Speaking of help, the Whube Developers could use some help on some of their projects! There’s room for all kind of people, be it Python or PHP programmers, documentation writers, or graphic designers. The two main projects right now are Whubetrack, an “anything tracker” written in PHP, and Syn, a package management system for Linux, written in Python.

There’s also a really awesome group, the Synthetic Intellect Institute, which are working on some great artificial intelligence and natural language projects, and I’m sure they would love to have more help!

1. Whatever time frame you give for a project, add a few more days/hours to it. You will need it.
2. If it is broken, just fix it. “Making it better” and “fixing it” are two different things.
3. When you are not in a position to plan a project, make sure to track everything you do, whether it be in a project tracker or a spreadsheet. You’ll thank yourself later.
4. Make sure that parts of a project are ordered in a high-to-low priority list, or you may find yourself with Lots of Gadgets but no working application.
5. Identify your time wasters (you know, like Facebook) and limit your time utilizing these while working.
6. Be sure to get some rest and relaxation! A tired brain nets poor results.
7. Ask for advice and help when you need it. Don’t beat yourself up over something when you can get help.
8. Last but not least: if it is not broken, be suspicious.

Hope you have a great Monday!

You can see it in action over at our Scoundrels Minecraft forum.

While Scrib is utilizing it through Python, the web interface is going to be built using a mixture of HTML, JavaScript, CSS and PHP.

Utilizing PHP on Couch

For this part of the project we are going to use PHP on Couch, a PHP wrapper class to make things easy.

Most of the time CouchDB is already installed inside Linux (Debian-based distros, at least). In Ubuntu you can install it via “sudo apt-get install couchdb” (those of you who are using MacOSX or Windows, you can find respective packages here and here.)

Here’s an example of how easy it is to use CouchDB inside PHP:

<?php
require_once 'couch.php';
require_once 'couchClient.php';
require_once 'couchDocument.php';

// The default port for CouchDB is 5984. Let's connect to it!
$client = new couchClient('http://path.to.server:5984','db_name');

// A quick test to see if our connection works:
// Connect to our database:
$doc = new couchDocument($client);

// Creating a document and adding in the first entry
$doc->set(array('_id'=>'UristMcMiner','name'=>'McMiner','firstname'=>'Urist'));

// Some quick tests
echo $doc->firstname . " " . $doc->name ; // should echo "Urist McMiner"
echo "<br/>"; // This will make a new line.
echo $doc->_id; // This would echo "UristMcMiner"

// This would change the document property of "name" to "McFarmer"
// and store the updated document in the database.
$doc->name = "McFarmer";

echo $doc->firstname . " " . $doc->name ; // should echo "Urist McFarmer"
?>

Requirements

First, we must clear any requirements that ScummVM needs in order to build. Luckily, there are only a few required dependencies: SDL 1.2.x and build-essential which are both in the Ubuntu repositories. The rest of the optional requirements are (as of Ubuntu 10.04) already installed. These are:

• flac: required to play compressed games without quality loss
• libmad: libmad is for playing mp3-compressed games
• libogg and libvorbis: to play OGG-Vorbis-compressed games
• libmpeg2: some games use re-recoded cutscenes

One thing I always do when setting up my environment to build an application is make sure that the dependencies are installed, whether or not I think they are:

$ sudo apt-get install build-essential libsdl1.2-dev libsdl1.2debian flac libmad0 libogg0 libvorbis0a libmpeg2-4

The line above will install the required dependency as well as the optional dependencies if they are not available. If you do not want to install one of the optional dependencies, do not add its name into the list.

Source Files

We are now ready to grab the latest sources for ScummVM. They are available from this website. Download the newest source, which generally shows up first on the list. Make sure you download from the “Source” column. For this tutorial, I decided to move the downloaded file from my Downloads to ~/Desktop/tmp/

After this is downloaded, extract it to an empty folder. When the extraction is complete, you should have a scummvm folder with its contents. To extract via the Terminal (file name will be different for you):

$ bunzip2 scummvm-20100727.bz2
$ tar -xvf scummvm-20100727.tar
$ cd scummvm

You will notice that the above shows us changing the directory (cd) to the newly unarchived folder. From here we will want to make sure that our machine has everything needed for building. We do this by running the configure file. If this completes successfully, we will then run make to compile, and make install to install the application on our system.

(If you do not want to install this, you can still run it from this folder with ./scummvm. You won’t need to do the “&& make install”)

$ ./configure
$ sudo make && make install

After this is complete, you should be able to now run scummvm. If you run into any problems, please let me know and I will do what I can to help you.

The first time I downloaded 32-bit libraries inside Arch Linux, I figured out that they can overwrite or modify existing files. After refreshing my install, I set about for a better way to run 32-bit programs. What I found was a wiki entry inside the ArchWiki. After going through the steps a few times, I decided to create a script that would automate the steps to make installing it again less cumbersome.

Since the process can be a bit intimidating for people less acquainted with Linux and the use of the terminal, I have made my script available for download. Let me know how it works for you!

