Tag Archives: Tron

Last Song, First Song

I like noting the last song (also reading items and movies) I listen to in a given year, then the first song of the next year.

According to Rhythmbox…

Last song of 2010:

“Finale” by Daft Punk, from the Tron: Legacy Soundtrack

First song of 2011:

“Overture” by Daft Punk, from the Tron: Legacy Soundtrack

And yes, I am listening to the album over and over. :)

Switching: Linux App Equivalents

I have been in the process of planning out switching to Linux in 2010 for my main development computer (a laptop), as well as for various web and database servers I am responsible for at work.

I’ve been making good use of Sun’s awesome (and free) VirtualBox program, which allows me to create any number of virtual computers to experiment on. I’ve had a couple of CLI-only server versions running (Debian and Ubuntu), as well as what amounts to a desktop system for the last three Ubuntu releases: 8.10, 9.04, and the just-issued 9.10.

tron.jpg

My User has information that could… that could make this a free system again! No, really! You’d have programs lined up just to use this place, and no MCP looking over your shoulder.

I’ll cover the whys and wherefores of switching in the future. For now, suffice to say that the ever-increasing commercialization of Mac OS X, with accompanying restrictions, has been grating on me for some time now. I am also attracted to the notion of software freedom (having been a huge fan of the original Tron movie ;) and of course the cost savings can be dramatic. And since I work primarily in education, I think we would be neglecting our duty by not exploring the open-source world.

dumont.jpg

All that is visible must grow beyond itself, and extend into the realm of the invisible.

One of the first and ongoing steps is compiling a list of application equivalents to programs I am need of.

Still looking:

  • Time Machine (backup) -> roll-my-own or manual?
  • Bluetooth File Exchange -> built into Gnome?

Stuff that exists in both places:

If you’re looking into switching as well, or just are looking for new apps to try out whatever your platform, check out AlternativeTo, which provides alternatives for Linux, Mac, and Windows programs.

Note: Written before the current cold whacked me in the head and upper respiratory tract. Bits are incomplete. Suggestions are welcome.

End of line.

App Store disfunctionality

About a week ago, NetNewsWire on my iPod Touch began crashing on launch. I looked up info online and indeed it was a known issue. The intrepid developer Brent Simmons had already submitted a patched version to the App Store. In fact he noted it on his @nnw_iPhone Twitter feed on October 4th:

Uploaded 2.0.1 (free and premium) — fixes the crash-at-startup bug. Hopefully they’ll get approved and on the App Store quickly.

So far so good.

Since I know Apple’s App Store takes forever to shuffle stuff through what I can only imagine is an assembly line of elves from Santa’s Workshop working in the off season, I waited the usual 2-3 days to check for NNW’s availability. Yet I was only teased by an update for Cro-Mag Rally or one of the other (fine) Pangea games.

In the intervening nine days, I have occasionally and fitfully attempted to launch NetNewsWire, only to be denied by crashes. I also tried “Check for Updates” in iTunes, only to be presented with the dreaded

Dialog box displaying the message There are no updates for any of the applications in your iTunes library. And because you decided to check instead of waiting like everyone else, you are not likely to see any updates ever again.

dialog box with the lowly, singular OK button. As if I have a choice. Just for the record, I am not OK with it. Not at all. And what’s with the instantaneous denial? Did you even check?

screen shot from Tron of program prison with guards
App Store holding area.

I am picturing some App Prison like in Tron where they torture the Programs for believing in the Users.

Please Apple — let my programs go!

UPDATE 10/16/09 17:17

Holy crap, the update finally showed up just now. And just short of a fortnight after it was submitted. Nice job, Apple! Feh.

Matrix Marathon III: The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

movie poster for The Matrix Revolutions

Bullet points

  • Tastee Wheat advert in the train station.
  • Unrelenting action through a lot of it — not much room for characters except as extensions of machines, weapons.
  • Continuing expansion of Smith’s villainy until one expects him to turn into a giant a la Sark in Tron.
  • Seems like the APUs are pretty inefficient and unnecessarily expose the operator to danger. Damn cool looking though. :)
  • Now both Trinity and Neo are (probably) dead. I say probably due to the nature of these things. Who knows, maybe they’ll all show up in The Matrix: Resolutions (or, more likely, Resurrections) in 2014.
  • Speaking of Tron, I kept thinking of that movie watching this trilogy. Virtual world. Sentient programs. Evil AI reaching into the real world. I’m sure someone out there has written an essay on the connections.
  • And speaking of 2014, seems like March 31st that year would be a good time for a 15th anniversary re-watching of the trilogy.

Now, for a glass of water and bed. I’ll perhaps have more thoughts tomorrow to wrap things up. Hope to see you again on May 25th for the Alien marathon.