Rawitat Pulam's Website

To post at: My blog at Thai Mac Developer (http://www.thaimacdev.com/?q=blog/11) (and here's a link for RSS feed) from now on. Just see the main page for all blogs. There are now 2 active bloggers there, more expected. (Here's a link for RSS feed for all entries)

The new blog allows comment and many other things, including XML-RPC so I can post/sync better and manage it better via most blogging software.

See you there. From this day, this blog is officially closed.

I'm a bookworm. Everyone who knows me well enough knows this.

Moreover, when I find something of a real interest, I would go on and buy (almost) every book written for the subject. Most of my good friends know this. Janos or Peter once asked me why do I have so many C++ books. Read the earlier post, its STL was one of the thing that blew me away.

The same went for Haskell (even though I couldn't find that many books comparing to C++), Chaos Theory, Fractals, Complex System Theory, Cellular Automata (all of these triggered flood of Physics, Applied Maths, and other science books I bought).

Now the same is going for Ruby (and Rails). Recently I found myself started shopping again, even though my salary as a university professor isn't that high (comparing to when I was a scholarship student; this is the way things are in this country). I will surely review those Ruby & Rails books later.

Among them, I found Best of Ruby Quiz to be practically very good. It's one of the best way ones could learn a new programming language and how to program in that language; by learning to tackle programming problems and learn a full solution from many other people. This way, not only you understand a new language, you also

• 
  
• Practically using it to write real programs that actually do something useful. The #1 problem I found with people learning a new language is that, they learn syntax and write toy examples following books. That's it. This cause them to switch back to the old language whenever they have to solve problems. It happens to many of my students trying to learn Python, only to switch to C when solving problems. Only a few actively using Python nowadays because they chose to do one of their assignment in Python.
  
• Effective communication using idioms and expressions. Programming a new language is like learning to speak in another language. Not only you have to learn the syntax, the grammar. You will also need to know a lot of idioms and more importantly, expressions. Some languages are obviously expressionistic than another. I lived in Japan for 7 years and find the Japanese language more expressionistic than the language of my mother tongue and English. So, it's important to learn how to use those expressions and idioms well, rather than just understand its grammar structures and how a sentence is composed. Otherwise an effective communication won't be achieved.
  
• Change the way of thinking. This is, also, like the learning a new natural language. It reflects the way you think about communication and solving problems. Thinking in metaprogramming, functional, terms is really different from thinking imperative. It's really Fortran vs. Lisp. It's really Java vs. Haskell. It's really English vs. Japanese. It's really about how you're thinking now vs. how you have to think if you're to use a new language efficiently effective.
  

I'm still looking for a hardcopy of Programming Ruby, Agile Web Development with Rails, Rails Recipes, and Ruby Cookbook. If anyone kind enough to see them somewhere in Bangkok, please kindly let me know. And, no, buying online from any source isn't an option for me currently.

I am here to bid farewell to the hard drive of my old Dell Inspiron 8100. I tried to resurrect it to live with its new task: being a machine some of my students in the lab can use occasionally to practice programming and for me to play with some new OS.

I had fun putting Nexenta alpha 5 on it but it didn't work out so well. I put latest Ubuntu Edgy Eft on it, and it seems to work fine. The only problem I had was internet connection. The wireless card I have doesn't work out of the box and I couldn't connect LAN either. That machine came with an old 3Com ethernet card that needs an connecting adapter (I incorrectly configured it that way, instead of having an internal one, which would not give me any trouble this time). Guess what, I loosed that adapter times ago.

One of my student came an installed Fedora Core 5 on it. Went well until we need to install Emacs. The new package management system (called Pirut or something like that) tried to connect to the internet even though it should search the installation CDs (5 of them, full of mostly used packages) for the software. I had to search the internet for the solution and re-wrote a lot of configuration files (used to do that a lot of the old days of using Linux, still quite handy todays when things aren't the way it should be and finding GUI configuration frontend might be a pain).

All in all, all were fun. I don't remember finding fun like this during my recent days of feeling down with students and works.

