t hayden barnes

Interesting OSs

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:02:13 -0400

Mac OS X
Mach kernel + BSD + proprietary interface
Proprietary license
$29 Client, $499 Server

Haiku
Multithreaded, 64-bit open-source OS inspired by defunct BeOS
GPL license
Free

Nexenta
OpenSolaris kernel + Debian/Ubuntu userspace
GPL license
Free

FreeDOS
Open-source MS-DOS clone
GPL license
Free

eComStation
Descendant of OS/2, an OS collaboration between Microsoft and IBM
Proprietary license
$259

The following are not production-quality. They are fun to tinker with but not ready to replace Windows for the average user.

ReactOS
Windows XP binary-compatible OS from ground-up
GPL license
Free

AROS
Amiga OS-inspired OS for x86
GPL license
Free

Plan 9
Research OS designed from creators of UNIX
Lucent Public License
Free

MenuetOS
Hobby OS written entirely in assembly
GPL license
Free

I am working on a list of the most interesting Linux distros.

My Racist Rant

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:17:00 -0400

When will some white people stop trying to make a philosophical or principled point about white vs. black use of the n-word? You know, the people who ‘joke’ that black people can use it but white people can’t? People like “Dr.” Laura.

Either use it because, let’s be honest, you want to. You want to be able to call black people niggers. I hope you start tomorrow. Good luck with that.

Or you can just let it go, get over it, and accept that you’re white and because of powerful forces of history it’s just a word you aren’t allowed to say. Be glad the only freedom black people have ever taken away from you is the use of one word (even if it makes you feel really good inside) and shut up.

Wallets

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:29:00 -0400

I am not a fan of traditional wallets.

They are bulky and unoriginal. I want a wallet that is slim and original.
They are designed to carry cash and photos but I rarely carry cash and I keep my photos on my iPhone. I want a wallet designed for a card-based economy.
When I open up a traditional wallet and see numerous nooks and crannies, I don’t see organization, I see clutter. I want a wallet that helps keeps me organized.

These are the non-traditional wallets I have used over the past several years:

“Magic Wallet”

This is the only photo I could find of the magic wallet sold by Urban Outfitters around 2004. Slim. Clever design. You do find yourself flipping it back and forth to get to what you are looking for. Over time, stitching came loose revealing cardboard inside.

Jimi

One of my favorite. Slim, clean, and original. A handful of colors are available, some in recycled plastic. Suffers from lack of expandability. Designed for 3 cards but I carry 4. Plastic tab broke a couple times because I stuffed it with too many cards. Jimi replaced it free every time.

Rubber Band

Cheap. Flexible. I feel like my rubber-band phase was a reaction to the rigidity of the Jimi.

Cigarette Case

Snagged one like this one off Etsy for about $11. Slim and definitely original. Like the Jimi, it suffered from a lack of expandability. Locking mechanism broke about a week in.

Mighty Wallet

Really excited about this one. Just got it in. Made from Tyvek, a super-material. Slim but expandable (where Jimi and cigarette case failed) and durable (where magic wallet failed). Easy access to a small number of credit and business cards. Several designs to choose from or grab a solid color and DIY.

Must-Have Safari 5 Extensions

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:21:11 -0400

Must-Have:

AdBlock - block ads on the Internet

AdStopper - block ads on the Internet

FaceBlock - block ads on Facebook

BugMeNot - bypass obnoxious registration requirements

Optimize Legibility - improves kerning and ligatures in text, making it more readable

YouTube5 - watch YouTube videos in HTML, saving CPU and battery life

NoMoreiTunes - prevent iTunes from launching when you click an iTunes link

InvisibleHand - always find best price of an item you are shopping for

ShutUp - block comments sections on websites

Obscure:

Simplr - simple Tumblr dashboard

Google Reader Tools - add functionality to Google Reader

Google Reader Snow Leopard - make Google Reader look Snow Leopard-native

GReader Instapaper - one-click to push articles to Instapaper

Someone Is Wrong on the Internet (DE/EN) - block (some) comments sections on websites

Find More Extensions:

Apple Safari Extensions Gallery

Safari Extensions

Pimp My Safari

HOWTO: Convert PDF to CBZ on Mac OS X

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:10:32 -0400

Download and Install File Juicer

Open File Juicer:

Go to Preferences, click “Uncheck All”, and then check “JPEG”:

Close the Preferences menu.

