I'm using a couple of new (to me) packages for some of my common tasks:
M-x ffap-bindings and try, for instance,
C-xC-f while the cursor is on a URL (on any buffer).
emacs-planner, which i am using less and less, probably because
it's too complex for my needs. I want a plain TODO list, possibly
with timestamps and deadlines, and an easy way to link to other
files. Org-mode looks like fitting the bill.
In the meantime, i am getting more and more attached to my emacs-in-a-urxvt life, and don't really miss the X-version.
So, OK, you think GNUstep applications look ugly, right? Well, Camaelon tries to put a remedy to your woes. It is a theme engine build on top of GNUstep. This is how the Nasedah theme looks by here:
Better, eh? Remarkably, this is done via Objective-C categories, without touching the underlying GNUstep code: you compile a bundle (a dynamic library) and load it at run-time. Having a dynamic language coupled with a runtime wins big time, and Obj-C closeness to Smalltalk makes it a very fun language to hack. But the niceties go on and on: the OpenStep architecture and libraries (and their GNUstep incarnations) are very well thought off, while ProjectCenter, Gorm and the GNUstep make enhancements provide a powerful development environment.
Definitely worth a look for your next GUI project.
A problem with putting together a bunch of qubits (say a million or so) to do useful calculations is to control their interactions and maintain them entangled. S. Barret and P. Kok have proposed a solution consisting on putting every qubit in its own box, and let them interact via photon emission. And it looks like several experimental groups are interested in building such system. Interesting.
Julien Barnier has written a nice introduction to ion. Even if you don't read French, click around: there are a couple of nice screenshots and section with uselful links.
The guys at MyBlogLog have added yet another (free) service to their lot: click tagging. To see what it is, if you're under a javascript-aware browser, just hover your mouse over a link that has been clicked recently, like this one.
New Scientist is reporting on IBM's SoulPad, presented at the last Usenix conference on Mobile Systems. SoulPad provides a way to carry a personalised virtual computer from on PC to the next using, say, a USB key. You just upload your virtual computer's soul to the new host, which needs no special software (not even a network connection) to acquire its new personality. A layer of encryption keeps user data secure. Here's the mandatory video.
I need to know at all times what's happening inside my computer, and that's surely the reason of my dockapp addiction. But there are other monitoring ways. For instance, right now i'm using gkrellm:
and, when i'm not on ion in smaller displays and feel the urge for minimalism, i've been known to use the TyopoytaORvelo System MOnitor, or even the old good xosview.
Aleix, a coworker and good friend of mine's (of scew and weps fame), has just started Dockland, a little project containing some of my beloved dockapps. To boot, he has implemented wmtopmon, a dockapp i sorely needed to match the other libdockapp-style ones i use when i'm in the mod. Great work!
A few weeks ago i finished reading a couple of books that i got as a compliment for my FSF membership. The first one, Free Software, Free Society, collects well-known (i daresay classical) articles and conferences by RMS: i had already read most of them (The Right to Read being my favourite) but it is nice to have them all in one place.
The second one, Free Culture, is written by professor Lawrence Lessig. It's been on the shelf almost a year, for i was weary to read a book written by a lawyer. And i was oh so wrong: the book is a pleasure to read. And an eye opener. explains his points both authoritavely and in a very entertaining way, full of anecdotes and deep insight. One cannot help shuddering at the way copyright laws are being shaped by the interests of almost almighty corporations. His recollection of the Eldred vs Ashcroft case that he lost at the US Supreme Court is also a model of honesty. Highly recommended: read it either from the link above or getting it as a gift for joining the FSF as an associate member now.
Since i'm using emacs -nw now, all i need is a maximized urxvt and a
place to put my indispensable dockapps. ion provides such a lean
environment nicely, so i've closed my window managers round up with a
very simple ion3 setup consisting of a WIonWS which looks like this:
plus a floating workspace for things like Gimp or Firefox (incidentally, i finally found a Firefox theme i like).
