tekArtist

tekArtist has moved to a new host

2007-07-27T16:34:00.000-04:00

You can find more details about the move in the related blog post. The FeedBurner feed that was and still is associated with the present pages has been updated to point to the new site location, and is therefore accurate.

I do not intend to delete my blogger account, or remove the pages in this blog, as external sites are pointing to some of the entries and I quite believe in permalinks. So, the pages will be up as long as Blogger doesn't decide to purge them from their DB. :)

Cheers, and here's to seeing you on the other side.

Sand, sun and RFID?

2007-07-26T11:13:00.000-04:00

From the source article, via Slashdot:

Ocean City, New Jersey is a nice, family-oriented beach that will apparently soon be the high-tech model for seashore lovers and now perhaps geeks everywhere. The city has on its plate a $3 million variety of public services on tap featuring Internet access and radio-frequency identification chips (RFID) and Wi-Fi wireless technology.

Usually, when I go to the beach, it's not to be "in range"... Although, for those whose offices are in walking distance of the beach, it's a dream come true! Nothing than a good old cantenna couldn't achieve before, in the latter context, but even better.

On a related note, here is the definition of self-control: seeing your neighbours discarding a portable satellite dish, picking it up to convert it in a wi-fi extender, then putting it back because you just know you don't actually need it.

OpenMoko teaser video

2007-07-23T16:11:00.000-04:00

See embedded video below for a teaser of the FIC Neo 1973 running OpenMoko.

I even like the soundtrack they chose, and they also have more OpenMoko related videos on their dedicated Youtube account. Must... Fight... Urge... And wait until October for the consumer version. Not enough time on my hands to involve myself as a developer unfortunately, but once again, it wouldn't be the first time I say this and fall for it later on. ;)

Oh my, that's a lot of porn accounts...

2007-07-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

Since I was addressing poor online business ethics in my last post, I might as well touch the following, as it came up while I was browsing the upcoming security stories thread on Digg.

I was googling my online trail recently, and was quite stirred that the nickname I use on a lot of online communities started showing up as a registered user of a number of social-networking-flavoured porn sites. Most of them pumping out (pardon the analogy) long lists of sites and videos one allegedly features on their profile as interesting, à la Digg et al.

I thought someone else was simply using the same moniker, but the following article and its author might just have provided me with some valuable insight: Why are my picture and name showing up on porn sites without my permission?

Thankfully, this seems limited to the user name for now, and my real name isn't returning such search results. But it is definitely of interest to me professionally, since McGill does have, and is looking forward to further develop, people pages. We will definitely have to take this trend in consideration in the upcoming incarnation of the software and content.

First Facebook worm[-ish behaviour]?

2007-07-22T00:48:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine supposedly sent me a Facebook-based invite for an FB app called Advanced Wall. It came as a notification in FB and prompted me to retrieve a message from my contact by adding the app to my profile.

'k, I bite, since I'm in Facebook-API-craze mode for work and fun anyway and get the following, as allegedly written by my friend:

Check this out!
It's an Advanced Wall!
You can change colors, sizes, fonts, add smilies, pictures, videos and a lot more...

Odd.. Especially from the supposed author...

First, I was just curious to know if they are using tinyMCE for the advanced editor, like WordPress and co. Evidently, I dig a bit deeper, and fire up Firebug, which as a complete aside is the most amazing piece of software. I use it everyday, and am still baffled by how efficient and powerful it all is.

So, the Javascript doesn't look familiar and the editor's iframe goes to http://ai.idlestudios.com/write.php, a domain which strangely enough doesn't respond under http://www.idlestudios.com/ or http://idlestudios.com/, and just redirects http://ai.idlestudios.com/ to the app's description inside FB (as of 2007-07-22, ~1 AM).

Odder...

Head off the the terminal: whois idlestudios.com tells me the domain is registered to a more than likely fine fellow from the Russian Federation, which in and of itself doesn't really imply anything.

But that's when I start noticing the ads in multiple locations around the Advanced Wall's WYSIWYG editor. Text ads, subtly placed in the telling Facebook colour scheme. Blockbuster, icon sets, the usual.

So on to my friend's profile I go, and what do you know? What do I see on his wall, with no other message than:

Check this out!
It's an Advanced Wall!
You can change colors, sizes, fonts, add smilies, pictures, videos and a lot more...

Really? And it's coming from someone else in my contact's own friend list...

Next: Facebook » Profile » Applications » Edit » Remove

:)

This all said, I haven't gotten a reply from my friend yet on if he actually sent the invite in the first place (it's late, and the invite was sent at 11:59pm), so maybe I'm just seeing things and outta get to bed. I'll post an update here when I know more. Call me traumatized by another friend's experience. ;P See update below.

Personally, I'm not sure I'm willing to go for this one anyway. Best case scenario, it's gonna be MySpace all over again...

And if by any chance you receive an invite for Advanced Wall from me, you'll at least know how it did not get there: Not-by-my-click.

Update (20:45): Well, it seems that my friend is a surprised as I was. Although he did see an option to invite his friends, he is fairly sure he canceled. Yet, the app seems to have propagated itself to his contact list. He also had the same reaction as I with the dubious first message template, and brought to light an error message he received from the app stating "there are still glitches we're working on with the facebook team". So worm[-ish]? Questionable interaction design? Buggy app? Plain old bad taste? I'm not a security expert by any stretch, so I'll hold off on the labeling, but as a software developer, I say: none for me, thanks.

We Should Not Bite the Hand that Diggs

2007-07-20T13:45:00.000-04:00

I've been noticing that Digg has been getting a substantial amount of cr*p about things they've done on and with the site recently. Nothing new or exceptional, as every popular Web outfit gets the community treatment once in a while, but now that the dust settled a bit, I just wanted to express the following thoughts.

I had the pleasure to meet with some of the Digg crew in San Francisco last month, coincidentally hours before they released their new commenting system. What I saw was a group of people who, on top of being passionate about their respective vocations, actually believe in the product they bring us. This is a relatively rare and precious thing, and I think that as a community, we should nurture it as much as we can.

I'm definitely not saying we should just fall into blind fanboy-ism and idolize their every actions, but I do think that there's a [not so] fine line between constructive criticism, which is usually welcomed by any self-respecting professional, and plain old bashing, which can be the most depressing aspect of public releases. And it's not like they're not listening (1, 2).

Yes, I do think that a balance between surprise releases and usability testing could gain to be developed. And yes, I do understand that sudden changes to something you enjoy can be offsetting for users. But I also know that they're cultivating a tight-group/almost-family-like atmosphere amongst their ranks, and that the last thing I want is for the people behind the code to be nudged anywhere close to just being yet another bunch of salary makers, in yet another faceless corporation.

So I say, keep on guys, and thanks for your efforts. I'll happily keep on digging and watching the site evolve.

And no, I'm not going to submit my own post to Digg. ;)

A Swarm of Angels: Remixing Cinema

2007-07-20T12:35:00.000-04:00

I found out about this open source movie project last winter, and am happy to see that they are so far reaching their set targets.

A groundbreaking project to create a £1 million film and give it away to over 1 million people using the Internet and a global community of members.
P2P-friendly: free to download and share
No DRM: watch on anything
Creative-Commons licensed: remixable

A fantastic initiative, in my humble opinion.

See also: Elephants Dream, by the Orange Open Movie Project.

2007 World Gravity Sports Championship

2007-07-14T19:17:00.000-04:00

On August 25th and 26th, Montreal will, for the 5th time, host the Top Challenge competition, featuring skateboarding, speedboarding, street luge, inline skating and inline boarding.

I know I'm shooting myself in the foot as a dad, but I'm definitely bringing my boys to see this. They surely would lynch me if I went by myself...

Mooooooo

2007-07-12T09:20:00.000-04:00

I just have to let it all out: I love mootools!

I'm not going to get in a pi**ing match with prototype, jquery, dojo and company, since they're all truly neat little bundles of joy, but as a write-all-javascript-from-scratch kinda guy, I wasn't inclined on having to rely on such involved libraries in the past. Especially when coupling them with huge server-side code base that I must keep in mind might actually outlive me. Call it an ever-lasting "vendor" lock-in allergy.

Choosing the best contender to be included in the McGill web platform among the countless available options in the compact JS framework sphere was one of the most difficult tech decisions I've had to make in years. But so far, I sure am glad we opted for mootools. Bonus: I didn't even have to force it on anyone either, and adoption by different levels of developer has proven smoother than in tests involving other potential choices.

Great docs, tight syntax, (close to) worry free platform compatibility and a lively dev community are all among the many benefits we are so far enjoying.

But beware! I'd advise anyone going the framework way to:

Do a lot of research before committing to anything, to really gauge what is best for you and your team(s).
Not be afraid to write a slew of tests to be implemented in the selected top choices to right away define what has more potential in your very context.
And most importantly, not get too comfortable and devolve into a one-lib-only coder.

On this, I'm going back to milking it for all its worth.

Neo 1973 + OpenMoko: It's Out!

2007-07-08T20:12:00.000-04:00

The first open mobile solution is out and available for purchase (developer preview).

Neo Base US$300
The Neo Base kit contains everything the mobile application developer needs to enjoy the benefits of the first freed phone, the Neo 1973.
Neo Advanced US$450
The Neo Advanced Kit everything the mobile device hacker wants to get down and dirty with the first freed phone, the Neo 1973.

/happy-dance

Amstrad CPC 464

2007-07-07T22:07:00.000-04:00

I was recently talking to someone about the first computer I owned: an Amstrad CPC 464 (@wikipedia). Attached is a nice flickr photo of the beast in all of its 64kb-RAM-and-tape-recorder glory.

Good times; good times indeed. I was 12 (1987) and saved my money for around two years to get one. It was my first major purchase on my own. The first computer I used was a Thomson TO 7, and its lovable turtles, at school.

Happy Canada Day!

2007-07-01T11:15:00.000-04:00

Oh, how I wish I was back in Vancouver, where people actually celebrate our country, instead of disguising the day as the province's official moving day...

Explicitivitytyty

2007-06-28T19:19:00.000-04:00

Something rather peculiar puzzled me today... I went on to purchase the latest Nine Inch Nails album, eager for a fresh batch of their trademark sound. If you haven't heard about Year Zero yet, they had a killer marketing campaign associated with it that anyone interested in the viral trend should check out.

When the download was complete, I promptly went the the Recently Added smart playlist in iTunes, and there were the two last album I purchased from the iTMS: Year Zero, by NiN and The Best Damn Thing, by Avril Lavigne. Before you scold me for the latter, I bought it last month on my wife and kids' request... Everybody should know the artwork is all I wanted. ;)

What I found peculiar about this view was the rating on the tunes. Every single Avril Lavigne track was labeled as explicit, while none of the NiN ones were flanked by the telling red icon.

Had I purchased the radio-edit version?!? Argh... But no. After listening to the whole album, it just does not contain anything deemed offensive by the music rating authorities.

Really, what has the world come to when the music marketed to my kids gets such a rating and an album many puritan bodies would surely like rated 18+ is squeaky clean?!?

Personally, I think it's a giant yet brilliantly subtle [explicit] to the rating bodies. Kudos Trent and co. You did it again.

Charles de Gaulle: Vive le Québec Libre

2007-06-28T14:38:00.000-04:00

On July 24th 1967, French president Charles de Gaulle delivered a speech in Montreal in which he declared 4 simple yet revolutionary words, echoing the Quebec separatist slogan: Vive le Québec Libre.

After reading about the said speech for years, I finally found the video on the Web in its entirety today. Regardless of one's (or even my) opinion on the subject, this is a historical moment by all measures.

The CBC Archives also has a newsreel for this day, highlighting the controversy this created in the rest of Canada.

A "man pages" approach to information

2007-06-17T23:41:00.000-04:00

It still amazes me how Unix man pages shaped my approach to digesting information.

I first started using Unix-based systems around 1997. My Unix mentor had, in retrospect, a fantastic approach to helping me out on my autodidactic path. Whenever I needed help with a command, he would always prepend his answer with "man".

