Well, after many times wrestling with Linux moves away from Windows I have finally switched from Windows. To a supposedly expensive Mac: it cost less than equivalent Thinkpads, which is what I used to buy.

Now I have wonderful Unix at my fingertips with a 'proper' user interface on top. Very nice machine and very nice OS.

I bought a PB17" 1.33GHz for my partner in April (yes I wanted someone else to test it first...), and a PB15" 1.5GHz in July for myself. Currently used as a development machine and occasional game (Halo) machine.

Running Apache, PHP, MySQL, PHPMyAdmin, nice portable webserver! Xcode 1.5 is very good (and also free), I can do all my development using it very easily (OpenGL, C/C++, etc...), with Doxygen integrated as a custom build step.

On top of that most of Apple's included software (Mail, Safari, iCal, AddressBook, iSync, iTunes, Bluetooth utils) is very good. iPhoto is a bit of a dissapointment, and I don't have much use for iMovie or iDVD.

My switch to Apple experiences can be read at http://www.happymakinggames.com/switch

Have fun!

Well.
Well well.
Interesting week.
This is how it was for me, no stories, nothing making sense, just shards of "stuff"...

(1)

I especially liked the following quotes from this week:

"Deep in the darkness of the psyche, vandals and arsonists no doubt have their reasons - and so, presumably, do the run-of-the-mill geeks who wreak damage on the unsuspecting computer user."

and:

"There seems little doubt that SCO was targeted - illegally and unacceptably, lest anyone be in any doubt - because it has enraged many people devoted to the Linux operating system."

(2)

To the people jubilant about _THAT_ stupid worm/virus/whatever attacking SCO: YOU F*$#(*&^#&*$#ING IDIOTS!!!!!! Jeesh, what? Did you guys think of the impact you would have before your wrote those comments, joke or not?

(3)

Thank you Lord for 2.6.2.

(4) ....

(5)

Profit! ;) (Couldn't resist, there was a numbered lists you see...)

Moving from WXP to Linux is all well-and-good, but it has certainly stopped me from doing any "personal work". So I'll leave Linux running in it's current state (which is stable, solid and working very nicely thank-you-very-much) and just keep moving my projects away from Windows and DirectX so that I can use Linux a little more than I do now. It's been over a month now since I've done any real work on my little game, some of it due to procrastination, and some due to trying to replace Windows with Linux. The move to Linux has, on occasion, been a nice thing to blame lack of progress on, stupid me!
Anyway, back to work! It'll be very nice to be able to use an optimizing compiler on Linux instead of my $240 VC.NET NON-OPTIMIZING compiler on Windows. Oh, yes I know that I can use other IDEs and compilers on windows, I'm lazy when it comes to that stuff. ;)

Hhmmmm, still happy with my RH9. It has certainly saved me from some WXP horror moments: (1) PartitionMagic8 crashed during datamove on the NTFS partition, and (2) WXP screwed the partitiontable a few weeks later when all I got it to do was look at the disk layout in admintools! It great fun to see Linux read (and backup) the NTFS partition when WXP can't start from it, and no other Windows based boot can see the NTFS partition :).

Anyway, KDE3.1 is very nice, screen real-estate just seems to be used 'better'. All the various bits of hardware in the computer seem to be working now (I haven't bothered with the winmodem, not needed anyway...), including the 802.11b Actiontec PCI card.

The wireless problem turned out to be real simple: RH9 just refused to install the PCI orinoco module, so I had to do that manually (see http://bbs.digitalguru.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=7 ).

I actually need to use WXP for a lot of stuff still, and I found myself using Linux (only) for email (using Evolution), but this just became impractical.
I have since moved my email to Netscape 7.1 under WXP and the same under Linux. I set both up to use a profile directory on a FAT32 partition accessible by both. Only issue is that the 2 version sometimes get confused about which emails have been read and which have not. Better than a kick in the teeth, I say!

A side-effect of the drive problems mentioned earlier mean that I'm now no slouch at the GRUB console, something that scared the bejezus out of me when I had to use it.

What'll happen next? Who knows! Maybe when I finish playing HL2 (when it finaly appears) I'll be able to remove WXP, maybe?

This, for me, is momentous. I have successfully installed Red Hat 9 2.4.20-8, configured a kernel, installed NTFS access, and connected to the "net".
Now, I have to get my wireless to work (actiontec mini-pci IBM laptop), my powermanagement tweaked and my screen to stay normal after a standby-resume.

I am happy. No more lost-first characters in Windows text entry boxes, no more (hopefully) weird harddisk access while my machine is doing nothing, no more daily virus warnings (I think).

I feel liberated. I will now proceed to finish a 6 pack of Heineken. Ok, not the most celebratory drink, but it makes ME happy. Like my new Linux installation. :)

I will follow this up with more entries in what my girlfriend pointed out with a big grin on her face: my blog! I'll keep referring to it as a journal thank-you-very-much.

Oh dear.

(My thoughts on this are still a little messy, so my following blurb will be VERY disjointed, they are just my thoughts. I'm trying to get them in order...)

