Books
Blog Entry on the Tuesday 02nd, November, 2004
Just finished reading a very topical book, Interface, Neal Stephenson & Frederick George. Very topical, but cyber-fiction, a good read.
Theres no way William A. Cozzano can lose the upcoming US presidential election ... a shadowy group of backers ... A biochip ... wires him to a computerized polling system. The mood of the electorate is channelled directly into his brain.
I have also just finished Neal Stephenson's book, 'In The Beginning ... Was The Command Line'. Give it to your GNU/Linux fearing friends.
Grub Error 21 - Stage 1.5
Blog Entry on the Thursday 04th, November, 2004
I have put together a script to convert the new style Morphix.iso to to an iso with a floppy boot image. As some BIOS's have problems booting in non emulation mode according to the El Torito specification, use this script to make a floppy image from the /boot directory.
Run the script on your iso and it will now boot using a floppy image hopefully bypassing the problem.
Available in the Morphix cvs repository :-
Feedback welcome - Enjoy. This has taken me a while to get around this problem, but is nice actually solve a problem.
Once more step toward being a GNU/Linux guru.
Heart-Beat
Blog Entry on the Thursday 04th, November, 2004
Following on from the Scans. Heard the heart-beat today. For some reason this was more powerful than black and white images. Can not really explain, I just know that a few simple sounds has changed my life.
Open Source, CD-persistent
Blog Entry on the Thursday 04th, November, 2004
I wrote CD-persistent, which allows you to save setting or store files on your Morphix based LiveCD. My first real Open Source/Free software project.
As I am quite new to this game, so it is really cool to me that someone (Ludovic Grossard) has taken the time to translate this into French. Wow, this Open Source is quite addictive, fancy little old me making a _very_ small splash in the ocean of Open Source. You get reports, sometimes good of people using your scripts/hacks/documentation then other people make changes. Then the cycle begins. From little acorns lots of people can grow trees.
I now feel like I can really employ my Open Source software with pride (GNU/Linux, Debian, Morphix et al) as I have fulfilled the spirit of the GPL license as I too contribute and people contribute on what I have contributed.
Haggling is fun.
Blog Entry on the Sunday 07th, November, 2004
Paid a deposit for a new car for Allyson
I am not much of a car person, but I did test drive it and haggle. Which was quite fun.
Condolences to Alex.
FireFox - Globalisations Unexpected Treasures
Blog Entry on the Tuesday 09th, November, 2004
According to the Guardian editorial open source movement has become one of globalisation's unexpected treasures. The editorial on the FireFox release and is very flattering, also hypes GNU/Linux, OpenOffice.org and Wikipedia. This is mainstream media hyping FireFox, not a piad for advert.
Draft Computer Implemented Inventions Directive, Meeting at DTI on 14th Dec 04
Blog Entry on the Tuesday 09th, November, 2004
To try to help stop software patents, in August/September I wrote to my MP Paul Bustow regarding the patenting of computer-implemented inventions (Draft Computer Implemented Invention Directive).
I did receive a letter from Lord Sainsbury via Paul Burstow in September. I also lobbied Roger Casale MP (Wimbledon) during the European Elections. (He was canvassing on the street out-side the train station) and got a more in depth response from Lord Sainsbury via Roger Casale MP. Both response received late September.
Today I got a letter inviting me to a Meeting: Draft Computer Implemented Inventions Directive at the DTI on the 14th of December. Quoting Lord Sainsbury :-
'I have decided to invite all the correspondents and their MP's who have written to me to a meeting'
The invite was posted togther with a leaflet DTI Patent & Software: Fact and Fiction. Which looks more like fiction than facts.
'Open Source Software will survive - Yes Open Source Software has thived under the current patent system and the Directive won't change this.'Because ? Just trust us ? We know best ?
The half day meeting looks like the Goverment trying to educate the plebians. The agenda includes 'The Goverments Prespective' - Lord Sainsbury and 'Presentation on the Directive' - Peter Hayward - Director of Patents - The UK Patent Office.
I am going to go to this meeting. I will be asking Paul Burstow MP if he will be attending.
Loading up on Media
Blog Entry on the Sunday 14th, November, 2004
I am off to a Traffic Conference next week. As the trains in the UK are run by privatised rail companies, the trip to Manchester on Sunday will take me four hours from central London.
So I thought I would load my Nokia 6600 with some files to listen and watch. I have not converted media to 3gp format since I re-installed Morphix. So time to follow Instructions for Watching Movies on your Mobile Phone.
I'm glad I emailed the author with the note asking him to add a note to his description, to look at ffmpeg/libavcodec/amr.c and follow the instructions in this files to enable amr/3gp support in ffmpeg. Else I would have forgot how to get it working. See an example of Karma, I emailed additons to the instructions, which I am now using.
