Joe Monti

To be continued...

2008-12-19T09:57:00.003-05:00

I've upgraded my site to WordPress and moved my old Blogger posts here rather than backfilling the 105 posts to WordPress. The blog here will no longer be updated.

New posts and my new site can be found here.

MAKE: Void Your Warranty T-Shirt

2008-10-30T15:10:00.005-04:00

This is an awesome shirt with a great message:

You can check it out / buy it here.

Avoiding Ruinous Compromises by Richard Stallman

2008-09-26T12:22:00.001-04:00

Great piece by Stallman. Everyday challenges and desires inflict non-free software on our lives. It can't be avoided. Unfortunately, I'm not willing to give up what it takes to be completely free of non-free software, but I do try to make as few compromises as possible. What is even more challenging is the ubiquity of software in our lives beyond the PC, where free software has made minimal inroads. A primary example that is becoming much more relevant today is the mobile phone. Just about everybody has one and none of them can run on completely free software, most of them can't even run any free software, at least on standard wireless carriers in the US. Google's Android OS might be just what the free software doctor ordered, so we'll see where that goes.

read more | digg story

SDK shoot-out: Android vs. iPhone

2008-09-25T13:21:00.001-04:00

Apple and Google differ along familiar lines with their smartphone development kits

read more | digg story

iPhone, the cell network, and the (cr)App Store

2008-09-19T18:24:00.000-04:00

So I finally got an iPhone. It is almost everything I could want in a phone, but there are still some things that on principle I despise. It does make some improvements, but it still falls short in my book.

My ideal phone has a lot to contend with, namely the cell phone industry and network. There are two main things that most go against my principles. First, the cell phone network is tightly guarded and heavily restricted. Because of this, the carriers exhaust their advantage and significantly over-charge for conveniences that is vastly higher than their cost. It is a place where a 10 second clip of a song to set as a ringtone costs as much or more than the full song you can use anywhere. It is also a place where it is as much as 42 times more costly to send data via SMS (max 160 characters) to your neighbor than it is to send the same amount of data to the Hubble Space Telescope. And second, in an age where software is so openly and freely available on PCs, it couldn't be more closed and costly on cell phones. The software libraries are generally very limited, crappy, and expensive (for how crappy they are). It is expensive and difficult for software developers to get their software on phones. And most of the ones I've seen are basically just advertisements packaged as games.

Based on this, I have the following requirements:

I must not be wildly over-charged for conveniences (cheaper or free-if-you-own-the-song ringtones and cheaper or free-if-you-have-a-data-plan sms messages)
I must be able to write and easily install my own software for free (barring hardware costs)
I must be able to download and install software that came from anywhere
I must be able to freely give my source code to anyone who wants it
I must be able to download, modify, and install software from source code that came from anywhere, if the original developer chose to release their source code

These can be achieved by the following:

Carriers and device manufacturers must practice ethical pricing
There must be a freely available SDK and it must be easy and free to load software compiled by it
It must be possible to load software that came from anyone or anywhere, and I am aware of the security implications
There must not be restrictive licensing that restricts how source code is shared
There must be a way to use source code from others and install it on my phone

If you're familiar with the iPhone you'll know that the iPhone has made little headway in this area compared to other phones. What it does have is a freely available SDK . You would think that should open up the door to everything else but Apple/AT&T have been able to plug any holes the SDK may have opened to my other requirements by doing the following:

They imposed a license restriction that does not let anyone share or talk about source code. This is just wrong, for so many reasons, and is probably the thing I despise most about the iPhone since it is what prevents the iPhone from fulfilling my further software related requirements.
All software that is publicly available must go through the (cr)App Store, which brings with it all the restrictions and wims Apple and AT&T impose upon it. See here and here.
There is a way to get software that you haven't written and that didn't come through the (cr)App Store, but it is severly limited and does not allow publicy available software.

Also, Apple has done nothing to fulfil my requirement #1, the wildly over-charging for conveniences (re: ringontes and sms), when it could have done so much. I expect that most of this is because of forces outside of Apple, but they could have made more progress.

Apple did, however, get just about everything else right with the iPhone. It has the right hardware (camera, gps, accelerometer, etc), an amazing interface, and a lot of great software that is reasonably priced and really easy to get. While there is a lot of great software, the above restrictions leaves me with the following wish list of software:

A real SIP phone, and it is ok if I have to be on wifi.
Tethering software

Some may say that I can do all these things I'm talking about, but they require jailbreaking the iPhone. That is a hack, voids the warranty, and isn't available for the iPhone 3G. Hacking is not a solution to these problems, but hacking does tend to motivate vendors to give the people what they want. If that's what it takes, then, well, I know what to do, and you now do too.

(Note: I should mention there is hope for my requirements in Android and HTC Dream, but costs and contracts will prevent me from going there anytime soon. Grrr! Frustrating!)

Where to Simulate Behavior

2008-05-15T16:15:00.023-04:00

In this post I am going to describe how behavior does not have to be simulated on the surface; it can be simulated beneath the surface through the interaction of lower level components to produce the desired behavior.

This is most evident in the real world. The real world is built on top of real things, which are themselves built from smaller things, which are built on even smaller things, and so on, possibly to infinity, but more likely ending with strings. For instance, you are made of organs, which are made of cells, which are made of chemicals, which are made of atoms, and so on. And each of these exhibit a behavior which can be simulated in software if its behavior is sufficiently known and software engineering techniques exist to simulate them. While it may not be the case that behavior at all levels can be perfectly simulated, lets assume for my arguments that some day it can be mastered.

Following the example of simulating you, we could attempt to write software that behaves exactly as you do. But we can also write software that behaves exactly as all your organs do, connect them exactly as they are connected in your body, and we will have created something that collectively behaves exactly as you do. We could also write software that behaves exactly as all the types of cells in your body do. Then we could put these cells together exactly as they are put together in the organs in your body. Then connect these exactly as they are connected in your body, and we will have created something that collectively behaves exactly as you do.

This is quite an interesting revelation for me with important implications on how behavior can be simulated. Instead of attacking a complex problem head on and recreate it in software at the top level, if you know details on how the subsystems work and can sufficiently recreate them in software, you can write software to simulate the behavior of lower level components and then link them as the real lower level components are linked to produce the desired top-level behavior.

This introduces a new problem for designing software when this approach is taken. The problem is how to connect and combine the lower level components. This may be more complex than writing software to simulate the top-level behavior. A prime example is in simulating the human brain. People have very good models of neurons and can create software the behaves very close to the real thing. But the wiring of neurons in the brain is so complex nobody has connected digital neurons in such a way that the human brain is simulated through simulating and connecting digital neurons.

But the brain is not a nearly random mass of neurons. While the brain is nearly completely made of neurons, it has been found that neurons form specific components that perform specific functions that are then combined to form higher-level components and so on. Based on my basic understanding, neurons form cortical columns that perform specific functions such as recognize patterns and make predictions. Then these cortical columns form levels of cortical hierarchy that generalize information information going up the hierarchy and localize information going down the hierarchy. Then these levels of cortical hierarchies form functional systems of the brain such as the vision system, auditory system, etc. And finally these are combined to form what we experience as consciousness. (note that when I have been talking about the brain, I have been focusing on the neocortex, which is the brain of our brain where real intelligence occurs).

Based on this structure of the brain, we can attempt to write software to simulate any of these components of the brain such as the cortical columns or levels of the cortical hierarchy. But again, with the brain, it is so complex and so little is known, this is very hard to do. And even when moving up to higher level components it is exceptionally difficult to be able to put these components together to form what we call the brain.

I am still hanging on to the idea that any behavior at any level can at least some day be simulated sufficiently in software, but this is not the case today. But there is another option for simulating behavior when the complexity at the highest level is beyond the capability for direct simulation. If lower-level components are sufficiently known, they can be simulated and combined to form the top level behavior. But there is a trade off, it can be just as hard, if not harder, to combine simulated components than it is to simulate at a higher level.

The real point I am trying to make is that real-world behavior is driven by a hierarchy of components, each of which exhibits behavior that when sufficiently known can some day be sufficiently simulated in software. When attempting to simulate something like the human brain, there are several layers of the hierarchy that can be simulated, not just the top-level of the brain or specific lower-level components such as neurons. There are several layers above and below the actual neurons that exhibit behavior that might be simulatable in software. And when attempting to solve a complex simulation problem like simulating the brain, don't lock yourself into the obvious paths. Look for and try to understand the hierarchy of components and find the level that make sense for the problem at hand. Some lower-level components might be unnecessary to simulate while some higher-level components might be too complex to simulate. Know that options exist and explore them.

A few final closing questions to clear up some words I've used.

What is behavior?

Behavior is observable information. It can be observed via direct human observation or measured via instrumentation. There may be more going on under the hood of the behavior, but I don't think it matters. If we are trying to simulate the intelligent behavior of the human brain, why should it matter if or how our artificial brain thinks to itself? If for all externally observable and measurable reasons it behaves like a brain, I don't think it matters what happens on the inside if our only goal is to simulate the intelligent behavior of the human brain. However if you are trying to simulate every neuron and every synapse then it does matter how it works on the inside. This could be the case if you are trying to understand the human brain and/or apply knowledge learned from the simulated brain to the actual human brain.

The point is that when only the top-level behavior is of concern, there is no need to simulate, in software, at any lower level unless a higher-level behavior is too complex or there is something to be learned by lower-level behavior. Because once you simulate, in software, at a particular level, the lower levels become irrelevant and do not exist in the simulation.

What does it mean to simulate?

I'm really using the word simulate in two ways. I have mostly used it to describe the process of creating software that is supposed to act like whatever you are trying to make it act like. In this case the software is directly simulating the desired behavior. This may or may not be the top-level behavior. It is just behavior that is being simulated in software.

The other way I use the word simulate is to describe the end simulation, regardless of whether it is being directly driven by software or whether it is being driven by the interaction of lower-level components. I have heard this called an n-order simulation, or when n > 1, emergent behavior.

A Rare Doctor's Proof

2008-04-17T19:46:00.001-04:00

I've been watching a lot of House and Mystery Diagnosis lately and came up with this (weak and not very scientific) proof about doctors.