SCO owns UNIX code, and tells us there are parts of it in Linux. These parts were supposedly put in there, illegaly, by people with access to the SCO UNIX code. The people that did this worked for IBM. What, all of them? It's just IBM's fault? Why does SCO license it's code anyway? Is it so people can integrate some of SCO's code in their products? Or is it licensed just so poeple can modify their software to suit their particular situations?

Anyway, I'll shut up because I don't know enough about this issue. I don't really know the history. I've read enough about it though, and most of it I have to disregard because people just can't get past their biases.

Now we find out in the news that Microsoft has licensed the UNIX code from SCO. They paid SCO an unknown amount of money for the right to use their code. So what? There are plenty of other companies that have done the same!

Great! Microsoft wants access to UNIX code, for a reason. So the usual idiots start writing their posts saying things like "Microsoft buys UNIX!", "Microsoft owns Linux!". No! Microsoft LICENSED SCO's UNIX code. They didn't buy it!
In any case, Microsoft looking at UNIX is a good thing, isn't it? Either they want to make sure they will not suffer like IBM in case SCO's claims are valid. Or they want to look at UNIX code for their own OS. Anyway, you always complain that "Windows is shit", "Windows is unstable", "it crashes constantly" and so on... If this is so then it's good news: Microsoft Windows might become more stable!

That's what it is all about right? Quality systems? Hehe.

What if, as so many have posted, Microsoft just licensed the code to scare the Linux community or just to scare some corporations out of Linux. Well, that's business. That's computing, it's about business now. They are a listed corporation who's main obligation is to it's shareholders. One of their competitors is possibly in a little trouble. What do they do? They do what every other corporation would do in the same place! Try to hurt their competitor a little more.

Think, yes maybe difficult, but just do it. If you were Microsoft, what would you do? What, you would give away your code? For free? What would your shareholders think?

How would you feel, as an engineer, if you worked for a large corporation making some products, and you put all your time and energy into these products. And you're proud of the work you've done? Only to have some group of people constantly "putting shit" on it? To always think you're evil, you work for the devil. You may be a systems guy for some university, and I might be some guy who got screwed over by this university, you'd quit working there in support of me and others like me? Hehe, suuuure...

Ok, so Windows may not always have been the most stable, but it also has to run on the widest range of hardware in the history of computing! I think they've done a bloody good job! Linux is now getting support for other devices. That's nice. It still does not recognise my wireless card, or the extra buttons on my Logitech mouse. It screws up my laptop's display when coming out of suspend. Windows recognises my wireless, has no problems with my Firewire, handles my display perfectly.
AmigaOS (my favourite system of all time) ran on a single hardware platform with few variations. Maybe 12 different video cards, a bunch of different sound cards. Windows has to run perfectly on hundred's of vide cards, sound cards, network cards, and all in different hardware combinations.
MacOS (9 or 10, I don't care), like AmigaOS, runs on hardware designed by the OS's creator, with a couple of select video cards and other assorted hardware.
now forget the current perceived stability of these few platforms.
Microsoft, I hate to say, has done the best job. It runs well enough on just about anything! AmigaOS (in my opinion) may have been simpler, more elegant. Linux may be more scaleable, stable. The Mac may be easier (really?), better suited to graphics creation. But all these 'alternatives' all ran on a small set of hardware. So, if you look at the picture from a slightly different angle, you'll see that Microsoft actually really did do a very good job!

Ok, so maybe I couldn't shut up after all.
Oh, I just installed Red Hat 9, in yet another attempt to see if I can replace Windows with Linux _THIS_ time....

If I remember, I may edit this later...

Edit #1 2003-05-21:
Heh, straight after the journal entry was submitted.
Clarificaton: I do not work for Microsoft. I work for an Electronic Gambling Machine manufacturer that seems to be the largest in the world.
People in Australia either hate the "Pokies" or love them. Songs have been written about the destructive side of "Pokies" ("Blow up the Pokies" by The Whitlams). I work in an industry that at times unintentionally hurts people, I am not proud of that, but I am proud of most of the actual software work I do, the pay's ok, some of the technology very interesting. And: in Australia, there's not much work like this available - graphics, interactivity (you may laugh now), artwork, engineering, new technology, some comfortable technology, and wrestling with horribly old technology also.
See, Microsoft employees, along with employees at plenty of other large supposedly evil corporations, need their jobs, enjoy their jobs (hopefully) and in general do a good job that they are proud of!
Anyway, I guess now you got a little peek at where I'm coming from...

Edited 2002-09-03 - Forgive the rambling, I like to ramble from time to time.

"Do Long Work Hours Affect Code Quality?"

Yes and no. It all depends on your work environment and your personal life.

Personal life.

