The Tech Blog of Ken

LiveCD for XGL OpenGL-based Linux interface

I've been on a LiveCD kick lately, and today I checked out a distro to test-drive the XGL OpenGL-based Linux windowing system. XGL is a modified version of X that uses OpenGL to offer OS X-like windowing tricks, and Kororaa XGL is a Gentoo derivative with a LiveCD that is basically just a demo of XGL. XGL is notable because it's supposed to be featured in the next(?) version of SUSE Linux.

It's ok as eye-candy but doesn't really add many useful features, except for maybe the Exposé-like window switching (which I don't even use on the Mac, anyways). Actually, the wobble effect is really lame. I can't say I really like having my windows wiggle around like they're made of Jell-O. Meh. Worth a few minutes to download the torrent to check out the latest in Linux UI development.

Ruby on Rails LiveCD Linux distribution available

If you've been itching to try Rails, but have been avoiding it because you thought configuration might be a hassle, now there's a super easy way to get up and running. The Rails Live CD Linux distribution comes with Rails, MySQL, some editors and a whole suite of related tools to get you riding on Rails in a hurry. They even have a VMWare virtual machine so you can run the distribution in a window in your current OS.

I haven't tried it for myself yet, but the barrier to entry is so low I'm sure I'll do it soon. It's amazing how the LiveCD concept has applications that would never have emerged from a closed/proprietary software environment.

Installing Tiger and Ubuntu on a PowerBook

I spent this past weekend installing Tiger (OS X) on my PowerBook. That is, I spent most of the weekend nervously making sure all my backups were ok, then spent an hour or so installing Tiger. I went with the clean install, since I like to start fresh at least once a year (old Windows habits are hard to break).

So far, so good, except for a few minor annoyances. I'm still in the process of reinstalling all my apps. It's nice to start over and install things in an orderly manner, and to get rid of unused files laying around, especially when dealing with a relatively small 80GB drive. Of course, as soon as I figure out how to free up some disk space, I find something else to use it up. There must be some kind of Geek Law of Conservation of Free Disk Space at work here. I heard some good things about Ubuntu Linux before, but had no idea it could be installed on a Mac.

Ubuntu Linux, Yellowdog Linux and Mac OS X, all on one PowerBook? (found via del.icio.us)