Today is another day of finding that I have expended quite a bit of effort that could have been spared if I knew more about the apt package management system of Debian. The current XFree86 version woes I am seeing where one package for 4.3.0 pulls in several older 4.2.1 packages could have all been averted were I not using the documentation that recommends the use of dselect for package management. So, as it turns out, RTM isn’t always the answer. The excerpt from one of my posts to the Debian PowerPC list fleshes it out:
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I have either used or owned a laptop since around 1995 as my primary computer. I began using an Apple laptop in 2001. With the advent of OS X, the decision to move to a Mac platform has been almost regret-free. I don’t think anyone can dispute that Apple laptops are the most innovative and attractive machines available today.

In light of that, I find it comical that the primary problem I have had with both of my PowerBooks is a problem I never had with a PC laptop. I have had the rubber feet pop off of both my Titanium PowerBook G4 and my 17″ PowerBook G4. I had never seen someone lose one of the rubber feet off the bottom of their laptop until I had these machines.

It amazes me. I think about it at night in bed sometimes. Before transitioning into IT full-time, I spent just shy of a decade as a systems integrator for manufacturing plants. One of my employer’s specialties was industrial adhesives. Yep, it was all about making things stick. It’s a pretty low-tech field, and things are rather straightforward; certain adhesives work with certain materials and they have certain tempearture tolerance ranges.

With all the wondrous achievements embodied in my 17″ PowerBook, I have to take it gingerly from its case every time, checking the back to see if any feet fell off. That’s right, they don’t come off as I clumsily slide my laptop around on a flat surface. I know better than that. No, as best as I can tell, the feet have come off as a result of light friction with the wall of the custom backpack that I have for it. That’s right, this 1″ thick 1GHz PowerPC magnum with its eye-popping screen and its 1GB of RAM, this Herculean feat of engineering, has its feet pop off from being in a bag custom-designed for this very model of laptop.

I actually went to the Apple Store to find out what I should do about this. Depending on where you live, that can elicit anything from “oh, good, here is where he gets it taken care of” to “huh, here’s where the profanity will kick in.” What was their solution? Superglue. Well, krazy glue, to be exact. Yeah, krazy glue. Elegant, huh?

So, Apple has its issues. There are several that bug me far more than the feet popping off, but they are political in nature. The nVidia card and the Broadcom chipset for the 802.11g wireless card for which neither Linux drivers nor the source code to build drivers are being provided, the use of an internal USB modem - these things are real hold-ups for me. But the feet, man, the feet…what is the deal with the feet?

Given the alternatives, I still see the PowerBook as the solution most amenable to my needs. Things would have to be quite oppressive to get me to go back to Windows, or a 10-pound Dell laptop with that inane mini-PCI Winmodem, for that matter.

The Atlanta Java Users Group has posted an mp3 of the Q&A session with James Gosling. You can access it by clicking here.

Well, the time of DNS propagation has come to fruition, which means that I can set up the domain for this weblog without getting error messages 8^). The new, shorter domain name also affords me the chance to quell the moaning I have received from folks about the length of my commerical domain name when they ask for my email address. That’s right, friends, I just saved you seven characters in your address book entry for me! Aren’t you thrilled? I know I am.

Of course, the other big motivator was finding that such a short, silly domain name was still available.

I’d better get back to work…

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, for every action there is indeed an opposite and equal reaction. Apparently, the Successories line of inspiration artwork is no exception. You’ve seen them; we all have. The Successories motto: “Our goal is simple…to help you reach yours.” Well…

Enter Despair, Inc. If you browse their collection, you’re sure to find the material expression of the sarcastic retort that ran through your head the last time you looked at a Successories print.

For example, look at Teamwork from Successories. Got it? OK, now check out Meetings from Despair, Inc. It’s like yin and yan! But wait, there’s more!

Successories: Communication - Despair, Inc.: Blame
Successories: Goals - Despair, Inc.: Goals
Successories: Teamwork - Despair, Inc.: Ignorance

Amazing. Like Neo and Agent Smith, these two forces meet to balance the equation…whatever that was.

Now, if the Despair, Inc. thing bothers you, ask yourself this: Which is worse, shallow, glib platitudes or biting sarcasm? Neither one of them tend to make any lasting change, do they? In light of that, is Successories a cause worth defending? The Despair spoof is just funny. It wouldn’t be funny if Successories weren’t so successful. Heck, at $100 a print, I’d probably be ruffled, too.