De iuliux

I use Opera Browser ever since it turned to freeware and I enjoyed it. But I think it is about time to move on.

For a while now I keep getting annoyed by websites and apps that do not support my browser of choice, and that’s purely because of the market share and not because of some big implementation deficiencies (like IE). The biggest hit was Google Docs. The spreadsheets were sometimes unusable and all Google had to say about it was that “my browser is not supported”. My constant 2% of the market share browser is not worth it.

Yahoo Mail, another web-application I use very often, is also not in love with Opera. The older design (not the really old one) was working well enough to be usable on Opera, but the new one is quite a mess. I need to refresh the page every once in a (short) while and it is slow. Not a nice experience.

A new big hit is Udacity, which had a great design (and fresh enough - launched February 2012, how rusty might it have been). They decided they need a new design, which is nice, I like when things improve, but the new design does not support my browser anymore. And it does that the wrong way, by telling me that my browser is bad and not supported and should not be used. Well, not really with that words, but this is wrong because it works just fine if I spoof the User-Agent into making him believe I actually use Chrome. There could be some features that are missing or misbehaving that I didn’t notice, but the basic functionality is there and running well. Some people pick the “flawless or none” philosophy, but why not even give it a try. Also, telling Opera users, Safari users and even more hippie users that, while their browser is not supported, IE is a great browser and they should switch to that is a bad-bad thing.

After blaming all these products and companies for some times, I started to think that maybe the problem is somewhere else. Maybe the problem is with the browser. Maybe I just use the wrong one. The one with great features but no luck of getting popular. The one that is fast but has a larger number of bugs compared to other browsers. I started thinking about switching to an other browser and what might this involve.

Maybe Opera guys should think about solving some of these problems. They probably are, but it’s not showing.

The best choice is definitely Google Chrome. It already has features similar to Opera Sync, address-bar search with search-engines keywords.

It doesn’t have built in features like mouse gestures (probably will find a good substitute as extension), tabs stacking (extensions won’t help here). I will really miss the Ctrl+Enter log in, unless I find an extension that does exactly the same thing. Another thing that I would miss a lot is the “tabs trash”/”Closed Tabs button” in Opera that is very handy, while in Chrome I need a new tab for that (and new-tab is also slower on my machine). SpeedDial is also better in Opera.

Another disadvantage: Chrome is much slower with a large number of tabs opened (and I always keep that bar full). At least this is what I experience.

Conclusion: I’m not convinced yet, I don’t want to do it unless I really need to, but I start considering this, and if I leave I will most likely never come back.

Incadrat ca: Personal / 1 Comentariu »

De iuliux

We are always waiting for applications to start, and this time cumulates, becoming significant.

Scenarios

Gigi uses his computer mainly for watching movies. Although he has a few video players installed, he only likes VLC, so he always opens movies in that application, and 90% of the time he opens them from the Downloads folder in his files manager.

Tatiana always starts her favourite web browser each time she starts her computer. It’s almost a reflex for her. She’d love to have the browser started faster.

Catinel uses MSWord a lot and he found a small button that takes him in MSExcel to make tables a lot easier. Now he loves that button and he always uses it.

Veronica uses web browser mostly for reading scientific papers as PDFs. She doesn’t have a special plugin for this, so the documents are opened with the system’s default PDF viewer. But she also needs the web browser together with Eclipse IDE when she is working (she’s a programmer). She works in a team, so she often uses Skype too.

Hypotheses

Gigi: there’s a good chance for VLC to be run after files manager enters Downloads folder.

Tatiana: there are good odds for the browser to be launched on startup.

Catinel: there is a high probability of opening MSExcel while running MSWord.

Veronica: browser running alone makes the PDF viewer very likely to be needed, but when Eclipse is also opened the chances for Skype to be opened are higher.

Conclusion

There is a pattern in the behaviour of these people and it is an easy to recognize one too. A smarter OperatingSystem could make their lives a little sweeter by analysing these patterns and act proactively.

The cost of analysing the usage patterns consists in improving the “probability of A starting while B runs” of the process A that was just started for all the applications that are running at this time.
This would involve the presence of a specific table, so there is a memory cost too. It can, though, be limited, so that only the significantly frequent applications are stored.

The “proactivity” can mean to preload the desired process in memory or any other action that will facilitate faster starting of the predicted process.