Suddenly, during the lab seminar last time (actually we do not have seminar anymore, we just hold a small programming test weekly. 4-5 Best students in my lab make programming problems and then judge other student's solution), the hard drive went dead.

I tried my best to resurrect the drive. But it seems that it's gone for good.

Farewell, my friend. You have worked hard. I remember working on my undergraduate thesis with you on the Inspiron 8100. Good old days.

Now I set myself 3 things to do when I goto computer store again next time:

• 
  
• Find a replacement hard drive. The machine still usable and would serve finely for student learning programming and Linux.
  
• Find another LAN card with another connector, preferably built-in to the card so I won't loose it again.
  
• Battery. This is the hardest and possibly the most expensive and unworthy. The machine could just serve as a desktop (it's a big monster, one of the biggest in its prime days). The battery might be too expensive for its worth. But if all are reasonable, then why not.
  

I also have to fix the screen of my Inspiron 4150. That machine is still working very fine but the screen had broken. If all things on the list work out, then I would have 2 more machines in the lab for student learning things and working on projects with a cost of less than 1 new machine. I know both machines are still more than capable for those tasks.

Got sick of Powerpoint. Yes. Another YES.

I thought I had escaped from it, saving my sanity with Apple's amazing Keynote (part of its iWork suite, one of the original reasons I bought my first PowerBook). However, reality told me I haven't and probably can't.

Recently I have to attend lots of student seminar (not my own lab's seminar, almost everyone uses Keynote and blackboard here). Most of them with poorly made Powerpoint presentation. Oops, sorry, mostly there aren't presentation either. Most of them are slide-reading driods.

I took a hard look at Powerpoint 2007 beta, from a Human-Computer Interaction and Usability point of view. I looked hard at the interface and how it dictates a user's workflow, and I found out something that shocked me.

In Keynote, here is the main interface (I turned on Text option, normally I use Icon-only here):



Things are pretty obvious. As someone who often give presentation & lecture, here are things I do the most: Add more slides, and Present it. I generally, from time to time, has to rearrange the view, change the theme for a certain slide, and use different master slide layout.

I looked at Powerpoint 2007, here's terror:



What? Well, no wonder. Most students I saw in the seminar made their slides by pasting text from somewhere, most notably Word Documents and Web Sites. And where is the Present mode button?

I searched for it, and it is located near the bottom right of the screen. A tiny button, obscurity compared to the Paste panel:



Well, no wonder. Student are NOT giving presentation. Not only students but lots of lecturers also teach by slide-reading and bullet-mumbling. Presentation is not important from Powerpoint perspective.

Powerpoint not only accounted for destroying one's ability to give present creatively, it also destroy imagination. No longer would one have to think creative and build the world up from a black backboard, no longer things will be visual. Everything is bulleted, listed, and worded. This encourages rote-memorization more than anything else.

So, if I have a chance to single out a worse source of disaster for this generation's level of education, creativity in work, and imagination, I'd single out Powerpoint without any hesitation.

[Note to self: maybe you are just sick of seeing too much poorly-made presentations, too many slide-reading students (who probably seeing too many lecturers doing that), too many bullets.

After playing with Leopard DP for a while during WWDC, I decided it isn't ready as a main OS.

Today I made another decision, I am ready for the rough edge. I don't do anything much fancy nowadays and probably in need of an adventure, sort of (yeah, this would explain why I even bother with Nevada, Nexenta, etc). So I'm giving Leopard DP I got from WWDC another try. (Xcode and Core Animation alone are so tempting. I'm not exciting about the Time Machine until I know for certain what will become of the file system).

I was thinking of installing it on my old iPod 3G and retiring it to be just my playground for Leopard DP. But, hmm, on the second thought, let's not do that and install it as a main OS.

Mind you, it is **not ready** as a main OS. Things will change and a lot of things are ugly. Problems everywhere. After installed it today as upgrade of an existing OS (10.4.7), I already submitted 5-6 problems to Apple. Also, some problems with Interface Builder. The problem that wasn't there when I installed it clean during WWDC. So, well, nevermind, I reinstalled it again, clean. That specific problem with Interface Builder is now gone. So it's an upgrade bug.

