tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33685023126692278642011-11-27T16:27:45.515-08:00Open source over a cup of coffee.johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.comBlogger371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-51713830408515753482010-11-01T09:22:00.000-07:002010-11-01T09:35:48.691-07:00

Linux distributions are operating systems that are based on the Linux kernel. With this simplified definition in mind, then perhaps the most popular Linux distribution is Android, the leading smartphone OS in the US, which (as of August 2010) holds a market share of 33%. Android 2.2 (codename Froyo) is based on Linux kernel 2.6.32, while soon-to-be-launched Android 2.3 (codename Gingerbread) is

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-51538344736172251092010-10-24T20:50:00.000-07:002010-10-24T20:55:40.137-07:00

Touch Screen Sony Reader Want to go on an ebook-reading marathon for two weeks? You don’t need an iPad. All you need is a decent touch screen ebook reader. They can last more than 10 days (not just 10 hours) and, thanks to e-ink technology, so will your eyes. E-ink displays, which most of these ebook readers use, consume less power, are less susceptible to glare, are less strenuous to the

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-62065209595003401122010-07-12T02:55:00.000-07:002010-07-13T00:50:29.499-07:00

If you’re new to Android programming, it would be best to start with the Eclipse IDE. This article will show you how to prepare a freshly installed Eclipse for Android development on a 32-bit Windows XP system.  You can still develop Android on other IDEs like Netbeans or IntelliJ, but Eclipse is still the easiest route to take. Ready? Let’s start.  1. Install the JDK Since you'll be using

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-51093533635023386722010-06-19T00:16:00.000-07:002010-06-19T05:23:17.706-07:00

When Chrome OS devices hit the stores late this year, users may have to start getting used to a web-centric mindset. Practically everything on their device will be running on the cloud. And with easily accessible Google Docs already accepting up to 1 GB storage for ANY kind of file, it would be difficult to resist storing and moving more files to the cloud as well.  So does this mean you’d have

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-5054926046310010772010-03-31T05:45:00.000-07:002010-03-31T05:49:44.116-07:00

Speculations are rife that Google has finally decided to put an end to fragmentation in the Android OS. Will we really start seeing an overwhelming majority of Android smartphones running the same version? Android is looking good, no doubt about it. What has started as a Linux-based OS for handsets (i.e., mobile phones) has now rapidly spread to different devices. There are small tablet

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-74032513725091539262010-01-01T02:10:00.000-08:002010-07-12T03:16:38.452-07:00

Why are many Linux advocates excited about Android 2.0's built-in support for Microsoft Exchange? First, let us try to give a brief overview of Microsoft Exchange. Microsoft Exchange is a global leader in messaging and collaboration solutions. It is popular among large enterprises, where the top executives communicate and collaborate using (typically) BlackBerry mobile devices over the Microsoft

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-68996887694187004782009-12-25T12:21:00.000-08:002010-07-13T11:19:43.660-07:00

It's already past Christmas from my side of the planet, and am looking forward to a busy blogging year come 2010. After studying the stars, I've decided to talk a lot about Android in 2010. Why? Well, why not? Android uses the Java Programming for developing applications ... which would make my learning curve on the subject matter well within realistic levels. What's more, it runs on the Linux

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-53145717358281329052009-07-09T09:07:00.001-07:002009-07-09T09:17:24.975-07:00

Despite losing my Page Ranks, I'm still looking forward to this. Read more about it in my article at APCmag.com.

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-44849490282612390562009-07-06T07:11:00.000-07:002009-07-06T08:23:01.198-07:00

I rarely find the time to blog here nowadays. Last week, I made my first post after more than a month in hybernation. It was about Firefox 3.5 and how it was at least as fast as Chrome. Well, it got me a little over a thousand visitors... with a lot of help from my usual source of traffic: Tuxmachines and Linux Today. Got a little help from Digg and FSDaily too. A few minutes ago, I began to

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-9607253059727649042009-07-02T16:53:00.000-07:002009-07-02T16:55:29.132-07:00

3D Desktop! TouchScreen and XGL on Linux (part 2) - For more funny videos, click hereI haven't done any thorough research on this but for those reading out there, is this at all really possible now? If so, WOW.

