O | S | D | N NEWSLETTER August 25, 2002 DEVELOPER SERIES
The 'Developer Series' Newsletter is developed to bring Open Source related content to a user with a focus for development with Open Source If you'd like to receive more content relating to Open Source subscribe at http://www.osdn.com/newsletters/ ============================================================== Sponsored by Thinkgeek http://www.ThinkGeek.com/ ============================================================== Thinkgeek Cube Fodder: Tangle Desktop Toy http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/fun-stuff/5a38.shtml Gadgets: Sharp Zaurus Linux PDA http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/gadgets/5a3c.shtml Gadgets: Key Katcher http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/gadgets/5a05.shtml Tshirts: Kids: newbie http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/apparel/59cc.shtml Caffeine: Energy Gum http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/caffeine/5a35.shtml Gadgets: Super Bright GREEN Laser Pointer! http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/gadgets/5a1d.shtml Gadgets: SoundBug - Turns Glossy Surfaces Into Speakers! http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/computing/5a15.shtml Tshirts: It Must Be User Error http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/apparel/59fe.shtml Gadgets: Key Katcher Privacy Device http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/gadgets/5a05.shtml Gadgets: Mini Wireless Color Video Cam (for RC rovers) http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/fun-stuff/59eb.shtml Cube Goodies: Levitron Desktop Levitation Toy http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/fun-stuff/59a9.shtml Tshirts: Bug Off, I'm On My Break http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/apparel/5a00.shtml Watches: onHand PC Watch http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/gadgets/5a1a.shtml Caffeine: Hyperglow Caffeinated Beer http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/looflirpa/beer.shtml Gadgets: Desktop Zero Point Infinite Power Generator http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/looflirpa/zero.shtml Cube Fodder: New Desktop Mini Fridge/Warmer http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/fun-stuff/5991.shtml Mods: New Lian-LIi Cases http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/computing/cases-mods.shtml Cube Fodder: LED Binary Clock http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/fun-stuff/59e0.shtml Cube Fodder: Rogers Connection Magnetic Set http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/fun-stuff/59b4.shtml Caffeine: Warp Mints In Cinnamon Flavor http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/caffeine/59de.shtml Sourceforge Automated Security Tools http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=51027 Release Candidate 1 phpLotto http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=53340 phpLotto 1st Release Legend of the Wonderer TCG http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=44698 battle system in the project Docs Advanced Simlulation Toolkit http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=48818 Recruiting PHPortal http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=28568 PHPortal version 0.1.9 released! PCGen -- A d20 Character Generator http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=25576 PCGen 2.6.3 is available MySQL Objective C API for Cocoa http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=42424 SMySQL version 0.7.0 i810 Framebuffer Device Driver http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=39579 Video Overlay Support for the Intel 810 and 815 Framebuffer 'Just For Fun' Network Management System http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=46041 JFF Network Management System 0.6.4 VietPad http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=46758 VietPad 1.0.2 Release Slashdot Timeline of Online Gaming http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/25/027200 Jippy_ writes "While reminiscing about an old online game I used to play called "Shadows of Yserbius", I found a very neat timeline of online gaming. It goes back as far as PLATO and is current up to this year. It's not news, but it's good to read and remember the [0]days of pre-EverCrack online games." GEnie, wow. Links 0. http://www.legendmud.org/raph/gaming/mudtimeline.html KDE Gets The Hat http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/24/2239236 minkwe writes "[0]Tension is currently rising between the [1]KDE and [2]GNOME followers, following the release of the new beta to Red Hat's upcoming distribution. Neither group appears to be satisfied with the fact that Red Hat has [3]null-ified the difference between the two desktop environments." Links 0. http://dot.kde.org/1030073479/1030203696/ 1. http://www.kde.org/ 2. http://www.gnome.org/ 