Socceroos

Kubuntu Karmic, KDE 4.4 and Nepomuk

2010-02-11T16:14:00.003+11:00

Wow, long time no see. Haven't blogged in a while.

Firstly, let me just say that I'm so proud of everyone involved with KDE, SC 4.4 is a brilliant release!

Now, down to some nitty-gritty.

I'm using the great karmic-backports PPA to get my fresh copy of KDE 4.4 as I'm sure others are too. One problem I came across was that Nepomuk, Akonadi and Virtuoso didn't seem to be playing nicely and as a result I wasn't able to use these great technologies to their fullest. Basically, I was getting the 'Nepomuk not running' error popping up. This was because Virtuoso was reporting a pre-6.0 DB and refused to deal with it (old virtuoso 5x DB from previous upgrades through karmic-backports PPA). Unfortunately, virtuosoconverter didn't work and reported that it couldn't see a legit Virtuoso installation.

Here's what I did to fix it - NOTE THAT THIS MEANS YOUR INDEX WILL NEED TO BE REBUILT FROM SCRATCH:

#> akonadictl stop
#> qdbus org.kde.NepomukServer /nepomukserver quit
#> kbuildsycoca4 --noincremental
#> rm ~/.kde/share/apps/nepomuk/repository/main/data/virtuosobackend/*
#> nepomukservicestub nepomukstorage
#> akonadictl start

That fixed it for me, hope this helps anyone else with the same issues.

Now I can go back to thoroughly enjoying this great release! I'll be sure to blog more about my experiences in the future.

Can I finally free my company?

2009-04-21T11:16:00.005+10:00

Well, I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I stumbled across possibly the best reason yet to move our entire company over to a fully FOSS solution (remember I'm only the Systems Admin/Programmer here).

The program that has given me so much hope is SeamlessRDP. This little tool allows me to run all our companies Windows-only applications on any Linux machine by streaming the application over the network. This means that the application acts just like another program on the users desktop - but in reality it is being run from a Windows server over the network.

For me, this is huge news.

Recently in a Directors meeting we discussed the pending need to start updating our systems because in 2014 Microsoft will end update support for Windows XP. The Directors didn't like this because we have around 50 computers and laptops and the upgrade costs for our company would be a huge hit on our resources.

Given this situation, I gave them a short presentation on the state of Open Source solutions and what it can offer us. I discussed program compatibility (we use OpenOffice extensively already) and thanks to the discovery of SeamlessRDP, I was able to give a clear solution to the problem of Windows applications that we can't do without (at the moment).

To my utter surprise, they were very receptive of my ideas and said that they would be very willing to move to a full FOSS solution if it could free them from the Microsoft money treadmill. They were also very impressed with KDE 4.2. I use KDE4 at work 24/7 and they were all very impressed with its usability, prettiness and great programs. A number of the staff have asked why they're "not allowed to have it" yet.

So, that's it! The move will need to start happening by 2011 at the latest (in the form of pilot programs), and I will be giving an extended feasibility and risk analysis report to the directors on Free and Open Source software.

If that all goes well, we'll be using free desktops, laptops and servers by 2013. I know that the number 2013 seems far off, but in the business world, and for me (considering the current workload I have) that is really JUST around the corner.

I'm excited. Cautious, but excited.

Netbooks: Missing the bleeding obvious

2009-03-19T10:38:00.004+11:00

I'm seeing quite a few articles about how Linux netbooks are losing more ground to Windows netbooks. Phrases are tossed around like, "not ready for prime time" and "users snub Linux netbooks".

This is starting to get to me. Not because I'm a "Linux nut" but because I think its misleading.

I live in Australia, and I've witnessed first hand how Linux has lost turf to Windows in this market. For me, it stems from two main issues.

Issue number 1: Microsoft woke up.

Yeah thats right. This isn't a conspiracy theory - its plain facts: Microsoft realised the threat and moved quickly to stem the flow.

I saw it go from being Linux netbooks on shelves to being PURELY Windows netbooks on shelves in the space of one week. Honestly, I suddenly couldn't even FIND the Linux netbooks anywhere in the stores that used to ship them. And I'm telling you, it wasn't because people weren't buying them - please realise that these same Linux netbooks actually caused the explosion of sales in the first place.

It comes down to this - Microsoft went into damage control. They pulled up their sleeves and started "offering incentives" for the stores to take the Linux netbooks off the shelves.

Really, I saw it happen - we went from choice to no choice in a matter of days. It wasn't because Linux wasn't offering a compelling solution - it was because Microsoft moved to kill it before it caught on. Think about it, if Microsoft thought that Linux on netbooks wouldn't sell well, then why did they extend the life of the now ancient XP just so they could get a place on them. Surely, if Microsoft didn't think Linux on netbooks was a threat then they would have just waited 'till they'd released a solid Windows 7.

But no, they knew it was a threat. And they killed it. The market didn't choose. Microsoft made their choice easy. Yeah, thats right - they removed the other choice.

Seriously, the average buyer doesn't think too much about it - they walk into the store, look at the product, ask if it can do XYZ (which all these Linux laptops can do) and then buy it. They don't even think that it says "Windows" - heck, the eePC even LOOKED like Windows.

I'm sure some of you are thinking that what I'm saying is a bit far fetched. I'd encourage you to visit the site http://boycottnovell.com/ and read a bit about how Microsoft has been behaving. Please note that they are official documents from court hearings in Microsoft anti-trust cases (ie. ITS REAL). Unless you've read about this, and I mean -properly-, then I would encourage you to NOT post your Microsoft Fanboy Shrill comments.

Issue number 2: Corporate branding killed the Linux star.

I'm sure you've noticed that there isn't just one netbook going around - the market is veritably flooded with them now. The next thing you'll notice is that almost every different netbook is running a different breed of Linux distro.

Now I'm not against choice, but what is happening here is that these companies are so consumed by their desire to "make something unique" and "stand out from the pack" that they've shot themselves in the foot.

Just look at the first generation eeePC's, perhaps even the new ones. They all run an ancient kernel and old software. I'm sure any one of you who has used Linux 5 years ago and who have also used Linux today would agree that we've come SO far that we can hardly recognise ourselves! And here these companies are pushing yesteryear onto us! I just consider that dumb.

