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Maggie's Farm - A Follow-Up
2009-09-16 17:23:00
It isn't my purpose to go on arguing this point. Like every point I try to make on this blog, eventually you've stated every argument you have and you just have to conclude with, "I guess either you get it, or you don't." But quite a few readers have responded with dismay when I submitted my letter of resignation from the Fight for Technology Freedom in America. "The troops need you.", they say, or "Don't give up, we're winning!" Things along those lines. But I'm looking at the big picture. Let's just forget about what operating system people run for a minute. Let's look at some other fronts in the United States. For instance, Michael Moore is getting discouraged, too. And all he's doing is trying to point out fundamental flaws in US economy, politics, and culture. Flaws that the citizens of every other country tell us and tell us and tell us that we have, and nobody listens. This story at the Huff has Michael Moore saying such things as: "I've done this for 20 years....
More About: Farm

Game Review: Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection
2009-09-15 17:58:00
While I'm usually happy blasting away demons in a FPS or pushing a necromancer with skeleton escorts to conquer yet another level-grinding dungeon, sometimes I just want to get back to the basics. Casual puzzle games are the unsung champions of the modern game scene. The blockbuster titles get all the attention, and yet it's the simple solitaires and brain-teasers that are in every PC's menu, on every mobile phone, and bookmarked in every web browser. These games have the advantage of being portable, simple to learn, fast to start and shut-down, and providing stimulation for your little gray cells in between more pressing tasks. So this is Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection, which I just discovered as a Zenwalk package on the kids' system, and liked so much that I went to get my own copy. My Slackware compiled the tarball without a single hiccup. After inserting the games into my Fluxbox's menu file, I've been only too happy to become addicted to fiddling with them. ...
More About: Linux Gaming , Review , Game

Game Review: Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection
2009-09-15 17:58:00
While I'm usually happy blasting away demons in a FPS or pushing a necromancer with skeleton escorts to conquer yet another level-grinding dungeon, sometimes I just want to get back to the basics. Casual puzzle games are the unsung champions of the modern game scene. The blockbuster titles get all the attention, and yet it's the simple solitaires and brain-teasers that are in every PC's menu, on every mobile phone, and bookmarked in every web browser. These games have the advantage of being portable, simple to learn, fast to start and shut-down, and providing stimulation for your little gray cells in between more pressing tasks. So this is Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection, which I just discovered as a Zenwalk package on the kids' system, and liked so much that I went to get my own copy. My Slackware compiled the tarball without a single hiccup. After inserting the games into my Fluxbox's menu file, I've been only too happy to become addicted to fiddling with them. ...
More About: Review , Game

Guest-Starring in Today's Doomed to Obscurity: Yakov Smirnoff and Kent Broc
2009-09-07 22:51:00
I tried something new with Doomed to Obscurity today. See if I can import a couple of characters and have them turn out recognizable, while still drawing in the strip's own style. The first is the real-life Russian-American comedian Yakov Smirnoff , and the second a supporting cartoon character, Kent Brockman from The Simpsons. The results were uncanny enough to surprise me. Things I've learned today: Importing a real live human into a cartoon is harder to do and have them turn out recognizable. As you can see, I combined two images of Yakov to be sure I had as many wardrobe cues as possible, so he's more recognizable to modern audiences. Importing a Simpson's character, on the other hand, is a snap. I have noticed that there are only a few differences between my style for this strip and The Simpsons, albeit with radically different methods. However, the differences with the Simpson's character are most telling about technique. The Simpsons are drawn in freehand sty...
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Guest-Starring in Today's Doomed to Obscurity: Yakov Smirnoff and Kent Broc
2009-09-07 22:51:00
I tried something new with Doomed to Obscurity today. See if I can import a couple of characters and have them turn out recognizable, while still drawing in the strip's own style. The first is the real-life Russian-American comedian Yakov Smirnoff , and the second a supporting cartoon character, Kent Brockman from The Simpsons. The results were uncanny enough to surprise me. Things I've learned today: Importing a real live human into a cartoon is harder to do and have them turn out recognizable. As you can see, I combined two images of Yakov to be sure I had as many wardrobe cues as possible, so he's more recognizable to modern audiences. Importing a Simpson's character, on the other hand, is a snap. I have noticed that there are only a few differences between my style for this strip and The Simpsons, albeit with radically different methods. However, the differences with the Simpson's character are most telling about technique. The Simpsons are drawn in freehand style,...
More About: Guest