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-51132250502794248882009-06-26T13:47:00.000-07:002009-06-26T14:41:12.265-07:00

I just downloaded the latest Firefox 3.5 release candidate and well, although it's not yet the final product, I should say I'm extremely satisfied with what they've accomplished so far. Here's a screen shot after the download. I know ... I did the download via Google Chrome. =)Ever since I posted an article here about my first few minutes in Chrome, most of my browsing has been done on Google's

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-79768858861709714092009-05-10T23:27:00.000-07:002009-05-11T00:15:32.735-07:00

After reeling from a right hook that would have felled our embattled warrior had it been delivered by Pound-for-Pound King Manny Pacquiao, Java immediately got tagged by a low blow.The right hook came by way of a bribery related probe while the low blow was delivered by a class-action suit filed by some of Sun's shareholders before last week ended.Right hook = bribery probeApparently, some of

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-80473854261335361802009-05-10T02:41:00.000-07:002009-05-10T03:13:41.774-07:00

Oracle's CEO, Larry Ellison dispelled reports that he will be getting rid of Sun Microsystems' hardware business once Oracle officially acquires the ailing company. He also added that it would be to the best interests of Oracle, currently the largest database company in the world, to have a hardware arm in its organization. With that, he cited Apple as an example and how it has thrived well in

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-77691502090957920522009-04-29T11:24:00.000-07:002009-04-29T13:19:20.850-07:00

Just when things were looking brighter for Java, a big blow knocks it down.More than anything else, despite wondering out loud what would happen to MySQL in view of Oracle's interest to acquire Sun, I'm more concerned about what would happen to Java.Not only what would happen to Java after an acquisition but what would happen to Java regardless of whether any acquisition does in fact take

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-85762644387675105982009-04-20T07:34:00.000-07:002009-04-20T07:35:15.628-07:00

One of the biggest questions that the open source community might well be asking after Oracle's recent acquisition of Sun: what will happen to MySQL?MySQL is one of the most successful open source relational database management systems (RDBMS) ever. Since its first release in 1995, the program has been skyrocketing to ubiquity, taking pride in at least 11 million installations in various company

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-80478735380254572672009-04-07T17:18:00.000-07:002009-04-08T02:03:01.461-07:00

Just yesterday (April 7, 2009), Satyam Computer Services Ltd and Pentaho Corporation announced that they would undertake an "On Demand BI Solutions" project together. While I haven't thoroughly studied the implications of this partnership, I tried to do a little research on what an "On Demand BI solution" was in the first place. Then it just dawned on me ... out there, already ripe for the

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-34234934668950474032009-03-22T05:41:00.000-07:002009-03-22T07:22:23.949-07:00

Today, I decided to change this blog's description from "linux, java, and physics over a cup of coffee." to "Open source over a cup of coffee." As I take out one major component, physics (hopefully I'll find time to relocate this topic to another blog), this move will make the niche more appropriate to the blog's title. I will still cover Java since Java is, well, partially open source nowadays.

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-43295127947908594082009-03-05T10:47:00.000-08:002009-03-05T11:20:00.213-08:00

hi!For those of you who are wondering why this blog has been silent since the post dated January 12, it's because I've been busy with some writing duties lately. Right now, I'm writing some news articles for APCmag.com. I'm not sure how long those great guys from down under are going to keep me but while I'm there, you won't be reading any of the usual articles, i.e. on Linux, on this blog.If you

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-26990662545726589752009-01-12T18:26:00.000-08:002009-01-13T02:11:27.580-08:00