I: How do you check your disk space?
Len: man df
I: ???
Len: man man

I am now more than grateful for his wisdom, but I cursed it many times in context.

What amused me the most about the man repository was how it was simply impossible to read one page without reading ten others, by curiosity if nothing else. The same holds true for many subjects, but man pages have this special twist that unlike so many other publications, they never dumb down their content to widen their audience reach, but instead historically assume that the reader is a highly trained operator and knows (or should know) everything about the rest of the system. This shapes an interesting vicious cycle, since it makes for a documentation system with essentially no true beginning or even accessible entry point.

While this might be perceived as a flaw in the man's matrix, it truly catalyzed my habit of always pushing myself to learn and know more than just what I need for the very task that brings me to a piece of information. To this day, I find myself quasi-incapable of reading anything without going into the research equivalent to a shark's feeding frenzy, unless I'm on a on a tight schedule, in which case I only limit and control myself.

In the end, two things are for sure: Thank [insert fav' deity here] for hypertext, and Digg, Facebook , Slashdot, et alii sure do not help one bit. ;)

What Hapens to your Body if You Stop Smoking Right Now

2007-06-12T10:44:00.000-04:00

Motivation for me and others.

Found on Health Bolt, via Digg.

It's a Love / Hate Thing

2007-06-04T21:48:00.000-04:00

It's days like this I both love and loathe my vocation all at once.

Love it: never bored, always have new things to learn, mentally challenging, great interaction with the many development communities, constant stream of new opportunities, etc...

Loathe it: there are only 24 hours in a day and my body and brain stubbornly force me to sleep for a few of these... Almost every day too...

Thirteen years of web app dev, and still see it it as the World's biggest playroom. :)

parseMe 20070602 Update

2007-06-02T20:23:00.000-04:00

Here's another update to parseMe (back story), my little GPL'ed PHP-based RSS/Atom feed reader for mobile phones and other web-capable devices.

You can find the appropriate links below:

Online demo: See this mobile feed reader in action.
parseMe-20070602-source.class.php.txt: PHP class source (for online viewing).
parseMe-20070602.tar.gz: 14KB - Full app, tar/gzip archive.
parseMe-20070602.zip: 16KB - Full app, zip archive.
SHA1SUM: SHA1 sum for the above files.
Docs and info: Bundled documentation.

Release notes:

Moved my CVS repo to Subversion (svn), hence the revision number differences. I considered moving to a distributed revision control system, since they're gaining in popularity, but I got lazy after the major rewrite. ;) Maybe for the next release.

This is a quasi-complete code rewrite. In this release, I have moved away from the initial goal of keeping within the 500 lines limit (including comments) and having an "educational" flavour, to focus instead on the code structure, the features, further increased security, etc. The security aspect does account for a lot of the extra lines, when coupled with the new features.

The parseMe class has now been substracted from the index.php script and has been moved to lib/php/parseMe.class.php.

One of the most significant features, on the user end, is that you can now request any number of feeds to be parsed at once. Keeping in mind that the main target audience for this tool is the mobile market (usually slow, tiny screens, low RAM, etc), the usual total number of feeds offered does not lead to major performance hits, unless of course the sources themselves are slow to answer the tool's request(s). You can of course still set your feed selection in the cookie-based preferences, which now allow for multiple choices.

With the multiple feeds feature, the next logical step was to enable some sort of sorting options. You can sort the entries by feeds, or from new to old (descending) or from old to new (ascending). Your favourite sort order can be saved.

You can now opt in or out of using the Google Mobile Gateway for destination links, right from the query form, and save your preferred choice.

On the server end, self-contained caching is now done through PHP data serialization, since there is no point in reparsing the same XML at every page load, after all.

On the security front, and primarily with the concern that we do have an application-writable directory (cache), there are quite a few improvements. Since the data contained in the cache files is not very sensitive by design (and if it is, I'd suggest using ssl and password protecting the app), this is really more of an exercise in good coding practices. And there is of course the concern of php injection attacks.
- The cache filenames are now generated as a sha1 sum, with the help of an admin-defined shared secret so that they cannot be easily guessed.
- All cache files now start with a dot (.) so that most web servers will not even serve them, and to be invisible when directory listing is enabled at the server level.
- On the other hand, there is still a very strong emphasis on user input sanitazation and usage in the logic itself (EG: no client-defined source URL, source validity tests, etc).

Fully valid class documentation can be leveraged in IDEs such Eclipse, auto-documentation tool such as phpDocumentor, etc.

It's SQLite-Mania Time!

2007-05-31T00:19:00.001-04:00

Between the freshly announced Google Gears and the upcoming Firefox 3, I'm really happy to see the SQLite project picking up some massive and forefront industry momentum. And well deserved at that, since I've always thought it was an excellent venture in many respects, though often overlooked by the general development community.

Firefox will use it for their upcoming Places feature, which aims to be the evolution of bookmarks and history.

Google Gears, on the other hand, uses it for offline web app data storage. I have to say I'm getting a geeky kick out of seeing SQL queries passed directly via client-side Javascript (although as an offline app, I guess the client is the server too). And not even as a WTF post: bonus!

Kudos to the SQLite dev team, and good call to the two latest industry icons who chose it.

That install base sure is going to grow fast! Makes me giggle when I remember thinking that every PC would be running at least 6 different embedded copies of the tiny DB within a few years when I first played around with it, all without 99% of the end users even realizing this. I'd say we're right on track. :)

Who's taking bets on Adobe doing the same with Apollo?

McGill Website Wins Silver CASE Award

2007-05-18T19:08:00.000-04:00

I guess we must be doing something right:

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) awarded McGill University the silver medal in the Complete Institutional Web Sites category. There were 41 entries in this category, with two silver medals and one bronze medal awarded. CASE is a non-profit association encompassing 3,300 colleges, universities and elementary and secondary schools in 54 countries.

Via McGill Announcements.

I don't actually know any more than this, because the details haven't been published on the CASE web site yet. I really want to know who we tied with, knowing CASE has members such as MIT, CalTech, Harvard, etc.

2007-06-16: The CASE web site has now been updated: Web Sites – 2007 Winners

French Voters Choose Sarkozy for President

2007-05-06T19:51:00.000-04:00

I really like Le Monde's map featured above. Gotta love the colour cliché. And how the colour-coded maps are all the rage now, somehow.

It's days like this I really miss living in France. NOT! ;)

Coming Soon: Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition

2007-05-06T13:58:00.000-04:00

From the source email (@ubuntu-devel-announce):

We will start more detailed planning at the Ubuntu Developer Summit next
week in Seville and the first release of this edition will be in October
with Ubuntu 7.10. If you are interested in the project, please get involved.
We will be working through our normal development processes on Launchpad,
the developer mailing lists and IRC.

Via Digg.

PHP 5.2.2 and 4.4.7 Released

2007-05-04T21:55:00.000-04:00

"PHP 5.2.2 and 4.4.7 have been released with a plethora of security updates. Many of the security notifications come from the Month of PHP Bugs effort, and range from double freed memory to bugs in functions that allow attackers to enable register_globals, to memory corruption with unserialize(), to input validation flaws that allow e-mail header injections, with an unhealthy sprinkling of other bugs and flaws fixed. All administrators that run any version of PHP are encouraged to update immediately."

Our sysadmin installed 5.2.2 on our test instances earlier today, and we'll be testing (and closely watching for external reports) over the next few days before rolling it into production.

Via Slashdot.

The Javascript Programming Language

2007-05-04T20:33:00.000-04:00

Yahoo! JavaScript Architect Douglas Crockford provides a comprehensive introduction to the JavaScript Programming Language in this four-part video. This is the first section of the four-part video. See below the embedded video for more links.

Other programming videos by Douglas Crockford on Yahoo! Video:
The JavaScript Programming Language (4 parts).
Theory of the DOM (3 parts).
Advanced JavaScript (3 parts).

Via Digg.

parseMe 20070429 Update

2007-04-29T17:50:00.000-04:00

Here's another update to parseMe (back story), my little GPL'ed PHP-based RSS/Atom feed reader for mobile phones and other web-capable devices.

Moved to object oriented, pretty much for the "fun" of it.
Now passing a custom user-agent in the http query to avoid problems with sources that require it (Digg, among others).

You can find the appropriate links below:

Online demo: See this mobile feed reader in action.
parseMe-20070429-source.phps: PHP source, with comments (for online viewing).
parseMe-20070429.tar.gz: 14KB - Full app, tar/gzip archive.
parseMe-20070429.zip: 16KB - Full app, zip archive.
SHA1SUM: SHA1 sum for the above files.
RELEASES: Version history.
INSTALL: Basic installation instructions to get you going.
COPYING: Software license, GPL.
AUTHORS: Credits file.

Keeps me from hating my phone until I can afford to get myself a nicer mobile solution.

Fedora Core 7 Test 4 Notes

2007-04-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

I installed FC 7 Test 4 on one of my home machines, which was previously running FC6, and it pretty much all went fine. Like with all new releases, there was a definite speed improvement in most operations.

I personally like the new live CD installer. If nothing else, simply for the fact that you get a chance to see how the OS will behave on your new machine before you install it. It's still ironic to me to see the major distros going to that format, because I remember how most Linux users were poking fun at the first developers to use a live cd install process (that I know of), back in 1999: the now defunct LinuxPPC distribution.

For those interested, you can access a lot of FC7 screenshots and videos at the main wiki: Fedora 7 Tour.

Besides the obvious changes, one that puzzled me for a while since I'm not a hardcore follower up-to-date with all the details, is that all my IDE hard drives were now showing up as /dev/sd* (historically SCSI) instead of /dev/hd*. One quote I could find on the wiki about this was: "In this release, all hard disk partitions follow a /dev/sd* naming convention due to a new libata driver interface in the kernel. The Anaconda installer eases the transition for release upgrades."

Another puzzler was the fact that despite choosing to setup my box with a manually assigned IP address in the install process, it was still acquiring one with DHCP at boot time. You can see this in the attached screenshot below (click for a larger view): note the discrepancy between the network config panel and the address reported by the ping command in the terminal. This continued, even after rebooting the machine or just the network ("service network restart" as root), until I issued a "ifup eth0" command as root, which made it all fine from there on.

Trying to run FC7 Test 4 on my MacBook worked fine natively from the Live CD (no install), which did not under Test 3, but I haven't been able to boot it while virtualized in Parallels Desktop for Mac. I haven't tried in VMWare Fusion yet.

The last note is quite a personal one: I much preferred the default theme (icons) in Test 3 (3D) than the ones delivered in Test 4 (2D)... The new ones make me feel like I'm back in the pre-BlueCurve years. ;)

That's it for me, for now. This box being mostly a file/web/db server, running on older hardware (P4 1.65Ghz), I can't really play with compiz, which would be one of the major improvements over FC6, besides running new versions of everything.

Update: here are a few notes form a friend who recently installed it on his shiny new Mac laptop: FC7T4 on MacBook (Core 2 Duo).

Fedora Core 7 Test 4 Released

2007-04-26T14:31:00.000-04:00

FC7 test 4 (6.93) has just been announced, right on schedule, and is now available as a torrent and on (most of) the mirrors.

Get it while it's hot and especially before it makes it to the Slashdot, Digg, and many other high profile front pages.

Web 2.0 Expo and Conference

2007-04-18T19:31:00.000-04:00

The O'Reilly Web 2.0 Expo is just finishing up, and my co-worker and I had a blast with most of it. Working in the academic sphere, it really feels great to get first hand confirmation that we are perfectly on track with the rest of the industry with our vision of what is to come. Now, if only we were given the means to do it all as fast as we can dream it, which is always a challenge in a large public institution. But we're working on that. :)

One of the highlights of the conference for me, was to find out (confirm) how close the Digg architecture is to the one that we've been developing for our university for many years now: LAMP (though we use PostgreSQL), memcache, Linux, clustering, etc. They actually seem to be facing some challenges that we've already tamed in the last year and a half. They're hiring, by the way.

