The Whole is Less than the Sum of the Parts

I have started setting up Scratch box on my new Ubuntu installation so that I can get involved with the N770 port of AbiWord. I have the box itself installed, which was really simple using Debian packages — I am really becoming a Debian convert.

The only snag is size of the files; the connection is only running ~60k/s, so it takes while, but hey, it is raining out there anyway. Also, I am not sure how much there is left of my 1GB monthly broadband allowance — I really wish BT provided real time, or near real time usage info, but at the moment they provide daily usage data with 2-3 day lag (I suspect they do that intentionally to get more people overdrawn), so I am trying to do the maths. I reckon there should have been ~400MB left this morning, and I have downloaded ~250MB today, which means after getting the i386 rootstrap I will be somewhere ~970MB. Considering that it is only three days till the end of the month, that should be just about OK, and I will download the arm rootstrap on Tuesday morning at work (running over the allowance is not a disaster, just that I have lived in Scotland for too long).

Decided to reinstall Ubuntu today. Going through the installation process did not seemed so bad the second time, and I am pretty sure I know now why my Windows NT is not booting. The Ubuntu installer installs GRUB in the MBR by default, even when it knows that there is some flavour of NT on the first partition. I took care today not to install it into the MBR so that when I eventually fix the Windows booting, I will not loose it completely.

Once installed, it worked pretty well this time around, and even got my Wifi working (it was easier to get working than on FC3 because there is a package for it!). Indeed, the Debian package manager is so much better than the package management on FC3 that I am glad I took the plunge, in spite of the troubles.

I am hoping to get the Windows partition fixed in the next couple of days, so I can get back to fixing some Windows specific bugs in AbiWord.

I have been thinking about changing from FC3 install on my Acer laptop to a Debian-based one, and with the porting of AbiWord to the N770, yesterday I decided to go for it and I really wish I did not. Read the rest »

Today Nokia announced the new Nokia 770 Internet Tablet to be introduced later this year. This really made my day. Why? Among the applications Nokia ported to the Linux-powered device is also AbiWord. Read the rest »

On the AbiWord IRC channel we keep getting asked whether AbiWord will use the OpenDocument format as default. Three-word answer: it will not. This is for technical reasons, which have been spelt out here, so I am not going to repeat them.

Will AbiWord support the OpenDocument format? Read the rest »

Last night Linda and I took part in 10k race in the royal city of Dunfermline; I finished at 45:17 (Linda managed to accidentally stop her stopwatch 18 minutes into the run, so she will have to wait for the official results).

After runing a similar time (45:28 IIRC) earlier this year in Grangemouth after limited preparation, I was hoping to do better last night, but on reflection this is probably the toughest 10k course I have ever run (while the Grangemouth course is the virtually flat) and so shaving over two minutes from my last year’s time in Dunfermline is not a bad result.

The Dunfermline course consists of three laps, most of the lap being up hill with two steepish descends; there is no water on route, and what I really dislike, there are no distance markers. That means judging the pace correctly from the very start is critical, because whether you find out you are running too slow or too fast at the end of the first lap, by then it is to late to salvage the race.

My next race will most likely be the Laggan 10k at the end of May, the best 10k ever; also a tough, undulating course (Linda is taking part in the women’s 10k in Glasgow this Sunday).

UPDATE: the results are up; my official time of 45:21 got me 161st place (of 473). Linda run 54:27.