Matt Croydon::Postneo

Author: Matt Croydon

  • OPEN-XCHANGE, Finally!

    Open-Xchange, Finally!

    I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve put in to getting to this screenshot, which if you can’t tell means that I have a working OPEN-XCHANGE installation. Just after OX was released as open source I repeatedly tried to install it without success. The install instructions always seemed to be slightly out of sync with reality and I usually got about 3/4 of the way through but died horribly during slapd or OX.

    Starting last night just before bed and finishing this evening when I had free time, I followed these excellent instructions (login required) to install OX on a fresh Sarge install. I’d like to thank Murphy and everyone who provided him input, including Laurent Francoise, who got me so close so many times.

  • Penguins Marching

    March of the Penguins Poster

    We went to see March of the Penguins today, and it rocked. The first thing I heard about it a few weeks ago (besides it being good) was the fact that it was grossing a lot more than anything else on a per-screen basis than anything out there, even though it was only out in a handful of theatres:

    Around Hollywood, they’re calling it the “Penguin Movie.” And although it doesn’t offer any challenges to Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise in the leading man department, the film nabbed at least one box-office bragging right this weekend: On a per-screen basis, ticket sales for “March of the Penguins” were far more than for any other movie, $26,269, compared with $19,719 for the overall box-office champ, “War of the Worlds.”

    After seeing it, I know why. The cinemetography is amazing. The story is epic. The writing iis great, and Morgan Freeman does a great job narrating. We were in a smaller theatre, but if it wasn’t completely sold out there couldn’t have been more than a few empty seats.

    Needless to say, I highly recommend it as long as you can handle something that’s not full of special effects and bad acting.

  • Killer Mobile Interfaces with Python and Maemo?

    Thanks to INdT‘s hard work, Python as well as PyGame are available for Maemo and the 770. This got me thinking about how cool it would be to use PyGame on Maemo to develop simple (but really good looking) apps with that “video game menu” feel to it. Killer apps like MythTV Freevo have proven that you can use PyGame to create killer interfaces.

    I’m going to put this somewhere on my long list of things to do in my spare time, but it would rock if someone ran with this. What do you think?

  • Maemoizing X-Chat

    Someone has been busy Maemoizing X-Chat. I was able to get a vanilla build of XChat running on Maemo but text input was a bit tricky. With a little tweaking it should be a great IRC app for the 770. While I still haven’t gotten around to applying the patches to Gaim mentioned on maemo.org, that should also be a viable option for IRC as well as AIM, MSN, Jabber, and others.

  • Best. DRM. Evar!

    Rails Book non-DRM

    Okay, I lied. The best DRM isn’t DRM at all. I’m not a huge fan of DRM because it always seems to get in the way when you’re trying to use something that you’ve bought in a way that you think is appropriate. No, the best DRM in the world just makes sure you don’t redistribute the stuff you’ve bought, or makes sure you can get in trouble if you do.

    The above screenshot is from the PDF version of the upcoming Agile Web Development with Rails book. They have these PDF-aware gerbils at The Pragmatic Programmer that generate (and regenerate upon request when a new version is out) PDFs on the fly, with your name on the bottom of each page.

    Having your name plastered all over the place is one sure way to discourage sharing it with friends or on file sharing networks. Imagine what would happen if the publisher found out htat you’re the guy responsible for the book ending up on BitTorrent?

    Granted, this method isn’t foolproof, and I’m sure that if you really wanted to you could figure out a way to remove your name from the PDF. The exact same thing can be said for the vast majority of DRM out there though, if you really want to get around it. I’m very glad that I can just use the stuff I paid for without having to deal with DRM silliness.

    My hat is off to the publisher and authors of this awesome book for “getting it.” In related news, the book rocks. It’s definitely worth having if you’re using or thinking about using Rails.

  • Maemo Subversion Repository

    Good news from the Maemo developer’s list coming not long after the announcement of the official Maemo Wiki:

    Hi all,

    Starting from now, a subversion repository is available for everyone at:

    https://stage.maemo.org/svn/maemo

    login: guest

    password: guest

    Currently just a few packages were imported, but expect all the others
    to pop up in the coming days/weeks. Bleeding edge development and latest
    bug fixes will happen there.

    Stay in tune!

    luc

    This should make tracking the bleeding edge just that little bit easier. Thanks again to everyone at the Maemo team for all of their hard work.