On the other hand, it was my first time in San Francisco (about time...), and I won't lie: it's even better than I imagined it would be! Truly a fantastic city, populated with wonderful people. First time, but definitely not the last one, especially given that I just don't have the time to stay a few extra days to visit Berkeley, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Cupertino, Mountain View, etc. Next time!

On this, I'm going to go and enjoy the city before I have to leave tomorrow morning.

Google@Mcgill

2007-03-24T14:26:00.000-04:00

Yes! We've done it. McGill is now using a Google Search Appliance as its main search engine backend, which is the main reason I have been so busy in the last while.

Despite early hardware issues and a few bugs I faced in the caching engine and XML APIs (most of which have been or are being addressed by the Google Enterprise team), I have to admit that it's been one of the most motivating and enjoyable projects I have handled at McGill.

You can try it out for yourself on our main search page.

We also enabled other areas, such as our advanced course search, and classified search.

This is of course only the tip of the iceberg, since the architecture is quasi-infinitely extensible through the feeds and OneBox concepts (both of which we already use). And as usual, I already have a head full of ideas on how to further leverage the enormous amount of digital content on campus.

Fun times ahead!

What Happens When...

2007-03-14T18:35:00.000-04:00

What happens when you're enjoying your work a bit too much? Well, you end up working some more in the evening instead of spending some quality time with your... blog. ;)

I'll get more chatty again when I'm done with the projects I'm currently handling.

340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456

2007-03-08T17:05:00.000-05:00

Ars Technica has a great article on IPv6 (via Slashdot):

As of January 1, 2007, 2.4 billion of those [IPv4 addresses] were in (some kind of) use. 1.3 billion were still available and about 170 million new addresses are given out each year. So at this rate, 7.5 years from now, we'll be clean out of IP addresses; faster if the number of addresses used per year goes up. Are you ready for IPv6?

If you're not in a geek reading mood, this post's title expresses the number of addresses IPv6 will allow for. C'mon, try and pronounce it! :)

Oops, the jig's up

2007-03-01T22:39:00.000-05:00

From the source article, on ABC News:

[...] spring breakers, here's a thought: Before going online to post those pictures of you and your friends dancing atop a table at Senor Frog's, know that your debauchery will probably pop up on many more screens than you intended. Potential employers, school administrators and admissions officers, and vindictive exes can see them too, and decades from now, when college is a mere memory, those photos will still live on the Web.

When the mainstream press and the audience it targets both start catching on to this, you just know that 5,345,961 blogs, photo/video sharing communities and other social networking sites just closed and/or lost their venture capital today alone. Did I just hear a pop? Nah...

March To Be Month of PHP Bugs

2007-02-20T18:53:00.000-05:00

From the source article, on SecurityFocus (via Slashdot):

Stefan Esser is the founder of both the Hardened-PHP Project and the PHP Security Response Team (which he recently left). Federico Biancuzzi discussed with him how the PHP Security Response Team works, why he resigned from it, what features he plans to add to his own hardening patch, the interaction between Apache and PHP, the upcoming "Month of PHP bugs" initiative, and common mistakes in the design of well-known applications such as WordPress.

Given the success of the Month of Apple Bugs project, I think it's a fantastic idea. This said, our sys admin at work isn't too thrilled by the prospect of having to patch our many PHP installs everyday in March... ;)

Action Plan for Killer Asteroids

2007-02-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

From the source article, on the Beeb:

A draft UN treaty to determine what would have to be done if a giant asteroid was on a collision course with Earth is to be drawn up this year. [...] The association has asked a group of scientists, lawyers, diplomats and insurance experts to draw up the recommendations.

Sorry, it's hard to type while I'm laughing so hard... Yeah, those are definitely the people to put on the job! All they're missing are religious leaders, and we're sure to have a speedy conclusion to that project. ;)

OpenMoko is Picking Up Steam

2007-02-16T14:12:00.000-05:00

From the source article, over at the always great LinuxDevices.com:

FIC has announced an on-sale date for its Neo1973, expected to be the first low-cost, high-volume phone with a user-modifiable Linux-based operating system. Additionally, the OpenMoko project building open-source software for the phone has published a wealth of technical resources. [...] The first [release phase was] Feb. 11, with free phones for prominent open source community members. The real sale date will be March 11. That's when the online store opens, and everyone can buy one direct, for about [US] $350.

I read about the OpenMoko project the same day the iPhone was announced, and I really think I'm more eager to see a Neo1973 than I am to see Apple's upcoming solution.

There are very good photos (1, 2, etc) of the device's innards on the project's wiki for the hardware enthusiasts.

Minilogue/hitchhikers choice

2007-02-15T20:03:00.000-05:00

The stop motion animation in the following music video is beautiful on its own, but the fact that the medium is a simple white board truly makes it amazing to me.

Music by Minilogue
Animation by ljudbilden & piloten

Is this Really Fair?

2007-02-14T20:12:00.000-05:00

The above image shows the OS X weather widget for Montreal (Quebec) and Boynton Beach (Florida): -13°C v. 23°C (or 9°F v. 73°F). Why, you ask? Because I'm in the former, and my wife and kids are in the latter for the week...

Does that sound fair to you?

But I'll have my revenge when I go to San Francisco for the Web 2.0 Expo in April, and maybe the Red Hat Summit in San Diego in May. Muhahahaha!

parseMe 20070213 Update

2007-02-13T19:49:00.001-05:00

It's time for another quick update to parseMe, my little GPL'ed PHP-based RSS/Atom feed reader for mobile phones and other web-capable devices. Pfew [deep breath], that was quite a mouthful, wasn't it? ;)

It now loads the destination links without images by default, for performance improvements on most sites. Links still go through the Google Mobile gateway.
Small screen-related interface improvements for the feed selection form.

You can find the appropriate links below:

Online demo: See this mobile feed reader in action.
parseMe-20070213-source.phps: PHP source, with comments (for online viewing).
parseMe-20070213.tar.gz: 14KB - Full app, tar/gzip archive.
parseMe-20070213.zip: 15KB - Full app, zip archive.
SHA1SUM: SHA1 sum for the above files.
RELEASES: Version history.
INSTALL: Basic installation instructions to get you going.
COPYING: Software license, GPL.
AUTHORS: Credits file.

Hoping you'll enjoy it as much as I do in the bus, on the way to and from work.

Lego Mindstorms Automated Car Factory

2007-02-11T17:48:00.000-05:00

It's not exactly the new Volkswagen glass factory, but this has to be one of the coolest Mindstorms-based project I've seen. And there are a lot of them out there.

A bit on the slow side, but amazing nonetheless. I can only imagine how much time this must have taken to think through and build.

/me Like PostgreSQL

2007-02-09T19:31:00.000-05:00

I've recently had to take over the role of DBA at work (our previous one left for a job at Google), and I'm trying to make the most of the situation (still have my job to do too) by restructuring the PostgreSQL-powered database at the core of our Web architecture.

Like so many enterprise projects, it's grown exponentially, in both size and complexity, over the years and what I'm left in charge of today is less then ideal. Nonetheless it's been serving us quasi-flawlessly, and I sure am happy my predecessor(s) made the choice to go with PostgreSQL as a database backend. The use of PostgreSQL in an enterprise environment was actually one of the reasons I started working at McGill, back in 2002.

What I'm doing these days involves modernizing and sanitizing a considerable number of tables, stored procedures and functions. All while staying fully backward compatible so that the countless pieces of software relying on the data can keep on running as if nothing changed. I'm of course modernizing the codebase I have access to so it all takes advantage of the improved data structure. But for the sake of phasing in the upgrade and to not force it on external developers whose schedule I have no control over, replicating the current base is a of the essence.

This is all proving to be a task our faithful PostgreSQL environment is truly shining at.

Through the use of temporary tables from queries, case-based views, rules and other assorted options, I am rather quickly and easily able to author scripts that handle the nasty stuff, all wrapped in the safety transactional DBs afford us. They create new tables, populate them from others, tweak the data, drop the old tables once ported, setup views to replace them just-in-time and more, all transparently.

All of this is of course also possible with many other RDBMS. I'm just dealing with PostgreSQL in this instance, and enjoying (almost) every minute of it! :)

Integrating the Upgraded Digg Tools in Blogger

2007-02-06T19:30:00.000-05:00

Digg.com released a worthy upgrade to their site integration tools today, with such neat new features as combining the submission process and Digg box, etc. Since I have previously published a method of integrating the first incarnation of the Digg tools in your [new] Blogger posts, it is now time to post an update to take the new features in consideration.

Before you start, make sure that your blog is set to save post pages. This is a Digg (and other social sites) requirement, since we need unique URLs to submit. To verify, go to your Blogger Dashboard » Settings » Archiving » Enable Post Pages? Select yes and save.

Then go to your Blogger Dashboard » Layout » Edit HTML. Be sure to check the Expand Widget Templates checkbox.

Locate the following code in the template's XML:

<p><data:post.body/></p>

And replace it with:

<p>
  <span style="margin-right: 10px; float: left;">
    <script>
      digg_url = '<data:post.url/>';
    </script>
    <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js"> </script>
  </span>
  <data:post.body/>
</p>

You're done! It's now as simple as this.

You can also try the new, more discreet, compact mode:

<p>
  <data:post.body/>
  <span style="margin-top: 5px; float: right;">
    <script>
      digg_url = '<data:post.url/>';
      digg_skin = 'compact';
    </script>
    <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js"> </script>
  </span>
</p>

Personally though, I'm not too keen on displaying Digg boxes showing 0 diggs when the content has not been submitted yet, nor am I interested in showing the digg box on all my posts. So I'm still going to use my original solution and just update the URL of the Digg javascript from /api/ to /tools/ in my template. Overall, it is a more involved option, but I'd rather have flexibility than ease of use.

Ultimately, I'd like to see another mode (digg_skin variable) where unsubmitted content sports a simple button (like the Digg Guy), and the box only starts to show if and after the content has been submitted.

As a side note, it's probably going to get fixed quickly, but the compact mode of the new tool had a bug with url targeting that made the submit form show in the tiny iframe the Digg javascript outputs.

Turning 32

2007-01-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

Well, today's that day when I gain an extra year. It always amazes me how much revolves around our age, and how suggestive the latter is. I'm an old fart for some, yet still a youngster for others. But who sees us as which and when is what usually matters most.

On a far less pseudo-existential note, kudos to my 7 year old on his first in-match hockey goal (1st season). :)

Up to my Elbows in Enterprise Search

2007-01-24T21:46:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the lack of updates, but I'm smack in the middle of a huge project rethink at work, and it's eating up all my time. I've been at it for two weeks, and I'm now hitting a point where I'm satisfied with the direction the project is heading. I reached the point where I'm having fun with it. :)

I'll have more time once this is behind us, which I'm glad to say is coming soon!

Mona Lisa Grave Found, Claims Scholar

2007-01-19T18:17:00.000-05:00

From the source article:

The woman behind Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting may be buried near a now derelict building in the heart of Florence, according to archival documents. The exact location of Mona Lisa's burial site, the convent of Sant'Orsola, was just a about 900 feet away from the house of the artist's father, according to the historian, Giuseppe Pallanti.

3D Desktop Linux on Live CD

2007-01-18T11:03:00.000-05:00

Linux.com posted two articles in as many days about the 3D desktops under Linux now being available for preview as live CDs.

Peek through the Looking Glass with LG3D-LiveCD: Sun's 3D desktop running live from a Slax-based CD.
Knoppix 5.1.1: Now with eye candy: The latest version of the famous Knoppix distro running Beryl 3-D.

I'm getting them both as we speak to try them on my MacBook.

parseMe 20070111 Update

2007-01-13T12:25:00.000-05:00

Update: 2007-02-13: An upgraded version is now available.

I have released an upgraded version of my GPL'ed lightweight feed reader for web-enabled devices, parseMe, a couple of days ago.

I have added a couple of interesting new features:

It now integrates with Google Mobile to provide full content browsing of the destination URLs. This is done by using their nifty (x)html parser, which reformats standard web pages for mobile/accessibility browsers.
There is now a cookie-based feature that lets users define what their default source and item limit should be when first accessing the app. All cookie manipulation is done via PHP, on the server-side, as to not rely on Javascript, which is rarely available on the targeted browsers.