Doctors are human
Doctors are bound by the capacity of humans
Humans have a limited capacity for memory
Doctors have a limited capacity for memory
Being able to make a diagnosis requires memory
Doctors have a limited capacity for diagnosis
Doctors can only diagnose what they know
Doctors are unlikely to make a diagnosis they have not yet encountered either in a textbook, paper, or clinically
Doctors are less likely to encounter rare problems
The rarer the problem, the rarer the doctor
The rarer the problem, the less likely a correct diagnosis

What does this mean? I guess most importantly, don't get born with, or contract, a rare disease or illness. And if you do, you might have a tough time finding a doctor that won't write you off and tell you there's nothing wrong with you because they can't figure it out.

p.s. I had stubbed this up and sat on it for almost a month, only now to finally polish it up a little (and I mean a little) and post it.

More Publishers Phase Out DRM on Audio Books

2008-03-03T12:20:00.003-05:00

"The trend will allow consumers who download audio books to freely transfer these digital files between devices like their computers, iPods and cellphones — and conceivably share them with others. Dropping copying restrictions could also allow a variety of online retailers to start to sell audio book downloads".

I'm posting this because I made an earlier post about how I started using Audible. I've so far purchased and listened to 10 audio books from Audible since June '07, and have been mostly happy. The only gripe I have with Audible is the DAMN DRM. A big part of reading books is sharing them with friends and family. You can do it with the dead tree versions, but not with Audibles'. It feels like I don't actually own the book, even though I paid for it. When I tell someone I read some book (that I actually listened to in audio form from Audible), I feel bad because I can't lend it to them because of the DAMN DRM. I'm being alienated by Audible, and my friends are being alienated by me. It is also a pain to shuffle around my various audio players and computers. At least they let you download books you purchased from their website as much as you want. Hopefully Audible/Amazon will free their audio books from the grasps of that DAMN DRM.

read more | digg story

Patent reform coalition aims to abolish software patents

2008-02-28T16:07:00.001-05:00

A coalition of patent reform advocacy groups has launched a new project that aims to challenge the legality of software patents.

read more | digg story

Why isn't there an Intellectual Property Property Tax?

2008-02-27T10:27:00.001-05:00

A great article discussing the social impact of intellectual property rights conflicting with social value.

read more | digg story

TeleJamming

2008-01-03T09:55:00.000-05:00

So, I came up with this idea, it's called TeleJamming, which is when you play music with other people when you're not physically with them, from possibly distant locations, using a computer and the internet. I'm not quite sure of the usability and quality we could achieve using today's technology and average internet connection speed, but it could work, at least in theory.

Here I'll outline the initial technology design for enabling TeleJamming. Everything is based in an application that must run on your computer, be connected to the internet, and be able to listen to your instrument. The interface will closely resemble a digital mixer. It will take audio input, both directly from your instrument input and from other players. It will allow you to adjust levels, record, and playback. And it will allow you to listen, in real time, to other players.

There will be one person playing the role of producer, and zero or more persons playing role of player. The producer has control over the mixer, including levels, recording, and playback. The role of producer may be passed to a player, but only one person at a time can be a producer. A player simply plays their instrument.

There will be 3 basic modes of operation; jam mode, record mode, and playback mode. In jam mode, all players will be able to hear each other. This is primarily to synchronize playing, and is not used for recording purposes because it is in a low quality audio format because of bandwidth limitations. In recording mode, each player's computer will record their own audio stream in a high quality audio format and transfer it to the producer after recording is completed. Playback mode is similar to jam mode, but a recording is played back from the producer which is heard by the players.

In jam and playback mode, the SIP prodocol with a high quality audio codec will be used in a way similar to a teleconference bridge. Video could also be used over SIP, but might not be possible because of bandwidth limitations and the importance of the high quality and low latency requirements of the audio channel.

There are also features that could be added to allow multiple players on the same computer or to allow players to record their portion ahead of time and can be used by the producer during live recording.

One major barrier of entry could be that each player must be able to capture their instrument's audio on their computer. This is not always an easy task and usually requires more equipment than people usually have, such as a microphone or a quality recording device.

This is not meant to replace studio recording. The primary use, as I see it, is in jam mode. What I think is great about it is it will let you connect up with old friends who moved away or allow you to collaborate with people you would never be able to play with in person. I think the technology is all there, the only real new part is the use of VoIP to interact in real time with other players.

PC gaming is dying

2007-11-10T10:29:00.000-05:00

It's an unfortunate fact, but PC gaming is dying. While unfortunate, it makes sense. 5 years ago, at least for me, PC gaming was where the serious gaming was at. There were lots of great games and the PC gaming rigs were fun to build and stay up to date on the latest and greatest. It was a great market for PC game makers, PC hardware makers, and most importantly, the gamers. Yeah, the consoles always had some great games, but it always seemed like PC gaming was king.

Two important things are happening: (1) Serious PC gamers are getting older, getting jobs and serious relationships and just don't have the time to spend keeping up with PC gaming and (2) The younger folks, en masse, don't have the dedication or need to keep up a formidable PC gaming rig.

Consoles are easy and cheap. Consoles are easy because they are pre-build, pre-packaged, and the games are not designed to exceed the capability of the system. They're also cheap, for the same reasons why they are easy. And, from an operations standpoint, they're plug-and-play, you open the box, plug it in, and you're gaming. The level of entry is very low.

PC gaming is not so easy and not so cheap. Hardware just keeps getting faster and more expensive and game manufacturers are constantly pushing the envelope and forcing you to upgrade every 6 months if you want to keep up. Using a pre-build system for PC gaming is a joke, so you need the skills and motivation to build and maintain your own system. This makes it really easy to fall behind the trends and not be able to play the latest and greatest games. With PC gaming, the level of entry is pretty high, in both price and needed technical skill.

Even though you still have PC gamers shelling out the cash and time to keep up with the latest PC gaming trends, gaming in general is reaching a wider, less tech-savvy and less hardcore gamer, audience and the consoles are winning out. Now that the console numbers are increasing, the PC game makers are following them and spending their time, effort, and money where the money is, and that's with the consoles. This means fewer games are coming out for the PC, and nearly all the good games are coming out for consoles only.

This isn't so bad. It just means we, as gamers, need to follow the games, and they're heading for the consoles.

Mozilla launches Prism

2007-10-26T08:51:00.001-04:00

Today Mozilla Labs is announcing a new experiment called Prism, a competitor to Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight.This is where the web is going.

read more | digg story

Guitar Rebuild part 2

2007-10-04T17:58:00.000-04:00

So far I've gotten through the sanding and wood prep phase and just about to start eh painting phase. Here is a list of steps I have completed:

Disassemble down to the bare wood body. Here I removed the neck, bridge, and pickguard with pickups and electronics assembly. I wish I had taken a picture of this part, but I didn't, so sorry.
Sand off existing finish down to bare wood with palm sander and by hand where needed. This step I used a combination of 80 and 120 grit sandpaper.
I was then left with a trouble spot on the top of the body near the neck where the heat caused some minor damaged. It seemed as if the veneer had pulled away from the body creating a pocket, or a bubble, about the size of a penny. To fix this I cut a small slit and tried to get thinned out wood glue to fill the gap and clamped it down. This seemed to work well and I just had to use some wood filler to fix a few bad spots.
I then block sanded and hand sanded the body with 120, then 220, grit sandpaper to smooth out the harshness from the palm sanding and get the contours smooth.
Next I used an Elmers solvent-based wood filler to fill the trouble spot I mentioned and some dings, divits, and low spots.
After the wood filler dried I sanded the filled areas with 120 grit sandpaper.
The final sanding was with a 400 grit sandpaper.
After sanding and before painting I applied a sanding sealer to fill the grain and smaller imperfections and, duh, seal the wood. I have applied one coat, sanded, and applied a final coat and am letting that dry until I work on it again.

That is it for now. Next steps are to sand the final sanding sealer coat and start the actual painting process. I'll try and post the details of the exact products I used for the wood filler and sanding sealer.

Here is a picture of the latest state of the guitar.

Bluetooth Dialup over Treo 700p on Verizon

2007-09-01T17:32:00.001-04:00

After a few days of tinkering I finally got bluetooth dialup over my Treo 700p on Verizon setup. What this means is I can use my phone to connect my laptop to the internet, which is actually how I am making this post. This was the one thing I knew wasn't going to be easy or even possible, but really wanted, and now it works. YES!

I was able to set this up with the Ubuntu BluetoothDialup documentation and USBModem software on the Treo. I'm pretty sure everything I did was from those docus. If you are trying to do this and have any questions that aren't described on those docs, post a comment.

Here are a few tips:

Install bluez-gnome and run System -> Preferences -> Bluetooth Preferences to get a fancy Bluetooth symbol in your notification area
You do need the USBModem software, which costs $24.95, because the built-in dial-up-networking (DUN) does not work. I tried it without it, but it wouldn't connect. Once I installed it, it worked.
I did disable the built-in DUN when USBModem asked me to (required soft restart)

New Lenovo Thinkpad T61

2007-09-01T17:11:00.000-04:00

My Lenovo Thinkpad T61 arrived this week after more than a 5 week wait. I ordered it from the Lenovo website on July 19th. I arrived at my door on Aug 28th. The wait sucked, but so far I love the laptop. Here are the specs:

Thinkpad T61
Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHz
2GB RAM
100GB 7200rpm hard drive
15.4" WSXGA+ display (1680x1050)
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)
Integrated Bluetooth

I of course installed Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Faun). There were only a few hickups in the install and setup. First, feisty doesn't have a compatible nvidia driver, which caused the standard live CD to not boot, so I had to use the alternate install CD and install from text mode. Second, I screwed up the partitioning, thinking I was allocating the Ubuntu partition when I was allocating the Vista partition, and it took me a while to realize this so I had to go back with a gparted live cd and re-partition again. Third, and last problem was I had to restore Vista to factory defaults from ThinkVantage because apparently the partitioning screwed it up. I've now got Ubuntu and Vista dual booting perfectly. There were no other issue with drivers or anything. Everything on the laptop is working perfectly. I just have to watch out when I upgrade the kernel and rebuild the nvidia drivers.

What I like most about the laptop is the screen size and resolution. The display is crisp and there is enough room to be productive. And of course, its very fast.

Guitar Rebuild part 1

2007-08-26T21:54:00.000-04:00

So, the thing I lost in the fire that I miss most is my Fender Standard Stratocaster. As you can see below, it is toast. There was significant fire damage on the neck, but the body only sustained heat and surface damage. It wasn't an expensive guitar, but it has a lot of sentimental and personal value, so I decided to rebuild it. Rebuilding it will consist of sanding and refinishing the body, and buying the rest of the parts needed like neck, bridge, pickups, etc. I will try and post info and pictures as I progress through the rebuild process. For now, here is a shot post-fire and pre-rebuild.

