Yay! iTunes Store for Asia

Categories: Techtoday

 

In light of the news that iTunes has finally opened its door to Asia, its obvious that Apple is prepared to make even more money than every before from the mesmerized masses of monetarily-enhanced Asians. For my part, I felt that getting access to content from the Philippines, China, and Malaysia is long overdue.  Considering how popular the brand is in Asia (and how much of the hardware is produced there) it seems somewhat odd that Apple waited for so long before making the iTunes Store fully accessible to country-specific content. The payment schemes, with some countries being billed in U.S. dollars, was perfected for years, with plenty of Apple users in Singapore, Shanghai, and Manila purchasing apps online despite having access to bootleg content in many places (for around $1.50 per app or $8.00 download-all-you-can).

 

 

Although I'm not a slave to Apple, their online store, and Apple products (I have a certain amount of loyalty to Linux, Google, and Microsoft), I'm pretty happy about Apple's service and concede that in some ways they deserve their success.  Despite all the criticisms leveraged against the iTunes as an application and the business model Apple uses, the free content that can be accessed using this beloved/hated media player (e.g. iTunes U) adds extra value to a competent product like the iPad and iPod Touch. My appetite and ability to purchase and consume media is very, very limited, but it's nice to know living in Asia doesn't deprive me of choice.  Now, let me take out my HSBC card and purchase that Color Me Badd album . . . 

 

Read More

Your next browser should be Opera 12

Travails with Mozilla Firefox has made me look further than Google Chrome for an alternate browser in my Linux machines. And obviously, I ended up with an old mainstay, the Opera browser. 

 

My experience with Opera over the years has always been disappointing. In previous releases, it had trouble opening "complex" pages like www.newsarama.com, www.digg.com, and several other sites that Firefox had no problems displaying.   However, with Opera 12 several hops ahead of the last version I tried, I decided to give it a shot.

 

 

 I recently installed Opera 12 on Linux and Windows 7 warily but found it to be a revelation - it takes advantage of the broadband speed quite well and gone are the poorly displayed web pages.  Having used it regularly for several weeks now, I came up with a list of reasons to keep Opera 12 running on my network:

 

1. Back-up browser. A system should always have a back up browser and even if you prefer Google Chrome or Chromium on your Linux box, Opera provides professional-level features and a surprisingly consistent experience across all platforms.  Plus, it's available everywhere –from  smartphones to desktops and to tablets.

 

2. For Linux users, Opera has several binary packages already available.  Not even the popular Google Chrome has this number of options for installation on Linux.  The developers have prepared a variety of options for installation on Linux, ensuring consistency and a smooth installation process.  It's pretty impressive - not many applications can boast that many options.  The ability to download the browser directly from the developer while bypassing the repositories also ensures the latest build.

3. Firefox is no longer dependable.  A recent article in BBC discussed the Flash problems of the once infallible browser.  Mozilla Firefox is still the de facto browser in Linux distributions though I'm beginning to think it shouldn't be.  Besides obvious problems with Adobe Flash, Firefox has not been very dependable in displaying web pages I've been visiting for the last half decade.  Its clean interface notwithstanding, I noticed a regression in Firefox's performance and stability.  All I really need is a browser that can pull up pages. 

 

4. Opera 12.x is a great secondary browser to Internet Explorer 9.  Let's face it, Internet Explorer 9 is actually a pretty good browser for Windows and it's now a better option than Firefox.  For serious online tasks, Opera 12.x carries professional-level security.  It's scary to admit, but if you ever needed IE 9.0 in Linux, Opera  would be it.

 

5.  Full-featured plus the kitchen sink. I'm not a browser power-user so tab and bookmark management, a speed dial, password/download managers, and extensions aren't that important to me - but Opera has them plus a torrent manager, an integrated e-mail client, Opera Link, and Opera Turbo (though performance varies based on location and it doesn't work well in Shanghai, China).

 

 

6. Recover closed tabs button. The ability to reopen closed pages is the only feature I really, really need on a browser since I have a tendency to want to pull up a web site I just closed.  The feature comes standard on Opera and is easily accessible next to the search bar.

 

 

7. Auto-rename of downloaded files.  If you download a file with a similar name (for example, from porn sites . . . *ahem*), Opera will automatically tack on a number.  Firefox and IE will prompt you to rename the files manually.  When it comes to browser features, it's the small conveniences that really count. 

Read More

Bumblebee Project for Nvidia Optimus: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ideapad Z360

After being blasted by Linux founder Linus Torvalds in the media, Nvidia responded with a little damage control regarding their lack of support for Linux.  To be fair, Nvidia may not have deserved the harsh words from the Linux developer considering the number of generic Nvidia Linux drivers available on their support website.  However, Nvidia's rebuttal regarding Optimus is somewhat weak - citing the Bumblebee Project for the graphics-switching technology Optimus is a poor example of what they would call support. 