You can find the appropriate links below:

Online demo: See this mobile feed reader in action.
parseMe-20070111-source.phps: PHP source, with comments (for online viewing).
parseMe-20070111.tar.gz: 14KB - Full app, tar/gzip archive.
parseMe-20070111.zip: 15KB - Full app, zip archive.
SHA1SUM: SHA1 sum for the above files.
INSTALL: Basic installation instructions to get you going.
COPYING: Software license, GPL.
AUTHORS: Credits file.

I'm obviously quite a bit biased of course, but it's still is my favourite mobile app. :) And since I'm not seeing an iPhone (or similar smart phone) in any kind of recent future for me (availability in Canada, price, usage fees, etc), it probably will be for quite a while.

Parallels Desktop for Mac Update RC Wins MacWorld Expo 2007 “Best in Show”

2007-01-12T08:56:00.000-05:00

RENTON, Wash. – January 10th, 2007 – Parallels announced today that its Update Release Candidate (RC) for the Parallels Desktop for Mac, released today, has been named “Best in Show” at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. The “Best in Show” award is presented to the most elite of the several thousand products and services on display at the annual MacWorld Expo and Conference.

Congratulations! :)

Canadian coins bugged...

2007-01-10T19:26:00.000-05:00

From the source CBC article:

They say money talks, and a new report suggests Canadian currency is indeed chatting, at least electronically, on behalf of shadowy spies. Canadian coins containing tiny transmitters have mysteriously turned up in the pockets of at least three American contractors who visited Canada, says a branch of the U.S. Department of Defence.

This is one of the strangest thing I've ever heard...

Apple TV? SlingCatcher? Mac Mini? Something Else???

2007-01-09T20:58:00.000-05:00

Apple today officially announced the little box formerly known as the iTV, now dubbed the Apple TV. Nothing new has really been announced, and the honours of the day of course duly went to the quite stunning iPhone. The Apple TV price tag was confirmed, at US $299.

Pretty neat and cheap little device, but one detail to note is that it will not ship with a cable to link it to your TV (see What's in the box), which will probably fetch another US $20 or more at purchase time.

Also, unless 3rd-party cable providers jump on the bandwagon, and/or that the device itself does not make use of Macrovision-like DRM technologies, the Apple TV will also not be compatible with analog TV sets (See the connection options), unless plugged in an intermediary solution like a cable/satellite set-top box or other. This is of course conveniently in line with the media industry's quest to plugging the infamous analog hole (booh, there be dragons in there!).

For those just as tempted as I to press the shiny pre-order button, I'd suggest to consider the family=AppleTV in the URL at the online Apple Store. Can you see the bigger-drive-coming-soon flag too?

On another front, Sling Media announced (1, 2) the upcoming release of their very similar offering, the SlingCatcher, at the Consumer Electronics Show.

We will probably have to watch for the same limitations as the former device, but one big point is that this solution is currently said to be media agnostic.

This is an important fact in my context, since I have digital videos that go back to close to 10 years now, and some of them will not play in Quicktime without the addition of extra codecs (such as wmv, xvid, divx, etc). Apple currently only lists the iTunes compatible H.264 and MP4 (without avi encapsulations).

Other codecs enabled via plug-ins do not import into iTunes at this time (2007-01-09), but interestingly will play in Front Row. I say this is interesting because Front Row seems to use iTunes for video playback (iTunes is launched in the background). Apple probably doesn't want to have to deal with the AVI metadata format.

But there might still be hope, if the Update Software seen in the Settings view is not just an interface to the Mac OS X Software Update utility, and allows for additional plugins to be installed. Or, like in Front Row, if it is possible to stream movies from mounted server, instead of the iTune daap Bonjour/ZeroConf-based streaming protocol (or video-enabled successor?). If I was a 3rd-party QT codec provider, I'd probably be begging them to do so right now, but as much as I enjoy their products, Apple doesn't have the best record for letting others play with their toys.

The price tag for the SlingCatcher is currently pre-announced at around US $200, or about $100 less than the Apple TV. The better solutions for me could still be a Mac Mini using Front Row, which has its own upsides (full feldged OS, analog adapter, DVD player/burner, external expandability, etc) and problems (US $599 v. > 300, thicker, etc). Or also a PS3 running Linux.

Um, again left with decisions... Bah, I still have a few weeks to decide before my birthday anyway. ;)

Update: 2007-01-10: Apple does not actually manufacture/(re-)brand connection cables at all. The ones listed on their site are actually made by Xtreme Mac. Also, some of the same questions/concerns I had have been addressed by some of the Ars Technica editors.

Why is the universe just right for life?

2007-01-07T21:38:00.000-05:00

Paul Davies, George Efstathiou, David Gross and Leonard Susskind, four of the world's most renowned physicists, will debate the fundamental questions of existence at A Cosmic Coincidence: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life? McGill University's second annual Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium. The symposium will address the controversial anthropic principle: the notion that the universe is somehow specifically "tuned" to support life as we know it.

What: The 2007 Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium: A Cosmic Coincidence: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life?

When: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, January 25, 2007

Where: McGill University Main Campus, Leacock Building, Room 132

Live Webcast (on January 25)

This symposium will be presented in English with simultaneous French translation.

Read the source article on the McGill Newsroom.

Last Day in Florida

2007-01-07T16:34:00.000-05:00

Well, it's our last vacation day in Boynton Beach, Florida, and as you can assume from the attached photo, my family and I had a blast (don't be fooled by the body board, there are no real waves, but enough to fool around in with the kids.). Plane tomorrow, back to school for my oldest on Monday, and back to work for me on the 10th. My wife and two youngest will be staying an extra week.

And of course, back to more tech-oriented blogging for me. :)

Update: 2007-01-12: Link to Google Map where the photo was taken.

Happy new year!

2007-01-01T09:52:00.000-05:00

May 2007 bring you all that you wish for.

100 things we didn't know last year

2006-12-28T23:43:00.000-05:00

Each week, the Magazine chronicles interesting and sometimes downright unexpected facts from the news, through its strand 10 things we didn't know last week. Here, to round off the year, are some of the best from the past 12 months.

Yum, trivia. :)

Lion Country Safari

2006-12-28T21:48:00.000-05:00

We're playing snowbirds for the holidays this year, and one of our first activities was to bring the kids to the Lion Country Safari, (map) in West Palm Beach, Florida.

I'm usually not much of a zoo-goer. I even once got my entire class kicked out of one for sneaking behind my teacher's back and opening cages to release the animals when I was about 8, in France. On the other hand, those open air, free-roaming and conservation oriented ones are more to my liking. I'd still much rather see those animals free, in their natural habitats, but given so many of those species are now endangered, I have to take the lesser of two evils approach.

You can find a few photos below or go to the equivalent Flickr set or slideshow.

It was quite nice, but if you are in the area during the summer, I have to say that the Parc Safari, in Hemmingford, Quebec, is much larger and a lot more fun and interactive.

Happy Holidays

2006-12-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

I'll be on a plane early tomorrow, so I will wish you all some very happy holidays.

And if I somehow stay offline that long, may 2007 bring [more] peace on Earth.

Best regards to you and yours.

Stephane Daury

Screenshots of Fedora Core 6 in VMWare Fusion Beta

2006-12-22T23:17:00.001-05:00

Please note: this is an early report, and more details will be posted as I have more time to dig deeper into Fusion. Loads of screenshots in the meantime.

As I mentioned earlier, VMWare Fusion for Mac has had its first beta version released publicly today. My first thought was to try the existing Fedora Core 6 x86 virtual machine I put up for download a few weeks ago, to see if it would run as is on my 2006 Core Duo Macbook.

Having experience with both VMWare on other platforms and Parallels Desktop on the Mac, I was eager to see how the two compared. Having moved VMs between OS platforms with VMWare, I really wanted to know if the Mac would indeed be treated equally.

So since I'm busy packing for a holiday trip, and only have little time for it, I thought I'd post screenshots of how it all went. Hint: it's all good. :) You can go ahead and download my VM image, and give it a shot for yourself.

I'm only going to embed a few screenshots below, so the page stays light, but here is a complete archive: FC6_in_VMWare_Fusion_Beta-SCREENSHOTS-20061222.zip (71 screenshots. SHA1SUM: 0e468e48e8727ff842258e720b323960f19b92ad)

VMware Virtualization for Mac Beta Released

2006-12-22T10:39:00.000-05:00

The new VMware desktop product for the Mac, codenamed Fusion, allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, NetWare and Solaris, in virtual machines at the same time as Mac OS X. It is built on VMware's rock-solid and advanced desktop virtualization platform that is used by over four million users today.

The beta is now freely downloadable. Looks like Parallels is going to have some competition. Eager to see how this pans out, or if Apple builds virtualization in their next-gen OS.

I also wonder if the VMWare images I have built will work as is on my Mac. Can't wait to try it.

Hoping Parallels and Fusion won't somehow conflict whe installed on the same box.

It's Thursday. Feels Like Picture Day.

2006-12-21T23:51:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure why, but I was craving images today.
I just felt like seeing beautiful and mystifying things.
So here are a few I quite enjoyed.

Kenneth Parker Photography:
World/nature photos. Very nice light/color composition.

Flickr clusters for HDR:
See also HDR definition, which is likely to have been used in the Kenneth Parker link above.

Souvenirs:
By Michael Hugues. Interesting travel-oriented art concept.

File Magazine:
"A collection of unexpected photography". See their collection and projects.

Flock 198 archive:
Computer generated images rendered by the open source Electric Sheep distributed 3D screensaver. Some are truly stunning.

Hillman Wonders of the World:
Travel guide listing and info on their top 100 places to see. I've got to travel more, I've barely seen 5 of them... #9, #36, #39, #86, #88.

Places of Peace and Power:
"Traveling as a pilgrim, Martin [Gray] spent twenty years, visiting and photographing over 1000 sacred sites in eighty countries."

Setpixel:
Art-based technology. Technology-based art.

How to draw Superman:
Quickdraw video by Augusto Saldaña

Artwork:
By Konstantin Ryabitsev

Architectural Wonders 2006:
From Business Week

Feels ironic to write a text-only entry about it all...

The New Blogger.com Is Live and Out of Beta

2006-12-19T20:47:00.000-05:00

The new Blogger service is coming out of beta as I'm writing this (2006-12-19, between 8:30 and 8:45 PM EST), and you'll notice that everything that was going to beta.blogger.com before is now being handled by www2.blogger.com. This post is actually being served by the new Blogger environment.

Here are screenshots of what we were faced with for a few minutes.

All seems to now be back online, since I can post this, and you can read it. :)
A bit sluggish right now (still caching?), but back and kicking nonetheless.

The reason I found out was that I was writing another post when I noticed a most likely AJAX activated box, under the editing area, that was warning me that the app could not connect to the db for saving. Advanced warning? Very nice feature in and of itself, if true, since I don't remember clicking the save or publish buttons. Would be interesting to implement if not. Might have been the live preview though, but I didn't think the view switch required a remote connection. Might be iframe-based. Argh, now I'm curious and I've got to look into this... ;)

So big thanks, congratulations, and keep up the great work Blogger devs!

Considering the service was down for the public for what I estimate to be around 15 minutes, that was one smooth upgrade, especially considering the scale. I deal with systems that have thousands of concurrent signed-in sessions, and I know what that means, so I can only imagine what they are facing...

Now this puts a whole new spin on a previous post I wrote just a few days ago. The subject might just become a lot more interesting to a lot more people who now have to switch their accounts and blogs to the new platform. See Integrating the Digg Box in your Blogger Beta Posts.

Update: 2006-12-19 ~ 9:10 PM:

It's confirmed. From the Blogger homepage: We're out of beta and ready to go.

Also, note the new no beta logo, once logged in:

This post, as it turns out, is truly an homage to what Blogger is all about to me: a publishing tool for life, as it happens, in real time.

Update: 2006-12-20 ~ 8:15 AM:

Wow, the speed improvements are considerable! :)

Hello to Fairbanks, AK

2006-12-19T20:43:00.000-05:00

Well Google Analytics tells me that my most returning visitor(s) seem(s) to be either physically located or connecting from/through Fairbanks, Alaska.