Of course we don’t really mean by physically squeezing Linux into a cellphone, as we would have to handle Tux instead of Linux for any squeezing to take place. To develop a visual representation in your mind, imagine your newly installed Ubuntu 8.10 with all its fascinating features. Now, try to imagine installing all that functionality into your phone. Is that possible? No. Not by a long

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-12726486592248784772009-01-08T15:49:00.000-08:002009-01-09T14:08:37.116-08:00

After posting those Linux-powered cellphone articles late last year, I told myself: One of the topics that are going to dominate my posts in 2009 should be the Openmoko project. This project gives open source developers an oportunity to develop a phone that they can truly call their own. While there are other Linux-based cellphone OS's out there, IMHO, this is the one that allows you to really "

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-44431832449216380892008-12-19T11:43:00.000-08:002009-01-08T00:36:27.632-08:00

I'm back after a pretty long vacation but before I get the ball rolling for this year, I'd like to start by expressing my gratitude to people who made the previous year a great one as I entered the world of blogging.It's been quite a safe & fun-filled ride so far, and I have the following top 10 individuals/sites to thank for:Linux Today - This blog's primary source of traffic. I never fail to

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-14607163117804452292008-12-14T05:45:00.000-08:002008-12-16T18:06:11.971-08:00

It's less than 10 days from Christmas and many of you who despite the financial crisis might have been thinking on getting yourself or your loved ones a nifty little gadget for a present. Now, since we're all Linux lovers here and since our beloved Tux has undoubtedly enjoyed a great year, here's my top 10 wish list for all ye jolly readers.Openmoko Neo FreerunnerDespite the fact that this is one

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-85624966901071892562008-12-12T00:07:00.000-08:002008-12-12T01:07:39.308-08:00

Two days ago, CNET came up with its list of what it considered as the best cell phones of this year. Out of the six, two of them run on Linux.If you couldn't wait and clicked on the link above, you'll recognize two of them from my article: 8 of 2008's Latest Linux-Powered Mobile Phones.One of them's the G1. Why, of course. The other one's Motorola's camera phone, the ZN5.Perhaps if the list was

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-8330438161264017172008-11-28T08:12:00.000-08:002009-01-13T02:03:37.133-08:00

Just how ubiquitous has Linux become? You've probably read about the 10 Linux-powered e-book readers. And of course you've heard about the Google Android G1 handset. Now, have you ever wondered if the G1's the only phone that runs on Linux? There are actually more out there. Let's see if we can come up with 8 of the latestNote: The list is not arranged in any manner.Openmoko Neo FreerunnerSome

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-81525279869527392082008-11-25T14:18:00.000-08:002008-11-25T23:10:25.397-08:00

There are some people whose interest in Linux is borne out of mere curiosity. And a good number of them can’t muster enough courage to go all the way right away. That is, to outright replace their Windows working environment with Linux. It is understandable that they would prefer a setup wherein they can continue working in the environment that they are familiar with and be able to try out Linux

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-85509368434585350402008-11-16T09:26:00.000-08:002008-11-16T09:37:00.556-08:00

The single feed from java.blogs that caught my attention today was this title: Sun Microsystems to Cut 6000 Jobs. Layoffs are no longer news nowadays, and yet nothing prepares you for it. While it was pretty evident that something had to be done from the losses it got from two of the last three quarters, bystanders like us never thought the solution would be this catastrophic. This gets

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-32302300590183025472008-11-11T02:14:00.000-08:002008-11-11T04:55:29.824-08:00

You're now looking at my screenshot of a freshly downloaded Google Chrome:Just downloaded Google's new browser, Chrome, and here are my first few observations.Amazingly fast.I know write-ups around the web are talking about how fast it is. Well, here's another one. When I heard about its speed, I never imagined it would be so noticeable... especially if compared with Firefox.A minute after the

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-13500845617889030582008-11-05T11:05:00.000-08:002008-11-06T02:23:01.439-08:00

I've finally installed Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex as a dual boot alternative to Windows XP. But I'm not quite ready with a How-To-Do post because, honestly, the installation didn't go as smoothly as I expected. The system just kept on booting on Windows. I did some tinkering around, and in the end I wasn't able to keep track of what I did to eventually complete the installation, except for the

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-13624594201824999102008-11-01T18:58:00.000-07:002008-11-01T19:40:43.143-07:00

See that?That's the Android SDK on its way to my Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex system. You can also see Netbeans IDE 6.1 on the taskbar. I hope to talk about a Hello World app in the near future. That would mean that the installation ended up successfully. Cheers!