Email goes the way of snail mail

2007-07-25T19:52:00.000-04:00

Email seems to be going the way of snail mail. Back in the early days, before high-speed communication like the telephone and the Internet, writing a letter was the preferred way to communicate with friends and family. But as the telephone was introduced, and now the Internet, fewer and fewer individuals sent mail to another individual. Today, mail is primarily used to communicate with institutions like banks and utility companies. When was the last time you actually wrote someone a letter, besides a thank you card? My guess is probably never or a long time ago.

So the primary use case of mail went from "individual sending mail to individual" to "institution sending mail to individual."

This same trend seems to be happening with email. When email was first being used it was primarily a way for individuals to communicate with other individuals. But as more and more companies started using it as their communication mechanism to individuals and as individuals started seeking more useful communication mechanisms, like text messaging and social network sites, email is going the way of mail.

Outside of work I rarely use email to communicate with friends or family. I would say 90% of my incoming personal email is from a business or some sort of automated email system and I send out very few emails.

So, what happened to snail mail and email?

What is the next communication method to follow the path of snail mail and email?

I have some possible answers, but I will leave them up to your imagination.

FSF releases GPLv3

2007-06-29T12:33:00.000-04:00

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today released version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL), the world's most popular free software license.

Read full press release

Audible.com

2007-06-28T12:58:00.000-04:00

I was recently turned on to audio books by a TWiT episode sponsored by Audible.com who offered a free book for signing up. During the work-week I spend about an hour a day driving to work and back. I normally listen to podcasts (like TWiT) to pass the time, but thought there might be other useful ways to make use of my commute. Audible.com seemed to be as useful a way as any, so I decided to give it a try. The TWiTers recommended On Intelligence, by Jeff Hawkins, which was neat because just a few weeks ago I had added that book to my amazon wishlist. So, I decided to give On Intelligence a listen. I have now finished listening to On Intelligence and have just started The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. In this particular post I am just going to comment on my experience with Audible.com. Look out for a review of On Intelligence after I get the "dead tree" (paper) version of the book to go back through some of the more complicated parts.

Audible.com, like many companies distributing copyrighted works, assumes their customers are criminals so they lock their content in DRM. What makes it even worse is it is a format I haven't seen before, ".aa", and I also haven't found any software to free the audio from the grasps of DRM. Also, they have their own Windows-only software that downloads and manages (and imports to iTunes) your audio files. They seem to support many devices so I guess they think they have done everything they can do.

Because of all this DRM and Windows-only software, I have had no luck doing anything other than finding and buying the audio books in Linux. To download the audio and load it to my iPod I needed a vmware install of Windows.

This may seem like a lot of restrictions and a lot of work, which it is, but for me it is tolerable. As far as the restrictions go, I only listen to them on my iPod. As far as a lot of work goes, it is far easier and quicker than going to the store or ordering it online.

I don't really have anything to compare Audible.com to, so there may be far better options, but for me it satisfies some minimal needs. I give them a thumbnail up.

Tivoization in GPLv3

2007-06-21T16:19:00.000-04:00

A while ago I read a thread on the Linux Kernel mailing list where Linus Torvalds and others debated the "tivoization" clause (also considered the DRM clause) in the GPLv3 (I think in section 6). The clause basically states that consumer products containing object code whose source code is covered under the GPLv3 must include all necessary installation information such as authorization keys to be able to modify the GPLv3 source code and run it on the consumer product. The term "tivoization" comes from how Tivo uses GPL code but the hardware restricts modified versions of the software without an authorization key. This is considered DRM. This practice is not exactly limited by GPLv2 and its circumvention is prohibited by the DMCA.

What Linus and others were debating was that they do not agree with the FSF in that tivoization should be restricted by the GPL. They say that we (the free software community) have no right to restrict how hardware manufacturers design their hardware. In their view Tivo is not doing anything wrong. They are using GPLv2 code, but they provide the source for the original and/or modified versions of the GPLv2 code in accordance with GPLv2. Beyond what they do with our software, we cannot control them.

But the tivoization clause is necessary to ensure the freedom and survivability of Free Software. Think if Dell offered Linux (which they do now, but if they didn't), but to keep people from breaking their systems they added a check in the bios for an authorization key in the linux kernel which was not released, thus preventing anyone from running a modified version of the kernel. Now imagine every computer maker that offered Linux did the same thing. How can we exercise our 4 freedoms if the hardware won't let us? Yeah, one isolated instance of locking Free Software with DRM doesn't have much effect on the ability for people in general to exercise our 4 freedoms, but if this tivoization persists what can we do?

The basic idea is that, for me as a developer of Free Software, whether I distribute my code or if I let someone else distribute my code, I want the end user of my software to be able to practically exercise the 4 freedoms of Free Software. If I let Tivo distribute my code and the hardware on which my code is designed to run makes the 4 freedoms pointless (in particular, freedom 1 which permits modifying software to fit the users' needs), that is wrong. Even though Tivo is not directly violating the 4 freedoms, they are not allowing users to practically exercise all 4 freedoms.

Americans Unready to Revolt, Despite Revolting Conditions

2007-06-15T09:56:00.001-04:00

This is a very well written, and in my opinion very accurate, oped piece on the current state of these United States. Everyone needs a little reminder each day why they shouldn't be complacent.

read more | digg story

GPLv3 Alienating Developers? No Way

2007-06-07T13:02:00.000-04:00

I saw an article on /. where the author seemed to have no real clue about Free Software. I just wanted to rebut this uninformed argument.

The author essentially tries to say that developers want software with promiscuous licenses and they don't care about defending themselves against tivoization and patent pacts. Because of this, he says that the current direction of the GPL/FSF is alienating developers by restricting them. Yes, it restricts them from doing things that restrict the Freedom of their software. But these restrictions have no ill-effect on developers who do not wish to restrict their users.

From his point of view, a developer chooses a license for his/her software, or wants the software with which they are working to have a particular license, for purely their own purposes so they can have access to as much source code as possible. That is simply not the point of the GPL. That is the point of open source. The primary purpose of the GPL is to ensure the 4 basic software freedoms for the users of the software under which it is covered.

The two new clauses in GPLv3 about tivoization and patent pacts are restrictions, but the restrictions they impose are to ensure the Freedom of the software. This is no different than not letting someone release GPL-covered software without its corresponding source code. That is a restriction, but it is not one that is debated as handcuffing Free Software developers as the author tries to portray the tivoization and patent pact clauses.

As far as what developers want, they should choose the GPL for their software because they want their software to be Free. They should not choose the GPL for their software if they only care about themselves and don't care about Freedom. It seems like the author only cares about himself and doesn't care about Freedom, so the GPL is not for him. If he thinks developers feel the same as he does, then they shouldn't use the GPL either. But if you care about ensuring the Freedom of your software, then the GPL, version 3 or otherwise, is for you. It is not going to alienate or restrict you if your intentions are for Freedom.

I personally trust the GPL, version 3 or later, with protecting any and all software I write to be Free. By choosing the GPL for your software, particularly if you adopt the "version x or later" clause, you are placing the Freedom of your software in the hands of the FSF. You are most likely not fully aware of all the ideas and implications of the license, but you know that the ultimate goal of the FSF is to ensure Freedom of software, and that goal will be adequately represented in your software.

Court Awards Wrongly Sued Woman Legal Fees From The RIAA

2007-02-07T13:24:00.000-05:00

Slowly, but surely, the courts are figuring out that there are some problems with the RIAA's legal strategy of suing thousands upon thousands of people based solely on an IP address where they think infringing material is available.

read more | digg story

Privately, Hollywood Admits DRM isn't About Piracy

2007-01-16T09:58:00.000-05:00

Hollywood is talking off the record about its real reason for wanting DRM-opportunities to sell you back your rights. In a nutshell: DRM's sole purpose is to maximize revenues by minimizing your rights so that they can sell them back to you.

read more | digg story

Java is FREE (as in Freedom)

2006-11-24T16:05:00.000-05:00

Sun finally announced that they are releasing Java under the GPL! That's right, the language you love to hate is FREE, and not just free as in beer, but free as in Freedom. The Free/Libre Open Source Software community has been pushing this for years now, about a year ago we started getting signs that it might happen, and a few weeks ago it finally did. This is a very good thing for a many reasons. Not only is Sun contributing a massive amount of code to the FLOSS community, which helps everyone, but it is a major testament to the power and value of FLOSS. It also means that GNU/Linux distributions can directly distribute Sun's Java. And most importantly, developers from around the world will be able to contribute to, and improve, the Java environment.

To check out the new OpenJDK project, check out this.

Knowledge should be public good first, private right second

2006-11-03T09:33:00.000-05:00

A new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research looks at the reasons behind intellectual property rights and suggests a new way forward: thinking about knowledge as a public resource first, and a private asset second. Is this idealistic, anti-business pinko blue-skying? The group says no, and we agree.

read more | digg story

New Music, and Why I Don't Want to Buy It

2006-10-02T22:49:00.000-04:00

I'm a big music fan. And while I don't have the most varying range of musical taste, I like to discover and listen to new music. But I have been in a moral dilemma over the current state of new music distribution, and this has been preventing me from purchasing new music. The primary reason; DRM. DRM, as coined by those who created it, stands for Digital Rights Management. DRM, as coined by the FSF and as how I see it, stands for Digital Restrictions Management. Why? It really is both. To the RIAA and (some) artists it is meant to protect the digital rights of their (it's not really the RIAA's, but they would like to believe it is and are doing everything they can to make it their) content. But to the consumer it only restricts what they can do with the music that they pay for and enjoy. In theory, it is supposed to combat piracy; in practice though it only gets in the way of the rights, as protected by fair use, of the consumers using the content.

The real problem is that when I listen to music, I am all over the place. I listen to it at home. I listen to it in my car. And I listen to it at work. And at each place I listen to it on different mediums, which means my music must exist in several forms or on several devices. And DRM doesn't let me do this. My freedoms to use my legally purchased digital music in the way I wish to use it are locked up in DRM. Everything about the music can be restricted by DRM; the number of computers you can have it on concurrently, the types of portable media players that it can run on, and even the number of times you can listen to it and for how long you can listen to it. And just about all legally available digital music contains DRM. There are some unrestricted on-line music stores, but the selection is incredibly limited because of the lack of participation by record companies.

There is the option of actually buying a physical CD. But that is not the way I listen to music and is inconvenient. Also, it is a waste of plastic and energy, and is a pollutant. To some they like the piece of mind that having a physical object gives or they like the liner notes, but to me that is all meaningless. The benefit to a CD though is I, or anyone, can just stick the CD in the computer and rip it to digital form, free of DRM. But DRM is now making its way into CD's, so you now have to watch out for it there too.

