Ruby Error on Require JSON in Ubuntu

Received the following error from a Ruby application when it called require 'json'.

irb(main):002:0> require 'rubygems'
=> true
irb(main):004:0> require 'json'
LoadError: no such file to load -- json
from /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:31:in `gem_original_require'
from /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:31:in `require'
from (irb):4
from :0

JSON is in the libjson-ruby package. So to fix this

sudo apt-get install libjson-ruby

and presto!

irb(main):001:0> require 'json'
=> true

I Need Big Expensive Software! (Not Really)

A recent issue of Database Trends and Applications magazine quoted a Forrester Research study that found 80% of database installations only use 20% of the features provided. My estimation is that this statistic also applies to other software, especially some of the most "popular" used and required on home, school, and office PCs. And this is a large aspect of why open source software should be used, encouraged, and by no means discriminated against in the public arena.

Let's avoid any anti-Windows or anti-Microsoft propaganda or personal preference. Anyone who knows me, already knows my personal preference for Ubuntu Linux anyhow. I'm going to focus briefly on the MS Office suite of applications, because as we know it is the dominant software in this arena.

My wife does things with MS Office at work that would make most people's head spin. She needs and uses the power, APIs, and scripting that it provides. She justifies the $X for her corporate license for Access, Word, Excel, etc. At home, she uses a word processor, rarely, for basic documents and a spreadsheet for rosters with name, address, etc. There is no justifying the expense of MS Office for home. She will occasionally use the old copy of Office97 from our college days, but our primary productivity software is OpenOffice.org. For me, running a Linux desktop, it's always OpenOffice or other open software.

If a corporation decides to buy a corporate license for MS Office or other proprietary productivity software, that's fine by me. When a government spends tax money on licenses for employees who don't use/need the added functionality, it's misuse of resources.

When a public school requires students to use MS Office to read an assignment downloaded from the Internet or as the only format for submitted assignments, there is a problem and an unfair bias toward students who can afford home computers and more over the MS Office software. This irks me. Of course OpenOffice can read/write to MS Office formats, so those "in the know" are OK (most of the time) but the majority of educators do not know this and if they do it is not taught or explained to students.

Teach students fundamentals, not memorized specifics, so that they can rapidly adapt and learn a variety of tools. I have seen countless times educators and students alike turn aside from alternative software options because it's "not the same," "too different," "too hard." The fundamental differences in MS Office and OpenOffice are negligible, and in my opinion, no more difficult to grasp than when MS Office dropped the menu bar and got all decorated with ribbons and bows. Users adapted to the changes due to necessity. It is no more difficult to adapt to another office suite.

The principle of cost vs features vs needed features vs compatibility, should be looked at in all organizations from small to large corporations, schools, governments, churches, and non-profits.

My point in all this is use the software you need for the job your performing and don't force others into your boat when another (potentially free) option will work equally well.

Bulk Image Resizing

Looking for a native tool for bulk manipulation of images on Linux.


Enter two fantastic solutions:

• Nautilus Image Converter
  http://www.bitron.ch/software/nautilus-image-converter.php
  (package: nautilus-image-converter)
• Phatch Nautilus
  http://photobatch.stani.be/
  (package: phatch-nautilus)

Both are tools that integrate directly into Nautilus and allow you to modify the existing image or save a modified copy.


Nautilus Image Conver provides quick context menu options to resize or rotate and image or group of images.


Phatch likes to work always on a directory of images and provides more advanced editing functions in addition to resizing, such as rounding corners,  adding a background shadow, and watermarking.


Both are fantastic tools!

Windows, Mac, and other non-Linux users don't feel left out. Phatch is actually cross-platform! Still there's something for you too, keep reading the backstory.

While previewing Adobe Air, I tried the Shrink-o-Matic application. I found that I really liked it and the interface was great for clients who like to update their own websites, but don't understand (or want to) how to edit their images to an appropriate size.

After a few simple configurations (setting desired image size and output location), the application is as simple as dragging, dropping, then opening and using your newly resized images. It's worth looking up and trying out if your not a Linux user. (drop me a line and i can send you a step-by-step guide to setting it up.)

My PCs are not the latest and greatest, they are actually more like well aged wine, and they do their jobs very well (with Ubuntu). Running Adobe Air is a bit cumbersome so I wanted a native application that would run fast. That led me to find the great Linux applications listed above, which provide such a vast array of features that I no longer need Shrink-o-Matic (which is still a nice tool) and I can dump Adobe and Air (which makes me happy).

