I've long been a fan of Compiz desktop candy (see here and here), so when I saw version 0.7.6 had been released I rushed to install it.

The release notes give details of updates, fixes and new additions, but I wanted to try out the sphere and cylinder alternatives to my usual desktop cube. Here's some comparative shots...



Cube (Click the images to enlarge)



Cylinder



Sphere


Yes, yes, totally trivial. But still fun!

The latest version's not yet in the Ubuntu repository, so here are the installation steps:

Kubuntu Users

• Open Adept Manager.

• From the menu click on Adept, Manage Repositories, Third-Party Software and add this repository:

• Click Close and Adept with re-scan all repositories.

• Shut down Adept Manager and use Adept Notifier on your taskbar to pick up the updates as usual.

Ubuntu Users

• Select System, Administration, Software Sources from the desktop menu.

• Click the Add button and add this repository:

• Click to Reload the repositories.

• When available updates should show, install as usual.

In both cases, don't forget to install CCSM (Compiz Configuration Settings Manager).

To get the new cylinder and sphere transitions, start CCSM and select Desktop Cube and Rotate Cube (under Desktop), and Cube Reflection and Deformation (under Effects). Click on the latter to modify the effects and choose the Deformation tab. The drop-down list gives you the deformations, and you can try them out immediately by holding down Ctrl + Alt and clicking and dragging with the left mouse button.



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Posted by Geoff Palmer at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 )

The father of the free software movement Richard M. Stallman (also known simply as "RMS") will be in New Zealand for a couple of weeks in August. He'll be giving speeches and interviews in Auckland and Wellington, and -- hopefully -- taking some time out to see the country. You'll find the full itinerary here.

RMS launched the GNU Project in 1983 with the aim of creating a free Unix-like operating system. (The recursive acronym actually stands for "GNU's Not Unix" and is pronounced ga-nu.) In 1985 he started the Free Software Foundation, and has been a thorn in the side of Big Software ever since. His revolutionary "copyleft" concept -- the idea that computer software is of such fundamental importance its use and distribution should be equated with freedom of speech -- came at a time when softwares' robber barons were building fortunes advocating the opposite.

A life-long freedom activist, one of his most recent articles appeared on the BBC website following Bill Gates retirement from Microsoft. Titled "It's not the Gates, it's the bars", it's a pithy summation of all that the free software movement stands for:

Microsoft's software is distributed under licenses that keep users divided and helpless. The users are divided because they are forbidden to share copies with anyone else. The users are helpless because they don't have the source code that programmers can read and change. If you're a programmer and you want to change the software, for yourself or for someone else, you can't. If you're a business and you want to pay a programmer to make the software suit your needs better, you can't. If you copy it to share with your friend, which is simple good-neighbourliness, they call you a "pirate". Microsoft would have us believe that helping your neighbour is the moral equivalent of attacking a ship.

You'll find more of Stallman's writings here. And do try to get to see him. Here's that itinerary link again.

Posted by Geoff Palmer at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 )

Binaural beats are fascinating. They were first dicovered in 1839 but not seriously investigated till 1973. They occur when slightly different tones are sent to each ear -- for example, a 500Hz tone to one ear and a 520Hz tone to the other. The difference, in this case 20Hz, will cause your brain to register an apparent 20Hz "beat" independent of the actual physical stimuli. (For that reason they're also known as "apparent sounds" and "auditory processing artefacts".)

What makes the effect more interesting is "entrainment", the tendency of the brain's own electrical frequency to move towards that of the dominant stimulus. In other words, to follow the frequency of what it's currently perceiving. So by listening to the appropriate binaural  beat, it's possible to alter your mental state!

Frequency	Name	Usually associated with...
> 40Hz	Gamma waves	Higher mental activity; preception, problem-solving, fear, and  consciousness.
13-40Hz	Beta waves	Active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration, arousal,  cognition.
7-13Hz	Alpha waves	Relaxation (while awake), pre-sleep and pre-wake drowsiness.
4-7Hz	Theta waves	Dreams, deep meditation, REM sleep
< 4Hz	Delta waves	Deep, dreamless sleep, loss of body awareness

[Source: Wikipedia]

The dominant frequency determines your current mental state, as outlined in the above table.

What's this got to do with Linux? Well Gnaural is a binaural beat audio generator. It allows  you to generate and experiment with binaural beats. Talk about Linux messing with your mind!

The program was written by Bret Logan who also provides a useful introduction to the concepts behind it, their history, and uses for the program itself...

