Recent Posts

801

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux and Windows andLinux

« Last post by urlwolf on March 24, 2008, 09:54 AM »

Actually, these are the .exe in the andlinux dir:

colinux-bridged-net-daemon.exe
colinux-console-fltk.exe
colinux-console-nt.exe
colinux-daemon.exe
colinux-debug-daemon.exe
colinux-net-daemon.exe
colinux-serial-daemon.exe
colinux-slirp-net-daemon.exe

In the task manager, you mostly see cpu activity from:
colinux-net-daemon.exe
colinux-daemon.exe

And the X server of course.

Is that bad news? are all processes in linux running under the colinux-daemon.exe process in windows?

802

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux and Windows andLinux

« Last post by urlwolf on March 24, 2008, 09:02 AM »

Great.
Tinjaw, I copied the exact same paragraph and was going to post it here

One more question is about partitions.
andlinux uses cofs to mount ntfs partitions. it works well.
However, maybe it's even better to create linux partitions and mount them natively. It seems that windows can see an ext2/3 partitions well enough:

http://www.fs-driver.org/faq.html

However, it worries me that maybe ext3 is not that well supported:

If you mount an Ext3 file system as an Ext2 file system and the file system is not cleanly dismounted, (e.g. due to a system crash), you have to run the e2fsck tool. (Linux does it automatically.) Running e2fsck can take several hours on large volumes. You do not benefit from journaling the Ext3 file system, because you have to run e2fsck.

So my question is: should I create a data partition as NTFS and use cofs, or is it better to make it ext3 and force windows to see it with these drivers?

I'm looking for best performance with many small files. WHich is better, ntfs or ext3?

Other options (JFS, XFS) are not that well supported on win (there are drivers but not reliable)

Thanks

803

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux and Windows andLinux

« Last post by urlwolf on March 23, 2008, 08:56 PM »

sorry. the question is: if linux is 'just a process' from windows' perspective, then maybe it can live on one core only. That'd mean that you are wasting your second core (no matter how many linux processes are claiming the CPU) if you develop using andlinux on windows.

This is a theory; it may well be the case that you can use the two cores. I'm just not sure.

804

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux and Windows andLinux

« Last post by urlwolf on March 23, 2008, 04:54 PM »

yep, that's what I thought. No idea why that happens.
Do you know the answer to the 2 core questions?

805

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux and Windows andLinux

« Last post by urlwolf on March 23, 2008, 03:42 PM »

one thing I'd like to know is: am I dooming my linux processes to only one core (have dual core)? I'm sacrificingone gb of memory to windows already. a core... well. it's too much. Fodder? Anyone?

806

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux and Windows andLinux

« Last post by urlwolf on March 23, 2008, 03:39 PM »

Well, I've been running it for a week or so. Intensive use (actually thinking of abandoning windows forever).

It's as starble as a stand-alone version, I'd say.

The only thing that may act funny is the X server (but that's independent of the andlinux install; it's Xming). Xming is under active development, so bugs are expected. I had some problems with swing applications.

I'm removing ~ 100Gb of music to enlarge the andlinux "partition". Will go full-force into it.

tinjaw, you are a dev; you owe it to yourself to try it. The command line experience under windows is plain painful. if you use it at all, you will be relieved under linux (you know that).

In my tests, this linux install (with whatever system calls translations etc) runs ruby code about twice as fast as the native windows interpreter. No kidding.

807

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux and Windows andLinux

« Last post by urlwolf on March 22, 2008, 10:52 PM »

andlinux is a great idea.
I think you could make your entire linux system portable.
Let's see. X server (portable) + linux partition (as .drv file) = mobile heaven.

I haven't tried it, though.

Fodder, you know a lot about low-level stuff.
What's the performance price you pay by having linux installed like this? Is disk access where it suffers most?

Thanks

808

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your preferred File Manager

« Last post by urlwolf on March 22, 2008, 05:58 PM »

ok, here is a left choice pick: vifm

http://vifm.sourceforge.net/


This is by far the fastest way to move around files.
It's linux only...

