2008-11-17

AVG user32.dll question

Dear Lazyweb,

You all know about AVG accidentally erasing user32.dll on certain computers. People tell me the shops that repair this ask for Windows CD's + Product Key to fix the issue.

Is it not fixed when copying user32.dll to where it belongs ? (using a bootable cd?)

2008-11-16

Linux Training

Made a little time today to work on my Linux course. Almost all corrections from reviewers are integrated (as a stack). Some of those corrections require me to learn a bit more ;-)

I've been teaching the Linux Fundamentals four times since September and (partly) integrated my experience in the course to make the pace flow nicer between theory, demo's and practices.

The thing is, I spent most of today (again) on the "first steps" chapter (pwd, cd, ...). I must not touch it again, unless for typo's! Other chapters require more urgent attention:
- I need to rewrite the two bash chapters, the first one is too long (imho it should be split in two separate chapters), the last one is way too brief.
- I also think the File System Hierarchy chapter is too long (too much theory compared to the humble practice)
- Processes is kinda complete, but the order and layout can improve (same for vi)
- Scripting is incomplete and also needs some order.
- The first chapter (introduction) is a mess. Luckily i teach it better than it is written.

The System Administration course is in even worse shape. I'm really not happy about it. Okay, maybe the hard disk and LVM chapters are good enough, but kernel compile is really lousy. (I have completely rewritten the kernel compile chapter, but only in my mind, not yet on paper.)

Anyway, thank you all for encouraging me and telling me it is a good book. No, this is not a plea for more pats on the back, just look at this post as my todo-list.

I hope to have updated the bash chapters and the kernel compile chapter RSN.

2008-11-14

Carolus Ludovicus (Charel) Cobbaut

Toen ik als klein manneke ne keer in de doos met doodsbeelekes mocht kijken, vond ik daar een mooi handgeschreven lijstje van namen. Het bleek een mini-stamboom van de Cobbaut-en. Ergens bovenaan stond mijn grootvader (Jozef Cobbaut), die toen al overleden was. Maar boven hem stond nog een naam: Carolus Ludovicus (ofte Charel) Cobbaut.

Wow, dat was een man uit een ver verleden. Beeld u in als tienjarige, dat ge plots beseft dat uw stokoude (overleden) grootvader ook een vader had! Ne mens van voor er auto's waren, voor het bestaan van TV, algemene electriciteit en radio's! Die man was geboren in 1855...een mythische figuur.

Gisteren fietste ik naar Merksem, naar mijn nonkel Jean Cobbaut en tante Irma (waarvan ik vroeger dacht dat ze Tantirma heette). En zij toonde mij een foto van deze Charel Cobbaut. Aub, ne foto van bijna honderd jaar geleden.


een blog experiment

Greet schrijft:

"Een eindje geleden vulde ik een enquête in over blogs en blogpersoonlijkheden. Deelname aan een experiment rond gesponsorde blogposts was optioneel, dus de nieuwsgierigheid in mij kreeg de bovenhand en ik stemde toe deel te nemen.

Deelnemers werden willekeurig ingedeeld in een commerciële en niet-commeriële groep, ik in de eerste. De opdracht luidde: eet een Quick ’n Toast of Suprême Pepper in de Quick en zeg wat je ervan vindt."

Dit polleke zit echter in de niet-commerciële groep, net zoals boskabout, en die schrijft:

"Een collega heeft vorig jaar zijn zoontje - amper zes maanden oud - Mats verloren aan kanker (zie ook www.mierenhoop.be) (this sucks). Vanuit de herinnering aan Mats werd de idee geboren om in zijn naam een project te steunen in Tanzania. Daarom hebben de ouders Tom & Ellen the Mats Foundation opgericht onder de Endallahkoepel. Het doel van dit project is om 5.000 euro bij mekaar te verzamelen voor de bouw van een schoolklasje in het Afrikaanse dorp Endallah. Neem dus gerust een kijkje bij het Endallah-project! (that would blow)"

De mail van Tom Michiels eindigt met de vraag om wat code te zetten onderaan deze post, dat ziet er dan zo uit:

this blog post is an experiment by uMarket.it

prettig weekend alllemaal,
paul

2008-11-10

"I was there", dinosaurs and freedom: part 3 of 3

A bit late...because i didn't get this text written the way i want it.

part 3 of 3: freedom

Are you a dinosaur because even a plant can twitter ? Of course not. Is a twittering plant a sign of automatic-twitter feeds for people ? I think so.

