Oli’s Blog

Skype for Linux gets video (at last)

I once heard that good things come to those that wait and today Linux users who’ve been waiting for Skype to push out a video-chatting client finally got their wish, albeit in beta form. Download link included,

Errata: Linux needs cross-platform applications

Some time ago I wrote that Linux needed "golden applications" to succeed on the desktop. I was wrong because I’ve seen the light that is Amarok. Cross-platform FOSS will cause platform freedom.

Will Windows 7 be another driver disaster?

As Linux and OSX toddle on, catering for every hardware device under the sun, Windows 7 looks like it’s going to have a complete refresh of drivers, effectively taking it back to square 1 in the game of hardware support.

OMGBUNTU!

The Gutsy-fever is approaching tangibility and unlike most other bouts of mass-enthusiasm, I’m actually enjoying this.

So what’s wrong with Ubuntu?

While there’s definitely progress in the latest release of Ubuntu, there are still problems: some limited to Ubuntu, some ingrained in gnome and some endemic to Linux as a whole.

Gutsy, you’re just too… pretty

It’s that time of year again: "Oli attempts to migrate to Linux"! This time (using Gutsy) I’ve got to say that it was considerable more successful that previous times and damn, it’s just too pretty for words…

Game: Spot the death threat

In short: Caitlyn Martin said last month that she was unable to review Puppy Linux. She claims today that a commenter in a Distrowatch thread issued her a death threat… Nasty stuff but I just can’t see the threat angle of it. "Threat" included in the post.

Distrowatch’s statistics don’t mean popularity.

Distrowatch’s HPD stats are often bandied about to make out one distribution is “the best”. But do the numbers actually equate popularity and why do some care so much anyway?

Apple needs to respect its users

They warned you but Apple decided to follow through and give those iPhone enthusiasts exactly what they wanted: shiny, bricked iPhones. Well done Apple. Way to meet the needs of your customers.

O2 giveth; O2 taketh away

O2 are souring the pot by removing video calls from inclusive minutes. From next year they cost as much as a cheapish sex line. Hoorah for progress. Hoorah for competition. Perhaps Google can fix things.

Spinning the figures

Stats are a tricky thing. When you’re trying to push an argument and you have raw statistics by your side, it’s usually very easy to feed them to your audience in a fashion that misrepresents them. Using that as a base you can form conclusions varying from just misguided to outright lies…

O2: Unlimited means less than 35megs

Another day, another "unlimited" claim. This time from the mouth of O2’s CEO regarding their new "unlimited" data plans. What he didn’t tell people at the iPhone unveiling is that unlimited actually means just 35megs. Spot the difference.

3 moments in Vista that make me consider Linux

While I definitely think some elements of Vista are definite improvements, 10 months of experience has shown me there are some things that just annoy me to my very core. Here are the three things that most make me wish I had the strength to move over to Linux — full time.

Take back the web with Adblock Plus

Completely customise your browsing experience with complete and utter ease. Remove any page-clutter and any adverts with just 4 clicks.

How to block Adblock

With the way publishers go on about them, you’d be forgiven for thinking ad-blockers were going to destroy the universe. In a desperate effort to stem the whinging, I’ve written some code to help them be as obnoxious as they like on their own sites.

What I’ve written is technically DRM 2.0. Please don’t hate me.

My phone nightmare (2007)

Well it’s been a good year on o2. They did Harri and myself rather well last year by offering us a £35 contract but giving us £10 off each month. The tariff gives us 500 anytime minutes and 500 texts.

This year is a completely different story. Tariffs are getting worse, not better, with

Getting ready for WSWD 2007

Just under a year since the original What Slows Windows Down article and I’m gearing up for the third in the series. This time it’s an antivirus-only arena and it’s shaping up to be quite a deathmatch…

MPEGs cause Vista’s Explorer to crash

Video: watch a simple download crash explorer over and over again. This really reminds me how feeble the underlying systems are in Windows.

New design, new era. TPCS v11

Now with an added 245px width in the content section. Lovely or too fat for your liking? Please tell me what you think and help me fix any issues.

