K_Line Christian Online » Computers and Technology

Most important techology? BlOg poll

Tom Truex — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:34:03 +0000

People are so dependent on modern technology, to the point of being ridiculous. Which one of the following items is MOST important to you? Or, phrased another way, which modern device would you LEAST like to give up?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Linux still #1 (by a wide margin) for supercomputers

Tom Truex — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:42:47 +0000

According to www.top500.org, Linux has slightly increased it’s market share over the previous 6 month period. Now almost 92% of the most powerful computers in the world are run by Linux! Not Microsoft Windows. What do the operators of supercomputers know that the rest of the Microsoft-Centric world has failed to grasp??? Just saying.

Chart showing the market share of the top 500 supercomputers

Operating system Family share for 11/2010

Operating system Family	Count	Share %	Rmax Sum (GF)	Rpeak Sum (GF)	Processor Sum
Linux	459	91.80 %	38587202	58399775	5146933
Windows	5	1.00 %	412590	509350	59072
Unix	19	3.80 %	1399566	1796003	109970
BSD Based	1	0.20 %	122400	131072	1280
Mixed	16	3.20 %	3151334	3819110	1155072
Totals	500	100%	43673092.54	64655310.70	6472327

American media and urban legends (often the same thing) tell us that the whole world is beating up the US of A in technology. Well, not so in every case, anyway…

Location of top 500 Supercomputers in the World, by Country

Countries	Count	Share %
United States	274	54.80%
China	41	8.20%
France	26	5.20%
Germany	26	5.20%
Japan	26	5.20%
United Kingdom	25	5.00%
Russia	11	2.20%
Canada	6	1.20%
Italy	6	1.20%
Poland	6	1.20%
Saudi Arabia	6	1.20%
Sweden	6	1.20%
New Zealand	5	1.00%
Australia	4	0.80%
India	4	0.80%
Switzerland	4	0.80%
Korea, South	3	0.60%
Norway	3	0.60%
Spain	3	0.60%
Belgium	2	0.40%
Brazil	2	0.40%
Denmark	2	0.40%
Netherlands	2	0.40%
Singapore	2	0.40%
Austria	1	0.20%
Finland	1	0.20%
Hong Kong	1	0.20%
Ireland	1	0.20%
Slovenia	1	0.20%

New FREE replacement for MS Word

Tom Truex — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 06:07:48 +0000

No, I am not selling anything. I know a good product when I see it. You might be aware that OpenOffice has long been a credible FREE replacement for Microsoft Word©. Now there is a new office suite that merits consideration: LibreOffice. It is another FREE¹ productivity suite that includes the six standard applications: Writer, Calc, Base, Impress, Calc, and Draw. Unlike Microsoft Word©, LibreOffice 3.3 is cross-platform–there are versions available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.

I have been using LibreOffice 3.3 on my computer, at work (Linux, of course), for a couple of weeks. I highly recommend it. There’s a great article about LibreOffice 3.3 in the online version of Linux Magazine.

FREE, as in no cost whatsoever ↩

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Ninety-One Percent (91%) of the World’s Top Supercomputers are Run by Linux

Tom Truex — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 08:03:58 +0000

Operating system Family share for 06/2010 (Of the top 500 supercomputers in the world.)¹ Pictured at left is “Tux,” the official Linux mascot.

Operating system Family	Count	Share %
Linux	455	91%
Windows	5	1.00 %
Unix	22	4.40 %
BSD Based	1	0.20 %
Mixed	17	3.40 %
Totals	500	100%

Source: http://www.top500.org ↩

WordPress plugin review: The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3

Tom Truex — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:46:56 +0000

The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3 automatically creates links to Bible verses, and a lot more. I prefer this program to a similar program, WP-Bible 1.7.10

The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3
Authors: Dean Peters, ported by Glen Davis, updated by Laurence O’Donnell (v1.5-1.7) & Peter V Cook (v1.8)
Plugin website: http://scripturizer.wordpress.com
Automatically converts Bible references into hyperlinks pointed to major online Bible sites. EXAMPLE: John 3:16-18.¹

Actually, The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3 performs much the same task as WP-Bible 1.7.10, which I reviewed last week. That is, when installed, the plugin magically creates a hyperlink to an online version of the scriptures quoted in the post. You don’t have to insert any special code in the post. Once installed The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3 automatically detects the presence of a Bible verse, and does the rest without any human intervention. It also, optionally displays the Bible verses in a box when you mouse-over the Bible reference. The Bible translation and mouse-over feature can be set or disabled on a system wide (NOT per individual post) basis.

