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Slashback: Gnoogle, PlayStation, Assault
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)."
Gnu + google = gnoogle.
You expect to get knarma for that pnost?
Who moderates the meta-moderators?
Its a free search engine which follows the GNU Free Software guidelines. However, that's spelled GNUgle, so either way, it's a typo.
It's GNU/gle, not gnoogle.
Now you've done it...you've made the Debian team cry!
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.
The Jakob Nielsen Drinking Game
Driving Over Jakob Nielsen
How to Download YouTube Videos
That blind install still looks easier than the last time I installed Slackware.
Beta sux! Join the Slashcott! http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4760465&cid=46173047
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.
anybody know if it compiles/runs on the PS2?
I think it's a good deal just to get a web appliance in the livingroom, but, I want my Mozilla. I thought about using it as an Xterminal to run my regular broswer but that leaves it depending on my pc.
anyone here tried either approach?
"The Most Fun Possible on 4 wheels" is at SunBuggy in Las Vegas
...happened in Memphis. Local news, including video (in which you can read the psychotic, rambling letters if you pause at the right point) is here.
Although the blind install looks tough its actually quite straight forward.
I just took it very slowly (One keypress at a time)and ticked off the boxes, It worked first time (Only because I managed to keep the cats off the keyboard)
I was dissappointed to find that the kit did not work with any of my monitors either (I'm waiting on a 2nd Hand 17" Sony to arrive as I can't hog the TV all night). Its a good sales ploy by Sony, apparently a lot of people are buying new and used Sony monitors for their kits as they are the most likely monitors to work.
It didn't take long before I had X up and running and little while latter had KDE installed. Its not very usable through the TV (Even at 80cms) some of the fonts are quite hard to read, also getting a little frustrated with having to ALT and move windows all the time in X.
On a completely serious note, has anyone given any thought to a "real" blind install procedure for Linux -- i.e., a tool/procedure targetted at visually-impaired users wishing to use Linux?
In the same way that modern distros "do enough" to get X windows installing and running, and then switch to a graphical installer, I can imagine a "blind" installer doing what's required to install a sound driver and speech synthesizer, and then talking the user through the rest of the installation (questions about partitions, etc.).
As someone else alluded too, this could also be useful for a sighted person doing an install on a headless machine.
Does anything like this exist currently?
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?
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
cpeterso
I'd like to know if the PS2 modchip alleviates the cd-r/dvd-r problem
No, it doesn't. So how "Interesting" is that post now?
It's all pretty X-files, and while quite a few "microbiologists" (defined loosely, as some of the people have not really been true microbiologists) have died under mysterious circumstances lately I can't shake the feeling that the story is being "shaped" into this whole conspiracy dogma format.
Anyway, here's a link to one of the nutball sites (this is Mike Vreeland's "The Government Made 9-11 Happen" site) which has some writeups on it.
Proceed with caution. You're reading heavy spin here...
One very useful tool for generating .swf is the ming library, which can be used in conjunction with AutoTrace and ImageMagick to convert just about anything to .swf.
[DISCLAIMER : I work for sony and anything I say here is just personal stuff for hobbiests and please be warned about any damage to your hardware etc...]
;)
The blind install given above would work, but this is not necessary, if you call us up we'd help you through the setup. The current PS2 installation should work on the majority of the monitors out there, I know the sync is fixed at 60mhz and that was probably the oversight one of us made. But this would work on 95% of all the monitors out there and if your monitor was purchased after 95, this would work perfectly.
For the rest, instead of following the blind install, please e-mail our support or call us, we'd fedex our to those who need it. Please understand that following the directions given on the link on this story might cause damage to your monitor, since all monitors are not alike. (But I've rarely come across such things in recent times).
Also, we have a simple 3d wrapper for Quake that you can download from Bryan's page. Please see his weblog for more details. This wrapper would allow you to patch the existing _SDL_ version of the quake source to make it run on PS2. Enjoy hacking Q1 and PS2.
On the issue of mouse droppings, you need to edit the video configuration and set XV_BUG_PS2FIX on in the Xconfig file. This was an oversight too and is fixed in the lastest pack we have. If your installing a custom distribution you need to do this as well.