Drag your PDF into File Juicer.

File Juicer will extract the pages of your PDF as JPEG and drop them onto your Desktop.

Open the “Juice” folder on the Desktop.

Open the “jpg” directory.

Delete “index.html”, you don’t need it.

Ensure that that the photos are sequentially numbered. Note that sometimes the cover is sometimes for some reason last. I change it to “[file] 00.jpg”.

Click back.

Right-click on “jpg” folder. Select “Compress…”

Rename new ZIP to “[name of comic].cbz”.

Confirm file type change.

That’s it!

I highly recommend Simple Comic for browsing CBZ on Macs.

feeds i follow, you should too

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:56:00 -0400

nyt

npr

boing boing

salon

slate

atlantic wire

fark

scanner

consumerist

weburbanist

wonkette

huffpo

treehugger

the daily what

baltimore sun

baltimore city paper

radar redux (baltimore specific)

mobtown (baltimore specific)

failbooking

futility closet

this isn’t happiness

stuff white people like

postsecret

the onion

regretsy

photoshop disasters

i can has cheezburger, i has a hot dog, fail blog, etc.

law & disorder

lowering the bar

iPhone J.D.

legal geekery

mac law students

the mac lawyer

social media law student

truthdig

propublica

media matters for america

lifehacker

cult of mac

engadget

gizmodo

macrumors

tuaw

slashdot

tidbits

patently apple

al jazeera english

bbc world service

recommended podcasts

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:51:00 -0400

podcasts I’m subscribing to (and you should too):

science

are we alone - seti-related science podcast

monstertalk - hard facts behind bigfoot, ufos, ghosts, etc.

wnyc’s radiolab - patchwork adventure of big ideas

interviews

the sound of young america - interviews with fascinating people in movies, books, tv shows, music

to the best of our knowledge - interviews with guests with new and challenging ideas

dharma

against the stream - dharma talks by noah levine, author of dharma punx

audio dharma - talks from insight meditation center in redwood city, ca

buddhist geeks - interviews and discussion with buddhist leaders and teachers

chronicles radio dispatches - conversations on the life and influence of chogyam trungpa rinpoche

chronicles radio let loose - conversations with contemporary teachers with connections to chogyam trungpa rinpche

dharma classes - talks from students of chogyam trungpa rinpoche

dharma podcast - dharma talks from upaya zen center

free buddhist audio - talks published by the friends of the western buddhist order

the interdependence project - talks from conscious-living group in NYC east village

tara brach - heartfelt and powerful dharma talks from tara brach

comedy

the amateur scientist podcast - comedy science/skeptic-oriented podcast

doug loves movies - comedian doug benson and guest talk about movies and play games

jordan, jesse go! - irreverent talk talk show with hosts jordan morris (fuel tv) and jesse thord (sound of young america)

the nerdist - talk show with comedian chris hardwick

rofl - up and coming stand-up comedians

you look nice today - journal of emotional hygiene

legal

legal geekery - podcast by law students on current events, law school, and geeky stuff

this week in law - tech-oriented legal news discussion

tech

macbreak weekly - latest mac news from top journalists

this week in tech - flagship tech news podcast w/ top figures in tech and tech news

public radio

this american life - stories

npr: car talk - hilarious car advice call-in show

npr: foreign dispatch - collection of biggest news from around the world from npr

npr: planet money podcast - the economy, explained

npr: wait wait… don’t tell me! - comedy quiz show from npr

on point with tom ashbrook - in-depth discussion of current events

stories

the moth podcast - people telling true stories without notes before a live audience

speaker’s forum podcast - important people talking about important things

stoop storytelling series - original storytelling series from baltimore

culture

the signal - arts and cultural podcast from baltimore

Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends Season 1 Born Again ChristiansUFO HuntersPorn...