Regardless if the Nvidia Optimus technology has been popular in the laptop market is besides the point.  With all due respect to the great independent developers working on the Bumblebee Project, Nvidia's support for the open source drivers are not only incomplete but inadequate. 

I've tested a few releases of Bumblebee before on my Lenovo Ideapad Z360 which runs the following Optimus-powered graphics chipset: Nvidia N11M-GE2 (supports Optimus) w/512MB, 1G VRAM

I had used the earlier release of Bumblebee on Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) with poor results on the Ideapad.  I finally gave up on it and skipped Bumblebee on a fresh install of Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot and decided to tolerate the poor battery life (which maxed out at less than an hour and fifteen minutes), inability to run 3D effects, loss in brightness controls, and the loud fan noise (which is likened to the fan on a desktop).  With the recent release of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and finding no improvements to battery life, power management, nor fan control, I gave the updated Bumblebee a shot, hoping for some improvements in battery performance.

Installation takes no more than a few minutes and the good folks at the project provides a three-step process that involves just adding the repositories and downloading the packages.



The good news is that it is definitely worth installing on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS for the following reasons:

1. No more loud fan noise - The team did a great job at controlling the whine of the fan due to the Nvidia chipset.

2. An incremental increase in battery life - In a purely informal test, I used a fully-charged Ideapad Z360 as long as I could, doing menial tasks such as running KeepNote, Shutter, and accessing my iPod Touch.  I was also able to watch a full episode of "True Blood" before Ubuntu's battery indicator signaled I needed to plug in to a power source.  Total time: 1:35 

The fan noise solution alone makes Bumblebee worth installing on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.  However, as I stated before, it's not a complete solution.  Users of Ubuntu and Linux will notice the following on an Optimus-powered laptop even with Bumblebee installed:

1. Windows 7 battery performance is much, much better - Obviously, Nvidia Optimus was designed for Windows and the 4-hour battery life smokes the an hour and a half I reached running Ubuntu's latest OS and the recent release of Bumblebee.  You call that Linux support Nvidia?

2. No brightness controls - Bumblebee can be installed using the proprietary Nvidia drivers and yet I still couldn't change the brightness of my display.  The ability to do that alone probably would have added 10 to 15 minutes of battery life.  No matter how many times you adjust display brightness, via the FN keys or the desktop settings, brightness will remain the same and consume power (In fact, the brightness settings will follow the last brightness level settings on Windows 7 if you have a dual-boot machine).

3. No 3D effects - Although I'm not a huge fan of desktop effects nor do I have any fondness for the Ubuntu Unity desktop, I'm stuck with Unity 2D on my Ideapad Z360.  Again, even with Bumblebee and the Nvidia proprietary drivers.

4. Power Management Utilities fail - Another side effect of the Nvidia Optimus card is that Linux power management utilities are unable to gauge battery life very well.  Ubuntu 12.04 is actually equipped with a fairly accurate power management utility but failed to estimate battery life accurately at all and was nowhere near the real-time value. 

As much as I dote on my Lenovo Ideapad Z360, the idea that Ubuntu, openSUSE, or even Fedora will never be able to last as long as Windows 7 on the same machine makes me sometimes regret that I purchased an Optimus machine.  Considering I'm not a gamer, I probably never needed the 1GB of discrete VRAM and would have just preferred a graphics chipset that worked well with Linux without affecting battery life (say, an Intel HD integrated chipset).

Linux users don't need a rebuttal from Nvidia.  I wouldn't give them a finger like the revered Linux founder gave (replayed over and over in YouTube no less), but I would ask them respectfully to give the same attention to Linux as they did to Android.

Read More

Linux on Film: Supernatural Season 7 Episode 20 (with Felicia Day)

 

Although Hollywood proudly displays Apple products in 90% of their shows and movies with a middling few points for Microsoft products (such as the TV show "Chuck"), Linux does get a bit of exposure, especially when the producers/directors want to look "technical" and "sophisticated."  Today's Linux on Film entry is an unlikely example with the surprisingly endearing Felicia Day using the command line and an obviously skinned Linux distribution in the Supernatural episode "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo."  There are several indications to the use of Linux on this episode with the directories using a Unix forward slash, a few instances of a Linux interface, and pseudo-Unix commands and utilities.  Surprisingly, there's a strong evidence Felicia Day's workstation is running a heavily skinned Linux Mint, a very popular Linux distribution.

 

 

 

Read More

Getting started with DocBook using XML Copy Editor

Category: Techwriter

If you're only getting started with a markup language like DocBook, XML editors can be helpful in learning the different elements, tags, and attributes available in the language.  However, editors won't teach you to write markup and you would still need a reference such as the online Definitive DocBook Guide .  That said, XML Copy Editor, available for Linux and Windows, is a popular XML editor used by enthusiasts and professionals and can be a great tool for learning DocBook.