We've been running the Urchin log analysis software at work long before their Google takeover, but the integration potential with the search giant are truly endless. I, for one, sure am having a lot of fun playing with all the cool stats they're providing site owners with.

But in the meantime, if there's any truth to those stats, hello to you in Fairbanks, and thanks for reading. If nothing else, we're also almost sharing a climate. ;)

New Digg Features Released, Fresh from the Oven

2006-12-18T10:46:00.000-05:00

See Kevin Rose's blog post for full details and a demo screencast.

Big update today. Tons of new features to share with you – many inspired by feedback you’ve given us over the last few months (thanks!). Check out this video for a quick overview, or read below for more details.

Funny Software Comments in Google Code Search

2006-12-18T08:56:00.000-05:00

Major geek humour warning...

Step 1: Programmers leave silly comments all over their code.
Step 2: Google launches Code Search.
Step 3: Enjoy! :)

Busted! Hilarious Code Comments - video powered by Metacafe

Integrating the Digg Box in your Blogger Posts

2006-12-17T23:56:00.000-05:00

Update: 2007-02-06: I have posted another how-to to showcase the easiest way to integrate with the newly upgraded Digg tools. On the other end, the following content has also been updated with the new tools' URLs and illustrates another take on integration allowing for more flexibility for content publishers.

Update: 2006-12-19: the new Blogger is out of beta. :) The template hack below is now more valid than ever.

I've been wanting to embed the iconic Digg Story Button in my pages, but unfortunately, the API requires Javascript and tekArtist is currently (2006-12-17) running on the (update: now out of) beta of the Blogger service, which does not allow the <script> tag to be used in blog posts.

Another challenge is that the API expects you to set a variable holding the reference URL on digg.com (urlOfStory above). This means that I also somehow needed to store this URL for each of my dugg posts for the tool to work. Again, easy enough if I could use JS in my blog posts, but not so since I can't here.

In most contexts, the Digg code is fairly simple to embed:

<script>
  digg_url = 'urlOfStory';
</script>
<script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js"></script>

One thing I did find was a way to add Del.icio.us and Digg hotlinks to your Blogger Beta posts by editing your template, and using widget tags for layout. Javascript is allowed at the template level in Blogger, but since you only have one such template (for the index, posts, listings, etc), flexibility is provided through their custom template markup, which will be important in this context.

I was still short of a place to store the Digg URL at the post level when I remembered that Blogger will let you activate a link field in your blog posts, for people who mainly point to other sites through their post's title (coincidentally, like Digg does too). I primarily use my blog to write original content, so I link my titles to each post's permalink, which let's me use that data field to store, say, a Digg URL. :)

The requirements are met: Javascript support, and a convenient way to store and manage the stories URL on Digg.

Now, will this hack actually work for you?

Are you using Blogger Beta? (update: now out of beta, hack more valid than ever)
If you're not using Blogger, this article will only satisfy your curiousity. If you're using Blogger and haven't converted you blog to the beta version yet, better hurry because you will have to soon.

Is your blog set to save post pages?
This is actually more of a Digg (and other social sites) requirement, since we need different URLs to submit. To verify this in the new Blogger, go to your Blogger Dashboard » Settings » Archiving » Enable Post Pages? Be sure to select yes.

Are you pointing to external URLs through your post titles?
To verify, go to your Blogger Dashboard » New Post. If you see and use a Link text field under the Title field, then this hack might not be for you, since we use the field to store the Digg data. If the feature is off, and you want to use this trick, go to your Blogger Dashboard » Settings » Formatting » Show Link Field. Be sure to select yes.

Are you comfortable editing the raw XML of your Blogger template?
Enough said. If you're still reading at this point, I'll just assume you are.

Are you willing to showcase the fact that you're not Digg-worthy?
;) If you're not into showing how some your posts aren't getting dugg enough (see above?), delete the URL from the Link field, and the box will forever disappear in the swarm's abyss. :)

And now finally, on to the code! Go to your Blogger Dashboard » Layout » Edit HTML. Be sure to check the Expand Widget Templates checkbox.

First locate the following markup:

<h3 class='post-title'>

Remove the code around it involving data:post.link:

<b:if cond='data:post.link'>
...

This ensure we do not have a conflict with the default template behaviour for the link data. Namely, to use the link, when set, instead of permalink as post titles destination (see update below for more details).

Then locate the following markup:

<p><data:post.body/></p>

And replace it with:

<p>
  <b:if cond='data:post.link'>
    <span style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; float: left;">
      <script>
        digg_url = '<data:post.link/>';
      </script>
      <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js"> </script>
    </span>
    <data:post.body/>
  <b:else/>
    <data:post.body/>
  </b:if>
</p>

Voilà!

In short: if a link (Digg URL) is set for this post, set the digg_url to the latter and call the Digg API Javascript, with a left floating span so your content wraps neatly around the generated iframe. Else, just show show the post.

For extra Karma, here is also the code for the Add to bar I have at the end of each post. The Digg button will disappear if your are using the above trick, so people do not try to resubmit the post more than once (and since they can Digg it using the box).

Locate the following markup:

<p class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'/>

After it, add the following:

<p class='post-footer-line post-footer-addtolinks'>
  Add to:
  <b:if cond='data:post.link == ""'>
    <a expr:href='"http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&amp;url=" + data:post.url + "&amp;title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Digg'><img align='absmiddle' alt='Digg. ' border='0' height='16' hspace='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/61822091.png' style='border:none;' vspace='0' width='16'/></a>
  </b:if>
  <a expr:href='" http://www.netscape.com/submit/?U=" + data:post.url + "&amp;T=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Netscape'><img align='absmiddle' alt='Netscape. ' border='0' height='16' hspace='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/subfolders/icons//99985netscape.png' style='border:none;' vspace='0' width='16'/></a>
  <a expr:href='" http://www.google.com/bookmarks/mark?op=edit&amp;output=popup&amp;bkmk=" + data:post.url + "&amp;title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Google Bookmarks'><img align='absmiddle' alt='Google Bookmarks. ' border='0' height='16' hspace='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/35814433.png' style='border:none;' vspace='0' width='16'/></a>
  <a expr:href='"http://del.icio.us/post?url=" + data:post.url + "&amp;title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Del.icio.us'><img align='absmiddle' alt='Del.icio.us. ' border='0' height='16' hspace='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/65682475.png' style='border:none;' vspace='0' width='16'/></a>
  <a expr:href='"http://reddit.com/submit?url=" + data:post.url + "&amp;title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Reddit'><img align='absmiddle' alt='Reddit. ' border='0' height='18' hspace='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/16304077.gif' style='border:none;' vspace='0' width='18'/></a>
</p>

I'll still keep an eye out for other implementations, but as of now, I'm quite satisfied with the way I found. Hoping it might help others out there.

Now if only I could write diggable content... ;p

Update: 2007-01-18:

People have been asking for more details about the <h3> manipulation for post titles. I had kept the above explanation very generic, because the code I had to change in the template I started from (Tic-Tac) might not be the same than in other templates, but I'll be more specific below.

The code I originally had to generate the post titles was:

<b:if cond='data:post.title'>
  <h3 class='post-title'>
    <b:if cond='data:post.link'>
      <a expr:href='data:post.link'><data:post.title/></a>
    <b:else/>
      <b:if cond='data:post.url'>
        <a expr:href='data:post.url'><data:post.title/></a>
      <b:else/>
        <data:post.title/>
      </b:if>
    </b:if>
  </h3>
</b:if>

Which I replaced with:

<b:if cond='data:post.title'>
  <h3 class='post-title'>
    <b:if cond='data:post.url'>
      <a expr:href='data:post.url'><data:post.title/></a>
    <b:else/>
      <data:post.title/>
    </b:if>
  </h3>
</b:if>

Lightweight Feed Reader for Web-Enabled Devices

2006-12-15T18:33:00.000-05:00

Update: 2007-06-02: An upgraded version is now available.

If like me you commute to and from work by public transit, you might also enjoy spending some of that time catching up with the latest news. Newspapers still seem popular, but they aren't the most up-to-date and are quite impractical in a crowd. TV phones and podcasts are very neat, but they all imply audio or video and are therefore not always the easiest way to scan through the info, at least in my opinion.

For quite some time now, what I found really fits my needs best is a simple web-based RSS/Atom feed reader that I can access from my mobile phone's browser. So I wrote one, of course. Or more accurately, I recently rewrote my old one using the SimpleXML feature built in PHP 5+.

The 12 requirements I set myself were:

K.I.S.S.: viewing tool is likely to be a small screen device, screen reader, etc.
Use only PHP, XML, XHTML and CSS (no DB, Javascript [...] this time).
Typing-free user interface, selection-only user input.
Output standard XHTML for maximum accessibility and portability.
Have stylesheets for different viewing environment (handheld, screen, etc).
Use local caching for the remote feeds, with a 30 minutes refresh interval.
Clean and limit in size the entries' descriptions to only provide an excerpt if the feed publishes all of the article's content, instead of a synopsis.
Have a paging feature to keep the output very light for low memory devices.
Offer multiple pre-defined source selections.
Let users choose the number of items per page.
Be secure in regards to user input, caching, etc.
And all this in less than 500 lines, including detailed comments.

With all this in mind, I came up with a little utility I call parseMe, which you can freely download below. Not a very creative name by any stretch, but a short one, which helps when thumb-typing the url on a phone numerical keyboard.

Online demo: See this mobile feed reader in action.
Downloads: Latest and historical packages.
SHA1SUM: SHA1 sum for the above files.
INSTALL: Basic installation instructions to get you going.
COPYING: Software license, GPL.
AUTHORS: Credits file.

There is not enough there for me to make it a full blown project, so feel free to do with it what you want. All the code is released under the GPL. The bundled feed icon is the current standard one, as provided by feedicons.com.

parseMe requires PHP 5+, a web server and a writable filesystem for caching. I have, so far, tested it under Apache 2+ on Fedora Core 5/6 and Ubuntu 6.10, as well as Apache 1.3.33 on Mac OS X (using PHP 5 from entropy.ch). It might also just run as is on Windows, using the various PHP and Web server options on that platform. Same goes for other platforms supported by PHP 5.

There you go, enjoy. And if you don't have a web account to run your own copy of the app, feel free to access the above demo from your mobile devices, but you'll probably find the default feed list quite limited very fast.

And for the record, if you are looking for more mobile browsing destinations, Google is starting to have quite a few nice products. The following links go to the mobile versions of the Google tools:

Unfortunately, my phone can't remember my Google account info, as implemented in their login form, so having to sign-in every time still makes running my own little typing-free and customizable app that much more convenient for me. :)

Have Canadian Researchers Found a Cure for Diabetes?

2006-12-15T18:06:00.000-05:00

In a discovery that has stunned even those behind it, scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body's nervous system helps trigger diabetes, opening the door to a potential near-cure of the disease that affects millions of Canadians. Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas.

You can read the full article on the National Post website.

I am not directly affected by this disease, but I know enough people who unfortunately are to realize that this has the potential to tremendously change a lot of people's lives, if it does lead to anything even remotely viable for humans.

Pre-Order a PS3 with Linux Installed

2006-12-14T20:02:00.000-05:00

TerraSoft is now taking pre-orders for Sony PlayStation 3 with Yellow Dog Linux 5 pre-installed. YDL5 is based on Fedora Core 5.

If you already have the new console, you can also just order the new YDL5 distro on DVD, or download it via TerraSoft's YDL.net Enhanced. Both options have support options.

You can also wait a few more days and download it during the week of December 25, or take the more experimental road, and do it the other way.

Bruce Trigger: Archaelogist, Anthropologist 1937-2006

2006-12-12T17:03:00.000-05:00

This is, by Web standards, old news, but I still wanted to mark the passing of a great Canadian mind. See the article on the Globe and Mail site.

