Electric Dirt Farmer » technology

New Ubuntu User Interface

the proprietor — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:46:35 +0000

Almost all of my personal computers run Ubuntu as the main system software. As the next version of Ubuntu will be released soon, I have been running a test install in a virtual machine.

I’m really not sure what to think about this release. There are some interesting initiatives from the projects commercial sponsor, and some other things I haven’t learned about in detail yet. The most significant change appears to be the new branding and themes.

The new branding materials look nice, but I’m struggling with the new theme. The change that appears to have received the most attention is the relocation of the windows controls (close, minimize, maximize). I personally don’t have much issue with the change, but the new controls are very small and thus difficult to hit with the pointer. (The “x” on the close button is also obscured by the light effects, but that’s a minor issue.)

Ubuntu has a new set of colours, the warm brown/orange scheme has been replaced by purple with a bit of orange. The overall colours are very dark and Gnome menus are kind of monochrome. In application windows the menubar and the titlebar are now the same colour which doesn’t appear to change when a window is inactive.

I don’t know how to explain my problem with the new theme colours. If I’m looking at the screen for longer than a few minutes my eyes begin to feel sore, and I can’t quite focus on things. I’m not sure if its contrast (like this bug) or something else. The same colour menu and titlebars do seem to make distinguishing where the menu is much more difficult. The old Ubuntu brown themes were criticized, but I always found them easy on the eyes. Or, as easy as a computer screen will ever be.

Make Is Open For Business

the proprietor — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 17:10:00 +0000

This is cool. I’m happy to see that Make is now available. I will have to see if I can find it on a newstand and give it a tryout.

Spent Nuke Fuel

the proprietor — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 02:55:00 +0000

Here’s something else I learned from the Wired Nuclear energy article. (I really should read the article all the way through before posting.)

Here’s a fun fact: Spent nuclear fuel – the stuff intended for permanent disposal at Yucca Mountain – retains 95 percent of its energy content.

That’s really remarkable. There is so much potential in nuclear technology, it’s a real shame that so little technical innovation has been done in the field.

I’m now curious about whether the Government of Canada is paying attention to this. So far all I’ve seen the Government doing is spending a bunch of money on advertising starring Rick Mercer. Now I like Mr. Mercer, but the ads just seem so very silly. Take the “one tonne challenge”?

Nice Article on Nuclear Power

the proprietor — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 02:20:00 +0000

Wired Magazine has a nice article on nuclear energy in the latest issue (13.02: the Firefox issue). It’s mostly about the US industry: why it stalled, ideas for kick starting it, and potential problems with doing just that. It’s a good article; I learned a few things I didn’t know before. In particular, I didn’t know the USA Government actually collects a tax from nuclear power producers for the purpose of waste disposal.

Dean Kamen: Inventor, Iconoclast

the proprietor — Sat, 17 Mar 2001 02:54:05 +0000

After reading this piece about Dean Kamen in the Christian Science Monitor I’ve decided that it doesn’t really matter to me what Ginger turns out to be: Mr. Kamen is one cool guy. For example, he has apparently seceded from the Union (and done so with great style):

He’s even bought his own island, North Dumpling, in Long Island Sound. When New York officials wouldn’t let him build a windmill there to power his home, he declared that North Dumpling had seceded from the Union and proclaimed himself “Lord Dumpling.” The island has its own currency and a navy – an amphibious vehicle dubbed “Old Aluminumsides.”

I love this stuff.

Hat tip to Free-Market.Net’s Freedom News

Internet Service via Powerlines

the proprietor — Wed, 28 Feb 2001 00:42:44 +0000

While it has been discussed for quite a while, this article from Reuters mentions that MVV Energie in Mannheim, Germany is working on the first commercial launch of Internet service via powerlines. They are using powerline communications (PLC) technology from Main.net in Israel, which is working in Europe and the United States.

(Oddly enough, Main.net — also referred to as MainNet.net, M@in.net, or just MainNet — doesn’t control either the Main.net, an environmental policy website, or MainNet.com, the website of an ISP (also at MainNet.net), domain names.)

The technology has been trialed with 200 households and an Internet caf