On debian, we tried to get their installer to work, but the maintaniners have been very rude to our questions and that's the reason why we don't have an intro to debian installation. If there are any debian power users who installs base fine, please send us an e-mail with the steps taken.
Appercate your patience and goodwill.
Wil
Linux for ever
It's wierd every monitor I've tried had sync-on-green. Once I installed x2x It's just become a seemless part of my desktop. I have two monitors for the workstation and one for the playstation, and I just move the mouse across to the playstation and I can type there. It's not quite fast enough to run KDE or Gnome, but it's been pretty painless so far, things just compile and run. I'm still poring over the docs, but I expect to be able to make some speedy ps2GL apps once I'm up on the peculiarities.
It drives the monitor at 1280x1024 @ 75Hz which is better than I expected. The boot DVD lets you boot any kernel you like, there's already a BSD port. You need the disk to boot so unless you can press silver DVD's you can't distribute the games very far. As stated before they don't document the BIOS calls for accessing the DVD drive without a 'is this a Sony disk' check. But if you walked their drivers in a debugger you could probably figure it out, though all that would give you is a DVD/CD player, you still couldn't boot without their DVD or a harware modification.
The biggest problem with it as a general purpose machine is probably the measly 32 Megs of RAM. I might look into this, but it probably requires more than just installing new chips. But it isn't a general purpose machine, one of the memory transfer rates is 38 GB/s... just try that on a PC....
Yep it is. I got my kit last Wednesday. However, it is only available from the sony website for $200 plus shipping. To be official, what you get is
2 PS2 Linux DVDs
1 40GB Hard Drive
1 10/100 Ethernet Adaptor
1 Sony Black USB Keyboard with 1 USB Port
1 Sony Black USB 3 Button Mouse
1 VGA Cable only for use with SYNC-ON-GREEN capable monitors
1400 pgs of manuals in PDF form. These are assembly language manuals for the EE (emotion engine) core of the playstation. You get no printed versions of these, only install documentation)
Remember, you have to add $25 to the cost for an extra memory card, as it will be formatted to contain your linux kernel.
And I used the 'Blind-Install' with absolutely no problems. You simply must be a little careful. Hope this helps.
-- I have fans? Wow.
The blind linux install looks no more complicated than some of the cheat codes for PS2 games.
Bleh!
Sorry everyone, I don't normally reply to my own posts, but after thinking about it for a bit I realized it would be irresponsible to have included a link to a crazy site like Vreeland's without also including a link to a sane analysis of why he is in fact a nutter.
Here is a careful, balanced, and thoughtful examination of The 9-11 X-Files
The Debian/Linux team is probably in tears over the monstrously innapropriate spelling. How dare you. How dare you!?
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
Actually, OpenBSD has one on the CD liner with a printout of what you would be able to see if you had a monitor attached!
-- SIGFPE
So Nielsen's partnering with Macromedia to educate people on proper Flash design. It's a PR gesture on Macromedia's part to silence one of Flash's most vocal critics, but it's not going to accomplish much in the real world. The real Flash offenders are not going to attend a Macromedia seminar on usability or study Nielsen's guidelines. That would restrain their "creativity" -- most of them use Flash specifically because they want to be different, which is the antithesis of Nielsen's usability mantra.
My browser filters out all swf files, so if you use Flash and you don't provide an HTML alternative (most sites don't), I'll never see your content. That's a good thing. I don't want to play "chase the links as they fly across the screen" or listen to your music blended with the mp3 I'm playing.
Fireworks are exciting, pretty toys too, but each July 4 police scour the streets for people who set them off because they're dangerous in the hands of most people.
So far I have to say I am probably on the disappointed side of the scale. First of all, there is a lack of quaility help with the kit. Why? Because, for example, www.playstation2-linux.com has been overrun by people who can't read. When purchasing the kit they failed to notice the pre-req's which said "SOG Monitor Required" and "a basic understanding of the Linux operating system." While this wouldn't be a large problem, it is making it hard to get support when you have a real issue. It seems everyday someone posts "I can't believe my montior doesn't work" or "Can I run Windows games on the PS2?" or someone posts "Why don't CDRs work?" Apparently none of these people know what a FAQ is.
Right now I am sitting without a kit, but I'll get to that in a second.