3. http://www.gnomedesktop.org/article.php?sid=616&mode=thread&order=0 Tenebrae Quake http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/24/1945255 [0]viperstyx writes "Ah, the days of running around in bland 3d environments and fragging your best friends surrounded by a plethora of sprites and simple textures. What if we could go back to those days, except with per-pixel shading and transparent water? Well now, thanks to [1]Tenabrae Quake you can. This small [just over 3mb] mod to the original quake engine allows users to play Quake while taking advantage of new technology like per-pixel shading. Its beautiful and definitely worth any old skool gamer's time =]" Links 0. http://www.viperstyx.net 1. http://users.pandora.be/hollemeersch/blackrose/tenebrae/ How to Build a Time Machine http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/24/1921239 frank249 writes "The September issue of [0]Scientific American has an [1]article discussing the possibility of time travel. They say that it wouldn't be easy, but it might be possible. It could be a while until we can expand worm holes and tow them to a neutron star but didn't someone say that if it is possible it will happen. If it is impossible it will just take a little longer." Links 0. http://www.sciam.com/ 1. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0004226A-F77D-1D4A-90FB809EC5880000&catID=2 Sigma Designs/XVid Update http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/24/1725202 Reagen Ward and many other people have written in with updates to the Sigma Designs/XVid situation, [0]reported a few days ago. Sigma has replied in email and a press release that they intend to make the source code available, however, they seem to be paying lip service at best to the terms of the GNU Public License. Grant Gross from Newsforge has been pursuing the story and in a [1]story yesterday and [2]another today lays out the current situation. Links 0. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/22/193237&tid=117 1. http://newsforge.com/newsforge/02/08/23/1527203.shtml?tid=41 2. http://newsforge.com/newsforge/02/08/24/1422205.shtml?tid=41 Medicine for a Sick Linux Box http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/24/1429234 [0]Squidgee writes "This is the site for "[1]LIAP: Linux In A Pillbox". It is an interesting recovery distro made in the vein of pharmaceuticals; each floppy based 'minidistro' cures one specific Linux ailment. Or, as Luke Komasta (The creator of LIAP) puts it: "My Linux project contains "pills". Each of them is good for one disease, but it doesn't work good enough for another. When you know what you need a Linux for, you may choose a good pill. And of course, as you know, there is no drug which is good for treating all diseases." It's an extremely interesting approach to Linux recovery, and one that appears to be more effective than the other varieties of floppy/mini-cd based recovery systems. Worth downloading in case you ever need it!" Links 0. http://<squidgeeOO1> <at> <hotmail.com> 1. http://www.liap.eu.org/ Digital Video Capture and High Frame Rates? http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/22/184243 [0]Jeff asks: "So the folks at a place called Conniption Films (great name) developed a camera called the [1]Millisecond Camera which can shoot 12,000 frames of film a second. I read the article and thought 'Hmm that's neat' but then realized they were still using an analog process for shooting this highspeed film. Being a geek, not necessarily into the film side of things but curious nonetheless, I wonder, shouldn't a computer be able to do a better job of such a thing? They say the film runs around a spindle going 500 mph (!). Wouldn't that be prone to failure and use alot of energy? Wouldn't it be more appropriate, easier, and overall cheaper to just hook up a high res CCD to a beowulf </duck> cluster of 2 ghz+ machines and capture high speed images that way? Why hasn't it been done yet? Or has it and I haven't seen it yet?" I did a double-take, when I first read this question, and then got curious and did a little digging. Turns out, high frame rates are not exclusive to the analog photography world, and to illustrate my point, I provide [2]this link. It's woefully short on details, and the explanations as to why a camera that can record 1M frames per second is limited to a playback of only 103 frames, but the technology is out there. Has anyone seen any other digital cameras out there with high frame-rates? What visual mischief could you aspiring photographers get into with such a camera? Links 0. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] minus punct 1. http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/industry/08/19/fast.camera/index.html 2. http://www.itworld.com/Comp/2505/IDG010928camera/ Echostar DishPVR 721 GPL Software Released http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/23/172218 Faw writes "It was mentioned [0]before that Echostar was releasing a Linux based PVR. It has been out for a month now, and the modifications to the kernel and other software are [1]here. The cool thing is the site is running on the same receiver. [2]Someone is already hacking it. Wonder how long until the receiver get slashdotted." Links 0. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/29/2139250&tid=129 1. http://208.45.37.181/ 2. http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?s=8a085317eeeeb9082bd8763f6759d0d3&threadid=6558 Benchmark Program Rewritten to Favor Intel? http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/24/1253251 BrookHarty writes "Interesting article over at [0]Van's Hardware, that [1]BAPCo the maker of the SysMark benchmarking program, has re-written its SysMark 2002 benchmark program in favor of Intels P4. AMD joined BAPCo in order to "correct" these "broken" results. AMD reports that BAPCo's SysMark 2002 (written by Intel Engineers) is a collection of tasks to summarize "Real World" performance. Interestingly, these tasks are selected for Intel's favored performance, while removing certain tasks that favor AMD. Vans Hardware has additional information on BAPCo's [2]Shady history." Links 0. http://www.vanshardware.com/reviews/2002/08/020822_AthlonXP2600/020822_AthlonXP2600.htm 1. http://www.bapco.com/ 2. http://www.vanshardware.com/articles/2001/august/010814_Intel_SysMark/010814_Intel_SysMark.htm Marsoweb http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/24/1243258 [0]EyesWideOpen writes "Scientists preparing for Nasa's next Mars mission have created a website to help them choose potential landing sites on Mars. [1]Marsoweb enables scientists to view more than 44,000 high-resolution images of the red planet; the images [2]combine all the available data about the surface of Mars." Links 0. http://cams89&hotmail,com 1. http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/ 2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2212077.stm Freshmeat Linux Cluster Architecture http://freshmeat.net/articles/view/542 I've been using Beowulfs for a while now and have seen a number of tutorials, articles, and books on how to go about building a Beowulf cluster or writing programs for a Beowulf cluster. However, when it comes to job scheduling or cluster monitoring, the topic is usually relegated to a small paragraph (or even a few lines) mentioning that using a job scheduling package such as PBS makes one's life easier. I can say from experience that such a statement is very true, but I haven't seen many mainstream articles on implementing a job scheduler or methods and techniques for measuring cluster performance. If you've ever been interested in the implementation of a job scheduling and performance measuring system, "Linux Cluster Architecture" by Alex Vrenios is just what you (and I) have been looking for. 4Gewinnt 1.0 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94910/ 4Gewinnt is a networked multiplayer clone of the the game which is known in English countries as 'Get 4', or in German as '4Gewinnt'. AutoGen 5.4.2 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94900/ AutoGen is a tool designed for generating program files that contain repetitive text with varied substitutions. Its goal is to simplify the maintenance of programs that contain large amounts of repetitious text. This is especially valuable if there are several blocks of such text that must be kept synchronized. Output is specified with a Scheme-enhanced output template. Input, if required by your template, may come from AutoGen definitions, CGI data, or XML files. AutoOpts 18.1.9 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94899/ AutoOpts is an integrated part of AutoGen. Based on a very simple option description file, it will process configuration files, environment variables, command line options, text strings passed by client programs, and will make the results easily accessible to the client program. It will also produce a man page and the info-doc invoking section automatically. Big Sam 1.2.00 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94902/ Big Sam (Built-In Guestbook Stand-Alone Module) is a PHP3/4 script guestbook which does not use databases. It is very simple to set up, very simple to administer, and very accurate. BlackHole Spam/Virus Filter 0.9.147 (Stable) http://freshmeat.net/releases/94909/ Blackhole Spam/Virus Filter provides spam and virus filtering using dot-files in all the major MTA/SMTP servers for UNIX and similar systems. It is easy for an individual user to set it up with shell account access and configure. It is different from other, similar programs, in that it executes a minimal number of programs to do the filtering, is able to use a MySQL database for the users' configuration files, can be set up as the queue in Qmail, and have virtual users' configuration files be found using the username/domain for the