I anledning af at Ubuntu Edgy blev releaset i forrige uge har jeg valgt at installere det på både min bærbare og min stationære computer, og jeg har tænkt mig at bruge det som primært styresystem fremover. Jeg har ellers i flere omgange installeret linux, men er hver gang gået i stå med brugen af det fordi det simpelthen har været for besværligt at bruge (ihvertfald mere besværligt end mit primære styresystem helst skal være – det skal som udgangspunkt bare fungere).
Denne gang tegner det noget bedre end sidst jeg forsøgte mig med linux – dels fordi ubuntu bare er så overdrevet lækkert interface-mæssigt, og dels fordi det er en moden linuxdistribution som jeg gerne vil have den. Det er let at installere programmer, rimeligt let at konfigurere, og når først den indledende konfiguration er gennemført fungerer det bare – det kører stabilt og hurtigt.
Grunden til skiftet ligger i det faktum at jeg de sidste år har kørt med windows xp, og har været nødt til at formatere computeren ca. en gang i kvartalet for at systemet har kørt med en acceptabel hastighed. Det har jeg været ret træt af i et stykke tid, og det skulle jeg gerne kunne undgå med ubuntu – det føles som om at systemet kører noget hurtigere.
Og lækkerheden i overskriften? – Det er ikke kun rettet på ubuntu edgy (hvor interfacet per default er ret nice), men også på kombinationen af Xgl og Beryl, som jeg har installeret – det giver mig disse effekter i interfacet. Det er muligt at det udelukkende er lir og blær, men for satan hvor er det nice :).
Posted in Technology | November 6th, 2006 |
Many technologies which make development of nice looking interfaces for the web easier in recent years. Usage of these technologies have also exploded especially during the last year – web applications such as Google Docs and Spreadsheets and Thinkfree have been developed and is gaining popularity and Gmail is one of the most used webmail services (which make heavy use of AJAX and has a great looking interface).
I have not used AJAX yet, but in a short while I am going to redesign www.vindtechnologies.dk – in the new design i am going to use AJAX to a great extent in places where it is going to make the site more usable. The experiences I will get from this is going to improve the overall look and feel of www.peecee.dk and www.peecee.eu. The plan is to use DOJO as a framework for the usage of AJAX on the sites. Do anybody have any nice guides or tutorials for that framework?
Posted in Technology, Web | October 14th, 2006 |
During the last year, javascript effects have become more and more used on various websites. Though the effects look nice and make the website feel more responsive (just like AJAX – the greatest buzzword in the world), they have to be used with care. In my opinion, the effects may steal focus from the most important part of the website – the content. Content is the absolutely most important factor in the success of any website – it is the content which makes the visitors visit the website again and again, but access to the content – also known as usability – is the second most important factor for success.
Javascript effects are able to improve usability if used wisely, but if used too extensively and in improper places, the effects may also make the user confused – which is very bad in terms of usability. I think that javascript effects (and also AJAX) should only be used (in commercial applications that is – I also like browsing personal home pages to see what can be achieved with the new technologies) if it is of direct benefit to the user.
Well – it was quite an obvious statement, but the one thing which must be considered when designing applications is the user – what do the user expect, want and/or appreciate? That really is the questions one must ask in any design phase.
Posted in Technology, Web | August 22nd, 2006 |
In the beginning, peecee.dk was hosted at b-one.dk, but as the site grew more space and traffic was needed – because of this, a change of hosting partner was needed. EUshells.com made a great offer, and I was hosted at their server for a while – but I did not have full control over the server, and had no rights to install my own programs or manage the server myself. This bothered me a little, and because of this, I decided last winter to have my own dedicated server – I looked around on the net and found that dedicated servers are quite expensive (well – they go for as low as €29 these days, but they usually contain crappy hardware at that price).
I still wanted to have full control over my server but was not willing to pay the price, so what was the solution to this problem? I found a type of hosting known as a virtual dedicated server at jakobjp.com and signed up almost immediately – and the server worked nicely. However, I was informed shortly after the sign-up that jakobjp.com was just reselling servers from hexonet.de but at a much higher price – so I cancelled my jakobjp.com account and signed up for a virtual dedicated server at hexonet.de which I used as the host for my domains in around half a year. The server was configured with debian and the swsoft confixx controlpanel and I was happy with the server the time I was with hexonet.
I have recently developed an interest in ASP.NET and is looking forward to develop web sites in that language, but for these web sites to be published the server have run Windows 2003 – so a month ago I changed server again – this time I ordered the largest RootDS server from keyweb.de. Until yesterday the server ran perfectly, but last night I experienced problems (which should be completely resolved by now). The RootDS server is extremily cheap, and it is fast enough to suit my needs. It is configured with Windows 2003 standard and the Plesk 7.5 controlpanel which enable me to run websites written in both ASP.NET and PHP.
For anyone running a web site of a considerable size or wanting to have full control over their hosting but who do not want to pay the price of a dedicated server (which are pretty expensive if Windows is demanded – they go for no less than €50 a month), i can highly recommend a virtual dedicated server – the performance/cost ratio is very good (well, for me anyway).
Posted in Technology, Web | August 18th, 2006 |
Jeg har netop modtaget en ny Dell D620 bærbar, som jeg planlægger at bruge til mit studie. Det er nu engang en lille lækker maskine – lille, let og lækker kvalitet. Jeg valgte netop denne Dell fordi den opfyldt mine krav (som jo altid er højere end de egentlig burde være):
- 14″ skærm med højere opløsning end 1024×768
- Lille og let (under 2½ kg)
- Intel Core Duo og dedikeret grafikkort
- Fornuftig pris
Anywho – med det begrænsede antal mennesker der læser denne blog gider jeg ikke at uddybe mere, det er alligevel ikke overdrevet interessant :).
Posted in Technology | August 15th, 2006 |