One thing that they've failed to realise is that John Smith will want to plug his new camera into his eeePC or Aspire and have it download his photos. I'm telling you now, he'll have a better chance with that if he's using a NEW distro with the LATEST advances rather than his archaic 2.4.x kernel! That goes for all kinds of devices the average user will want to plug in. What were these companies thinking??

Anyway, I should wrap up my rant. I'd like to just stress that THE MAIN REASON for Linux not 'catching on' like we'd have hoped is not because of point 2, but rather, point 1.

It really does come down to how Microsoft has played this. Microsoft didn't allow the consumer to choose. Really, how could they? They knew Linux was a threat, they KNOW its "ready" (however you define that) and they are willing to bend over backwards to keep the average Joe from getting used to it.

Odd, but cool

2009-03-18T10:47:00.002+11:00

An Australian company called Kogan (www.kogan.com.au) is preparing to launch its own netbook into the market.

These devices will come shipped with the Ubuntu based gOS. Its good to see that they're not dictated by Microsoft here.

The thing that caught my eye though, was that they said they had also tested other systems on their laptop and were offering to install them if the user wanted. One of the things they listed was KDE4 - amongst all the other Operating Systems they were mentioning. Odd, but hey - they must think its cool!

KDE4 is mentioned at the bottom of this article: Australia's Cheapest Netbook

The specs of the laptop are actually pretty good. The only thing I would say is that they're using a regular HDD, not SSD.

All things considered, its good to see a company of Kogan's size actively push Open Source (and particlarly, KDE4!) into the public's eye. I would be interested to see how these netbooks perform in the real world.

Reset Hard Drive Size

2009-02-28T13:22:00.004+11:00

I've been helping my good friend through an issue where a newly purchased 150Gb hard drive is only showing 80Gb after using Norton Ghost to copy data from a dying 80Gb hard drive.

Even after formatting the entire drive, it still only showed up as 80Gb - even on other computers.

After doing some searching on the net we realised that the "Ultimate Boot CD" had a utility on it called HDAT2 that could reset the size of the hard drive to its original size.

The first question in HDAT2's online FAQ deals with resetting the size of your hard drive to its default using this utility.

Very useful if you ever get stuck like this!

On a side note, the BIOS on Dell's laptops are crippled! The only thing you can change in them is the boot sequence! Argh.

On Microsoft and Suing

2009-02-27T16:26:00.002+11:00

Over at Ars Technica they've written an article titled "Microsoft suit over FAT patents could open OSS Pandora's Box" (http://lxer.com/module/newswire/ext_link.php?rid=116455).

They love their sensationalism over at Ars, that's for sure. Firstly, I don't believe there is a "Pandora's Box" to begin with. Microsoft would love us to think there was though.

This is all about Microsoft loosing out. They know there is a threat to their profits from Free and Open Source Software, so they try and discourage companies and businesses pursuing it by creating this overwhelming FUD aura around it.

No doubt, if Microsoft win this I see two things happening:

1) them using this win as 'proof' that Linux is dangerous and illegal. And that Microsoft themselves will possibly pursue you if you utilise it.

2) them using this as a testing ground against IBM. These two companies are at a stand-off with their respective patent portfolios and if Microsoft can win in one court against Linux then they can take this and bolster their attack on the big one, IBM. I wouldn't be surprised if IBM was very interested in this case.

Either way, its completely safe to use Linux. Microsoft is coming under increasingly intense scrutiny (especially from the EU) over its use of their market position and business tactics.

Give it 10 years and Microsoft will be another IBM, still big, but not dominant any more.

The frustration is mounting

2009-02-27T09:59:00.007+11:00

Sometimes there is nothing you can do. Sometimes people, no matter how blatant the facts are, are incapable of change. Today is one of those days.

I would consider myself well acquainted with Open Source and knowing what it can and can't do, I have been able to replace some of the proprietary applications that we use with free software. That means no licensing costs, free upgrades and feature parity with proprietary counterparts.

Here's a few issues that are having me retreat to the bathroom to contain myself from bursting out in utter frustration at the stubbornness of the humans around me:

1. Firefox:

We all know that this browser is perfectly capable of holding its own against IE. Not many dispute that. Especially for our company, none of the sites we frequent or need are incompatible in any way with Firefox. And you know what? Firefox is so much quicker at rendering the pages than IE. I'm not just saying that - I manually install the OS on all the machines I manage to squeze the best out of them. ALL of them show, practically, that Firefox is quicker with websites than IE6 or IE7. If Firefox was slower, I wouldn't be using it. I'm not a die hard.

Nevertheless, I have people ringing me up asking for IE to be installed. Or even digging through Program Files so they can add the IE icon back onto the desktop.

Why?

Well, I've asked. I ask all of them. Their answer is simple: "Uhhhh, uhh, dunno. It works better - I think.". So I ask them, "What issues are you having with Firefox?". They answer, "Uhh, none. Dunno, its all fine. Its just I need Microsoft's stuff. It works better.".

At this point I normally either spew all over my desk, or I politely take the time to explain to them why they're wrong, and why I won't help them unless Firefox is actually causing them angst.

2. OpenOffice:

About 56% of our office now uses OpenOffice for all their documents. Unfortunately we don't use ODF for everything yet, but we do use it for many things already (brochures, statistics, letter drops, etc). It works and behaves well.

I understand that OpenOffice doesn't do everthing though, especially when it comes to charts (get your act together guys). So we use Excel for a lot of our charting purposes. Excel makes prettier charts - you can't dispute that. So, if any of our users are having issues when using OpenOffice that can't be resolved because of software limitations then I ditch it for Microsoft Office - for the sake of productivity.

The killer for me today was this: I installed OpenOffice on one of our staff's new laptops (saved him $300 over buying MS Office). I assured him that he could always buy MS Office if OpenOffice wasn't cutting it. He was aprehensive - I think mostly because he didn't want to have to relearn anything. Fair enough. I told him it works practically the same (these guys aren't pro users - they just type - maybe use bold and underline).

Anyway, today he came to me. He had found this amazing solution! He realised that he had a really old laptop at home with an unused copy of MS 2000 on it. Great! Success! Now you can work! Becuase previously you couldn't with OpenOffice! Wait....