Before beginning, it's important to note that you may still prefer a plain text editor especially if you're accustomed to Notepad+, Gedit,Vim, or Kwrite.   Using an XML editor can be intrusive and difficult to get used to at first but it's a good stepping stone if you want to learn how to author quickly. 

Setting up XML and Adding a DocBook Declaration

Before beginning, determine if you want to write an earlier DocBook 4.x version or the somewhat newer DocBook 5.x.  To understand the difference, visit the OASIS site or the overview found in the Definitive DocBook Guide. For this tutorial, we will be focusing on Docbook XML Version 5.0b3.  After launching XML Copy Editor, follow the steps below to begin writing your first DocBook file:

1. Click File and then New.

2. In the New Document window, select DocBook 5.0b book (*.xml).

3. XML Copy Editor will open a new document tab.  Click File then Save As... By default, XML Copy Editor will not add a file extension, so type a filename with the .xml extension.

4. On the document window, line 2 indicates the OASIS URL  path for the DTD.  If you're using a different DTD for your document, such as docbookx.dtd, then change or modify the path.   Visit the Docbook.org or the OASIS web site for more details and a list of the available DTD's or ask your school, organization, or company which DocBook DTD they use.  Think of DTD as a pattern your document has to follow strictly in order to be considered a legitimate DocBook file. 

At this point, it's important to note that if you want to validate your DocBook document with the publicly available DTD, you should be connected to the Internet.  XML Copy Editor uses the URL in line 2 to check if your document  followed the rules and structure of that version of DocBook.

Validating the Document

Even without changing XML Copy Editor's template, you can already validate the document with the 5.0b3 DTD. 

To validate the document with the DocBook DTD defined in your declaration using XML Copy Editor:

1. Click the green checkmark on the control bar or click XML, Validate, then DTD/XML Schema.  Alternately, click F5.

2. A message will be displayed in the Information box found at the bottom of the editor. 

3. As you start writing your document and using your DocBook reference, you would want to validate the DocBook every now and then to make sure you used the write tags and followed proper child and parent structure and sequence.

Adding Elements

1. The template XML Copy Editor provides is a great way to get started but obviously, there are many more tags available in DocBook.  For this example, we will remove the Appendix and Legal Notice tags.

2. After filling out the title and author, we're going to add the publisher.  According to our DocBook reference, publisher information is found under the <info> tag and can be followed with a <publishername> and <address>.

3. Press the Return key after the close tag </author> to create a new line.  Type <   and XML Copy Editor will display a list of possible tags that can be used under the <info> tag.  Select publisher.

4. Press > and XML Copy Editor will automatically place a close tag </publisher>. 

5. Press the Return key and press tab.  This "nests" the next set of information within the <publisher> tag.

6. Use the same process to add the <publishername> information and <address> which are all child elements of the <publisher> tag.

Adding Attributes

1. We will now add the label attribute for the first <chapter> tag.

2. Press the spacebar after <chapter and XML Copy Editor will display a list of possible attributes for the <chapter> tag. 

3. Select label and type = and XML Copy Editor will immediately add quotation marks.  Type your chapter label.

Well-Formed and Validated

To check if the XML was written based on XML rules and syntax, click on the Blue checkmark on the control panel or press F2.  Alternately, click XML and then Check for Well-formedness . The Information box will display an error or indicate if the document is well-formed.

Validate the document to the DocBook DTD again by clicking F5.

You have successfully created your first XML DocBook file and well on your way to using XML Copy Editor and DocBook for future projects.  XML Copy Editor has many more functions to try out and supports a variety of standards while providing useful tools like checking the Xpath and associating stylesheets.   It's a great way to learn various types of markup language even if you eventually plan to use a plain text editor, Terminal-based editors, or applications like Bluefish.

Read More

Microsoft Windows 8 Tablets: iTunes, skinnable Metro, virtualization, Kinect, and other Questions

Categories: Techtoday

 

Having followed the numerous articles regarding the Microsoft Surface Tablet, I could certainly see the potential for the admittedly  sexy device.   Almost immediately, a few thoughts popped into my head about possible uses for the Windows 8 tablet.

 

Windows 8 and iTunes on a Tablet

 

If the Windows 8 tablet is a fully-featured operating system, this means that users can install Apple iTunes.

 

 

Now, we all know Apps from the Apple iStore are only compatible with iOS but what I'm talking about are the free podcasts, the MP3s, and the videos.  If you have an iPod Touch then you would have access to all these and more (and even if you didn't, you can still access the content on iTunes anyway).   The Windows 8 Surface will have a USB port according to the specifications on the Microsoft Surface site, which would mean connecting a Touch wouldn't be out of the question. Although there are many users out there who abhor iTunes, there is little doubt that the idea of a Windows 8 tablet playing iTunes content is a pretty strong argument - a Windows device with Apple multimedia.

