Slashback: Gnoogle, PlayStation, Assault

Grab a cuppa joe, or whatever you drink at this time of day, and read on for this edition of Slashback, with updates and additional information on the strange (but statistically iffy) dangers of microbiology, Google's contest winner, and Sony's Linux kit for the PS2.

Location, location, location. A lot of people were interested in the Google contest whose winner was announced last week; Dan Egnor creator of that entry, writes "FYI, I've released the code for the winning Google contest entry under the GPL."

You mean they weren't just saying Hi? Anonymous Goodfella writes: "In an update to the Dangers of Being a Microbiologist, the AP [news.com.au] is reporting an attack on a Tennessee state medical examiner who gave evidence to an inquiry into the death of infectious diseases researcher Don Wiley. Coroner O.C. Smith was left tied with barbed wire to an apparent explosive."

Jakob Nielsen says Flash No Longer Evil Allen Varney writes "Given that Flash MX now supports the back button, Unicode, and accessibility, and has introduced p$user interface components, usability guru Jakob Nielsen today updated his famous 'Flash: 99% Bad' rant from October 2000. (Scroll down to see the update, stirringly titled 'Flash Now Improved.') His Nielsen Norman Group has formed a strategic alliance with Macromedia to start educating one million Flash designers in the fundamentals of good design. You did know that Flash .SWF is now an open format, right?"

Step 47: remove blindfold, scream. For those anxiously awaiting (or judiciously pondering) the Linux upgrade kit for the PS2, some words to consider from reader silvaran, who writes: "I just received my Playstation 2 Linux kit in the mail. I was disappointed to find that none of the monitors (3) that I had function properly with it. So I took to following the instructions on a blind install. It's not the most elegant of solutions, but it works. You need a blank memory card to install, but everything else is included in the kit. I'm on my way to a full Linux installation, complete with 100mbit networking, 40-gig HD and a USB keyboard and mouse; also included are full documentation on taking advantage of the PS2 hardware under Linux."

That blind install looks not for the faint of heart -- still, it would be nice if every distro included a simple walk through like that for when a monitor just isn't handy :)

Reader microwerx adds some a few more words of advice and caution: "[T]he PS2 Linux Kit will not read CDRs, so you'll have to use the supplied 10/100 Ethernet Adapter to get stuff in and out of the machine. One very good thing about the PS2 Linux Kit was the documentation regarding the Emotion Engine chip, etc. There's at least 2000+ pages of information regarding how it all works in glorious PDF format. There is also a OpenGL-like library (ps2gl) that supports the hardware. I also understand that SDL also works. Another is the amount of equipment you receive. You get a USB mouse and keyboard, a 10/100MBPS Ethernet Adaptor, A VGA convertor, and a 40Gb Hard drive. And all of this stuff appears to have some future use (you may have to remove Linux to use them nonetheless). So, once again, unless you just want the novelty of having a PS2 Workstation, developing console games, or setting up a small home server, I don't believe that you'll gain too much additional functionality. An overall rating of 3 1/2 stars out of 5 is certainly in order (because after all, it is for game development)."

Comments

Re:Gnoogle

[jackal!]

Its ok when they misspel something in the body, I can understand that, but in the headline? Somone should have previewed before they posted. Unless Gnoogle is a new gogle ripoff that i havent heard of.

You expect to get knarma for that pnost?

Good price for all this stuff?

[rob-fu]

IIRC, the PS2 linux kit was around $150 US? I didn't know you got the 40GB hard drive, Ethernet adapter, VGA connector, etc.

Is there some kind of catch? The whole thing seems like a pretty good deal. Maybe Sony isn't a bunch of bastards after all?

Haven't you heard of Gnoogle?

[thelinuxking]

Its a free search engine which follows the GNU Free Software guidelines. However, that's spelled GNUgle, so either way, it's a typo.

Typo

[BreakWindows]

It's GNU/gle, not gnoogle.

Now you've done it...you've made the Debian team cry!

Flash

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, Flash supporting the back button is a GOOD thing. Yes, it supporting Unicode is a GOOD thing, too.

But someone who spends a measurable amount of time evangelizing (sp) Flash's ability to use the Back button and loses sleep over people creating custom scrollbars needs to either a) go outside, b) get laid, or c) both.

Re:Gnoogle

[tegwj]

Google's contest winner has released his code under GPL. It's a leap, but you might notice that Gnoogle is a devilishly subtle pun of GNUgle. Of course, you could have used your gnoodle and figured that out on your own. twj

Jakob Nielsen Humor

[webword]

The Jakob Nielsen Drinking Game

Driving Over Jakob Nielsen

Hmmm...

[Telecommando]

That blind install still looks easier than the last time I installed Slackware.

GNU/Google

[Anonymous Coward]

Google uses Linux servers. When RMS found out a commercial operation was using his GNU/Linux, he hit the roof! He sent Google a cease-and-desist order until they agreed to renamed their company GNU/Google.

Re:GNU/Google

[Anonymous Cowrad]

In short, RMS is one of the most prominent figures in the open source community. He founded the and now insists that everything that even sat next to GNU software in the refrigerator must now be called GNU/whatever it used to be called. The fact that this only complicates matters needlessly has been addressed, and I think he's decided to quit it.

If you need to know more than that, see this for a fairly good idea who RMS is.

RMS's homepage is at http://www.stallman.org/

Please Do Not Feed the Trolls. Odds are you're going to get a resonse that purports RMS to be the goatse.cx guy or something. I can neither prove nor disprove these claims, so you'll have to draw your own conclusions.

Nielsen Norman Group web site UNUSABLE!

[cpeterso]

The Jakob Neilsen story was on ActionScript.com (a Flash news blog) yesterday. Here is a list of the HORRIBLE USABILITY BUGS on the Nielsen Norman Group's own web site. Fortunately (unfortunately for my karma? ;-) these problems were fixed last night.

1) broken graphic at bottom of page
2) click on People, you go to Services
3) click on Services, you go to Publications
4) click on Publications, you go to Events
5) click on Events, you go to About
6) click on Jakob Nielsen, you go to Don Norman's web site
7) click on Donald A. Norman, you go to Ask Tog
8) click on Nielsen Norman Group Members, you go to Events
9) click on User Experience 2001/2002, you go to Services
10) click on Usability Testing and Reviews, you go to Process and Strategy
11) click on Process and Strategy, you go to Seminars
12) click on Contacting, you go to the MM/JN press release on Yahoo

Linux Cheat Codes?

[crisco]

The blind linux install looks no more complicated than some of the cheat codes for PS2 games.

Have you no SHAME?

[SHEENmaster]

The Debian/Linux team is probably in tears over the monstrously innapropriate spelling. How dare you. How dare you!?

Re:Dead researchers.

[Anonymous Coward]

Say, this is a really great technique for increasing one's karma. Split up your insightful post into nice little chunks, and get mod points for each one separately!