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:36:00 -0400

Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends

Season 1

Born Again Christians
UFO Hunters
Porn Stars
Survivalists
Weird Christmas

Season 2

Infomercials
Swingers
Black Nationalism
Demolition Derby
Off-Off Broadway
Wrestling

Season 3

Hypnotists
Indian Gurus
Boer Separatists
Body Building
Thai Brides
Gangsta Rap

Other Specials

Louis and the Brothel
Louis and the Nazis
Louis, Martin & Michael [Jackson]

Louis Theroux’s BBC2 Specials

Gambling
Most Hated Family In America (Westboro Baptist Church)
Under The Knife (Cosmetic Surgery)
Louis Behind Bars (San Quentin Prison)
Louis’ African Hunting Holiday
Law and Disorder in Philadelphia
Law and Disorder in Johannesburg
A Place for Paedophiles
The City Addicted to Crystal Meth
America’s Medicated Kids
Law and Disorder in Lagos

Note: The video linked to above is not hosted on this website. Copyright is held by the BBC.

More Louis Theroux

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:16:00 -0400

Louis Theroux on…

Thai Brides
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmy_fnFqjfM
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btz8du8CPy4
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vugk7MuObZQ
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wii0Zvk-Pkw
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeFMgA3YkMM

Pro Wrestling
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC1s6UPCuRo
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqW3wYVfzBE
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30AEmAy5AUI
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0byDcBPMZos
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K69vVnlSUaw
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdiqhBwRLrA
Part 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AyxJ4S8lW8

Black Nationalists
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuxMlDGUXGI
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAA10VhTh_U
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IVaU556VSo
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG4wFGZRiqY
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDy-xi2nCX8

UFO Hunters
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko3t0RnkqBY
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9LMGzzx9sE
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eorZ-jje6U
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4mh13iyDwM
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJHKquNXoxc

San Quentin Prison
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJH8QIUJoAk
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkGAh9KzrVw
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov3vr0G2f8E
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xub-sYfrK5A
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgq0dfjJRY4

Cosmetic Surgery
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg-vuhb8ftk
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmY3jVQtP48
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9vikhhR6Is
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXIQgA5FdzY
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdJb_JZhdPE
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A-AolOrC68

Paedophiles
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frvc1snhF98
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkcwEjGtXu4
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W05BQEJ5xuw
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0VNj3d5qNg
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv4vwumKARM
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QQGF4xbpK0

Crystal Meth
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4IJzVW6qK4
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxeODeOu7p4
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGXFJ8oJ-F8
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOtTlJxNjV0
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeHsGak0LNc
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf6nVbNgdbM

Note: The videos linked to above are not hosted on this website. Copyright is held by the BBC.

Louis Theroux on YouTube

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:46:35 -0400

I have been listening to Louis Theroux’s “The Call of the Weird: Travels In American Subcultres” on audiobook and I really like his style. He documents odd and fascinating people. I don’t know how he find them but his disarming style often gets him into their inner circle allowing for a unique up-close perspective.

Buddhist Movies

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:57:00 -0400

Movies In Which Buddhism Is Central Theme

Ashoka

Siddhartha

Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring

Why Has Bodhidharma Left for the East

Zen Noir

Movies In Which Buddhism Is An Important Theme

Travelers and Musicians

Documentary

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama

Peace Is Every Step-Meditation In Action: The Live and Work of Thich Nhat Hanh

Wheel of Time

Journey Into Buddhism (3-part series)

Words of My Perfect Teacher

The Lion’s Roar

Destroyer of Illusion

Tibet: A Buddhist Triology

Tibetan Book of the Dead

The Sun Behind the Clouds

Doing Time, Doing Vipassana

Teachings

A Path to Happiness

Teachings on Milarepa: Contemporary Buddhist Masters Illuminate the Life of Milarepa, The Great Yogi of Tibet

Compassion and Wisdom

Movies Containing Tangential Buddhist-Inspired Themes

The Scent Of Green Papaya

Enlightenment Guaranteed

More Resources

International Buddhist Film Foundation

Wisdom Books

Shambhala Media

BuddhaFest

Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition

Healthcare reform isn't over.

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:17:21 -0400

Healthcare reform isn’t over.

The concessions Democrats gave away to attract Republican votes, which proved futile in the end, undercut many of the most significant changes proposed.

We must keep pushing for those and more reforms to guarantee every American quality healthcare.

During the national healthcare discussion In 2009, many good citizens were misled by the insurance companies, insurance company lobbyists, and right-wing media into believing reform would come between them and their care. Of course that belief is patently false. Healthcare reform would offer more choice, for less. Often their furvor overran intellectually honest and pragmatic discussions. We must have those discussions.

