The following is a mini-review of the Dell XPS M1330 and my experience running Ubuntu 64-bit Gutsy 7.10 on this laptop over the past two months. Before getting the XPS M1330, I had been using Ubuntu 32-bit on my Latitude D830. I'm one of those people who actually needs two laptops. The Latitude D830 is my workhorse stay-at-home computer with dual-pointing devices and expansive 1920x1200 resolution screen. The XPS M1330 is my thin-and-light secondary laptop that I use when away from home so I don't have to tote around client files and data. I also need the M1330 for testing web designs, since it has a more standardly used screen resolution.

At first, I installed the 32-bit version of Ubuntu, since I had the install CD lying around. I had ordered 4GB of RAM to upgrade my system, which hadn't arrived yet. After receiving the RAM, I started thinking about installing the 64-bit version of Ubuntu, so I could have access to all of the RAM. Most 32-bit operating systems only allow you to utilize between 2.75GB and 3.5GB of RAM, depending on your motherboard chipset. While pondering Ubuntu 64-bit I did some research and it seemed that the general consensus was to stick with 32-bit for the time being, due to incompatibilities and whatnot. I figured I had nothing to lose and decided to give Ubuntu 64-bit a shot.

To my surprise, after finishing the install everything was working out of the box, just as it had with the 32-bit version. The only thing that isn't working out of the box is the fingerprint reader (not working in 32-bit Ubuntu either). Apparently, there is a way to get it working by installing ThinkFinger, but I haven't bothered to try it yet. As for software issues, the two problems I've encountered over the past couple months have been getting Flash to work and finding a 64-bit version of Opera. Fortunately, both of these issues are easily solved. A user kindly posted a script on the Ubuntu forums that gets Flash up and running in 64-bit Ubuntu. Here is the thread: Flash install script for 64-bit Ubuntu. Opera is not available in the repositories for Ubuntu yet. However, you can download the Opera 9.5 Beta deb package here: Opera for Ubuntu 64-bit. After you download the .deb file, just open it up and follow the instructions to install.

After testing 64-bit Ubuntu on the XPS M1330 for a while, I decided to install on my Latitude D830 as well. Some things actually seem to be running better in 64-bit. CPU usage seems to be much less when running Windows XP virtualized in VirtualBox compared to the 32-bit version. Also, hibernate and suspend seem to be working better. With the 32-bit version, suspend had stopped working on my D830 at some point and there were also some issues with hibernate. There may have been other factors causing problems with suspend, but I'm just glad that both hibernate and suspend are working perfectly on both the M1330 and D830 with Ubuntu 64-bit. I hardly ever have to reboot either laptop. Hasta la vista, Vista!

A few weeks ago my friend and I had the opportunity to attend a seminar at a local community college with Richard Stallman entitled "Copyright vs. Community in the Age of Computer Networks". If you don't already know, Stallman launched the GNU Project in 1984, founded the Free Software Foundation in 1985, pioneered the concept of "copyleft" with the GNU/GPL license and created the GNU development tools used by Linus Torvald to produce the Linux Kernel. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the work he has done and for his contributions to society.

There is no need to recap everything that was said at the seminar, although you can read more about Stallman and the projects he is working on by visiting the links mentioned above. Also, you can listen to an interview with Stallman on geekspeak.org. One of the main ideas presented during the lecture is the premise that copyright laws were relevant in the historical context they were originally created, as a public service to promote creative works, but now they are no longer serving the best interests of the public. Copyright laws in our current era are geared towards corporate interests and are detrimental to society. Stallman also presented proposals for changes to copyright laws. Here is a quote from the about page on the Free Software Foundation site:

"Currently, many people use proprietary software that denies users these freedoms and benefits. If we make a copy and give it to a friend, if we try to figure out how the program works, if we put a copy on more than one of our own computers in our own home, we could be caught and fined or put in jail. That's what's in the fine print of the license agreement you accept when using proprietary software. The corporations behind proprietary software spy on your activities and restrict you from sharing with others. And because our computers control much of our personal information and daily activities, proprietary software represents an unacceptable danger to a free society."

What do IE aka Internet Explorer and the word DIE have in common? Well, you don't have to look that close to figure out that IE comes at the end of DIE. What can we deduce from this? It's quite simple really, IE should DIE. And, what do IE5, IE6 and IE7 all have in common? They all suck and of course, they should all DIE.

Which version of Internet Explorer is the worst? In my opinion, IE6, or Internet Explorer Sux as I like to call it. Technically IE5 and lower versions are worse than IE6. But, the fact that so many people are still using IE6 makes it the worst browser.

I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that Internet Explorer is a menace to society. Microsoft is doing a disservice to humanity by providing their crappy browser with its lack of proper support for web standards and buggy display issues as the browser that comes bundled with Windows.

According to Net Applications, the Operating System Market Share for all Windows Versions was 91.46% as of January, 2008. Downright dismal! Fortunately internet users are catching on and using browsers other than Internet Explorer. Browser Market Share for Internet Explorer was 75.47% as of January, 2008. Still, that is 75.47% too many IE users.