As a side note, I'm also a little biased against Adobe as from experience I fell their sales tactics are deceptive and they misuse/abuse open source and free software. That's not to say all of their end products are bad though.

The Windows7 Experience

Some observation from a recent (brief) encounter with Windows 7

• why does a "restart required" message show up under the win explorer icon in the taskbar? oh yeah, to trick us so we think an app is still running when we restart :D
• given two windows partially overlapping. was it planned that tool tips for the lower window would appear under the other window? (Gnome's window management works so productively for me that everything else just seems icky. Way to go Gnome team!)
• window and scroll wheel focus are a real annoyance to me. They just slow me down too much to have to click every window I want to use. (again Gnome gives me max productivity)

After getting used to the feel of Win7 and copping with the inconveniences, I do see some major improvements in the OS. Here's the way I figure.

• XP added new features/utilities and later quick-added some for security issues
• These were not bad ideas but lacked in user-interface/interaction
  (they were annoying)
• Vista fixed many of those so they were not (as) annoying and added other new features/utilities
• again not bad ideas but lacking in user-interface/interaction
  (again they were annoying)
• Repeat the same for Windows 7.

The cycle makes some sense in that after enough complaints and feedback it's easy to see a better solution to something. Would be nice though if they received enough feedback from beta testing to clean up the annoyances before resleasing (aka a Windows that stayed out of the way and let me do what I need to do... quickly)

Although I think some of the features and UI changes may actually increase the learning curve for noobs, it is actually not that bad an OS to use.

A few UI things I do like

• Automatically rotating wallpapers
  (Linux users see Gnome Wallpaper Tray applet)
• Handling of taskbar icons/applications (for the most part)
• Ability to show taskbar icons only or icons with labels
  (although the menu to change this setting seems miss-worded)
• popup previews of application windows
• application specific options on right-click
• application window coming to front when hovering over preview
• curved and colored highligh behind running application icons.
• color varies by app
• makes feel more organic
• show desktop in bottom right that frames all windows and displays desktop
• Auto versioning / previous versions of files
  (sounds good although i never played with it)

And one item that I have yet to decide if I like or dislike (i'm mixed between, perception, functinality, and reality)

• multiple tabs in IE (and other tabbed apps) show as multiple windows in taskbar preview. Useful? Confusing? Annoying? Beneficial? I'm still in the air.
  
• clicking preview brings up IE and that tab gets focus (I like that)
• it seems missleading since they are tabs in the same window, especially with IE as it still like to open WAY to many new windows for my liking.
• although functionally, it seems a productivity booster

It was interesting to see some of the new features and improvements, but it come nowhere near swaying me from Ubuntu Linux and Gnome desktop. Linux is still simply the fastest, most efficient, and enjoyable way for me to work.

Testing in Safari on Linux

Had the need to test Apple's Safari browser on a website or three. Issue: I'm a Linux (Ubuntu) user. Of course Linux is awesome and super good, but the big Apple doesn't make a version of Safari for Linux.

Solution: PlayOnLinux

Looks like it is popular for gaming, but it also has more practical use, it sets up and configures to let me run Safari through Wine. BTW, it also supports Google Chrome (yeah!).

Download it for your distro here.
  http://www.playonlinux.com/en/download.html

Many to choose from with instructions or simply use the available .deb file. Install and launch PlayOnLinux (it appeared in my Games menu).  Click the Install option, select Internet, choose Safari, click Apply, then walk through the screens and your all set. Once installed it will show up in your wine menu and desktop if you chose the desktop option (i had to manually make the desktop launcher executable).

Note while installing Safari: When asked about "Install Bonjour for Windows" and "Apple updates" uncheck both of these, you do not want them as they will cause problems.

Screenshot? Shutter at the Thought

Formerly known as GScrot, Shutter is a fantastic screenshot tool for Linux.
In their own words,

Shutter is a feature-rich screenshot program. You can take a screenshot of a specific area, window, your whole screen, or even of a website - apply different effects to it, draw on it to highlight points, and then upload to an image hosting site, all within one window. Shutter is free, open-source, and licensed under GPL v3.

For what it's worth, Shutter comes highly recommended by me. I am currently using it for all my screen capture needs.

Downloads are available for multiple distributions, of course, including Ubuntu. A quick deb install and your all set.