Older blog entries for lsdrocha (starting at number 7)

I'm making the manual for two little softwares we have here at work. One is a (very simple) Delphi program that receive a plain-text file as input, process it and return flow and volume graphics. The second one is a LabVIEW (a National Instruments system for acquisiting lab. data) interface which is responsable for receiving the sign sent by our instruments and returning the plain-text file used in the Delphi program.

The LabVIEW program is kinda easy to document. First, because nobody here knows how to use it (and nobody wants to learn it too). Second, because it has a graphic interface, so I'll just take some screenshots showing the steps to do it and third, because I did this one.

The Delphi thing is more complicated. Is the first time I'm hacking Delphi, and from previous experiences with Pascal, I know I won't like it. Second because, before me, two other interns hacked up with it, so it is just one big mess.

I already wrote a HOWTO kind of document to help the labtechs use it. Is more like a step-by-step guide to the whole system, since they are not interested in detais on how it work, but only how to make it work. I know that because they told me.

The software documentation is something I struggled with my boss for a while. It's not like we make a lot of softwares ourselves (or use a lot of diferent ones), but we have like two or three of our own, and every time we have to update it is a great drama. For example, I'll be leaving IPT at the end of the year, so if I refuse to document the LabVIEW things I did, the next intern would have to figure it out by himself. I don't want to spoil the next one, but to avoid losing a week or two on updates.

I guess I should be happy them, since I'm doing something I was asking for.

Been using RedHat 8.0 for a week or so now, and I think I'll write something about it on PontoBR (a brasillian version of SlashDot).

Despite the fact that it lacks a menu editor for Gnome and the XMMS issue, I'm pretty glad to see a distro like this. As all Linux distros, it could benefit from a greater number of graphic configuration tools. That would make things a lot easier to newbies.

I convinced my mother to try using Linux. She read something about the Free Software philosophy on a little newsletter she signs and was talking with me about it. She's is the computer-illiterate user icon, since she only browser the net and plays cardgames on Windows.

I'm betting that she can do this on RH8 without any pain (since I think it accomplished the goal of having a very user-friendly interface). If so, I'll probably remove Windows from the other HDD and install one of the BSDs for fun.

I spent sunday reading Mark Lutz's Learning Python book. A very good book indeed. Very clear and direct. I loved it.

Today I brought my PC to work. I pretend to use, at the end of the day - of course, the (really) very fast Intranet we have here to do some CVS checkout. I'll update the apache-docs and I intend to checkout mod_python stuff, and start messing aournd with it when I found some spare time.

Obviously, I'll also retrieve some emails and stuff... Do some browsing. I can't resist a fast link.

Spend the last couple days using, tweaking and evaluating RH8. I still think it is great, but I already have some little issues with it.

I saw the XMMS problems fatal was complainning about, that XMMS in RH8 don't play MP3 (a solution can be found here). And I had some problems installing a little tool I use for college. Simple problems, but it could be hell for a computer-illiterate user.

Anyway, the Bluecurve theme is pretty cool. The interface is beautiful, clear and user-friendly. Personally, I didn't like the menu arrangement, but I just changed it, no big deal. I think RH8 have a little more graphic configuration tools for trivial stuff, which is great, since most regular users wouldn't do text-editing to setup stuff.

OpenOffice and Mozilla as leading applications is a great winner. Most regular-users I know use only internet and Office suites anyway, this would be great for them.

I think RH8 is very close to what a good Linux desktop should be. It's almost there. With a few more adjustments, we could have a great desktop Linux fitted for regular-users.

Just a thought; A good, user-friendly, computer-illiterate user design desktop Linux would allow grandma like users to embrace Linux. That's great, no doubt, and "power-users" could always switch to Debian or Slackware, if they miss "power-configuring". But the average user? That guy who does not know the Linux kernel, or what it means, but likes to tweak his computer, changing some of its settings (video, behaviors, etc). Would this guy adapt himself to Linux or it will become a computer-illiterate user?

