2005-11-30

On Kids and Linux

OK, I admit, I'm trying to build a Windows® free household, and use nothing but linux (slackware). Just this morning, before I went to work, my little boy wanted to peep at the PC. On turning it on, and running a game (Childsplay), he promptly pointed at Tux, and said "Wingwin!"

Hehe. Cute.

2005-11-23

In times of need...

Usually, I'm a cynic, especially in this day and age, where everyone is so connected, and yet so apathetic (most of the time) to other peoples plights.

This, however takes me to the thread linked to the title. Good samaritans all (heck, I learned most of my linux from lurking their Unix forum), and willing to lend both arms, both legs, and a neck, should the need be great enough.

This is the second time (that I know of) that they are actively chasing after phishing scams.

OK. Vigilantism isn't exactly high on my "Honorable Deeds" list, but look at it this way... the frontier we all explore that's called the net, is a high-tech non-space where "new" is the norm, and trust is the currency we all barter with. Unfortunately, the ne'er-do-well's of cyberspace have been taking advantage of that trust since the "Great Commercialization".

And in countering these things, I find what the people who are are giving more than a little time and effort in trying to warn other people, and taking steps to counter these things to be very highly commendable.

2005-11-15

More Reading Ahead!

My quest to relearn programming has just begun in earnest! I was originally trying to relearn C(++), but feel too burnt out to really understand the subject matter once over. So, I decided to check out new horizons (since I haven't done any serious coding for some time, anyway). So, I took a look at Ruby and at python. I must say, I am impressed! These two have an elegant (for me) syntax, that's easily understandable. Most definitely a jump in the right direction for me.

As an aside, I'm also studying SQL right now. What for? Well, way back when, SQL was more along the lines of black magic for me. Well, not exactly black magic, but actually more like voodoo... I just couldn't figure the darn thing out. But then again, seeing as I was looking at DB's during the time of DOS (now theres a single user OS, if ever there was one), it just didn't make an impression on me. Now that all will change. So, I got a book, SQL: Visual QuickStart Guide, 2nd Edition, which covers mySql, PostgreSql, Access, Oracle, SQL Server and one or two others (so sue me! I just started reading it the other day). Cost me all of PHP590 (thats what, $11 or so?), considering it's list price is $24 plus shipping!

One last thing to work on... I wonder if my previous school will take me back in? After all, they did -eherrmm- request me to find educational fulfillment at another institution... oh well... one at a time.

2005-11-11

Introspection

After my stint at existential angst yesterday, it seems I'm currently at a crossroads. Then again, I suppose fatherhood does that to a person. But I digress...

Anyway, a wave of depression has been running after me for quite some time already, which caused that outpouring of (admittedly bad) poetry. So, I do what I always do when I want to stop bouncing off of walls.

I go to random pages in my browser history. Which, surprisingly, took me to "Sam, Meet Hand..." It's a short, one line entry in the blog of another FOSS nut (like me).

Now, I don't claim to be a heartless man, nor am I a cheesy marshmallow regarding sentimental matters... but hey, I'm a dad...

A single dad to boot.

It's a big pain seeing your kid sick. Much more painful when he recovers and then relapses. I understand the worry and the fatigue. I understand the incidental problems that creep up alongside the pain. I understand. Which is probably why I keep coming back to that post.

Maybe someday, I'll get to meet that family... and say, "Chesco (that's the name of my son), meet Sam. No hitting. Have fun." =Þ

2005-11-10

Reflections

In the mirror a reflection...
The reflections is a dream...
The dream is an illusion...
Of Immortality...

Reality going nowhere...
Expectations set too high...
Returns a bitter taste of fate...
A wish to touch the sky...

Drums beat in tribal rythm...
In blood, runs through my hands...
Disappearing in an instant...
Draught of life for sand...

Hear the trumpets blaring...
A herald for your cause...
Follow now the rabbit...
A heart in his fur-lined paws...

Awake in fear from dreaming...
In hate, then learn the truth...
In anger, learn the difference...
In sorrow, learning moot...

No difference in just living...
No point in going on...
No value in understanding...
The call of a sirens song...

Listen to the drumbeats...
Of blood both lost and gained...
Follow now the rabbit...
If what you seek is fame...

