Developing on the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

One of the best features of the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is that it runs Linux – and Debian GNU/Linux at that! This makes it great for being able to develop your own homebrew applications to run on it. Nokia acknowledges this fact and provides an online community and SDK for their Maemo and Scratchbox development environments. Without these, this tutorial would not be possible.

Note: This tutorial is written using Maemo 3.2 “Bora”. Version 3.1 will be installed first and then upgraded to the latest.

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Linux on an Airplane!

I was away last week, and on the Delta flight I took I noticed something very interesting with their in-flight entertainment system when it crashed and had to be rebooted… It runs on Linux! Here are some pictures I quickly snapped to prove it:

When the person in front of me heard my exclamation, he responded by saying “wouldn’t have happened on a .NET platform.” Found out he was just the marketing guy at some software company, since nobody in their sane mind would suggest running an airplane [entertainment system] on Windows — right?

When I arrived at the airport, I also noticed a few funny Windows XP glitches on the arrival/departure monitors. You can click on the pictures for a higher resolution version.

My opinion on the new Safari 3 for Windows

I think it is pretty cool that Apple is venturing out into the Windows software market. This isn’t the first time Apple has ventured out into the Windows software market. They have QuickTime, iTunes, and now Safari for Windows.

Honestly, I couldn’t care less about “another browser” when we already have Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, KMeleon, Seamonkey, and a bunch of spinoffs and lesser known browsers that I missed. However, since Apple said they’re porting Safari to Windows for website developers, it gives me a different perspective to think about. Apple is trying to push web standards in and and get rid of the dependencies on proprietary technologies such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, ActiveX, and the like.

One thing I am really hoping for though, is a good plugin system to rival that of Firefox. I can’t even switch to the speedy Mac version of Safari because of my dependency on Firefox plugins such as Adblock Plus, Web developer toolbar, and Google Browser Sync.

In related ranting: While it seems a few people were disappointed about the WWDC ’07 keynote, I thought the new Finder in Leopard is pretty interesting. I’m trying to decide if it is enough to warrant an upgrade from Tiger when it comes out – so I’ll have to go to an Apple store and play around on their machines!

How to tell if you are a computer geek

Here is a small list of things that would consider you a “computer geek” in my book:

1. You have at least 5 devices in your house/room/office with a CPU or LCD screen in them.
2. You have one of the latest and greatest pieces of technology, and you still want more.
3. You have some kind of computer-related paraphernalia – such as a binary clock, computer- or Internet-related poster, a necklace or bracelet with a piece of computer hardware on it, etc.
4. You read some sort of tech website such as Slashdot, Digg, Engadget, etc.
5. You have your own website or blog (MySpace, Facebook, and the like do not count.)
6. You know how to program or script in at least one language and you want to learn more.