Jamcleat

I got the notion to learn something about GTK and review my C++. I have recently upgraded to Ubuntu 9.10 so some of the things I had before are gone.

Before you start, you will need libgtkmm-2.4-dev (version 1:2.18.2-1) installed.

When you install it should also call for

libcairomm-1.0-dev (version 1.8.0-1build1) will be installed
libglibmm-2.4-dev (version 2.22.1-2) will be installed
libpangomm-1.4-dev (version 2.26.0-0ubuntu2) will be installed
libsigc++-2.0-dev (version 2.0.18-2) will be installed

You may wish to install
gtkmm-documentation (version 2.17.4-0ubuntu1) will be installed
libglademm-2.4-doc (version 2.6.7-2) will be installed
libglibmm-2.4-doc (version 2.22.1-2) will be installed
libgtkmm-2.4-doc (version 1:2.18.2-1) will be installed

At that point, you can copy and paste the example code found on Wikipedia.

In order to follow the example literally, you will need to save each of the text files as the name indicated in the first line comment into an empty directory. Start a command line window and switch to that directory. Then the command given in the example should work.

If you copy and paste the g++ command you will get it right. If you type it, the “`” things are in the upper-left on most keyboards under the tilde (~), not a single-quote (’)

me@home:~/Projects/gtk/hww$ g++ *.cc -o example `pkg-config gtkmm-2.4 –cflags –libs`
me@home:~/Projects/gtk/hww$ ./example
Hello world
me@home:~/Projects/gtk/hww$

I went to download Chrome for my Ubutu distribution.  For some reason, I decided to actually read the EULA. I usually let the kitten step on the keyboard until that nonsense goes away.  I would never agree to any of that EULA crap without a lawyer’s advice. In the middle of the EULA was a reference to:

“AVC Patent Portfolio License”

Another license which I, without legal assistance need to understand.  Googling for the phrase gives me a great summary presentation.

Note that the title page provides this warning

“This presentation is for information purposes only.
Actual license agreements will provide the only definitive and reliable statement of license terms.”

In the presentation, on slide 2, second bullet, is “Align with AVC product value chain”

This line reminds me of the moment in my Draft Physical where the doctor says to a line of 20 young men, with their bare toes on a yellow tape line on the floor,  “Bend over and spread your cheeks”.

But do not delay…
First Term: August 1, 2002 – December 31, 2010
Threshold levels to encourage early-stage adoption and minimize impact on lower volume users…
Call now… Operators are standing by… Limited time offer… (Did I pay too much by not waiting for the price to come down?)  Does AVC seem like a scam to you?

Rate Protection on Renewal – royalty rates for specific license grants (except for Internet Broadcast AVC*) will not increase by more than 10% at renewals

This is my absolute favorite because I am a Mainframe Dinosaur.  While the predicted death of the IBM mainframe seems to be long delayed, the mainframe software vendors continue to work to ensure the mainframe’s imminent demise through destructive software licensing conditions.  Dr. Merrill and a few other have the right idea.

I’m with Shakespeare (Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act 4, scene 2, 71–78)

I am blessed that last month my son son became a member Upsilon Pi Epsilon (ΥΠΕ), the International honor society for people with interest and ability in Computer Science (CS).
I am impressed that in a small school, the UPE inductees include a young woman and young man with a visual handicap.

I do not claim any understanding of Nelder-Mead or anything like it, also called a downhill method of finding a minimum for a system of equations, which, if you keep up with these things, may be old news. But consider the possibility of the inverse, nearing the summit realizing that whatever your strategy and method, the climb has led you up the wrong peak. Or more to the point, in the valley, you cannot realize or see that the adjacent (or some very distant) valley is lower but not chosen because the initial solution set off in the wrong direction. The desired goal is now distant. Maybe in Step n, there could be a global check for other minima. Or maybe this accomplishes that trick.

The previous post started my mind wandering and when it sat down to rest it was thinking of this folk singer. Stan Kelly-Bootle is a favorite of mine, not as a folk singer, but rather for his commentary on the state of computing. I first found his writing in the Unix Review, still worth seeking, old SODA, never flat. And contemporary as the Curmudgeon in the ACM Queue on-line magazine.

My long-time friend Bob sent me news to help understand Windrows 7. Hay-Hay-Hay.
Fortunately I only have to use Window at work. The company I work for can afford to pay lots of smart people to protect me from folks who would do bad things to my computer. At home, I use Ubuntu, a Linux based system. Much less worry about invasive software problems.

I have heard that Windows 7 became generally available today.  As I have said elsewhere, no version of Windows is safe to use on the average home computer.  Be warned. 
I have also heard that it is difficult (impossible) to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7.  Fortunately, I do not have to worry about that. My machine came with Windows 2000 Professional and is too small to run XP, Vista, or 7.  I have developed a tool that I call the Windows Upgrade Advisor.  It works with any version of Windows, even 3.1!  I hope that you find this tool useful.
I heard something on the radio this morning that went something like this:
“Last night I set my bed to Microsoft Sleepnumber 7. Now it’s full of bugs and has no support.”

The Microsoft PR machine has swung into gear over the Danger data loss.  Now the lost data is for the most part recovered.  And the truth comes out that the Microsoft management decided that the technicians did not need to make a backup because it would take too long and the maintenance company (not the hardware vendor) assured them a backup was unnecessary.  Of course, everybody knows, “backups are for sissys”.  I have been a systems type for about 35 years.  I think I know what I am doing.  And I always make a backup.  And keep it until somebody says. “Yeah, this is working fine”.

My advice: Do Not Trust Anything Microsoft.

With today’s news, it becomes apparent that Microsoft not only cannot produce an operating system for consumers that is safe and reliable but is also incapable of running a data center.  Admittedly, the data center they were running was not Microsoft but rather Oracle  based.  But sound data center management does not depend on technology.  Backup and recovery are religion, not add-ons. Other companies do quite well with Oracle. And Oracle does quite well for other companies.  Microsoft lost data for T-Mobile users of Sidekick.  If you outsource, be careful of the company that acquires your outsourcer.  When you put your eggs in the cloud basket, be careful of who is watching the basket.

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