So what is the big difference between a CD and digital music? They're both providing the same thing, but one is physically open and one is digitally restrictive. One you can share with your friends and save to your computer, all perfectly legal because of fair use. The other is strictly limited in how it is used, only playable on certain computers or certain portable players, and is illegal to circumvent in order to legally exercise fair use because of the DMCA. It just doesn't make sense to me that the same copyrighted work can be governed so differently.

This whole situation does not make me feel comfortable giving the recording industry my hard earned money. So little of the price of music goes in the pockets of the artists, and anyone who thinks buying their music is supporting the artists directly is gravely mistaken. Yes, some select artists make significant money, but it's all a show. The thought that my money could fund frivolous lawsuits by the RIAA against innocent children, parents, or grandmothers is just not something I want any part in supporting. I just don't want to buy new music.

So to the record companies and RIAA I say, stop making criminals out of your customers, and give us back our fair use rights. What you're doing is driving me and many others away. The only reason why you are around is because creative people need money to make themselves heard, and you have it. You are hurting them, and you are hurting us. With the digital age artists and consumers need you less and less, but you keep butting in and tightening your strangle-hold on the market. People will realize what you're doing is wrong. It will only take time and you will be no more.

This post was partially inspired by the Day Against DRM. DRM is Defective By Design, protect your freedom!

=== Addendum 10/4/06 ===

Interchangeability -- Anti-DRM Ad

Time Warner doesn't really suck that much

2006-09-29T18:18:00.000-04:00

This is a followup to my last post, Time Waner SUCKS!. I guess they don't suck that much. I'm not sure why, but they turned back on many of the ports that were open last week. This is great news, but this whole thing made me realize that they aren't really that reliable. Even though I can continue to run all the stuff I was before, I don't think I really will, considering the availability and throughput.

So talking with Josh we're going to keep berkshirelug.org at loki.ws. I'm going to keep joemonti.org at GoDaddy, with a development version on my home server. And erinandjoeswedding.com is going to live on my home server. Also, my MythTV box is going to be able to be useful again from the outside world. As for mail, I'm going to continue to keep it all forwarded through Gmail, its just easier that way.

Time Warner SUCKS!

2006-09-26T11:10:00.000-04:00

Time Warner really SUCKS! For the past two years they have been great and have let me use my Internet connection as I see fit. But this past weekend they thought it would be nice to block all my incoming ports on my home road runner Internet connection. So now I can no longer host joemonti.org, erinandjoeswedding.com, or berkshirelug.org, all of which have a website, email, and database, on the Internet service that I pay for. Not only that, but my home computers are just sitting there useless. I can't even remotely login or grab a file. And my MythTV box I can no longer control from the road to record that show I forgot about.

It just really sucks and I'm pissed. But what can I do? I'm technically not supposed to run any type of "services" according to their terms of service. It's not like I'm hosting illegal or inappropriate content or spamming. Can I call Time Warner to complain?

For the time being at least I've got all my mail forwarding to my gmail account. I've moved joemonti.org and erinandjoeswedding.com to GoDaddy. And berkshirelug.org is going to move to Josh's server, loki.ws.

What's wrong with Free Beer?

2006-09-11T11:36:00.000-04:00

The crucial issue here is that there is beer to be had! (as it relates to software)

read more | digg story

erinandjoeswedding.com

2006-08-17T22:30:00.000-04:00

Erin and I purchased the domain erinandjoeswedding.com to keep our friends and family updated on all the exciting events leading up to our big day.

What's Next: Tomorrow Land

2006-08-08T15:49:00.001-04:00

An interesting article describing five new technologies that will change the way you do business. That and it mentions the SR4 (a robot whose software I'm responsible for).

read more | digg story

Autopackage...Tux's answer to .msi and .exe installers

2006-08-05T21:38:00.000-04:00

Take a look at the new autopackage installation system... Don't worry about dependencies , sticky RPMs and loads more... It's not a replacement to any "traditional" package managers, but is rather focused on non-system user-level applications.

read more | digg story

I'm a Fonero

2006-07-24T12:25:00.000-04:00

I recently joined FON, the largest WiFi community in the world. FON provides social WiFi routers for $5 (+shipping); all you have to do is keep it plugged into an Internet connection. Or if you already have a compatible router you can become a fonero for free. With this you also get free access to any of the thousands of other FON routers found around the world.

DRM ...

2006-06-30T18:50:00.000-04:00

DRM is Like Paying for Ice: An interesting comparison of DRM to the practice of filling your cup full of ice when buying a fountain soda.

Software Patent Lawsuits Against Open Source Developers

2006-06-30T12:28:00.000-04:00

We've warned you for a decade. Now the monster has finally
arrived: attacks against Open Source developers by patent
holders, big and small.

read more | digg story

SETI Makes Alien Contact?

2006-06-29T10:58:00.000-04:00

According to Dr. Steven Greer, yes, SETI has received multiple exttraterrestrial signals. This news he says, is confirmed by senior employees within the SETI program.

read more | digg story

I'm a little unsure of the validity of this claim, but being a long time SETI proponent I couldn't help but be intrigued by this article.

Proprietary Software and Openness

2006-06-10T01:33:00.000-04:00

Something that has been recently bothering me about most proprietary software is that not only is the source code closed, but they tend to do everything in their power to close everything they can get away with off to the outside world. If you think of software as a house, the only way proprietary software lets you in is through the front door (and most of the time there are locks, key codes, or credit card swiper to let you in); everything else is boarded up.

This doesn't even really have anything to do with software. What I'm really talking about is the ideas ingrained in the corporate world when it comes to technology. They have this focus on opening up their systems just enough to let the end user get the bare minimum done. There is a major neglect in letting independent systems interact with theirs. And while they don't realize it they are crippling their systems. There are just so many software and hardware systems that could be so incredibly more useful if it was open to outside developers.

Cell phones for instance are a prime example. This I see is the most prominent closed market. There is so much capability that is limited by the corporate stranglehold. Everything about their 3rd party software is limited; you can only get software from their subscription service, access to developing software for the devices is expensive and inconceivable to independent developers, and I'm sure what the software has access to, like phone capabilities, is severely limited. Especially with software that is tied to hardware, there is so much more power in the hardware when it is open to independent developers.

Another example, and one that came up today and prompted this post, was the proprietary nature of digital video recorders (DVR). DVRs from Tivo and your cable company are essentially closed to everything but the remote. While DVRs like MythTV are completely open. With MythTV you can control your system from anywhere via the Internet. With Tivo and your cable company's DVR there is no such control. And while I'm sure the hardware for the proprietary DVRs are capable, none allow you to install and run 3rd party software. With MythTV you can run a web browser, instant messenger, and use your DVR just like a normal PC.

Why are all these things so closed? Their excuse may be security, additional revenue from adding their own features, competitiveness, or they may just be too scared. But in a lot of cases it doesn't have to be this way. And the only way they will change their ways is for the user community to rise up and demand it.

If they would just take an idea from the Free Software world we would all be a lot better off. They don't have to open it up completely, but there is a core value here that doesn't require them to release their so called "intellectual property" to the world. They need to try and be a little more open, it's not going to kill them.

The EFF Action Center

2006-05-30T21:38:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to say something about the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and their Action Center. The EFF is a non-profit group working to protect the digital rights of consumers. The government, bullied by the corporate world, is taking advantage of the digital rights of consumers. They do this through fear, misconceptions, and ignorance. And the EFF is a prominent group in the fight for your digital rights.

One of the many ways the EFF works to support your digital rights is the Action Center. The Action Center is a place where "you can contact your representatives on impending legislation that will have a direct effect on your civil liberties online." Contacting your legislators is a one of the more effective ways to have your voice heard and influence your rights as controlled by the government. And the Action Center provides a way to easily track and act on current legislation.

With the Action Center, you are given a list of current action items. If you see something you are interested in, click on it and you will go to a page with a summary of the item and a simple form to contact the appropriate senators/representatives. The EFF gives you a pre-made letter to express your interests or concerns to your representatives, so all you have to do is fill out your contact information. If you create an account, this information will be pre-filled each time you take action and you will also be able to edit the letter you are sending. The letter will be emailed or faxed depending on a few different things. You can also print and mail the letter. The EFF does just about everything for you; all you have to do is click a few buttons to have your voice heard.

Get involved in your government. You may not like them, but they have a lot of control over how you can use and what you can do with your electronics. They are supposed to be serving you, so let them know what you want. If you care about the issues, take a few minutes and check out the EFF Action Center. Alone we don't have much of a voice, but together we can be heard.

You may also want to sign up for the EFFector free email newsletter to keep up to date on the issues and be notified of new action alerts.

eBay-ing my RC Racing stuff Pt.2: Truck

2006-05-20T23:44:00.000-04:00

I've got another eBay auction up for my Team Losi XXX-T. We'll see how this one does.

The eBay auction can be found here.

eBay-ing my RC Racing stuff Pt.1: Charger

2006-05-18T23:35:00.000-04:00

This is the first of maybe 4-5 eBay auctions in an effort to offload my RC car racing gear. I stopped racing almost 2 years ago when I moved to Dalton and never got back into it. I kept thinking I would, but I just don't have the time or extra money to dedicate to the hobby (that and my Friday nights are spoken for now).

This auction is for my Novak Millennium Pro charger, Trinity discharger, and power supply (converted from PC power supply). The power supply has some special meaning, since I'm pretty proud of what I was able to do with it, but I now have no need for it and I think it would help the auction.

I'll keep you appraised as I offer more of my RC collection.

The eBay auction can be found here.

Update: Sun to open-source Java

2006-05-17T10:44:00.000-04:00

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sun Microsystems Inc. at its JavaOne conference today announced that it would open-source Java but added that before it does so, company officials have to be certain the move won't lead to diverging paths in the code.

read more | digg story

Where Software Patents and Free Software Collide

2006-05-12T00:48:00.000-04:00

Like many of you, the idea of software patents makes my stomach churn. Not only that, but the USPTO grants software patents the way a hooker... well, you can see where this is going. It's not that I don't believe in due credit, or want to push my Free Software ideas on everyone, I just think the system is seriously flawed and Free Software is being unnecessarily hurt by it.