A Walk in the Woods
2009-09-02 15:42:00
Nothing enhances your morning coffee like a hike through the dewy wild woods of Iowa! A few shots: I have no idea what these are. I'm guessing some variety of buttercup or wild rose? There aren't many of them around. These, on the other hand, are growing everywhere. Some species of Asteraceae, I gather. I mean they grow everywhere! They weren't around a month ago, now they've exploded. Early morning fog on a clearing. I can't see, but I think we've shaken the Nazgul off our tail for now. I've found the area around the new igloo to be an endless source of entertainment - so I've started a new category, "Iowa", for the occasional photobloging adventure. Squirrels and chipmunks were all we had to work with at our last digs, but wildlife is crazy abundant around here. We've had run-ins with deer, raccoon, hawks, possums, one snake, and frogs. Lots and lots of frogs. For a while there, lots of baby ones were getting in under the garage door and we've all become ex...
More About: Woods , Walk , In the Woods

A Walk in the Woods
2009-09-02 15:42:00
Nothing enhances your morning coffee like a hike through the dewy wild woods of Iowa ! A few shots: I have no idea what these are. I'm guessing some variety of buttercup or wild rose? There aren't many of them around. These, on the other hand, are growing everywhere. Some species of Asteraceae, I gather. I mean they grow everywhere! They weren't around a month ago, now they've exploded. Early morning fog on a clearing. I can't see, but I think we've shaken the Nazgul off our tail for now. I've found the area around the new igloo to be an endless source of entertainment - so I've started a new category, "Iowa", for the occasional photobloging adventure. Squirrels and chipmunks were all we had to work with at our last digs, but wildlife is crazy abundant around here. We've had run-ins with deer, raccoon, hawks, possums, one snake, and frogs. Lots and lots of frogs. For a while there, lots of baby ones were getting in under the garage door and we've all become ex...
More About: Woods , Walk , In the Woods

Maggie's Farm
2009-09-01 21:24:00
As they say in Starcraft, "Upgrade complete!" I have finished (mostly!) the site re-design and overhaul. The only exception is a few straggler pages like the ones I posted Flash games on, but those are getting collated into the new 'Playground' section anyway. Also the portfolio is remaining as-is for now - it's intended to be different from the rest of the site anyway. There will be small tweaks for a few tiny issues, but generally this set-up works across platforms, conforms to standards better, and won't draw nearly as much flaming from the 4chan set. The last style was a hipster joke, my way of thumbing my nose at all things technology in one stroke. That was fun, but this style looks much more professional. That reflects the fact that online freelancing has become a full-fledged career for me, rather than just a profitable side hobby. But I mentioned - way back here - that with this new look comes a new attitude that I have. And what is that new attitude? Why, it's Maggi...
More About: General , Farm

Maggie's Farm
2009-09-01 21:24:00
As they say in Starcraft, "Upgrade complete!" I have finished (mostly!) the site re-design and overhaul. The only exception is a few straggler pages like the ones I posted Flash games on, but those are getting collated into the new 'Playground' section anyway. Also the portfolio is remaining as-is for now - it's intended to be different from the rest of the site anyway. There will be small tweaks for a few tiny issues, but generally this set-up works across platforms, conforms to standards better, and won't draw nearly as much flaming from the 4chan set. The last style was a hipster joke, my way of thumbing my nose at all things technology in one stroke. That was fun, but this style looks much more professional. That reflects the fact that online freelancing has become a full-fledged career for me, rather than just a profitable side hobby. But I mentioned - way back here - that with this new look comes a new attitude that I have. And what is that new attitude? Why, it's Maggi...
More About: Farm

Slackware 13.0 is Released!
2009-08-28 14:04:00
Ever since I've scrounged up a new box, I've been on pins and needles waiting for Slackware 13.0 to launch. And the day is here! This release is a landmark in Slackware history. We can officially dance in the streets now! The Torrents are torrenting! And by the way, yes, this blog's formatting still needs a little work. If you see a post with multiple comments, they're all run together like a pileup on a Los Angeles freeway. I'm still working on that. It's been busy. This year for me has been new home, new site design, new computer, new philosophy... this is exhausting, but worth it. But I'll blabber more on what on the blog gets moved where in its own post. Update I have yet to install this on the new box. The new computer is literally at my elbow, reproaching me with its black, square stare as it waits for me to move into it. All I have to do is one minor hardware tweak and then install the system - I have Slackware 13.0 disks already burned. I've just been so busy!...
More About: Released