Archaeologist, anthropologist and historian Bruce Trigger had a wide-ranging intellectual curiosity that roamed across civilizations -- from ancient Egyptians in Africa to the Huron Confederacy in Eastern Canada -- historical time frames and scholarly disciplines. He understood from an early age that complexity was an underlying factor in human behaviour, an insight that made him wary of ideological determinism and rigid methodological approaches to data.

See also: Honouring Bruce Trigger in the McGill Reporter.

Review of the New Parallels Beta Build

2006-12-12T17:02:00.000-05:00

Since I unfortunately don't have the time to get deep enough into the new Parallels Beta to write a valuable review about the new features, here's the LifeHacker review instead. The review covers most of the beta build's new functionalities and also has nice pictures and videos.

Memories for Life

2006-12-12T17:01:00.000-05:00

Memories for Life is a unique project, funded by the EPSRC, bringing together a diverse range of academics in a bid to understand how memory works and to develop the technologies to enhance it. We are our memories. Our memories underpin every thought we have, every fact we learn and every skill we acquire. In today’s technology-rich society this human memory is now supplemented by increasing amounts of personal digital information; emails, photographs, Internet telephone calls, even GPS locations and television viewing logs. We believe bringing together psychologists, neuroscientists, sociologists and computer scientists will lead to a more effective use and management of both the human and computerised memory. It will place the technology in the context.

This truly sounds like a fascinating project.

Warning: cheesy pet video ahead. ;)

2006-12-10T23:50:00.000-05:00

Anybody who knows me (and them) knows that I had to do the following. Consider it saving a short snapshot for posterity, since they're 10 (Surf, dog) and 8 (Bandit, cat).

Or like Linus Torvalds once said:

Only wimps use tape backup: real men just upload their important stuff on ftp, and let the rest of the world mirror it.

Whoever said cats and dogs hated each other didn't know these two. Surf's been taking care of Bandit since the day he was born. And yes, the snoring is coming from Surf. :)

Screencast: Installing Ubuntu 6.10 Desktop

2006-12-09T16:12:00.001-05:00

In the spirit of my other Linux install screencasts (1, 2), I took a lot of screenshots while installing Ubuntu 6.10 Desktop on my 12" iBook G3, and made this 2+ minutes video out of them.

It hopes to demonstrate how easy it can really be to install Linux, and to demystify some of the FUD around this great platform. Show it to your family and friends during the Holidays, and we might just end up with a few more Linux users in the new year! :)

Great Mac Disassembly Guides

2006-12-07T22:32:00.000-05:00

Having a few fun plans for a 2002 iBook G3, I was searching for online instructions on how to take apart the notoriously feisty little thing. And then I found the Fixit Guide Series, by iFixit. [Cue the heavenly background music]

Each Fixit Guide has detailed disassembly instructions that walk you through the process of easily accessing and replacing components in your iPod, PowerBook, or iBook.

This, to me, is just brilliant. Here is a company that sells Mac parts, and has the clairvoyance to think that their customers might want to do it themselves, whether for fun or to save a few bucks, and actually helps them doing so without trashing their box. Pure genius!

And they do it well too. All the the guides are clear, concise and well illustrated.

I was not only able to browse and get PDF copies of all the instruction sets I'll probably ever need for my 12" iBook G3, but also for our Mac Minis, 13" MacBook, 12" PowerBooks and 17" PowerBook at the office. And to top it all off, they even have iPod repair guides.

I didn't know iFixit before tonight, but now, I know where I'm shopping next time I'm searching for Mac parts online. If their service and prices match this kind of spirit, they just gained a client for life!

Thanks, and good job guys. I'm usually not that easy. ;)

Update: 2006-12-10:

I've been in touch with the iFixit crew after posting this, and on top of all the above, turns out they're nice guys too. :)

Half-Pipe Skateboarding Competition, Part 4 of 4

2006-12-06T17:08:00.000-05:00

And to conclude the series, here's part 4 of 4 of the fan video I filmed at the 2002 Slam City Jam, in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Audio: Straight Up, licensed from ibaudio.com.

Probably not the best one in the series (my faves are #2 and #3), but I had some raw footage left. :)

See also:

How to Build a Simple Wood Puzzle

2006-12-06T17:07:00.000-05:00

This short video shows how to build a very basic puzzle, with and for [your] kids, out of any non-toxic scrap wood and just a few simple tools.

It takes less than 15 minutes, not including drawing time, and the kids love it.

My kids and I have made dozens of those in the last few years, some a lot more elaborate than what is sampled in this video, but the basic concept and techniques are the same.

And the first person to laugh at my narrative skills gets hit on the head.
WHAAACK. Dam'it, I laughed at myself... ;P

Half-Pipe Skateboarding Competition, Part 3 of 4

2006-12-05T19:35:00.000-05:00

Here is part 3 of 4 of the fan video I filmed at the 2002 Slam City Jam, in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Audio: No Deal, licensed from ibaudio.com.

Is that a Light at the End of this Tunnel?

2006-12-05T19:32:00.000-05:00

What do you do when you go from a potentially bleak staffing situation to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, with good prospects showing up at the last minute and everything starting to click into place and make sense?

Well, you giggle like a little girl.

So without further due: giggle giggle giggle!

Ouch, a bald n' bearded little girl... That's some scary stuff right there! ;)

Yes, it's premature, but I needed the relief regardless.

Half-Pipe Skateboarding Competition, Part 2 of 4

2006-12-04T18:01:00.000-05:00

This is part 2 of 4 of the fan video I filmed at the 2002 Slam City Jam, in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Audio: Sour Grape, licensed from ibaudio.com.

Google/Dell Hardware Recall Nightmare...

2006-12-03T14:35:00.000-05:00

I'm usually not one to blog about things closely related to work, but I've got to get this one off my chest...

Being the web systems architect for one of North-America's best universities, enterprise search is one of the biggest challenges my team and I are being faced with. So a couple of month ago, I made the call to try and replace the heavily customized ht://Dig based architecture we've had in place for many years with one of Google's Search Appliances: a GB-1001, to start with.

Being, like so many others, a big fan of most of Google's offerings, and being often confronted with the ongoing Google Mania when it comes to search (Why don't you do it like Google? Google does it this way. etc), I thought this was pretty much a no-brainer. I, of course, did have my concerns about the solution not being open source, even though it itself relies on it so, but I figured something made and backed by the oh so great Google could only be a safe bet. Right?

So we ordered one, received it, and as you can expect, we were pretty excited to start hacking at it to implement the engine in our web search strategy.

And that's when the madness started...

Dear Google Customer,

This is a notice to specific appliance customers regarding a configuration error that is present on a very small set of recently manufactured GB-1001 Google Search Appliances (GSA).

Since you are receiving this notice, the GSA with the serial number ([serial removed]) that was recently shipped to you has been identified as one of the affected appliances. These affected appliances may either display disk errors at boot time resulting in a non-functional appliance or boot without errors and appear to be functioning properly but then be at risk for having these errors at a later time.

Google will ship within days a replacement GSA to you along with a return label for the affected appliance. Please be sure to replace the affected appliance as soon as possible to eliminate your risk of incurring any production issues.

I'll spare you the rest of the email...

Not really what I'd expect after shelling out around US $20k, but this did not entirely come as a surprise to me, since that issue showed up in some of the research I had conducted before we received the appliance. And you know what? Stuff happens, and no one is ever shielded from a manufacturing defect.

So I chose to give them the benefit of the doubt, and just waited for our new appliance to arrive. I even signed up for a Google enterprise search seminar passing by Montreal, mostly to network with other GSA owners. Funnily enough, there was no mention of this problem as they were pitching their products to large IT companies. I didn't either. Why would I? We just happened to be among the few unlucky customers, among hordes of gleeful ones, that's all. Remember? Just a very small set of the machines were affected, after all.

So we got a new one between 1 and 2 weeks after being told it was on its way. The shipping time frame really had nothing to do with Google or Dell (hardware provider for the GSAs), but was simply because the box was held up at customs, like the first one had been. You'd think express air shipping would take this kind of things in consideration, but I guess not.

Because the return label that customer service had mentioned was actually nowhere to be found in the new box (really), we contacted Google Enterprise to enquire on how to proceed from there, to get the defective server back to them.

And lo and behold, this is what we got back from the customer relations department:

The appliance should have shipped with a return label. However, I will contact someone within our organization to send one to you.

However, we have just discovered that the replacement GSA that was shipped with the following serial number ([serial removed]) is still affected by the same issue and will need to be replaced. We will ship another GSA to you along with a return label for the affected appliance. Please be sure to replace the affected appliance as soon as possible to eliminate your risk of incurring any production issues. We have included a prepaid return label for you to use in returning the affected appliance. Please use the return label and the original shipping container to send the faulty appliance back to Google. Your replacement appliance has been shipped to the following address: [address removed]

If you have already put the appliance into production we recommend that you backup the configurations for import into the replacement appliance. We also recommend waiting to deploy your appliance to production until any affected appliances have been replaced. We deeply regret any inconveniences this may cause.

Best regards,

Google Enterprise Support

Fantastic, isn't it?!? Now that is enterprise service! Right? Right...

But, I thought only a very small set of the GSAs were affected?!?

Is that what we are to expect throughout our two year contract with them? Because if it's gonna be this way, I'm not sure I'm willing to bring any of it online anymore. Especially when my name is going to be attached to it in the eyes of the entire university... And that, when I was already eying the GSA clusters, considering the vast number and types of documents we have the potential to index.

Good thing none of it was in production yet.

Maybe writing our custom search solution wasn't so much trouble after all. One thing is for sure, it has served us well during the past 5 to 6 years or so, and despite certain scalability and character set issues, it sure has been a lot more reliable than the GSA's been so far.

I'm just stunned by it all, really.

PS: Why does it feel so strange to post this on Blogger, while using Analytics and AdSense?

Update: 2006-12-04:

I have now been assured by Google Canada that the new appliance has been verified not to have the same issue.

I'll wait until it's online before I celebrate this time though.

Update: 2006-12-05:

I have to give credit where credit is due, and say that Google Canada has been nothing but helpful since we got in touch on Monday. It's giving me back my confidence in the level of service I can expect.

Dare I say I'm getting excited to see the GSA arriving again? Yeah, okay. :)

Update: 2006-12-07:

The new GSA is now on the floor of my office and will be going to the server room tomorrow.

Half-Pipe Skateboarding Competition, Part 1 of 4

2006-12-03T12:35:00.000-05:00

Well, since I'm obviously going a bit video crazy these days, I'm gonna go all the way, right? ;) This is a fan video shot at the Slam City Jam 2002 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Audio: Zero G, licensed from ibaudio.com.

I shot the video when I brought my oldest son to his first skateboarding event, at age 2.

Praise Be Parallels Desktop's Performance

2006-11-30T21:34:00.000-05:00

I mean, what else can I say? If you watch the attached video, you'll see what I mean.

Mac OS X 10.4.8, Parallels Desktop
Windows XP, Internet Explorer 7
Fedora Core 6, Firefox 2
Ubuntu 6.10 Desktop, Firefox 2

All running on my usual 2GHz Core Duo MacBook with 2 GB RAM (512MB/VM).

Performance is awesome. The video is in real time and the only reason the VMs were set to 800x600 was to try and keep the screencast relatively crisp when converted to a small FLV.

Tip: It's in the docs and all, but it took me a while to remember how to launch multiple windows in Parallels Desktop, since it loads VMs in the same window when opening them: File menu » New Window

Screencast: Fedora Core 6 Install in VMWare Workstation

2006-11-29T17:05:00.000-05:00

This screencast illustrates installing Fedora Core 6 Linux as a virtual machine in VMWare Workstation. It is based on the series of screenshots offered for download, along with the resulting virtual machine, in my previous post.

Enjoy!

Screencast: Fedora Core 6 Install in Parallels Desktop

2006-11-28T10:36:00.000-05:00

This screencast illustrates installing Fedora Core 6 Linux as a virtual machine in Parallels Desktop for Mac. It is based on the series of screenshots offered for download, along with the resulting virtual machine, in my previous post.

Enjoy!