Nothing big today. Yesterday I installed the RH 8.0 in my box, and liked pretty much. I think it is close to what I think it would be an optimal user-friendly Linux desktop. Perhaps, in a few days, I'll post here my opinion about it (let me play a little with it first).

Some random stuff:

Today is a great day

I think I just got my first win as an Open Source Evangelist. A very meaningful win, at least for me.

Yesterday, one of my uncles called me for some help. It seems that his home-work PC was behaving in a very weird way (for a Windows box, of course). I tried to help, but by phone is very difficult. So we agreed I should drop by his work today to talk to him personally, and lend him an old Win98SE CD.

His computer got a virus. BugBear I guess. But I couldn't tell it for sure. He then asked me how I was handling the internet virus at home, and if I was having trouble with them. "I don't", was my answer, "I'm using Linux at home".

My uncle got curious. He said he was thinking of using Linux, but was afraid of not being able to do what he does, or send - via email - proposals in a format everyone could see.

Perhaps this is the best time to explain what my uncle do for living. He has a small company who makes measurement instruments, like pHD readers and stuff, from the design of a box, to the chip programming. Everything.

I answer his question. I told him that he could use Open Office, so he could still write/read .doc, .xlt and all MS office suite files. And he could still do emailing in the Windows way with KMail or Ximian Evolution.

But my winner was when I told him about gcc. He was already willing to see this "Unix Wonder" when I told him the advantages of working with the gcc compiler. For I guy that uses C and Assembler every day, this argument was irresistable.

Not to mention the financial aspect of the switch. He have about twenty employees (or even less) that actually use computers, so he won't have to expend tubes of money with training. Plus, he'll be free from MS-Windows/Office costs (upgrades, new OS, etc...). For a small company, this is a great deal.

I invited him to show up in the weekend to play a little with my Linux box. I'm pretty sure that the virus affected PC will be restored as a Linux box. A test one. And probably will leave it in his office for a while.

If everything goes right, with time, he'll be using only Linux in his company. And all his employees will be exposed to Linux too.

Not bad for an Observer, hah?

Darn.

I just read the "Free software/open source software in a Win32 environment" article by Alleluia and I liked the idea. And I wanted to post my comments on the article and perhaps some suggestions to OpenCD.

But since I'm still an Observer, I can't post comments or replies to articles, so I'll post it here, and hope someone read it.

I liked the idea. Really. A "free-as-beer" CD loaded with "free-as-speech" software sounds like a good, short-range weapon against proprietary software. As said, developers, hackers, techies can find open source software to their needs, browsing the web or even scratching some personal itch. Regular, computer-illiterate users, most of the time, can't. A CD with good quality, useful, stable software would be a good thing, it would make easier to reg-users to find good software that fit their needs.

I would like to suggest some other softwares to be included in the CD, like PostGreSQL (alongside with MySQL), because is a good db. Bluefish is a good, WYSIWYG, HTML editor, that should be included.

I just finished reading an executive e-mail that Bill Gates sent to some people that signed for some MS service. I got it from a friend, who recieves this letters.

The paper is about Trustworthy Computing and is cleary directed to MS-fans and people who use MS software. The letter is from 18.july, but I didn't see no comments about it.

At first sight, looks like a simple letter talking about trust over the net. It goes on and on about how services should improve to provide more reliability, how the net should improve its services to avoid virus to spread so easily and things like that.

I agree with the fact that net service should (and will, I presume) improve. Has been like that so far. Services will always be improving, as long as people continue to work on it (which is the great moto behind OS).

The point is the solutions he offers to this matter. First he advices MS user to always keep their machines up to date with MS products. Not just the bug fixes, but with the new releases. He uses this new virus "Flehem" spree to justify it. According to MS, the new Outlook was able to filter this treat, but only systems with the most recent version of Outlook avoid the virus.

And worst than that, he says in his essay that, to improve trustwothy computing, MS is working with some other companies to improve the Internet Protocols. This is shifting standards. One may say that this is not news, and I would agree. The problem is that MS is trying to convince his costumers that their standard is better than the open standard. And this may mean trouble to free software/open source advocates.

This may be happen for a while, but I just got this thing now and I pretty much don't like the sound of this.