I asked him if he was having problems with OpenOffice or whether he was having trouble getting used to it. He proceded to tell me that everything was fine, there were no issues, and that he was doing everything he needed. Then he said this: "Well, I dunno. It just looks different. It isn't blue (the toolbars). Are the fonts different on OpenOffice or something? It just, uh, *looks* different.".

Perhaps this doesn't seem like an issue to you, casual reader. But to me, living through this stuff.......it makes me want to either curl up in a ball and cry all day, or explode into a fireball of righteous indignation and burn the offending Microsoft zombie hordes.

Despite what I wanted to do, I maintained my dignity and told him frankly that if he wasn't really having any issues and it wasn't slowing him down that he should just stick with it.

You know what? Come July 14th, Office 2000 extended support will end. At that point, I won't even let him use it.

Why, oh why? I don't understand why the human brain cannot get past the colour of the tool bars! Its like, "WOOW, my tool bar is a neutral grey! My head is going to explode! Where has the BOLD BUTTON GONE!! AAAAGGGH!!! Oh, wait, its where it always is. This stupid OpenOffice, it doesn't work properly!".

.........angry thoughts.

I will continue to politely help them get their jobs done quickly and effectively - even if that does mean installing MS Office on a couple of computers for the staff members who can't cope with the slightest change.

P.S. For those who would like to rail on me about how MS Office is the only way: This is the only guy to kick up a massive stink about OpenOffice. Everyone else is using it without issues, and have been - for years.

On the road again....to Yamba!

2008-12-26T22:47:00.002+11:00

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After packing up at the caravan park we picked up some rolls for lunch in Nambucca Heads then got back onto the Highway- Sam drove the 3 hours....while I slept :) Today was sweltering! We've had the air con on everywhere we've been.

I couldn't help stopping at the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, even though it seems to get smaller and smaller every time I see it! Sam and I got an ice-cream and joined the queue for our 'standing in front of the big banana' photo.

We stopped off at some electrical/tech places to see if there was anything worth getting at the boxing day sales- but didn't see anything worth getting.

I'm currently typing this post from our studio cabin. Thankfully we have air conditioning as it's still very humid! We've just had tea (I had thai and Sam had......yep you guessed it....a chicken burger!) and we're watching 'The world's fastest Indian' which is about a guy who sets out to break a land speed record- played by Anthony Hopkins. I'm going to keep watching, so I'll finish up now

Until next time!

Delicious Pancakes and Dunked in the Pacific

2008-12-26T22:37:00.001+11:00

I slept in today- then made pancakes with maple syrup for brekkie. It was very hot, so again, we slathered on the sunscreen and headed down to the beach. We went down to the surf beach- there were quite a few people in the water, escaping the heat.

Sam encouraged me to brave the waves......no they weren't very big at all.....and I was going alright until I endured an almighty wave dumping! Sam said he felt my limbs hit him as I tumbled past him. I'm sure it happens to everyone when they go swimming but it kind of put me off for a while. I must have hit my jaw and head and swallowed a fair bit of sea water so I recuperated on the beach while Sam stayed out a bit longer.

We headed back to the caravan park for a bbq lunch which Sam cooked and then back to the beach for another swim. I think today is the first day I've really felt relaxed- it usually takes me a couple of weeks to feel like I'm on holidays. Sam really seemed relaxed today as well.

Overall- a lazy and relaxing day- the way holidays should be!

Early Awakenings for Courageous Cliff Climbers

2008-12-26T22:23:00.003+11:00

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Savahn encouraged us to make an early start this morning and tempted us out of bed with a delicious hot breakfast (Zac got the same treatment when he stayed here!) We were away by 7:30 and I drove about 3 hours to Forster/Tuncurry. Sam who doesn't really do early mornings- slept all the way until we stopped for a break. We propped in a town for some morning tea. I had a delectable piece of macadamia slice and a pot of lady grey tea. The interior of this place was impressive, with plastic walls that had been painted and textured to make it seem like a really old homestead kind of place......I realise when I say “impressive” and then follow it with “plastic walls” that you're probably rolling your eyes...but trust me, it was effective :)

I took a detour from the Highway and followed a tourist road. We ended up at an interesting looking beach. Because we had quite a bit of time we decided to do some exploring.

Sam had climbed up a high spot on the rocks and followed him with some hesitation, as I was wearing thongs and I am pretty much the biggest scaredy cat I know!......I'm even scared of swings!.....So no, I don't think I'll be going on the Giant Drop!

There were some truly spectacular views over the jagged cliffs and onto the rocks below as well as out around the coast on the land.

We got into Forster and had some lunch- but after a message from mum about Carvan parks being closed on Christmas Day we phoned up a place in Nambucca Heads and drove the extra 3 hours that day.

After getting into our cabin, we stocked up on some food for tomorrow and watched carols on TV and the movie- Ever After.

Central coast and the shark encounter..........

2008-12-26T22:22:00.000+11:00

We had the day to play with, as we decided to stay another night with Avrim and his daughter Savahn (Margaret had already left by this stage). After slathering on sunscreen we went into the town and had lunch at Italian restaurant- I had a beautiful homemade lasagne with salad. We then went down to Putty Beach and had a swim. We'd probably been swimming for about an hour when I saw a fin......I was pretty sure that it wasn't a dolphin.......I started wondering if I'd just imagined it but.we got out of there fairly quickly. Some surfers who were just about to head in said that another lady thought she had seen a fin in the water and we were glad we got out when we did!

We had a chicken wrap for tea then headed back to the house that evening. I sat out on the verandah reading a magazine and watching the impending storm. It was very humid and the thunder rumbled, lightening flashed and rain pattered down. It wasn't a heavy storm, but I was glad we weren't still out there swimming!

Savahn and Avrim again kept us entertained with stories of nursing (Savahn- who is Sam's cousin by the way- is doing some kind of practical course in nursing). Avrim is a teacher and seems to know something about everything- I could have listened to him all night- he has a great sense of humour and a lot of life experience.

Stunning Sydney Sights.....pity Sam deleted all the pics.............

2008-12-26T22:20:00.001+11:00

Before I write anything, I'd like to apologize on behalf of Sam......these posts are late......... and as you can probably tell....I've ended up writing them....so sorry if my writing is starting to get a little monotonous!

