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Peng’s links for Sunday, 15 June
Posted by BostonPeng on 15 June 2008
- DesktopLinux.com: Sample chapter available for revised Ubuntu book. Rickford Grant, author of Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, has updated the book to cover Ubuntu Hardy. You can get a free sample chapter to see if it may be something you’d want to buy.
- Christer Edwards: Mozilla Firefox Easter Eggs. There are several hidden goodies in Firefox 3, and Christer tells us where to find some of them. I love the new one about robots.
- Asa Dotzler: search toolbars considered. Some people hate search toolbars, some people love them. But Asa looks at the possibility that they’re no longer needed thanks to the powerful search tool built right into Firefox.
- Steven Harms: Simple. Steven lists the things he did in Ubuntu this past week. “without opening any consoles or terminals.” [Emphasis his] He even looks at some excuses why people wouldn’t want to use Ubuntu.
- Matt Galvin: The Linux Hater Inspires Microsoft Hating. I don’t know how many of you know about the Linux Hater blog, but it’s a Microsoft fanboi’s soapbox for trashing Linux. Clearly the writer has no interest in actually trying Linux for any length of time to see if it could be as good as his precious Windows. But someone has started a Microsoft Hater blog specifically to counter some of the crap the Linux Hater writes. My only problem is that it feeds the Windows/Linux war, much of it just being a lot of trash talk which probably doesn’t do much except show the writers may be in their mid-teens. And we have enough of that all over the place as it is. We even have some of that on the Linux Forums, as someone recently wrote on the Mac4Lin thread that if we want to have a Mac look and feel we should just go and buy a Mac. When I called him on it he asked if I could be more condescending. And yes, I could. :p
- Philip Newborough: Aenigma Fonts for Ubuntu. Philip has created packages with over 400 fonts created by Brian Kent, and some of the decorative fonts are pretty nice. I may have to use Embossing Tape myself before long.
Watch this space later today (or perhaps tomorrow morning) for my promised post on exactly what I dislike about Firefox 3.
Mike said
I’m a long time Ubuntu user now, but i think you’re off on the Linux Hater blog. From this guys writing you can tell that he’s been a linux developer at least in the past and has a deep knowledge of the linux community. His critiques, although “hating”, are humorous and make points that should be taken into consideration. He expresses real concerns by someone who was once developing or tried to develop on the linux platform. If you don’t take the criticism to heart, you’re bound to continue the same mistakes of the past.
I agree it is counter-productive to the Windows/Linux war, but have a sense of humor…It’s meant to be a satire of the linux community.
Peng said
I stand corrected. Mike. I actually didn’t dive that deeply into the blog, just a few posts that I’ve come across in the last year and none of them seemed much like satire to me.
beerfan said
Peng,
The Linux Hater doesn’t write satire. He writes perfectly valid criticisms of your favorite operating system in a controversial style intended to spark thought and discussion. At least that’s my take. Dismissing him or his blog as a 15 year old with nothing valid to say is a mistake. You should try reading it.
You could say that about the Microsoft Haters blog. Bashing on Microsoft (the company, not their product) is just boring.
Peng said
I’ve been known to make mistakes in the past, Beerfan, and I’ll probably make some more in the future. I actually didn’t say that he doesn’t have anything to say, simply that what I’ve seen of his blog struck me as more of the standard anti-whatever crap that I see all over the ‘net. As far as the Microsoft haters blog goes, I skimmed it, but I presented the link simply for people interested in seeing it. I’m not all that interested. I get pretty sick of the whole “your OS isn’t my favorite so you must be an idiot” shtick. It makes the writer seem like a teenager who has yet to learn how to express themselves in any logical way.
As far as bashing Microsoft goes, the company, not the product, reams have already been written documenting their monopolistic, poor security behavior in the past. It may be boring, but until they prove that they can do better (and Vista ain’t it) they’re still fair game. The company is only as good as their product, and as long as you have to bust your rear to make sure your antivirus, anti-spam and firewall are up to date just to protect yourself from the product’s security issues I’d say it’s a pretty bad reflection on the company as a whole.
But thanks for posting your comment. I disagree with you but I’ll fight for your right to disagree with me. As long as you don’t get into simple flaming or spamming, of course.