Actrix Newsletter January 2002

Thanks, John, for your article. John Anderson works on the Actrix help desk, and hopes to contribute articles to the newsletter over the next few months. -Ed.

This article will give a brief overview of what Open Source is, where it comes from, and how the fruits of it, like Linux (www.linux.org) or Apache (www.apache.org) may benefit you. If you're not sure what I'm talking about - read on.

Open Source means that the "source code of a computer program is made available free of charge to the general public" (www.webopedia.com). The source code is essentially the instructions written by programmers who create applications (programs). A full definition of Open Source can be found at the following site, www.osdn.com/osdocs/01/01/15/1818201.shtml. The Open Source Initiative, a non-profit corporation which is responsible for Open Source certification describes the benefits behind this idea as:

Conventional Software is developed by a company or companies usually in a closed way. The code is their property and they do not allow it to be viewed by others for fear of loss of competitive advantage. This means that they benefit financially, but their customers often do not, as they have purchased a product that has not always been fully tested. Open Source benefits from the cooperation of many people towards software that does not have, for example, the plentiful bugs of several popular operating systems. This does not mean that all Open Source software is bug-free, but it does mean that many security holes, viruses and just plain bugs can be spotted before damage is wreaked worldwide by the likes of the 'Love Bug' worm. For example the Open Source Apache web server is so called because it required so many patches when it was initially created for it to work, it was "a patchy server", however looking at the Netcraft Web Server survey (www.netcraft.com/survey/), the evolutionary method of Open Source has meant that the Apache webserver has come to dominate the market, largely because of its stability. If you've been to the Actrix website then you've been to a site using Apache.

The phrase "open source" was a result of a strategy session held on February 3rd 1998 in Palo Alto, California. Those present gathered to discuss the future of Linux (a popular Open Source operating system) and included Eric Raymond, writer of the influential software development article The Cathedral and the Bazaar (www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/). The stimulus for the meeting was Netscape's announcement that they were going to give away the source code of their browser, apparently inspired by the article written by Raymond. While the phrase is new, the concept of Open Source is not. This concept stretches back to the early days of the Unix Operating System and later the Internet in the 1970s. The spirit of pioneering and cooperation from these times is the basis on which Open Source is built.

So how are these Open Source individuals protected from exploitation by less scrupulous individuals? There are a variety of licences which are used to prevent this from happening. One example of these licenses is the General Public License or GPL, as it is often known, which states in its preamble:

There are number of other licences that are also used for Open Source and similar project which can all be viewed at the Open Source Development Network at www.osdn.com.

Open Source software encourages security and high standards due to the greater degree of scrutiny. Linux, arguably the greatest success story of the Open Source movement, is an operating system that is fast rivalling Windows in the office market and is crossing over into the home market now. The Star Office system produced by Sun which can be used on Linux is compatible with the Microsoft's office suite and is a definite contender. Thanks to Open Source there is a viable alternative developing to counter the monopoly of Microsoft in the area of desktop applications such as Word, Excel and so forth. You know that the software giant is feeling threatened when representatives like Jim Allchin, Microsoft Corporation's Platforms Group Vice President, describe Open Source as threatening the "American Way" meaning it would seem, Microsoft's way.

If you want to try one of the fruits of the Open Source try the dramatically named browser Mozilla, at www.mozilla.org. I've been using it for several weeks and now have it as my browser of choice. A passionate New Zealand perspective on the benefits of Open Source can be found at the following website created by the New Zealand Open Source mailing list (www.openz.org).

Definitions can be tricky, the differences and philosophy behind free software can be found at the GNU website (www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html), for more information about GNU read next month's installment: Looking at Linux and GNU

If you have any questions about this article, please contact me at janderson@actrix.co.nz.

Code - In this case, the human readable instructions which create an application (program) such as a web browser.

Operating System - The most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs. Examples of operating systems are Windows XP, Mac OSX and Linux.

The Love Bug - A particularly virulent e-mail virus created in 2000 to exploit holes in Microsoft's Outlook Express.

For more excellent IT and Open Source related cartoons go to www.userfriendly.org.

