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action / software — Comments Off on GAIM vs. AOL = Pidgin
09
Apr 07

GAIM vs. AOL = Pidgin

GAIM is now Pidgin   Many years ago when GAIM project was first started, it was called “GTK+ AOL Instant Messenger.” AOL naturally complained, and Mark Spencer changed the name to “Gaim.”

A few years later AOL trademarked “AIM,” and started referring to their IM services using that name. They complained.

At long last, GAIM have a signed settlement and can release a new version. There is one catch however: they have had to change the project’s name.

After a long, and secret debate, GAIM’s team settled on the name “Pidgin” for GAIM itself, “libpurple” for “libgaim” (which, as of 2.0.0 beta6, exists), and “Finch” for “gaim-text”. Yes, the spelling of “Pidgin“.

The final Pidgin 2.0.0 will be released late this week or early next week.

music — Comments Off on Music Video Clip of the day: Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
08
Apr 07

Music Video Clip of the day: Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a song by American rock band Nirvana, and the opening track and lead single from the band’s 1991 breakthrough album Nevermind. Written by Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl and produced by Butch Vig, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is commonly regarded as the song that brought alternative rock and grunge music to prominence worldwide, and served as an anthem for Generation X

action / linux — Comments Off on Verizon’s ignorance – “Linux does not support Javascript and Tables”
07
Apr 07

Verizon’s ignorance – “Linux does not support Javascript and Tables”

Checking a speedtest tool from Verizon? Would like to ask Verizon whether or not it works for you? Here is one of Verizon’s question/answers:

    Q: My computer is a Mac, PC, or Linux – will this test work for me?
    A: Yes. The techniques used to build these pages are not operating system specific. However, the Speedtest tool should work for every browser that supports simple JavaScript and tables. The noted exception to this is Linux, which supports neither JavaScript nor tables.

Here is the snapshot:

verizon ignorance linux

Way to go Verizon! There is a good book you can buy for FiOS department to read “Linux for Dummies” :)

action — Comments Off on GOOGLE’s new baby “1-800-GOOG-411″
07
Apr 07

GOOGLE’s new baby “1-800-GOOG-411″

powered by
google labs logo
can’t find a girlfriend? its easy – just call 1-800-GOOG-GIRL
looking for your keys? its easy – just call 1-800-GOOG-KEYS
want another life? its never been easier – just call 1-800-GOOG-NEXT
;)

Welcome to Google Voice Local Search

Google Voice Local Search is Google’s experimental service to make local-business search accessible over the phone.

To try this service, just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) from any phone.

Using this service, you can:

  • search for a local business by name or category.
    You can say “Giovanni’s Pizzeria” or just “pizza”.
  • get connected to the business, free of charge.
  • get the details by SMS if you’re using a mobile phone.
    Just say “text message”.

And it’s free. Google doesn’t charge you a thing for the call or for connecting you to the business. Regular phone charges may apply, based on your telephone service provider.

Note: Google Voice Local Search is still in its experimental stage. It may not be available at all times and may not work for all users. We’re fine-tuning the service to get better at recognizing your requests. It’s currently only available in English, in the US, for US business listings.

When you are asked for city and state, you can:

  • say the city and state like “beverly hills california”.
  • say the zip, e.g. “nine-oh-two-one-oh”.
  • type the zip code using the key pad, e.g. “9-0-2-1-0”.

When you are asked for a business name or category, you can:

  • say a business name, like “Giovanni’s pizzeria”.
  • say a category name, like “hardware stores”.
  • say “go back” to change city and state.

When browsing through results, you can:

  • say the listing number (e.g. “number two”) or press the corresponding key (e.g. “2”) to choose a listing or navigate between results.
  • say “text message” or press “9” to receive a text message, when you are calling from a mobile phone.
  • say “details” to get more information about the current listing.
  • say “start over” or press “*” to start from the main menu.
  • say “go back” to change business or category.
action / linux — Comments Off on Happy birthday IBM System/360!
07
Apr 07

Happy birthday IBM System/360!

Exactly 43 years ago, on April 7, 1964 the entire concept of computers has changed, when Big Blue announced its baby – IBM System/360 (S/360).

According to wiki The design is considered by many to be one of the most successful computers in history, influencing computer design for years to come. (The 360 and its successors are unquestionably the most profitable line of computer systems in history).

image is taken from ibm
ibm os360

Today, S/360 would seem like a total archaism – with several CPUs, it performed less than a MIPS or a 1,000,000 Instructions (operations) Per Second, having only 24KB of RAM (the cheapest model).

But the real “secret weapon” of S/360 was not at all its speed, but its ability to multitask, where many tasks could run concurrently. This was a huge step forward which doubled, or in some cases, tripled the overall system performance. Instead of sequential time distribution among users who stayed in line to get a machine’s time portion, S/360 could serve them simultaneously. Today we would say that S/360 was a server, and users were clients (terminals).

Another important innovation to computer industry that came with S/360 was a clear separation of hardware and operating system (OS/360). First time in computer history Operating System was introduced as a separate and independent component. Today mainframes use VMs (virtual machines) which are used to run many operating systems simultaneously on a single box. It’s worth to mention that Linux (zLinux what it is called on mainframes) is one of such OSs. More on zLinux here.

System/360 was an extremely risky project for IBM. Company invested $5 billion dollars (which made this project the most expensive computer/system project in history), and hired 60,000 people. However, this risk was justified in 5 years, when IBM’s revenue doubled.

According to IBM, today mainframes hold 65% of all the data accumulated by humanity in computer based format. Which is an interesting fact. Another amusing fact is that IBM zSeries (modern mainframes) sales grew 10.3 percent in 2006. ;)

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