Category Archives: open source

software: fixing scanned photos in GIMP

Posted on 2023-07-04 by skierpage

I received boxes full of old family pictures that were cropped with the old selection tool of “Physical scissors”. Here are my notes on how I scanned them and neatened them up. Scanning Arrange multiple pictures on all-in-one printer’s scanner … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, software | Tagged | Leave a comment

software: making it safer to run random programs

Posted on 2022-08-29 by skierpage

I was dubious about Google’s new Fuchsia operating system, but it has some very interesting ideas, including capability-based execution. Programs that can do nothing until you grant them capabilities are so much better – I hate downloading some Windows .EXE … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, software | Leave a comment

design: a Black Lives Matter poster

Posted on 2020-09-03 by skierpage

It is the least I could do; downloading this PDF and printing out the first three pages is the least you can do. I made it in the free and open source LibreOffice program, using the fonts Cantarell Extra Bold … Continue reading →

Posted in design, open source | Leave a comment

computers: trying to update HTC Evo 4G

Posted on 2014-07-01 by skierpage

I bought an excellent Moto X phone, just before Motorola cut the price of the wooden back 75%, and shortly before Google sold them to Lenovo. That leaves me with a 4-year old HTC Evo 4G, at the time absolutely … Continue reading →

Posted in computers, open source | Leave a comment

software: misplaced Linux desktop angst, just make HTML5 great

Posted on 2012-06-29 by skierpage

Linux users and developers bemoan the few apps available for their desktop. Where are the app developers? is a typical lament. But every commercial next-gen platform going up against Apple/Android — BlackBerry X, Tizen, even Windows — has figured out … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, software, web | 1 Comment

web: RIP Google Wave

Posted on 2012-03-21 by skierpage

Google is shutting down wave.google.com. Back in 2009 it was the most exciting piece of software to come along in years. A real-time multi-user rich document editor!! So it can be a chat window, a collaborative Word document, a scrapbook, … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, software, web | Leave a comment

computers: reporting bugs in a sea of versions and projects

Posted on 2011-10-27 by skierpage

Someone’s post When is a bug report useful? inspired me to comment. I have two great ideas in here bug systems should be aware of my distribution, version, and related packages software projects should provide a way to test drive … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, software | Leave a comment

open source: YOU are the marketing department

Posted on 2010-10-07 by skierpage

There are hundreds of thousands of open source projects, each addressing a problem and hoping to make the world a better place, and most struggle to gain traction.  It’s disheartening that so many open source contributors fail so badly at … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, web | Leave a comment