  • Wapipedia


    I saw this fly by on textually the other day but didn’t get a chance to really look at it until yesterday, and I’m kinda hooked. What am I talking about? Wapipedia, of course

    Wapipedia allows you to search the content of Wikipedia and view it on a modern phone. It will probably choke older WAP 1.0 based phones, but anything that can handle WAP 2.0/XHTML-MP should be quite happy.

    The design does a good job of working quite well on both a mobile device and a browser. It’s a bit minimalistic in a browser, but you know what, it’s usable in both. I really like sites like that. Russ has done a few and I’ve stared (but not finished) a few projects that pull of the same thing.

    I think we’ll see more sites like this in the future, unless it’s just me that gets warm fuzzies when using sites like this.

  • Aggregating Again

    The little linux box that runs my aggregator of choice has been down for the past week or two due to a physical location switch. The den-datacenter is taking shape but still needs more organization. The good news is that the aggregator/debian desktop and my Ubuntu/Windows desktop are both running via a 2 port KVM at my desk and I’m sorting out the rest of the bunch that will live on the other side of the room.

    I forgot how much I rely on my aggregator to keep me up to speed. Functioning without one required a lot more work checking various sites, and I’m sure that I missed a bunch of goodies that got away. Expect more technical posts soon!

  • Found Playlists: Mix of the Female Pursuasion

    A few years ago I put together a 2 disk mix for a very close friend whom I’ve since lost contact with and feel horrible for doing so. The mix captured several of the female artists (or at the very least female-fronted artists) that I was listening to at the time or already had in my collection. I ripped each CD to MP3 and then put together the mixes using Nero (I think) to burn them back to audio CDs. Looking at the list I can put my fingers on a commercial CD for each of these tracks (I think I was proud of myself for that at the time). Each of my mixes usually has one tragic, awkward flaw, but this is probably one of the best I ever put together.

    Without further adieu, here’s a list of the songs in the mix, with a link to the artist whenever possible:

    Mix of the Female Pursuasion – Disk 1

    1. Madonna – What it Feels Like for a Girl (remix)
    2. Element 101 – Cold Outside
    3. Sarah Harmer – Basement Apt.
    4. Nelly Furtado – San Francisco
    5. Jill Sobule – Big Shoes
    6. Poe – Haunted
    7. Supreme Beings of Leisure – Golddigger
    8. Alanis Morrisette – Perfect
    9. Esthero – Country Livin’ (The World I Know)
    10. Mary Prankster – Blue Skies Over Dundalk
    11. Luscious Jackson – Devotion
    12. Nelly Furtado – Shit on the Radio
    13. Angela Ammons – It Doesn’t Matter
    14. Jill Sobule – Bitter
    15. Element 101 – Telephone
    16. Poe – Walk the Walk
    17. Jewel – Who Will Save Your Soul
    18. Sarah Harmer – Don’t Get Your Back Up
    19. Luscious Jackson – Sexy Hypnotist
    20. Mary Prankster – The World is Full of Bastards
    21. Tori Amos – Rapsberry Swirl
    22. Supreme Beings of Leisure – Never The Same

    Mix of the Female Pursuasion – Disk 2

    1. Sarah Harmer – I Thought I Knew You
    2. Nelly Furtado – Turn Out the Light
    3. Eddie From Ohio – Stupid American
    4. Tori Amos – Addicted
    5. Alanis Morrisette – Head Over Feet
    6. Jill Sobule – Karen by Night
    7. Poe – 5&1/2 Minute Hallway
    8. Esthero – Look at That Girl
    9. Hot Honey Magnet – Everything Changes
    10. Supreme Beings of Leisure – What’s the Deal
    11. Poe – Hey Pretty
    12. Luscious Jackson – Ladyfingers
    13. Jewel – Down so Long
    14. Mary Prankster – Mac & Cheese
    15. Alanis Morrisette – Not the Doctor
    16. Tori Amos – Playboy Mommy
    17. Jill Sobule – Heroes
    18. Element 101 – If Only My Heart Spoke
    19. Esthero – Taste So Sweet
    20. Supreme Beings of Leisure – You’re Always the Sun
    21. Sarah Harmer – Coffee Stain

    Looking back on this mix it doesn’t have a whole lot of depth, but it does a perfect job at capturing some of the CDs in heavy rotation at the time. It was great to revisit some of these websites to discover new releases, little tidbits, or the fact that the band broke up a long time ago.

    I apologize for boring you with a random playlist from the past, but the playlist and what it represents mean a lot to me.

  • Explosions in London

    Breaking news, there have been several explosions across London this morning. Details are sketchy right now, but so far Scotland Yard has confirmed 6 underground explosions and 1 above ground that tore apart a bus.