As indicated in my review of WP-Bible 1.7.10, my minor criticism of that program was:

On my website, however, I found the program to be rather too much of a good thing. Specifically, I use a lot of Bible citations in the text of my posts. So as I navigate the page with my mouse, I tend to detonate those text boxes right and left. The result is rather cluttered.

The thing I personally prefer about The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3, rather than WP-Bible 1.7.10, is that the mouse-over on The Holy Scripturizer closes the scripture box when you mouse-off the scripture. Therefore, you have the opportunity for one scripture box at a time. If you have a lot of Bible verses–which K_Line Christian Online does–the approach of The Holy Scripturizer is a lot less cluttered. Granted, this is a personal preference, and I’m sure that some people will prefer WP-Bible since the verse box stays open when you mouse-off the Bible verse. Both of these plugins are good programs.²

Plugin Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★

FOOTNOTES:

This feature is operational as of the date of this post. I do not guaranty future events, so I can’t be sure The Holy Scripturizer will be installed if you read this note some time in the distant future ↩
I’ll mention one more item of note, which I can’t really hold against the program being reviewed. Specifically, one of the other plugins which I use, Post Snippets 1.5.1, does not work when The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3 is installed and activated. To use Post Snippets 1.5.1, I have to first deactivate The Holy Scripturizer. I can then use Post Snippets without any problems. When I’m finished using Post Snippets, I simply reactivate The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3. I can’t say which plugin (if either) is at fault. And this is only a minor inconvenience. ↩

WordPress Plugin Review: WP-Bible 1.7.10

Tom Truex — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:14:52 +0000

WP-Bible 1.7.10 is easy to set up and performs exactly as advertised.

WP-Bible 1.7.10
Author: Matej Nastran
Plugin websiter: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-bible/
This plugin finds Bible references in your posts and pops up a box with the actual text from the Bible. You can choose any of 38 different translations in 14 languages that are available at BIBLIJA.net. This plugin performs exactly as advertised and works as if by magic. Most users of this plugin will be thrilled with it. On my website, however, I found the program to be rather too much of a good thing. Specifically, I use a lot of Bible citations in the text of my posts. So as I navigate the page with my mouse, I tend to detonate those text boxes right and left. The result is rather cluttered. I wish I had the option of clicking, rather than mousing over, the citation in order to pull up the Bible verses. Again, this shouldn’t seriously detract from a good plugin that performs amazingly the task for which it was designed.

My rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★

Blogging Software Review: WORDPRESS

Tom Truex — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:33:25 +0000

WordPress is one of the very best programs I've used in the last 25 years!

WordPress is blogging¹ software designed to be flexible and expandable. K_Line Christian Online is an example of a WordPress blog.

Background

Ad hoc and hack: Before blogging software, I designed my websites the old fashioned way. Each page was created by hand, using various programs to assist in writing the HTML code. The result was crude. Adequate in it’s day, but laughable by today’s standards. Occasionally you still run across a web site of this ilk. Not pretty! The problem with adding content in this kind of system, is that there is no system. Each change to the website necessitates jamming something new in the mix. It’s not easy to sort or organize. The more content you have, the messier the whole site tends to get.

pMachine: I used pMachine for a few years. PMachine is now obsolete and replaced by ExpressionEngine blogging software. I haven’t used ExpressionEngine, so I can’t comment on it. My old blog, back when I was Mayor of Davie, Florida was Davie.TV. That website was built on pMachine. It is still online, but no longer active. PMachine was a good program, and worked well for me. In order to change the look and feel, I experimented and hacked. I was was happy with the result. I could easily write content and post it online. At one time I was adding about 4 or 5 entries a week.² Actually, I loved this blogging system. I probably would still be using it, but since it was discontinued, I had to try alternatives to set up my more recent sites. In retrospect, I liked pMachine so much, because I didn’t realize what other programs, such as WordPress, were capable of.

b2evolution. I briefly used b2evolution blogging software when I created my website for my last reelection campaign. That campaign site, is still online, and is also inactive. Frankly, I never had the time to get to know this software. I built and used the website as a mostly static site. It was easy to upgrade and add new content, though I did not really use it as a blog.

Drupal: I also briefly experimented with Drupal. Though not exclusively blogging software, it does have that capability. I found it pretty complex, with an apparent steep leaning curve. I understand it is an outstanding system to use if you have the ability and time to learn it. If I’d had more free time, I probably would have put more time into the system. Plus, no matter what you think of the software, you have to like that logo. However, I was looking for something with power, but not so difficult to use, so I kept looking.

Other blogging software

Blogger: billed as a simple, easy to set up, one stop blogging solution. It is owned and operated by Google at blogger.com. I never used it and don’t know much about it. In general, Google products are free, easy to use, and work well for the intended task. I suspect blogger is no exception. It’s my understanding that if you want to get online in a hurry, and have absolutely no budget at all (not even for domain hosting), blogger is an easy way to go.