Furthermore, cynical pundits who continue to oppose healthcare reform should have to answer the following question: Who in America should be bankrupted, be put out of work, or die due to a lack of a comprehensive national healthcare program?

While an improvement, the healthcare changes going into effect over the next 4 years still put too much emphasis on for-profit health insurance companies, fail to cover everyone, is a burden for small businesses, and does little to reduce costs long-term.

Here are some resources I recommend:

This American Life Episode 391: More Is Less - An hour explaining the American health care system, specifically, why it is that costs keep rising. One story looks at the doctors, one at the patients and one at the insurance industry.

This American Life Episode 392: Someone Else’s Money - This week, we bring you a deeper look inside the health insurance industry. The dark side of prescription drug coupons.

PBS Frontline: Sick Around the World (Stream Online)

In Sick Around the World, FRONTLINE teams up with veteran Washington Post foreign correspondent T.R. Reid to find out how five other capitalist democracies — the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland — deliver health care, and what the United States might learn from their successes and their failures.

PBS Frontline: Sick Around America (Steam Online)

As the worsening economy leads to massive job losses—potentially forcing millions more Americans to go without health insurance—FRONTLINE travels the country examining the nation’s broken health care system and explores the need for a fundamental overhaul. Veteran FRONTLINE producer Jon Palfreman dissects the private insurance system, a system that not only fails to cover 46 million Americans but also leaves millions more underinsured and at risk of bankruptcy.

Healthcare-NOW!

Healthcare-NOW! is an education and advocacy organization that addresses the health insurance crisis in the U.S by advocating for the passage of national, single-payer healthcare legislation. Right now, the National Health Insurance Act (HR 676) is the only legislation that will create a national, single-payer healthcare system. We see healthcare as a human right, not a privilege tied to the ability to pay.

What Is Single Payer? (Animation)

Single Payer Action

Physicians for a National Health Program

Progressive Democrats of America

Labor Campaign for Single Payer

Guaranteed Healthcare

Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care

The Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care is a coalition of doctors, nurses and other health care providers; labor unions; nonprofit agencies; reform advocates and faith-based organizations working to achieve guaranteed comprehensive, high quality, and affordable health care coverage for everyone.

Amnesty International - Health Care is a Human Right

Republicans for Single-Payer Universal Healthcare

Web Services a.k.a. Cloud Computing

Sat, 29 May 2010 21:39:00 -0400

i have recommended mac software, open-source mac software, and mac software for law students and lawyers, but I would like to recommend some web services I use or like:

mobileme

mobileme seamlessly keeps my e-mail, contacts, and calendar in sync between my mac and my iphone and hosts my photos in professional looking galleries allowing me to post them directly from iPhoto. it is worth the $99/year right there & it replaced my flickr pro membership, saving me $25/year. hint: you can save $30 on mobileme when purchasing it with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac at the Apple Store and you can ‘stack’ them for multiple years. mobileme also offers easy file storage (20GB) and file sharing. it has saved my iphone a few times with it’s find-my-iphone feature. you can also use it to host your own website with your own domain name.

evernote

i am new to evernote but I really like the concept. you can keep your ideas, notes, important pdfs synced between your mac, iphone, ipad, and about a dozen other device platforms. free for basics. $5/month or $45/year for additional storage and file support. video tutorials to get you started. +iphone app

google reader

i follow 50+ news sources, from mainstream media to blogs and i need to be able to rapidly skim headlines and select interesting articles to return to later. i use it on my mac and on my iphone. third-party newsreaders, even those that use google reader on the backend, i found are sluggish for the amount of content I digest. free. +iphone [web] app

instapaper

instapaper is where I archive important scholarly articles. free. keeps in sync with instapaper pro on my iphone ($4.99). gets kudos for updating app to support the ipad as a universal app and not forcing me to pay more for a special ‘HD’ version just for the ipad.

delicious

delicious is where I archive important bookmarks which I don’t visit frequently enough to keep bookmarked in safari but still like to have tagged. free. on my mac, i use cocoalicious (free) to sort and tag my delicious bookmarks. delibar ($18) is also an interesting concept. iphone apps available, most suck.