I pre-ordered my kit on March 7th. I received an email which I assumed to be the confirmation. In my email header it said: " Your PlayStation.com Order #711699 has been d." I even took a cursory look at the message and it looked just like a receipt from any other online store. What I failed to do was read the actual message. It was in fact telling me my credit card (for no apparent reason) was declined. I admit I should have read the message more closely, but it would have been nice if an actual confirmation didn't look exactly the same. I realized this error on May 25th.
After finally receiving my kit I eagerly ripped everything open and got my PS2 hooked up. Having done my homework, I was very happy to see it talk nicely to my SOG compatible monitor. I even commented "wow, this is a really nice quality keyboard." So I threw in my Linux Disc 2 DVD since, again, I failed to read. This time it was pure excitement to blame. Disc 2 had placed in the disc holder on top, with Disc 1 below it. This was highly intitive.
The install was going normally. After the RTE loads it looks just like a RedHat install. I got all the way up to the point of partitioning my hard drive. Being that I've been using Linux for longer than I can remember, I defaulted by selecting fdisk. After I was done I hit 'w' to write my table, and nothing happened. In fact the PS2 locked up. I couldn't believe it. So I rebooted. I very quickly found that the keyboard had failed, as it would no longer respond. Neither my Desktop (Mandrake) or my laptop (Win2k) would recognize it as a USB device. Of course this happened at 8:55pm. 5 minutes before all of the electronic stores in town closed.
So the next morning I went to Fry's and bought a $20 USB keyboard. I came home and got Linux installed. Again this concept of reading got to me. The final dialog says something that reads like: "Press Enter, Put Disc 1 in, and reboot." So I did. I was greated to a hard drive FSCKing itself, a corrupted modules.conf, and an ethernet adapter that wouldn't init. So I re-installed. This time I read the screen more carefully. Apparently it is intiutively obvious that you are to wait 2-3 minutes while the system shuts down. It would have been nice if they let you see the shutdown progress (or told you to wait.) (I know I ragged people for not reading when they bought the kit, but I am willing to admit I should have read all of the above more carefully.)
Finally my machine is up and running. I even have XMMS complied and installed. So I hook it up to my stereo, connect to it remotely, and mount a NFS share. I'm ready to listen to MP3s on my surround sound system for the first time ever. I launch XMMS and my PS2, again, freezes. After rebooting I am told I can't login because the system has lost power and is rebooting. Uh huh. So I login at the console and do a proper reboot. This time XMMS loaded without a hitch. It played exactly 1 mp3 and locked up again. This time I realized that it was not the PS2 locking up, but the network adapter. This is becoming a known problem at the aforementioned website.
Finally, my last woe in this whole story. In order to replace my USB keyboard (BTW, all of the components come in their own retail boxes) I must return the entire kit. Yes, playstation.com is incapable of only replacing 1 component. They instead, insisit, I ship back the entire kit (at my cost) to get a keyboard replaced. How nice.
If the network adapter issue isn't solved in the next 30 days, then I am going to sadly return the kit, as so far, it hasn't been worth $200.
A fair number of game GUIs (the 2D parts used for setup and such) are written in Flash and executed with a non-Macromedia Flash engine. This is done so that the Flash authoring tools can be used. This approach could be applied to other applications.
It's probably more suitable for things like a music player than a system administration program, but it's an option. Most importantly, it lets you separate the GUI part from the programming part, which means the GUI designer can get some real work done.
I find it odd that someone who even admits they have reading problems still insists on dumping all of the blame on Sony. I had no trouble at all setting up Linux on my PS2 (though admittedly I have the Japanese version; maybe somebody screwed something up for the US release).
As far as the network adapter goes, I've had zero problems, even while doing a raw disk dump over the network. I do, on the other hand, recall splay locking up on me once or twice. Try setting the playback rate to 48000 Hz, since the PS2 Linux driver can't handle anything else natively, and see if that helps. This is also mentioned in the manual, by the way (at least the Japanese one).
Also, when I had a keyboard problem—which just turned out to be me typing too fast for the keyboard's specs—I was able to send just the keyboard back to Sony and use the PS2 via Ethernet in the meantime. Maybe you didn't communicate clearly that it was just the keyboard that was defective?