After checking out of our Penrith cabin, we left the car in a side street- took one last longing look at it in case someone had stolen it by the time we got back, and raced down to the Emu Plains train station. Sam had to sprint over to the nearest ATM at the pub and we just caught our train. It was an hour's journey on a double decker train- we sat up the top level with a dubious group of bikies....but they were harmless enough.

We swapped trains at Central Station and pulled into Circular Quay. It was swarming with tourists- I hardly heard an Aussie accent! Sam's idea of a successful trip would have been to literally step off the train, look at the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge and then get back on the train and go home!.................I would have liked to have gone on a ferry to Manly- but alas.....Sam didn't want to. Lol, it was funny when we got to Central Coast and his aunty said “Now, I'll tell you something you really shouldn't miss is to catch a ferry to Manly and wander around” Hahaha....he at least had the decency to blush :)

It was a fairly hot day- we took our GPS around with us in the city, as we were looking for a pair of sneakers for me. It was harder than we thought, as we didn't really know anything about the city but eventually we found a place and bought some.

Sam rang his rellies in the Central Coast and they kindly offered to have us stay for however long we wanted to. Aunty Margaret flew to Europe the next morning, Sareet was already in Paris, Uncle Avrim was sick and Savahn was working late......so it was fairly frantic, but lovely to meet and catch up with some of Sam's side of the family. (Sorry if anyone who actually knows how these names are spelt are offended........I know how to pronounce them....but not spell them!)

Margaret and Avrim cooked us up a beautiful bbq and we sat around listening to Avrim's traveling stories. Lol, he has a real gift in story telling and kept us entertained with his tales of coming out from Israel as a young guy and camping on people's property, teaching Israelie dancing to groups of randoms, being threatened with a few guns in USA etc....

Aunty Margaret wanted to give us a tour of the Central Coast in the evening, but by the time Avrim had stopped.......we got a night tour :) She took us around the the coast, pointing out her dream houses- if you were a beachy kind of person, it would be the ideal place to live I think.

worshiping with the penrith epc-ers....

2008-12-24T21:25:00.002+11:00

Today was a lovely time of fellowship with the people in the Penrith congregation of the EPC. We were greeted at the door of the church by David Dole (one of the elders) and we worshiped in some kind of a 'communal church'. As in- everyone in the area seems to rent it for their own church services- the EPC had the 1:00 and 6:30 time slots booked.

The singing was a bit different to what we were used to- some of the tempos were different and we struggled to keep up as they set a cracking pace! But the people in the congregation said they really appreciated having some parts sung in church and just generally having people to visit.

We watched a sermon by Pastor Connors on DVD- it was about putting on the belt of truth as part of the armor of God. A really timely reminder to us about being consistent in reading solid Christian literature and valuing the means of grace.

For anyone planning to come through Sydney COME AND VISIT THE PENRITH CONGREGATION!!! They would desperately love to have some visitors- the majority of the congregation is actually young couples at the moment. Some of them are thinking about coming to the Easter Camp in Tassie, so those of you in the Apple Isle may just get to meet them without coming to Sydney just yet!

We were invited to lunch by David and Ella Dole along with Luke and Sarah Robberts. Sam and I got another glimpse into life with babies (they each had one)- full on but beautiful :) ....and no Granny that's NOT a subtle hint! :D

Sunday night Sam and I decided that we really should be trying to get fit and healthy....so some resolving has been done....see how it goes :)

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Cricket, caravan parks and coastlines

2008-12-24T20:56:00.004+11:00

Kiama- This would have to be one of the prettiest spots I have ever laid eyes on! For me it had the perfect balance of spectacular coast line, interesting shops, friendly locals and lots of touristy things to do. We stayed in a 'Big 4' Caravan Park- the weather again looked fairly showery, so we opted for a cabin. It was an impressive caravan park with a huge reception, swimming pool/rock garden area, cafe/kiosk etc...

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For the first time our trusty little GPS failed us....before we ended up at 'The Big 4' we'd been searching for a place...that landed us in a winery car park- lol, someone asked where they could buy one of these types of GPS's :)

While Sam sat and watched the Aussies in the cricket, I drove down the main street of Kiama. I was impressed that they seemed to provide everything you could want/need but still retain the 'quaint small town' feel.

In the morning we packed up and headed back to Gerrengong Markets...after much persuading by me! They were fairly small- we bought some garlic cheese and again got caught up talking to a local photographer! I had some absolutely delicious Chinese dumplings...............Sam had chips and gravy :D

We drove back up the coast to Kiama and visited one of their main tourist attractions- the blow hole. There were two sections to it- firstly you came up to the bit where it blew all of the water into the air, then you walked down to where the waves all gathered in pressure on the other side of the tunnel. Sam scampered around the rocks and got some great shots!

The rest of the journey we meandered up the coast to Penrith- stopping at a little cafe/deli in Gerroa- According to all of the awards on the wall it's got quite a reputation, but we had no idea it was even there when we pulled in! We had a burger each and Sam got an iced chocolate. The cream on it actually tasted citricy- sour almost. Sam mentioned it to the guy who insisted that he'd made the cream that morning.....which he may have done, but it was still off!

We're getting quite good at the retired old couple thing, with our thermos and cup of tea stops! Because the weather was still showery, I wore my awesome pink raincoat that mum and dad bought me in Scottland. Lol, the funny thing is that when I wore it over the top of my blue striped skirt and had my hair all over the one side of my head....I looked distinctly like “Helga the German Skier from the 80's”.....

The couple from Brazil we met in Mallacootta had recommended a little point....that I can't remember the name of. We drove in....realised it was a national park.....paid $10 entry, then got excited when we saw signs for lots of little 'villages'. The thing was that their idea of a 'village' consisted of some naval base housing commission places that all ended in a bunch of dead end roads and and a turning circle. We went on a couple of very short walks where Sam got bored and decided to stir me............things got a little heated :) .....................

The whole thing was rather disappointing! The view from one of the lookouts was spectacular though!

A bob cut (not bob CAT) and a bird cage....

2008-12-18T22:55:00.009+11:00

May I please explain.... Yesterday, after leaving Mallacootta in drizzling rain, we ended up in Bega for our next stop. We visited the Bega cheese factory, but didn't buy any cheese- just nibbled on the free samples :) I seem to remember all sorts of interesting cheeses there from when I visited as a child- chocolate, coffee, fruit flavours- but there were only about 6 basic types.