43things

track goals, get help, help others attain theirs. free. +free iphone app

songkick

scans your itunes library for your favorite artists and notifies you via text-message, e-mail, or ical subscription (my favorite) when they are in town. free.

sparkpeople

healthy living and weight-loss community. i use it for the amazing nutrition tracker. really offers so much more: custom exercise plans, community support, and recipes. free. +free iphone app

self-explanatory:

facebook +free iphone app

twitter +free official iphone app and dozens 3rd party. i like and use echofon pro ($4.99).

linkedin +free iphone app

Where To Find Me On The Web

Mon, 24 May 2010 02:07:00 -0400

Where to find me on the web:

Facebook - personal profile

LinkedIn - professional profile

Twitter - micro-blog

MobileMe Gallery - photos

i use this - mac software

43 Things - personal goals

Foodspotting - a new way to find great places to eat, with photos of the dishes!

Thoughts on Verizon iPhone

Mon, 24 May 2010 01:01:33 -0400

Every six months or so, some analyst who is almost always wrong about these things and who is simply trying to hawk his thousand-dollar insider ‘reports’ to hedge funds and wealthy investors, proclaims that the iPhone is coming to Verizon.

Naturally, the entire Internet erupts with speculation and rumors. Mainstream media trumpets it like dogma. North Georgia rednecks get convinced and will argue with you, an Apple Store employee, that yes, the iPhone will run on Verizon. Of course as with most Apple rumors, they are unfounded and wrong.

I also don’t get the fascination. AT&T is universally reviled, to be sure (and to some extent undeservedly so) but Verizon is no benevolent cupcake either. Let’s be honest, there really is no competition in the US cellular market. Contracts are anti-consumer. Plan pricing is nearly identical. Customer service is disgusting.

But I have some reasons why I don’t believe we will see an iPhone on Verizon (or Sprint) anytime soon:

Reason #1: When designing a phone you plan to sell internationally, use an international standard. Verizon and Sprint are based on a cellular technology known as CDMA. In contrast to Verizon and Sprint, AT&T (and T-Mobile) are based on a cellular technology known as GSM. GSM is the international standard for mobile phones with over 80% of mobile phones in the world powered by GSM. Seeking Alpha estimates that as many as 85% of iPhones will be sold outside the US.

Reason #2: Apple embraces open standards (802.11b/g/n, IEEE1394a/b, HTML5, Mini DisplayPort, Objective-C). GSM is a relatively open standard. CDMA is a closed specification whose patents are largely controlled by Qualcomm.

Reason #3: Apple historically does not permit other companies to meddle (e.g. Qualcomm) in the design of their products. If Apple did develop a CDMA-based iPhone, Apple would be forced to collaborate with Qualcomm on the porting of the iPhone baseband to CDMA or work through a proprietary software layer from Qualcomm. That could impact the user experience.

Reason #4: Apple would not collaborate with a direct competitor. Qualcomm develops the Snapdragon ARM-based processor, found in the HTC and Google Nexus One. Apple developed it’s own ARM-based processor, the A4, for the iPad and presumably, the next iPhone.

Reason #5: Apple is about what is next. CDMA is over. Qualcomm abandoned the successor to CDMA, UMB, in 2008, in favor of LTE.

However… The emerging fourth generation (4G) wireless technologies include WiMax and LTE. LTE is GSM-based and like GSM, an open standard. Verizon has announced plans to deploy LTE in up to 30 markets in 2010. It is possible, I believe, we will see an iPhone on Verizon’s LTE network in 2011+ (maybe even on the 700mhz band Verizon acquired in 2008), but never on Verizon’s current CDMA network.

Updated Baltimore Links

Sat, 15 May 2010 23:50:00 -0400

I have been continuously updating my directory of Baltimore and Maryland links and adding cool new stuff. Updates include a new table of contents, a slightly tweaked structure, and new links to: financial services, lgbt interest, and utilities.

