I may cry
Steam has been released for the Mac. A number of games on my steam account already have Mac ports.
The second step is Linux:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=valve_steam_announcement&num=1
So… beautiful… should have sent… a poet.
Everyone, its time to celebrate.
Recording The Patchwork Philharmonic radio show
I made a little project for myself. My brother is doing a radio show these days, but he’s on the east coast, so I have to catch it online. Which works out just fine because I figured I’d be able to record it pretty easily so that I could listen to it at my leisure. We’ll I did a little work and automated the whole recording process and I thought it would make an interesting thing to post. So here goes…
Tools:
VLC
OS X or Linux (i’m using #! currently)
Dropbox
curl
twitter
bit.ly
Microsoft is trashing linux in retail
So I’ve seen a number of stories lately about Best Buy employees receiving documentation (from Microsoft) about why Windows is so much better than Linux. I can’t help but wonder if the net result of this is mostly that Microsoft is putting Linux in the mind of more people than would possibly be exposed to it otherwise and basically giving free advertising to Linux, as well as giving legitimacy to Linux being a direct threat to Windows. I can’t help but feel excited for the dynamic that ChromeOS will bring to that conversation.
Ubuntu 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope” out this week
I’m looking forward to the latest incarnation of Ubuntu. My current plan is to install it on my netbook and in a vmware instance on my desktop (maybe virtualbox). I also need to get my work laptop upgraded, but I need to finese that one.
Still a linux geek.
Computer tools I can’t live without
#1) Linux live distro (usb/cd): I don’t know how a windows installation can take up 5gb and still not have some of the most basic tools out there. Being able to boot a proper operating system on any machine is such a boon. One of my goals in the near future is to get a sizable usb key that I can boot vmware esxi on and just keep some OS images in it.
#2) Dropbox: Revisioned backups. None finer. Access to you documents wherever you have internet. Sync documents to as many systems as you want. Make very large files accessable to people you want. Continued development promises exciting new benefits and uses.
#3) SSH: Pretty much the most important program I use. It allows secure remote access to a computer including file transfer, connection tunneling, and shell access. Combined with VNC it makes for a nearly unstoppable remote access package.
#4) Portable Apps: If you must use a windows machine, and you’re not the administrator then portable apps are pratically required. A full suite of applications that are a standard part of my computing diet. You can put them on a usb key or just unzip them to a local folder for use on an unfamiliar system.
#5) VMware: More and more I’m finding reasons to virtualize my operating systems. The tools and abilities that VMware products provide make all aspects of multiple OS needs become almost non-existant. Combine with dropbox and/or a usb key for a killer go anywhere OS.
#6) Google Apps: I don’t think most people appreciate just how powerful the google app suite is. Email, documents, feed readers, storage space (if you know how), photos, wikisites, the list goes on. At some point soon I anticipate Google Voice will be released and become another one of those things I can’t live without.
#7) Firefox: I thought I’d go ahead and mention it. It’s a pretty damn important piece of software. It’s addon system makes it the most useful browser out there.