Despite Sam's reservations about the 'Best Western' Motel chain (credit card details being stolen from past clients) we booked in for the night- we decided it was worth the money just to be somewhere dry!

'The pizza man' provided tea- some of the nicest we've ever tasted. The guy cracked jokes and chattered away the whole time we were waiting....I think Sam was glad to get out of there! The tent needed to be cleaned down and dried off, so we used the old towels to dry it off in the bathroom, then draped it over the chairs in the motel....Sorry, no photos from yesterday!

Today Sam and I were due for haircuts (here's the bob cut reference)....Sam had a trim which was fine, and I thought “Why don't I just get it all chopped?”...So I did....I was envisaging something slightly longer...but oh well, I'm getting used to it! My poor husband on the other hand had these choice quotes 'That looks terrible' and 'You look middle aged'. Thanks. For. The. Support. Darling. :D He'll get used to it too....when it grows!

The drive from Mallacootta to Bateman's Bay was very pretty- lots of rolling green hills and a smattering of tourist towns with eclectic boutiques, emporiums, old lolly shops (the shop not the lollies...) and antique places.

We stopped for a coffee in a little town that I can't remember the name of.....sorry factual people! The place that we had our coffee was a quaint old train carriage that had been turned into a cafe.

I am also the proud owner of a small metal bird cage with a metal bird. Lol, I asked Sam if he'd mind if I got it as he was walking out of the shop- He said “You decide based on your conscience...” Trying to guilt me out of it..... Hahahaha my conscience said “I wholeheartedly support this purchase” Thank-you conscience :)

We are now currently in Bateman's Bay- staying in a cabin at one of the caravan parks. A few minutes ago it was absolutely bucketing down- hail, thunder, lighting- the works. Well, we're going to venture out into the storm to hunt and gather our evening meal.

Tootles!

Sigh...for those interested in the Facts...not just my opinions....here's the map :)

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Evangelism - sort of.

2008-12-18T22:07:00.003+11:00

Evangelism, for Christians, could be described as sharing a great secret with someone - sharing with others the hope that lies within you. Not forcing it down their throat - but, through your words and actions sharing, encouraging and enlightening someone about something you truly believe.

Well, this isn't a story about Christian evangelism, but GNU/Linux. Hahaha, some of my viewers are rolling their eyes already - yeah, you Zac.

I was recharging my laptop batteries in the camp kitchen of the camp site we were staying in. A couple from Peru were there and were interested in how I was getting internet access (I was browsing Slashdot at the time). I then excitedly described how all I had to do was plug in my mobile phone into the computer and that Ubuntu Linux then automatically configured it to work.

They thought that was very cool. I felt cool anyway. =D

A while later (I was still browsing the net) the girl asked me was operating system I was using - she loved the default Ubuntu 8.10 wallpaper. I then explained to her that I was using a free operating system called Ubuntu Linux and that it did everything I needed so well. She was immediately intrigued and asked me what it was. I proceeded to explain in more detail what Ubuntu Linux was (including Ubuntu's meaning) and the main (obvious) benefits that it gives (free, secure, easy, pretty). I also told them that it was very easy to give it a try. She (and her partner) were impressed and asked me where they could get it - I proceeded to give them Ubuntu's website URI.

Then, very interestingly, she asked me why she hadn't heard of it before. I told her that it doesn't have direct advertising and that most of its promotion comes from word-of-mouth. I proceeded to tell her that there was about 10 million current users and that major PC manufacturers were bundling it with their computers in some countries (not Australia yet =( ).

I then encouraged them to give it a go. The lady then asked me if she could check her email on it and I obliged. She didn't find it hard at all to operate, and was impressed with the look and feel (I didn't ask her - she told me). She then proceeded to tell me that she had to get an illegal copy of Windows Vista and that she was having problems with it (viruses and wouldn't run her older software).

Anyway, we talked some more small talk and they wen't to pack up their tent and leave. At this time I had a brain-wave - I don't get many brain-waves during hayfever season. I realised that I had an Ubuntu 8.10 live CD on me. I grabbed it and went outside to find them again - thankfully the guy was taking photos of the seaside at the time right outside the camp kitchen. I gave him the CD and told him that he could boot off it and test Ubuntu Linux without affecting their computer. He was very thankful and asked me if they could have Vista and Ubuntu Linux on the same machine. I then told him that Ubuntu Linux could do this and would actually encourage this as the default option. I also gave him some avenues of help if he got stuck. He was a very happy customer.

Anyway, I guess the thing is that through my public use of my computer people noticed that it was different and asked questions. It was very cool.

It was obvious to me that people haven't heard of Ubuntu Linux - but that many people needed something better than their current operating system. Hopefully Ubuntu Linux can fill that need for them.

Anyway - I thought it was cool. So what, I may be a bit nerdy - but I have a passion for this GNU/Linux based OS.

magnificent coastlines and multi- cultural meetings

2008-12-17T20:23:00.004+11:00

After a disrupted night's sleep (due to Sam's asthma and my stomach aches) Sam and I stumbled out to breakfast with Ma and Grandpa. I know it's only the start of the trip, but Sam and I both reckon seeing my family at the farm was definitely a highlight. They're such relaxed, friendly warm people. We had the royal farewell from Ma, Grandpa. Mal and Merk, and headed off into 'the great unknown'. CD playing, isn't this great.....5 minutes later Sam's eyes are swelling up due to hayfever and it's time for a stop...to get out the tablets.

We passed through lots of rain-forest and bushy patches- we were surprised at how green and lush the countryside was! Sam really seemed to love the VICTORIAN scenery- yes Sam, I shall be quoting you on this :)

Sam and I stopped just outside Lakes Entrance at a lookout and just as we were coming back to the car we saw a guy doing oil paintings out of his van. His face was brown and leathery and he typified 'the Aussie bloke'. As we talked to him, we heard about his troubles selling paintings in Lakes Entrance. As he said 'It's hardly the cultural capital of the world is it...' The actual works of art were amazing- he was obviously talented, but lacked marketing or exposure. So, he had plans to head up to Sydney where he had some 'contacts'. Apparently one of the guys he was going to meet up with used to exhibit his work with Pro Hart....so there you go!