But the concepts can be easily ported to windows filemanagers.

Basically, The basic vi key bindings are used to move through the files and popup
   windows.

         k is up
         j is down

   h is updir
   l is handle file and is the same as Return.
etc.
same for arrow keys (up goes up in the dir hierarchy, etc)
I'm going to configure  TC with those shortcuts now.

809

General Software Discussion / Re: What’s this "Linux" thing and why should i try it?

« Last post by urlwolf on March 20, 2008, 05:38 AM »

and if you were planning to use linux on a laptop, then you are right fearing drivers hunt!

810

General Software Discussion / Re: What’s this "Linux" thing and why should i try it?

« Last post by urlwolf on March 20, 2008, 05:36 AM »

Ok, with people who *fear* the drivers hunting and spotty hardware support of linux... I really think that andlinux.org is the fastest way to test this OS. This is a linux kernel compiled for windows (!). It runs at almost native speed (that I can see; I don't have stats). It uses the windows drivers, so if your hardware works on windows, you are covered.

It's a fully working linux runing on windows. Not a VM (like VMware).

If you have 2GB HD and can spare 256mb of memory (or more) you have all you need to test linux.

The distro they use is ubuntu.

Often, being spared of the time-waste chasing drivers is the only thing people need to spend time on linux. This is much better than live-CDs (that, after all, are limited in speed by the constant reads of the CD).

811

General Software Discussion / Re: What’s this "Linux" thing and why should i try it?

« Last post by urlwolf on March 15, 2008, 09:10 PM »

I agree re: productivity and messing around with linux.
Mostly drivers/low level stuff.

Although people who cross the threshold (their sysadmin-fu becomes really good) do get more done compared to windows users... a point I have never reached.

If you _Must_ use a linux app (e.g., fish terminal, ksh, package management for some OSS) on windows, the best way to go without  fiddling with drivers is this:

http://www.andlinux.org/index.php

Really cool.

812

General Software Discussion / IE forgets my choice (I want smooth scrolling). How do I make it permanent?

« Last post by urlwolf on March 15, 2008, 04:50 AM »

I don't use IE, but the help system does, and I want smooth scrolling.
IE forgets my choice; I can change it again in IE > tools > advanced, but if I reboot it's gone.
How do I make it permanent?

Thanks

813

GOE 2007 Challenge Downloads / Re: Interruptron - GOE Challenge 2007 Entry

« Last post by urlwolf on March 13, 2008, 08:30 AM »

So, there's at least one user of the interruptron interested enough to make a video of it:

http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=EtTW7Ps9R7c

He says that the interruptron made him 300% more productive (wow!).
This is nice to find.

814

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Add your website to my links directory

« Last post by urlwolf on March 08, 2008, 09:34 AM »

Sri,
Can you configure php link directory so it doesn't require login to submit an article? I.e., you can submit articles by email?

Thanks

815

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Free PHP Script Installation Service

« Last post by urlwolf on March 08, 2008, 09:23 AM »

Great idea.
The problem is that for even the simplest CMS, install pains are just a frist step. If you want to add plugins, configure stuff etc, then you will still be dependent on a tech person (I don't assume you'll support your installs 'for life' ).

Still, great for many people.

816

Developer's Corner / Re: How Do You Like to Approach Database Design?

« Last post by urlwolf on March 02, 2008, 09:17 AM »

Thanks Renegade for your blog post.
I checked the prices (195-595 eur!). That's really expensive, and other than the colorting, I didn't see anything that I couldn't do with fabForce dbdesigner (OSS). Of course this is just a first impression, I may be missing the main features of DeZign. Have you used fabForce? What's different?

817

General Software Discussion / Re: books/blogs on database design?

« Last post by urlwolf on February 29, 2008, 07:06 PM »

Thanks rjbull, that definitely sounds like a good book.

