N800 & Video playback - oops. Nokia used different chips in the N800 that drastically slow down the screen update (1/3 the speed of the N770).
Archive 9.2.2007 - 21.3.2007
SPD-Speaker: Online searches are definitely coming - The "ghost debates" of data protectionists and other opponents of further authorization for state espionage are not understood by Wiefelspütz, however. It is always pretended that "we are a surveillance state". Meanwhile, no one here is demanding torture or Guantanamo.
Ideas for Sugar development environment from HyperLookSimCity - more about HyperLook.
Amnesty™ Singles - converts Google widgets into dashboard widgets.
EURion constellation - how copiers recognize banknotes.
SQLite Introduction - only linked because I might need it for a trivial project (PHP5 and SQLite - igh, I'll have to clean my keyboard afterwards).
because a few people were wondering
The long break was a vacation. And I was just too lazy to write anything while on vacation.
JavaScript for the Macintosh - not such a bad idea. JavaScript as a full OSA language, integrated with all tools. Could make a lot of things easier - because JavaScript has regular expressions and humane data types, unlike AppleScript.
Lingon by Peter Borg - edit launchd configs with a GUI. Clicky-Bunty-Goodness for sysadmins.
NetworkLocation - Location Manager. On Steroids.
Python, Django and DB2: we need your input! - sounds like there will soon be a DBAPI2 module for Python and DB/2 directly from the source.
Script Debugger 4.0 - after struggling again with a temperamental AppleScript, it's probably time to get Script Debugger. Annoying only that the necessity lies solely in the meager to non-existent documentation of various applications and their AppleScript dictionaries.
LSL Module For BBEdit/TextWrangler - the best editors in the world for Linden Scripting Language (in SecondLife) use.
Programming Erlang - sounds good, and so far the books from the Pragmatic Bookshelf series have been quite useful. Could be one that you might want to read again.
Shill (LSL syntax files) - various editors for LSL usage. There should be something for everyone.
Report: OpenBSD developers wanted to downplay critical vulnerability - embarrassing, because Theo keeps hacking on other systems, which do exactly the same thing. Hypocritical, because this is probably just to maintain OpenBSD's clean record regarding security holes - at the expense of openness. Ridiculous, because OpenBSD still has the best security history and it would be more appropriate to admit a mistake and communicate openly.
Gen-Mais: Rats show damage to liver and kidneys - CRIIGEN concludes their investigation report with the finding that, based on the available data, the genetically modified corn cannot be considered safe. Who cares if sales are good.
Mono on Nokia 770/800 - good. This gives chances to get the libSL stories (e.g. Sleek?) flying on the Nokia. And this gives chances for a minimal SL client on the tablet! (not to mention the variety of interesting programming languages that are now also available for the Nokia)
PicoLisp Again
After some digging and leafing through and reading: PicoLisp is brilliant. What it is: simply a primitive Lisp with a very compact language core and some very unusual design decisions.
First and foremost: no compiler, not even a bytecode compiler. PicoLisp's "virtual machine" is simply an efficient Lisp interpreter for Lisp SEXPRs (the linked lists you know from old Lisp interpreters).
Another point: only lists, symbols, and numbers as data types. No floating points (instead, simple ways to use scaled integers) and strings are either lists of characters (which are symbols again) or simply symbols.
Also rather unusual: constant dynamic binding of symbols, not lexical binding. Old Lisp systems also only had dynamic binding. Lexical binding makes compilers easier and eliminates some annoying sources of errors, but dynamic binding enables some very interesting programming techniques (which is why many Lisp systems have fluids - dynamically bound variables - such as the global parameters in Common Lisp).
Other peculiarities: designed from the outset for developing database-driven applications. It includes its own database that contains all the features of typical object-relational databases and its own GUI library that targets various HTML variants (pure HTML, HTML with Java, and HTML with JavaScript).
Adding Prolog as a query language to the database is only a consistent further development - the integration of Prolog and Lisp is not new in general. But to achieve all this in such a compact way is smart.
What excites me about it? Well, anyone who has read Paul Graham's articles about Arc - the 100-year language he is working on - will see astonishing parallels. PicoLisp also limits itself to the bare essentials, uses quite compact representations, and has only strongly reduced data types. The idea is the same for both: back to clean abstraction on known concepts, not to dilute the source representation through premature optimization (data type selection).
The result? A compact Lisp core with very interesting properties and a fairly simple way to put together web applications. But also suitable for typical scripting stories (once you've figured out how to get programs integrated, for example). Additionally, an interpreter with manageable source code (not 14,000 lines of C source!), which you can easily extend with the functions necessary for your own projects. Overall, this strongly reminds me of the old TCL versions, except that here a real Lisp is underneath.
If you want to read for yourself, here are some documentation links:
However, all the documentation is not quite complete - functions keep appearing in one of the documents that are missing in the reference, or functions are used that are not mentioned anywhere and whose operation is not entirely clear. But there is also the complete (and only sparsely) documented source code of all library modules for that. Yes, it sounds a bit like a text adventure, I know. On the other hand, the volume of source code is quite manageable.
Pico Lisp - a mini-Lisp interpreter that has been in practical use for application development since 1988. Interesting concept - back to Lisp 1.5, fast interpreter instead of compiler, high dynamics.
Poland: Minister wants to ban "homosexual agitation" - Poland, the European America. Just as crazy.
SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator - hilarious!
Leica 25mm F1.4 Four Thirds lens - ok, now 4/3 is getting interesting. A normal focal length with the familiar 1.4 aperture, that's something. And the Lumix or Leica for the 4/3 system is bulky, but still looks quite nice, in terms of features.
Sigma DP1 - also not uninteresting. Compact camera with wide-angle fixed focal length and decent sensor size. With the viewfinder attachment, the result reminds me a bit of the Bessa-L, just not with the extreme field of view (but digital).
Alioth: Debian Root Software Raid Documentation: Detail: 303419 XFS issue / solution - important tip for lilo, RAID1 and XFS.
Debian Administration :: Migrating To RAID1 Mirror on Sarge - enabling a RAID system after the main system has already been set up.
RAID-1, Part 2 | Linux Journal - additional information about setting up RAID1 afterwards - also covers LILO.
Cargo Cult Science - Feynman. Classic.
Probation for FTPWelt operator - good if lawyer Bernhard S. gets 10 months probation and a 90,000 euro fine for the FTPWelt stunt. Even better if he now gets trouble with the bar association because of the story. But does illegal action automatically lead to exclusion? Probably not, right? Doesn't bother federal ministers either ...
Darwin Streaming Server under Ubuntu/Debian - Apple's page on it with a link to the documentation.
QuickTime Broadcaster - free tool from Apple for streaming video content to a Quicktime Streaming Server. Could be quite exciting for Second Life if I can stream videos there.
Streaming with Linux - simple introductory article, also a few interesting tips in it.
Using Nicecast with Streaming Server - Streaming MP3s via DSS. In the long run, I could get rid of my Shoutcast streams with it. Let's try it out.
Build Me A Tapeworm - everything you never wanted to know about tapeworms.
rzip - new compression variant with higher compression rate for very large files.
The majority of the silent ones - Read!
Jungerl - a dense and chaotic Jungle of Erlang code - it is what it says on the tin.
personal computers will never have gigabytes of RAM - ouch. Someone really miscalculated there ... (especially funny is the question of whether one would want to wait 6 minutes for their word processor to start)
GrandPerspective - graphical display of disk usage. Useful to find out what is cluttering up the huge disk again.
The largest drain hole in the world - when the drain is clogged ...
Schneier on DRM in Windows Vista - many reasons to keep your hands off Vista.
Scientist finds new ocean in inner earth - wow. Sounds almost like Jules Verne. When will they probably send the first robot probe down? Sure, a long way to go, but it would be exciting and certainly insightful for considerations about potential life on other planets and moons.
soaplib - there's something new here. Besides the rather slow SOAPpy and the, in my opinion, somewhat over-engineered ZSI, there is now another Python library for SOAP web services with soaplib. Let's take a look.
boto - a library for accessing Amazon Webservices. Supported are S3, SQS and EC2 - exactly what I need. Documentation also looks quite useful.
Jython 2.2 Beta - finally something new from Jython, the Python implementation for the Java VM. Still Python 2.2 syntax level, but at least a new release. However, the roadmap reads a bit harsh when talking about code quality ...
Caught in the Network - it begins. A professor receives a visit from security for using TOR. We also have isolated instances of targeting TOR and other systems. Not entirely unimportant given the current paranoia and control freakery of the authorities.
Politicians against Kurnaz's naturalization - the last trash, our politicians. First, they sell a human being, then they don't care what happens to him, and then there are "security concerns" against naturalization. Could someone deport Schönboom and Wiefelspütz? Their reliability and attitude towards the democratic basic order is more than questionable ...