Archive | Technology

Dabo rocks!

By Ted Roche on January 8, 2007 in Home Page, LAMP, MySQL, OpenSource, PostgreSQL, Python, Technology

I’ve mentioned it before, but the dabo project rocks! dabo is intended to be a cross-platform (Mac/Linux/Windows/Everywhere) rich-client application (like FoxPro 2.5 before MS bought it) with the rich-client experience (grids, list boxes, checkboxes, pageframes, menus, multiple forms) in the appropriate widget-set for each OS. It supports a slew of backend data sources (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, Oracle, more) and is designed with a similar architecture (UI-BizObjects-Data) to many of the FoxPro frameworks. Best of all, it’s written in Python and available under an Open Source license.

I’ve spent a couple days downloading the source, watching the excellent screencast tutorials, browing the extensive mailing list archives and wiki, running the demos, generating an app with the App Wizard and reading the code. I’ve got an existing LAMP application that would benefit from a rich-client component with reporting capabilities, and dabo looks like a good choice. Hope to blog my progress as I get into it.

Is giving influencers $3k laptops bribery, PR-as-usual, or both?

By Ted Roche on December 29, 2006 in Home Page, Microsoft, Technology

It’s a slow week in the tech world, nestled between Christmas and New Years, with nothing to read but insipid the-year-that-was technical review rehashes and pundits pontificating their predictions. But wait! A newsflash! Microsoft is trying to influence their unpaid champions, by slipping a couple of loaded laptops out there for “review,” no strings attached. Bribery? PR? Same old thing? In Bribing Bloggers, I think Joel nails it with:

This is the most frustrating thing about the practice of giving bloggers free stuff: it pisses in the well, reducing the credibility of all blogs. I’m upset that people trust me less because of the behavior of other bloggers.

eWeek opines “Microsoft’s Laptop Giveaway Rubs Some the Wrong Way” I think Microsoft’s retreat on this is about the worst thing they could do, nearly admitting some wrongdoing.

esr plans World Domination, sophomore edition

By Ted Roche on December 29, 2006 in Home Page, LAMP, OpenSource, Security, Technology

Eric S. Raymond posts World Domination 201, the second part (here’s the first) of the Free/Open Source Software/GNU/Linux cabal’s plan to take over the world. I don’t find this anywhere near as scary as the Halloween Documents. I would like a set of codecs to legitimately play my legitimately owned/viewed Quicktime, MP3, and DVD collections. I think everyone would. It’s disturbing to consider that this might be the only thing hampering Linux acceptance as a desktop, and that the copyright and patent licenses intended to foster free trade and promote the Arts & Sciences are in fact doing the opposite.

Fedora Core 6 OOBE and Print to PDF

By Ted Roche on December 29, 2006 in Home Page, Linux, OpenSource, Technology

I’m switching my laptop machine from Ubuntu 6.06 to Fedora Core 6, at least temporarily. The two are both eminently usable; differences are more with fit and finish and where they hide things than major functionality issues, imo. Mostly, I suspect it will be a matter of learning my way around and Googling the correct magic phrases to find the functionality I need.

Installing printer drivers was a snap, but I’m not Aunt Tilly. I knew the laser at laser.tedroche.com was LPD and the OfficeJet was a JetDirect at hpoj.tedroche.com port 9100. Picking the model and configuration was straight-forward, but they need to work on that first step of searching for printers that will advertise themselves when asked the right question.

I was pleased to see that SciTE was in the default repositories and installed with ease. However, saving to PDF required a Google to point out that the CUPS-PDF driver was easy to install from the overly-simple package manager interface, but you had to know the location of /etc/cups/cups-pdf.conf configuration file to keep the driver from dumping each PDF on the desktop.

Microsoft claims patent on feed aggregators?

By Ted Roche on December 22, 2006 in Home Page, Microsoft, Technology

Over at Scripting News: 12/21/2006, Dave Winer blogs, “Today I received a link to a patent granted to Microsoft, where they claim to have invented all this stuff. Presumably they’re eventually going to charge us to use it. This should be denounced by everyone who has contributed anything to the success of RSS.”

I’m no patent expert (and don’t think software patents should exist), but reading through this documentation, it looks like Microsoft is trying to patent the process of accumulating feeds and presenting them in different formats. That’s no invention of theirs! Dave’s Radio UserLand did that (first, as far as I know). Bloglines does it. Planet does it. Yahoo! Reader does it. Google Reader does it. Jeez, just about everyone but Microsoft does it. What is their invention?