Wouldn’t that be nice to happen?
It’s a simple idea, with a small implementation cost and a small running cost.

Incadrat ca: Cercetare, Teorii, Parerea mea / Fara comentarii »

De iuliux

Ai invatat cu siguranta in scoala primara, sau poate chiar la gradinita fabula/alegoria cu sarpele de casa si ariciul. Poate chiar ai recitat-o la serbare. Probabil ca invatatoarea ti-a explicat pe indelete semnificatia alegoriei cu pricina.

Ce mai, tuturor copiilor li se ofera lectia asta, cu intrusul care e primit de mila, iar apoi nu mai pleaca nici cu forta dat afara. E revoltator pentru fiecare copil cum ariciul ala nesuferit i-a cotropit pe saracii serpi, iar adultii te incurajeaza sa simti nedreptatea situatiei.

Acum, alegorie fiind, trebuie sa se reflecte si in realitate. Sa fie, deci, serpii de casa poporul roman. De ce nu?

In cazul asta, ariciul va fi orice minoritate primita de mila in cuibul poporului roman. Nu? E ceva neinregula? De ce ar fi?

Si iata ca, brusc, cei mari nu-i mai incurajeaza pe cei mici sa vada nedreptatea situatiei atunci cand ariciul se intinde din ce in ce mai mult si vrea sa fie mai mult decat egal cu serpii de casa, ba chiar le interzic asta. Pentru a fi “politically correct”, termen care vine dintr-o tara in care bastinasii de drept sunt morti de mult.

Aceasta este o observatie obiectiva dedusa pe cale logica din fapte si trebuie tratata ca atare.

Incadrat ca: Romania, Parerea mea / 4 Comentarii »

De iuliux

Acum ceva vreme am facut rost de niste otrava de gandaci, mai exact ceva insecticid praf/cristale. Am pus eu otrava impreuna cu niste firimituri si ce am mai crezut eu ca ar intra in meniul preferat al gandacilor (inca nu-mi explic ce mananca ei defapt). Gandacii, insa, se plimbau in voie ca si mai inainte.

Sunt doua posibile concluzii de aici: Ori nu are niciun efect otrava, ori gandacii “nu se lasa pacaliti” sa manance de acolo. A doua e mai improbabila, deci…

Deci trebuia testat. Si am gasit ocazia perfecta cand un gandacel dadea tarcoale pe masa mea. Nimic neobisnuit, dealtfel. L-am luat pe mititel si l-am tavalit nitel prin cutia cu otrava incat se facuse tot alb. Apoi l-am scos (a iesit singur, ok) si l-am “incarcerat” sub un pahar.

Asta s-a intamplat weekendul trecut. Acolo, in paharul lui, am mai aruncat si putina “otrava” de-aia, in caz ca i se face foame. Apoi zilele au trecut, din cand in cand ma mai uitam pe la el pe acolo, sa vad ce mai face (nu in sensul ca joaca sotron sau face parkour, in sensul daca mai eu viu sau nu). Viu, viu, chiar vioi, pana acum cateva zile, deci a rezistat chiar bine fara pic de mancare acolo. 4-5 zile e ceva, zic eu.

Si tot jucandu-ma din cand in cand cu el am inceput sa ma atasez de el, sa devina un fel de animalut de casa. La urma urmei ce diferenta e intre un gandac si un hamster (in afara de faptul ca hamsterul e pufos si-l poti mangaia)? Sunt oricum cam la fel de inteligenti ambii. Si in plus, si gandacul, daca il lasi sa iti umble pe mana, te gadila usor, ca si cand ai mangaia hamsterul (… stiu, stiu, dar daca nu iti place, nu mai citi!).

Si tot incercand sa vad daca mai e viu, cat de vioi mai e, si fiind foarte increzator ca il am complet sub control, mai alalta-ieri, dupa ce i-am ridicat paharul, dintr-o data a zbughit-o de era sa scape. Cu greu l-am prins, si in disperare, sa nu intre pe cine stie unde, l-am cam accidentat. Am vazut ca i-am cam julit un picior si antenele. Mi-a parut chiar rau de el.

