KDE4 Just Plain Kicks Butt
Okay, seriously, KDE4 is really, really nice. I had been running from svn for the last few months and things tend to get crufty after a while of that… Unless you do a full uninstall and reinstall between weeks, things just kind of get progressively worse. Files get moved, libraries change names, you end up with broken stuff, etc., etc.
So I just started clean and rm -rf’d ~/.kde4, rm -rf’d my local kde4 installation, and used OpenSUSE’s excellent KDE4 repository for all of the KDE4 packages.
WOW! Clean, neat, nice, totally functional, wow, wow, wow! Excellent work, all involved!
And, best of all, we finally got mouse cursor changes to work without having to restart X!!! Holy COW! I had no idea this was a new feature. I know it sounds a small thing to be excited about, but this is one of those little niggling annoyances (like having to restart Firefox to pick up a new theme) that just irritates ya. But no longer!
I must find who to thank for this and dispense a hug at our Launch Event next week!
Oh, and I forgot to mention… it looks like we don’t have quite all the keybindings available in the keyboard shortcuts configuration screen (minimize, maximize, send window X to desktop Y, etc.), so I am using my previous pet project, bbkeys (remember blackbox, anyone?), to do all of those nifty little keybindings. I can’t tell you how cool it feels to have written software 5+ years ago, not used it in at least 3, and be able to come back to it with pride, watching it being fully functional. Long live Open Source! =:D
KDE 4.0 Released!
Congratulations, everyone!! Awesome work!!
Also, Lubos has done up a really nice write-up on KWin4’s features, setup, technical explanation, why KWin4 didn’t use Compiz, etc., etc. And I totally agree, Lubos, your release notes are far more important than the nifty KWin compositing showcast video! =:)
Home Remedies
Donald in Mathmagic Land, or My New PSP
This evening, some of my geekly gadgets gathered together to greet their grandiose new gregarious guest. <G> =;)
I was unable to hold out any longer, apparently. I was able to sell my last-year’s model PSP (the 1000) for $125 on Ye Olde eBay (first time eBayer, woot!), with the intention of buying a new one if I managed to sell the old one for a decent-enough amount. Being that GameStop only gives you $50 for a trade-in, I got $75 more than that with this sale. Which means that the new PSP only really cost me $75. Serious wootage!
I’ve read plenty of reviews about the new PSP, saying that it’s not all that much better, not worth the money if you already have a PSP-1000, flimsier, more-cheaply made, etc. And there’s a lot of truth to all that. They definitely did make the PSP slim models much less sturdy than the old PSP-1000’s. I think they used much thinner plastic all around, and I’m a little worried about dropping it and having it shatter. I mean, the PSP-1000’s had a metal frame and all of the components felt like much higher quality.
All that being said, though, what I was completely shocked by was what a huge difference in weight there is between the slim and older PSPs. WOW! I mean, it makes sense, being that the battery is smaller, the plastic is thinner, there’s no metal frame, etc. But seriously, WOW. Really nice. I read that it weighs 33% less, but it sure feels like more than that.
The screen does seem a tad bit brighter too, which is cool. And being able to charge the battery via USB connection is one thing I was really drawn to, being that I’ll be doing a bit of traveling over the next year and having one less charger to lug around is a very nice plus. Theoretically, I can kick over another ~ $20 and output the video from the PSP to an HD TV or the like, and that’s a nice potential plus, whether I’ll end up doing it or not.
Plus, the ceramic white is altogether downright sexy!
Oh–and I ended up going with the Star Wars pack instead of the “better-value” Daxter pack because:
Another Lap Around the Sun
Pandora + last.fm + Konqueror == Happy Hacker
Just discovered this really cool site that allows you to scrobble/tag/etc. to your last.fm account while you're listening to Pandora. SWEET!! The only wrinkle is that it doesn't seem to work from within Firefox. So just use Konqueror and you'll be happy, like me.
Oh, and I know I'm getting ahead of myself by 1 minute, but Happy New Year!! =:)
KPilot Fixes and New Years Resolution
Haven't been very good at all lately on keeping my blog up to date. *sigh* Well, for that matter, I haven't been very good at all lately on keeping up with much of anything. But I digress...
After a friendly post from Pablo Yepes about some address book goofiness, I removed the ugly kludge that had been in KPilot for quite a while now:
Fix for Tab Mix Plus and iFox Theme
Blef! Finally found a fix for the awesome Tab Mix Plus Firefox extension and the iFox (and associated) themes! Sheesh. Can't believe I tried to ignore that for so long!!
Opera is Cool Again; PSP Comparison
Okay, well, I mean, it's always been cool. I've been using it for a few days instead of Firefox and it's nice to see some of the new things in the Opera camp since I had last used it. I like the widgets idea, although I can't find any widgets that will let me post to my blog. And I miss the del.icio.us buttons/extension that is available for Firefox. I definitely like the feel and organization of Opera. It just feels better and more solid. Like the theme and appearance management. Seriously... having to reboot your web browser to just change a theme or add in an extension... seems... really... silly.
KPilot Insomniatic Progress
I have never had insomnia before in my life. Until tonight. I don't know if it's the stress of everything that's going on in our lives right now (um, trying to sell a house in a REALLY bad housing market, trying to figure out how to pack up and move one's family on a shoestring budget, wanting really badly to do super good on my new job that I absolutely love, etc., etc., etc.).