 

Microsoft's own online store may not profit from this but I'm sure Microsoft wouldn't completely say "no" against  consumers buying a Windows 8 tablet but getting their content elsewhere.  The question in the end is, will Apple prevent Windows 8 tablets from running iTunes?  Considering that Apple Macbooks advertise support for Windows Operating Systems, I think there's no reason the Surface Tablet should advertise iTunes support as well. 

 

Skinnable Desktop

 

Ever since Windows 2000, there have been plenty of developers who have worked on skinning the default Windows desktop.  Windows 7, with its slick interface, didn't receive as much attention, but considering the divided opinion towards Windows Metro, developers will have a field day releasing various utilities to modify the colourful UI that has alienated so many users.  Considering that there are a ton of users out there who are experts at fiddling around with the Windows registry, I wouldn't be surprised if Windows 8 tablets will be hacked as much as Kinect.  I've had an iPod Touch for less than a year and I change my wallpaper every day just to keep myself from getting annoyed with how it looks.

 

 

Virtual Machines

 

Although many sources are against the idea of Microsoft providing a full-OS to a tablet (an argument I myself wonder about), a high-end tablet with plenty of RAM and an Ivy Bridge processor can possibly run virtual machines.  The brilliant folks over at VirtualBox and VMWare probably have a solution to this already.  I certainly wouldn't mind switching back and forth between Fedora and Windows 8 while toting a tablet. 

 

 

Microsoft Kinect and Xbox 360 Interoperability

 

Contrary to popular belief, Microsoft does create pretty good hardware.  Zune HD was an exceptional device and no one can disagree that Xbox 360 has a market out there, with some players proudly declaring it's superior to the Sony PS3.  With the  right technology and software in place, the Microsoft Surface tablets can be a great accessory for the Xbox 360 and Kinect.  The possibilities for applying a touchscreen device in conjunction with a well-designed XBOX 360 game are endless. 

 

Barnes & Noble Nook and Surface

 

Personally, I was disappointed Microsoft didn't go for a more low-end device that focused on Microsoft's relationship with Barnes & Noble.  Still, I would understand why Microsoft hit high rather than low.  Although I'm partial to Android tablets, I hope Microsoft has an ace up its sleeve and pull out a device that upgrades the Nook's user experience while providing Windows 8's functionality.  Nook/Surface Tablet for $175.00 sounds good to me.

 

One of the more compelling reasons why a Windows 8 tablet might actually sell is because of the potential for modifications and "hacks".  Unlike Mac OSX, Windows has historically been a target for homemade hacks and customizations.  It's too tempting not to especially since Windows 8 probably didn't stray very far from Windows 7.  Microsoft Kinect's underground success as a flexible piece of hardware that goes beyond its original design is proof of this.  The Microsoft Kin was poorly conceived but the Surface tablet seems like a well-thought out product that could fit in both the Xbox 360 ecosystem and the huge Windows user base out there.  It's up to Microsoft to follow through and implement their technology well to avoid another failed hardware product.

Read More

Where are the Skype Conversation Ads?

Categories: Techtoday

 

Microsoft Skype has announced that Skype will regularly release ads when making free phone calls.  Considering that the service has been abused by users for years, with overseas callers leaving their Skype calls running as they go about their business, it's only a fair trade.  According to the news reports, the "Conversation Ads" will be limited to Skype-to-Skype calls for non-paying users without Skype credit.  To be honest, most people have an innate ability to filter out advertisements anyway, so the advertisements probably won't matter as much.  And if they do click on it on impulse and end up purchasing something on the Microsoft Store, then good for Skype.     

 

There are a lot of alternatives to Skype though most have never reached the level of brand recognition Skype has reached.  Forums have regularly dissed Skype's voice quality, but the penetration of the utility, which is available in smartphones, tablets, Linux, Mac OSX, and of course Windows machines, make it surprisingly ubiquitous even in places like China. 

 

 

Perhaps the utility requires an update or complete reinstall to trigger the advertisements, but I haven't seen any advertisements quite yet despite making regular PC-to-PC calls on my Linux and Windows machines. 

Read More

Using LyX to Publish or Organize your Journal/Diary

Categories: Techwriter

You don't need to learn LaTeX or Docbook in order to prepare your journals or diaries for printing.  Neither would you need commercial and occasionally expensive software such as Adobe InDesign or Adobe PageMaker.  Microsoft Word and LibreOffice Writer are great word processors but somewhat ungainly and overkill for compiling your digital journal or diary.  Note-taking utilities such as Tomboy, CherryTree, and KeepNote are great for assembling images, HTML, and taking down notes on the go but not exactly the best for typesetting.  

The advantage of LyX is that it structures your journal/diary without much effort.  Moreover, LyX exports the document to PDF, DVI, XHTML, RTF, XML, and LaTeX, for digital publishing and printing (and for your personal archive). 