Linux Install Screencasts Coming Soon

2006-11-26T12:34:00.000-05:00

I've been toying around in iMovie, experimenting with it as a screencast tool. A bit away from what I usually do with it, but it's not bad so far. Fun and easy to work with, as usual.

Nothing fantastic, but I have a few Linux install movies coming up in the next few days. I'm also going to try uploading them to MetaCafe. We'll see how it goes.

Trying to fit this between my 7 year-old son's hockey games (so far undefeated!).

Help Requesting Flash for Linux on PowerPC

2006-11-23T13:01:00.000-05:00

Kai Staats is asking for the community's support in requesting for Adobe to port Flash 9 for Linux to the Power architecture (YDL, really). He also appropriately suggests for people to submit the requests with consistent[-ish] data, so the numbers work in the movement's favour.

Kai's orignal request email (and format suggestions)
Adobe's Feature Request/Bug Report Form

Soon to be fully opened sourced, Sun's Java is sure to quickly become available for this platform, therefore making the Flash player and browser plugin one of the next must-have components remaining to be ported. We will need Adobe to provide us with this port though, since the Flash Player source is not Free or available.

I haven't yet, but in the meantime, one could also try to use Gnash, a GNU Flash movie player.

Update: I tried Gnash 0.7.2 (in FC6 Extras) on my iBook G3 tonight. It's promising, but most definitely is a work in progress to say the least (admittedly so: alpha 2). Most simple animations work fine enough, but more advance Flash movies are still out of reach. It also does not seem to support the now iconic Flash Video format (flv), now made ubiquitous on the Web through such high profile sites as YouTube, Google Video, MetaCafe, and countless others.

Compiling and Using ClusterSSH on Mac OS X

2006-11-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

The challenge

We use a cluster of GNU/Linux-powered nodes behind a Cisco load balancer to serve some of our web sites. These nodes being quasi-identical (most config, filesystems, etc), we often need to apply the very same changes, via ssh, to each of them at once in our daily maintenance tasks.

ClusterSSH to the Rescue

ClusterSSH is a small Perl/TK utility that controls a number of xterm windows via a single graphical console window to allow commands to be interactively run on multiple servers over an ssh connection. This means that you type your shell commands once, and they simultaneously run on all of the servers ClusterSSH is connected to.

CusterSSH in action on Mac OS X (Tiger, MacBook)

A perfect fit for our needs, but not quite limited to our higher end environment. Using ClusterSSH, you can control x number of computers via ssh, whether they are exact replicas of one another (cluster) or not. This can be especially useful in a computer lab environment, or with any large number of similar systems that you want to edit from the command line.

EG: You can easily run softwareupdate on OS X or yum/apt on Linux, or even download a file from a central server, on all the computers in your office at once and without the need for more elaborate or expensive graphical solutions.

For the record, there is another project on SourceForge that shares the same purpose and executable name (cssh), but that project has not seen a release since 2004, unlike ClusterSSH, which seems to be kept rather well up-to-date by its developer(s).

But wait, we're on OS X

ClusterSSH is an X11-based application, which Apple has been providing a port for OS X for years. But if you are on an Intel-based Mac, you might have been wondering where to find the said port for your architecture, since it is not an install option on the DVD provided with your new machine. Well, it is there, but the installer package is in fact in a directory hidden from the Finder.

To install Apple's X11 built for your MacIntel, simply do the following:

mount the DVD that came with your Mac
open a terminal window
type open /Volumes/[OSX_DVD]/System/Installation/Packages/X11User.pkg where [OSX_DVD] is the volume name of the install DVD
go through the newly launched installer
tada!

Maybe Apple thought their Universal Binary version was only half-baked (...), at least until the latest update they released on November 13, which was itself Intel-ready. Should you choose not to install the latter, you will be prompted to update X11 the next time you run Software Update.

The Perl install that comes bundled with OS X lacks one of the modules that ClusterSSH relies on to provide a small GUI window for you to type your distributed commands in: Tk. Depending on when you read this (2006-11-21), you might want to run a CPAN search for a newer version than the one I link to.

Installing Tk is quite easy if you are familiar with the terminal, and requires for you to have installed the Developer Tools that came bundled with OS X.

get the latest Perl/Tk module from CPAN
decompress the downloaded archive
important: open X11 (Applications » Utilities), and use its terminal for the next steps
cd to the Tk folder
perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
sudo make install
and you should be done

The make test step will procedurally try the miscellaneous X interface components that Perl/Tk provides, hence the need to run it in X11. All went fine in my context, but you can find more information on Steve Lidie's site at Lehigh University if needed: Perl/Tk and Mac OS X.

On to compiling ClusterSSH

Now that we have met ClusterSSH prerequisites (X11::Protocol is bundled with OS X), we can move on and compile the software for OSX.

get the latest version of the source from the official site .
decompress the downloaded archive
in a terminal window, cd to the clusterssh-* folder
./configure
make
sudo make install

On many UNIX systems, you might now be able use the cssh command, but in OS X, you will probably need to make sure that your environment knows to look for software in /usr/local/bin by default, particularly in the terminal. To do so:

go back to the terminal
type env
see if /usr/local/bin is part of the list making up the PATH variable
if not type export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin then exit.

And that is essentially it...

Using ClusterSSH

Now that everything is installed, keep in mind that the purpose of this software is to run the same actions on a number of connected computers, which obviously has tremendous advantages, but also countless dangers.

Read every command before running them, and make sure you did not accidentally or temporarily shifted the window focus to one of the nodes, therefore processing your request one one of the hosts only.

Before you start using cssh, make sure to have a user with the same username and password combination on all of the targeted hosts, unless you opted to pass some of these parameters in the individual connection strings.

Then, in an X11 terminal window, use the cssh command as illustrated below:

cssh user@your.host.1 user@your.host.2 user@your.host.3 [...]

When all of the windows are launched, be sure to put the focus on the small window (see right) and type your commands. In most cases, this will mean starting by typing your password to the computers your are connecting to. And then, you're off to the races.

You can take some steps to make your time with ClusterSSH easier, such as using ssh keys to forgo having to type a password altogether (think about security though). You can also write a small shell script already containing the full list of nodes you are most often connecting to.

I have successfully tested ClusterSSH on Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger) on:

a 2006 MacBook (Core Duo)
a 2005 Mac Mini (G4)
and a 2003 PowerBook (G4)

For more information you can now use man /usr/local/man/man1/cssh.1 in the terminal to see the full cssh documentation, or see the online FAQ.

But please, do keep reminding yourself that the old "rm -rf ~/*" cliché is multiplied by the number of hosts you are connected to. ;)

Enjoy.

Update 1: a comment attached to this post led me to a similar tool that has its own advantages, and is well worth mentioning here: dsh.

Update 2: for those of us also running GNU/Linux, ClusterSSH is also available as a pre-compiled Debian package and Fedora RPM.

Mission STS-118 Canadian Patch Design Contest

2006-11-20T23:43:00.000-05:00

McGill University announced a pretty unique contest for the student body today: designing a commemorative patch that will be worn by the Canadian astronaut on Mission STS-118 to the International Space Station in June of 2007.

McGill and the Canadian Space Agency are proud to announce the launch of the Mission STS-118 Canadian Patch Design Contest. The winner will have the unique experience of seeing their design chosen for Dr Williams' uniform, AND will be invited to attend the launch of mission STS-118 in the Mission Control Room at the Canadian Space Agency.

Having a bad tech weekend...

2006-11-19T13:05:00.000-05:00

I started on a quest to install Linux PPC on my older iBook G3 yesterday. I wanted to try and breathe some productivity back into it, as Apple has been phasing out G3 support over the last few years. But I'm not having too much luck so far...

I first installed Fedora Core 6 PPC, which all seemed fine until I tried to put the laptop to sleep. The whole thing crashed on wake up, and corrupted GNOME so bad, for all users, that I was unable to recover from it, even after rebooting...

Not being in the mood to troubleshoot the thing, I decided to give a try to Ubuntu Desktop 6.10 PPC instead. Again, the install went fine, and sleep was working this time, but then I was quickly remembered why I stuck to a server environment when running Linux PPC in the past: no flash, no easy way to play video (vlc, mplayer, xine, ffmpeg, etc all crashed), no java, no wpa wireless security protocol setup by default, etc.

Aaaaaaaargh! I've had enough of that for one weekend... And it's not for lack of trying, as I've probably spent more than 12 hours giving it all a fair try. But not being the type to just give up completely, I'm getting the FC6 PPC DVD at work as we speak, and I'll try again next week. Knowing Linux, there are probably solutions to most of my problems.

We shall see.

Sony OtherOS Installer for Sony PlayStation 3 Released

2006-11-17T12:30:00.000-05:00

Last saturday, I posted about Terra Soft releasing Yellow Dog Linux 5 for the PS3 on November 27th. And earlier this week, the Fedora developers tried to one-up them by releasing an add-on disc for FC5 PPC (which YDL is based on) to install the original distribution on one's shiny new console.

Today, the very much anticipated Sony OtherOS Installer was also made available for download, unleashing the final key to enabling anyone to easily turn the powerful game console into a full blown computer.

otheros.self.zip (1.29 MB @ QJ, file and complete instructions)
CELL-Linux-CL_20061110- ADDON.zip (41.77 MB @ QJ, binary)
CELL-Linux-CL_20061110- SRCCD.zip (131.01 MB @ QJ, source)

It is advised to use the FC5 PPC DVD, rather than CD set, to proceed with this installation:

bordeaux-DVD-ppc.torrent (bittorrent, 3.4 GB)
FC-5-ppc-DVD.iso (http, 3.4 GB)
More mirrors

For more details, the Quick Journal team has a couple of nice articles on how to boot and install GNU/Linux on the PlayStation 3.

Nov. 13: PS3 Dual Boot Instructions & Blu-ray disc mounting supported!
Nov. 12: Kernel patches and documentation for PS3 Linux

I would still imagine, though, that Terra Soft will probably remain the leader in Linux for the Power Architecture, all the more in the enterprise market, given the type of resources they have to support their distribution: dedicated team, first Cell-based supercomputer, IBM and Sony backing, etc.

But for many, you can't be early and free! :)

Update: Someone has now posted a video of Fedora Core 5 running on a PS3 on YoutTube.

Our secret spot no more...

2006-11-15T08:43:00.000-05:00

I was browsing through The Channel Channel's 10 seconds video previews in the open source Democracy Internet TV Platform last night, when I stumbled on a podcast from the French region I am originally from: Les Landes.

I don't think it could have hit any closer to home for me, since the subject matter is surfing (surfboard). It features the beaches I spent my childhood on, learning to ride those very waves with any board I could lay my hands on (surf, bodyboard, sometime without), before I left France when I was twelve. From Arcachon to Hendaye , and everything in between.

The video embedded below, shot by Julien Salomon, features pro and local surfers at La Gravière (gravel quarry) between Hossegor and Vieux-Boucau. This amazing beach used to be The secret spot only locals knew when I was a kid (80's). Needless to say, such is not the case any longer, despite the fact that it takes 15-20 minutes on a sand trail through the forest to get to this little piece of heaven.

Anecdote: The wave seen in my blog's header (logo background) was actually shot in Capbreton, which in only separated from Hossegor by a canal and marina. The lighthouses seen in the background of the last few frames of the video clip stand at the end of the said canal, guiding ships into port.

And if more than 250 km (155 miles) of white sand beaches and Europe's largest pine forests are not enough to get your mojo going, the Pyrénées are only an hour drive away, for World class hiking trails and ski/snowboard resorts.

Exactly the kind of reminder I needed to prepare myself for the loooooong Montreal winter... NOT! ;)

Stay Tuned!

2006-11-15T00:32:00.000-05:00

Is YouTube getting ready to launch something? This screenshot was taken around 12AM EST, the day after Google completed their acquisition of the video sharing star.

Can't wait to see what's up in the morning. :)

Happy belated birthday WWW!

2006-11-14T08:42:00.000-05:00

I was reminded this morning that what has been my bread and butter for the last 12 years turned 16 yesterday.