If Carlsberg made fight scenes…

Get ready for the awesomest fight scene in the entire universe. Young fight scenes want to be just like this when they grow up. This really is the stuff of dreams.

Shouldn’t ISPs protect their users?

ISPs could very easily halt 80-90% of automated illegal online activity but in order to do so, they need to be forced, en masse into taking a tougher line with possible security threats. Will it ever happen and is it what we really want?

Where spam comes from

Have you ever wondered where the content of your junk-mail folder (or inbox) comes from?

ADSL is holding back the online economy

While the internet continues to grow in both size and complexity, the speed that rural ADSL users are almost completely stagnant. Something needs to be done before the gap between urban and rural ADSL harms the online economy.

Re-watching films

I love watching films and I’d really love to be able to watch films more than once… There’s just one problem: me

Help! I’m under attack!

What has eight legs, no hair, a nasty temper and is sitting under my bed as I type this? I’ll give you a clue.. It’s not 4 skinheads in a 5-legged race… I almost wish it were though

An executive at Microsoft has an unusual idea

I really wish that reporters would get their facts straight before they publish articles… Especially when the core idea behind the subject is my own little brainchild.

The Dvorak Bubble is about to burst

John C. Dvorak is a complete nonsense. I mean that in the kindest possible way because sometimes I agree with his hilarious rants, but now he’s predicting the second downfall of the Internet; the second bubble bursting.

Bugs in the code

Thunderflies are horrible! I’ve got a load in my screens at the moment and they’re driving me crazy. Does anybody have any tips for removing them or stopping them get in my screen in the future?

The Abandon-Digg weekend is nigh

On June 29th 2007 we are going to witness an explosion of blog entries, digg posts and comments because the heralded iPhone is finally going on sale. Question is, will you brave the chaos or hide from it?

Google could end spam today

It’s just something that struck me and struck me hard: if Google wanted to, they could stop 99% of all spam in it’s tracks… Let me explain

June 07’s gaming update

Tudball is no longer Minesweeper champion of the universe and Paul has released a new testing version of his first person shooter: Shooter.

Will semantic development kill link ads?

How effective will link advertisements be if/when the web becomes even more semantic? Is there a future for the schemes that fund many bloggers’ habits.

Has Apple tripped up with Safari?

Apple has recently launched their flagship browser to Windows. Any good? Any point? Despite animosity for most things Apple, I’m excited to get my hands on the Apple browser… But for how long?

Running XP’s Solitaire in Vista

Considering the lower performance of Vista’s games for power-players, I’m taking a look at how to grab older versions from an existing XP installation and get them working on Vista.

New Google UI?

Just checked Google from Opera today and it looks like I’m getting a new UI coming through… Not sure if that’s just me or what though…

Some major site changes coming

Just an update about the recent and upcoming changes happing on and around the site. I’d love comments, tips and suggestions so if you’ve got something to say, read this post =)

2012 Olympic logo debacle

Today saw the official launch of the 2012 Olympic branding. It’s astounding in many ways and people are making themselves heard so that something can be done to fix it.

Apple fans why can’t you just be happy?

After Apple introduces DRM-free tracks into iTunes people are getting in a hissy after they found out their personal information is injected into bought tracks

Old games you really should play

Mark from Nutter’s Mark has just posted up his "Top 5 PC-Games You Probably Didn’t Play". I’ve got a few more that I think deserve your attention.

PCLinuxOS’s militant leadership

As a reviewer, I expect people to disagree with points I make. Everybody has their own opinion. But is it okay when the project leader of a maturing Linux distribution calls on his users to "hammer" a site because of its outcome?

Review: PCLinuxOS (PCLOS) 2007 Final

Oli reviews the final of PCLinuxOS 2007 to see if all the commotion about this quickly rising newcomer is really worth the weight people are pushing it with.

Review: Ubuntu Studio 7.04

Ubuntu variant of concentrating on three creative tasks: video editing, audio recording and graphics. I takes it for a test-drive.