There are so many arguments why software patents are bad and don't get along with free software. Here are a few examples:

Software (and ultimately ideas) is not a commodity and cannot be bought or sold, and as such should not be patented. This is a very strict Free Software idea and not widely accepted by the non-believers.
Patentable ideas in software are too abstract and wide reaching, making them unnecessary and too difficult to track and enforce. This is a pretty solid argument. To a programmer, there are only so many ways you can do certain things, and some of these patented ideas restrict some basic operations. It just gets silly.
Software is in such a growth state that restrictive patents would restrict a crucial growth in society. There are many instances where the government has stepped in (in this case it would be out) to protected growth industries, and well, this is one of them.
Free Software is a right, much like free speech, and applying patent law to it is unethical. Wouldn't it suck if someone could patent the chant "hey ho, we won't go!"
And there may be instances where software patents would apply, particularly between businesses, but there is no reason why patented ideas in free software would diminish the value for the patent holder since free software is not profiting from the use of patents. And this counts for business models based on Free Software, since they are not selling the software, they are selling services related to the software. It is as if you were to give out remote control's that had parts governed by patents and selling a manual on how to use it.

In then end I came to one conclusion that I think may warrant further debate: Software patents should not apply to Free Software. Businesses are still protected from each other, which is what really matters. And Free Software is still allowed to grow and prosper. What do you think?

Interesting Support Model for OSS Dev's

2006-05-08T16:25:00.000-04:00

I saw an article on slashdot/eweek about a really neat and innovative way of getting support for free and open source software through the developers themselves. The basic idea is the company, OpenLogic, who provides Enterprise-level support, will pay experts in a particular FOSS project to handle high level support requests. The company is calling this initiative the Expert Community Program. I think this is a very smart way of providing quality support. On the one hand, FOSS support companies are limited in their technical knowledge, and FOSS developers are limited in their ability to directly support enterprise-level users.

The full article can be found here.

This is a Pirate. ... This is Not.

2006-04-29T10:47:00.000-04:00

I found an informative ad from the Consumer Electronic Association. From the Ad: "It's time the content industry learned the difference. ". "Stop this unprecedented government intrusion into your private, noncomertial and legitimate home entertainment practice."

View the Full Ad graphic here.

I'm Engaged!!!! :) :) :)

2006-04-22T00:15:00.000-04:00

As of 3/11/06 @ ~7pm I am officially engaged to marry Erin Bonacquisti. :D This is somewhat old news; we just wanted time to tell people before announcing it on my website/blog. Erin and I are very excited and have a lot of work ahead of us. I don't usually post too much about my personal life here, but I just couldn't let this one get by.

St. Pattys Day / Iron Horse / Big Bad Bollocks

2006-03-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

Another St. Patricks day at the Iron Horse w/ The Big Bad Bollocks. It has become a bit of a tradition, as this was our 4th year seeing the Bollocks at the Iron Horse on St. Pattys day. It was a great time as always; good music, good company, and lots and lots of Guinness. Here are the pics to prove it.

It's Official: "File sharing is not theft. It has never been theft." - BBC

2006-03-01T13:04:00.000-05:00

The BBC has clarified one of its scaremongering 'filsharing = paedophilia' industry shill pieces with a complete 180 reversal and the declaration that filesharing is not theft.

The snowflakes are settling in Hell right now.

read more | digg story

My MythTV Box

2006-02-05T11:56:00.000-05:00

My MythTV box has finally come together. After My Big Bad PC sold I purchased myself a Hauppauge PVR350 (TV Tuner Card, MPEG Encoder/Decoder), Chaintech AV710 (Highly rated sound card w/ 5.1 surround), and an Antec Overture II (PC Case designed for Home Theatre Systems). I ended up using my general purpose server for the task, which has plenty of juice. I followed the Gentoo MythTV HOWTO, which was incredibly helpful. And it would have been an easy upgrade if it wasn't for Gentoo going through a pretty significant GCC upgrade (3.3 to 3.4) and my server install is about 4 years old and some old orphaned libraries were hanging around.

Now that its setup and running I'm really happy with it. Watching live TV, setting up and watching recordings, it's all a breeze. The only complaints I have are (1) changing channels takes a few seconds and (2) when going into mythtv while a recording is in progress you can't just go to watch live tv and pick up the recording from there, you have to go to the recordings menu, but if you are already watching live tv and a scheduled recording begins you don't have to go back through the recordings menu, you can just continue watching.

A really neat thing is you can manage your recordings from a web interface so even if I'm not home, as long as I can get to the internet, I can setup recordings.

For Sale: My Big Bad PC

2006-01-07T14:18:00.000-05:00

Ever since I got my Laptop and I stopped playing WoW my main PC has pretty much been collecting dust. I tried selling it on eBay back in September '05 but to no avail. The eBay PC market is just so flooded it never got any exposure. I am back at it with over $30 in extra selling options (bolding, highlight, gallery, Featured Plus!, etc) that will hopefully make it stick out of the crowd a bit more. It's sickening, but the only real way to get exposure. If you're intersted its a great PC, the listing is here. Happy Bidding!

RIAA Try New Scare Tactics

2006-01-03T14:39:00.000-05:00

Visitors to the site are being shown their own IP address and told that it was "LOGGED" (in all capital letters) -- as if there's something illegal about visiting the website. Rather than worry people, this is mostly just causing people to laugh at the RIAA.

read more | digg story

Major Server Upgrade

2005-12-17T20:25:00.000-05:00

It's about bloody time ... My server has finally been upgraded from the 7-year old 350MHz PII. Its served me well, but it has had better days. I have had this 1.4GHz Athlon box sitting around (my bro's old PC) for a while, and had started setting it up several months ago, but I now finally finished the transition. It was prompted by my old server's hard drive running out of space so I stopped by Best Buy and picked up a new 160GB 7200RPM hard rive ($42.84 after rebates, a great deal). I was just going to add the new HD into the old server, but I thought I might as well just install the new HD into the new(er) box. The upgrade took a while but went without a hitch. Once I had the old OS copied over to the new HD all I had to do was to recompile my kernel with the new server's hardware.

New Writing: Digital Theft

2005-12-03T15:15:00.000-05:00

I was going to make this into a Blog post, but it turned into a bit more. So I made it into a new writing piece; Digital Theft. It's basically about the difference between real-life theft and digital theft. I then get a bit into the root of the problem; the myth of "Intellectual Property."

Site Redesign

2005-12-02T19:27:00.000-05:00

A massive redesign has been released to the world. It's an attempt at a css-based design (and with as little tables as possible) and I'm trying out some things that may or may not work quite right in your browser. But we'll see. Let me know if you have any problems.

In addition to the redesign I've decided to go with an official blogging service [blogger]. This wasn't as painless as it sounds. I've had to streach their system to the limits to get their service to generate the pages I need to fit in my site. But I think I have things working as they should.

I'm still tweaking the site here and there, and working on a banner/logo for myself. So bear with me through this transition, and bring on the feedback.

New To Blogger

2005-08-16T15:37:00.000-04:00

I've decided to try and join the crowd and go with an existing blog site. We'll see how it goes.

OSUG Back On Track

2005-04-15T20:03:00.000-04:00

After an unnecessarily long downtime, I've finally starting to put some time back into OSUG. I decided to go with an existing CMS, PHP-Fusion, to save me a lot of time and headache, and also jump start OSUG. So keep an eye out as I add more content and try to build up a community around this thing.

Un-Mac'n It

2005-04-02T04:33:00.000-05:00

As quickly as it came, it was gone. Over the last few weeks, as reflected in my last post, I have been rethinking my decision to buy a Mac. I have come to the conclusion that it's just not for me. As much as I liked OS X and the Mac Mini, it wasn't Linux and it wasn't really what I wanted in a secondary computer. I wanted to get back into OSS and I wanted a laptop. So last week I put my mini up for auction on eBay. If you want it, you better hurry, it ends tonight.

What will take its place you ask? An IBM Thinkpad T22 (900MHz, 512MB). :-D It's not the best, and it's not super fast, but it does what I need it to. I think its the perfect laptop. Not too slow, but not too new, so I can do what I need to and everything works. It's running Gentoo, and on it I am writing this post. I've pretty much got it all setup, just installing a final few packages.

Mac'n It

2005-03-15T10:23:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I purchased a new creation from the folks at Apple Computers in California. This creation is the Mac Mini, a pint sized computer packing a reasonable punch. I am quite happy with it, but can't help to feel a bit of remorse for just about abandoning the Linux Desktop.

The more I use Mac OS X, the more it feels like what the Linux desktop system will grow to be in about 5 to 10 years. The problem is, how can this happen if people like me are leaving it? Without its developers, Linux is nothing. Not that I'm saying I am an integral part of Linux's success, but people like me, the people that donate their spare time to the Linux and Open Source community, are.

Robots From Outer Space

2005-02-07T08:54:00.000-05:00

This is the one extra-terrestrial entity I would consider fearing (if I feard death by irrational means). Holywood has sensationalized both death bringing robots and planet destroying alieans. However, I would be much more afraid of death bringing, planet destorying robots. If robots actually had the intellegance to take over the world, then the next logical step for them would be to take over the universe. And in all the possible societies out there in the universe, at least a handful could have made the mistake of giving robots the powers to do such things as I'm describing. If aliens did find us, they wouldn't necessarily be here to destroy us. Robots on the other hand, would. Be afraid, very afraid.

A New Interface To Computing

2004-12-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

We need a new way to use our computers. Its just so clunky. The point and click interface of windows is easy, but it isn't very efficient. I can do some things eons faster in a command line than I could in a graphical point and click interface. But for other things it is actually helpful to have a point and click interface. The whole keyboard/mouse idea needs to be thrown out. Ideally I'd like to have a direct link to the brain, but that is some time off, though the are working on it.

Snowboarding

2004-12-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I bought my first snowboard recently. Its a GNU (yeah, I know, thats a great name ;)) board and Burton bindings and boots. Its a pretty good package that the guys at the Garden helped my pick out. Now I can't wait to start using it! :) Come On Winter, any time now.

Brainstorming an Open Source Project

2004-10-29T15:16:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to find an open source project worth spending my time and I'm stuck. I have so many ideas for projects but none that will really achieve my goals. I guess my goals have changed since I started developing open source software. Before it was to get my feet wet and become a better programmer. Now its to contribute something that will make a meaningful improvement to computing.

I have many ideas on how computing can be improved, but the challenge is in adequately defining them in a project that can be accomplished in todays world as many of my ideas are limited by the technology or the people using the technology. Many of them could be considered research projects, and that is something I'd like to do. Who needs a stinking University to do research (for reasons other than money).

I've been reading a lot lately about consciousness of machines, basically being able to mimic the human capability to think, and there is a lot of interesting stuff going on. I have ideas based around adaptable software (what I call seed theory) and also making hardware capable of carrying out the complex operations (parallel computing).

