Monday, June 16, 2003

My annual Linux at work stint About once a year I get the urge to try to use Linux on my laptop at work. This usually leads to alot of disappointment on my part because I work with alot of Microsoft only technologies. So, I either spend alot of time in VMWare, or I just run Windows. This year's try could be different. Currently, I'm working on a project where we're building a J2EE application. I'm mostly working on the "middle" of this application writing business logic and data access. So, I spend all day in Eclipse and Emacs and little else. You're right! Perfect candidates for Linux. This weekend I made sure that my RedHat 8 laptop was set up to work. Unfortunately, I couldn't do this from my easy chair because my Linksys wireless card isn't supported in the default kernel. I would have had to download some stuff (drivers, user-space programs, etc.) and recompile the kernel. I just didn't have the time or inclination. So, I was wired to the desk in the study. I copied my project directories, my emacs configuration file, my emacs site-lisp directory (all my extensions), and some other miscellaneous documents to my network. I then switched my Windows hard drive out of my laptop in favor of my Linux one. I fired it up and nuked my old version of Eclipse and made sure my Emacs was up to snuff. Then, I copied all the files off the network and started settting up my environment. I was able to set up Emacs pretty quickly. The only thing that needed to change was some paths in my .emacs file and nuking out some things I don't need (e.g. Cygwin stuff). I noticed that the performance of Emacs on Linux is about 200% better than the performance of the version I run under Windows. Not really surprising, but it brought a smile to my face none-the-less. I then downloaded the GTK version of Eclipse and installed it on my laptop. I noticed that the speed wasn't that much different between Linux and Windows. Until recently (jdk 1.4), I noticed that Java GUI applications were much slower on Linux than Windows. They now seem to be about on par. Eclipse is slower with some things and quicker with others. Plus the swapping under Linux is unnoticeable compared to Windows. (I only have 512MB on the laptop). So, I've been using Linux at work for half a day now. I'm actually pretty stoked about it this year. It seems that, for this project at least, I'm not missing anything from Windows. I'm able to easily do my job and things seem solid and a bit faster over-all. I'll follow up this post in a day or so to report whether or not the shine has worn off. The only ding so far is lack of standard clipboard among applications under Xwindows. 12:50:59 PM    comment []

Internet Explorer: What's Good for the GooseÖ. In announcing its decision to cease development of Internet Explorer for the Macintosh, Microsoft is claiming that Apple knows Mac OS X so well that what's the point in trying to compete with Apple's own browser, Safari? Microsoft didn't see any problem for its Windows browser competitors, like Netscape and Opera, just because Redmond had the keys to the Windows kingdom. (At least that's what Microsoft told the antitrust investigators.) [Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo Foley] Another thought: IE will always be faster on Windows regardless of where it's ported. The reason? Closer to the kernel. 12:22:53 PM    comment []

I Get Skewered.... The "Simple Guide to the A-List Bloggers" is, um, piercing. Also funny. At least I'm in good company. I think.... [Dan Gillmor's eJournal] Too funny. Pokes fun at Dave, Cory, Doc, etc. 8:19:45 AM    comment []

Location-Specific Services: Lower Manhattan Wireless Users. Here is a working demo of one of the splashîpages that provide location-based information to the users of the Lower Manhattan Wireless Network. The actual splash pages enable a user of any of the 7 different public hot spots in Lower Manhattan to find places nearby to eat, shop, or visit --an innovative way to bolster area retailers and cultural attractions that have been struggling since the attacks of September 11th. (Thanks, Jordan!) [Smart Mobs] 8:15:15 AM    comment []

DJ iPod. Rather than actually showing up himself to spin, a DJ in Philadelphia has taken to renting out iPods filled with his custom mixes to restaurants, stores, and salons. BoingBoing has a good thread going on whether or not this is actually legal to do, since the DJ is making copies of songs for non-personal use. Philadelphia City Paper - In iPod He Trusts BoingBoing - DJ in Philly rents iPods to venues instead of spinning vinyl in person [Gizmodo] I may be dense, but the DJ would need permission to play the songs in a club even if he were there, right? So, what's the difference? Is it a question of multiplicity? Regardless, it's a really funny idea. 8:08:30 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2004 Tom Pierce.