Software

When I upgraded to Ubuntu Karmic Koala (9.10), I had a cursory glance over the Ubuntu One and did a setup. It basically was supposed to provide a syncing mechanism of your local files with storage in cloud (Ubuntu One servers).

Let me repeat the title - be very careful while you use tasksel on Ubuntu (or a Debian based Linux distribution for that matter).

Here is something that I am going through right as I write this entry that might save you the trouble. I was back from work, and it was 2 AM in the morning but I still wanted to do some setups on my laptop. It had been recently upgraded to Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) and I wanted to setup a LAMP stack.

I invoked tasksel and saw that Ubuntu Desktop was highlighted. I unchecked it, checked LAMP server and hit OK.

And all hell broke loose.

It was uninstalling the Ubuntu Desktop packages right in front of my eyes!

Well, I killed the process half way through but some harm was done. If I shutdown my laptop now, or it crashes I need to use a CD to recover it. But since I had been through a similar situation before, I know I should be able to recover from this.

It might sound cocky since I am still on the recovery process, but I do have confidence that it will pull through.

Bottom line though is that be careful of the GUI wrappers like tasksel or even Synaptic Package Managers. They can do a lot of harm for the "ease of use" they provide. Stick to explicit command line that does only what is told. And also, do not do critical system changes with sleepy eyes. :)

It has been a while since I decided not to use Apple products any more.

Here are some of the reasons I came to this decision:

1. Their iTunes software required to sync/buy music and to make use of the iPod/iPhone Apps out there is not available on Linux. I hate it these days when someone forces me to dual boot into my Windows partition.
2. iPod batteries suck. Not batteries themselves, because I do understand the concept of recharge cycles, but not able to replace it yourselves is really a bummer. And sending it in to Apple for a replacement will cost you almost half the price of the device, which is absurd. Read MG Siegler's view at The Short Lifespan Of The iPhone.

Now, I will be using the iPod I bought, until it dies. I am glad I bought an iPod Touch and not an iPhone. But I will not be buying anymore of Apple's products. I will not be buying them for myself, or as gifts for others.

Apple has lost me as a customer.

iPod photo by juanpol.

Those who have been following me on twitter, would have realized that I have started to dabble in C++ recenlty. Those who know me personally, would know that I did quite a bit of my programming antics in that language. It is only for the past couple of years that I had gotten involved into Java.

Not to say that I have quit Java, but I find it quite refreshing to work in C++ again. There are some new constructs and features that the language is providing since I stopped working on it. Moreover, it seems like there are lot more standardization effort that has taken place.

Here are some to and fro articles in terms of Java and C++:

• The Java is Faster than C++ and C++ Sucks Unbiased Benchmark
• 'The Java Faster than C++' Benchmark Revisited
• The Java (not really) Faster than C++ Benchmark

I am not really sure of the credibility of these authors, so please do your research before taking them as facts.

Speaking of C++, I do feel obligated to link to the Bjarne Stroustrup - the designer and implementor of C++.