    Coverage can be found at Sky News, BBC News, and this Google News roundup.

  • Successful Error

    Successful Error
    Successful Error

    I know why this error occured (no network connectivity at the time), but regardless it’s an amusing error. It’s definitely better than seeing LI_ when your machine boots…

  • Moto Linux Smart(ish)phone

    I was poking around the FCC website again this morning and ran across this motorola linux-based smartphone which was approved recently. The beginning of the manual seems to indicate that this particular model does not have Bluetooth, but I’m guessing that there’s another model out there that does, or BT is a feature that had to be cut from this model for whatever reason. This looks a lot like one of the Linux phones announced a year or so ago, though I’m not “with it” enough to remember exactly which one.

    They do have a copy of the GPL (see Appendix 32) in the manual, make use of Gnomovision, and have a bit of a bizzarre “offer to customers:”

    Until September 30, 2006 you may request from Motorola the source code for any
    Portions of this product which are licensed under the GNU General Public license by
    writing to the following address:
    Beijing Design Center, PCS
    Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd.
    No. 2 Dong San Huan Nan. Lu
    Chao Yang District
    Beijing, P.R. China
    100022
    Tel. 010-65642288
    Fax: 010-65642299

    I wonder if they would actually pony up the GPL’d code if you asked. What’s up with that date though? Is that admission of mobile phone shelf life? They do seem to be trying to do things right though. Anyway, just because this is approved doesn’t mean you should expect it on the shelves tomorrow. After looking closer at the external photos it looks like this is indeed one of the models that piqued my interest when it was announced.

  • Hello Sendo

    Yesterday Jim broke the news that Sendo was in administration (from what I gather, it’s sort of like Chapter 11 in the US):

    The affairs, business and assets of Sendo International Ltd, Sendo Holdings Plc, Sendo Telecommunications Limited and Sendo Limited are being managed by the Joint Administrators Simon Appell and Alastair Beveridge. The Joint Administrators act as agents of the companies without personal liability.

    I can only guess that the Sendo X’s delays and lackluster sales have something to do with it. It’s really a shame too, because the Sendo X was an awesome little phone.

    Today news comes that Motorola will be buying up large chunks of Sendo: R&D, intellectual property (read: patents), and some other stuff. Reuters UK, El Reg, The Inq, and so on.

    Motorola hopes that the move will help them push more units in the UK, but that’s going to require more than shiny but vacuous flip-phones.

  • Quake On Mobiles: Details Please!

    There are some 19 stories on Google News about Quake being released for “a new generation of 3D-enabled mobile handsets,” all of which seem to be a regurgitation of a press release.

    Hey, guys, is it too much to ask for a little real content? Some actual information? Like, what are these snazzy new “3D-enabled mobile handsets” that I keep hearing about? I know that there are a lot of “3D-enabled mobile handsets” just hitting or about to hit the market, but which platform is this going to target?

    The closest thing to an answer seems to be at the bottom of the press release:

    The first 3D-enabled mobile phones will hit the market this summer (Northern hemisphere), with Quake Mobile available as an embedded game on the first of these handsets to be released by a Korean manufacturer in July.

    Hmm, okay, so does that mean Quake is going to end up on a bunch of crappy flippy phones that I can safely ignore? I dunno.

    The most information can probably be gleaned by following the litle blurbs at the bottom of the press release. The game is published by Pulse Interactive, who offer more information on their E3 Best In Show page. The game was developed (ported?) by Bear Naked Productions. Quake is released under the GPL and has been ported to many different platforms, some of them mobile, but I haven’t seen a port of Quake to commodity phone hardware.

    I think something like Commander Keen would be more fun on a standard old mobile phone than something like Quake. The thought of playing Quake on a mobile reminds me of how bad I am playing Doom on Nintendo 64. I tend to suck at first person shooters on game consoles after years and years of keyboard+mouse play.

    This whole Quake-in-your-pocket thing may be worth paying attention to. Or not.

  • Nokia Bluetooth Headset (HS-12W)

    Nokia Bluetooth Headset

    I’ve been keeping a keen eye on the FCC website recently looking for approval of the Nokia 6682 (time is running out) as well as the Nokia 770. A few days ago I saw a version of Charlie from Nokia Japan be approved (interesting but not noteworthy since it was the 900/1800/1900 and I don’t see t-mobile picking it up…) Today I stumbled upon an interesting new bluetooth headset that looks almost like an iPod shuffle with stereo headphones.