Okay, so you've had your computer for about a year, and you notice that over time, your mouse seems to have been sluggish. It almost feels like your mousepad is too slippery and the mouse ball isn't turning as well as it should. You have to press hard and run it across the mousepad a couple of times in order to get the pointer where you want it. Does any of that sound familiar?If so, you might just have a mucky mouse. You may be tempted to go out to the PC Company and buy a new one, but chances are you won't have to. All you need to do is a little gentle mouse maintenance to have the little rodent speeding around your screen once again.

Hint: Carry out the cleaning instructions below with your computer switched off. It is pretty hard to remove and replace the ball cover without clicking all sorts of mouse buttons all over the place.

Cleaning a mouse is pretty easy. You should see that the underside of your mouse has a round turning cover plate through which the mouse ball is just able to make contact with the mouse pad. Turn this cover plate anticlockwise to release the window and remove the ball. Please resist the temptation to see how bouncy the ball is. Inside a standard mouse there are three plastic rollers, and the chances are that each will be ringed with tightly wound fluff. Gently scrape the fluff away with something small (e.g. a penknife blade) until all the plastic is clean and exposed again. Be firm but gentle. It is the only way to deal with mice. Replace the ball and cover, and you should find your mouse has a new lease of life.

The specimen pictured here is a skody individual indeed. The picture reveals two of the rollers (you can see one of the thin black ones near the top of the hole and the larger white one to the lower right. The white roller has an obvious ring of dirt around it that probably needs to be picked out with tweezers.

You can also play with your mouse settings. These can be found, for Windows machines, under "Mouse" in your Control Panel. (Click the Start button, then Settings, then Control Panel, and then doubleclick the Mouse icon. Under the Mouse Properties box that pops up you can change your mouse from right to left handed, select a different pointer, as well as a few other things. You can adjust the speed at which it moves too. Go easy here - getting used to a fast mouse after using a slow one can be as difficult as it was to first learn to use one at all!

Mouse settings for a Macintosh are found in the Control Panel (Apple menu/Control Panels/ Mouse) for all Macs apart from OS X. For OS X, try Preferences/Mouse.

Interesting Sites (Click the picture links to access the sites)

Please note: Actrix supplies links to these sites for your interest and possible use. We cannot endorse or take any responsibility for their contents. Got a site you think would be neat to share with other readers? Let me know and receive a free Norrie the Nerd chocolate bar courtesy of Actrix!

Congratulations to last month's chocolate bar winners who correctly identified the location of George Allwright's Headstone (from the NZ Ghosts website). They were: Chris Campbell, Andrew Humphries, Amanda Davis, Diane Wills, Sue Dykes and Ray Cooper. This month I provide two chances to win. Please only enter once per individual.

Lots of Christmas Norrie chocolate to give away, so please do enter - and yes, we are talking real chocolate here.

Add All Book Search and Price Comparison
www.addall.com - This book search and price comparison tool has been built to ease online book shopping. All new books, used and out of print books are searched and compared for price difference among more than 41 online bookstores for the best buy. You can enter the title into the search field and you'll be presented with all the title matches found. Click on of these and you receive links to that particular volume for sale online. Thanks to Roger Williams for this link.

Send Your Name to Mars!
http://spacekids.hq.nasa.gov/2003/ - NASA invites you to send your name to Mars on the next Mars Exploration Rover-2003 mission! Click the "Sign Me Up" link to add your name! This project is open to people of ALL ages. It is free to add your name, and the site provides you with a printable certificate when you do. This is a legitimate page of the Nasa Spacekids website.

Neopets!
www.neopets.com "NeoPets� is the greatest Virtual Pet Site on the Internet. With your help, we have built a community of over 20 million virtual pet owners across the world! Neopets has many things to offer including over 80 games, trading, auctions, greetings, messaging, and much much more. Best of all, it's completely FREE!" Thanks to Trish Dingle for this link.

Baby Picture Database
www.brandigram.com/babypicsearch.html - 99% OF ALL HOSPITAL INFANT PICTURES ON THE WEB! Just enter the required information, and you'll get the hospital photo of almost any baby born after 1964, and many from before that time. New Zealand baby photos are included, though the coverage is not as extensive as for the U.S. Mine wasn't there, but I know quite a number of Kiwis whose were.