For this example, the source journal is composed of entries which begin with the date and day.  The end product in mind is a PDF with a table of contents that allows the reader to select journal entries based on the date.

To set up a LyX document for a basic journal/diary for publishing:

1. Click File then New or CTRL+N.

2. Click Document then Settings.

3. Click Fonts on the left-panel and select your default font family.  LyX provides an excellent set of professional type for use. If you plan to archive your journals, select a font style you're comfortable with.   Although I like the classic look of Typewriter, it's somewhat too old for my journals and today relegated to entering code in technical articles, so I selected Sans Serif as the default font family and selected Computer Modern Sans for the default Sans Serif font type (though the popular Helvetica is a good choice also).



4. Click Page Layout if you plan to eventually print out your journals using your Laser Printer.  This will also determine the PDF size output once exported.  I selected A4 for the Format and Portrait for Orientation.  Check Two-sided document if you plan to compile the publication as a book, though this may be confusing if you're planning to print the document using a standard desktop printer.

5. Click Numbering and TOC.  By default, using the heading styles of LyX will add numbers (e.g. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.). Since I prefer each journal entry to be identified by the dates not by any type of numbering, I dragged the Numbering slider to the extreme left.  This disables any numbering on the document. 



6. Click PDF Properties to configure the PDF output.  Since I intend to output my journals to PDF, I want a fully working set of bookmarks to navigate through my journal.  Tick Use hyperref support and then click Bookmarks.  Tick Generate Bookmarks.

7. Click Apply then Ok.  Click Close to exit the Settings window.

Obviously, there are other settings than can be configured such as Indentation, Line-spacing (both of which are found under Text Layout), Page Margins and Bullet symbols, but for a simple journal/diary, the above-settings are sufficient.  

Creating the journals:

1. Click Document then Outline.  This opens a panel to the left displaying the structure of your document.  This will eventually be the table of contents of your PDF document.



2. Copy and paste your journal entries to the LyX document.  In my case, I took it from a note-taking utilty in openSUSE.  LyX will automatically remove any formatting.

3. Select the heading, which in this case is the date of journal entry.  Click the Environment list on the upper-right hand-corner of LyX and select Section.  Although Section is tagged as Numbered, LyX will no longer add any numbering.  Now that the date is formatted as Section, it now appears on the Outline panel as a primary table of contents entry.



4. To export to PDF with a fully-functional set of bookmarks/clickable table of contents and to view the PDF output, click CTRL+R or click File then Export and select PDF (pdflatex).  LyX will produce a PDF document in the same folder where the .lyx file is saved and open the document using your default PDF viewer.  As seen in the screenshots below, the PDF and the bookmarks opened perfectly in Evince and Adobe Reader 9 for Linux.

Read More

Congratulations Linus!

Linus Torvalds recently received his share of the cash reward from the Technology Academy Finland for being a joint winner of the 2012 Millenium Technology Award.  In a very interesting interview with BBC, Linus opines that selfishness and trust is good for Linux and open source.  It's nice to know Torvalds doesn't believe that open source is a "goody-goody" approach to technology and is very "selfish" though I wish that I can directly contribute to Linux in code rather than being an evangelist or writer.  Even with Mr. Linux himself saying that selfishness is good, I still feel guilty about using the numerous free software written by brilliant developers out there. 

 

 

Read More

Editing EPUB using Sigil and Calibre in Linux Part 2

Category: Techwriter

 

Getting started with Sigil is pretty much the same as using any WYSIWYG application.   Thankfully, it focuses mostly on creating/editing the EPUB file rather than overwhelming you with XML add-ons - it's more of LyX than Adobe Dreamweaver in this regard.  More importantly, however, Sigil also allows writers to edit the XML markup, CSS, and XHTML code without leaving the application. 

 

As an example, this article will focus on creating an EPUB file from a Wordpress blog.  Wordpress blogs are exported in XML and a few steps  are required to transform the text to convenient, readable format.  For the sake of brevity, we will be using raw, unedited text rather than formatted text and we'll be adding images later. 

 

Unformatted Text

 

The advantage of using unformatted text in Sigil is consistency and a cleaner code - you can apply a new CSS without worrying too much about previously applied formatting.  The disadvantage is that you may have to do quite a bit of proofreading and formatting especially if your text features plenty of headings, bold, and underlined words and statements.   If your original book or article is already in HTML or XHTML then you're halfway done since Sigil accepts them natively.

 

The raw text can be simply copied and pasted on to the first .xhtml file.  In this scenario, we'll be working on one long block of unformatted text.

 

Organizing your text

 

We will now split the text into different sections.  This has nothing to do with the Table of Contents (unless you want it to), but more about organizing your text.  Sigil, by default, can generate an EPUB TOC based on the text you format using the Heading styles.  Forget about the number of .xhtml files splitting the text will create!  Only one EPUB file will be created at the end of the process.