Movie convert is as per Instructions, audio file convert using these commands:-
mplayer -vo null -ao pcm -af resample=8000,volume=+16db:sc Anything_even_mp3.wavSo I have d/loaded some files directly from the BBC website and also some files via UK Nova - btorrent, I have only d/loaded the files I could have heard for watched on the BBC, moralistically I can live with d/loading these files, as I pay my BBC license fee.
ffmpeg -i audiodump.wav -s qcif -r 12 -ac 1 -ar 8000 -b 30 -ab 12 Anything.3gp
Picked up the new car, awaiting delivery of TomTom gadget. Still thinking of buying a Zaurus SL-3000.
UTMC Conference - Old Trafford
Blog Entry on the Tuesday 16th, November, 2004
Just returned from a good traffic conference, although the symposium in Nottingham did have IMHO better presentations.
The conference was held in Manchester, Old Trafford. More specifically the Old Trafford Stadium home of Manchester United.
I did have a chance to act as the manager, and give a post match interview.
TomTom GO, Work, Software Patents
Blog Entry on the Friday 19th, November, 2004
I have got my TomTom Go unit. No more arguing on car journeys.
It runs on GNU/Linux, some parts are GPLed. I am trying to resist the temptation to hack it, but I would quite like to hack the voices. I have spend the last two hours googling but not even a hint.
Work is mad at the moment, doubt I get go to India in January.
I am booked to go to the Draft Computer Implemented Inventions Directive, Meeting at DTI on 14th Dec 04. Some activity on the ffii.org.uk mailing list. I have sugested a wiki for questions to raise at the meeting.
Yet more on TomTom Go
Blog Entry on the Sunday 21st, November, 2004
Trying not to go about it, but I used the TomTom when we visited Andy and Megan's yesterday, about a 2 hour trip across London - normally generating arguments over map reading.
TomTom Go is really good when you are driving down a country road at night. You can switch to the dark night colours and you can flick a quick glance at the TomTom and you can see the road ahead, even if it is raining.
The GUI is very good, very Mac like, everyone could use it within seconds. The directions are really good, prompting you to get into the correct lane when necessary.
Alas, Andy wants me to learn Java and Swing.
Defend the future!
Blog Entry on the Tuesday 23rd, November, 2004
The Register is reporting an appeal to the EU Council by Linus Torvalds, Michael Widenius and Rasmus Lerdorf (creative forces behind GNU/Linux, MySQL and PHP, respectively)
Later this week, the EU Competitiveness Council will convene and attempt to adopt a "Directive on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions", aka "software patent directive". In the interest of Europe, such a deceptive, dangerous and democratically illegitimate proposal must not become the Common Position of the member states. Help
Already a /. story.
Finished emailing my MEPs, Baroness Ludford, Theresa Villiers, Jean Lambert, Mary Honeybell, Robert Evans and even Gerard Batten
Wiki Spam
Blog Entry on the Wednesday 24th, November, 2004
Removed my wiki spam, I have followed some advice and modified my robots.txt to ensure once I remove spam, the history page will not be indexed removing any benifit.
Can you tell a coder from a cannibal ?
Blog Entry on the Wednesday 24th, November, 2004
Louise sent me this link - Killer Quiz. Can you spot a slasher from a slashdotter ?
Google - I have the power
Blog Entry on the Thursday 25th, November, 2004
A quick parse though my webserver logs. A few hits via from Google.
Guess who is No. 1 in google for :-
- ultrasound thumb
- morphix description
- morphix files
- Even ffmeg ubuntu
- Worryingly grub compile
- fsys_reiserfs.c:115: error
- "history of webmaster" (Me guru!)
- Zaurus Sl-3000
- Natually Barwap
- brendan sleight
- .....
BBC Kicks Ass
Blog Entry on the Saturday 27th, November, 2004
Mind, Body & Kick Ass Moves
Dell Latitude - No CD-Rom, No Floppy: Install Morphix
Blog Entry on the Sunday 28th, November, 2004
Ok, an easy task install morphix to a Dell w/out a CD drive, floppy drive or a bootable operating system.
I will put this into the Morphix Wiki when I fully document the steps.
1 - Place HD in another machine then Boot using Morphix.
2 - cfdisk to partition it up. One small /boot a /home and a /
3 - Copy the Morphix CD /boot to /boot
4 - Edit menu.lst remove (fd0) or (cd0) add fromhd=hda2
5 - Reboot using Morphix CD - to Grub menu. Install grub the small hda1
6 - Reboot using Morphix CD, add cheat code tohd=hd2
7 - Place HD in Dell.
8 - Boot poor mans install
9 - Install to root partitionon hda3
10 - On first reboot use xterm failsafe session to tweak fstab so that hda2 is mounted as home. Remove old CD files. Mv home files to hda2. Mount /home
11 - Log out of Xterm session- Enjoy Morpohix Installation
I now have a machine I can surf with while I play with grub compile -> reboot -> grub compile cycle.
Multi-tasking.
Blog Entry on the Tuesday 30th, November, 2004
Take a GNU/Linux, MS Windows (work machine have no choice), an a Apple OS/X laptop. Now thats what I call multi-tasking.
Preparing to interview some more graduates tomorrow. Also looking at a possible opportunity for me.