bought the patent want their payday. The logical step is to go after the biggest infringer to set a precedent for your patent, and then make your way to all the smaller companies who infringe. Well logically of course that would be Apple or Microsoft. Apple has already paid them a reported 20 million dollars, and well no-one knows what Microsoft has done, but this fish is smelly. From the Register Article:

The complaint, available here as a pdf, says "the Red Hat Linux system, the Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop and the Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Server all breach held patents. The companies seek increased damages for the willful infringements of their patents and an injunction to prevent further infringements".

So we already know they bought a patent thats years old, are patent trolls, they extorted money from Apple and Microsoft appears to have no dealings with them. But wait! We see Steve Ballmer (Microsoft's CEO) saying recently Linux should have to pay like Microsoft does in the "IP Regime". Regime always seemed a rather nasty word to me, something your forced to put up with - like Robert Mugabes regime in Zimbabwe; come to think of it Steve, I would have said that exact same thing - a dirty rotten evil patent regime - but thats not what you meant. You meant you wanted a cut for every Linux support contract and if its free like Ubuntu - well though, you want money anyway. Steve you claim innovation Microsoft produced is in Linux, but refuse to show any evidence. Your bold statements which could be considered illegal under Sarbanes-Oxley in the United States hasn't stopped you. But a patent lawsuit has, you know it will destroy Microsoft and can never kill Linux- maybe Linux business but you'd settle for that (If we can't make money off it, no one can!). Now we have a patent troll, and Open Source legal resources Groklaw has exposed it to employ Microsoft employees who specialise in patents. We are well aware as a community you have a hand in this - how much remains to be seen. The community warned you through the Open Invention network ( a patent clearinghouse which vows to protect open source through pooled patents by Sony, HP, IBM, Google, Phillips, Novell, Oracle, Red Hat and others) and a petition of thousands of people to put up or shut up about patents. Now you have released SCO II when we are done killing off the first one - through copyrights - now its patents. Well we are not going to stand for this any more; I am hoping Red Hat and Novell stand strong and fight this; and I hope the lawyers at the Open Invention Network and the Software Freedom Law center seriously consider a pre-emptive attack on you. We're all peace loving hippies in open source right? Wrong, wrong and now I think it is time we make YOU pay.....

Planning the Computer Build

2008-04-11T21:18:18-05:00

Planning to build a computer can be fun also. Researching parts, making sure they work well together (if they are on Manufacturers QVL). Making a list of all the parts you need is the beginning of the purchasing, assembly and then seeing your machine in action! Lots of guides online help with the planning stage; but nearly all are advice and tips. How do you know which is biased? Are the benchmarks relevant to what you are building your machine for? Probably not most of the time. If you're not a hardcore gamer like myself, your machine can mid-range and cheaper than a pre-built solution, saving you money. I am using my machine as a long term investment: I plan to have it long into the future and just replace components. I think that could save me at least €3000 over ten years (two €1,500 machines every 5 years, not beyond possibility) if not more. I can also re-use perfectly good parts when my other machines have departed to that big waste recycling plant in the sky.

One tool besides lots of online-based computer review reading is a custom made spreadsheet I created for the job. It allows me to see Part name, Quantity, Unit Price, Delivery Cost, Part Description, Link to Manufacturers site and best of all: it's easily modified for other items. I coloured it real nice too; so its easy to read and understand. I hope it's useful to anyone out there, so I am making it available under CC-BY-NC-SA.Here is a Screenshot of it:

Here is the Microsoft Excel (97/2000/XP/2003) Template For Computer Parts
Here is the Open Document Template for Computer Parts

Computer Parts by Neil Grogan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.dueyfinster.com-a.googlepages.com.

Computer Systems: Dismantling PC's is fun!

2008-04-11T21:24:44-05:00

I found a new passtime: dismantling pc's. It my not sound like great fun, but its a challenge to do it right and make sure you don't break your pc at the end of it all. Nothing feels of so much relief when you see the BIOS boot up again after ripping everything you can out and cramming it all back in. It stands to you in developing problem solving skills, which of course employers love. It is so much more visual than any theory, plus it is what the majority of people like: physical objects like lego going together. I am writing this on a computer I stripped everthing out of at the moment: a Dell 3100c, a Celeron D machine I bought in August of last year. Today I dismantled a very old Optiplex PIII, and the difference between the machines is marked, even though there are only a few years between them. I have included some photos below to show the inside internals:

Here is My Dell 3100c Internals:

Here is the shell of a computer I am building: