I have just looked through another Windows vs. Linux discussion and got the same strange feeling that something is wrong with it. Next I thought I have got the pattern.

Long ago one of such discussions contained a parable like this: "Linux is like a car you can examine under the hood and tweak, Microsoft is like a car with the hood you cannot open". Each and every Microsoft vs. Linux discussion seams to be based on that. This parable is wrong.

In fact Linux...

In ancient Chinese classification "perfect victory" is one when the defeated side does not know there was a battle and it has been defeated. Using that as the definition of "perfect defeat", I wonder if desktop Linux is heading one.

I am subscribed to the Linux Today newsletter. The latest issue contains these two links:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...el_shape&num=1

http://blogs.computerworld.com/the_ubuntu_and_ati_blues...

I ran a speed microtest from the Net. Since I cannot understand the results, I should blog and forget.

As of writing, the microtest is at http://blog.dhananjaynene.com/2008/0...-jruby-groovy/. It is like an object orientation overhead test. I ran only Python and Ruby. The numbers are microseconds per iteration. I ran each test 3 times and wrote down the extreme values so that it is possibly to roughly estimate the accuracy.
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Subj! That is, if you want something done be ready to use the trial and error method. Or, if you think something is working, please double check. This weekend example follows.

Due to the nature of Windows, a development project often presents a choice between screwing up your PC or testing in the "user environment" prepared in a virtual machine. Normally I choose the second option. In this case I have Delphi, MySQL, and the necessary crap installed on a virtual disk and...

The upgrade to KDE 4.2.1 and XFCE 4.6, being very successful all by itself, made me sure that Linux still is, well, childish. The big problem - how come desktop beauty does not play well with video -is discussed in the previous post. here comes the smaller problem - icon schemes in XFCE are broken.

Some menu items do not have icons; two buttons in the mixer do not have icons on them. It is a minor issue that will be fixed for sure promptly, right? Wrong.

I fixed the...