Ok- as I'm writing this, I realise it's mostly going to be about the people that we met, as.....I'm a people person....so for those of you who just want the route we traveled, check out the google maps in previous posts.

The painter recommended a place called Cape Conran. Sam took a fair few photos. Here's some of the interesting rock formations

....and some strange human formations too......

This little cove actually reminded us a lot of Tassie- very pretty and peaceful.

After going through some more towns, we ended up in Mallacoota which is where I'm typing this blog post. Lunch consisted of a chicken burger for Sam and a falafel burger for me from a little cafe in the town. We got a powered tent site with a view of the water. Sam wanted the power so that he could hook up the laptop cord. For a while we had the cord stretched out from under the tent to the power point...but soon gave up on that idea as it started raining. It hasn't been the nicest weather- a bit grey and showery....but hey, that's where movie watching in the tent comes in handy!

We've just come back from the camp kitchen- a great set up with everything you could want for free communal use....i may suggest free food in their visitors book for next time.....It was a truly multicultural affair with people from Ireland, England, Sweden, Brazil, Peru and Sydney in there while we sizzled our sausages. There was a really nice couple who had come over from Brazil to do their masters degrees- one in International Business and one in Human Resource Management. They'd been studying in Melbourne and are pretty much doing the same kind of trip as us- heading up the East Coast for 3 or so weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if we run into them again at some point.

Well, the rain is pattering on our tent and it's the kind of sound you could easily be lulled to sleep to....so I may just finish up now and do just that. Oooooh and one more thing- we paid for our tickets to London/Paris in June 2009 this afternoon on the Internet.....so it's finally real and happening! Sam keeps reminding me to live in the moment and enjoy it.....so focusing on this trip and our beautiful sunburned land shall be my priority now :)

Good night!

The journey has begun. =)

2008-12-15T22:47:00.004+11:00

Its the end of the first day of our holiday. We drove a lazy 150 or so kilometers to a little town called Cowwarr. Some of Rachel's rellies live on a farm here – from her dad's side of the family (Stewart).

When leaving Melbourne, we bought me a waterproof raincoat in preparation for wet weather. I've never actually owned a raincoat before, so its really cool to now own a good quality one.

We snapped a few photos with my mobile phone on the way here (camera batteries were dead) but they didn't turn out very well. The most interesting shot we got on the way to Cowwarr was a huge coal powerplant. You kind of need to be there to appreciate the colossal size of the thing.

On getting to Cowwarr we had a great lunch with Rachel's grandparents (Jim and Pat Stewart) – the nicest folks you'll ever come across. We had a good 'ole yarn about various things and some great belly-laughs.

The land here is a lot dryer than in Tassie. Mal and Megan Stewart (who own the farm here) are dairy farmers and own about 400 acres of property (all very flat). They have 300 cows on the property (looking to make that 400 soon). Talking to Mal about it, he said it has to be one cow per acre – any more and you'd be pushing the land. Below are a few choice photos of the farm.

Here's a classic 'Sam Duff' moment: I was diligent in making sure we had packed the camera and the power cords to charge it too – then just today as I went to download some photos onto my laptop for this blog post I realised that I'd forgotten to bring the camera's USB cable...... Never fear, I can still remove the SD card from the camera and stick it into my laptop – but its a pain.

Tomorrow we're going to travel to Mallacoota, a six hour drive. We'll be leaving Cowwarr at about 9:30am and stopping at a few places along the way. Below should be a Google map of the route we'll be taking.

View Larger Map

Hopefully by tomorrow we'll be into the full swing of holiday mode – with some better photos too =)

Holidays! Yay!

2008-12-13T08:10:00.002+11:00

I've arrived in Melbourne after a long night on the boat. The seas were pretty calm and my 'recliner' seat was at the back of the ship so I didn't have any trouble with sleeping. I'm pretty sure I snored loudly – I can usually tell if my throat hurts (like when you scream - lol).

Its overcast and rainy here in Melbourne. The weather isn't very conducive of a jolly holiday attitude. Hopefully it will clear up a bit.

I'm parked outside a cafe near Melbourne's dock waiting for Rachel's plane to arrive before I head off to the airport to pick her up. I'm going to have to trust my TomTom GPS to guide me there – gulp. I'm kind of hoping that it doesn't lose a lock on the satellite during my trek through the city or I'm stuffed.

Aaah, lots of unsecured wireless networks around me. Just like home. It makes it easy to pop online and check your email 'n stuff. I'm kind of hoping that Australia will follow the USA's lead and open up the current TV wireless spectrum for free wireless access in the next few years. Good old Google pushed for that in the USA, I hope they can do the same thing here!

And no, I'm not currently logged into an unsecured wireless network. I'm using my mobile phone plugged into my laptop for Internet access. Its actually really cool, I just plugged in my phone into the laptop with a USB cable and Ubuntu Linux instantly told me that I could use my phone for Internet access – it then proceeded to take me through a very short and intuitive wizard that set it all up for me! I've had no problems with it so far. Very cool. I'm telling you right now – Vista and XP have trouble doing the same thing. Linux 1 – 0 Windows. =D

After I've picked up Rachel we're going to head around to her parents house and 'crash' (David and Robyn Stewart). We're staying there for the weekend and attending Sunday church services at the AFC (Australian Free Church). It will also be handy to get some good music for the trip from the Stewart's resident music guru: James Stewart. I still have yet to hear him actually finish listening to a single song.

Anyway, I'm going to get some more sleep before Rachel's plane arrives.

a call for more hours in a day

2008-12-02T10:23:00.001+11:00

I think we need to lobby mother nature to add more hours into each day.

I haven't posted in a while for various reasons, most of which is because I have been so busy at work.

One of the downsides to being the IT Manager (I call myself that....I'm actually the only IT guy here) of the real estate agency I work for is that I have to do everything - given the general lack of computing skills in this office. That includes anything from desktop publishing to brochure design to telephony solutions to building a website to system administration (and *all* the stuff in between).