    I haven’t been quite as rabid about product announcements lately, so I might have missed this one fly by. It looks kinda neat, though how excited I would be about it might depend on its price point.

  • In Defense of the 770

    Nancy Gohring was able to get her hands on a Nokia 770 prototype the other day at a press event in Helsinki. She posted a review on Mobile Pipeline and cross posted a shorter review on Wi-Fi Network News. Every postitive thing she said about the device hinted at the fact that she hated it because it was dog slow. One must remember that the processor behind the 770 is a 220MHz ARM, and that a 220MHz arm just isn’t a 2GHz Pentium 4. Having said that, I’m pretty sure that the final device will be a bit zippier than the one she played with. I’m also pretty sure that the boot time will be resolved on the final device and will be quick enough.

    I also think that a 800×480 high resolution screen in a device that size is quite an accomplishment and shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s not a 15 inch LCD, but it’s also extremely portable. While the operating system won’t officially include VoIP and instant messaging until the Internet Tablet 2006 update, there is a tutorial on porting Gaim to Maemo on the website, and I know of several people working on VoIP, SIP, and other communications programs for the platform. Silky, a secure internet chat client, has already been ported to Maemo, the development environment for devices like the 770. My guess is that there will be a handful of communications programs available for the 770 at launch time.

    While the press junket might be the first time members of the press have been able to play with a Nokia 770, it has been shown (and I believe demoed) at the Linux World Summit in New York and Guadec 6 in Stuttgart.

    In conclusion, I think there’s a ton of potential in this device. While the 770 is never going to be a fullsize notebook in terms of performance, I’m pretty sure that the speed and responsiveness will be better on the final device than the one Nancy was able to play with. There are a lot of people around the world working very hard to make sure that the Nokia 770 and the platform it is built on are as solid and fast as can be. I’m definitely looking forward to purchasing my developer device as soon as it’s available and testing a bunch of apps on the device.

  • Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition

    You can find a copy of Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition on LWN. The work, current to Linux 2.6.10, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. While it’s available for free, if you really dig it, grab a physical copy published by O’Reilly to support the authors and forward-thinking publisher.

    I’m definitely not a hardcore kernel hacker, but it’s great to have this resource available in a form that I can graze on if I wanted to get my feet wet. Thanks so much to Thoron on #maemo for pointing this out.

  • WebCore for Series 60

    Dave Hyatt cites a Nokia Press release stating that they’re going to bring WebCore to Series 60. WebCore is the rendering technology behind Apple’s browser, Safari. WebCore is based on the KHTML rendering engine used in Konqurer in KDE.

    It will be interesting to see if Nokia have based WebCore for Series 60 on GTK+ WebCore, a port of WebCore using GTK+.

    Regardless of how this shakes out, I think it’s a great move by Nokia and a definite win for the open source community.

  • Whoppix: Knoppix for H4x0rs

    Whoppix is a Knoppix-based (which is in turn Debian-based) Live-CD with lots of, um, “penetration testing” tools included. It’s a heavier weight distro with a lot more tools than PHLAK, but what really amazed me was that my Linksys WPC11 worked just fine with Whoppix. I currently use my internal Broadcomm wireless with NDISWrapper, but I’ve been trying off and on to get the PCMCIA card working so that I have options.

    I’m a hardcore Gnome guy as of late, thanks to the wonders of Ubuntu, which does an amazing job of putting a lot of stuff in the “just works” category while getting out of my way. It had been awhile since I had taken a look at KDE, and I’ve got to say that the latest release looks good, though I’m still going to stick with utilitarianism over candy coated widgets.

    I will probably use my experience with Whoppix to motivate me to try the latest kernel to see it I can get my WPC11 working with my HP ze4430us laptop under Ubuntu. Currently my WPC11 is like a magic key that brings my system to a complete halt when I plug it in. I will definitely be keeping a copy of Whoppix in my bag though, as it has tons of great tools that can be very useful when doing penetration testing of in-house stuff.

  • A9 Search Beta Rocks!

    A9 Search Beta

    I may be the last person on the earth to notice this, but the beta of A9 search absolutely rocks. It’s Ajaxy, interactive, and it lets me choose what “stuff” I want to see in the search results. The Wikipedia checkbox is definitely welcome, as is the Feedster addon tab, as those are two places I often search.

    It’s not perfect though (but it’s “beta”), the layout could be a little smarter by default and I would really like the ability to rearrange window (column) location like you can with Google News. All in all though, I like it a lot. I don’t know if it’s enough to break my Google habit though.