Early this year, Linux pundits kept dubbing 2009 “the year of Linux”. For the first time, Linux distributions were bundled with consumer laptops and sold in the big stores. Nonetheless, it didn’t work quite as well as we would have wanted it to. Basically, here’s why.

Netbooks are dirt cheap devices marketed as simple net’n'mail laptops. When I try to imagine who will buy these, I can only see the kind of people who run old Windows XP computers with Internet Explorer 6 and an expired version of AVG. Now you are trying to sell these computer-illiterate people something different that won’t play well with their iPod Touch and you expect them to like it?

What happens is that these people cannot chat or play their music the exact same way they did on their previous machine. Even if the bundled software did everything better than Windows (and it often does), they don’t look and work the same way. These people don’t want to learn how the new thing works, they just want it to work like Windows. Don’t expect them to give a crap about the bulletproof stability and the security of Linux if it doesn’t look like XP. After a while, they will get bored with having to figure out how to do what they easily did on Windows and they will return the damn thing.

There is no way to easily market something radically different to people that have used Windows for years. No matter how intuitive Gnome is, people will still ask how they can install applications or change the wallpaper. Until manufacturers start to fully embrace and support Linux and offer it with full computers (and not mere Atom-powered netbooks), then maybe Linux will get the chance it deserves.

Cet automne, je me suis inscrit au CÉGEP en technique de l’informatique. Ce programme a pour prérequis les mathématiques 526, un cours plus poussé que les mathématiques de base de secondaire 5

Or, pour pouvoir prendre les mathématiques 526 en secondaire 5, il faut avoir complété les mathématiques 426 ou 436 en secondaire 4. Il faut donc prendre compte, lorsqu’on s’inscrit pour notre secondaire 4 à quatorze ou quinze ans, des prérequis du programme qui risque de nous intéresser dans trois ans, si ceux-ci ne changent pas.

Dans mon cas, j’avais fait mes maths 416 en secondaire 4, puis mes maths 436 en secondaire 5. On m’a accepté en technique de l’informatique à condition de compléter mes 526 pour le 20 septembre. Croyant pouvoir les faire pendant l’été, je suis tombé de ma chaise quand j’ai appris qu’il fallait attendre le bulletin de secondaire 5 (qui arrive au début d’août) pour s’inscrire au cours. Faute d’alternatives, je me suis tout de même inscrit au CRIF pour finir mes mathématiques et j’ai été informé du coup que les cours ne commençeraient qu’au début septembre, à peine quelques jours avant la date limite! Je devais absorber un an de matière – 210 heures de travail – en moins de 20 jours en plus des 50 heures de charge de travail du CÉGEP!

De plus, le cours de mathématiques 526 est parfaitement inutile en technique informatique, fait qui m’a été confirmé par plusieurs des élèves de l’année dernière. Lorsque j’ai interrogé mon professeur de mathématiques sur l’utilité du cours, il m’a répondu que je n’utiliserai jamais la matière apprise de ma vie, mais qu’elle sert plutôt à developper un esprit de logique. Alors je dois perdre un an de ma vie sans compter les coûts engendrés… pour développer mon esprit de logique?

L’esprit de logique, je l’ai, mais j’ai surtout de l’expérience. J’ai programmé des applications, créé des sites web et remonté des ordinateurs plus souvent qu’il le faut, mais on me refuse en technique informatique parce que je dois développer mon esprit de logique! Celui qui a ses 526 et qui ne sais même pas comment installer un antivirus, lui, se voit acceuilli à bras ouverts dans le programme.

C’est un lamentable échec de la part des bureaucrates bornés qui fixent ces prérequis ridicules. C’est à croire – et je serais peu étonné – que ces idiots n’ont jamais mis les pieds sur le terrain!

So you’ve got your brand new Dell Studio 15. It runs a fresh OS, does everything to perfection, but some strange things seem to happen with the hardware. You are not alone! Small problems are common with the Dell Studio 15. These are some of them.

Touchpad lags/unresponsiveness

What happens: The touchpad is acting strangely at random intervals and for a few seconds. For a few seconds, the mouse is absolutely uncontrollable and then everything returns to normal.

Hardware or software: Hardware. The problem also happens on non-Windows operating systems.

Eject button stuck

What happens: The eject button lights up and ejects any CD or DVD. After a few seconds or minutes, the button with light off. This problem occurs randomly.

Hardware or software: Hardware. The problem also happens on non-Windows operating systems.

This evening, I lost my car for a few days at the body shop. Some guy hit me in a parking and now I gotta get rid of those scratches. I already miss my ride…

Is string theory some kind of insider thing? Even simple Wikipedia couldn’t help me!

Car modding is an art. And as every other kind of art, there are those artists who will just throw everything they have at the canvas and call it a day. The worst part is that some of them really tried to end up with a mess.

Here’s a couple (read: crapload) of pictures taken from around the web of crazy car mods ranging from the horrible DIY jobs to the drug-enhanced extreme mods.

Cardboard, duct tape and box cutter aesthetics

I'm not so sure Nismo had anything to do with that

More cardboard goodness

It's all about style

Oh well... at least I can compliment the girl

A cardboard bodykit on a Mercedes?

What's the pride for?

Boxy cars are so last decade

The NOS bottle is a nice addition

The name is appropriate

Going anywhere

A man in Russia decided to make a tracked version of the unbreakable UAZ jeep. Via English Russia

"A UAZ will break down where others will not go"

What would happen if a Smart rear-ended a Unimog 406? Rally champion Stefan Attart wondered the same thing. Read article

Don't f*ck with Smart

Ça fait trois mois aujourd’hui, wow!

Le début d’une longue histoire…

After months of researching, shopping and drooling, I finally took the first step toward my inevitable artistic career and bought myself a nice new digital SLR camera. I wanted more control on my pictures than my respectable Canon SD750 could offer and decided I wanted (read: needed) a great camera.

I managed to get a deal off the cheapest DSLR available at Futureshop, where only the demo was left available. At 474$ with a special lens (they didn’t include the cupcake lens but a 14-42mm one) and a 4gb high-speed CF card, it was a steal, especially since it was in mint condition.

It took me some time to get used to the newly-found total control the gadget offered, but the results (after a few blurry mishaps) were absolutely astounding as long as I had the focus right. In this picture, the camera grabbed so much details you can see our cars and our neighbors’ house reflected in Paco’s eyes.

Click for full size