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Domain: benow.ca

Stories and comments across the archive that link to benow.ca.

Comments · 9

  1. Re: What the heck? by reve_etrange · · Score: 2 · on DMCA Claim Over GPL Non-Compliance Shuts Off Minecraft Plug-Ins

    Bukkit contains parts of Minecraft server or reverse engineered parts of Minecraft server?

    It's decompiled. Java is actually pretty easy to decompile well, for example here is a good decompiler which I sometimes use. Even has IDE plugins...

  2. Re:Reuse the well done and code the rest... by benow · · Score: 1 · on Reuse Code Or Code It Yourself?

    If you want to use my proprietary (lgpl'd) nastieness, check out my persistence framework.

  3. Re:DataHand by benow · · Score: 1 · on 10 Strange Computer Keyboards

    I've used a datahand for a while, and they're great. Even better on a good chair. Expensive, but worth every penny... and the keyboard can be used across multiple computers. The learning curve is a bit steep, but after a week or two it's quite usable. A downside is that you'll never want to work in an office without one. The personal's are as good as the pro's unless you specifically need macros (which you probably don't). They're only ps2, but datahand sell a usb converter that works well. Good stuff... now if only they'd do a wireless version, already.

  4. Re:The one that isn't Sony by benow · · Score: 1 · on Which eBook Reader is the Best?

    Yup, it's a beautiful thing. Screen is great. The pdf's have to be drm free, well formatted, and ideally formatted for small format (ie not 8 1/2x11), mp3 functionality is a bit thin... but for reading books, it's as good as I've found, even if imperfect and too expensive. FYI pdf formatting and drm issues can be circumvented by repackaging the pdf through various tools. I actually recently wrote up a review of the bookeen cybook.

  5. Datahands fixed it for me. by benow · · Score: 1 · on Does Computer Use Actually Cause Carpal Tunnel?

    This is my current setup, after trying several ergo solutions. Posture, straight wrists, correct monitor position and massage all help. I've cranked out well over 40k LOC with this setup without problems. With a traditional kbd and mouse I was getting shoulder, wrist and hand pain... not any more. I'm sure it's possible to use a standard setup without RSI, if you ensure that the ergonimics are good.

  6. Re:Ubuntu already uses Upstart by benow · · Score: 1 · on How To Speed Up Linux Booting

    35s boot for me under Feisty (amd4800+x2, 40G wd sata2 raptor). Tasks seem quite parallelized. I'm happy with it.

  7. Recording VNC by benow · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Which VNC Software Is Best?

    Slightly off topic, but I found a bug within eclipse which was more easily documented with a screen cap movie. With a bit of research, I stumbled on vncrec and vnc2swf via this tutorial. Vncrec is excellent, producing good captures in the proprietary .vnc format, which obviously requires the viewer to have vncrec installed. Vnc2swf is perhaps a bit tricky to setup and the swf's it provides are of good quality, as shown here, and being flash(4) is nice and cross platform, relying on the ming libraries for encoding. I'm still researching audio mixing, but it should be possible to record in real-time to mp3 and multiplex into the output swf via vnc2swf's -soundfile param. Recording in this manner would be _great_ for complex api documentation, complex state-dependante bug reports, and other documentation applications.

  8. LIRC+DAC+Stereo+LCD Projector+Linux Box in Closet by benow · · Score: 1 · on Best Options for a Home Entertainment Network?
    I've been using linux as a workstation and media server for a while. My hardware setup is as follows: and on the software front:
    • gentoo GNU/Linux
    • ALSA audio drivers
    • lirc
    • mplayer
    • xmms
    • mldonkey, video store, cable for media acquisition
    LIRC, which works with the ZapWay receiver, can be used with xmms and mplayer to ffwd, rew, stop and play media. irexec also ties into LIRC and can be used to control ALSA mixer volume, cue and play http/file urls in xmms/mplayer. TV out is done by the vid card. An X session (with lircmd to control the mouse via the remote control), with customized blackbox menus, etc allows for couch based media navigation. TV recording and video/VCD/DVD playback is done by mplayer and media management done in nautilus (for now). SPDIF output of the SBLive goes from the computer to the DAC, for highest quality sound (if you've never heard a FLAC thru a good DAC on a good quality setup, you've not lived). The computer itself sits in a closet, with good quality monitor/kbd/mouse extenders to isolate the jet engine-ness of the dual mp 2k+s.

    I hope to eventually suspend a THX acoustically transparant screen across the magnaplanars and use a LCD projector for a 6' x 5' HD image.

    Overall the experience has been quite good, tho having it all setup on a workstation requires much maintenance to keep all the apps communicating... a dedicated shuttle box to feed the projector/DAC would be a little nicer, tho I'd still want a central media server. Wireless is not needed here, as the few cables (spdif/video/etc) pose only a problem to the vacuum cleaner. Of course, the setup costs as much as a nice used car (which I don't own) and I find myself dreaming of 6'x5' trees rendered in imax style 3d (cow's can fly in caves, but require awkward polarized glass or expensive eye surgery for 3d flight experience).

    Andy
    http://benow.ca

  9. Lossy archival is just not right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Who'll Be Using Ogg Vorbis Instead Of MP3?
    I've started re-ripping my collection and flacing (losselessly compressing) the wav's. A wav sounds far better than even 256k mp3/ogg encoding (on good gear). Ripped albums (75min) are typically around 300MB, which is large compared to roughly 85MB/CD for 256k mp3s. HDs are cheap... raided 80Gig ide's are not out of the question, and with a solution like that, I would never have to rip or worry about data-loss again... Add in a soundcard with digital out and an external d/a converter, and you have audiophile quality with all the benefits of computer storage. All that is needed now is a half decent content management system... (BeNOW).

    Flac is also streamable, which implies that the infrastructure never has to be changed to allow for lossless streaming... however, flac streaming is impractical now. Currently, I re-encode to mp3 for restreaming, but will move to OGG when V1 shows it's head, and it becomes supported by Shoutcast (... yeah, I know icecast supports ogg, but commercial restreamers only have shoutcast at best.)

    Yes, there ugliness in the audio arena (WMA/RIAA/MP3 licensing, etc), but I have a suspicion that those who are proprietary and face-to-face with better free solutions don't need help shooting themselves in the foot... the necessary tools will always be there for those with the skill to find and use them. Those that don't are just food for the corporate/legal system (can you tell the difference?).

    Andy
    (BeNOW.ca)