Initial WorldWideWeb program development continues on the NeXT (TBL) . This was a "what you see is what you get" (wysiwyg) browser/editor with direct inline creation of links. The first web server was nxoc01.cern.ch, later called info.cern.ch, and the first web page http://nxoc01.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html Unfortunately CERN no longer supports the historical site. Note from this era too, the least recently modified web page we know of, last changed Tue, 13 Nov 1990 15:17:00 GMT (though the URI changed.)

A dot on the historical timeline, the Web has to be right up there among the quickest and most influential revolutions the World has so far witnessed.

And what a feisty teenager it can be... Here's to another 16 years! :)

Until we meet again, Justice

2006-11-13T20:41:00.000-05:00

I spent the last month stressing out about having been summoned for jury duty in a criminal case, here in Montreal. I was truly torn between wanting to do my duty as a proud citizen of a country lucky to have such institutions, and what it could translate into for my family, employer and self over what can be a draining experience, lasting months to complete in some cases...

So I went this morning, going from shuffling ideas in the back of my mind on how I could get out of it, to almost be excited to be a part of an experience that might not present itself again in my lifetime.

After being briefed on the details of the case, which I cannot elaborate on for legal and decency reasons, we were offered the opportunity to ask the judge for an exemption. I would say almost half the room (we were about 100) rushed to do so, only for the large majority to be told they were not entitled to one. I decided not to ask for one myself, concluding that the least I could do was to let the process take its course, and leave it to the court to decide if this was meant to be.

Sure enough, I was drawn to be in the first twenty people to be evaluated by the prosecution and defense. Both parties are allowed to refuse up to twenty jurors without any further explanation. They can refuse more if needed, but past 20, they have to start justifying their decisions.

I was eighteenth in the first batch of twenty. When it came time for me to pass in front of the judge, prosecution and defense, only 4 jurors had been retained.

I was asked to state my name and occupation. The prosecution accepted me right away, but after a few seconds of what looked like intense deliberation, the two defense lawyers deemed that I did not fit their criteria for this case.

I have to say that I was relieved the decision had been made for me. This is because the next step was to swear under oath that, among other things, I would only make a decision based on the proofs presented to us during the case, and on the proofs only. I do not think I could have sincerely sworn to this, because I don't believe that a legally untrained person could swear to leave their personal beliefs and judgments behind to act as some kind of legal robot, particularly in a murder case. I am not arguing against the system, but I could not pretend to be prone to this kind of detachment myself. And if I wasn't going to lie to weasel myself out of the responsibility, like so many others tried to do, I certainly was not ready to do so to falsely get into it either, regardless of what the consequences might be.

So if I understood properly, it now means I cannot be called for jury duty for another five years. I'm almost curious to see if and how life might change my opinion with a few more years under my belt, should I be randomly drawn from the electors list again.

New custom site template launched

2006-11-12T19:08:00.001-05:00

Those who visited these pages before will notice that I have now implemented a custom Blogger template. It is still [very] loosely based on TicTac, the built-in one I was using until today. Hope you like it.

Sony Barking Up the Right Tree for their PS3 Linux

2006-11-11T22:23:00.000-05:00

Linux on the Playstation 3 (PS3) has been covered before, but the inside story is that Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) has entered in an agreement with Terra Soft Solutions (TSS) to bring Yellow Dog Linux 5 (YDL) to their next generation console, which was actually released today in Japan.

Under basic agreement with SCEI, Terra Soft was granted a unique opportunity to develop and bring to market a complete Linux OS for PLAYSTATION 3. In the development of Yellow Dog Linux v5.0, Terra Soft integrated and enhanced code from Barcelona Supercomputing Center, SCEI , and Fedora in order to offer the following: kernel 2.6.16, gcc 4.1.1 and glibc 2.4, Cell SDK 1.1, OpenOffice.org 2.0.2, FireFox 1.5.0 and Thunderbird 1.5.0, Nautilus 2.14 ... and a suite of Personal Accessories, Development Tools; Sound & Video, Internet, and Networking applications.

This is indeed a fantastic opportunity for the dynamic team behind YDL, especially now that Apple has completed its transition to the Intel platform, leaving behind the Power architecture. But what could have spelled the company's dismay is now instead referred to by Kai Staats, CEO of Terra Soft, as a potential blessing in disguise, thanks to the exciting Cell architecture.

In fact, YDL 5 will initially be released for the PS3 on its North American launch date of November 17th, with Apple and other PowerPC based systems supported later in the year. The product will be available to the YDL.net Enhanced members first (Nov.27), later on DVD (Dec. 11), and for download as a holiday treat (Dec. 25).

As a long time YDL user both at work and at home, I am ecstatic to know that TSS has found an exciting new revenue model for their solid offering, with a potentially quite large user base if the PS3 proves to be a success, despite heavy competition from the Wii and Xbox.

PS3/YDL/E17

Another big winner in this deal is the Enlightenment Project, since their E17 (DR17) desktop manager has been chosen to bring what promises to be a beautiful GUI to the YDL/PS3 combination.

When it came out in 1997, Enlightenment blew a strong blow to many other desktop environments, UNIX based and beyond, effectively delivering features such as window transparency to even modest hardware.

Having unfortunately suffered from project management issues in the past, Enlightenment lost tremendous ground to GNOME and KDE over the years, and I am glad to see the new development team benefiting from this project.

From game console to supercomputer

Provided the Power architecture's performance in number crunching intensive applications such as modeling and rendering, Terra Soft is also a very strong contender in the scientific and supercomputing markets, thanks to their Y-Bio and Y-HPC products.

Y-Bio is Terra Soft's solution for the growing life sciences market. Built upon the RPM Linux standard for package management, Y-Bio offers gene sequence analysis applications --tools which help bioinformatics researchers conduct their work with greater efficiency.

Y-HPC is Terra Soft's cluster construction-management suite for Apple G5 (IBM 970) Xserves. Built upon 64-bit Yellow Dog Linux, Y-HPC offers 64-bit enhancements for code development. In use by the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and University labs nation-wide, Yellow Dog Linux and Y-HPC are a preferred Linux platform for the Power architecture.

TSS is currently contracted by Sony to build of the world's first Cell-based supercomputing cluster in their Loveland, Colorado headquarters.

So, thanks for complicating my life...

Okay, now that I had narrowed my choices down to either a Mac Mini or Apple's upcoming iTV for our family room, you're telling me I have to start over again?

Between the games, the Blu-ray/DVD/CD, flash memory and hard drive, the USB2 ports and now a powerful desktop OS making it a full fledged workstation, I might actually get a PS3 for my home office.

Sorry kids, that's daddy's toy! ;)

Warhol's "You Are the One" to Premiere at the Detroit MoNA

2006-11-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

If you are in or near Detroit on November 12th 2006, you will have the chance to a attend what might be the only screening of a long lost Andy Warhol short digital film, created in the mid-80's using Amiga computers, at the Museum of New Art.

Until its 2001 discovery, what had only been hinted at and rumored is that Warhol had actually created a short digital film on one such computer, probably the first such digital creation by any important artist. Titled YOU ARE THE ONE, the digital stills were discovered on a floppy diskz among thousands in Warhol’s estate. [...] However, due to threatened legal action tied to estate disputes and to its pending seizure, the museum will only be allowed a one day screening of the film.

Passive House Platform

2006-11-08T20:55:00.000-05:00

Browsing through Leonardo Energy, I found a post pointing to a very interesting webcast on a European standard geared toward ultra-low energy building, referred to as passive houses.

The term passive house refers to a specific construction standard for residential buildings with good comfort conditions during winter and summer, without traditional heating systems and without active cooling. Typically this includes very good insulation levels, very good airtightness of the building, whilst a good indoor air quality is guaranteed by a mechanical ventilation system with highly efficient heat recovery.

Googly Googly Goo

2006-11-07T19:14:00.000-05:00

If I was Glen Quagmire, the title of this post is probably what I'd be saying right now. See, we just received a new toy at work today! Namely, a Google Search Appliance (GB-1001).

I'll of course try to post my impressions shortly, but here is some reading material I combed through recently:

Now, to not let it shoot down my productivity on the other stuff I need to get done...

Fedora Core 6 VM Image for VMWare

2006-11-06T18:29:00.000-05:00

As previously mentioned, I have prepared a VMWare equivalent to the Fedora Core 6 image I am distributing for Parallels Desktop.

You can find the details below:

FC6_Basic_For_VMWare_5.5.x-Install_Screenshots.tar.gz:
http download (12.1MB): This package contains 76 PNG screenshots of the installation procedure. They show the complete process, from setting up the VMWare image to shutting down a freshly installed and updated copy of Fedora Core 6. Please feel free to produce and distribute a screencast using these very images, if so inclined, as I do not have the time to do so myself right now. (update: I did after all).
FC6_Basic_For_VMWare_5.5.x-20061105.tar.gz:
http download (733.4MB): This is outcome of the install process shown in the above screenshots. It is fully ready to go, as long as you already have VMWare installed (free player or other).

Here is a SHA1SUM of the above files.

Current hosting is generously provided by the McGill Linux Users Group, so please feel free to mirror, or create a torrent, and redistribute all of the present files. Until we have a new site for the McLUG, you can post your mirror addresses and/or torrent file download info right here, as comments. I will compile a list and add it to this file as (and if) they become available.

The VM package includes:

Fedora Core 6 - Basic: VMWare virtual machine folder
README.txt: helpful info, support terms (ie: zero, nada, ziltch :)
Fedora Core 6 - Basic - Install Screenshots: originally installed on an P4 1.65GHz
Fedora Mirrors.html: copy of the official Fedora mirror list
boot.iso: fedora boot disk used in original http install process

The install was completed on a Pentium 4 tower (1.65GHz, 1.5GB RAM) running VMWare Workstation 5.5.2 in Fedora core 6, and was also tested on a custom P4 3GHz system running Windows XP SP2 (player), as well as another P4 1.65GHz, but running Fedora Core 5 (workstation).

Once you have VMWare installed, simply double-click or open "Fedora Core 6 - Basic/Fedora Core 6 - Basic.vmx" to get going.

VMWare will most likely prompt you for a few things to adapt the image to your environment:

Prompts to create a VM unique identifier: choose yes
Prompts to map the virtual floppy drive to match yours: choose yes
Warns that the VMWare Tools are not installed: I did not bundle them as I'm unsure if VMWare would let me distribute the image freely once installed in the VM.

Important: The root password is changeme, and the default user is setup as tempuser, with a password of changeme also.

This virtual machine is currently configured to use 512MB RAM. The VM's default screen resolution is set to 800x600. You can change any and all of its settings to your heart's contempt.

Please note that this work is provided without support, and on a "works-for-me" basis only at this time.

So there you have it. Enjoy!

Update 1: Here is another source of ready-built VMWare images.

Update 2: 2006-11-29: Related post: Screencast: Fedora Core 6 Install in VMWare Workstation

Update 3: 2006-12-22: This VM will also run as is in the new VMWare Fusion Beta for Mac.

Queue the hold music: ta dadada, tada, tadada...

2006-11-05T12:40:00.000-05:00

I'm currently installing Fedora Core 6 in VMWare Workstation 5.5.2-29772 to provide an equivalent VM image to the one I'm distributing for Parallels Desktop for Mac.

Check back soon to see how it all pans out.

Update: It's all done, but I'm going to test it on a few machines before I post it, most likely tomorrow.

Geek Armed Forces?

2006-11-02T23:30:00.000-05:00

Not sure what this is really about, but what a low tech vehicle for such high tech companies. Marketing bit? Tech consultant / off-road fan? Wannabe Geek Squad? Puzzling... (see update)

Well, low tech is actually not quite appropriate, given the marvel of engineering that the Pinzgauer 710M was and still is.

Spotted on November 2nd 2006, at the corner of Sherbrooke Street West and Union Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Related links:

Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle: Wikipedia entry
Steyr-Daimler-Puch: Original manufacturer
Automotive Technik (ATL): Current manufacturer
Armor Holdings, Aerospace & Defense Group: parent company
Pinzgauer information: detailed fan/owner site

Update: See comments below for more information, provided by the owner and his Pinzgauer blog for more photos.