Slackware 13.0 is Released!
2009-08-28 14:04:00
Ever since I've scrounged up a new box, I've been on pins and needles waiting for Slackware 13.0 to launch. And the day is here! This release is a landmark in Slackware history. We can officially dance in the streets now! The Torrents are torrenting! And by the way, yes, this blog's formatting still needs a little work. If you see a post with multiple comments, they're all run together like a pileup on a Los Angeles freeway. I'm still working on that. It's been busy. This year for me has been new home, new site design, new computer, new philosophy... this is exhausting, but worth it. But I'll blabber more on what on the blog gets moved where in its own post.
More About: Site News , Released

Site Re-Design: Blog Under Reconstruction 8/13/09 to 8/31/09
2009-08-14 01:25:00
Just for a notice, I have to bite the bullet, take a deep breath, and once again plunge headfirst into the sea of snakes that is the code for this blog. This won't be happening all at once. I'll try to keep it to night hours. My deadline is by the end of August. But during the transition period while I'm building the new style and fiddling with some code rewriting too, there may be chaos at any time. This won't affect the rest of the site, just the blog. During the next two weeks, visitors to this blog may experience 404 errors, 503 errors, unreadable pages, garbled PHP errors, missing posts, dead links, skin rashes, blank text, plagues of frogs, missing images, hungry zombie hordes, holes in the space-time continuum, dancing hamsters, haiku poltergeists, narwhal attacks, spontaneous break-dancing, and class-3 tornadoes. On a mild day. But it will be all worth it, because when it's over, we'll never have to look at this cotton-candy-boxes theme again. Plus after this, I wil...
More About: Design , Blog , Site , Reconstruction

Site Re-Design: Blog Under Reconstruction 8/13/09 to 8/31/09
2009-08-14 01:25:00
Just for a notice, I have to bite the bullet, take a deep breath, and once again plunge headfirst into the sea of snakes that is the code for this blog. This won't be happening all at once. I'll try to keep it to night hours. My deadline is by the end of August. But during the transition period while I'm building the new style and fiddling with some code rewriting too, there may be chaos at any time. This won't affect the rest of the site, just the blog. During the next two weeks, visitors to this blog may experience 404 errors, 503 errors, unreadable pages, garbled PHP errors, missing posts, dead links, skin rashes, blank text, plagues of frogs, missing images, hungry zombie hordes, holes in the space-time continuum, dancing hamsters, haiku poltergeists, narwhal attacks, spontaneous break-dancing, and class-3 tornadoes. On a mild day. But it will be all worth it, because when it's over, we'll never have to look at this cotton-candy-boxes theme again. Plus after this, I wil...
More About: Site News , Design , Blog , Site , Reconstruction

Site Re-Design: Wallpaper Gallery and Webcomic
2009-08-09 00:55:00
As a way to put off re-doing the blog's design even further (it is going to be a BEAR of a job!) I've re-done the wallpaper dump and the webcomic in the new site theme. Hopefully, as we see it applied to more and more sections, it will start to make sense? Thank all of you who have gone to the trouble to critique and nitpick the style so far. Remember, just because I don't change something right away doesn't mean I'm not taking your criticism into account. I try to stack up a consensus over time and then weigh it carefully and act on that. Right now, the theme and style is kind of doing everything I want it to, but the way the style works with the comic isn't blowing me away, either. There's something about a big white rectangle looming in the middle of it that makes it look out of place. But because comics just don't travel well without a white border, I've gotta keep that. Also, I broke away from the Candice font to continue using my own custom font for Doomed to Obscur...
More About: Site News , Design , Wallpaper , Site , Gallery

Site Re-Design: Wallpaper Gallery and Webcomic
2009-08-09 00:55:00
As a way to put off re-doing the blog's deign even further (it is going to be a BEAR of a job!) I've re-done the wallpaper dump and the webcomic in the new site theme. Hopefully, as we see it applied to more and more sections, it will start to make sense? Thank all of you who have gone to the trouble to critique and nitpick the style so far. Remember, just because I don't change something right away doesn't mean I'm not taking your criticism into account. I try to stack up a consensus over time and then weigh it carefully and act on that. Right now, the theme and style is kind of doing everything I want it to, but the way the style works with the comic isn't blowing me away, either. There's something about a big white rectangle looming in the middle of it that makes it look out of place. But because comics just don't travel well without a white border, I've gotta keep that. Also, I broke away from the Candice font to continue using my own custom font for Doomed to Obscuri...
More About: Design , Wallpaper , Site , Gallery

