Will Real Python Hackers Please Stand Up

Will Real Python Hackers Please Stand Up: Filipino Python hackers and enthusiasts, may I have your attention please. Several months ago, I emailed Guido van Rossum , Python’s author and BDFL( Benevolent Dictator For Life), asking him for some advice on organizing a PUG( Python User Group) here in the Philippines. To my surprise, I got a quick reply from him with some instructions on how to get it started. But time did not allow me to take some actions immediately until now.

I realize that this blog could help spread my desire in starting a PUG with the help of course from those who are interested and passionate of the Python Programming Language. The benefits of having a user group is plenty just like the importance of having Linux User Groups as most of you might know or even involved with. We can gain more knowledge from each other as none of us is as smart as all of us. We can also provide some technical help to those who are just beginning to learn the language as a great way of helping the open source community.

To those who are interested, you can leave a comment here and we can keep in touch later.

I will end this post with a quote from a bestselling author named Stephen Covey. He said,

“Synergy is the highest activity of life; it creates new untapped alternatives; it values and exploits the mental, emotional, and psychological differences between people.”

Think about it.

UPDATE: Pinoy Python User Group -- Pinoy PUG

UPDATE 2: Pinoy PUG is now up and running!

Bayanihan Linux 4.0, Proudly Philippine Made

Bayanihan Linux 4.0, Proudly Philippine Made: It is my honor to review the latest release version of our very own Debian-based distro named Bayanihan Linux. The Bayanihan project was initiated by the Open Source Group in Advanced Science and Technology Institute last October 2001. Its main goal is to provide the best alternative desktop solution to Filipinos. In details, it aims to provide a better hardware support, operation simplicity, speed, efficiency, stability and Windows portability.

So now let’s find out if this government sponsored distro is worthy to be called one of the Linuxes.

Test Machine Specs:

Board: Intel Corporation D102GGC2
Processor: 3.40 GHz Intel Pentium D
Hard Drive: Samsung 80GB ATA
Memory: 2GB DDR2 RAM
Display: ATI Radeon X1050 [Display adapter]

Installation:
You can download Bayanihan Linux4.0.iso by clicking here. The installation CD is only about 700MB. I installed Bayanihan via VMware v5.5 on my OpenSuse 10.1 system. So it was Linux on Linux. It only took about 15 minutes to complete the installation and the latest version of Anaconda, Bayanihan’s Fedora based installer, is a breeze to use and much simpler than the older version. The installation was completely finished without a single problem. Audio and Ethernet worked fine. The screen resolution was at 1280 x 1024 on my 17" Samsung Syncmaster monitor.

Look and feel:
Bayanihan has a KDE 3.5 desktop. Any Filipino will know that this distribution is made by Pinoys by just looking at the default desktop. The K menu has a sun with 8 rays that can seen on our national flag. It doesn’t have Beryl or Compiz eyecandy but it does have commendable artworks like its default wallpaper and boot splash image. Like any other KDE desktop, it is highly configurable.

Package Management:
Some important softwares are already installed in Bayanihan. To name a few, it has Firefox 2.0 as web browser, Gimp 2.2 as image editor, OpenOffice 2.1 for office applications, MPlayer 1.0 for multimedia, Python 2.3 and Perl 5.8 for programming, and if you are into 3D modelling there’s Blender. You can always use its Synaptic package manager to add packages that you like or easily uninstall some software that you don’t need.

Stability:
I have only tested this distro for about two hours and only in VMware. I haven’t encountered any noticeable bug the entire time. Bayanihan comes with Guarddog firewall and ClamAV antivirus, so I can say that it could run stable for a much longer period of time as it is safe and secure to use.

Wish List:

1. Java and Shockwave Flash should be installed by default
2. A Gnome version
3. A live CD installer
4. Compiz or Beryl eyecandy
5. A redesigned Bayanihan website

Conclusion:
This is a very clean and simple Linux distribution filled with ready to use software for educational purposes and for productivity. The easy installation which is ideal for beginners is what I like most. This could be a worthy Windows replacement if our government is concerned about saving some national budget because Bayanihan Linux is totally FREE.