 

To split the text:

 

1. Place the insertion point in the text.

2. Click Edit then Split Chapter.

 

Since you'll be doing this quite a bit.  The shortcut CTRL+Return becomes very handy.  In fact, most users will probably create sections as they proofread and edit their text.

 

Proofread, Edit, and Format text

 

Proofreading and formatting text isn't the most exciting of tasks, but if you want the text to look right on an iPad or Android tablet, this is even more important than the code itself.  Sigil opens each XHTML file on a separate tab so moving the text across chapters and rearranging  text  is easy.  If you're dealing with text riddled with leftover code, Find/Replace will be one of the more useful tools for deleting characters and excess markup.

 

 

As for formatting text, there are three ways to go about it:

1. Use Sigil's basic formatting features.  If you're creating a novel, then very, very minimal formatting is needed.  Sigil has all the tools you need: Heading styles, bold, formatting, Lists, Bullets, and Indents.  The less formatting, the better it looks on an ereader.  Moreover, as a writer, you want readers to focus on your writing and not on the formatting, right?  Again, keep in mind that the Heading Styles will determine your TOC entries. 

 

2. Edit the XHTML.  If you're writing a more technical book or require a lot of visual cues or structure, then by all means edit the XHTML manually.  Click View then Code View or Split View to take a look at the markup.  XHTML gurus can go berserk with their tables and lines because EPUB's  underlying structure is based on XML and XHTML.  Take note, however, that not all XHTML tags are recommended for presenting an ebook.  Again, this is a book not a web page so fancy dynamic HTML is not only wasted but unnecessary.  Moreover, Sigil is not a fully-featured code editor, so you may get error messages which may cause you to lose text.  Avoid using the code editor unless you really know what you're doing. 

 

 

 

 

3. Use CSS.  You're not creating a web page, but if you want your own style of presenting your text/book/manual, then it's time to write some very frugal CSS. 

You don't need to use all three ways to format text.  In fact, keeping the code simple is the best way to go about it.  When formatting text for an EPUB, sample free EPUBs available on the Internet to find out what best suits your document/book.  Gutenberg.org has some EPUBs with very poor layout and formatting.  Free EPUBs from iTunes, like "Weird Tales from Northern Seas", are optimized for an iPod Touch or iPad.  Some publicly released EPUBs, like "The Best of Smashing Magazine", are professionally designed and looks fantastic on both iOS and Android devices.   

 

Part 3: Importing HTML and using CSS with Sigil

Read More

Taiwan Computex Booth Babes vs. WWDC's Apple Macbook Pro

Categories: Techtoday

 

Having attended the Taiwan Computex and WWDC by proxy in a parallel universe, were you overwhelmed with this . . .

 

 

or many, many, of this . . .

 

 

Same here. 

 

Photo from Apple.com and CNET.com.

 

 

Read More

Britannica and Bing Beats

Category: Techtoday

 

As a proud owner of the Encyclopedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, I'm pretty happy that Bing has now included Britannica as part of its search results permanently.  Laugh if you will, but I have a huge fondness for the traditional encyclopedia as well as its discontinued rival Microsoft Encarta. 

 

 

I am, however, somewhat disappointed that the Britannica entry appeared much, much lower than an entry for Wikipedia when I searched for Ben Franklin on Bing.  Hopefully, that would change soon. 

 

Read More

Technical Writing with an iMac PowerPC G5 with 512MB of RAM Part 2

Category: Techwriter

 

The Hardware, Operating  System, and Software

 

 

FYI Technical writers

 

OS X 10.4 and Adobe Suite CS2 exhibits issues with JPEGs and old versions of EPS.  There are some bugs in the Adobe Suite's interface in Mac, though not as much as when running in Windows. 

 

I've never been a fan of shortcuts but feel somewhat ashamed when someone sees me using menus.  However, when technical writing in Mac OSX 10.4 with CS2, shortcuts are essential.  I wore out the paint on the Windows/Super button within a week.  Adobe's Mac shortcuts are fairly intuitive but it's the desktop shortcuts that are infinitely useful (e.g. Taking a screenshot).

 

Notable Applications with Mac OSX 10.4:

 

1. Dashboard - I never liked widgets in Mac, Windows, or Linux but the Dashboard was especially useless when tech writing.

 

2. Mac OS 9 compatibility layer - With the glut of available freeware for OSX, there really is no need for running OS 9 unless you're chained to an older Adobe PageMaker version.  Otherwise VirtualBox for MacOSX PPPC would suit most user needs for other platforms. 

 

 

3. Spotlight/Finder - The earlier iteration of Spotlight was surprisingly useful and fast when searching for EPS, TIFF, or that lost InDesign file.  Finder and Spotlight were infinitely superior to Windows XP's desktop search, and on par with Windows 7's.  However, digging through Finder for applications couldn't compare to Linux's ALT+F2 command window.