Linux's User Interface Puts MS Windows' To SHAME!
2009-08-05 19:11:00
Well, I got me a new refurbished box with very good specs, which is about to become my new home office machine. That's as soon as Slackware 13.0 hits final distribution release, which should be any day now... (Bought the box with Windows on it, you see) So, while I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting for that landmark to come to pass, I did what any Linux user probably does when temporarily owning a copy of Windows (XP Pro here), and checked how it's doing these days. Because, see, I just can't get enough asstroturfers telling me how swell Windows stacks up to Linux lately. Gotta see for myself what all the hype is about. And since Microsoft is now suffering from the delusion that it competes with Linux, well... It didn't take long before the old Microsoft memories came back. Literally before I could get into the desktop, the first problem hit: It doesn't recognize the mouse. To be sure, the mouse is an old Wacom tablet with the little wireless mouse on it, pressed into service be...
More About: Humor , User , Interface , User Interface

Linux's User Interface Puts MS Windows' To SHAME!
2009-08-05 19:11:00
Well, I got me a new refurbished box with very good specs, which is about to become my new home office machine. That's as soon as Slackware 13.0 hits final distribution release, which should be any day now... (Bought the box with Windows on it, you see) So, while I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting for that landmark to come to pass, I did what any Linux user probably does when temporarily owning a copy of Windows (XP Pro here), and checked how it's doing these days. Because, see, I just can't get enough asstroturfers telling me how swell Windows stacks up to Linux lately. Gotta see for myself what all the hype is about. And since Microsoft is now suffering from the delusion that it competes with Linux, well... It didn't take long before the old Microsoft memories came back. Literally before I could get into the desktop, the first problem hit: It doesn't recognize the mouse. To be sure, the mouse is an old Wacom tablet with the little wireless mouse on it, pressed into service be...
More About: User , Interface , User Interface , Shame

"Doomed to Obscurity" Now Appearing in the Linux Gazette
2009-08-01 21:46:00
With my permission, selected strips from Doomed to Obscurity will now be appearing in monthly issues of the Linux Gazette, the long-running (14 years and counting!) Linux-oriented webzine whose motto is ""Making Linux just a little more fun." Editor-in-chief Ben Okopnik wrote me last month expressing interest in running the comic there. I was pretty thrilled to be considered worthy to appear alongside the likes of XKCD! Actually, by "thrilled" I mean leaping out of my chair to do a few backflips going "woohoo! woohoo! woohoo!" like a Daffy Duck cartoon. It's a start, anyway.

"Doomed to Obscurity" Now Appearing in the Linux Gazette
2009-08-01 21:46:00
With my permission, selected strips from Doomed to Obscurity will now be appearing in monthly issues of the Linux Gazette, the long-running (14 years and counting!) Linux-oriented webzine whose motto is ""Making Linux just a little more fun." Editor-in-chief Ben Okopnik wrote me last month expressing interest in running the comic there. I was pretty thrilled to be considered worthy to appear alongside the likes of XKCD! Actually, by "thrilled" I mean leaping out of my chair to do a few backflips going "woohoo! woohoo! woohoo!" like a Daffy Duck cartoon. It's a start, anyway.
More About: Site News

Site Re-Design Progress: Main Index Beta
2009-07-29 22:13:00
http://penguinpetes.com/index.php OK, here's my 'beta' preview for the main index. This is pretty consistent with the look I want for the whole site. I want the sections to float and the page to be liquid of course, so those boxes are going to do different things on different set-ups. In wide screens, they'll sit all in the top row. On narrower screens, they'll stack into columns. As far as I've checked in browsershots (almost always down these days, it seems), it's pretty bug-free except for sometimes how the div boxes position themselves, dropping down too far in (guess who?) IE on a narrow screen, but what the heck. That's what God gave us scrollwheels for, right? And it validates with a big ol' "Congratulations!" for XHTML 1.0 strict. So, everybody have a look at it, and I'll stand back and await the inevitable issues to be mentioned... If you have a comment on the page, please specify system/ browser/ screen resolution - that helps with troubleshooting.
More About: Site News , Design , Beta , Site , Main

