Category: Blogging

Qumana for Linux doesn’t work on Ubuntu

Qumana for Linux doesn’t work on Ubuntu

I enjoy using Ubuntu rather than the trash that Microsoft puts out.  I have a dual boot computer so I can always go back to the evil empire if I need to but my default OS is Ubuntu.

Sadly, the tools for managing blogs in Ubuntu are a bit slim so I was excited that Qumana was putting out a version for Linux.  I tried several times to get it working and have come to the conclusion that it is not ready for prime-time.  It simply doesn’t work well in my environment.  So I am still creating posts with Scribefire or the built-in tools that WordPress provides.

Hopefully, Qumana can get this working but for now it looks like it is DOA.

RANT! Iranian justice is disgusting (again)

RANT! Iranian justice is disgusting (again)

I have spoken about Iranian justice in the past and ranted that a population that wants to be treated seriously cannot be so barbaric.  Now I read about a blogger that specialized in cultural discussions was imprisoned and died in prison. On this blog, I rant and discuss a lot of politics and some cultural things.  In Iran, I would be thrown in jail and I too would probably be dead by now.  For as much as I complain about broken things in the US, at least it is better than most of the world.

I first saw this information on Blog Herald so go over and read about what they have to say on the subject.  You can also read more in the New York Times, the LA Times, and they all seem to point to Radio Free Europe.

Interestingly, Iran is among the 12 worst countries for a free Internet.  The other haters of freedom of information are:

  1. Burma,
  2. China,
  3. Cuba,
  4. Egypt,
  5. North Korea,
  6. Saudi Arabia,
  7. Syria,
  8. Tunisia,
  9. Turkmenistan,
  10. Uzbekistan
  11. Vietnam

PEOPLE OF THE WORLD – WE NEED TO CONDEMN IRAN FOR THIS TERRIBLE EXERCISE!

I am done with this topic for now but I reserve the right to rant more on it someday. I just hope the judicial system in Iran doesn’t give me reason to ever think about this.

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RANT! PC’s and the Disabled: 20 Molehills that Become Mountains

RANT! PC’s and the Disabled: 20 Molehills that Become Mountains

I recently came across a post on a different kind of top 20 (or worse 20) list. This list is of bad software (or at least poorly behaving software). The focus of the article was on web applications but, too be honest, I think there are still some ‘regular’ applications that make these same mistakes as well.

I don’t want to reproduce the entire 20 items, you can go to the original article here and read those. I would like to point out that that author forgot some of my personal least favorites:

I did like some of the items on the original list. Especially

4. Amnesia

5. No Undo/Redo

6. No Cut/Copy/Paste

13. Tiny Fonts

19. Not Eating Their Own Dog Food (although I prefer the statement “Not drinking their own champagne”

20. Bugs – what is up with “beta” releases of software that go for months, if not years!

SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS – YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT USABILITY WHEN YOU WRITE YOUR SOFTWARE (and yes, I did intend to have my caps lock on when I was shouting despite number 7).

I am done with this topic for now but I reserve the right to rant more on it someday.

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RANT! Bloggers: Use Less with More

RANT! Bloggers: Use Less with More

I read a lot of blogs. I enjoy getting thoughts on a variety of subjects that only the blogging community can give me. I encourage more people to create and run a blog, it is quite enjoyable and most people have something worthwhile to write.

A fairly common technique in the blogging community is to reduce the length of the post with the MORE command (check out this link for information and background). However, in my opinion, the MORE command doesn’t work correctly for most blogging platforms, especially WordPress out of the box. The blogger must also use the equivalent of the Less plug-in for a better experience.

The MORE command out of the box will open a page that has the rest of the blog post and will place the top of the page to be exactly the next line after the MORE command. The problem is that there will be a several second delay in generating this page and then the user will not be sure that the top of the line is exactly where they want to be. They will then have to scroll up a few lines to read the last few sentences and then continue reading.

Also, the MORE command assumes that you actually read to the last line, the user may have actually clicked on the continue button without finishing the last few words. This is way to presumptuous – software and authors should not presume that they know what I want to do. You aren’t that smart!!

When reading a typical website, when you hit the Page Down button, you will scroll down a full page but the next page down will show the last few lines of the previous page. This allows you to quickly find out where you are and continue reading. It eliminates the issue of wondering “Did I miss anything” causing the reader to scroll up a few lines and waste time.

The solution is to add the Less plug-in or modify your code to not go to top of page.

I have implemented Less on this site and so it is easy for you to see how this experience should work. Just go to my main index page.

Bloggers: IMPLEMENT A “LESS” TYPE PLUGIN IF YOU USE “MORE”

I am done with this topic for now but I reserve the right to rant more on it someday.

Did you know that you can have these articles emailed to you? Click on the Email link in the upper right corner Subscribe section, fill out the details, and you are set. No one will see your email address and you won’t get more spam by doing this.

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