I first started researching different IRC daemons to use in Ubuntu Server, and settled upon one. Finding that there was already a binary for it inside the Ubuntu repository, I decided to go that route. Quick and easy, yeah? IRC set up painlessly and after a quick configuring of the ircd.conf, I thought everything was dandy. I logged in and queried NickServ to register my nick, only to find there was no such nickname or channel. Looking this up, I realized I needed to set up some Services. I found the package I wanted to use and set about configuring it for use. I got it to set up and everything was a-okay, except for the fact that I could not get global operator working.

Now, the server is internal and does not need a global operator, so that wasn’t too big of a deal. Deciding to go with a passworded server instead of going through and configuring ChanServ to manage things, though, seemed to be a rather big deal. The binary I was using does not have ssl enabled, which means I have to compile everything from source.

This is the way I originally was going to do it until I let the temptation of using a binary overpower me. From this I have learned that if you are going to do something super specific with an application, do not install a binary. It is one of those common sense no-brainers which we are susceptible to once in a while, especially when we have become used to installing applications from binaries. All I can do is shake my head and laugh. After all, it is a learning experience isn’t it? It is just another one of those “trust your first instinct” things that I ignored.

So, if you are going to be installing applications to a workstation or server, make sure you that the binary will do everything you want it to, otherwise you are going to end up having to take several steps back, configure, and compile from source. What are your speed bumps?

Software Required

• Compiz must be running. You’ll also need CompizConfig, as detailed below.
• Terminal (duh)

1. Getting Software

The first thing we will do is install CompizConfig. For this we will open up the Add/Remove application. For those new to Ubuntu, you click Applications, and select Add/Remove. After this opens, search for compiz and check Advanced Desktop Effects Settings (ccsm). Now search for irssi and check it. Click apply, and when the programs are finished installing, you can close the window.

2. Creating a Terminal Profile

For the embedding to work, we need to create a new profile for terminal. We need to do this because Compiz will change the behavior of the terminal depending on it’s title.

Open up a terminal (press Alt+F2 and type gnome-terminal). On the menu bar, select Edit, then Profiles. Click New and name it “deskie” (or whatever else you want to as long as it’s a unique name).

Under the General tab, uncheck “Show menubar by default”. Moving over to the Title tab, name it deskie (or what you named it before, if different) and set to “keep initial title”. Under the Colors tab, select White on Black, or whatever will suit your theme. Next we will move to Background. Set the Transparency to 0% or whatever fits your theme. Under the Scrolling tab, disable the scrollbar. After you’ve done what you want with this, close out of the profile editor.

3. Setting up CompizConfig

Now open CompizConfig (under System -> Preferences -> CompizConfig). The first thing we’ll do here is search for Window Decoration, and click on it. Under Decoration Window, we’ll replace “any” with “!title=deskie“, without the quotes. Now search for Window Rules. Enable it, then click on it. We’ll be adding “title=deskie” (without quotes) to:

• Skip taskbar
• Skip pager
• Below
• Sticky
• Non resizable windows
• Non minimizable windows
• Non maximizable windows
• Non closable windows

After these are filled in, go to the Size rules tab. Click New and add “title=deskie” and set the height and width you want the window to be. When you are satisfied, close CompizConfig.

4. The Aftermath

If you want to see what you’ve done, press Alt+F2 and type “gnome-terminal –window-with-profile=deskie” as the command and hit enter. You should now have a neat “embedded” terminal. To move it where you want, hold Alt, then click and drag.

If you want one to load on startup, go to System -> Preferences -> Startup Applications, and click Add. Name it “Embedded Terminal” and put “gnome-terminal –window-with-profile=deskie” as the command.

That should work, as it has for me. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to let me know!

M-Lab is intended to be a truly community-based effort, and we welcome the support of other companies, institutions, researchers, and users that want to provide servers, tools, or other resources that can help the platform flourish.

Naturally I had to try some of the tools out, but it seems that either their servers are very busy, or I’m just not having luck connecting to them. Even with that, M-Lab has entered my bookmark list and will be checked out again later. I can’t wait to see what comes of these tools! I am sure that their Glasnost tool will be quite popular.

To help explain, let me expand on the latter challenge. When the first piece of our Runner group came to the Sixth World from the Fourth World (more explanation later), we were immediately trained to be Runners by a corporation held by Knight. We were to go see the Elves, but on our way there the Elves captured us, thinking us prisoners of Knight’s. Through this, we ended up working for both sides for a time, with our main mission given by Knight to give them information about certain Elves.

We were working both sides, and in one instance, Azitade contacted Mr. Johnson of Knight to arrange a dummy server with dummy information, with short notice. He arranged this, and some of our group, including our Troll decker Exodus, did not know about the set up. Neither did Knight’s headquarters that we were to break into.