recipient. Multiple checks are available, and there open options on how to treat flagged email. There is logging to multiple entities, auto-expiration of flagged email, and scoring available so that multiple checks require matches that add up before blocking. CVSTrac 1.1.0 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94912/ CVSTrac implements a low-ceremony Web-based bug and patch-set tracking system for use with CVS. Features include automatic changelog generation, repository change history browsing, user-defined bug database queries, Wiki pages, and Web-based administration of the CVSROOT/passwd file. CVSTrac is a stand-alone C program that operates either as CGI or as its own Web server. eNetwizard Content Application Server 0.0.0 (Core) http://freshmeat.net/releases/94897/ eNetwizard Content Application Server is a cutting-edge and unique solution to content management and Web application projects. It can manage the content of an infinite number of domains, with content ranging from simple Web pages to advanced applications and wizards across an unlimited number of Websites. It integrates full control and customization features, database operations, thorough error handling, localization enhancements, diverse document serving abilities, comprehensive security and logging protocols, user management, and many other features, all from within a solid core library. It is suitable for Internet, Intranet, and Extranet solutions running on both public and private networks, and is ideal for the individual developer to the largest of enterprises. evilwm 0.99.7 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94907/ evilwm is a minimalist window manager for the X Window System. It maximises screen real estate and provides good keyboard control. It is currently based on aewm. Flat Xml to Structured Xml converter 0.1.0 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94880/ Flat Xml to Structured Xml converter (fx2sx) consists of a shell script and a xslt stylesheet for converting a flat XML file into a structured version. It is designed for post-processing the flat XML output produced by some CSV to XML converters. jpgind v0.60 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94903/ jpgind is commandline tool for generating Web pages or just a single image index file from multiple JPEG files. Each image's Web page can be supplemented with EXIF info and HTML metadata from a separate text file. knowhow^2 0.2 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94908/ knowhow^2 is a set of PHP scripts to be used with a MySQL database for managing a low level expert- system. You can also use it for FAQ lists. Mplinuxman 1.0 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94906/ Mplinuxman is a file manager program for the MPMan F60 USB portable MP3 player. It can send and receive files using an intuitive graphical user interface (GTK2). It features playlists, ID3 tags on the player, hot-plugging support, and a random list function to fill up the available space on the device. Optikal 1.1 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94901/ Optikal is a Java application that displays optical illusions. Its images can be viewed at any resolution your screen supports, saved for later perusal, or printed for instant wall art. PostgreSQL 7.2.2 (Stable) http://freshmeat.net/releases/94896/ PostgreSQL is a robust, next-generation, Object-Relational DBMS (ORDBMS), derived from the Berkeley Postgres database management system. While PostgreSQL retains the powerful object-relational data model, rich data types and easy extensibility of Postgres, it replaces the PostQuel query language with an extended subset of SQL. PWman 0.3.0 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94887/ PWman is a text-based application based on the UI design of abook addressbook. Qinx 0.3 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94898/ Qinx is a theme for KDE inspired by the QNX Photon desktop. It includes a widget style, KWin decoration, and a couple of color schemes. Reza's Rio Receiver 0.7.10 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94911/ Reza's Rio Receiver is an open source replacement for the client software that runs on the Rio Reciever. It will support additional audio formats and audio streams, as well as providing other neat functionality. Shape Tools 0.2 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94895/ Shape Tools consists of some very simple programs that convert ARC/INFO EXPORT (e00) format files to ESRI/Shapefiles (shp). Simple TCP Re-engineering Tool 0.9.9-RC1 (Development) http://freshmeat.net/releases/94904/ Simple TCP Re-engineering Tool monitors and analyzes data transmitted between a client and a server via a TCP connection. It focuses on the data stream (software layer), not on the lower level transmission protocol (as packet sniffers do). slrnface 2.1 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94913/ Slrnface shows X-Faces in Usenet posts when it's run from slrn (and Mutt with the included patch) under an X11 terminal emulator. sxw2html 0.1 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94905/ sxw2html converts OpenOffice Word (.sxw) files to HTML. Web Package Surfer 0.2.2 http://freshmeat.net/releases/94914/ Web Package Surfer is a PHP-based package management system that lets you browse, search, and administrate a set of files contained in packages that are classified by (possibly nested) categories. It is particularly useful for maintaining a repository of downloaded files. Slashcode uCdot http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/23/058243 A new slash site http://www.ucdot.org/ for uClinux and Embedded linux developers and users. Only new headlines http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/22/0558213 I have two suggestions that I think would be really cool. I've listed them after a short story of what prompted the ideas. I keep a mozilla window with slashdot in it on one of my virtual desktops all the time. I open interesting stories in their own tab leaving the first tab solely for slashdot. Whenever I refersh the page I have to scroll down to find the last headline that I read and start reading up from there. Sound familiar? Sometimes it gets complicated when I don't find the last headline I read and have to go back and look at the older stuff for what I might have missed. My quick fix suggestion first then, my really cool suggestion. 1) Previous 10 headlines button. 2) A Last_Headline_Read field stored in my cookie. If the site remembers that I'm logged in it should be able to remember the last headline that I read. It would be cool if, when I refreshed the page, slashdot only displayed the new headlines! Just a thought... Thanks for the awesome work you guys do. --Tres Saving user settings in the Slash DB: WHERE? http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/22/0555242 On the "Customize Homepage" page (users.pl?op=edithome) does anyone know where it saves the exclusion filters (exclude by topic, section, or author) in the database? I've figured out all the other settings except these. Exporting a Slash site between Machines? http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/19/0547211 I have a fully customized Slash site on one machine, and I need to migrate it to a different machine. How can this be done? Do I just TAR up the directories and move them over? And if so, what files/db entries do I need to modify with the new machine/site name? Any help is appreciated. Thanks, QWade DiverseDVD http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/17/1822201 Its another Slash Site - http://www.DiverseDVD.com/ this time about DVDs, VHS, and Cinema releases. It comes to you from the team which produced http://news.DiverseBooks.com Displaying Number of Comments in Storylink,Index,D http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/16/0544259 I've been trying to find the code that displays the number of comments on a story. In looking at the template "storylink,index,default", I see [% links.join(' | ') %] which I assume is the item that displays the "(Read more | X comments...)" Where the heck to do find this? RSS Source for QOTD http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/15/151241 I'm trying to implement a Quote Of The Day functionality in my site, and I was wondering if anyone knows of any good source of RSS syndication for Quotes? Insurrection http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/14/0230202 Announcing Insurrection, a new Slashcode based site devoted to geopolitical news and discussions. Help us enlighten the world. Theme addition 'include_theme' http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/09/0650236 In CVS there is a new addition to the THEME file syntax. You can now choose to add an included theme. This allows you too easily create a theme with just your changed templates (yet still pick up fixes to the templates you don't customize). If you base your site off of the "slashcode" theme just add to your theme file: include_theme=slashcode If this is for a site that already exists make sure you add this information to the site_info table. Invalid command 'PerlHandler' http://slashcode.com/article.pl?sid=02/08/07/2319210 Hi all, I come already the two days trying to install the Slash in two machines with Mandrake.. I followed all the steps of the installation manual, however I have received, when initiating the apache with the INCLUDE of slash.conf this error: ---- Syntax error on line 6 of /etc/httpd/conf/slash.conf: Invalid command 'PerlHandler', perhaps mis-spelled or defined by a module not included in the server configuration. -- I'm checked lists and installed File-Spec with: "install RBS/File-Spec-0.82.tar.gz"... Without this configuration Apache works fine! Help me please! 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