 

4. Dictionary - Logically, technical writers will welcome this included feature . . . but really isn't useful with highly technical terms.  It was comforting having it around though. In comparison, Linux provides mostly online dictionaries and Microsoft still hasn't packaged a dictionary on any of their operating systems.

 

Mac OSX has long been stable and as long as a technical writer doesn't push the hardware past its limits, OSX will never crash.  The decrepit iMac I used deserves an applause for running LibreOffice for PowerPC, unpacking huge compressed file, and easily connecting to a Windows/RHEL network.   

 

 

A Matter of Preference - a Linux user Perspective

 

Even Mac worshippers would agree the desktop of OSX Tiger is not without its faults.  In truth, as I switched back and forth using ALT+~, F11 and F9, I found myself slowing down rather than speeding up in terms of productivity.  I found myself missing Linux Gnome 2 and KDE (which I had used for years with openSUSE, Mint, and pre-Unity Ubuntu). To be fair, OSX 10.5 largely corrected the desktop flaws of 10.4 and the later version of Expose eventually became as useful as the Linux pager.  

 

It's hard to imagine a  technical writer and designer working on Linux while being expected to run industry-standard Adobe products, but I felt crippled by the gasping Mac OSX.  There were also a lot of moments when it occurred to me how useful even Aero Snap (Windows 7) was.  OS X's desktop interface isn't as vomit-inducing as the obsolete Windows XP's Luna theme, but it's getting pretty old. 

 

All throughout my projects with the aged iMac, I kept getting tempted to pop in Fedora or openSUSE (or at least access a virtual machine of Ubuntu).  Here are a few observations from a Linux point of view:   

 

1. For users accustomed to later versions of Mac OSX (such as the excellent Snow Leopard and Lion), regressing to 10.4 is somewhat jarring.  Switching windows is a pain and a wrong click of the mouse can send you to the desktop rather than the correct application.  Most veteran users of OSX are familiar with the issues associated with right-click options and window management.  Even Linux's low-powered LXDE was preferable when it came to multi-tasking and those who have tried Linux's file managers (Nautilus, Dolphin, PCMANFM, or Thunar) would instantly feel stifled. 

 

2.  OSX 10.4's Preview isn't very useful.  The file formats are limited and only one image at a time is displayed.  With Adobe Bridge slowing to a halt, I kept praying for KDE's Gwenview, Gnome Eye, Okular, or Evince.

 

3. The Dock has always been a gimmick to me, just like Ubuntu Unity's Launcher.  I've always preferred a clean desktop free of obstructions and the Dock just takes up precious screen estate in OSX Tiger. 

 

4. Technical writers can use many Linux alternatives that are fast and efficient.  Scribus, Bluefish, Gimp, Kompozer, and many applications can run on a PowerPC Linux distribution installed on the aged iMac without any loss in productivity.

 

3.   Although not an OSX utility, the classic RAR and StuffIt archiver utilities on a Mac seems a bit dated compared to the archive formats in use today. I missed 7z or even tar.gz.  StuffIt actually corrupted some of the JPEGs on unpacking and .Zip/.rar seems so . . .  yesteryear.

 

 

Conclusion

 

For all my complaints about the limited hardware and OSX 10.4's desktop, there's very little difficulty doing technical writing on an aged PowerPC iMac OSX.4 with 512 MB RAM - a big compliment to the iMac and to Apple in general.  Tech writers would have to get used to working with one Adobe application at a time and patiently waiting for the spinning pizza to stop, but otherwise it's all good.  Apple's ability to release machines that last is a prickly topic but this iMac certainly proved it could hold its own in today's work environment.  When this machine dies (and it will), I'll ask if I can do a bit of work on it and install Fedora.  By then, it has more than paid its dues. 

 

 

Read More

Technical Writing with an iMac PowerPC G5 with 512MB Part 1

The illusion of Apple Mac systems being better at design and graphics persists even today despite obvious hardware similarities and improvements to Windows.  Publishing companies still believe that any type of Mac, even ones running on long-obsolete hardware and software, are superior to Windows when it comes to technical writing and page layouts. However, when your employer or client foists you with an iMac circa late 2003-2004 you have no choice but to work with what you have.

 

 

The Hardware, Operating  System, and Software

Mac OSX 10.4.11 Tiger

1.8 GHz PowerPC G5

512 MB DDR

ATI Radeon 9600 128 MB VRAM

Adobe Creative Suite CS2

Stuffit Expander

LibreOffice 3 for PowerPC

Adobe Acrobat 7

The iMac is a classic workstation for technical writing and design and is beloved by veterans.  Once upon a time, the iMac was associated with technical writing and graphics.  But I'm not going to lie.  An iMac with these specifications provide no real advantage over a typical laptop running an AMD Vision, Intel Core i3 or i5 processor of any generation.  Moreover, 512 MB isn't anywhere near the standard 2GB of a netbook.  I felt sorry for the PowerPC whenever it tried to open an EPS graphic while displaying a 148-page InDesign file.  That said, is it possible to work on page layouts, XML coding, minor graphics editing, and technical writing using the abovementioned Mac workstation?  The answer is not a surprise.  But yes. The iMac surprisingly holds its own and works pretty good running InDesign CS2 and the rest of the Suite, though there are times when I wanted to pop my netbook open, pull out its memory stick, and install it on the iMac.

