DoctorMo's Blog

I was bored and made this video and this gtk gui for mounting google docs as a folder on your computer.

Anyway, please watch my video, mute the sound it’s nothing but static.

View Video on Blip

[1] PPA: ppa:doctormo/ppa
[2] Package: gdocs-mount-gtk

Now be warned, if you try this, remember that it’s not a supported piece of software, bugs aren’t likely to be fixed (unless you fix them of course) the code is available and it should work on Lucid. It won’t be ported to any other versions (at least by me) but it should be easy to recompile everything for other versions anyway.

I will answer questions here or by email. Your thoughts?

I’m an Ubuntu and FOSS kinda guy, I’m not happy with software that isn’t FOSS and I don’t find any sense in proprietisation of code. Having said that there are times when I must be a little more considered and not simply shun an entire site because it’s not foss.

Heaven known that deviantArt is a very proprietary and confused places to know. Bad copyright advice, no public domain option, admins that consistently ignore open formats like png and svg. FOSS Software isn’t promoted at all in any way. So why in Slartibartfast’s fjords would I want to hang my coat over there?

Well no matter what I do there _will_ be artists over there who use Ubuntu, people who may need help with wacom tablets, upgrades or finding help. There will be people who use Windows or Mac but don’t have FOSS tools yet or perhaps wouldn’t do better with Ubuntu instead. There are artists who’d love to get involved with the wider community but for what ever reason are disconnected by social chance.

One of my personal victories is bringing to the winder community the translation of the Ubunchu manga. I even got interviewed on the BBC Blogs Radio show about it. It wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t have been keeping an eye on other social circles, if I hadn’t have seen Seotch-san’s original cover on deviantArt.

So I fully support the motion to open a StackExchange Ubuntu location, we need people who are willing to use and support the site. I guess there are about 2,000 people who view the planet during the week and yet there are only 500 people needed for the motion to carry.

If your not there yet, go here and add yourself. The more social circles that have Ubuntu representation the better.

Some folks were finding it hard to get a hold of the new ubuntu branded icons for each official release:

I’ve added a joker in there too because I was bored while packaging. Find the tar from the download button.

Seems like the summer is just grinding on, most people have gone very quiet indeed. Bit boring to be honest.

Some test images for new branding and modifications.

I’ve deactivated my account of facebook, firstly because I just can’t be bothered with it and secondly to see if my friends are really my friends and will email me and if they’re interested watch my identi.ca feed and blog.

Obviously I think very few of them will actually be that bothered, not least because most of them use inferior operating systems that don’t deliver their social systems to the desktop like mine

Anywhoo, email me.

The FOSSed conference was certainly very interesting and although the heat was almost unbearable, the sleeping and presentation rooms un-air-conditioned at least the event fed us well (a little too well as I note by budda belly this morning) and we got to talk with some very interesting people with a different take on Ubuntu and FOSS.

First of all there are plenty of people using Ubuntu, both strait up and as a basis for educational distributions. But almost everyone at this conference was using an Apple Mac, it’s something a lot of schools have invested in. I maintain that the bastards are going to be Apple in this and upper-middle class residential markets.

One sys-admin was explaining to me how their school is ditching Ubuntu in favour of Apple Macs because he (as a sysadmin) is not paid enough to do his job properly and just doesn’t want any more work to deal with. Of course far be it from me to suggest that doing a job at all is worth doing right, but I can’t imagine how a fleet of rented Apple Macs could be easier to manage even on a larger scale. I chalk this one up to professional folly and lack of imagination.

There were plenty of positive thinkers too, lots of people really wanted to learn some of the available programs in depth so they could go off and teach other people. this is great and it’s certainly something we should be doing more of. I know Inkscape has really good how-tos and guides available to download in manual format.

In the end though we got to talk a lot about all the challenges, politics, dumb decisions and rotten thinking that goes on in education. There was certainly a lot to complain about, most of the time it didn’t seem like it was malicious, just that old problem of pushing incompetent people further up stack into management instead of firing them. Of course I also remember being told: “No one likes being their own boss, because suddenly it’s hard to tell yourself just what a dumb boss you really are to yourself”

Your thoughts?

OMG Ubuntu recently posted an entry on their blog about the new paid for Ubuntu Software Center.

I like the guys at OMG, they’re doing some interesting stuff, but d0od you’ve got a mistake and the article needs fixing.

Commercial software is not software that is closed source, commercial software is just software that you pay for. I’d love to see Free Software for sale in the Ubuntu software center, but of course because everyone is conflating proprietary with commercial and FOSS with free beer it’s frustrating efforts to monetise Free Software and make this whole gig sustaining.

This is doing a dis-service to the real power of FOSS as a peer reviewed, stakeholder and user empowered development by suggesting the only defining point to it is it’s free cost. It isn’t, the free cost is incidental, this community isn’t a charity and we shouldn’t be expected to behave like one all the time.

I’m asking you to stop explaining FOSS as free beer and commercial as proprietary. For the livelihood of programmers who want to make FOSS their job. Stop forcing software developers to close code up in order to make a living or force them to donate their time to make Free Software. Just pay a fair price for Free Software development and open access to market places and complain about markets that help promote the confusion by only selling proprietary software while giving away FOSS.

I don’t know if the Ubuntu Software Center will, I hope that since Ubuntu is an open community we can make some progress and get Canonical to support FOSS by allowing their marketplace to sell our services.

Three cheers for commercial free and open source software!

Three rotten tomatoes for proprietary software of any kind!