long time ago I argued that more people ought to digitally sign their E-mail messages. Unfortunately, very few people bother to do so. There are many benefits to encryption-based verification of one’s identity. Ultimately, it can lead to more trust, which can in turn prevent spam and make communication less susceptible to ‘noise’.

There recently emerged a word-of-mouth that signed messages are less likely to be intercepted by spam filters. As to whether this is true or not, I would have to say I doubt it. I am sorry to antagonise some people’s hopes, but several messages that I PGP-signed got flagged as spam (not by SpamAssassin). At least I was informed in all (probably two) occasions, but it was nonetheless worrisome. Quite recently I mentioned a trend whereby banning of autoresponders becomes prevalent. It is very important that moderators up above can discern spammers from those who attempt to fight spam in genuine and effective ways.

O you know the feeling of listening to playlists which contain assorted tracks from various different albums? More familiarly perhaps, have you ever pondered this issue of volume shifts?

The sound becomes louder and quieter as one track bounces onto the next one. Balancing the — shall we call it — ‘cross-song imbalance’ is an unnecessary nuisance. This lead to a lot of manual intervention with the volume control throughout playtime. Should music players not have the capability to adjust this on-the-fly, before playing a track? Equating in one form or another the volume baseline? Would this be done better off-line? The latter option often requires that the entire track is analysed first. One wonders which players incorporate such functionalities already.

My Web-based mail access (primarily Horde)
click image to view in full size

HIS is going to be the type of post that potentially leads to friction, but I simply cannot hold off. I even created a new category due to this item and aptly named it “Rants”. I will stick to anonymity in order to prevent sensitive criticism from having context.

15 minutes we spent in the weekly meeting. 15 minutes discussing the mail problems that have plagued this department for the past week. You’ve guessed it. The Department has got an Exchange mail server. People are unable to send mail at times, Web access is flaky, and popups keep coming up to inform the user about error in the local mail client, which to most is Outlook. Fortunately, I metaphorically took my toys and left this mail system 2 years ago. It seemed unreliable when I first joined the Division.

In the interim, people still suffer from mail issue. I do not take pleasure in the misery of others, but I could not feel better about my foresight. I did the right thing by ditching this mail system very early on. This is only the pinnacle of something that has culminated after months of recurring issues. More interesting is the following observation: At no point throughout the meeting was the mail system criticised. Not Exchange, not Outlook, not even the support staff. The IT department suggests that there is a single Outlook user which is the catalyst for this issue, probably without any awareness. They can’t identify who it is (not me of course, just for clarification!).

The staff would defend the only thing that they know and consider to be trustworthy: pricy Microsoft products. This loveaffair is by all means expensive. Linux to them would seem as though it serves only be a step back. It may be the effect of age and earsay. Regardless, the most amazing thing is that the entire meeting revolved around blaming an anonymous user who had the system crippled due to its deficient nature. Exchange cannot cope with something as simple as manageing 100 mail accounts. A single user can have it grind to a halt for very long periods of time, burning the valuable time of both support staff and research staff. There is no solution on the horizon either, other than speak to each individual user which is bound to the mail system. The staff might also need to verify that the system is properly configured on each individual workstation.

I find entire the scenario rather pathetic. This is probably why I was never fond of the Microsoft-friendly attitude among academic IT departments. Due to issues of liability and large available budgets, brand names are often picked at the expense of quality.

Needless to mention, these mail issues are irrelevant to me. I could not be happlier with my mail system. I had my mail hosted in my Linux-based domain for over year without any downtime or quirks. It never ceased to work, just like the positive Linux myth. Need it be mentioned that my server is responsible for mail accounts of just a single individual and not an entire Department? This is not the first time that I mention Exchange server disasters.

MUSING photos are appreciated whenever light entertainment is sought. So, in the past months I have created a few using the GIMP. Steve Ballmer is involved in two of these, both of which stem from discussions in the Linux advocacy newsgroup.

