Robert A. Uhl

Why use emacs?

Benjamin Ferrari examines why emacs is an excellent choice for a text editor. He’s quite convincing (although in my case preaching to the choir): we all write volumes of text on our computers, day in and day out; wouldn’t we want to optimise that activity as much as possible? Why then do people limit themselves to such sub-standard tools as Microsoft Word or Nisus Writer or vim? Using those to edit text is much like hammering nails with screwdriver. Read more →

Why use emacs?

Benjamin Ferrari examines why emacs is an excellent choice for a text editor. He’s quite convincing (although in my case preaching to the choir): we all write volumes of text on our computers, day in and day out; wouldn’t we want to optimise that activity as much as possible? Why then do people limit themselves to such sub-standard tools as Microsoft Word or Nisus Writer or vim? Using those to edit text is much like hammering nails with screwdriver. Read more →

iTunes forbids weapons development?!?

Is this discussion of the iTunes license agreement correct? Does it really forbid ‘the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons’? Does this mean that one cannot listen to music on iTunes whilst working on missiles, or that one cannot play audio files about nukes on iTunes? It’s in a section about not violating US law, but the phrasing would seem to indicate that it applies no matter what. Read more →

iTunes forbids weapons development?!?

Is this discussion of the iTunes license agreement correct? Does it really forbid ‘the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons’? Does this mean that one cannot listen to music on iTunes whilst working on missiles, or that one cannot play audio files about nukes on iTunes? It’s in a section about not violating US law, but the phrasing would seem to indicate that it applies no matter what. Read more →

Mac Office users Microsoft’s guinea pigs

MacWorld UK reports that Microsoft used Macintosh Office users as guinea pigs for Office features; the company also considered killing the product entirely in order to damage Apple. This is what happens when one is beholden to proprietary software. After all, Apple can test features out on its users, too. The only way to be free is to use free software. Read more →

Mac Office users Microsoft’s guinea pigs

MacWorld UK reports that Microsoft used Macintosh Office users as guinea pigs for Office features; the company also considered killing the product entirely in order to damage Apple. This is what happens when one is beholden to proprietary software. After all, Apple can test features out on its users, too. The only way to be free is to use free software. Read more →

Homeslyce

Discovered Homeslyce today. They’re a shopping site with a twist: you pick a gift for a friend, then email your other friends. Everyone chips in, and if enough money is given, then the gift is shipped to the friend; if not, noöne pays a cent. Not a bad little idea, although I don’t know how their prices compare to just buying the item. A small uplift might be worth taking the hassle out of gift purchasing. Read more →

Homeslyce

Discovered Homeslyce today. They’re a shopping site with a twist: you pick a gift for a friend, then email your other friends. Everyone chips in, and if enough money is given, then the gift is shipped to the friend; if not, no-one pays a cent. Not a bad little idea, although I don’t know how their prices compare to just buying the item. A small uplift might be worth taking the hassle out of gift purchasing. Read more →

Why I love emacs

A great blog entry explains why emacs is so incredibly cool. Imagine an operating system where you can switch from writing code to browsing the web or chatting without leaving a consistent environment, with the same set of commands and shortcuts. Imagine a set of integrated applications where data is seamlessly shared, where any single functionality can be tweaked, extended and adapted to your particular needs. Where everything is easily scriptable. Read more →

Why I love emacs

A great blog entry explains why emacs is so incredibly cool. Imagine an operating system where you can switch from writing code to browsing the web or chatting without leaving a consistent environment, with the same set of commands and shortcuts. Imagine a set of integrated applications where data is seamlessly shared, where any single functionality can be tweaked, extended and adapted to your particular needs. Where everything is easily scriptable. Read more →