So check it out at Frostwire.com

However, I like an IDE to help me program to I started looking today at the Python options there are in linux. I didn’t feel like spending too much time looking, so I did a quick check through the software installer in Ubuntu. The installed and had a brief look at the following options:

• Eric
• PyDev w/ Eclipse
• Pida
• SPE

What astounded me most was how simple to use all these IDEs were. Within seconds I could figure out how to use them, but I didn’t feel like doing an in-depth review of each.

Out of those listed, I chose to go with PyDev because Eclipse is cross-platform and looks good. It wasn’t so much that I liked it particularly much but I had some problems with the other choices. Eric is Qt based which looks horrible in Gnome on Ubuntu (other than that, the range of features is fantastic) . SPE was unfortunately not as stable as I would have liked (it is still quite young but promising looking) and Pida was great, albeit a little too simple and clean for my liking.

So once I settled on Eclipse I had to figure out how to get it working. In theory it should be as simple as installing the eclipse and pydev packages from the universe repository in Ubuntu, but little did I know post-install configuration was actully require, and something called Jython also needs to be installed.

Basically once you’ve installed those three packages you need to go to the preferences page in Eclipse, and under the PyDev options set paths to the Python and Jython interpretters. On my system the paths were /usr/bin/python and /usr/lib/eclipse/org.python.pydev.jython_1.2.0.jython.jar respectively.

After that the PyDev plugin should work fine. I’m not sure why this setup process isn’t automatic when the package is installed, but once you know the procedure it isn’t too hard!

But now I have some more time on my hands. I am going to learn python!

Python is a nifty interpretted language, very stable and mature, with a quirky indentation based nesting feature. Did I mention it’s also completely, 100% cross-platform compatible?

So with my new linux 733t skills, I have decided to learn Python (and use pyGTK for the interfaces). To help me on my travels I have found a fantastic web site called Learning Python. I really recommend you take a look. The guy who runs it started Python programming a little over a year ago, and posts regular high-quality updates!

• Reviews
• Great links
• Opinions
• Open source news
• Linux distro updates
• and lots more…

So check back soon for more!

For those of you who don’t know, the Synaptic Package Manager allows you to search for and install software without having to go and manually download setups and follow install wizards. For example if I wanted to install the firestarter firewall and Inkscape (two medium sized applications which would take me about 20 minutes to download and install on my slow laptop in windows) I only have to open up the Synaptic Package Manager, click search, find the two programs and mark them for installation, and then apply my changes.

I can now walk out the room, get a drink and some food and come back in about 5 to 10 minutes with both programs fully installed. That’s it!

Now what about having to update these programs as new versions are released? Easy. Ubuntu handles all my updates for me, downloads security updates as they become available then prompts me to install them. I only need to click “Apply” for my updates and leave the computer to do the rest. Easy!

But what about software not in the Ubuntu software repositories? While there are over 18,000 different packages which can be installed through Synaptic, there does come a time when something isn’t in a repository and this is where I believe Ubuntu has room for improvement.

When installing software, like the Opera Web Browser, which can only be downloaded from Opera, the annoying process of Download, Locate, Double-click and install comes back. But what if there was a single, small file which could be downloaded and double-clicked on that adds new repositories without any sort of technical know-how?

For one, many people don’t know that Opera actually offers a repository for its web browser, so any updates to the program can be updated using the automatic processes built into Ubuntu.

The following screenshot is from Synaptic Package Manager and shows the difference between the repo Opera and the static Opera install (the download and install manually one)

.

This clean solution means I never need to worry about keeping Opera up to date again, Ubuntu takes on that responsibility. If only there was a simpler way to add repositories and install third party software into Ubuntu!

The 1.0 release of firefox proved to be very popular, and 1.5 fixed many of its shortcomings. For anyone who needed more features there have always been extensions to add things like session managments, advanced download features and integration with web services, but now the 2.0 release plans to integrate the benefits of these extensions into the core software.

The benefits are aimed at the end user, instead of just improving their technologies. The top enhancements are:

1. Find what you need. All aspects of search in Firefox are being improved. From searching bookmarks, to the integrated search bar in the top-right of the screen. UI tweaks, backend rewrites and new systems for carrying out the same tasks are just some of the changed.
2. Improved Tab interface, multitasking ability. Tabs will be even more integrated into the new firefox, with links defaulting to opening in new tabs instead of new windows and being more effective at handling larger numbers of tabs.
3. Keeping up-to-date with feeds. By adjusting the way feeds are subscribed to, and allowing different feed aggregators to be used, feeds can become more efficient for the end user, than their current implementation. Changes include previews and the ability to use any reader.
4. General usability improvements. With miscellaneous changed, such as spell checking, and more serious updates like reducing the number of notifications needed. These changes are obivous in the security update process, and the graceful way the browser will restore a previous session if the browser crashes.
5. Improved OS integration. By providing new themes for integrating into Vista, OS X and Gnome, a more prefessional and streamlined experience is possible.