• Malware Magnet
• Flatfish

Lastly, I decided to give my own version of Microsoft Linux. I hereby present the box set of Microsoft Linux. Anti-virus and Service Packs are included free of extra charge.

(To Webmasters: You can borrow these images to use in your Web site; no need to request for consent. In fact, I do not mind HotLinking either.)

INDOWS Vista’s time is drawing nearer and nearer. Its release is expected to take place some time in later 2006, just after KDE 4. By the time Windows Vista comes out, many users will have ditched the platform. Morever, when the product finally ships, evident disappointment though experience will give a compelling reason to migrate away. The scale will be comparable with that of a rampant stampede. From Chris Pirillo, a famous and loyal Windows ‘power user’:

Even as I’m watching the 2005 WinHEC keynote right now (which I downloaded from a fan site, FWIW), I’m screaming at my screen! The Longhorn demonstration was faaaaaar from impressive, and left me NOT wanting more – but wanting to walk away altogether. Instead of watching with awe and wonder, I’m watching with a very confused look on my face. My brow is furrowed, and my fingers are slamming against the keys of my keyboard at this very moment… I’m growing increasingly impatient.

We are yet to see if Apple can pick up the pieces or if Open Source finally sees the limelight.

• XP + New Colours = Longhorn (Vista)
• Vista Perils
• Novell: Vista to Drive User to Linux

HE Nokia 770, which I have mentioned before its arrival, is an Internet tablet that is based on Open Source and the Debian Linux distribution. It has proven to be very popular among gadgeteers from either side of the world. In fact, high demand rendered it “understocked”.

A new development environment has recently been introduced to the public. Its intent is to encourage involvement from the Open Source community. Many Open Source projects will sooner or later be ported to run on the Nokia 770 with its high performance hardware and high-resolution screen. As for size, the dimensions of the device are comparable with that of a typical Palm handheld.

The world’s largest mobile manufacturer Nokia looks to have scored a major hit with a new wireless device that doesn’t have any phone functionality. The Finnish firm announced on Wednesday that, against its expectations, it is to increase production of its 770 Internet Tablet handheld after achieving huge online sales since its launch in early November. In fact, demand for the product in Europe and the US is so great that the company has currently run out of stock and customers are facing a minimum two-week wait for the device.

As I said half a dozen times before, I am tempted to ditch Palm after many years. The Nokia unit suits my needs, as well as ‘development mantra’.

Linux desktop – picture from kde-look.org; click to browse the source

PEN Source is renowned for many reasons, but (monetary) abundance is barely one of them. Abundance, however, due to the factor of cost, can often be perceived in a different way. Many software options are available , even all at once, because licences have a different meaning under ideologies like the GPL.

Practical example: I have about 9 installations on this domain which involve a database and are absolutely free. Also, there are at least 3 statistics packages that cater for monitoring. All of these are free. That freedom gives a sense of eternal ownership — the everlasting affordability and the freedom to modify at will.

The World Wide Web offers many other free applications, either as Web-based services or downloads without restrictions. To take an opposite example, Photoshop requires licences for a desktop installation. Being a desktop-side example, the deficiencies that cross one’s mind is the need to perpetually renew licences and, the lack of portability, and growth that indeed entails a considerable cost.

I was somewhat amused when a fellow Webmaster, who had opted for Windows hosting, came to discovers that statistics must be paid for as a separate commercial package. This come to demonstrate what a role cost truly plays. One has to pay extra just to be able to understand what happens on his/her own Web site.

Often you may find yourself confessing: “Yes, shared hosting on a Linux or Windows server might seem equal in terms of initial cost”. However, When basic extensions and growth come to mind, as well as the possibility of large operating licences and dedicated servers, it become apparent why Windows will struggle to compete. Only the false perception that brands and costly products are best bar none can perpetuate a myth. Heavily-invested-in lies support this myth.