The Fifth Continent - Technology, commentary and stuff!

Microsoft 8 second demos

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 08:35:18 GMT

Does anybody else find the 8 second demos and in particular the Bing adverts from Microsoft both insulting and patronising?

MySQL Workbench 5.2

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:33:51 GMT

I have been using MySQL Workbench 5.2 (64 bit Ubuntu) for a few days to build a database. MySQL Workbench is an interesting project with the potential to be a truly great piece of database software.It is designed to replace and improve on two good pieces of software, namely MySQL Query Browser and MySQL Administrator; unfortunately it is nowhere near ready. Read on to find out why.

We'll reduce the deficit

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:12:46 GMT

Oh, that's all right then!

The Digital Economy Bill

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 05:43:01 GMT

The disturbingly sinister Digital Economy Bill has made it's way through the Houses of Lords and Parliament. This means that bar a few formalities it is now UK law. Why is this bill so sinister?

Happy new year 2010

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:05:15 GMT

Once again it is the time of year for looking back and reflecting and looking forward and planning. It is time to make my new years resolutions. Last year I made my new years resolutions very public so I thought I would look back and reflect on how I have done. Also I will again make my new years resolutions public.

Climate Change

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:19:50 GMT

Recently I posted a blog entry claiming to prove that climate change was a fraud perpetrated by scientists who wanted government funding. It was kind of tongue in cheek but aiming to make the point that the data is being manipulated. The Copenhagen climate conference takes place next week so what do I really think about climate change?

The UK government has decreed

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:38:37 GMT

that young offenders can no longer be called "youths" as it may offend the precious little darlings.

Climate change data manipulated

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:31:22 GMT

Hundreds of private emails and documents allegedly exchanged between some of the world's leading climate scientists during the past 13 years have been stolen by hackers and leaked on line, it emerged the other day.

PC-BSD From the beginning - Part 2

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:25:57 GMT

Well. That went well! I have completely barfed my virtual machine.

PC-BSD From the beginning - Part 1

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:24:27 GMT

I am starting a journey in to the unknown with a new operating system and as it turned out, a new desktop environment. Follow my first tottering steps in to the world of BSD. Will my Linux knowledge help me here or like my Windows knowledge when I started my Linux journey will it prove a hindrance?

So; I've bin a'thinkin!

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:32:58 GMT

My blogging feels a bit unfocused, so the question becomes, should I specialise in something? The idea does have it's appeal, but what should I specialise in?

Slackware vs Ubuntu

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:27:31 GMT

Since originally having a look at Slackware quite some time ago, Ubuntu has been been what I can only describe as vaguely unsatisfying. Too much control is taken away from you. I have been trying Slackware 13 for real this time. Installed on both my laptop and my main desktop work horse machine. After three weeks, how does it do? Well, Ubuntu is back on my desktop. Read on to find out why

Slacks back Jack and that's a fact

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:54:36 GMT

I have been quite happily using Ubuntu for my computing needs and indeed I still very much like it. However, I was reading an article about the future direction of Ubuntu and it was talking about heading in to the cloud. It was Mark Shuttleworth himself giving the interview so I can only assume that he knows about that of which he speaks. Being Linux, I can guess that it won't force the user in to the cloud but I would expect it to be the default in a few versions from now.

Weetabix crank email

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:49:13 GMT

One of my for want of a better word, hobbies, is sending crank emails to companies to see if I get a response. Once in a while a true gem returns.

Crooks called Fasthosts

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 09:24:57 GMT

This sorry tale started nearly two years ago when I first decided that dammit I was going to get myself a blog! I downloaded a piece of software called LifeType and found a hosting company called Fasthosts. I set my self up an account with them and it all seemed to go well. I'm blogging about it and I'm sure you have read the title, so obviously it didn't. Read on to find out why!

OpenSUSE 11.1

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:34:44 GMT

Being bored I decided to have another look at a Linux distribution that I still get shudders about. Back when I was starting out with Linux, I tried OpenSUSE 10.0 and to date it remains the only operating system to trash my hard disk. Beyond recovery! This time I am trying 11.1 and I am running it in a virtual box as I am not feeling brave enough to do so on a full machine.

Spammers are definitely getting smarter

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:07:31 GMT

Today, I suffered what can only be described as the cleverest spam attack I have ever seen.

Road Tax, road pricing, fuel and freedom!

