Category: Open source software

Round-up of the week

Posted on by chris

That sounds like I’m going to report on some successful cattle handling, doesn’t it? Sorry to disappoint you, it’s nothing so exotic.

This week has been a tough one. I’d rather not go into details (yes, all the problems were technological, and yes, they were my fault) but suffice to say I’d rather not have another week like this one any time soon. Still, there have been good points, too.

I’ve (finally) managed to install Ubuntu Studio on my main machine. It wasn’t as easy as I hoped, as the DVD I burned from their installation file didn’t work. So I ended up loading Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) then doing the package dance to upgrade.

So far it seems to work fine, although I admit I’ve done nothing yet except load a few extra packages I need and check JACK starts. It looks great, but I do think they need a few more desktop wallpapers as the default selection is a bit limited.

Anyway, I’m currently immersing myself in a large glass of whisky to help wash away the pain of earlier in the week. More regular entries may, or may not, be forthcoming.

Eric Sink on Requirements

Posted on by chris

I often read Eric Sink’s blog for down-to-earth discussion of technology. You won’t find many fuzzy marketing phrases there, let me tell you. One of his recent articles about requirements struck a chord with me because of the ridiculous escapade I’ve just started.

Planning is great, as long as the plans are going to be useful as the project progresses. Paperwork for paperwork’s sake is useless. Specifications should be detailed enough so everyone knows what’s expected, but not so detailed that everyone loses any creativity. And, of course, you should only require the things that really are required.

It’s a tough ethos to stick to, but one that every modern web entreprenuer needs to get sorted. I am, as you may have guessed, just beginning.

Genius

Posted on by chris

The projectGenie website has had a little makeover using the estimable WordPress system. While not much has changed on the surface, underneath the bonnet it’s an entirely different animal which means it’s a whole lot easier to update. So, hopefully, that will mean no more 5 month gaps between announcements.

And speaking of announcements, there’s good news. I’ve started (albeit slowly) to rewrite the projectGenie software for the forthcoming Brookmeyer version. As well as using my JavaScript library based on Prototype for click-candy purposes, it also has a few neat new features. For example user flags for items, sortable lists, finance management and time management.

projectGenie (yes the ‘p’ is meant to be lower case, don’t ask me why) is a completely free project management system written in PHP and using a MySQL database. Designed for website development teams it could also be used by pretty much anyone else wanting something better than a stack of scribbled notes on the back of envelopes, but without the budget for something all-singing, all-dancing.

Ubuntu for the masses

Posted on by chris

Hot on the heels of my lament that the media doesn’t do Linux justice comes the news that Dell are to start shipping computers with Ubuntu. This is severn shades of greatness, and will hopefully lead to a dramatic rise in interest of Ubuntu (and free software in general) by people previously unaware of the beauty that is Linux.

But even more than that, what do I see on the Dell website? Only that Michael Dell, chairman and head honcho, uses Ubuntu and Evolution at home. Fantastic. This guy has more than enough money, business and common sense to choose anything he wants (nice set of computers, Mike), and he chooses Ubuntu.