MindlessCode.net

Here’s an idea for a rewrite of libdialogs). Basically, instead of relying on 2 shared library (gtkqt to enter Qt event loop, and libdialogs for C bindings for KDE dialogs), all dialog work is done through D-BUS to a dialogs dæmon that would handle displaying dialogs and returning file names.

This would mean that we woun’t have to mess with the GTK apps in the Qt event loop (I think), and we certainly wouldn’t need any C bindings for KDE dialogs. Also, we could detect on the fly what DE is currently in use, and show whatever dialogs would make sense. For example, if the user is running GEdit under KDE, then KDE dialogs are show. However, if the same user was running Gnome, then Gnome/GTK+ dialogs would be shown. All this without recompiling the binary!

The problem? This would certainly slow down displaying dialogs (how much, I can’t say). The big problem is that I haven’t been able to get DBUS to work on Slack :(.

I just made a new Firefox autopackage (here). It implements making Firefox the default browser for Gnome and KDE (as well as rolling back the changes on uninstall to what they were before). It actually wasn’t too hard, just work (finding out how KDE and Gnome set their default browser).

Also, I had to whip up a shell script to check if Firefox was running or not (you can’t run /usr/bin/firefox <url> is Firefox is already running–it brings up it’s stupid profile box, you also can use -remote if Firefox isn’t running…)

In case you want you want to know how to do it, the specfile is here: http://www.wildgardenseed.com/Taj/autopackage/specs/firefox.apspec

UPDATE :: I have pulled this version of the Autopackage because fooling around with people’s systems isn’t nice. You can always find the latest Firefox Autopacakge at here.

…you have 28 tabs open at once (Screenshot)…sick huh?

Anyways, I didn’t like the new HHG2G (Listen Here)

BBC Radio 4 will release the first installment of the Quandary Phase of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy to day! 6:30PM UK Time (+1GMT), 10:30AM PDT. When it’s on, find it here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4.shtml?fm

Cool!

Case 1:05-cv-00618-JDT-TAB [PDF]

I quote (typo’s are intentional–they’re in the PDF, emphasis it mime)

COMPLAINT
The Defendant FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION INC. has entered into contracts and otherwise conspired and agreed with individual software authors and commercial distributors of commodity software products such as Red Hat Inc. and Novell Inc. to artificially fix the prices charged for computer software programs through the promotion and use of an adhesion contract that was created, used and promoted since at least the year 1991 by the FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION INC. This license is known as the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE. The price fixing scheme implemented with the use of the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE substantially lessens the ability of individual software authors to compete in a free market through the creation, sale and distribution of computer software programs.

DAMAGES
The Defendant Daniel Wallace is educated in the art and science of physics and computer programming. The Defendant’s ability to work and create commercial computer programs is dependent upon a market free of restraints on trade through price-fixing schemes. The rapid adoption of the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE in schemes to deflate or eliminate the free market valuation of computer programs threatens to diminish or destroy the ability of the Defendant to earn future revenues in the career field of computer programming.

REQUEST FOR RELIEF
The Defendant respectfully requests the Court grant a permanent injunction prohibiting the promotion or use of the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE by the FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION INC. to artificially control the the pricing of computer software programs in the course of commerce and conducted in the United States.

Defendant FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION INC. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization based in the State of Maine with mailing address:
[…]
Boston, Massachusetts, 02111-1307

Wow, now there are some statements! Oh, and BTW, just for the record, the Free Software Foundation is not an incorporated business (Inc=Incorporated). The FSF is actually a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. According the the claim, they are based in Maine, but they’re actually based in Massachusetts…sounds like someone needed to do some fact checking :P.

Actually, you should read it, it’s very funny–I think I’ll print it out, make photo copies, and pin it up to the telephone poles with a sign above it saying “Help stomp out communism!” :> No, really… (/me sighs–what is the world coming too)

1. The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
2. Zero: The biography of a dangerous idea (Charles Seife)
3. The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody (Will Cuppy)

These are all great books, and you should read them.

You can never catch a tortise on a piece of paper. –Taj’s Interpretation of Zeno’s Paradox

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a “What’s going on” post here, so I think I’ll fix that right now.

Today I modified the blog theme a little bit (added the “Little Buttons”, “Syndicate”, and “Code is Poetry” sections) as well as made this monster valid XHTML 1.0 Strict (WordPress has a way of screwing with my posts and improperly nesting tags).

I’ve also been hacking out mime-types for Autopackage. Currently, we’re clocking at 3 different standards (KDE, Gnome, and FreeDesktop.org).

KDE implements mime-types with two .desktop files. One that connects a file to a mime-type (e.g., “Files with *.html are of type text/html), and another file that says “Open files that have a mime-type of text/html with Mozilla Firefox).

Gnome implements mime-types with two files as well. These files are in a very strange format (for which I have never been able to find documentation) and have all sorts of weird stuff (e.g., “short_list_application_ids_for_intermediate_user_level”) in them which make no sense.

The third standard is the spec provided by FreeDesktop.org. This one is at least documented. The problem? Nobody uses it. Gnome supports it (in version 2.10, I beleive), but KDE doesn’t (and has no plans to, AFAIK).

So, to be able to get mime-types to work the developer has to write 5 mandatory as well as 1 maybe-not-required file. Autopackage needs to figure out how to install them–it sucks.

Some people think I never do anything but program–they’re almost right. Actually, I’ve found that OpenTTD is a highly addictive game. There’s an autopackage which makes it very easy to install.

Also, we’ve been painting the scenes for our Spanish play (The Taming of the Shrew). The street scene is made out of 3½ refrigerator boxes (1.5 scenes from last years play, The Pied Piper+ 2 more new boxes). Here’s a pic from when it was still under development:

See, I do do something other than program!

I just setup Bad Behaviour for Wordpress to try and keep people from comment/trackback spamming my blog without having to write any nasty image verification code (image verification doesn’t work for trackback, anyway).

The solution: Bad Behavior. It looks at the HTTP headers of people visiting your blog and then profiles them with a list of known spambots. If it thinks you’re a spambot, it keeps you from posting comments. Let me know if it keeps you out…