UPDATE: Bayanihan Linux 5.0

Choosing the Right PC Monitor Today

Choosing the Right PC Monitor Today: Are you looking for a new computer monitor? ...contemplating on what size to buy? ...thinking on whether going for a CRT or an LCD monitor, whether wide-screen or standard display, digital or analog, a single monitor or more? If your answer is yes to any of the questions above, then you should read the following guide on choosing the right PC monitor.

The monitor is probably the most significant PC accessory. So it is very important to choose the right one. According to recent studies, a monitor can affect the productivity of a computer user at work. So without further a do, these are the things to consider before buying:

Size:
15 inch monitors are still the most widely used size in the world. Most computer sets that are sold here in the Philippines come with a 15" display. But for me, the average size to consider when buying a monitor these days should be the 17 inches. Because when you consider the price, there is only a slight difference between a 15" and a 17" display. If you have money to spare, the bigger the better. I always wish I had a bigger monitor especially when I’m multitasking, photo editing or watching a movie. But a 17" monitor will do just fine for normal use and for practical reasons.

CRT vs. LCD monitor:
LCDs produce more vibrant images and better "real-world" contrast ratios than CRTs. CRTs can display more colors and have faster response time than LCD monitors. But today, some high-end LCD monitors are displaying more colors and faster response time than most CRTs. The prices of LCDs are still relatively higher compared to CRTs but for me, buying an LCD monitor is worth it.

Widescreen vs. Standard:
Between a widescreen monitor and a standard screen display of the same sizes, a widescreen is best for multimedia because most certainly, new movies will be in widescreen format. A standard display is ideal for most office applications and for surfing the web as most websites are still optimized for standard screen. For bigger sizes like 19 inches up, I would chose widescreen because it is useful for multitasking as I can easily divide the desktop and put two windows side-by-side. For smaller than 19" monitors, whether widescreen or standard, it’s all up to you.

Digital vs. Analog:
For me, there is really no obvious discrepancy between a digital or analog display in terms of output quality. But most will say that digital is better than analog so if the price is right, go for digital. If you want, you can have both, some monitors have digital and analog connectors at the same time.

Single Monitor or More:
Having a multi monitor is definitely a plus especially when programming or when digital editing. Personally I use two monitors; the second monitor is used for easy access to other opened window applications. It is also useful for testing my program for different screen resolutions. But for the average computer users, no need for additional monitors because one will do the job.

Conclusion:
There you have it. Some more important things to consider when looking for a monitor: Always pick the one that is right for you. Like what is right for your budget, room space, and on what mainly will you use it for.

My 10 Essential Vista Applications

My 10 Essential Vista Applications: Here are my 10 essential Windows Vista applications. What are yours?

1. Visual Studio. Top of the line integrated development environment. I use it mainly for my Visual Basic programming.

2. Nod32. A light but extremely efficient antivirus software. I highly recommend it to every Windows users.

3. Winamp. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer it as my day-to-day music player because still “It Really Kicks the Llama’s Ass”.

4. CC Cleaner. A very effective registry cleaner, it helps clean-up unwanted files thus saving some of my precious disk space.

5. Firefox. Simply the finest web-browser ever created. Lightning fast and very secure.

6. Advanced Spyware Remover. It’s free but it does its job well by wiping out those pesky spyware. It also comes with start-up manager that I used for deleting unwanted items to speed-up boot time.

7. Power DVD. My movie player of choice, it comes with plenty of options for tweaking to enhance my multimedia experience.

8. Xilisoft. It is an audio and video converter; easy to use and light on the system.

9. KaraFun. A karaoke software every Filipino will love. It’s free and it’s fun to use.

10. Microsoft Word 2007. I’m using it for writing my blog because it comes with a grammar and spelling checker hehe. But the checker is not 100% reliable though.