Its been a while, but unfortunately, I have no time to give reasons for going AWOL. Just wanted to share the video below. :-)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
RevoluTV - Watch Live TV in Windows
RevoluTV is a Windows application that allows you to watch TV channels live on your computer. From their webpage,
"RevoluTV allows you to watch hundreds of free Internet TV channels on your PC. If you are interested in breaking news, entertainment, learning languages or foreign cultures then this is a perfect choice for you. News, Sports, Music, Weather, Religion and more internet TV channels all over the world!"
This is almost like Livestation but has more channels. You can grab it from here.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Warez-SL no more!
A forum dedicated to IT related stuff, Warez-SL.com has been taken down. An email sent by the super admin of the site goes as follows.
"guys I know when you see this message how much you hurt your selves. But they already banned our site.I really tried to save the web.But i couldn't. I cant even access my back ups. they will not allows to access those areas. My final word is thank you very much for your contributions and you gave me 100% support. please don't scold at me.000webhost blacklisting warez sites. finally I will not create any sites.I will not come online for few days coz i can't answer them.few guys already raised mails saying site not working..How could i answer them.So guys thanks again for the support."
This is very unfortunate, as the site contained a good set of links to various software. But I feel even more for the Super admin. He seems to be totally heart broken. I don't know but, maybe this is the first time something like this happened to a Sri Lankan site? Who's next? FileNetworks, you better watch out!
This is very unfortunate, as the site contained a good set of links to various software. But I feel even more for the Super admin. He seems to be totally heart broken. I don't know but, maybe this is the first time something like this happened to a Sri Lankan site? Who's next? FileNetworks, you better watch out!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Where are all the Programmers?
I have a routine when it comes to starting my day on the internet. I visit about a dozen sites before I visit any other. This list of sites contains among others, download.com, softpedia.com, Warez-SL.com, and Filenetworks.blogspot.com. As you can see, all these sites are software related, and I usually download new software through these sites (Directly and Indirectly). But almost all the software I've downloaded in my entire lifetime were written by people outside the country. What I mean is, there is not enough software of Sri Lankan origin swapped around on the net.
There are exceptions to this of course. The new web browser xAurora was made by a Sri Lankan, and there is also another software called Suduputha. And there are many Sri Lankan contributors to many Apache Foundation projects, like Geronimo and Apache Axis. But apart from these, I haven't come across any others of Sri Lankan origin.
Is it because our programmers aren't good enough? But then again, xAurora is said to be written in Win32 Assembly. Maybe the courses offered don't cover the high-end stuff needed? But courses can only teach you so much. At degree level, students are supposed to be independent in their learning. They have to pursue knowledge on their own, without waiting for it to be spoonfed to them, which wont happen at that level.
Maybe they don't have enough time. Most of these graduates go into companies like Virtusa and MIT, and get a full time job. I don't know what kind of software they create in these companies, but most probably they are specialized software tailor made for different companies (I don't see at least a general Accounting software offered by Virtusa). And most of them learn Web 2.0 technologies, to give them the edge in the new service driven market. With all of these going on, they probably don't have enough time to even think about writing a general purpose software.
Maybe there is no need to for us to create new software. There certainly are enough free software out there to get most of our jobs done. Maybe, with the changing face of IT, the desktop might become a thing of the past, taking along with it software like Windows and Linux.
Whatever the reasons may be, I definitely would like to see the presence of the Sri Lankan IT people felt more strongly on the internet. Perhaps not software, but the next Generation MMORPG? How about 'SLA Vs. LTTE - The Battle for Elephant Pass'? Now that is a title to get the attention of all the Sri Lankans out there!
There are exceptions to this of course. The new web browser xAurora was made by a Sri Lankan, and there is also another software called Suduputha. And there are many Sri Lankan contributors to many Apache Foundation projects, like Geronimo and Apache Axis. But apart from these, I haven't come across any others of Sri Lankan origin.
Is it because our programmers aren't good enough? But then again, xAurora is said to be written in Win32 Assembly. Maybe the courses offered don't cover the high-end stuff needed? But courses can only teach you so much. At degree level, students are supposed to be independent in their learning. They have to pursue knowledge on their own, without waiting for it to be spoonfed to them, which wont happen at that level.
Maybe they don't have enough time. Most of these graduates go into companies like Virtusa and MIT, and get a full time job. I don't know what kind of software they create in these companies, but most probably they are specialized software tailor made for different companies (I don't see at least a general Accounting software offered by Virtusa). And most of them learn Web 2.0 technologies, to give them the edge in the new service driven market. With all of these going on, they probably don't have enough time to even think about writing a general purpose software.
Maybe there is no need to for us to create new software. There certainly are enough free software out there to get most of our jobs done. Maybe, with the changing face of IT, the desktop might become a thing of the past, taking along with it software like Windows and Linux.
Whatever the reasons may be, I definitely would like to see the presence of the Sri Lankan IT people felt more strongly on the internet. Perhaps not software, but the next Generation MMORPG? How about 'SLA Vs. LTTE - The Battle for Elephant Pass'? Now that is a title to get the attention of all the Sri Lankans out there!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
New Sri Lankan Browser on the Block
xAurora is a new web browser created by a Sri lankan named Dr. Sameera De Alwis. I have absolutely no idea wether this is true or not, but at first glance it seems to be so.
Whats special about this new browser, apart from being written by a Sri Lankan, is that it was apparently written completely in Win32 Assembly. Yeah you heard me right. Win32 Assembly. All that WinMain, WndClass, TranslateMessage and DispatchMessage stuff. Writing full blown applications in Win32 Assembly is a rare feat in itself (these days or for a local guy), and must be contributing to the fact that the executable file is just 759KB. The code seems to be using the IE Engine to render pages, but I am not sure on this. Another serious thing is that the browser runs in ring 0. The same level in which the kernel operates (I didnt know this was possible. Can anyone tell me how to do it?). Of course, there is no way to verify this claim, since the site says that the application is closed source. But the software itself is free, so go ahead and download this software and support our local talent (Did I mention it loads pages fast too).
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Ebooks for you
Wow! its been a while since my last post, and a lot has happened. Heroes and the other TV shows started, a few bombs went off here and there, other things happened, and oh yeah, Sakvithi got away with a fortune. Reminds me of a certain other company named Seagull. But... well, you know our countrymen, right? Speaking of Seagull, check out the photo below.
Neat eh? I check the Google blogs everyday and couldn't find any information regarding the above claim (and I didnt expect to either!). I dont know wether this is a recent ad but if it is, their timing couldn't be any worse. We sinhalese forget things after some time, so they should've waited until the Sakvithi fiasco was over. I suggest they wait at least a couple of months before starting this thing. A few cricket matches later, and everything will be forgotten.
Okay so getting back to what this post is actually about. I use Ebooks as a reference when programming, because, well, its easier than flipping through the pages of a book looking for a certain command and how to use it. And even when reading for leisure, Ebooks are OK I guess.
Most of the sites I mention here are just blogs giving links to rapidshare files. Others are more legitimate, but in the end, you should be able to find a reasonable amount of books you want.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Some (or ALL?) of these sites were first featured on Filenetworks. I hope he doesn't mind...
KnowFree.net
Here's an excerpt from the site's About Us page
One thing to note is that, some (If not most) of the RAR files are password protected. Usually, the password is knowfree.net, but make sure you read everything on the site to find the correct password.
Ebookeesh
A blog that gives links to ebooks spread around the net. This site has an impressive collection of IT related books, but fails when it comes to books in other categories.
Ebookshare
Another site with links, but the links here lead to .torrent files. After downloading the .torrent file, you have to use a Torrent program to download the actual Ebook. I have downloaded Ebooks through the torrents at this site about a dozen times without any problems (And the torrents had a considerable number of seeders too). Sports an impressive collection of IT related books.
Computer Ebook
As the name suggests, this site is also about IT related Ebooks (Does all this lead you to the conclusion I'm an IT man?). Great collection of programming Ebooks are available. Apart from that, there is a small collection of Ebooks related to Robotics too (Is anyone in Sri lanka into this field?).
Freebookspot
Unlike most of the sites mentioned above, this site has a considerable amount of ebooks in categories other than IT too (Like Sex for instance!). Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Astronomy, etc... and books in other categories are available.
Techbooksforfree
Another Tech related Ebook site. Yawn...
Freetechbooks
Okay, so Tech means not only computers, and as such, this site has a collection of links to other Tech subjects, like Electronics and Mathematics (Math is Tech?). Unlike many other sites out there, most of the books listed here are not pirated, but actually available under special licenses. I didnt bother to read it, but the books are fine, and thats all you and I need to know.
Classical Computer Science Texts
Okay, so I know we're moving away from single core and 32 bit to 2 or more cores and 64bit, but remember, If you dont know your past, you cant make sense of your future. I just made that up, but the point is, some of these texts were pioneering in their age (For example, the Fortran Compiler) and we wouldn't be here if not for them. And of course, it does make interesting reading too.
O'Reilly Open Books and O'Reilly Commons
O'Reilly has made a number of books open for various reasons (Like, they've made enough money out of it, and now, its content is outdated), and this collection is good enough for most of us I think.
Global Text Project
I'm getting tired of writing my own review so here's an excerpt from the above mentioned site.
Neat eh? I check the Google blogs everyday and couldn't find any information regarding the above claim (and I didnt expect to either!). I dont know wether this is a recent ad but if it is, their timing couldn't be any worse. We sinhalese forget things after some time, so they should've waited until the Sakvithi fiasco was over. I suggest they wait at least a couple of months before starting this thing. A few cricket matches later, and everything will be forgotten.
Okay so getting back to what this post is actually about. I use Ebooks as a reference when programming, because, well, its easier than flipping through the pages of a book looking for a certain command and how to use it. And even when reading for leisure, Ebooks are OK I guess.
Most of the sites I mention here are just blogs giving links to rapidshare files. Others are more legitimate, but in the end, you should be able to find a reasonable amount of books you want.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Some (or ALL?) of these sites were first featured on Filenetworks. I hope he doesn't mind...
KnowFree.net
Here's an excerpt from the site's About Us page
"KnowFree (KF) is a web portal with a slogan: "KNOWLEDGE IS FREE", so it is place for users to exchange freely e-books, video training and other materials for educational purposes, self-practice only."
One thing to note is that, some (If not most) of the RAR files are password protected. Usually, the password is knowfree.net, but make sure you read everything on the site to find the correct password.
Ebookeesh
A blog that gives links to ebooks spread around the net. This site has an impressive collection of IT related books, but fails when it comes to books in other categories.
Ebookshare
Another site with links, but the links here lead to .torrent files. After downloading the .torrent file, you have to use a Torrent program to download the actual Ebook. I have downloaded Ebooks through the torrents at this site about a dozen times without any problems (And the torrents had a considerable number of seeders too). Sports an impressive collection of IT related books.
Computer Ebook
As the name suggests, this site is also about IT related Ebooks (Does all this lead you to the conclusion I'm an IT man?). Great collection of programming Ebooks are available. Apart from that, there is a small collection of Ebooks related to Robotics too (Is anyone in Sri lanka into this field?).
Freebookspot
Unlike most of the sites mentioned above, this site has a considerable amount of ebooks in categories other than IT too (Like Sex for instance!). Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Astronomy, etc... and books in other categories are available.
Techbooksforfree
Another Tech related Ebook site. Yawn...
Freetechbooks
Okay, so Tech means not only computers, and as such, this site has a collection of links to other Tech subjects, like Electronics and Mathematics (Math is Tech?). Unlike many other sites out there, most of the books listed here are not pirated, but actually available under special licenses. I didnt bother to read it, but the books are fine, and thats all you and I need to know.
Classical Computer Science Texts
Okay, so I know we're moving away from single core and 32 bit to 2 or more cores and 64bit, but remember, If you dont know your past, you cant make sense of your future. I just made that up, but the point is, some of these texts were pioneering in their age (For example, the Fortran Compiler) and we wouldn't be here if not for them. And of course, it does make interesting reading too.
O'Reilly Open Books and O'Reilly Commons
O'Reilly has made a number of books open for various reasons (Like, they've made enough money out of it, and now, its content is outdated), and this collection is good enough for most of us I think.Global Text Project
I'm getting tired of writing my own review so here's an excerpt from the above mentioned site.
"The project will create open content electronic textbooks that will be freely available from a website. Distribution will also be possible via paper, CD, or DVD. Our goal initially is to focus on content development and Web distribution, and we will work with relevant authorities to facilitate dissemination by other means when bandwidth is unavailable or inadequate. The goal is to make textbooks available to the many who cannot afford them."
I'm pretty sure I belong to the 'many who cannot afford them'.
IBM Redbooks
I have no idea about the term Redbook, or what most of these Redbooks are about ('IBM System Blue Gene Solution: Blue Gene/P System Administration' isnt Blue Gene a Supercomputer?). I thought one of you out there might actually be able to make sense of the contents of these books, so the site goes in the post.
Wikibooks
I'm pretty sure I belong to the 'many who cannot afford them'.
IBM Redbooks
I have no idea about the term Redbook, or what most of these Redbooks are about ('IBM System Blue Gene Solution: Blue Gene/P System Administration' isnt Blue Gene a Supercomputer?). I thought one of you out there might actually be able to make sense of the contents of these books, so the site goes in the post.
Wikibooks
"Wikibooks is a Wikimedia community for creating a free library of educational textbooks that anyone can edit. Wikibooks began on July 10, 2003; since then Wikibooks has grown to include over 32,341 pages in a multitude of textbooks created by volunteers like you! "
Undoubtedly one of the best sources of Ebooks, many of these are very professional and informative (Like the Haskell Wikibook). Wikibooks are available in many categories, for people at many levels of education (Wikijunior anyone?). Definitely recommed this site.
Project Gutenberg
The mother of all Ebook sites. Project Gutenberg was the first of its kind in 1971 when it began, and is still going strong today. Chances of finding titles like, 'The C Programming Language' are slim, but can you compare reading that to reading, say, The Art of War, or maybe, The Illiad? PG contains cultural works that are in the Public Domain, like the previously mentioned books. If you want to get a dose of culture after a hard days work, a visit to PG is recommended.
Undoubtedly one of the best sources of Ebooks, many of these are very professional and informative (Like the Haskell Wikibook). Wikibooks are available in many categories, for people at many levels of education (Wikijunior anyone?). Definitely recommed this site.
Project Gutenberg
The mother of all Ebook sites. Project Gutenberg was the first of its kind in 1971 when it began, and is still going strong today. Chances of finding titles like, 'The C Programming Language' are slim, but can you compare reading that to reading, say, The Art of War, or maybe, The Illiad? PG contains cultural works that are in the Public Domain, like the previously mentioned books. If you want to get a dose of culture after a hard days work, a visit to PG is recommended.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
ZScreen - Open Source Screen Capture program
There are many screen capture programs out there, but the Open Source ZScreen gives them all a run for their money.
ZScreen has a plethora of options when it comes to capturing the screen and what to do with the captured image. It has the standard 3 ways of capturing the screen (selected region, active window, or the entire screen), and a number of options to choose from afterwards. You can either directly copy it to the clipboard, open the captured screenshot in an image manipulation program of your choice, upload the captured image to an FTP server, or simple save the image automatically in a predefined folder in an image format of your choice, and you can tweak almost all the settings for any of these actions. This software is a must have for anyone who frequently takes screenshots.
Grab the software from here (You'll need the .NET framework to run this).
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