Look into the mirror...
Tell me what you see...
Describe to me reflections...
Of Life and Death to be...

2005-11-07

Finally Fixed to My Liking

Finally. After a significant amount of time (having a one year old around really curtails my tweaking time), I finally have my installation to where I'm actually contented. Heres a screenie:

Yes, I know, the matrix theme has been done to death, but like i said, it's now at a state where I can use it without getting too much of an urge to tweak everything. Anyway, the theme is systemx from freshmeat. The transparent terminal in is an eterm stripped of the scrollbar, button bar and borders. WM is fluxbox (from slackware 10.2). Outside of that, I also have qhacc, a piece of personal accounting software that I like, theres also catdoc, for when I don't want to use OO to read MS .docs (especially when I'm busy on CLI). And my favorite system monitor, torsmo.

Now that everything is nice and tidy, time to reinstall... hehehe... I made such a mess (I have no idea how many kernels I have in there) of getting it right, that the whole filesystem is inundated with useless directories, configurations, and lost symllinks. Instead of chasing them down, I'm just going to save my ~/, parts of /etc, my kernel .config, and wash everything down with a nice, old-fashioned nuking.

China + Linux = Yay!

A large spike in MS's marketing scheme? According to the article this blog links to, China is adopting linux on a fairly large scale

According to ’s Ministry of Information Industry (MII), almost 70 percent of all software purchases last year were of Linux-based products. Meanwhile, provincial governments, installed 45,000 desktops with Linux operating systems.

Now I wonder, what the MS reaction to this would be? China sure as heck isn't a tiny slice of market the way they're making Korea out to be.

And on a side note, Korea is also pushing for linux

2005-11-02

Forming a Body Out of Thin Air

Just recently, the volunteers of the Software Freedom Day Philippines celebration met up to discuss what would be (we hope) an organization to truly spread FOSS in the Philippines (true grassroots penetration, we hope). As of this time, the main thrust of the discussion was the long term plans, as well as organizational structure of the group.

The core group that met agreed on (quite possibly) the most important aspect, which was that decisions should be made by general acclamation, and all decisions are to be made by consensus (Democracy, anyone?). After all, the current members became what we are now because of what happened before.

Originally, during the planning stages of SFD Philippines, all decisions were made only after a vote... and so, we decided to carry on that tradition. No benevolent dicators in this one. However, as of this time, the vision and mission is being hammered out, and decisions to be made regarding incorporating the body as a non-profit organization.

During this time, we also agreed that a website for the group would be a Good Thing®, which I have decided to donate. There are already volunteers for content producers and site maintenance. All thats left is the domain name, for which I've asked Software Freedom International as to whether we could use "Software Freedom" as part of our name. After this week ends, and if I get no reply, the question of the name, of course, will have to be raised again.

Anyway, if anybody wishes to volunteer, the title is linked to our current mailing list (which is currently under Google Groups), just give us a shout-out. We need all the help we can get. It's a relatively low volume list, so you won't get lost in the messages.

2005-11-01

More SCO Cruft?

It's really weird how one entity can throw out smokescreens and silliness for years on end trying to prove something that they apparently cant. Note that I said apparently, though. But through all this time, if SCO really DID have a case against Big Blue, shouldn't they have shown it years ago?

You have to give credit to their corporate spin doctors though... They've managed to stall for time over and over again. Although, some things do come to mind as to why they're stalling...


  • They're hoping for a buyout.

  • They're hoping for a settlement.

I say number 1 because, SCO, whose business has been struggling for some time already, would probably prefer to be taken into the fold of another company, rather than throwing in the towel.

I say number 2, on the other hand, because... you can paint your own picture with number 2, cant you?

After all this time, with nothing but smoke and mirrors around, SCO's credibility isn't exactly all there anymore... as a matter of fact:

"Viewed against the backdrop of SCO's plethora of public statements concerning IBM's and others' infringement of SCO's purported copyrights to the Unix software, it is astonishing that SCO has not offered any competent evidence to create a disputed fact regarding whether IBM has infringed SCO's alleged copyrights through IBM's Linux activities."

-District Judge Kimball

With all the moves SCO has done; with no concrete evidence to support any of their claims; after all this time and chicanery (since a buyout doesn't seem likely anymore) number 2 sure looks like what they're aiming for.