Dupa incidentul asta a inceput sa devina din ce in ce mai incet, din ce in ce mai imobil. Asta seara am vazut ca de-abia mai mergea, nici macar nu mai fugea cand il atingeam, dadea din antenele lui acum niste cioturi si dadea degeaba, ca nu mai simtea mana mea apropiindu-se.

A fost interesant sa pun titlul ala, dar acum nu mai e asa dragut. Mi-a stricat deznodamantul. Da, i-am dat drumul. Nu stiu daca va trai sau nu, e problema lui pana la urma, dar eu nu voiam sa-l omor si nici sa-l las asa sa moara de unul singur, lent, nu mai puteam. Faca ce-o face, din partea mea sa si traiasca, si-o merita.

L-am aruncat la tomberon, acolo sigur va gasi ceva de mancare.

Aa, si, da: l-am aruncat impreuna cu otrava, ca aproape uitasem scopul initial, cu atata melodrama.

Incadrat ca: Experiment, Personal / 2 Comentarii »

De iuliux

Un adevarat protest al democratiei. Al democratiei ca pura ideologie, ca fiind puterea in mana poporului. Si poporul asta vrea sa arate, ca are catusi de putin putere. Asta e defapt unicul scop.
Ca vrea (el, poporul) sa-l dea jos pe Băsescu, sa fim seriosi, orice alt inlocuitor plauzibil e la fel de absurd ca si prezentul. De ce sa schimbi putina cu un butoi? Si nici macar nu a incercat sa gaseasca o alternativa, s-a limitat la demolarea conducerii prezente. Ca se scandeaza impotriva a diverse lucruri, nu, asta e asa, ca tot au ajuns acolo…

In concluzie, unicul scop al poporului e sa ii fie aratat ca inca inseamna ceva, ca e bagat in seama, ca poate schimba ceva. Ca e mai puternic decat presedintele, decat premierul sau intregul guvern la un loc, ca are puterea. Puterea poporului, nu? Democratie vrea!

Ma tem numai cand va primi puterea asta ce va face cu ea? Ce se va intampla atunci? Ca pregatit pentru democratia pe care o cere nu pare a fi. Daca a indurat el atatea mineriade si tot pe Iliescu (”Ceausesc nepatriot”, cum il numea Petre Țuțea) l-a ales…
A nu se intelege gresit, nu-i nimic ideologic in modul protestului, in manechinele, desenele, sicriele care cauta doar batjocura, ci scopul in sine e involuntar democratic. Oamenii se simt mai puternici atunci cand batjocoresc public pe cel inalt, sus-pus. Simt ca il coboara pe acela la nivelul lor unde il pot tavali prin noroi, si asta le place. Asta vor deocamdata, sa se descarce desartand vidanja in capul celor mai puternici decat ei.

Pacat este, ca de fiecare data, ca va profita altcineva din toata “afacerea” asta, numai poporul nu. Pentru ca este mult mai greu sa fie ales un om al poporului decat unul politic, vorbind de o scena politica unde cortina e trasa de politicieni.
Ce ar insemna in opinia mea un om al poporului? Un om pentru care puterea ar insemna un mijloc prin care poate ajuta tara sa evolueze, nu un scop in sine. Sa simta puterea ca pe un “Acum pot schimba in bine toate nemultumirile si frustrarile mele si ale celorlalti, voi construi o lume mai buna (poate chiar asta e scopul vietii mele)”, nu ca pe un “Cine e marele smecher acum? Aud?!”… Un om intelept, ales din randul intelectualitatii, cu experienta de viata, poate chiar gandire matematica. Sa fie mai mult ca in “Star Trek” si mai putin ca in “The Godfather”.

Si, statistic vorbind, membrii partidelor mici sunt mult mai potriviti pentru un post de conducere acum, pentru ca optiunea de a intra intr-un partid mic denota alegerea pur ideologica (daca le pasa doar de putere se inscriau intr-un partid puternic si cu ideologie 0, care face aliante stanga-centru si isi schimba permanent membrii cu partidul de aripa opusa). Si competenta excelenta in orice domeniu e preferabila fata de mediocritatea dar cu notiuni de politica si drept, pentru ca un spirit de invingator se poate adapta la un nou domeniu, un nou mod de gandire, in timp ce un spirit mediocru sau marsav nu va reusi sa se ridice.

Incadrat ca: Romania, Teorii, Parerea mea / 16 Comentarii »