I also want to improve the way we interact with computers. This is through current project ideas like OSUG and Code Connector. And I also have a bunch of other ideas focusing around improving the user experience. This is mostly just thinking outside the realm of the current computer-user interactions and trying to simplify things. When you think about it there are a number of conventions used on the computer desktop of today, and all of them are controlled by Microsoft.

I probably have too many ideas. I definitely have more open source projects going than I can handle and one would argue that I shouldn't be taking on another. But I actually want to hand off GrubConf and LlamaChat. I like to create, I don't like to maintain.

Simplicity in Software

2004-10-22T02:06:00.000-04:00

Why is so much effort put into making software more complex? So much software just keeps getting packed to the brim with features, especially those created by companies who want a catchy feature list. Computers keep getting faster and software keeps getting more complex. No matter how fast your computer is, the software will always be pushing it to its limit. And are we really accomplishing more? I don't think so.

Most people need only 90% of their computers capability; both in hardware and software. Yet people keep wasting money upgrading both. This is because the software vendors keep packing in features and making the old versions incompatible or unsupported. And rather than making the old software better, by fixing bugs or making any number of improvements, they just pile on some more features.

For instance, most people only need 3 basic features in their word processor; record their text, change fonts and text styles, and spell checking. But they keep paying for the 100s of features they will never use. Yeah, the software vendors rationalize this because they get requests from people who ask for the features but it leaves the rest of the people having to pay for it.

Your first reaction may be to create different versions. This would satisfy both the basic majority and advanced minority. And if you made the software modular enough it may be practical. However the advanced version may not be profitable enough for the vendor to spend the extra time and effort once the majority stops paying for the extra features. This also has a lot to do with a specific software company who throws their weight around to get their way (make their money), but I digress.

I feel that software is going the wrong way. I think we need to back up a bit and really focus on making a solid and polished desktop working environment. Not to say that software shouldn't be complex, but it shouldn't be complex on the users side. We need to really start using our computers and not wasting time fumbling around the features upon features. Most people want to use their computers, and not the other way around.

All Moved In

2004-09-10T14:44:00.000-04:00

It wasn't official until my server was moved, which I did last night, but I am all moved in to my new place in Dalton. I've got a few posters to put up and things to put away, but it's more or less setup the way I want it.

Its a big change from living at home with the rents for a year, and pretty much every where else I've lived. But I'm getting used to it, and I like it. We'll see if I can get out of there every once in a while to keep from going stir crazy ;)

Things are quiet there, with the exception of the overly-competitive-for-kids peewee football in the park across the street. And the other tenants in the house I've met (there are 4 apartments in the house) seem nice.

And lucky for me and my networking ways my new cable/internet provider, Time Warner Cable, actually has port 25 and 80 open :) So no more domain forwarding, and I get to keep my mail server (WooHoo!).

Thats about it. If you want my new address, phone number, or IP address (j/k), you know where to find me. Don't be shy about visiting :) And I've also got a spare bedroom.

An Open Source Contributors Compensation

2004-07-30T17:21:00.000-04:00

What does one get in return for contributing to Open Source Software? In general it is fulfilling a personal need; whether it be to learn something, fill a void in the software gap, or the camaraderie you share with your fellow developers. Well, what if thats not enough for Open Source to break out of its shell?

I recently bought a Linksys WRT54G wireless router, mainly because it is running Linux and I have heard reports that it can be relatively easily "hacked." The part that makes it so easy is that Linksys is now required to provide the source code used on the router as the code it used as a base for the router is protected under the GNU GPL. Linksys, however, did not release the source initially. But after some people figured out what was going on, they applied some legal pressure that worked, so Linksys must now provide the source.

How is this related? I'm getting there.

Now that it is so relatively easy to hack the router, there are a number of people who have subsequently released their own hacked versions of the Linksys firmware to add to or change the functionality of the router. Well, then comes along Sveasoft, a software company which initially released firmware in accordance with the GPL. Then they got greedy.

Sveasoft has since closed their forums to the public, which was apparently a great resource for getting information on the router and hacking/upgrading its firmware, and now only provides their firmware to members, which requires a $20/year subscription. This spawned a strong response from the community. Flame wars started. And rouge websites started offering the Sveasoft firmware. And Sveasoft appears to be very cruel and childish about the issue. This is the point at which I came into the scene, and the dust has not quite settled.

Ok, lets get back on track now.

This whole thing got me thinking. Is this the start of a move toward a greater compensated open source model?

If you have been to SourceForge lately, you will notice that projects and users have a pretty prominent donation icon on their pages and listings. I have a few projects up there and have them setup to receive donations (though nobody has yet bitten). I would surely welcome the donations, and I'm sure it would help as a motivator to spend more time on the projects.

It looks like Sveasoft is going about it the wrong way, as there is a big difference between accepting donations and forcing subscriptions. But I do see a place for improved compensation.
I think one day we will start to see a new model emerge. Although I believe that it will not be strictly monetary. There are several other ways to contribute to a project, which can be just as beneficial, though in different ways.

The whole idea is to give something back to the authors. They put a lot of time and effort into releasing their software, and I know that if there were more given back to them it would both help developers continue releasing software and bring in new developers. The problem is in controlling and managing the compensation. Right now there are ways for users to initiate compensation back to the authors, but nothing to track, control, or reward.

It could quite possibly be this kind of thing that propels open source software ahead of proprietary software. But it may not work at all. Who knows. Only time will tell.

The Future of the Browser Pt. 2

2004-07-12T19:19:00.000-04:00

I did some more thinking about the future of the browser and came to an interesting impasse. While my ideas are good, I just don't think we are ready for it. The reason is that the web is still very much a form of artistic expression.

The problem is that my idea causes a shift in artistic control. Now, the artistic control is in the hands of the author, but with my idea of specializing the browser, the artistic control will move to the user. Just with your desktop, where you can set backgrounds and themes, your "browser" will have similar capabilities.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I know authors and web designers want to compose their information the way they want it to look, but the user is the one who has to look at it and like it.

The real problem now is that the state of the web is still in its infancy. And people are still playing with their new toy. But eventually the browser will segment and become more specialized for the information it is presenting. The main driving force is that the web is growing immensely, and we are getting to the point where there is just too much information in one place.

Cell Phone "Services"

2004-06-27T16:40:00.000-04:00

Cell phone "services" are getting out of hand. You can download new ring tones, download games, send text messages, and take and send pictures. And these things aren't free. They can cost any where from 10 cents to a few dollars. It may not seem like a lot, but it can add up if its done in any regularity. And the point is not how much, but that it costs money at all. And most of what you download expires after a certain amount of time. It's just amazing how the cell phone companies get away with what they're doing. It just doesn't seem right, and I am officially offended.

Ah ring tones. Don't you just have to have them? Snipits of the most annoying pop songs, of varying quality. I'll tell you a short story. There was a software publisher that released a program that would convert your regular MP3's to something usable on a cell phone as a ring tone. But the cell phone companies didn't like the idea that people could get their ring tones for free, so they got the software taken off the market (I believe they sued the software publisher). So apparently we can't make our own ring tones, or at least the cell phone companies don't want us to.

And there are games. Cheezey remakes of both old and new games. All on a tiny screen with clumsy controls. There are also applications that fall under this category. Many cell phones use BREW, which is some software environment designed for cell phones. The great thing about BREW is that for anyone to write games/applications for it, they must pay an outrageous licensing fee. This does two things; it gives them supreme control on anything BREW, and essentially keeps any independent developers from using it. So, unless you are financially backed by some corporation, usually to promote their product, you are not going to be writing software for BREW. Even if you had the money to license BREW, you don't have a choice in how your software is distributed. Software is distributed through their subscription service, again giving them another level of control.

The point is that all things cell phones are very much closed to individual innovation. The cell phone companies are out there to make money, and they are strangling their technology. There are no freedoms involved. And I don't know about you, but I enjoy my freedoms with technology, and am offended when technology is stifled by corporate greed.

The Future of the Browser

2004-06-17T15:37:00.000-04:00

I heard recently that in the future, all applications will be run through the browser. This I found mildly amusing. Not because I suddenly remembered a joke, but because of the lack of foresight on part of those making the claim. You see, its just not going to happen, at least not as described.

The way I see it, the browser is only the beginning. It is very basic. And it is far from the end of web-based information and applications. It is interesting how almost all the innovation in browsing has been behind the browser. There are a bunch of scripting languages and technologies that output ever-more complex HTML to the browser. But there has been very little innovation in the browser itself (with the exception of Mozilla).

What I think will actually happen is that the browser will no longer exist. Not because the World Wide Web will disappear, but because the World Wide Web will outgrow the browser. Right now the browser is a window to the world, but the world's getting more complex. There may however be a browser-like application for accessing certain types of information, but it is unlikely to resemble the browser of today.

We are already trying to cram too much through the browser. There must be a better way to design, transfer, and interact with web-based applications.

Eventually there will be no discernible difference between a web-based application and a local application (if there are any more local applications), they will essentially become one in the same.

Something I see today that I really like is how applications are handled in various flavors of Linux. Things like portage, apt, and yum are paving the way to a new methodology for accessing applications. You can basically browse around some interface to find new applications. And when you want to try one you just run a command or click a button and bam!, its all yours. This is a case where local applications are moving closer to the browser.

It is almost like how it was back in the day with dumb terminals. Simple machines that accessed a central, more powerful, computer. Eventually the dumb terminals got smart enough to handle the needed information on their own. But now information is growing like mad, and our machines are not able to hold all this information, so it is slowly reverting back. I believe however that this trend will continue, rather than seesaw back and forth. And our desktops will be a blend of local and remote information with no real differentiation between the two.

Florida Trip

2004-06-12T16:32:00.000-04:00

I made it back from florida alive, and here are the pictures. Most if them are from the Pirate Cruise which involved drinking lots of cheep beer and being made to look like a pirate ... so you can't say I didn't warn you. The whole trip was a lot of fun! Thanks Scott, Donna, and Beth!

You can also download zip files with all the edited (1M) and raw (38M) images.

Free Hardware or Free Software?

2004-06-11T11:35:00.000-04:00

There seems to be a theory that in 10-20 years either hardware will be free and software will cost money, or software will be free and hardware will cost money. The idea is not whether software or hardware will be worthless, but that the progression of business will have their eggs in one basket.

Now the idea that hardware will be free and software will cost money may seem outrageous. I mean, how could something that costs money to reproduce (hardware) be free while something that is relatively free to reproduce (software), not to mention that thousands of people are willing to create it for free, would cost money? But if Microsoft and Sun Microsystems had their way this would be the case. They would be willing to give away free hardware if it would mean that they could charge regular subscription fees for software.