Internet Explorer is a Menace to Society

1. Internet Explorer does not support web standards properly and is buggy. Here are just two among many sites that list bugs related to Internet Explorer: IE7 Bugs | Explorer Exposed!
2. Because of all the bugs in Internet Explorer, web designers have to waste a lot of time jerry-rigging their websites and creating hacks so that Internet Explorer will display the site properly.
3. Businesses waste heaps of money paying web designers to spend extra time hacking their websites so that they work in Internet Explorer.
4. All of the code that has to be added to support Internet Explorer is pure bloat, which causes increased file size and bandwidth in downloading these sites. This creates a higher load on servers and consumes more energy. In a way, Internet Explorer is contributing to environmental pollution.
5. Internet Explorer is notorious for having poor security. All of the ways that Internet Explorer can be exploited cost computer users time and money when they have to take their system to a tech support professional to clean out the viruses, trojans and spyware. The following two links have lengthy lists of security vulnerabilities for Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7. You will notice there are vulnerabilities listed that still have not been patched.
6. Microsoft has little interest in making Internet Explorer better because they have such a huge browser market share.

Then I saw it... Clear as day.

If you look at the XPS logo upside down, it spells out sex. Subtle, but amusing. I'm sure this played a factor when the Dell R&D (Research & Development) team were deciding on what to call the product line and how to craft the logo.

Or, is it just me? Do I have a single-track mind? Do I wake up each morning thinking about sex? I'll let you be the judge.

Here is a close-up of the XPS logo:

And here is the XPS logo upside down:

Hehehe. I've got to say, the XPS M1330 strikes a near perfect balance between aesthetic appeal and functionality. As such, it is the perfect slim and sexy laptop for a slim and sexy guy like me.

I may have had something to do with the making of this laptop. A few days after Dell launched Idea Storm, a forum where customers can make suggestions and requests, I posted this: Super Sleek Ultra Sexy Dell Laptop. I don't know if my suggestion had anything to do with the creation of the XPS M1330, but I'd like to think so. The XPS M1330 represents a radical departure from the boxy, uninspired designs typical of Dell. It received high marks in a number of professional reviews and Dell had a hard time keeping up with demand when the M1330 first started selling.

Somebody ripped off the new Themebot layout!

As you may have read earlier, the layout for Themebot was updated recently. I was checking my Google analytics this evening and saw a noticeable amount of traffic coming from a site I didn't recognize. The referring URL is: freeipodsforstudents.co.nr. Free iPods eh? Decided to pay them a visit. Hmm, something looks familiar.

It is interesting that the site redirects to this other URL: http://boskone.lboro.ac.uk/~masc5/

Do you want a free iPod? Are you ready to sell your soul? Are you ready to get ripped off? It never ceases to amaze me how many ways people think of to rip other people off on the internet. This idiot is trying to rip people off with the lure of a free iPod while stealing Themebot's bandwidth and design. They used HTTrack Website Copier to scrape the content from the server. All of the images for the layout as well as the favicon and CSS are being leeched directly from the server. Even the Google tracking code for Themebot is being used!

Anyways, before I turn on the hotlink protection, I thought I'd write an article about this since it is kind of amusing. I took some screen shots to add to the article for after I turn the tap off. If you are able add hotlink protection on your server it is a good idea. Somebody might be stealing your bandwidth and you don't even know it. I'm glad my good friend in Nauru was stupid enough to leave the Google tracking code in, otherwise nothing would have shown up in the analytics. (Actually, as more content appears on the site, this is clearly a student in the UK who chose a .nr domain and is forwarding the domain to his hosting at school. Brilliant choice of domain suffix!) I wonder how many other sites have been leeching?

What is annoying is that they were too lazy to even move the files to their own server and are stealing bandwidth. I'll let it ride for a little while and take it as a compliment that the new layout was good enough to leech.

If you've visited Themebot before, did you notice something new? Just in time for the new year Themebot launches with a fresh design. Not that the old layout was bad. It was functional, but not that exciting. Several concepts and revisions were tinkered with before settling on the current design.

The Goal: Create a layout that is sleek, simple and functional. To achieve this goal, the template was completely rewritten from scratch. I think the new site design accomplishes these goals. Not only that, the code is ultra-lean and pages load faster than ever.

The current incarnation of Themebot is obviously gadget inspired. This is a beta launch and there will be numerous tweaks and improvements over the coming weeks. Any feedback is welcome. Wishing you a happy New Year and much success in 2008!

At one time or another, nearly every web master thinks about how to make (more) money on their web site. The challenge is that most people who surf the internet expect things to be free. The internet was formed on the idea of free access to information. Scores of companies are willing to subsidize the cost of building out a website and gathering an online community without charging a dime. Why?

Because people are not interested in frequenting a site they have to pay for (unless it is for porn). If somebody stumbles upon a web site with an entrance fee, they will quickly browse to another site and are almost guaranteed to find exactly what they are looking for free of charge (yes, even for porn). Although it may be lucrative, there will be no Bot porn on Themebot. Sorry. NO BOT PORN! So how is a web master supposed to make money?

Today, November 7th, 2007 is Themebot's first birthday. Exactly one year ago themebot.com was launched. A lot has been accomplished during the first year and there is much more to come. A big thank you to all of the members who have added their themes, and to the open source developers who make Themebot possible!

Traffic is increasing and it is time to upgrade to a more robust server. All Themebot wants as a birthday present is a shiny new VPS server. It will only take one hundred people Chipping In $5 each to raise enough to purchase a VPS hosting plan. The goal is to raise $500 before the end of the year. Anyone who Chips In $10 or more will be given special thanks and their website will be listed on this page. The links will be sorted by amount sponsored. Enter the URL for your site in the "Add special instructions for the Merchant" section during checkout to be listed. The ChipIn widget is in the right sidebar, in case you missed it :)