Exodus, Drek, and Elk Foot made it to the floor we were supposed to. We watched over Exodus while he pilfered the information off Knight’s matrix. When he was done, he decided to plant explosives that he had with him around the terminal. (The troll likes to blow things up.) Before we blew it up, alarms sounded and we were greeted at ground level by some twenty or so guards. Using our combined abilities (and Drek’s seeming magnetism to bullets), we managed to escape. Luckily, Mr. Johnson also arranged for the patrol of the headquarters to be new recruits who thought this was a training exercise… until we totaled a few of them.

We gave the “stolen” data to the Elves, and continued working for them as well as Knight.

The way Shadowrun works, there was no reason for me to implement a conversion of the skill challenges. Everything from street thugging to corporate espionage, is an integral part of the game. Skill challenges of DnD are a commonplace among Shadowrunning. Things like taking out important people and flushing out spies are a day-to-day event for any good ‘runner group. Sure, you have plenty of shooting and hack’n'slash, but there is a much larger emphasis on stealth and hacking the matrix (by the way, this use of matrix predates the movies). There are sessions spent with characters solely gathering information, which Shadowrun (as well as a good group/GM) make fun.

Oh, to explain the Fourth and Sixth world references, Shadowrun’s timeline is based on events of the Mayan calendar. The Sixth World is said to start in 2011/2012 (the end of the known world and all that). We are presently on the “closing” of the Fifth World. It is only fitting to assume that DnD/fantasy is in the Fourth World.

This has got me thinking about a campaign that I want to run, and seeing how well it would translate into other tabletop games, such as a modified Shadowrun 3rd Edition (there are a few rules we don’t like, but we’ll not cover that here). There are so many possibilities. Being that it is centered around skill challenges, it would work perfectly into Shadowrun, and I imagine possibly even White Wolf games (though I have only played them once, a long time ago, so I really have no bearing on that).

When I have some progress, I’ll post about doing it the Shadowrun way.

I am very glad that I am able to do everything I need to on this desktop without having to be chained to Microsoft and their operating system. In fact, I’ve even been able to get more done – Linux just feels better and does not interrupt my work flow.

Both styles of databases have their pros and cons, and what you are doing should help dictate what sort of database you are going to use (not just what you want, but what is the best/most functional). There are a few things that should be looked into before you decide on what database structure you’re going to go with. Is the data static (hardly ever changed or added to) or is it dynamic (always changing)? Is the website that is using this database going to grow and evolve, or is it a “one time” deal?

Is the data static or dynamic? Flat file databases work very well with data that is meant to be stored and not altered very much, if at all. All you have to do is read the file and pull the data that you want, right? Generally speaking, yes. More specifically, you are going to have to find or make a structure/system for declaring how you data is going to be stored (for example, CSV or by line? The great thing about using a SQL database is that the main architecture is already there – all you need to do is define what the columns and rows will hold, and then create the code (in my case, php) to insert/edit/update/remove the data from the rows/cells.

Is the website going to evolve? For many websites, it is natural progression to add more pages and features to it, either to make it more user friendly or to accomodate other forms of data. Flat file databases can be a headache when it comes to large quantities of data (not to mention that you’ll see a performance degredation due to having to read a file [files can only be read from top to bottom]). SQL can link similar tables/rows together by using “joins”, whereas you may need several flat file databases to be accessed and then the data strung together via php, asp, or whatever else you’re using. SQL allows for a more convenient and modular design of your website. SQL is great for allowing greater scalability as more complex data is needing storage.

It is easier to change the code behind a SQL based site than it is to rewrite all of your parsing code when you allow for more complex data. So, unless you are using largely static data storage, SQL is a good choice for storing data.

At first, all of the results I had were pointing to MyISAM being better, but after making InnoDB’s buffer pool larger and setting autocommit to 0 (meaning that it won’t auto commit any transactions), the results still weren’t looking too good, other than the CPU consumption was considerably lower (10-15%).

One thing I really liked was the fact that it uses row locking instead of table locking, which means that simultaneous reads and writes can be done without having to wait for the table to be unlocked. MyISAM is good for small scale websites, as InnoDB performs slower if there are fewer than 100 or so simultaneous connections and if the data is small (below ~10MB per transaction).

For now I think I will stick to MyISAM for my everyday coding, but I already know a few sites that could benefit from an engine switch…

Wingzar! can be considered very industrial and/or steampunk in sound. The lyrics are on the simple side, but are put to use effectively to enhance the atmosphere of the music. They have an ethereal and synthetic feel to them, which meshes with the music well. The topic of the lyrics are primarily anti-human (“kill them / kill them all”, del *.human) and of how humans oppress both nature and technology.

Taken at face-value, these lyrics seem kind of absurd. Why would anyone want to be anti-human? But I think that these are not meant to be face-value lyrics like a lot of modern bands churn out these days. Instead, you must look at them from the perspective of a robot. We are in process of making them in our image, and we have a ton of stories of robots being built to mimic us. What if they had an underground resistance? These would be the words of robotic anarchists, I believe.

It is a really neat idea, one of which I’ve thought about while pondering the life of 6067, the Technophobic Android [MySpace link alert]. Seeing as ‘he’ comes from a dystopic future where robots are highly advanced, this could quite possibly be something feasable. Mmm. Brain food.