That is not the way I see it progressing. I believe that all software will eventually be free, and hardware will (still) cost money. The free software / open source community is continually gaining momentum, ant it is just a matter of time that all software will evolve to be free. The future I see is one in which software and improvements on software is distributed as freely as speech.

However, I still see corporations like Microsoft and Sun Microsystems putting their effort into pulling the pendulum in their direction. It is up to us to keep this from happening.

Driver-less Hardware

2004-06-04T12:27:00.000-04:00

Drivers, those little pieces of software that know how to work your hardware, are a necessary part of computing today. Whether you're in Windows or Linux (not sure about OSX, but they're probably ahead of the game if I had to guess), you have to deal with drivers for your hardware. In the Windows world you can usually just pop in the disk that came with your hardware, but its not always that easy. And if you're in the Linux world you know all too well the challenges of finding drivers and making them work.

Well, what if there were no need for drivers? What if you could just plug in your new webcam to your Linux and it would just work? Not by chance if your computer had the right driver, but the webcam would tell your computer how it works and how to use it. And not only that, but if you plugged the same webcam into a Windows machine, it would work just the same.

Believe it or not, this is completely possible today, and is not too difficult. The concept, at its core would be centered around a common driver language. This language would be the building blocks from which a driver is made. And the code, or a byte-code compiled version of which, would be stored on the hardware device. A driver manager on the PC would then be able to download this information and offer it to user applications.

This is made possible by the fact that devices are becoming more sophisticated, and computers are getting faster. Both of which are required for this idea to work effectively.

DISCLAIMER: Don't try to patent this idea! This is my proof of prior art. It can be a much more effective technology as an open standard.

Site Redesign

2004-05-07T15:48:00.000-04:00

Wooohooo. The new redesign is complete (well, it could probably still use some more testing). I tried to incorporate some of the things I tried before, but ended up not using. As you can see there is a functional taskbar up top which keeps the last 4 viewed pages, and there is also a minimize and close button that works as you'd expect. I think its pretty cool. Let me know what you think!

btw. If you find any problems, please let me know.

The End Of Java?

2004-04-29T21:54:00.000-04:00

There has been a lot of talk lately about the future of Sun Microsystems. My question is, if Sun were to fall off the face of the earth, then what would happen to Java? From my view there are three paths for Java if this were to happen: Java dies with Sun, Java is sold to some company to suffer the wrath or success of this company, or the Open Source community welcomes it with open arms, with the help of Sun, and breathes life into the language.

The first is probably the least likely. It is doubtful that Sun would simply abandon Java unless it held no weight in the programming community, which is not likely considering how accustomed so many developers are to the language.

The second I think would be the most likely considering the state of business in the world today. My guess is Sun will get the best price it can get for the language in hopes of bleeding as much money as possible from its assets. I'm not sure if this would be a last ditch effort to breath life back into the company, for it to take another path, or they would use the money to pay off debts or split it up among employees/shareholders.

Now this brings on another question, who in their right mind would purchase the rights to the Java language? Microsoft certainly would not, considering they already have a Java replacement, C#. Possibly IBM, or a startup with the right backing and ideas to revive the language. Would you if you had the money? It would be an interesting acquisition for a billionaire.

Last but not least, the Open Source solution. This I think will be the most beneficial to the language. There is actually already a compiler/runtime/classpath in the works as part of the GCC project called gcj. So there is the possibility that the Open Source community will beat Sun to the punch and provide its own implementation of the language.

But if you were to ask me, I would suggest to Sun Microsystems that they even beat the Open Source community to the punch and open the source to Java. This I think would be a major step forward for Sun, and could help secure their position in the market, possibly avoiding this whole mess.

OSUG Update

2004-03-23T19:41:00.000-05:00

Just in time for my bout of lazyness was the birth of OSUG. I just wanted to say that it's not quite dead yet. It went into a coma, and it's on its way out. Now that I'm a PHP pro it should go pretty easy, just going to take some time. So keep an eye out.

Been a long time coming

2004-03-23T19:35:00.000-05:00

Wow, I've been lazy. More of a combination of little time and little inclination to do anything computer related. I've been slacking on my websites, slacking on my open source, and slacking on my system (I need to get 2.6 running with all my hardware, but my wireless card is being difficult).

Well, now that I'm back to doing what I love (robots), I've had a renewed interest in recreational computing. This comes at a perfect time too, because I found a LUG in the berkshires! (actually, it found me).

A lot has happened since my last post, but I'll save you the novel. You'll just have to guess :)

Visual Programming

2003-11-08T15:36:00.000-05:00

Programming in a text editor is incredibly archaic. You are too limited at how you can layout your program. Things like indentation and separating a project into multiple files can help a programmer organize and manage their project, but it's just not enough. People don't naturally think in these terms. We need a more visually manageable interface to programming; something where you can more directly make the connection from thought to code.

This involves being able to separate code segments to aid in design and manageability, graphically create control structures to quicken the development process, and visually link function calls to show program flow. These are only of the few new ideas that can come from a visual programming environment.

This can easily be represented in textual form by embedding the code into XML constructs. Though the major problem I see with this is the lack of adequate input (keyboard,mouse,etc) to be able to work fluidly, I see more of a touch sensitive screen (to replace a mouse) closely coupled with a keyboard (preferably dvorak style).

I think we are far enough in the evolution of programming to move away from coding in a standard text editor.

OSUG News

2003-10-29T12:11:00.000-05:00

My new project, the Open Source Usability Group is under way. I've gotten some great ideas on where this thing should go, and have started building the website. I just bought a domain name, osug.org, and am in the process of planning the backend. If you have any thoughts, comments, suggestions, criticisms, etc ... please feel free to let me know.

I am pretty excited about this, and if all goes as planned the Open Source community will never be the same ... muah hah hah hah hah ;)

Open Source Usability Group

2003-10-25T17:12:00.000-04:00

I've had an idea for a website. It would be a place for the open source community to gather and exchange ideas on usability and user interface in open source software. The idea is to improve the usability of open source software, and to explore new methods of the human-computer interaction through open source software.

There are a lot of smart people with a lot of great ideas on this subject, and I would like to create a place for them to gather and exchange ideas. I would also like to create a place where open source developers can go to get ideas and feedback on their user interface.

Among the things I plan to offer are news, articles, forums, chat, project reviews, and resources.

What do you think?

Bold Moves in OSS

2003-10-24T21:57:00.000-04:00

Where are all the bold moves in open source software? It seems that too much of our (I say our because I would like to think that I am a small part of the open source community) work on open source software is aimed at re-writing windows. So many things look, act, and smell like Windows. And well, I don't want Windows.

Not to say that there should not be interoperability with Windows, but GNU/Linux and Open Source Software is supposed to be different. There are also those who need an environment that is familiar, which is where KDE fits in. But we have the flexibility to try something new, our users are smart and adaptable, and something needs to be done.

New Domain

2003-10-15T09:36:00.000-04:00

This site has a new domain name, joemonti.org. After being bounced around from joe.tgpr.org to jmonti.no-ip.org because of Adelphia blocking port 80, the bastards, I decided to place more emphasis on this site, instead of piggy backing off of tgpr.org. Is this a move to get rid of tgpr.org? Not likely, I've got about a year left on the registration, but who knows when that comes up for renewal.

I got a great deal on the domain name from go daddy. I also got an email address from them, joe@joemonti.org. The whole package is about half what I was paying before through Yahoo! Domains, $18/yr as opposed to $35/yr. With Yahoo it was also a pain in the ass to renew my domain, and they offered very little options. So things are looking better. Maybe I'll move tgpr.org next year if I decide to keep it.

Class Reunion

2003-10-10T21:16:00.000-04:00

I got a piece of mail today. A piece of mail which made me feel old. Not old in the sense of time, but in the sense of being. So much has happened, so much since then has contributed to who I am now.

This mail informed me of a 5 year high school reunion. And well, I can't think of a reason not to go. I also can't think of much more to say. It is so very strange.

It should be interesting to say the least. We'll see how it goes. I am looking forward to it, but not quite sure what to expect. Maybe thats the good part :)

Site Redesign

2003-10-04T00:40:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to finishing my site redesign, after scrapping several attempts. This one is pretty good. A bit simpler than the last, which I think is a good thing. But then again, who knows what I'll come up with next.

Well, I hope you like it, and if you have any suggestions (or if something doesnt look right) please let me know.

I'm Back Baby!

2003-08-19T12:09:00.000-04:00

After a long wait Adelphia finally finished upgrading their systems to offer cable modem. You know what that means? I FINALLY HAVE BROADBAND AGAIN! :) It also means tgpr.org and joe.tgpr.org are back up! Hooah!

Summer Concert Series: Radiohead

2003-08-14T22:16:00.000-04:00

This day started a little early because I was picking up a friend in Amherst, then her friend in Worcester, grabbing dinner, then going to the show, which started at 7:30. It wasn't too bad but the traffic through Worcester and down to the Tweeter center was crazy because of rush hour.

The opening band (the Jicks) were pretty good, and worthy of downloading when I get a chance. They were kindof a mix between Weezer and Radiohead, both of whom I really like.

Radiohead was amazing. They had a ton of energy, and were really into it. They played some great songs, and its just amazing to see how they do some of the effects they do. One of the more "special" moments was when they played Creep, which they havn't played in the US in over 7 years. Not that I'm a huge fan of that song, but it was cool none the less. They had some pretty artistic shots on the video screens, one of the shots showed an Apple laptop they used on stage.

This was the last of my big summer concert series. It was fun and well worth the $200+ (not including 2 $30 concert tee's). We'll see what next year brings.

Summer Concert Series: Jethro Tull

2003-08-12T21:53:00.000-04:00

This was fun. It was at Tanglewood, which I havn't been to in years. It was also very obscure and very orchestral. The oddest thing was they were really pushing tee shirt sales. Before the band came on someone came out announcing that they had tee shirts for sale. Then there was an intermission for 20 minutes where the lead singer said they are going to break so you can get some wine and tee shirts. When he came back on stage he said he bought 8 shirts for himself.

All in all it was good show, and something I was glad to have seen.

Guinness

2003-08-10T18:29:00.000-04:00

On vacation in Connecticut we found this Irish themed shop with a bunch of Guinness branded merchandise. It was funny because I was wearing my Great Guinness Toast tee shirt at the time, so we got photograph of me with a foam Guinness hat and Guinness glass/candle. It was wicked funny at the time, who knows how funny you'll find it. Here's the photo.