Also, here and there, some (lots of) software do not work. OK, I can live with that. If the software is open source, then I can grab the code and try to compile it and see what happens. Some works, some doesn't work still. Now, that's fun. (Trying to figure out how to get the X11 works in Debian-SPARC is fun, too .. but tiring).

Annoying bugs persist, too. But that's normal for software at this stage.

Those of you who are downloading Leopard off the torrent or get it from any other where, hoping to play with cool new toy please be ware: It's not ready.

Also, do not ask me to compare Leopard Developer Preview to Windows Vista RC1, one is a Developer Preview, while another is a Release Candidate, which means one is a far cry from release while another is already a candidate for the final release. It would be comparing Apple (no pun intended) to Orange.

Tried another OS recently. Nexenta Alpha 5.

I didn't expect it to just work like Ubuntu. I just wanted to know whether a Slowaris, sorry Solaris,-based OS with GNU-userland will be fast enough for that old machine or not, comparing to MS Vista running on a P4 3.0.

Installation didn't take that long, comparing to Solaris 10 x86 from Sun on another Dell (Inspiron 4150) and Solaris Nevada on Sun Ultra 80. Managed to start it up ... BUT ..

Well, screen resolution at 640x480. I tried to find the xorg.conf file to reconfigure. All I found is xorg.conf.old with something about Wacom input devices. Why are those lines? I copied that file to xorg.conf and commented out those lines. Xorg didn't start. Something about the fbdevhw driver. I changed the display driver to nv but it still doesn't work. Also it seems to mess up the keymap. So when I type anything in the console, anything will turn to garbage.

Nexenta looks & sounds promising, and I'd been eager to try it (but sadly, there isn't enough machines in our lab so I could play with any OS). However, this time ... hands up. Until next time, maybe the Beta or (hopefully) Released version.

[Updated 06/09/06] Ended up installing the latest Ubuntu Edgy Eft Knot 2. Still got the VGA problem during the installation. Normal for that Inspiron 8100 anyway.
[Updated 07/09/06] Had problems with a few things. Didn't back up the blog. Got the text for this entry from the website. Re-enter it on 07/09.

Nothing much. I wrote a few blog entry. Uploaded none. Network at my university doesn't work again. The IT infrastructure working group should be inspecting it.

And, NO, e-mail doesn't work either (why should it anyway?)

By the time you see this entry, things should be OK.

I just came to realization. I post in my earlier blog entry, with a link to Mac 360 degree.

Tera Jean Patricks of Mac 360 degree had gone.

The title of this post is a quote from that page. A message she left to one of her colleagues.

Recently, I also had a bad news that the son of my close friends had gone, too (linked in Thai, registration required).

All the best to those who had gone. All the best to those who still with me on this earth. The space and time are for sharing, living together, laughters, in harmony. One day passed, many of us will not be around. Who knows who will be the next.

Memories will be left behind. Regret will occur in hearts of those who had not done the best to the others.

We all share the same fate.

Read it here.

No one knows the actual reason why. Nevertheless there are speculations. Pick one you like.

For me, I don't like conspiracy theory. But, ..., well, WWDC keynote was less-than-stellar. There were wide suggestion that either Steve Jobs wasn't in the healthy condition (which turned out not to be true. But do we really know the actuality of this?) ... or a bigger problem loom ahead and occupying Jobs and Apple's time enough not to deliver the keynote at Paris.

If you like to know what I am talking about, you can find it in many places. Mac 360 degree has an article about this and I think it worth a read. There's more about this somewhere else that has better coverage about the situation with Wall Streets too, but I forgot where and I didn't keep the link.

Pick whatever the theory you like; but there's just one fact: No Apple Paris Keynote.

Back from WWDC a while ago, but have no time to write any entry. I made a podcast about it a bit after Steve's keynote (not breaking NDA), though. You can still find it at www.dualgeek.com. I will post a short bit about what I think of Leopard here though.