Mac Open Source

Sun, 02 May 2010 23:04:00 -0400

Notable Apps

Adium - IM Client

Burn - Disc Burning

Growl - System Event Notifications

Camino - Web Browser

Cocoalicious - delicious Bookmark Manager

Cyberduck - FTP/SFTP/WebDAV Client

GrandPerspective - Disk Visualizer

Handbrake - Video Encoder

Frostwire - Gnutella Client

Miro - Video Player

Monolingual - Remove Unnecessary Language Files

NatsuLion - Twitter Client

NeoOffice - OS X Port of the OpenOffice Office Suite

OpenOffice - Office Suite

Perian - Quicktime Component Enabling Additional Media Formats

Pomodoro - Time Management

Plex - Media Center

UnRarX - Uncompresses RAR Archive

VirtualBox - Virtualization

VLC - Media Player

Q - Virtualization

QuickSilver - Launcher

Stellarium - Planetarium

Transmission - BitTorrent Client

Creative

GIMP on OS X - GIMP in Cocoa for OS X

Blender - 3D Creation Suite

Seashore - End-User Image Editing Based on GIMP

Scribus - Desktop Publishing

Audacity - Audio Editor

Free-Software Based

Mac OS X - Desktop Operating System

Mac OS X Server - Server Operating System

Crossover Games - Commercial WINE Implementation

Boxer - Slick FreeDOS Implementation

Advanced

Apache - WWW Server

CalDAV - Calendar Server

CardDAV - Contact Server

Chicken of the VNC - VNC Client

CoRD - MS RDP Client

Darwin Streaming Server - Open Source Implementation of Quicktime Server

Drupal - WWW Server

Fink - Open-Source Package Management (Fink Commander or Phynchronicity Front-End)

GlassFish - Java Application Server

jEdit - Text Editor for Programming

Joomla - WWW CMS Stack

Lynx - Terminal-Based WWW Browser

LyX - LateX Implementation

MacPorts - Open-Source Package Management (PortAuthority Front-End)

MacRuby - Ruby Implementation

MacFUSE - File System Extensions

MediaWiki - WWW CMS Stack

OpenDS - OpenLDAP Server in Java

Pine - Terminal-Based E-Mail

PsyncX - psync/cron Utility

Samba - Windows File Sharing Implementation

TrueCrypt - Disk Encryption

WebKit Nightlies

WineBottler - WINE Implementation

WordPress - WWW CMS Stack

Vine Server - VNC Server (former OSXvnc)

X11 for OS X

Addt’l Resources

Apple Open Source

Apple - Downloads - Mac OSX - UNIX & Open Source

FreeSMUG [Free Software Mac User Group]

MacPorts Available Ports

Fink Packages

Free Software Foundation

Open Source Initiative

Two Posts Explore Recent Legal Developments in Valdosta State University Lawsuit

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:44:00 -0400

Two posts from my friends at FIRE - The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education - which discuss our reply brief in support of our motion for summary judgement and issues surrounding personal liability for school administrators who violate student’s rights.

First, “Damning Reply Brief Filed with Federal District Court in Hayden Barnes’ Case” which “examines the [reply] brief’s discussion of the violation of [my…I guess] First Amendment rights.”

The second post, “Brief in Valdosta State Lawsuit Argues Why Administrators Should Be Personally Liable for Rights Violations” includes the following analysis by FIRE’s Director of Legal and Public Advocacy Will Creely:

The state of the law when it comes to free speech on public campuses is
and has long been crystal clear: the First Amendment applies in full. Accordingly, administrators should no longer be able to claim that depriving a student of his or her First Amendment rights is something a “reasonable” administrator would have done, or that the law on the question is sufficiently murky to allow them to invoke qualified immunity.

Thanks to FIRE, my case has received wide publicity (including a short film), which makes it less likely other college or university administrations will ignore student’s rights so blatantly. I also appreciate that FIRE connected me with renowned First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere at the international law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine who has vigorously pursued my case in court. Other team members from DWT include Lisa Zycherman, Chris Fedeli, Erin Reid, and Brigham Bowen (now with the US DOJ Civil Division Federal Programs Branch) as well as local Atlanta counsel Cary Wiggins and Irma Espino of the Wiggins Law Group (formerly Cook Youngelson & Wiggins).

Without FIRE’s assistance, this is one injustice that would have undoubtedly gone unanswered.

Believe college students and faculty are entitled to rights enshrined in the Constitution like free speech, diversity of ideas, and due process?