Site Re-Design Progress: Main Index Beta
2009-07-29 22:13:00
http://penguinpetes.com/index.php OK, here's my 'beta' preview for the main index. This is pretty consistent with the look I want for the whole site. I want the sections to float and the page to be liquid of course, so those boxes are going to do different things on different set-ups. In wide screens, they'll sit all in the top row. On narrower screens, they'll stack into columns. As far as I've checked in browsershots (almost always down these days, it seems), it's pretty bug-free except for sometimes how the div boxes position themselves, dropping down too far in (guess who?) IE on a narrow screen, but what the heck. That's what God gave us scrollwheels for, right? And it validates with a big ol' "Congratulations!" for XHTML 1.0 strict. So, everybody have a look at it, and I'll stand back and await the inevitable issues to be mentioned... If you have a comment on the page, please specify system/ browser/ screen resolution - that helps with troubleshooting.
More About: Design , Beta , Site , Main , Progress

The Beez Nails It
2009-07-25 05:56:00
http://thebeezspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/07 /free-open-source-software-evangelist.htm l We've been riding the Roller-Coaster of Drama this week in the tech community, and I was considering composing an overview of it. But Hans Bezemer just posted and said it all for me better than I could say it myself. So go check out his post, where he comes with the Flashlight of Rationality to lead us out of the Trenches of FUD and back to the Sunny Light of Reason. For once I can just sit back and go, "Yeah, what he said!" About evangelists, attempts to divide the community, Mono Kool-Ade, MS's code submission regarding Hyper-V, and Linus Torvalds' quote and how it's been taken out of context. (waaaaay, way way out!) And of course, some pro-Mono asstroturfers who are now cwying and clutching their bwankies because they didn't succeed in making all the Linux community bloggers go hang themselves. Glyn Moody also throws in a hand, comparing the current Mono-culture-clash with the old KDE-Qt-v...
More About: Nails

The Beez Nails It
2009-07-25 05:56:00
http://thebeezspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/07 /free-open-source-software-evangelist.htm l We've been riding the Roller-Coaster of Drama this week in the tech community, and I was considering composing an overview of it. But Hans Bezemer just posted and said it all for me better than I could say it myself. So go check out his post, where he comes with the Flashlight of Rationality to lead us out of the Trenches of FUD and back to the Sunny Light of Reason. For once I can just sit back and go, "Yeah, what he said!" About evangelists, attempts to divide the community, Mono Kool-Ade, MS's code submission regarding Hyper-V, and Linus Torvalds' quote and how it's been taken out of context. (waaaaay, way way out!) And of course, some pro-Mono asstroturfers who are now cwying and clutching their bwankies because they didn't succeed in making all the Linux community bloggers go hang themselves. Glyn Moody also throws in a hand, comparing the current Mono-culture-clash with the old KDE-Qt-v...
More About: Nails

Who Are The Real Zealots? - Part 2
2009-07-21 22:31:00
So: The community around GNU, Linux, and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in general frequently gets called "zealots." Interesting. We've also learned a few things this month about the hidden world of Microsoft Evangelists, which I've pointed to as an example that the zealotry is on the part of Microsoft. But let's look at another angle: If Linux makers and users were as single-minded and biased as we are said to be, then wouldn't it make sense that we'd also fight with, well, other technology companies as well? And yet, you don't see that, do you? Funny, no other company attacks Linux the way Microsoft does, and then there's no other company which arouses such ire in the Linux community as Microsoft does. Let's take a little roll-call around the tech sphere. I'll name a company, and give it a 1-to-10 rating for being "FOSS-friendly." 10 being most friendly, 1 being enemy. Now, I'm going to gloss over the occasional border-skirmish between tribes. Sure, you could fi...
More About: General , Real , Part , Zealots

Who Are The Real Zealots? - Part 2
2009-07-21 22:31:00
So: The community around GNU, Linux, and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in general frequently gets called "zealots." Interesting. We've also learned a few things this month about the hidden world of Microsoft Evangelists, which I've pointed to as an example that the zealotry is on the part of Microsoft. But let's look at another angle: If Linux makers and users were as single-minded and biased as we are said to be, then wouldn't it make sense that we'd also fight with, well, other technology companies as well? And yet, you don't see that, do you? Funny, no other company attacks Linux the way Microsoft does, and then there's no other company which arouses such ire in the Linux community as Microsoft does. Let's take a little roll-call around the tech sphere. I'll name a company, and give it a 1-to-10 rating for being "FOSS-friendly." 10 being most friendly, 1 being enemy. Now, I'm going to gloss over the occasional border-skirmish between tribes. Sure, you could fi...
More About: Real , Part , Zealots