While people seem to disappoint from what they saw/heard from the keynote, remember that it was the developer's conference. While I generally agree with most developers there that stationary and ichat aren't tools for developer and why then should it be in the keynote, we have to make note that Steve had to wow other people too. Also, both applications provided a bit of what we might be able to incorporate into our apps via the new APIs or new development core frameworks.

Leopard will be HUGE for developers. Several core frameworks will improve greatly. New Xcode/Interface Builder seems much better. Application development will be much easier, including software/code profiling. New frameworks such as Core Animation will post a huge possibility to what we can do to provide the fluid interface and user experience. New additional 'Kits' are nice too. There is a project I once tried to do, and had setup a timeframe of several weeks, or months. I could have the app done in matter of an hour now.

End-users might not find anything change big, since it now seems to me like most change will be in the underlying infrastructure. For example, Spotlight had been rewritten and it is now really really fast and stable (despite the general instability of the developer preview build of the OS). It would be like an Iceberg where easily visible changes is roughly about just 1/10.

The rumor about ZFS being the file system of Leopard is becoming even more interesting with the introduction of Time Machine. Don't know if it will really come true though.

Now, about my WWDC-expectation.

I had a home-run hit about Mac Pro sporting Xeon-class processors. Also correct about Xserve and Leopard Developer Preview (who wouldn't have thought of this anyway?). I missed entirely about the iPod and pro applications. Half correct about the Macbook Pro. Well, because while I think we might see the update, it won't appear during the WWDC (see my previous post).

Probably one of my final blog entries before I leave for WWDC (Even it's the first entry I write in a month). It's kinda tradition to post my expectation before an Apple's big event. This time is no exception, since above all WWDC is the event I excite about the most. So without any more fanfares, here goes my list:

• 
  
• Mac Pro. A pro-class (workstation-class) desktop machine replacement for PowerMac G5. Many expected Core 2 Duo in it, but I would rather hope for the Xeon-class CPUs.
  
• Mac OS X 10.5 Developer Preview. Almost a certainty. Would it be WWDC without this? New features will be announced and previewed, with a high hope on an entirely new Finder. Release date announcement also expected (later this year?).
  
• A few updates to Pro-lines applications.
  
• Something involving iPod, probably new updates and improvement on services. The iPod nano haven't been touched since its debut. 5G is old and need new light to shade on. Movies store finally or eminent?
  
• MacBook Pro update. I want to see this happen. Well, I want to get my own MBP. However, with the recent announcement of cool (in both sense) new Intel chips, the Core 2-series, I really want to hold my decision and wait until the MBP line is updated with the new chips first. It'd been more than half-a-year since the 15" made its debut in Jan anyway. However, as this would steal the light and thunder from Mac Pro, maybe Macworld Paris later will be more likely the stage for the MacBook Pro update.
  
• Xserves. I don't know what they will name this one. MacServes? Well, that sucks. However, as Steve mentioned that he wants "Mac" in the name of the products, we can never know. I hope they come up with a better name. Yeah, Xserves update to the new Intel-chips could be there too.
  
• New Cinema Displays to go with the Mac Pro.
  

Be sure to subscribe to dualGeek podcast as I will update the content as soon as possible after the Keynote (the update will be in Thai, for the podcast audiences).

[I write this entry in English on purpose]

I have a strange feeling recently. I think I know why, but I don't know what should I do to make it better: I just feel so down.

It's like spiral downward some endless hole. Well, Alice, I used to want to know how deep the rabbit's hole goes. Not this time though, I don't want to go there now. I know there might not be a way back for me.

I had a great weekend. I and my friend did our usual podcasting business at Hua Hin beach, had a little party with his friends. The best thing is when we discussed our professional sides, our thoughts, our insights and ideas, and above all our passions. We are more similar than both of us thought.

It was really fun talking about Information Visualization and Information Aesthetics, basic Architectural Designs, User Interface and Usability, Forms and Functions, Archaeology and History and Information Management. We both think it would be nice to have a place to share those information and enough information for making more senses out of things (correlations, etc).

