geek stuff - 16

I have moved my blogging software from Wordpress to Serendipity. It was able to import the entries from Wordpress without any problem. I needed to create 3 additional files to make the transition complete i.e. wp-atom.php, wp-rss.php, wp-rss2.php . These were needed so that people who were using the rss feeds from the Wordpress did not have to change their feeds again.

These files do nothing more than redirecting the users to the new feed url. For example, the content of the file wp-rss2.php is just

<?php
// For redirecting users who are lost 
header("Location: http://rajshekhar.net/blog/feeds/index.rss2");
?>

Beyond this customization, I did not have to do any more labor to migrate to Serendipity

You will not understand the below paragraph until you are well versed in geek culture . I am keeping it here, since it is another Frequently quoted quotation

After seven and a half million years of pondering the question, Deep Thought provides the answer: "forty-two". "Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?" "I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."

One of the FAQ on the IRC channel (#linux-india at irc://freenode) is "What is the meaning of moo". I have added a page to my main website where I will try to answer that question.

The meaning of Moo

If you have been using Linux, I think you must have been frusturated with the lack of good fonts when using Emacs. It gets very hard to distinguish between "l" (the letter l) and 1 (number 1) and between comma and semicolon when programming or examining large amount of code.

The Bitstream Inc have done an excellent work in producing and relesaing under a very liberal license, the bitstream-vera fonts. These fonts are really beautiful and easy to read. To use these fonts with your emacs, just add this line to your ~/.Xdefaults file

 Emacs*font: -bitstream-bitstream vera sans mono-medium-r-*--*-100-*--*--*- 

In his essay describing why people should use the term "open source" instead of "free software", ESR says that the term "free software" is ambiguous. Specifically, the term Free Software can be interpreted as "Software you can get for zero price". Unluckily, this is a bug in the English language itself. In Hindi, we have the words "Mukt" or "azad" which accurately describes the spirit of the Free Software.

At first glance, "Open Source" seems to have overcome this problem. However, this term too is open to being misinterpreted. Most people believe that "Open source" means that you have access to the source code. For example, Sun has made the source code Java available for download. Does it make it Open Source ? No, it does not. To be identified as Free or Open source, a software should grant its users the freedom to can read, redistribute, and modify the source code without any discrimination against persons or groups. The type of license that Sun provides is "look but don't touch".

Robert Scoble shows another mis-interpretation of the term "open source". In his blog post he says:

Open source has become a metaphor for things done in public view with public input. Actually, [Microsoft is] a leader here. Check out Channel 9. It's the first step along the road to open source marketing.

Though the term "Free Software" is ambiguous, it is still better than Open Source. At least

I can say "free software", and by free I mean Mukt

Got myself "Advanced PHP Programming" by Schlossnagle. I started reading it last night, (currently on chapter 3 - "Error Handling"). Excellent book, with clear and good examples. The examples are culled from real life. In chapter 2 (Object Oriented Programming through Design Patterns), he explains how Design Patterns can be applied when making websites. It was one of those "aha!" moments. This is a book I have been looking forward to lay my hands on for a long time.

One complaint though (with the Pearsons's Low Price Edition of this book) is the pathetic quality of figures. It looks like the pages have been photocopied from their original color print.