Lately, I have been busily designing and implementing a new website - very hectic indeed! Also, I've been busily researching replacement telephony solutions for our aging and costly proprietary one - Asterisk is looking really good! On top of that, managing 6 servers with critical applications (PDC, Intranet, DB's, etc) and over 20 desktops and laptops makes life overly busy - especially when you consider the extra maintenance that dear old Microsoft products require.

Thankfully most of the servers are Unix/Linux (save the PDC) making that side of things very easy and automated - they even SMS me if something goes wrong. =D

But yeah, long story short - I've been very busy the last few months. Unfortunately, this isn't going to let up any time soon. My next big project is to completely re-design the company Intranet. Currently, most of our business data (CRM) is hosted on the other side of Australia - needless to say, we've had huge issues with it. So it is my job to build a real estate specific CRM application that does everthing we need - from property management to contract processing to client management. Its a very large job indeed - especially for one developer to do. I've been given a solid year to work on it - but considering all the other jobs I still need to do, I think its going to practically take longer. BUT - I'm going to enjoy doing it. I love programming. I love solving logical puzzles and creating awesome software.

You know, it would be really cool to create this project in the open (FOSS) and create a server + client-side KDE4 interface to the real estate CRM! It would fill a hole in the FOSS landscape (namely, no real estate specific management tools - openrealty isn't CRM, its just for displaying listings). That would give management another really nice reason to start using Linux on our desktops (althought with KDE4 on Windows.... =P).

Anyway, what about KDE's websites? Well, I've been tinkering and playing with a few ideas - I have a Drupal installation with a nice KDE4 theme running here at work on a research server. But I haven't had time to really get deep into the general clean-up of all the sites. I plan on changing this soon. I have four weeks of holidays just around the corner (15th Dec), and while I will be travelling up the east coast of Australia with my very beautiful wife, I will find some time to get some work done on KDE's websites too. More meetings, more action! =)

Congrats to all the fellows working on KDE 4.2 - I'm suitibly impressed! You're doing a brilliant job - keep up the awesome work!

So, what are we going to do?

2008-10-15T08:59:00.000+11:00

Ok, we've had our first WWW developers meeting. We had a stellar turnout! Plenty 'o people turned up and helped us start defining our direction.

We had a lot of topics to cover, but ended up barely covering the first few. This was due to a larger than expected discussion about certain issues such as the use of a CMS or which demographic the site is meant for.

Further meetings will need to be held to make more of these decisions.

We talked quite a bit about the state of KDE's websites - needless to say, quite a number of them are in a state of bad repair. In our discussions on this we decided that it would be a good idea to consolidate many of the kde.org subdomains into the xBases (techbase and userbase). This especially applies for the websites that do not seem to be in 'good repair'.

We will be compiling a list of the kde.org subdomains, their current state and their maintainers and contacting them regarding this plan. We're not saying that everyone has to shift to the xBases, but we are trying to move a lot more data there. All these subdomains are more a problem than a solution (maintenance wise, n00b user wise). If we can get rid of even half of the ~40 kde.org subdomains and consolidate them into the xBases then it will make our job a whole lot easier.

Also, during our meeting it was pointed out that we need to define what content we want to go on www.kde.org . This was because there were differing opinions as to whether we have 'learning' information or 'community' information on the www.kde.org site landing page. There are very strong arguments for both views, but we will talk about this further in subsequent meetings.

It was also discussed that we need a proper licence policy for all the content that goes on the KDE sites. This is especially applicable to user contributed content. We will be doing this with the help and guidance of the KDE e.V. board.

So, in terms of what were going to do? We're going to start tidying up the kde.org subdomains and moving as much as we can into the xBases, we're also going to get the ball rolling on creating a licence policy for content.

You can view the IRC meeting log here: http://www.valdyas.org/irina/stuff/kde-www/log-20081010.html

We didn't get around to discussing open collaboration services as we ran out of time. But this will be brought up in a future meeting.

Its on! Meeting this Friday!

2008-10-08T12:54:00.000+11:00

Using the nice tools provided by Doodle we have settled on a time for the developers meeting regarding KDE's websites and Open Collaboration.

The meeting will be held in the #kde-www IRC channel.

The time of the meeting is 12:00pm noon (GMT) Friday 10th (this Friday).

Again, we encourage anyone who is interested to attend and give their input into the meeting. There is going to be quite a bit of interesting stuff to talk about! =D

Don't miss it!

KDE Web Developers Meeting

2008-10-07T23:01:00.000+11:00

Things are starting to move. We're slowly but surely drawing up plans to upgrade KDE's online presence.

As people have said, its a huge undertaking. There is many sites to maintain and a huge amount of information to update. Plus, we have grand plans for the furthering of KDE and 'Open Collaboration' as well.

As such, we are getting together to have a meeting on IRC and 'nut out' some of this information into a good strategy for tackling the job that lies ahead of us. We would encourage anyone and everyone who is interested to join in this meeting, even if you just want to listen or add your opinion to the topic.

We have put a schedule for the meeting here: http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/kde.org/Meetings/September08 (ignore that it says september =D)

We also have a draft document on what our general goals are here: http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/kde.org/Planning This document is undergoing changes as we further define our direction.

Also, you can go here to put in your preferred times for the meeting. We will pick the best date in the next few days.

My last blog entry further discusses what we're trying to achieve and some of our further goals. You can view it here.

Again, we would be delighted to have you participate in this meeting and give your feedback/help in this planning stage. The meeting will be held in the #kde-www IRC channel.

Put in your preferred time, and we'll see you there! =D

The Future of KDE's Online Presence?

2008-10-06T13:06:00.000+11:00

There is no doubt that KDE has a vibrant online community. Sites such as kde-look.org prove this. People want to interact, share, help, learn and play.

Given this, it makes sense that KDE4 is pushing to provide for many of these online needs. For example, KDE games are getting the ability to play online against other opponents, you can install and share themes and wallpapers from your desktop and you can interact with people using applications such as kopete.

But can we take this further? What is missing?

Well, what about 'learning'? It doesn't take much to realise that much of kde.org and its sub-websites have fallen into a state of disrepair. Much of the information is out of date or obsolete and some websites haven't been updated in years. Also, the system that these sites were built on (Capacity) is not sustainable, scalable or flexible enough to meet the needs of KDE's community. Currently, it is too hard for someone to keep the content up to date. We need to come up with a solid plan for changing this.

