Thursday 27 March 2008 10:51
I recently had an exchange of emails with the developer of a Linux program, in which I happened to mention that I was using a Xandros Linux distribution. Instead of a solution, I received several paragraphs including quotes from Wikipedia informing me that because Xandros had signed a patent deal with Microsoft, it would not be allowed to distribute software released under the GPL v3, and that "this would be a real show stopper for anyone trying to use the eeePC and
Xandros for serious Linux applications." Read more...
Software no trackbacks § ¶
Wednesday 19 March 2008 13:08
Eric Johnson, developer of Chef Recipe Software, writes in his blog that he has dumped payment processor SWREG and switched to PayPal and Google Checkout to take payments for his software. He found that SWREG was trying to sell something unrelated while taking payment for his product. To a customer, it would look as if Eric was selling this other product, which he was understandably unhappy about. Read more...
Software no trackbacks § ¶
Tuesday 18 March 2008 14:40
Once upon a time a group of people woke up one morning and found that their web sites were unavailable. When they went to their web host's home page, that wasn't available either. Email to the host's support address bounced. Attempts to contact the host by phone were unsuccessful. Enquiries on web hosting forums established little more than that many other people were in the same situation. If they had had their own backups, these unlucky people could have opened an account with a new web host and had their sites up and running again in a few hours. But most didn't have backups. Read more...
Web development no trackbacks § ¶
Monday 17 March 2008 16:44
Yesterday was a fine day (which for this part of the world means there were actual sightings of the sun and only occasional fine drizzle) so Olga and I went for a walk in Ennerdale. It's one of the valleys on the western edge of the English Lake District near where we live, and a favorite of mine because cars are not allowed up to the head of the valley so it is quite unspoiled and free of the stink of exhaust fumes. Read more...
Other stuff no trackbacks § ¶
Friday 14 March 2008 11:21
Surveys about web usage habits show that many web users are impatient, and will go somewhere else if a web page doesn't load within a couple of seconds. There are many factors that can affect the speed of a web page - the size of the page itself, the speed of the web server, and the speed of the connection between it and the user. It may not be easy to do much about these things. But there is an easy way to get a 4 times increase in the speed of your web pages. Read more...
Web development no trackbacks § ¶
Thursday 13 March 2008 16:32
I'm typing this while listening to a Bach flute concerto, courtesy of Otto's Baroque internet radio station and a Revo Pico WiFi receiver. I've suddenly become a fan of Internet radio. With over 10,000 stations to listen to from all around the world including more than 300 classical music stations, all at digital quality, the airwaves have nothing to match it. And this Revo receiver will play MP3s direct from a PC (or in my case a network attached storage device) as well. Read more...
Other stuff no trackbacks § ¶
Thursday 06 March 2008 12:02
The internet community is too soft on spammers. These people must cause billions of dollars a year of loss and damage, when you take into account wasted internet resources, time spent clearing up spam attacks, and measures taken to try and block their activities. They have destroyed email as a pleasant and reliable communications medium. They are cyberspace vandals and ought to be caught and punished just like hooligans would be in the physical world. Read more...
Internet no trackbacks § ¶
Tuesday 04 March 2008 16:48
Microsoft lost the plot a long time ago in its quest to prevent piracy of its products. It expects users to jump through hoops and put up with intrusive "genuine Windows" checks to an extent that no other software vendor could get away with, solely because it has no real competition in the OS market. However, I hadn't realized the extent of the absurdity until I had to reactivate a copy of Windows Vista this afternoon. Read more...
Software no trackbacks § ¶