Why I'll Be Blocking Bing Just Like I Did MS Live.com
2009-07-19 16:56:00
Now, then, before the random craziness discussed in the past two posts broke out, there's a little four-letter word which started it all, and ironically, I was just going to pay some attention to. Before I was so rudely distracted. I'll be blocking Bing . Just like I did Live . And I totally suggest you do the same. Why: Start with a post I made way back here, when I noticed all these dumb little one-word search hits showing up in my site logs from MS' Live.com. Naive little puppy I was then, I was so mystified that I asked my readers to help me figure it out, and they quickly provided the answer. Webmasters all over the web have been noticing the same trend. Exposure Online says, "Microsoft is lying and intentionally screwing up your log files," and eKstreme.com says, "Yell if Microsoft’s Live.com Spammed You Too - Updated," and even other webmasters decided to block MS' bot before I did. And don't you just love the links in the above paragraph? I love a good webmaster...

Why I'll Be Blocking Bing Just Like I Did MS Live.com
2009-07-19 16:56:00
Now, then, before the random craziness discussed in the past two posts broke out, there's a little four-letter word which started it all, and ironically, I was just going to pay some attention to. Before I was so rudely distracted. I'll be blocking Bing . Just like I did Live . And I totally suggest you do the same. Why: Start with a post I made way back here, when I noticed all these dumb little one-word search hits showing up in my site logs from MS' Live.com. Naive little puppy I was then, I was so mystified that I asked my readers to help me figure it out, and they quickly provided the answer. Webmasters all over the web have been noticing the same trend. Exposure Online says, "Microsoft is lying and intentionally screwing up your log files," and eKstreme.com says, "Yell if Microsoft?s Live.com Spammed You Too - Updated," and even other webmasters decided to block MS' bot before I did. And don't you just love the links in the above paragraph? I love a good webmaster blog ...
More About: General

Look At What A Microsoft Evangelist Does For A Living!
2009-07-19 15:09:00
Ladies and gentlemen: these are the facts of the case, and they are indisputable. July 14, 2009 at 10:06 am The following comment was placed on a GNU/Linux/FOSS-Activist site: This is a screenshot of the comment found here, second comment down, still intact. I'm making a screenshot just for the consideration of it in itself. What does this look like to you? Is it not incendiary? Does it not lie? Does it not make unfounded accusations? Does it not make a pitch for Microsoft Bing? Does it not pretend to be written by an ordinary user with no financial interest in the subject? Let us click through to the URL linked from the name of one "Jonathan Wong." We currently see (because this is written on 7/19/09 in the AM) a blog called "Armchair Theorist" with a tagline "All conjecture, minimal substance." The current new post is "Using Rich Interactive User Experiences to Market your Brand." Not so different from any personal blog, is it? Here is his about page. The average public p...
More About: Living

Look At What A Microsoft Evangelist Does For A Living!
2009-07-19 15:09:00
Ladies and gentlemen: these are the facts of the case, and they are indisputable. July 14, 2009 at 10:06 am The following comment was placed on a GNU/Linux/FOSS-Activist site: This is a screenshot of the comment found here, second comment down, still intact. I'm making a screenshot just for the consideration of it in itself. What does this look like to you? Is it not incendiary? Does it not lie? Does it not make unfounded accusations? Does it not make a pitch for Microsoft Bing? Does it not pretend to be written by an ordinary user with no financial interest in the subject? Let us click through to the URL linked from the name of one "Jonathan Wong." We currently see (because this is written on 7/19/09 in the AM) a blog called "Armchair Theorist" with a tagline "All conjecture, minimal substance." The current new post is "Using Rich Interactive User Experiences to Market your Brand." Not so different from any personal blog, is it? Here is his about page. The average public p...
More About: Living , General

Open Source vs. Proprietary - Who Are The Real Zealots?
2009-07-16 23:18:00
This post is actually about true zealots and asstroturfers, but to get to that point, I have to throw a boomerang around a couple of trees. The thread of this post is going to weave around like a Quentin Tarantino movie. Bear with me. I was really sickened the other day to see an investigative blogger whom I respect and admire get attacked so unfairly. I am speaking of Roy Schestowitz, of BoycottNovell fame. Far beyond the original purpose described by the URL, Roy has focused with laser-beam intensity on all of the dirty dealings of proprietary technology. I have often been amazed to check a Boycott Novell article and discover hard evidence, before my very eyes, of things I'd only half-guessed and suspected before. The attack was from Open Source to Go!, so it seems to be from a source within the community. Beside the point of who's right on that one, David Schlesinger, in the post on Open Source to Go!, uses the little spat as an example of zealotry. "Zealotry" is another one...
More About: Open-Source , Real