Web design & FOSS

On my quest for ever smaller icons and ever smaller finger movements on my Acer Aspire One Natty Book, I have come across GNOME Do. This is an application launcher based on the Mac's Quicksilver and Gnome Launch Box.

It's brilliant, and saves time and space. Hit the magic keys to invoke the GNOME Do spell, and then start typing in what you want, then hit return. For example, type in Fir… & it comes up with Firefox. Type in a friend's name, and it will suggest sending an email to that person.

I've only just started, and already it's become a darned-useful must-have or-else. Buy a copy today! Oh, I forgot, it's free, like pretty much everything on Ubuntu and Linux.

Just to lay the record straight, I am not in the pay of Canonical, nor am I a Total Ubuntu Fanboi. And here to prove it is a blog post detailing problems [gasp!] with Ubuntu linux on the Acer One A110AB Netbook.

Firstly, there is an issue with the sound -- I can't get the internal mic to work, which is a shame as all I can do on Skype is wave to my brother in Belfast. I can hear him but he can't hear me :(

Secondly, and more frustratingly, is the fact that the SD cards aren't recognised unless you put them in before booting. Obviously not very practical. I have inadvertently found the clunkiest workaround on the planet -- I have a USB stick SD adaptor (mine is from integral but I think they're ten a penny), and as the USB bus is working fine, we are all happy in a sticky-out, clunky sort of way.

I'm sure it won't be long before these issues are addressed, particularly considering the amount of interest the Acer Aspire One is receiving. This is purely anecdotal interest (a man on the street had spied me using mine in a cafe and asked me what I thought). I really do like them, apart from the buttons on the side of the trackpad. And at 199 a pop from Dixons/PC World, it would almost be churlish to complain.

It was my last day at The Ministry a week ago, everyone had a whip round and I'm now the proud owner of a Space Hopper.

What I will miss is the lifts, proper right 21st century lifts. The amazing thing is there are no buttons. There's a touch pad in the lift area with floor numbers on it, and it chooses a lift for you (watch out for Lift E though, there's rumours of trouble, and the last thing you want is a troublesome lift). Inside the lift (I would say see photo but in my dash for Aspire One completeness, I've deleted them) there's even less of an interface -- just an alarm button.

I guess the reasoning is that it improves the flow of the lifts and reduces overcrowding. I am guessing here. People don't really like it, they're used to the interface from yesteryear. How 20th century…

I know, I keep going on about it. But this time, I plugged in a friend's Epson Stylus CX5200 and Ubuntu linux spotted it a mile away, all auto configured and ready to scan 'n print. Ubuntu, I think I love you.

No, not a new children's TV programme. Geany is a lightweight text editor that uses Scintilla, the same text engine that my favouritest text editor Notepad++ uses. Here's an excellent review from UbuntuNews.info. Many thanks to the mysterious Vadim P from Toronto for the tip, first impressions are very favourable.

On a more audible note, a big SHOUT OUT to oiio from Devonia, a musical webcasting maverick who recommended Sweep. I have just started it up and it looks lovely. Audio editor and Live Manipulator apparently, we'll find out...