This is a pretty simple issue that was easy to solve but took a bit of fumbling around...

I recently checked out the new Java SwingSet3 project from it's SVN repo, to play around with it. It's a NetBeans project so it was simple enough to fire up NetBeans 6.0 and use it's built-in Subversion support to check the project out from the repository directly...

My plan was very simple: check out the code with NetBeans, build it, run it (using JDK 1.6.0_10 beta for the new Nimbus look/feel too) and then hack at the code.

Cygwin and Emacs 22

Michael Lockhart

2008-04-04 10:09

Emacs long-awaited version 22.1 was released on 2007-07-02, and a package for Cygwin was available a few months later. The Cygwin package is still experimental, so Cygwin's setup program will select 21 by default.

Back to openSUSE

Michael Lockhart

2008-03-31 09:44

Well, my stint in *buntu is over, and it ends with an award to openSUSE: this is the first Linux distro I've returned to.

Kubuntu is nice, and I'm happy that I've tried it out, but it's not for me. It's nice enough if you want a simple desktop system, and APT rocks (especially with the aptitude front-end). But it's just not as good as openSUSE, sorry.

Hetrogeneous Operating Environments considered normal

Michael Lockhart

2007-08-30 11:47

Was reading this interview with Wade Olson about KDE 4.0. It is pretty interesting, but the best quote was at the end:

I often rant about how in all disruptive technologies, trends are always the same. Whether with the automobile, railroads, telephony or computers. A dominant company establishes ubiquity, but eventually competition settles in. Can you believe that Fords and Chevys can drive on the same roads and use the same gas? What a miracle of modern science that an AT&T user could call a Sprint user on the phone? A TGV and ICE train can ride on the same tracks? Madness! I can plug a lamp into the wall that my power company didn’t sell me? Now that’s what I call progress.

Why would computing be any different? I can’t believe that some choose to write software for a large audience that isn’t cross platform, browser-based or interoperable - but some do. Over time, proprietary file formats will go from being a competitive advantage to disadvantage. Heterogeneous systems are the norm and expected in every industry. It’s just tough being patient in ours.

Whatever your views on OOXML or Linux or Apple or DRM or FOSS/Proprietary software, or other contentious issues in the IT industry, you've got to admit, these are pretty sensible aims.

No OOXML

Michael Lockhart

2007-08-17 08:31

Just sent the following letter to the Australian Standards rep for the proposal DIS29500 (Microsoft Office Open XML standard) which is being Fast Tracked through ISO, even with blatant interoperability, portability and cultural technical issues. This is based on the instructions posted at Groklaw. Also, instead of just cut-and-pasting the comments from the No OOXML web site, I've reviewed them and altered for Australian concerns, so that they really are my own comments.

Oxygen OpenOffice Professional

Michael Lockhart

2007-08-08 11:42

Found this neat project in SourceForge, which is a fork (?) of OpenOffice that adds some nice features, but the really cool part is that it has free clip art and templates, many of which are actually decent!

Essentials to make Windows almost bareable

Michael Lockhart

2007-06-07 09:16

Okay, so I hate working in Windows, but on my employer's equipment at least, I must live with it. After having had this machine replaced twice (faulty Dell hardware) and rebuilt more times than I can remember (Windows BSODs), for a total of at least 3 system migrations this past year, I thought I'd better keep a list of what free software to install on top of Windows, and what adjustments to make, so that at least I don't feel like I'm wearing a straight jacket. Here goes:

kubuntu - other desktops

Michael Lockhart

2007-05-17 16:45

Quick note:- I use KDE nearly all the time. But sometimes I have occasion for a minimal desktop (e.g. when I plan to use just one, heavy program like FlightGear and need basically not much more than a window manager and X itself). So an alternate "light" desktop session type is nice to have.

Kubuntu kaboose

Michael Lockhart

2007-05-16 08:53

Yes, I've joined the ubuntu train, and I'm travelling in the Kubuntu car (the caboose?). This will be, what, my fifth (or sixth if you count Knoppix, but I never put that on my hard drive) Linux distro since trying out RedHat 5.2 back in 1999. Previous to this I was using openSUSE 10.2 which is not a bad distro either and I always had my eye on SuSE. So, why yet another distro change?

Microsoft Vista keyboard?

Michael Lockhart

2007-03-22 15:27

I spotted a "Vista compatable" keyboard in K-Mart the other day, which set me thinking... what would a Vista keyboard actually do that a "non-Vista" keyboard can't?

Then I Googled for "Microsoft Keyboard Vista" and found this ad from Microsoft (Google Cache).

What the? "Designed to make it easier than ever to control PC media from your desk, your lap–or even from the comfort of your couch". So… if I use this keyboard's Play button to try and play media that Vista's DRM system thinks I shouldn't be playing, does it administer an electric shock? What if I have the keyboard in my lap :-D Ouch! No so comfortable now…

Thanks, Microsoft, but … ahem, no thanks!