If your partner is understanding and encouraging, and you personal relationship with your parner is strong the long work hours are not going to be too much of a problem. This is my case. My partner encourages me to do well, and to do things I like to do. I likewise encourage her to continue with her personal projects and interests. You have to. We also understand when the other needs to do a lot of extra work to get a job done.
I use a powerful laptop to do most of my work on. My workplace desktop computer is used as a secondary machine during the day. This means I don't have to stay at work until the next morning, I can do it in the comfort of my own home. My employer has a very active HR department, constantly putting out policies to ensure the company complies with laws, and it's employees have flexibility (One of the current issues is parents can take extra holiday time or work shorter days for slight decrease in salary). Another 'initiative' allows some limited work from home time.
It also helps that my work (software engineering/programming) started as a hobby 18 years ago: I love to program, so long as it is an interesting project! ;)

This all makes working extra hours a fairly comfortable thing.

Work environment.

A good work environment makes you want to do extra work for the company.
A work environment includes just about anything you can think of: chairs, desks, colour schemes, colleagues, other staff, management, windows, airconditioning, salary, work-hours, coffee, snacks, smoke breaks, interesting work, smart project timelines, understanding supervisors, parking, public transport, nearby greenspaces, nearby shops, outside air quality, noise, language, etc...

A good work environment needs good people, good indoor working environment, good area amenities.

In my case, the company I work for has cubicles which are just over 2x2 meters, with desks made for people who are 5.5 feet tall, terrible (but expensive) chairs and a cantankerous airconditioning system. Blood red partitions, dark blue carpet, and bone desks and walls. I am used to it now, but at first it was headache-inducing!
We do, however, have a great view over our city.

The people I work with are great. A mix of quality and average, but everyone has value. We have great laughs, playtime (in and out of work), and everyone can take critisism, praise and a joke. Salaries are about average, with some undeserving and deserving people getting above average, and some getting below. There is no overtime for 3/4 of the company, but a sattelite office does get overtime (which is a source of frustration for some).
Employees here have great freedom with regards to working hours. Most come in between 9am and 10am, and leave between 4pm and 6pm. From what I've seen management has never asked people to stay behind an unreasonable number of hours. There are some people who stay unreasonable hours off their own bat. No questions are asked about long lunches or short days. So long as the job gets done.

The area's ameneties are quite good. We're a 15min drive from the beach, 10min from a major park with others nearby also. We are 15min from the city center, and 5 from several shopping centers. And I am 5 minutes from home. So when anyone feels the need to "get some air", they're a short drive away from their fancy.

Currently some (engineering) people are working on intersting work from our HQ, and a whole bunch of others are working on a sattelite office's project. A few of us have been moved from project to project to project over the last few years, to the point whre only 1 person of an original bunch is still working long hours. Our local management is not interested in the project in development at our HQ, instead they are pushing a far inferior project from our sattelite office. This of course causes friction between the offices, and frustrates the engineers who have to work on the inferior project (and there is a huge difference).

In any case, we have everything except for lack of politics, and interesting work.
These two facts, combined with the bad workspaces mean that most people do not work late. They are not motivated to do so. In my case, after being moved from project to project to project, and now wokring on the inferior project, I am not at all motivated to work extra hours or even work hard!
A few years ago, when we were working on a very nice project, we were all highly motivated and all worked a lot of extra time. We did not get any thanks, the project was cancelled in favour of a far inferior project.

(DISCLAIMER: The console products mentioned below are for illustrative purposes only!)
Imagine the following scenario: A company with dwindling marketshare and a poor product has two products in development: one has equivalent capabilites to a Gameboy, the other a Dreamcast. The Dreamcast was cancelled in favour of the Gameboy. Now a similar situation exists: We have a Sega Megadrive in development and an XBox. First we have the Dreamcast team put to work on finishing the Gameboy. Now we have XBox people removed to work on the Sega Megadrive. The XBox is not cancelled, it is in development mostly at HQ.

Anyway, I think this has turned into a complaint against my employer! ;)

Currently I do not work many extra hours, only if absolutely necessary. When the politiking between offices stops and our local management is finally bowled over by the upper management at HQ (which in this international company is inevitable) then long hours will start again. I like the company and want it to grow, I work with a great bunch of engineers and QC people. When some decisions have been made and the situatio changes for the better: bring on the caffeine, because long hours will happen. If changes are for the worse: well, shorter and shorter hours, with less and less satisfaction, until all the good engineers leave. If it ever reaches that stage then HQ will stop local development and turn local offices into sales offices.

Again, If the work is interesting, the environment is good and the personal life is good: long hours are not so much of a problem, on the other hand If you are working long hours to escape your personal life you must change your personal life.
If you are working long hours and your personal life is fine, but your work is not interesting and the environment is bad: LEAVE! If you don't change a bad work life or a bad personal life, you are going for destruction in the other.

Enjoy!

Eh, just posted some "bait" on the 12bit palm story... Who cares? tiny screen, low resolution, this doesn't need a large amount of colours.
The post appeared as written by "Anonymous Coward", and I did not want that to happen again! I can take responsibility for my thoughts!
So, now I've signed up (non paying) and any future posts will NOT be from a coward!
Let's just hope I can add something to the threads, rather than detract, in the future.
Enjoy!
Jeroen.