Auckland Poetry
www.aucklandpoetry.com/ - Those into poetry will enjoy this site. It contains news and events about poetry readings in Auckland, a monthly gig guide, an archive of poetry and a monthly featured poet. Of added value is a section on links to homepages, resources and other online tools for poets. Thank you Nicholas Alexander for sending this link in.

20 Questions with a Learning Web Page
http://come.to/20Q - This site is actually pretty nifty. It's an experiment in artificial intelligence, You interact with the database, and it claims to learn through playing against you. The rules are simple. You think of an object and the web page asks you questions until it believes it has narrowed down the answer. It provides you with probables as it goes, so you can see how close the real answer is to being selected. You don't have to become a member. Use the Anonymous login if you think you'll only want to play once or twice.

Bizarre Stuff!
http://freeweb.pdq.net/headstrong/control.htm - From clouds in a bottle to stupid egg tricks you can do to impress people at parties, this site has the lot. There don't appear to be any heroin or bomb recipes there. The site claims to be a museum of home science projects or experiments that you can do. Just the thing for the amateur mad scientist in us all! Free Norrie the Nerd Christmas chocolate bars to anyone who can name two ingredients needed to make dancing raisins! Write your answers to editor@actrix.co.nz. Don't forget to include your postal address.

Political Compass
www.politicalcompass.org - This thought-provoking website was created so that "a new generation in particular will get a better idea of where they stand politically - and the sort of political company they keep." The site provides a test which not only looks at your political affiliation along the traditional lines of left versus right, but also libertarian versus authoritarian. Complete the questions and see where you supposedly stand.

The Mayfly Project
www.notsosoft.com/mayfly/ - Those of you who read the article last month on weblogs may remember Meg Pickard's weblog not.so.soft. Many webloggers create side-projects which involve their readers. Meg's highly successful Mayfly Project is an opportunity to publish a biography of the last year of your life...in under 20 words. It is an excellent example of the power of online publishing. Hundreds of people have added the last year of their lives - you can too. The site makes fascinating reading as well. If you add your life to the project, you can send it to me too at editor@actrix.co.nz and receive a free Norrie the Nerd Christmas chocolate bar. Don't forget to include your postal address.

Logophilia
www.logophilia.com/ - This is a wonderful site for word and language lovers. It contains a few sections, each with its own emphasis on some aspect of words, such as quotes about words, interesting and rarely used words etc. There's even a section on improving your Scrabble skills. For those who like being especially creative with words, a similar site that might hold some attraction or interest would be www.pseudodictionary.com - for those who like to make it up as they go along.

Free Faxes!
www.freefax.com - This site is powered by the international tpc network which is a collection of fax servers in many locations around the world. The network is entirely supported by advertising. That's why they're able to offer free fax services to anyone with a computer connected to the Internet. The Coverage section is very handy for giving you the right area codes for cities around the world. New Zealand is included, and you receive an e-mail confirming that your fax has been successful.

Blakexpeditions
www.blakexpeditions.com/ - This wonderful flash site dedicated to the Blakexpeditions Foundation. Here you can check daily logs by the crew (currently continuing through the Amazon), view the photo archive, and learn about the current crew and schedule. Of course there is a section dedicated to celebrating Peter's life. One of the most pleasant things about the site is the peaceful sound of the ocean and watching the day and night over the ocean in the top frame.

Wired recently covered the interesting developments in a big fuss created by the International Firm KPMG over a harmless link. Weblogger Chris Raettig has made international headlines after being formally asked to remove the link to the company from his site corporateanthems.raettig.org, by KPMG. As the writer of the article states "several website owners were wondering whether KPMG's Internet acumen was really worth anything at all, as it announced a policy that seemed to breach the most basic freedom on the Web -- the freedom to link to any site you want to." The whole saga, and the reason Raettig wanted to link to KPMG in the first place, is quite amusing and revealing. Click the link below for the full story.