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-56165820442953879072008-10-25T09:59:00.000-07:002008-10-29T21:16:48.218-07:00

As this blogspot's subtitle states, you'll be reading more about Java and Linux here (aside from physics) than anything else, and I was hoping I'd have the opportunity to write a post that would talk about both of them under the same spotlight. Tonight, I was given that opportunity.When browsing through the web lately, no one and I mean no one is spared from bumping into anything about G1,

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-61755607259507379942008-10-17T17:21:00.000-07:002008-10-29T21:17:23.474-07:00

I've had PCLinuxOS as a dual-boot pair to Windows XP since it held the number one slot at Distrowatch more than a year ago. I was about to replace it with the distro that regained the top spot a few months after it was dislodged by PCLinuxOS - the immensely popular Ubuntu. But that was before last October 16.That day was a milestone for this blog as it hit 60+ unique visits. I know that number is

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-41148953232120230172008-10-15T01:26:00.000-07:002008-10-29T21:17:45.098-07:00

I always make it a point to set up my workhorse PC or laptop as a Windows - Linux dual boot system. And I do this mainly for two reasons.First, is economics. I love to try out various Linux distros, usually whatever holds the number one spot at Distrowatch, so I keep an extra partition to install whatever distro catches my fancy. By having a dual boot, I don't have to keep an extra computer to

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-29507491949339418432008-08-20T23:54:00.000-07:002008-08-21T02:44:14.340-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned my plans of doing my own Xubuntu installation. So far, time does not allow it. That will have to wait. However, that shouldn't stop me from talking about Xubuntu. My interaction with it has been quite minimal but so far, I'm satisfied with what it can do.It already includes the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 in the basic installation. That means, one can easily

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-49292524180135340362008-08-16T15:25:00.000-07:002008-08-16T17:06:16.714-07:00

(This is the 1st post in what I hope would be the start of a long series that would allow readers to appreciate the relevance of physics in biology, nursing, and other related fields.)A lot of people suffer from back aches and you're probably even one of them. While most of us already know that it usually has something to do with posture, what few of us know is that it usually also has something

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-61297897027426317172008-08-11T23:59:00.000-07:002008-08-12T01:38:51.022-07:00

In this part of the planet, most students take up nursing. These students are arguably the busiest and studious in our university. Unfortunately, a lot of these students don't understand why Physics has to be included in their course's curriculum. I also get such queries from Biology majors. Unknown to many, there's a lot of physics going on in plants and animals; humans included. Because of this

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-45633864439382737352008-08-06T23:16:00.000-07:002008-08-07T00:44:32.434-07:00

When I walked into the computer lab, I wondered why my colleague, Prof. Girasol, was in front of one of our oldest Pentium 4s (1.5 GHz and 256MB RAM). When he announced that he had just installed the latest version of Xubuntu (8.04 Hardy Heron), and that it was working like a charm, I couldn't resist trying it out. True enough, I was able to breeze through my favorite applications as if I was

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3368502312669227864.post-61888443368467200822008-08-04T23:35:00.000-07:002008-11-12T20:49:18.610-08:00

Quantum Mechanics may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but today’s servings are laced with sweeteners that make a cup worth sipping. Students always have a spot reserved in their attention span for graphics or visual representations. That’s why, IMHO, vector addition is best taught with the graphical (e.g. polygon and parallelogram) method as an introduction to the component method, or ray

johnVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06497086605831347026noreply@blogger.com2