What about 'sharing'? We have kde-look.org. From there we can share photos, themes, applications and all kinds of things. It could do with a face-lift and maybe some nice new user features, but it does a good job.

What about 'helping'? How does KDE and its online community enable us to help people? Well, we can file bug reports, get on IRC and fix people's computer problems, we can post on forums and we can become KDE developers.

And 'playing'? Its great to see what the Dev's are doing with KDE games. But can we take this a bit further? Does anyone want to have an online chess tournament or an online pong tournament? Ok, I'd really love an online pong tournament. =D

It occurs to me that there are a few main things that come out of studying this. Number one is - interaction. Everything said above requires interaction at some level. Interaction is a basic human need - we go crazy without it. So it then makes sense for us to concentrate on making interaction as easy as possible.

Here is an example: what if 'Sally' has a problem with Gwenview and wants 'help'? Where does she go? Well, Sally loves KDE, but she doesn't have the first clue about using an IRC channel or filing bugs - she just likes playing songs, viewing pictures and watching movies. Wouldn't it be great if Sally could instantly go to the 'Community Plasmoid' that is on her desktop and have it automatically show her 'nearby' help? Sally could see that 'John Smith' is a KDE 'Gwenview Support' user and Sally can instantly contact him via her (or his) preffered media (IM, video, VoIP, email) and ask for help on her issue. Things like this would make Sally's life so much easier!

At the moment, getting help is a journey. You have to make your way to the IRC channels or journey to the forums and search for an answer. You can also journey to the mail-list and hope for a reply or search the websites and see if you can glean your answer from there. It would occur to me that we need to bring help, in all its forms, to the user - instead of the user searching for the help.

This brings me to the second thing that I think comes out of studying this - intercommunication. If we really want to harness the power of the online KDE community and bring it to our desktops and deliver a truely awesome experience to our users then there needs to be a 'meshing' of the separate online services that we offer.

For example, 'John' is a graphics designer and has created a KDE online account so he can upload photos to kde-look.org to share with others (he uploads them from within Gwenview). John then decides that he would like to help the artists who are working on the next release of KDE. John is approved for svn access and his online KDE account shows this. He doesn't need to create another user login and password for svn. John also decides that he wants to support users who are using DigiKam, so he changes his online KDE account settings to reflect that he is also now a support member and that he supports DigiKam - John states that his preffered method of contact is Instant Messaging or VoIP and his preffered hours of contact are 9am-9pm (GMT+10) - he does all this from the community plasmoid. Instantly, users 'nearby' and all over the world that are having a problem with DigiKam can see on their 'Community Plasmoid' that John is willing to offer help. Fred, who is having an issue getting DigiKam to do what he wants, can now call John through telepathy/decibel and ask for help with his issue.

The biggest thing to note in the above example that neither John or Fred need to leave their desktops to do all this. Sure, there is a server out there somewhere on the intermawebs that is handling all this stuff, but John doesn't need to go and find it, log into it and move around an archaic request->response website to get what he wants done - he does it all from his Community Plasmoid. Application intercommunication.

People shouldn't need to have 10 different accounts with 10 different services to get the most out of the community. They should be able to have one place for their settings and status (with full control over this information) and have this information used wherever they need it, whether it be SVN, mail-lists, Community Plasmoid, kde-look.org, KDE forums, etc.

The next question is, how do you plan on accomplishing this goal? Well, over at the #kde-www IRC channel we're discussing this. We've got people on board who are willing to help overhaul KDE's websites and bring them up to date - but we always need more people. We have plans to switch to a CMS system to make it easier for everyone to help keep content up to date. Also, we are planning to have an IRC meeting soon to further discuss all these issues and opportunities. Anyone that is interested in any of this is most welcome to attend and give their input! =)

Ok. That was a massive brain dump. I hope you can make sense out of it. Let me know your thoughts on this. (I'm tired, so I apologise for mistakes in advance =D )

Epic Fail. =(

2008-10-01T13:44:00.000+10:00

This morning, my wife informed me that she was taking our laptop to work so she could show ~40 people a slideshow. The slideshow was just images so I gleefully showed her how Gwenview does slideshows. She liked how it looked and worked very much.

Anyway, she was going to use this laptop with an attached projector so she could ensure everyone could see the slideshow. I told her to call me at work if she had any problems. I assumed that KDE/Kubuntu/Linux/Dbus/X/Whatever would make sure it would Just Work™.

Alas, 15 minutes before the presentation she rang me and described how she couldn't browse the external hard drive she was plugging in. Easy, it was an NTFS drive, the logfile on the system needed resetting because it had been un-safely unmounted.

5 minutes later she rang back because when plugging in the projector, it wouldn't show anything - just a 'No Signal' error. I took her through KDE's system settings and we tried configuring it with the 'Display' section. But everything I tried wouldn't work. None of the applications recognised that an external projector/screen had been plugged in. Also, none of the Function Keys worked. So holding down the 'Fn' key and pressing the 'CRT/LCD' key did absolutely nothing.

In the end, she had to try and find another laptop to do the job - something with Ms Windows. Which worked straight away.

I don't know where the blame lies for this, my hunch is Xrandr. Or is it the KDE implementation of it? Also, why didn't my Function keys work? =(

Either way, my wife went to work with an operating system and desktop environment that she expected to do what she wanted without any hassles. It failed her when she needed it most and has damaged her already fragile confidence in open source software. This saddens me a lot - but, it also motivates me. We need to create an experience for the every day user that makes them head into their day brimming with confidence that their 'computer' will do everything they need - no questions asked.

It made me realise, as crappy and bloated as XP's desktop environment was - it worked when you needed it. Still does.

P.S. I'm aware that support by manufacturers for Ms Operating Systems helps this. While its 'unfair', it doesn't change the fact that it just works.

Just how hard is it for a manufacturer to include support for their monitor/projector product in the free desktop environment? What are the barriers?

Hello world

2008-09-24T10:30:00.000+10:00

Hi all, just a short post to say that I'm now blogging.

I plan on using this as a tool to promote pervasive and 'invisible' computing, KDE, and also to document interesting stuff. =)

I'm currently involved with the KDE web development team and we're in the planning stages of making some big changes! Stay tuned (#kde-www for IRC folk).

Socceroos