Skype worm: click here if you're foolish…

By Ted Roche on December 19, 2006 in Security, Technology

SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green reports “Skype 'worm' whinnies…, (Tue, Dec 19th). It appears that the possible Skype “worm” that we reported on yesterday is actually more of a Trojan Horse…”

One more time: an attachment, whether it shows up in email, IM, Skype, floppy disk, USB tab or in the transporter room, is from an untrusted source until you can confirm what it is, where it comes from, why its here and whether you should click on it. There are no trusted sources. “Click here for something really cool” is not an offer you should be taking up!

It's all about … choice

By Ted Roche on December 17, 2006 in Apple Macintosh OS X, Linux, Microsoft, Technology

LXer points to a page with logos of 352 Linux distributions. So little time, so many possibilities.

Choice is good, and choice is bad. Edubuntu, for example is a distribution designed specifically for young children, with approachable games, education and entertainment. TrixBox is a distribution focused on small- and medium-sized business phone management (PBX).

So how can choice be bad? David Pogue reviews Vista in last Thursday's New York Times. Vista will be available in 5 different versions, and it's not so much about what's added as what's taken away in the lower priced versions. That's not a feature. Pogue goes on to say:

So after five years, how is Windows Vista? Microsoft's
description, which you"ll soon be seeing in millions of dollars' worth
of advertising, is “Clear, Confident, Connected.” But a more truthful
motto would be “Looks, Locks, Lacks.”

So, choice can be bad when it's between evils. A better choice if you're facing Vista? Mac OS X? Stay the course with Win2K or XP? 352 Flavors of Linux?

It's your choice.

Eben Moglen keynote from Plone 2006 conference

By Ted Roche on December 16, 2006 in OpenSource, Technology

On the way back from a client this week, I got to listen to an audiocast of Eben Moglen's keynote speech from the Plone conference. Darned if I can find the link that brought me to the MP3, but there's a video and audio link here. Mr. Moglen is Chief Counsel for the Free Software Foundation among several other notable tasks, and has some remarkable and far-ranging insights into the importance of Free Software. Worth a listen.

Skype announces long-distance plans for 2007

By Ted Roche on December 13, 2006 in Technology

Over at Ars Technica, Ken Fisher writes, “Skype unveils yearly long distance package. Skype's promotional free long distance deal was time-limited from the start. What happens when the two-double-o-seven arrives?”

“Now Skype hopes to turn those users into paying customers, as the
company has now announced its intention to sell long distance packages for a yearly rate.
When the free long distance hangs up on Near Year's Day, Skype will
begin a month-long promotion: $14.95 for one year of long distance. The
promotion will also include 100 minutes of SkypeOut for International
calls and over $50 worth of coupons for purchasing Skype-certified
hardware products. After January 31, the yearly fee will increase to
$29.95.”

Fifteen bucks a year is a deal for long distance, even if it has to route through a computer. Interesting market offer.

I used Skype for 3-way interstate conferencing on a project this year, and we probably racked up 100 hours of voice time this way. At five cents a minute that still adds up to a few dollars. For solo businesses, this could be the way to go. For slightly larger SOHOs, TrixBox might be a bit more scaleable, with a bit more investment up front.

It's Patch Tuesday, again!

By Ted Roche on December 12, 2006 in Microsoft, Security, Technology

The SANS Internet Storm Center publishes Microsoft Black Tuesday – December 2006 overview — looks pretty grim. Seven patches focused on the OS: Internet Explorer, deeply embedded in the Operating System, and still generating monthly flaws, Outlook Express, Microsoft's bundled email client, Windows Media Player, Microsoft's bundled application as well. Other flaws include crss, SNMP, RIS, and one in Visual Studio 2005. All Windows users should review and patch asap.
So, for 2006, MS released 78 patches for Windows and included software, as well as some not included in this count for Office and other tools. That doesn't stack up too well against previous years. The “Trustworthy Computing” memo is getting long in the tooth, and Microsoft should have enough time to review and audit its software and remove a lot of these flaws. Instead, we see “new” versions of their software like Server 2003 still affected by common components with flaws. Hopefully, with the release of Windows Vista and Office 2007, many of the flaws will finally be plugged. But Microsoft's customers have to be growing tired of this.

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