818

General Software Discussion / Re: books/blogs on database design?

« Last post by urlwolf on February 29, 2008, 02:29 PM »

Thanks all.

I have dubois' book, for example.

Well, the skill I'm thinking is clearly database-independent. It's not about all the nifty tricks you can do to improve performance (which may well be db-dependent) but how to design the tables, how they are connected. This is why I think it's similar to designing a hierarchy for objects.

Imagine that you need to add a a feature to a system that is in production already. If the system is well designed, it's a simple matter; maybe add a column to a table. If the system was designed as an afterthought, you may find that you need to alter the entire db schema!

Some problems I can imagine: adding micropayments to this forum. Was it easy? I don't know. But it probably depends on how the database was designed.

That is the kind of book/blog I want to find.

This is kind of a black art.

For those with formal CS backgrounds... Is there any subjects in the standard CS curriculum that cover that? Say database design 101? Or maybe relational systems? Or object-oriented design?

Thanks

819

General Software Discussion / Re: get the text from html

« Last post by urlwolf on February 28, 2008, 04:35 PM »

there are many ways to do this in batch.
(1) regular expression. Not the best way; very prone to error if html is malformed.

(2) Parsing the html with a specialized parser, e.g., perl's HTML:Tree or Ruby's REXML. More accurate, but still a pain for a simple plain text dump.

(3) (recommended) use a text-only browser (e.g., lynx, links). Pipe the whole set of files into say lynx. It has an option to dump text files (I think it was -d). This is the easiest and most robust.

You need to download lynx from: lynx.browser.org/

HTH

820

General Software Discussion / books/blogs on database design?

« Last post by urlwolf on February 28, 2008, 02:34 PM »

You know, you design your database, and once your app has been out for a while, you realize how poor some design choices were... and how painful re-engenieering the db will be.

I'm trying to minimize all this. It looks like database design is a black art (as is designing an OO representation of a domain).

Do you have any good pointers for getting proficient at this in a short time? All books I could find are about all the other technical aspects of DBMS...

Thanks

821

General Software Discussion / the new freeconomy (how to work on a world where free is the norm)

« Last post by urlwolf on February 28, 2008, 02:31 PM »

Just two quick links...

http://www.wired.com...free?currentPage=all
 
http://www.kk.org/th.../better_than_fre.php
"When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied."
 
The point of all these new online communities (facebook, DC ) is that they offer something that cannot be copied: the feeling of connection etc

822

General Software Discussion / Re: Opera Dragonfly

« Last post by urlwolf on February 26, 2008, 04:07 PM »

No idea. Probably it'd be beta at best, like the current safari, for long time after it's fully released on macs.

823

Living Room / Re: Anyone any idea how to make an IP appear to be in another country?

« Last post by urlwolf on February 26, 2008, 12:20 PM »

If you have a friend in the country you want to be 'be' in ip-wise, ask him to give you an account on a machine.

Alternatively, you can use VPN to any network in that country. Your IP would show up from that country as you want.

824

General Software Discussion / Re: Opera Dragonfly

« Last post by urlwolf on February 26, 2008, 12:17 PM »

How about a response to the new Safari engine, webKit, which is supposed to be really fast:

http://blogs.compute...ut_to_get_crazy_fast

Honestly if another company (even apple) can make something faster than opera, I'd switch in a heartbeat. I only use Opera over FF due to its speed (and M2, but I can live without that). Plus that would mean I can stop supporting a company that doesn't listen to its users and that have generated quite a lot of hate in me... and I didn't know software could do that.

825

General Software Discussion / Re: urls: from .txt file to browser tabs. How?

« Last post by urlwolf on February 26, 2008, 07:17 AM »

Actually I ended up using a plugin for firefox not recommended here:
http://www.softpedia...eak/Snap-Links.shtml

But mostly all solutions here would do the trick, thanks.

Using any glue script language (ahk, python, perl, ruby -note alphabetical order not to piss anyone ) was my last resort.