In the future, when you go to a concert, a party or just get a hamburger, then auto-twitter-tweets (A.T.T.'s) will be twittering your every move. In the future, we are constantly tracked, monitored (and filmed?). So you can see which hamburger stand I prefer on Sundays, which parties I go to, and which concerts I attend. You can probably follow my gps coordinates, connect to live feeds of cameras close by, or even zoom in using the Google satellites(beta).

When you buy a T-shirt at the CFC concert, then your followers would know what T-shirt you bought, how many people bought it, for what price and in which order. In this future the T-shirt sale generates more statistics than the average bvlg post.

In this future, there are no l33t blogging or twittering communities, since all this can be done automatically. (Also, it will be hard to differentiate between generated content and real content written by real people.)

Parents can track their kids, banks their customers and lovers their lovers...it's going to be hard to surprise visit a friend, since they will mostly know where you are, with who, and what you are wearing, where you bought your clothes and for how much...must i go on ?

But Paul, I don't want this future. I don't want my bank to track me (or my parents to know about my lover). Well, tough luck. When GSM's first arrived on the scene, many people claimed to "never want one". How many people do you know today that don't have a GSM ? How many below 60 ?

Likewise, banks will not *force* you to be traceable *all* the time, but it will make your life a lot easier when you are. Same for cheaper insurance. Shops will not force you either, but fitting clothes and just walking out the store with them (with auto-payment when passing the door) is so much easier.

freedom ?


Where is your freedom when you can be followed, tracked, monitored, located, contacted *all the time* ? Is this future avoidable ? Can frogs be boiled (read it if you don't know the story!) ? That's the point, you don't see it happening.

Remember end of the eighties ? We had movies on TV without advertising. Even the minutes before (speaker) and after (too late) the movie where without advertising. At that time we had a discussion in school about how movies in the United States where interrupted up to four times for advertising. Nobody would accept such a intrusive thing here in Belgium. But it came gradually, one (announced) interruption, then two... last time i saw a movie on TV, the sound of the advertisement was mixed in the movie fading to the ad. yuk!

This is not a call for protest, it is only an observation... i could be wrong ;-)

2008-11-04

"I was there", dinosaurs and freedom: part 2 of 3

part 2 of 3: dinosaurs

People that are not up to date with the latest technologies (or gadgets) are sometimes called dinosaurs.


twitter

In other words...some people twitter, some people don't ;-)

By the way, to all my twitter followers, I promise to never twitter. Following my twitter will not bring you up to date on where I am, or what I do. I sincerely promise to not ever twitter anything useful or anything pointless. Not that i have anything against twitter...i just don't want to make the effort to type my tweets several times a day. Do i have to ? (answer in part 3 of 3 ;-)


Second Life, iphone, ipod, ...

I missed Second Life completely! I don't have an iphone, only a plain old Nokia. I don't have an ipod and only recently created my first youtube channel. Some people consider me a dinosaur!


Not a dinosaur ?

I guess i don't get off this easy...i blog, i have a website, i know things about the internet, i am on a couple of social networks. So to some people i am the opposite of a dinosaur.

Is the gap between dinosaurs and the blogging/twittering/iphoning/secondliving online community widening ?

(part 3 of 3 tomorrow)

2008-11-02

"I was there", dinosaurs and freedom: part 1 of 3

Part 1 of 3: I was there!

Country Feedback Club


Thursday October 30th i went to the CD-release concert of the Country Feedback Club in Lille (Belgium!). The CD is good, the performance was good. Although i personally liked their acoustic setup two weeks ago in Antwerp more. And even though these guys have a lot of experience, i prefer to hear Danny's voice from Woodfever (provided they get their sound setup done). Anyway, "i was there"!




Moulin Rouge Party

Saturday November 1st i arrived on time for Moulin Rouge, the Birthday Party. If you have seen the movie with Nicole Kidman, then you can imagine the dress code.

(picture will follow RSN)


Ten years Cuba Bella

Afterwards i went to the ten year Cuba Bella Salsa party. I was really surprised by the (Belgian) Cuban group "Ache Havana" : An amazing life performance of ten musicians, packed together on an eight square meter podium. Damn these guys are good! Hm...was i there ?


I was there, or was i there ?

I also went to the market on Sunday, got a hamburger, went back to the "Zoltjes" for some cake and stayed home for most of the afternoon. Really! Believe me! I blog it!

(part 2 tomorrow...)