Fuzzy Logic

I really like Adobe AIR as a platform, mainly because I generally like the idea of having a platform that can run the same apps on any of the big three Operating Systems (Windows, Mac, Linux).  Unfortunately, after installing the Adobe Air alpha for Linux I was having a problem with an error every time I started up Filezilla.  This would popup on every startup:

"Can't open /usr/share/mime-info/air.keys" (error 2: no such file or directory)"
"Can't open /usr/share/mime-info/air.mime" (error 2: no such file or directory)"

Obviously, this wasn’t the worst thing that could possibly happen to me… but it was rather aggravating!  To solve this problem I went scrounging through the depths of the interblags and finally managed to fix it.  Lots of help comes from the Dusty Pixels blog, but I figured I would compile what worked for me here.

(more…)

All of the usual suspects are up in arms over the fact that Best Buy is (and has been) selling Ubuntu Linux for $20 on their website (and instore at most of my local stores).  They even sell an installation service for it for $130 through their Geek Squad service.  A lot of people seemed to be completely outraged by the fact that Best Buy would dare to charge for Open-Source Software.  Hell, Ubuntu is free for download and you can even have Canonical send you a free copy.  So why would anyone ever possibly buy a copy of Ubuntu in the store and why shouldn’t people be outraged that Best Buy is selling it?  I think it’s great that Best Buy is doing this for a few main reasons: This program helps grant legitimacy to Ubuntu in the eyes of the average user.  The partnership with Geek Squad for installation is also good, and you can’t discount the fact that even if a user doesn’t buy it, they very well may be intrigued by this weird software called ‘eww – bun- two.’

(more…)

So, in a move that shocks absolutely no one, Richard Stallman (RMS) has once again denounced Microsoft and their tactics.  This time, however, he has got me rather aggravated with his arguments.  I am a very big fan of GNU/Linux, even running it exclusively on two of my three machines.  But RMS, considered by many to be the father of the modern Free/Open-Source Software movement, has really jumped a boundary when he wrote a BBC article blaming Bill Gates for ruining computers for the majority of users.  While I dislike many of Microsoft’s tactics and products, I really feel that RMS is out of line with this latest rant.

(more…)

I was browsing Digg this morning and found a rather interesting story with some random guy (evidently a ‘Matthew Daly’ in the UK) about how he thought his Ubuntu installation was easier to use than OS X.  In fact, his exact statement was:

A modern beginner-oriented Linux distribution such as Ubuntu is considerably easier to use than a Mac.

Now, I am a huge Linux guy.  I love my T61 Thinkpad running Ubuntu (formerly Gutsy, now Hardy).  I’ve had the laptop for almost a year exactly and have had Ubuntu on it ever since the first Ubuntu 7.10 RC releases and couldn’t be happier.  It gives me, a very very cranky power user, exactly what I want.  That being said, I just don’t agree that it is easier to use for new users than OS X.  In fact, I think they both are horrible for new users.

(more…)