Information Visualization and Aesthetics is what we really discussed throughout. Someday we may have a chance to work on some real business together on this, not a hobby like our podcast.

When I came back from Hua Hin, I was invited to join a dinner with a group of Japanese Medical Professors. At first I thought only one of them will come, and he comes to discuss about some topics that might or might not get my interest.

One of them is doing Medical Informatics. Basically we talked and talked about Teleconferencing technology and basic research network infrastructure (TEIN2 and JGN2) and their impact and medical studies. Then we moved onto the topics as broad as e-Learning and Disease management. We agreed on several topics and exchanged lots and lots of insights.

That, too, was very fun.

I came back to my department Monday afternoon. I started to feel so down like never before. The atmosphere, people, things, rules, etc etc and etc. Not a single thing seems right and not a single thing made me want to work. Not a single thing keep my head up high, and further down goes my feeling.

Monday passed and gone. Tuesday came.

I gave the final exam to my student in the morning. Leon Chen called me about our Cocoa developer training and we agreed to have a discussion on this coming Saturday. These things energized me a bit.

Then we moved onto have a meeting with the Faculty of Archaeology about our plan to open the Archaeological Science degree together. I had a good discussion with Prof. Supachai on the van along to the way to our Talingchan Campus about e-Learning and Computer Technology in Chemical Training.

Well, the discussion with the Faculty of Archaeology itself was great. I had a good time discussing some of my future projects (I want to start them ASAP, though). We talked about Culture Resource Management and some other things the information system could serve.

I came back to the department, felt gloomy again.

Wednesday.

I have a meeting today at Exbiz, a consulting company and software house I'd been dealing a lot with recently. They are really nice people. We discussed a lot about project directions and exchanged a lot of visions. We agreed to work more together. I told them I am starting my own company. They were quite happy and promise to be my first business partner. Things went well, I was happy.

..............

I am sitting at a coffee shop right now, fearing that my another return to my department will make me feel down again. Maybe I should not go back there today but go straight back home, listen to some nice music, watch some movies, read some good books, write some pretty codes.....

..............

Maybe I should believe someone who just told me yesterday:

"If going out and working with people outside made you feel so gloom, then why don't you just staying here and see things closer to you?"

Yes ... maybe I should remember it and give it a try.

Thank you.

Original article: Apple Matters: The ThinkPad Who Came to Dinner

I won't quote any of the article here.

While I find it quite amusing and if the author of the article isn't elitist Maczealot, then I'm quite sure he wrote it that way to amuse the reader and just-for-fun. It's a good read in a some free time when you want to have some smile/laughing after some hard thought/work.

Honestly speaking, from a PowerBook user's point of view (I own a 17" PB), I think a ThinkPad is quite a good machine with a serious look (but obviously not a sexy one). The machine, from my personal experience, is quite reliable and dependable. I don't know if ThinkPad (especially since it's no longer an IBM's product, but the Chinese company Lenovo's) bundle so many junkware/demoware/uselessware or not. I don't really care since I will just repartition the drive and reinstall everything (including installing Linux) anyway.

Also, as long as the new Intel-Mac cannot boot Windows, there are still needs for Windows-machine, and the need will just get stronger as Microsoft push the gear up to corporate desktop, workstation, and enterprise; places where Apple's hallmark iLife and iWork have no place in, and places where they don't need Apple's 'Creative Pro Apps' (there are places for those apps, which are great apps, but not in the places I'm talking about).

Well, if I do have to choose between a PowerBook and a ThinkPad, I'd obviously pick a PowerBook (except if I really have to work with .NET framework/Web Services). However, if I could have both; I'd glad to, too.

By the way, ThinkPad now have the Titanium-cover version. While I quite like the Titanium, I would prefer the entirely Titanium housing, not just the cover.

Also, the Mac in the Tiger-era (OS X 10.4.x) isn't as stable as most myths lead people to believe, too. (To be fair, Panther was rock-solid).