If you’re a student or professor, join FIRE’s Campus Freedom Network.
If you’re an alum who supports your school financially, considering supporting student rights at your alma mater through FIRE’s ‘Give Half for Liberty’ campaign.
If you’re an attorney, please join FIRE’s Legal Network.

Find FIRE on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Mac for Law Students and Lawyers

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:52:00 -0400

mac software for law students

iwork - productivity suite from Apple

think - focus on one application at a time

concentrate - manage one activity at a time (bonus: will block social media web sites when you need to focus)

things - task management using GTD system

textexpander - eliminate repetitive typing

evernote - keep your notes in sync between your mac, iphone, ipad, blackberry, android, windows, windows mobile, and palm.

undercover - recover a stolen Mac (96% recovery rate)

optimism - keep track of your sanity (syncs with iphone)

mindnode pro - visualize ideas

macspeech dictate legal - talk and type

mac software for lawyers

billings - time tracking and invoicing

daylight - CRM and project management

pdfpenpro - edit PDFs

pagesender - fax from the desktop

paperless - document management

other essentials

applecare

backblaze

time capsule or time machine + ext hdd

legal-centric mac blogs/podcasts

social media law student

tablet legal

technoesq

legal geekery

general mac blogs/podcasts

tuaw

tidBITS

cultofmac

Quicken Essentials for Mac...It's A Go

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:41:00 -0400

…As Long As You Don’t Need Help With It

Updated 4/30/2010.

“…streamlined, simple, visually appealing, and easy to jump into.” - The Apple Blog

Pros:

Easy to use.
Beautiful, modern interface.
Makes it easy to track spending and keep a budget by doing away with arcane ‘reports’ and presenting the information in up-front pleasing graphics.
Makes it easy to track bill due dates, but does need a little work in this area, it could be more elegant. For now, I’ll stick to iCal.
Online account integration with support for over 12,000 financial institutions with another 4,000 in the coming months. That is three times the number of financial institutions currently supported by Quicken for Windows.

Cons:

Intuit support for Quicken Essentials for Mac is horrible. The 24/7 chat is unusable. I tried chatting with Mohammad for about 45 minutes. It took Mohammad 5 - 10 minutes to respond to each of my questions which was complicated by his incredibly broken and cryptic English. The e-mail support is simply cookie cutter form letter responses and like the chat, you feel like you’re talking to a brick wall with a distinct, infuriating communication barrier. For example, I would get an e-mail requesting additional information regarding my issue, reply with that information, and then receive the same request for information. The phone support was equally mind-numbing and offered little more than bizarre excuses for why I was having a problem. I ended up needing to call the corporate office to get any decent support after Essentials stopped connecting to one of my financial accounts (the operator implied this was a routine resort for Intuit customers). For the record, they say they are working on it, even though it worked perfectly fine before it just stopped working altogether (and according to the IT guy in charge of ensuring Quicken connectivity at the small financial institution in question, nothing has changed on their end). Awful support (in particular the communication barrier and resolving online banking connection issues) is a huge knock for this otherwise excellent product.

I would encourage the management at Intuit to read “Losing Money By Spending Less: When Outsourcing Customer Service Doesn’t Make Business Sense: A Case Study”
~~Expensive. $69.95? Really? I think to find a sweet spot, Intuit needs to come down to around $40.~~ UPDATE: On April 23, 2010, Intuit cut the price of Quicken Essentials for Mac to $49. In an e-mail sent to registered users, customers who had purchased Quicken Essentials for Mac at $69 were offered a $20 refund.

Other Notes:

Mint.com users will note a great deal of similarity between Quicken Essentials for Mac and Mint.com and they are correct. The maker of Quicken, Intuit, acquired Mint.com in September 2009 and there is a definite design influence, however Quicken Essentials for Mac trades Mint.com’s garden-inspired motif for an airy, cloud-inspired motif that’s fresh and friendly.

There is also a technological influence from Mint.com: The online account integration back-end is the same back-end that powers Mint.com, which accounts for why Quicken Essentials for Mac supports over 12,000 financial institutions.

~~There is no TurboTax integration. I prefer TaxAct anyways.~~ TurboTax integration promised August 2010.

Some users complain about the lack of built-in bill pay functionality. I don’t. Quicken’s bill pay service is $9.95 per month and is a service my credit union provides for free.