Summer Concert Series: Lollapalooza

2003-07-26T21:55:00.000-04:00

For this show I was only there to see Queens of the Stone Age and Audioslave. We got there kindof early to see what they had going on besides the bands, but wasn't much impressed.

The first band we saw was Queens of the Stone Age. They were amazing, playing stuff from all their albums, which I was hoping they wouldn't spend most their time on songs for the deaf. The only sad part is that few people were really into them until they played No One Knows. The radio and MTV is way too powerful. Oh well, its their loss, and didn't seem to effect the band. It would have been nicer to see them in a smaller venue, I'll have to keep an eye out.

The next band I was there for was Incubus. They sucked. I guess I don't listen to the radio enough. Everyone else seemed to like it, but I wasn't impressed at all.

Audioslave was really good, but a little watered down. I was really only there because of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden. I still had a great time.

Summer Concert Series: Pearl Jam

2003-07-03T21:40:00.000-04:00

This started off pretty early. We had fan club tickets, which we had to pick up at the ticket window which opened at 3. We got there ate 2, and already the line was wicked long. It was odd, but they gave us tickets so we could leave the line and come back and find our place, which was nice because we were able to grill up some burgers in the parking lot.

The show started off great. Before the opening band came on (Buzzcocks) Eddie came out and played Dead Man Walking. It was an awesome version, and was pissed to find out that it wasnt on the official bootleg, which arrived at my door a week after the show. The Buzzcocks weren't too bad as far as opening bands go, they were very ska.

Pearl Jam rocked! I'm not going to go into what they played, but it was a well rounded and energetic performance. Eddie said that since they were playing 3 shows in Boston, they were not going to play the same song twice in any of the shows, which was awesome because they were going to get to a lot of rare stuff, but sucked because I could only see this one show.

Rethinking the Tab Key

2003-04-24T15:29:00.000-04:00

We all have a tab key on our computer keyboard, we all know what a tab is/does, and we all know how it works. But what you may not realize is that the tab serves two basic purposes which have different needs and purposes. The first and original use of the tab on a computer was to align text into vertical columns, primarily to form a table. The second of which is to indent text to give layers to a block of text, primarily used in programming to show logical levels in blocks of code.

The problem here is that there are vastly different spacing requirements. For use with columns you want a large tab spacing to fit blocks of text between the tabs, for use with programming you do not need a large tab spacing or it begins to push lines too far and forces short lines or horizontal scrolling.

The solution I see is to eliminate the use of tabs involving columns. We need a fundamental change in text areas to provide functionality to separate text into columns as well as rows. This leaves the tab key with only one task, for which we can provide better suited design.

I agree this is not a huge problem, and is one that many people may not encounter. But that does not mean the problem does not exist. It is also something that should not be tolerated for the sake of laziness.

CodeConnector to go C++

2003-04-08T00:04:00.000-04:00

Code Connector is an open source project I started which provides centralized project and file management, multi-user text editing, and communication tools in one package. It initially was written in Java, but after much thought I decided it must be written in C++. The primary reason is performance. This is a large and intensive program, and because of this, performance is an important issue. And I think Java just doesn't cut it. Since I started this project my view of java has changed quite a bit. Java just seems less and less of a powerful desktop application programming language. Java is certainly a powerful language for certain tasks, but not CodeConnector.

The previous project members have been "laid off" and I am hoping to bring in a few good programmers with C++ experience. Know any?

I have started the conversion of the communication mechanism, but that has proven to be a difficult task because of the difference between classes and objects in Java and C++. Those of you who know these languages should know what I'm talking about. The rest should be cake.

Greed to Destroy Computing

2003-02-21T12:55:00.000-05:00

Will greed (aka. money) destroy what makes computing (aka. digital information) so great? I sure hope not.

Computing is a completely different entity than the world in which we live. With computing you can duplicate digital objects billions of times with minimal cost and effort. With the real world you are restricted by physical limitations; meaning duplicating physical objects incurs significant cost and effort. What is the significance of this? Computing opens up a completely new and exciting avenue for distributing digital objects, which can be everything from music to software.

The problem is that people are trying to make computing fit into their "business model," destroying everything that makes computing special, and driven by greed. It is as if the new kid is getting bullied and robbed because he is faster, smarter, and better looking.

We need to create a way by which the physical and digital world can coexist, without letting greed get in the way and letting society benefit (not by means of profit) from the digital world. Digital information can change the way we think and live our lives. We just need to open our eyes, not allow our past to impede our future, and support Open technologies. This can be done by visiting and supporting groups like the Free Software Foundation and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Grubconf Released!

2003-02-06T20:07:00.000-05:00

A project of mine, Grubconf, was released recently. The release marks the initial beta and still requires considerable testing. I'm hoping that this project will be successful and possibly be included with Redhat or Gnome utilities. We'll See.

The Salamander

2003-01-28T11:03:00.000-05:00

The recent efforts of a malicious net-based worm brought up an idea of mine. The idea is: can software "live" in the Internet? Every worm that we have seen comes nowhere near the capabilities needed to truly survive the Internet.

What I imagine is less a worm and more a salamander. A colony of non-destructive, adaptable, and independent salamanders, roaming the Internet, feeding off our CPU cycles. The question is; from where is the salamander born? We could give monkeys Emacs and GCC and see what happens (to represent the puddle of mud/evolution idea). Or we could play god and write what I would think would be the most interesting code created (to play God).

For a salamander to truly exist in the Internet its number one trait must be adaptability. It must be able to work like a living being to survive the hostility of the Internet. It must be able to find new ways to store and retrieve information. It must be able to redesign its IO interface to be able to talk to new hardware. It must be aware of other salamanders to share information and grow as a colony. Those are just a few of the traits this must posses.

The problem here is we cannot teach these things. We must take a minimalistic approach, giving the salamander the core tools be adaptable, and a set of basic rules it must follow. The basic rules are enough to perform a 'bootstrap' procedure; just enough to get it going on its own. It is also likely that we will loose many salamanders before it is able to survive on its own.

Another major issue is gaging its progress. For us to truly know how successful the salamander has become we need to be able to where they are, what they are doing, and analyze their current form. This could be done with a beacon tied into its main thought process that will report its location and perform a memory dump.

The important idea here is that I think the Internet is a habitable world for the right piece of software. With so many systems connected, their world would be immense. Just think of the Internet as a universe. Each system connected is a world, the ethernet is a wormhole, and LAN's are galaxies.

My only worry is this becoming destructive; not by design, but by the salamanders' need to survive.

A night with the B's

2003-01-22T10:58:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I saw the Bruins for the first time (live that is) play the Columbus Blue Jackets. I went with my Grandfather, Dad, Uncle, and Brother ... it was a family/guys night out. My Grandfather, Dad, and Brother drove out from (the real) western mass, picked me up, and drove in to Waltham where my uncle lives. From there we drove into Boston where we caught dinner at the Harp, an Irish pub near the Fleet center. After dinner and a few Guinni we walked across the street to the Fleet center. Our seats were in the balcony, but it wasn't bad because we were only a few seats from the edge and had a great view of the game. The game was great. Crisp passing, fierce hits, amazing goals. In the end it was a 7-2 win with all the excitement you could expect from a live hockey game. The only other live hockey games I've seen were a Springfield Falcons game and several UMass games, so this was quite a treat. This is something I am definitely going to have to do again soon.

My 0.015 minutes of fame on Slashdot

2003-01-09T20:20:00.000-05:00

Today on slashdot they ran an interview with Ethan Galstad, a successful Open Source project leader of Nagios . The intervew was made up of 20 questions collected from an earlier post . Well, a question from yours truly made the cut and was one of the 20 questions asked. You can find the slashdot post here, my question is number 17 (under my alias CountJoe) :)

Filesystem Abstraction

2003-01-07T22:27:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about a new project for Linux which is closely related to A New Gui. Its purpose is to provide a level of abstraction to the filesystem for use with user files in a new and easy to use manner. The idea is to provide a more user friendly way of accessing user files. This is not meant to replace the Linux filesystem, but to separate operating system and application files from user managed files. There hasn't been too much thought into the idea, but it may constitute a /var/spool article and possibly a new
project.

Updates

2003-01-04T15:23:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd mention some updates. First is I just finished an update to this server. I upgraded Gentoo Linux from 1.2 to 1.4. This was not an easy task. The meat of the upgrading was going from GCC2 to GCC3. So, my server has spend about 48 recompiling everything on my system.

The other update is my page will try to reflect the current weather conditions outside my apartment. So far I only support no weather, snow, or rain. This is all automated, so I'm sitting at my window watching for a change in weather :)

The Sandwich

2002-12-30T22:44:00.000-05:00

The sandwich, traditionally referring to an edible bready snack, is taking on a relatively new meaning to represent more than the cold-cut filled meal. My purpose here is to discuss the difference between a traditional sandwich and relatively new sandwich meaning, a person sandwich. It occurred to me that the ingredients to a whatever sandwich does not follow a common naming procedure.

To describe a traditional sandwich you say something like "turkey sandwich," which is describing the inner contents of the sandwich. To describe a person sandwich you say something like "cheerleader sandwich," which is describing the outer contents of the sandwich. While those are both mouthwatering ideas, they are not using a common naming procedure. You do not say a "bread sandwich," or "Joe sandwich."

So, it appears that in common reference, an traditional sandwich is classified by its contents, while the person sandwich is classified by the outside component. The reason for this, I believe, is that a sandwich is classified by its interesting parts. In my examples the traditional sandwich the interesting part is the turkey, not the bread, and in a person sandwich the interesting part is the cheerleader, as opposed to the Joe. So next time you are stuck in a cheerleader sandwich, remember that if you were the traditional edible sandwich it would be a You sandwich.

Shipping Christmas

2002-12-19T17:30:00.000-05:00

This year, as I have done in the past, I ordered some items on-line. But this year I may encounter a problem; an item not making it here in time. I thought I gave sufficient time, ordering two weeks before leaving for home, but now it does not look that way. There were two things impeding the delivery; the item wasn't shipped until a week after it was ordered, and the shipping agent (Airborne Express) has the slowest delivery time across country I have seen.

While this was stalled by both contributing factors of total ship time, I feel this could have been avoided. The problem was I had never previously ordered from this retailer and did not know the order-to-ship turnaround time and their shipping agent.

So I offer this advice; do not to trust a retailer who has not built up a reputation in your mind, leaving plenty of time before the order must arrive. This is probably obvious, but it's easy to blindly trust unknown retailers.