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:56:54 GMT

Road tax is an interesting idea. You pay a duty into the road fund for every motor vehicle you own; a fund that is supposed to be spent on the upkeep of Britain's roads.

So this is Swine Flu?

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:13:58 GMT

I have a cold. It is quite a nasty cold and really, really snotty and horrible. I realise that you don't want that image in your mind but it is pertinent to this blog. I decided early this afternoon to pop round to my local chemist to get some Lemsip to help deal with this. The chemist was still shut for lunch so having a few minutes to kill I decided to take the NHS on-line test for Swine Flu. How did I get on?

English. The language of the Internet

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:20:20 GMT

English must have been chosen as the language of the web as it is so easy to learn. Or is it? Next time you think about berating some poor person posting on a forum in broken English. Ask yourself how you would fare in their language and then consider the following.

Phew! It's arrived

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:42:42 GMT

It has taken way too long but the first release of my new website is here. Written entirely by me this has been a real labour of love.

A sad goodbye

Fri, 15 May 2009 13:57:45 GMT

It is with some regret and no little anger that I must part company with the best Linux Distribution I have ever used.

In open source no-one can hear you go Yaaaarrrrr!

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 08:04:05 GMT

The Pirate Bay trial ended in Sweden just the other day and the defendants were sentenced to a year in prison and to give silly amounts of compensation. What does this mean?

My adventures in Slackware - Part three: the laptop!

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:45:31 GMT

Inspired by how easy it was to get Slackware running how I wanted on a virtual machine, I decided to install on my test laptop. I really wanted to do a long blog post whining about this process but it was boringly easy, the only sticking point being the wireless which like every other distro on that box required ndiswrapper and the Windows drivers.

My adventures in Slackware - Part two: the configuration!

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:02:04 GMT

I decided to make a light(ish) in weight web development box using Slackware and leave a full server until much later. I have built Slackware up to be very very difficult to use in my own head. What's the reality?

My adventures in Slackware - Part one: the installation!

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:32:43 GMT

I have decided to install Slackware to a virtual machine so that I can learn more about Linux. For over two two years I have been learning things about Linux as and when I have needed to. It has worked well. But now come the time to start delving deeper.

Can words be offensive?

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:52:15 GMT

There has been a furore this week about the royal family being racist or at least making racist remarks. Prince Harry was caught on video referring to another officer as "Paki" and then it was revealed that his father Prince Charles uses the nickname "Sooty" for an Asian friend.

Linpus on my laptop

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 12:33:28 GMT

I have been looking at the Linux distributions that are available on the new netbook Computers such as the Acer Aspire 1 which runs Linpus Lite Linux. This seems to be the best looking of the bunch. I didn't want to install it on my Asus eeepc so I decided to try it out on a HP Pavilion laptop. How does it do?

Happy New Year!

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:01 GMT

It's that time of year where resolutions are made again. Now I normally have great difficulty in keeping my new years resolutions:

Linux Mint Revisited

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:55:46 GMT

Way back in July 2007, I put together a brief look at Linux Mint during which I concluded that it may end up replacing Ubuntu as my operating system of choice. Well it did and I have been using Mint for a few months now so I thought I would review it again from this perspective.

So that was Christmas!

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 09:05:57 GMT

As usual, I find myself filled with a sense of relief that it is all over for the next nine months. Well, nine months if we are lucky and if the greed of the retail trade fuelled by the advertising industry doesn't grow to even more gargantuan proportions during the next year.

Record £206,000,000 In Speed Camera Fines

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:15:47 GMT

Government figures released this week show that the speed cameras so liberally placed around our nation have raised record revenues this year. Two hundred and six million pounds which is a lot of money gathered in fines just for people going over the speed limit.

Fedora 9

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:27:12 GMT

I'm trying Fedora 9 as Linux Format made it look very nice when they reviewed it. So how is it? I installed it on to one of my laptops to find out...

This is child abuse!

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:43:40 GMT

I'm going to say it even if no one else will. Letting your child over eat as much as Lesley Davis does is child abuse. Her daughter is 15 years old and 33 stone. Just so non English people can picture that, 33 stone is the same as 209 kilos or 462 pounds!

The Phone Box

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 09:32:36 GMT

It is Saturday and once again the public phone box at Greatstone has been vandalised and the windows smashed.

Minty Freshness!

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:25:45 GMT

In my quest to find an Ubuntu beating Linux distro, I am currently trying out Linux Mint, a child of Ubuntu. How does it do? Read on to find out...