"...I've found that the most important ingredient of a session is my intent. As in, the same schedule (usually focusing on a beat frequency range of 3 to 5Hz) can have either the effect of facilitating a deep meditative state, a deep sleep state, or even extraordinary alternative states of consciousness, each entirely depending on which  goal I choose to focus on."

While he makes no guarantees, Logan says, "Some of the more unusual applications I've heard  about with the Gnaural lineage include sustaining a heightened mental focus for online tournament gaming, and enhancing flotation-tank and related sensory deprivation environments. Many people also apparently use the technique to study more effectively."

Download the latest version (Gnaural2) here.

You'll find usage instructions and a brief FAQ here, and this link contains a collection of ready-made soundscape files to try. (Scroll down to the "classic" examples for some more useful files -- and some interesting accompanying comments.)

Experiment, see what you think, and post your findings in the Comments section below...


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Posted by Geoff Palmer at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 )

If you were living on another planet last week, you might have missed the media frenzy over the the release of Apple's iPhone 3G. People queuing for days, limited stocks, a million units sold ... but it wasn't quite a PR dream-run. Amongst the downsides are the the $3,000-a-year running cost on Vodafone's top-rate plan, and embarrassingly bad reception during an on-air interview. On top of that, the Free Software Foundation listed five reasons to avoid it:

iPhone completely blocks free software. Developers must pay a tax to Apple, who becomes the sole authority over what can and can't be on everyone's phones. iPhone endorses and supports Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology. iPhone exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track you without your knowledge. iPhone won't play patent- and DRM-free formats like Ogg Vorbis and Theora. iPhone is not the only option. There are better alternatives on the horizon that respect your freedom, don't spy on you, play free media formats, and let you use free software -- like the FreeRunner.

Point 5 of course is particularly interesting, especially when you consider the Open Handset Alliance -- a grouping of 34 hardware, software and telecommunications companies that include key players like Google, Intel, Motorola, Samsung and LG. Their aim is to develop open standards for mobile devices, with the Linux-based Android platform already looking like a prime contender.

Yesterday, Aardvark's Bruce Simpson posted his take on the coming battle between the iPhone and the Google-backed Android project (or "Gphone" for short):

Instead of having to sell your soul to the devil to get legitimate access to the programming interface and instead of having to jump through hoops to lick the boots of the great Apple if you want to "tweak" your iPhone, Gphone developers will have a much cheaper and easier time. And this will turn the Gphone from "just an iphone-inspired mobile" into a kick-ass piece of portable electronics.

Suggesting that the Gphone alliance were waiting to see what Apple were going to do with the iPhone, Simpson reckons that better, more featured-filled handsets for all are just around the corner.

And if you did queue up last week -- and get score an iPhone -- there's still hope. You might recoup some of your losses at  this site ...

Posted by Geoff Palmer at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 5 )

I've written before about the joys of ISO (*.iso) image files and how you don't necessarily need to burn them to CD to be able to access their contents. Now I've discovered a great little GUI tool that lets you do even more.

ISO Master is included in most Linux distributions so you should find it on your download manager. With it you can add, extract and delete files from an existing CD image, create an ISO image from scratch, and even make bootable CDs in a variety of formats.


Here I'm exploring the first alpha release of Intrepid Ibex the next version of Ubuntu due in October,


It contains support for Rock Ridge and Joliet file names, and in addtion to reading all standard .ISO formats, it even handles Nero's .NRG files too. Very useful.

There's even a version for Windows users. But after a 15-day free trial they have to pay. For Linux fans of course it will be forever free ...


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Posted by Geoff Palmer at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 )

Almost a year ago I wrote about Privacy International's damning indictment of Google for our print edition (see PC World, August 2007). They ranked the search giant bottom of the list, giving them a "Comprehensive consumer surveillance and entrenched hostility to privacy" rating. It now looks like Google's anti-privacy chickens are coming home to roost ...

A US court has ruled that anyone who has ever watched a video on YouTube will have their details handed to a a third-party. Those details include log-in IDs, computer IP addresses and details of what video clips were watched -- a massive 12 terabytes of data.

Media conglomerate Viacom, owners of MTV and Paramount Pictures, claim YouTube is guilty of copyright infringement and sought the viewer logs to help make its case. They also get details of all videos that have been removed from the site for whatever reason.

Google says it hopes it'll be allowed to anonymize the data before the handover. (Yeah, and we've all seen how well that works!) And yet again they've failed to justify why they need to record so much user information -- down to the level of what amounts to your internet street address -- for simply watching a video clip.

Posted by Geoff Palmer at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 )