WordPress Reviewed (finally)

Two things that distinguish WordPress are the many themes and plugins available to bloggers. The themes control the appearance–look and feel–of the website. The plugins expand the functions of the website. First, lets talk about the themes. There are thousands of them. Most of them for free. Without much effort, you will probably identify a few dozen that have the look you want. If you are a programmer, or proficient hacker you write your own or modify one that you almost like. I have several WordPress sites, each with a generally different look and feel. My business website, www.TruexLaw.COM, is a mostly static site which is intended as an online brochure. This site (K_Line Christian Online) is my most active current site. I post a lot of material, including weekly discussion notes for the Christian men’s group I attend; as well as reviews, recipes, etc. I like the fact that there are so many choices of themes. You can easily pick a look that suits your subject and then tweak it a bit. Likewise there are thousands of plugins from which to choose. The plugins expand the already ample feature set of WordPress. A list of plugins used on K_Line Christian Online is available in my Tech Section.

With both themes and plugins, the challenge is not so much to find what you want, as it is to avoid the temptation to try out everything. The themes and plugins are for the most part written by volunteers who just enjoy contributing to the community. As you might expect, the quality varies. However, if you obtain themes and plugins through the official website, WordPress.ORG, contributions have to conform to submission standards. Also, plugins are rated by users, so you have an idea of the quality you are getting. Finally, since plugins are general free and as easy to remove as they are to install, using a standard interface, it’s hard to go wrong. If you try a plugin and it’s not what you wanted, or doesn’t work, just remove it. The only cost is a few minutes of your time.

Overall, I can’t say enough nice things about WordPress. It is a fantastic program with lots of expandable features and many different possible looks. If you really need more than what is offered for free, there are companies that can design exactly what you do want, for a fee. I have used a lot of computer software products since the mid 1980′s. WordPress is one of the very best of those products. And it’s free! Can’t beat that combination.

My rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★

NOTES:

“Blog” is short for “Web Log” — a sort of public diary or journal maintained by the blogger online ↩
On my “to do” list is to migrate all of that old content from my old pMachine blog to this website. ↩

WordPress Plugin Review: Ratings Shorttags

Tom Truex — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:27:17 +0000

Ratings Shorttags 1.5
Extremely simple plugin which adds a ratings shorttag ([rating=5]) for inserting book and movie ratings. This is an example of a plugin which does one thing, and does it pretty well. This plugin lets you place a rating (shown in terms of stars) in any post or page.

The rating at the end of this post is an example. Ratings Shorttag lets you change the character — for example from a star (★) to a heart (♥). You can also, change the color of the rating symbol and can change the number of possible rating stars and color/shade of background rating symbols (★★★). In my opinion, this is something that could and should be included in the standard WordPress editor. But it’s not. My only suggestion for a huge improvement would be to let the poster change the options on each post. Instead the aforesaid options can only be changed on a system-wide basis.

Author: Joen Asmussen
Plugin Website: http://noscope.com/n/8

My rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★

WordPress plugin review: ColorBoxes 1.1

Tom Truex — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:57:32 +0000

This is an example of ColorBoxes 1.1.

ColorBoxes 1.1

This plugin allows users to easily add colored information boxes to the top of any post or page. You can insert a blue, yellow, red, or green text box between the title and body of any post or page. Accepts embedded HTML code. Simple. Great way to call attention to critical information. Easy to install and easy to use.

Author: Alison Barrett
Plugin site: http://alisothegeek.com/wordpress-plugins/colorboxes/

Here’s a cool undocumented feature¹ I discovered, which I like almost as well as the intended, documented, purpose of the plugin. That is, you can create a colored box anywhere in the text of the post or page, by using the following code.

Text in Blue Box

Text in Blue Box

Text in Yellow Box

Text in Yellow Box

Text in Red Box

Text in Red Box

Text in Green Box

Text in Green Box

Note, the only difference is the code word in the first set of brackets:

info = blue
alert = yellow
urgent = red
success = green

My rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★

FOOTNOTE:

“Undocumented, means a function or use that the author did not intend, or does not feel sufficiently confident to advertise. If you or I use an undocumented feature, things could break. Your system could lock up, or be horribly disfigured with random characters, at the next upgrade. Use at your own risk! ↩

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New feature: CONTACT FORM

Tom Truex — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:57:33 +0000

You can now contact the system operator via email. Click on the [CONTACT] form at the top of the page. Then fill out the form and send it to me. Very Easy.

Click the CONTACT tab on the top of each page… Feature rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★