 

Performance Pluses :

 

1. The PowerPC iMac with 512MB impresses when it comes to bootup times.  Even when loading a previous session and all the heavy-duty Adobe applications, it actually matches a desktop PC running an Intel Core Duo and Windows 7.

 

2. The iMac can actually run Illustrator, Acrobat, and InDesign CS2 simultaneously - which tells you how exceptional this combination of hardware was compared to a desktop PC loaded with XP and how good the PowerPC was in conjunction with the software.  Just don't expect razor-fast page and image rendering times.

 

 

3. Networking is as smooth as ever on a LAN.  Wireless, FTP access, and accessing Windows 7 over Samba worked as well today as it did a decade ago when OSX was first released (though users have to lower the security bit-settings in Windows 7 from 128-bit to 64-bit in order to communicate with OSX Tiger) .  In this respect, OSX kills Linux distros and Windows 7. 

 

4. I'm not a graphics card enthusiast, but I'm pretty sure the 9600 ATI Radeon card certainly assisted OSX when the 512 MB RAM was on its last legs.

 

Performance Minuses:

 

1.   Adobe Bridge suffered the most.  Almost all of the Adobe products suffered on the geriatric iMac when loading, but Adobe Bridge could barely display the long-list of EPS designs.  Why couldn't they have just given all of us the latest Macbook Pro?

 

2. With 512 MB of RAM and the Adobe CS2 suite of products, it wasn't surprising I had to kill Adobe applications frequently (mostly Acrobat and InDesign) with a swift Apple/Windows+Alt+Esc (I was using a Windows keyboard after the Apple keyboard died).  When a task really stumped the iMac, it took a visit to the Terminal and a ps -A then kill to get the system up and running again.  The CS2 suite may be long in the tooth but they were resource hogs.

 

 

3. I could literally feel the iMac coughing and praying to Steve Jobs when InDesign, Acrobat, Adobe Bridge, and Illustrator were open at the same time.   Surprisingly, InDesign and Acrobat performed pretty well as long as the graphics weren't too complex - the iMac would choke at 3D designs with a lot of layers.  Photoshop worked fine with simple photo-editing tasks, as did Illustrator.

Read More

openSUSE 12.1 in China: Updating and Mirrors

Category: openSUSE

 

SUSE may boast that its enterprise release is the most popular commercial Linux system in China, but is openSUSE getting the short-end of the stick in the Middle Kingdom?

 

openSUSE 12.1, the latest release for the community version of SUSE, is an excellent and stable release.   I haven't had any issues with KDE or any applications since its release last year.  Although I skirt danger by running updates only once a month, I do this religiously.  Unfortunately, for some reason, Yast has not had an easy time accessing openSUSE repositories very well since arriving in China, leading to long wait times and endless prompts to Abort or Retry.  My Fedora, Ubuntu, and Windows 7 systems connect and update just fine, but openSUSE not only struggles to connect to the servers but fails 90% of the time.  I've done a full installation of applications and updates with Fedora 17, upgraded to Ubuntu to 12.04 LTS, and even tested Windows 8, but openSUSE can't even manage to do a standard update. 

 

 

I've already attempted the following:

 

1. Disabled other repositories such as Packman and enabled only official openSUSE repositories

2. Attempted 6 China-based openSUSE mirrors including one located in Hong Kong (though users actually never need to manually configure the mirrors)

3. Ran zypper via command line rather than Yast's GUI or even Apper

 

 

I've previously never had any issues updating or accessing repositories for openSUSE until moving to the Fragrant Kingdom so it's easy to assume it's because of the Great Firewall (though the Chinese mirrors should have worked).   One last experiment would be to install a fresh copy of 12.1 via VirtualBox and check if the same issue would occur.

 

 

With Yast unable to connect to online repositories in China, users may have to resort to downloading RPMs via reputable sources like Sourceforge and openSUSE Build Service to install applications.  As for updates, openSUSE 12.1 is so stable there really is no urgency in running updates for KDE and the openSUSE core (though I recommend running them when you do get access to a VPN or when you're back home). 

 

That said, don't go to China unless you have already have a fully updated and equipped openSUSE install.  Have an openSUSE image ready too in case you break your system.  Clonezilla can create one in less than 20 minutes.   However, if you're that paranoid or suffer from a compulsive disorder when it comes to updates (or obsessed with trying out new applications), then stick to Fedora or Ubuntu when staying in China. 

Read More