Here, I am going to do the same.

Part of the problem is that, after [...]]]> Trying to get Ruby and Rails to work in Vista64 turned to be an exercise in masochism: All the wikis, blogs, fora and others re contradicting one another, based on what worked in one system and extrapolating to other situations.

Here, I am going to do the same.

Part of the problem is that, after installing all the dependencies with

there are messages that indicate that as not working:

==== UNSUPPORTED PLATFORM ==================================

The platform ‘i386-mingw32′ is unsupported. Please help the author by
editing the following file to allow your sqlite3 library to be found, and
submitting a patch to qoobaa@gmail.com. Thanks!

C:/Ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.9.1/gems/sqlite3-0.0.4/lib/sqlite3/driver/ffi/api.rb
===================================================================

What I did was to go to the mentioned api.rb, and check the offending environment

and replaced

with

I followed tips from emson.

So far this works, but I do fully expect more trouble along the way.

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5 years ago I posted about various speculations on this fabled operatig system, here, and part of the idea was the cloud as repository and the convenience of open source and accessibility.

Well, finally! Google posted in [...]]]> Google is going with their own OS, and it is not going to be a GoOS. Sadly.

5 years ago I posted about various speculations on this fabled operatig system, here, and part of the idea was the cloud as repository and the convenience of open source and accessibility.

Well, finally! Google posted in their blog about this:

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010.

FastCompany hints towards a system that operates, in part, in the clouds,

I’m betting that some of the key components will be cloud-based, which is implied by the instant-on aspects of the project.

yet what I find the most interesting of this whole thing is that aspect of the user input, recognizing that the free product, as Chris Anderson would say, reaches more people than a proprietary solution, gets more suggestions and solutions, and achieves more, faster and with a higher efficiency.

We still have to see if what we get is actually a manageable product, and there are too many caveats: the dependency on web applications might be as well a deterrent for certain uses and demographics, the need to muscle out microsoft and all the linux distros, the acceptance toa new gadget when people are already entrenching due to economic malaise are all situations to take into account.

Then again, storage and processing power dedicated to fuel an apps machine, and the increase in demand for internet access as basic infrastructure is going to make wonders for our interactions within the net.
What next? Infrastructure, mobility, price.

Photo by Ferdi’s World

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Why is that imnpoirtant? When a corporation owns the format in which your document lives, it is effectively gone from you the moment that corporation changes anything, goes broke, anything.

Also, if you have an open document, archival and retrieval processes are far easier and replicable. How many of [...]]]> Today is Document Freedom Day 2009

Why is that imnpoirtant? When a corporation owns the format in which your document lives, it is effectively gone from you the moment that corporation changes anything, goes broke, anything.

Also, if you have an open document, archival and retrieval processes are far easier and replicable. How many of you know how to deal with a 1995 Wordperfect document? What about a TXT file? Exactly.

As they indicate in their blogpost

The question of Document Freedom has severe repercussions for freedom of choice, competition, markets and the sovereignty of countries and their governments.

Freedom of speech is worthless if you can not open the speech file!

via adventures in open source and linux today

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OLPC = One License Per Child

Reported by the Inquirer, the OLPC project is throwing away its linux pedigree, opting for the impossibly corporate Microsoft Windows.

What, I wonder, is the rationale behind it. An open-source OLPC would have been magic, even more so in poor countries, or in countries [...]]]> This comment summarizes it all:

OLPC = One License Per Child

Reported by the Inquirer, the OLPC project is throwing away its linux pedigree, opting for the impossibly corporate Microsoft Windows.

What, I wonder, is the rationale behind it. An open-source OLPC would have been magic, even more so in poor countries, or in countries with large barriers to technology.

By making it Windows the OLPC is effectively dead; it needs a bigger platform, licenses, updates and distributors, and introduces security risks in all these countries: having an open-source laptop? Cool. Having a closed-source PC? Backdoors come to mind.

Next: get your own Asus eee

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Is this a broad generalization, or is this post by Atanu Dey actually on point?

The famous OLPC irks me [...]]]>

I am confident that the One Laptop Per Child will have the effect which is the educational equivalent of the nutritional disaster that imported formula has had on the poor parts of the world.

Is this a broad generalization, or is this post by Atanu Dey actually on point?

The famous OLPC irks me because of the arbitrary definition of “poor parts of the world”, and it has a big shadow reminiscent of “white man’s burden” all over it.

At the same time, I see how communication and free access to networks can create more open, egalitarian discussion, and that in turn might be good.

But I am reading a lot on the OLPC because I am interested in getting those little shiny laptops here in NC:

• Huge income diaprity between classes? Check.
• Limited access to education? Check.
• Low life expectancy? Check.
• Human rights abuses? Check.
• economy in turmoil? Check

I think that the USA qualifies as well as any other country.

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Hey, ubuntu linux is the best, most amazing linux distro that there is. It installs in seconds, respects you as a user [...]]]> I love ubuntu linux, but recent experiments with unsuspecting friends had led me to conclude that it is going to be a long and arduous time before there is mainstream acceptance for it.

Hey, ubuntu linux is the best, most amazing linux distro that there is. It installs in seconds, respects you as a user (ie no DRM crap), offers amazing possibilities and doesn’t cost a penny. And yeah, it has no games in it, either; not as many as in MSFT, at least, which, for me, is a bonus.

But there is still reluctance: a few months ago I got together with a friend who wanted some linux in his HP 64 bit laptop. The installation was a breeze, fast, efficient, the kind that makes you think that linux is definitely going to stay here for a while, to kick some ass.
It was that cool: Beryl? Easy. Repositories? Done. He even got a little bit about it, getting rid of the chains that Microsoft imposes on users.

All went well, until the beginning of last week, when he wanted to attach a printer. And then it all went to hell. He wanted a Canon, these printers being some sort of family tradition. But no!

Canon printers suck: the only available solution was spending some money on drivers and stuff, and then installing that thing. My friend and I tried that option, which, as expected, didn’t work.

So, he got rid of Canon, and is buying either an HP or a Dell. Something with open source drivers and more respect for the customer. Can you imagine the market that canon would tap if they released drivers for the canon, in some sort of linux flavor? By ignoring this market, they are just pushing the users away, opening doors for competition, and generally being regarded just as big goofy sort of a company. They might be giants, but they are goofy giants. Who can respect that?

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