Rubenerd

A blog entry posted on SomeRandomDude.net has got some pretty lively discussion about which icon is better suited for mainstream use to represent XML feeds on websites and in browsers.

Which do I prefer? Dave Winer's original XML one! . Why?

1. It was the first one

2. Its still [currently] the most widely used one on websites

3. It can be represented with just CSS: XML

4. Because it doesn’t say rss or atom it can be used to represent any type of XML feed. Aggregators these days are sophisticated enough to tell the difference; we as humans shouldn’t be fussing over what it is at this point… I would hope.

5. I think the Mozilla (and now IE7) version with the lines is misleading because it implies a wireless signal, or it could be music, or it could be energy… in any event regardless XML feeds are client pull anyway, they don’t broadcast anything!

Eventually though I don't care which one wins. We're talking about tiny pixels on a screen, this is not an Earth changing event!

Oh sure, they look innocent enough, but look what they're capable of behind your back…

Mercat.com: When Houseplants Attack

If you purchase a software product, you are entitled to do a lot more than what Microsoft would like you to. Their "End User Licence Agreement" or EULA, says you're not allowed to reverse engineer the software, modify it etc, but under most legal codes this is not enforacble as it is not backed up by law.

In the United States, once you own a copy of a program, you can back it up, compile it, run it, and even modify it as necessary, without permission from the copyright holder.

Microsoft puts a “license” on all of its software and pretends that you don’t have the right to use the software unless you agree to the “license.” You can’t patch Windows without their permission, according to the license; you can’t use NT Workstation for more than 10 simultaneous connections; you must give Microsoft your first-born son. (Or something like that.)

The problem with Microsoft’s license is that it’s unenforceable. You can simply ignore it. Microsoft can’t win a copyright infringement lawsuit: you own the software that Microsoft sold you, and Congress gave you the right to use it.

Fascinating! Apparently the European Union also has a similar legal situation:

The European Software Directive (adopted by the UK in 1992) gives users the freedom to copy, run, modify, and reverse-engineer lawfully acquired programs.

Be interesting to see where Australia and Singapore / ASEAN fit into this.

Software user's rights on cr.yp.to

“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”

- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

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I've only had this error thrown back at me twice in the 2 years I've used Gmail, usually their speed is pretty impressive compared with other services. High server load? Or maybe my internet's just crap :(.

Podcast: Play in new window · Download

10:00 – S/Atom versus email newsletters, useless emails and spam (eBay Australia, the new "PayPal Australia Newsletter", poor grammar, CafePress not unsubscribing), a Caucasian Guy at a Chinese Barbecue (Crystal's birthday) comparing east Asian barbecues to Aussie Barbies (labeled cups, soft drink instead of alcohol) and Mr Vampire from Hong Kong.

Recorded in Adelaide, Australia. Licence for this track: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5. Attribution: Ruben Schade.

This post has been superseded by an updated one I wrote in 2010:
Unix file compression basics

Original Post

Quick way to compress files using the command line in Mac OS X (and most *nix).

1. Open Terminal, cd to the required directory
2. For multiple files, use tar -cf [destination name].tar [source file(s)]
3. Then Gzip the sucker! gzip [source file].
4. Optionally, for maximum compatibility, use uuencoding on the Gzip file:
   uuencode [source file] [source file] > [destination name].uu. Yes, type the file name twice.

Also, for a quick way to zip hundreds of files individually, just cd to the directory, then just gzip *.

Footer Notes:

• UNIX is awesome :D. And yes I know Mac OS X isn't UNIX, let me have my fun.
• This is one of the reasons I can never go back to Windows.

Does your
religion offer all this?

• “We are about Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Reality!”
• “Our values are based on Humanism rather than a fictional holy book”
• “We provide a sense of purpose about who we are, why we exist, and how we live our lives. We do so in the context of science and logic.”
• “Welcome to the Real World.”

Got this email this morning from PayPal Australia:

Dear Ruben Schade,

Welcome to the first issue of the PayPal Australia newsletter, designed to help you get the most of your PayPal account and take advantage of the special offers from our leading merchants.

Enjoy!

The PayPal Australia Team.

Crap, more email junk that I didn't register for.

Wait a sec, did I read that right? "take advantage of the special offers from our leading merchants.". Okay, this is just glorified spam.

So now I've just read the footer for information about how to "un-subscribe" myself from this junk:

This PayPal notification was sent to X. To modify your notification preferences, log in to your PayPal account, click the Profile sub-tab, then click the Notifications link under Account Information. Changes may take up to 5 working days to be reflected in our mailings.

Why can't I just send a reply with "unsubscribe" like everyone else? Or are they just trying to make it more complicated?

Podcast: Play in new window · Download

10:00 – University has officially got hard again (computer science, economics), Australian coffee chains reacting to Starbucks with patriotism, school years starting at the beginning of the year, The Top Five (Signs you're listening to a bad podcast) MadPlayers eating lithium batteries, and what a podcaster can pick up for four bucks.

Recorded in Adelaide, Australia. Licence for this track: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5. Attribution: Ruben Schade.