Of course their are technical updates, such as a smaller memory footprint, but these are less important than the above features that users will actually see.

Osdir has some great shots of Alpha 3.

Instead of just getting upset at Microsoft for their delayed release, I had a little think about the advantages of such a long wait, and I came to realise that the delay has furthered the move of computers into our everyday lifestyle. When I first got my laptop, three and a half years ago, it was super cool for a laptop. It has a P4 1.7 Gz, 256 Mb RAM (more than my desktop computer then) and a 20 Gb hard drive. It also cost $3,700 Australian dollars. Now my new desktop, which has a decent graphics card, 1GB ram, 80 gb HD, 17in LCD, samsung speakers, DVD-RW, AMD Athlon 2800+, cost about $1000 Australian dollars.

Now sure, this computer isn’t a laptop, but it can run two OSes really fast at the same time, and does everything I could ever want it to do in no time at all. But when Vista comes out, this machine will struggle and suffer under the weight of tonnes of dynamically linked libraries (dlls). So actually, the delay in a release of a new OS has meant that hardware has improved and become cheaper. The delay has also meant that hundreds of thousands of applications are available for windows.

So how has this opened the door for more widespread adoption of computers? Well it means cheaper computers, with better support, more reliability (hey, they’ve had ages to patch it!) and a familiarity which is rivalled by no other long lasting operating system (except maybe OS X which has had 4 releases that all resemble eachother strongly!).

Now compare this to Ubuntu. Every six months a new version is released, and support typically lasts for only 18 months after each release (one year after the next version is released). Is this really helpful for a market? The best attempt, I feel, at a linux distribution for everybody is the upcoming Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop. It is a release aimed at a longer term lifecycle (probably 3-5 years). The longer lifecycle means that the next OS has more time to be created, modified, tweaked, stress tested and stabilised.

As much as I do love my Ubuntu, the last version made experience, first hand, the shortcomings of a short testing cycle. Unforseen problems with the installer and kernel, including installation CDs which wouldn’t even boot up on one of my friends computers, really doesn’t made Ubuntu seem polished at all!

All in all, a long release cycle allows an OS to become more widespread. It gives application developers more time to create progams for it, users more time to become familiar with it, and hardware vendors lower specs to make computers for. Everything here leaders to cheaper, faster, familiar computer for your average joe, which in the long run means more money for software companies, and a higher proliferation of computer skills in the world.

The technology is built off firefox, and the only problem I can see is that it doesn’t support all of firefox’s extensions!

The following is a picture I added to my entry just by dragging it from my computer into the message. Flock did all the linking and uploading for me!

technorati tags:flock, web, browser, blog, photo, flickr

Blogged with Flock

I find it interesting that people are disgusted at the Chinese government for the power the hold over their people. A country of 1.3 (?) billion people can only survive if personal freedoms and rights are repressed (relative to our society) for the betterment of their entire society. The thinking of many asian people, which is to look to the future and the success of their children, is a key ingredient in such a policy. Take for instance the one-child policy. Without a doubt, if such a bill was passed in any western country there would be riots and turmoil. How can someone take away our right to have children? It doesn’t seem to be fair or just.

It is here that the problem lies. In our western society we love our rights, we put up with our few responsibilities (which are just the tau or kama associated with having rights, and not infringing on other peoples rights), and the thought of being given extra laws and restriction seems disgraceful to a democratic society. But look to the future as the Chinese government is doing. China just has too many people for the resources they are actually sitting on. A birth control policy is the only way they can drop their population to within a sustainable range. By putting up with restrictions to their freedoms now, the Chinese people will have better rights (possibly) and a higher standard of living in two or three generations time.

So what lesson should we learn from this? Well, the future of our society may not be all fun and games. Eventually we may need to sacrifice some of our freedoms, and the finer things in life, to make room for a more sustainable way of life. Wants will probably be the first thing to go. First, I imagine, we will receive rations (fuel rations, junk food rations, land rations) and then eventually these things will be gone.

Next to go will be our rights to land. A more densely populated society is far more efficient in terms of infrastructure, hence less resources are required for more people.

Finally I believe freedoms will go. Perhaps not to the extent of removing democracy, but curfews and other such restrictions will probably need to go into place to ensure a safe environment with such a high population density. Eventually government terms can be expected to be lengthened to allow governments to look more towards the future in their goals, and provide better for the people of tomorrow, not just worry about whether they will be voted back in at the end of their term.

But will the world actually turn out like this? Who knows. China is a prime example of how high populations are managed, especially in a world like ours, and they may demonstrate the form of government for tomorrow. Of course, some nuclear war or even global warming could knock us out first, but if we are to survive on this planet for many millenia to come, then I firmly believe the only possible way is to limit freedoms, lower consumption and aim for the future instead of today.