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Technology article: Linux.com: Ten sticking points for new Ubuntu users
Posted by: rhyder on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 10:01 PM
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Linux.com have published my current article. I hope the community find it an enjoyable read. I never know how people are going to take articles like this one. I said in my RISC OS article, “I hold the opinion that if you are truly a fan of something, you can accept criticism of it. You don't have to be loyal to something that is genuinely good.” I wonder where platforms like Amiga and OS/2 would be now if a few more people had complained?
From the article:
These problems span the entire Ubuntu experience but they all have two things in common: they are all solvable and they are all serious enough to evoke the dreaded, "I tried Linux but it didn't work".
Read full article: 'Linux.com: Ten sticking points for new Ubuntu users' (about 160 words)
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Technology article: Tech Book 1: Print on demand book (it's not the gender book)
Posted by: rhyder on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 11:47 AM
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At the moment I'm working on a little side project. It's a not-for-profit, print-on-demand book that re-bundles some of my old technology articles. I plan to use the book as a promotional device for my skills as a writer. For that reason, I'm editing the the articles to bring them up to my current standard. The working title for the book is Tech Book 1. Although it's turning out to be a time consuming job, it has also been a great learning experience. It should be finished and ready in a couple of weeks.
All of the content is available on the Internet (see links on side menu) but these are slightly updated versions.
Please note, I'll add a bit of older gender politics material from my other site but this isn't the Gender Equivalence book that I have been working on for the last two and a half years. Work on that book is still in progress. Apart from anything else, the new project will serve as a dry run for the GE book as might still be doing that as a self-published project.
Read full article: 'Tech Book 1: Print on demand book (it's not the gender book)' (about 230 words)
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Disadvantaged young offenders given computer crime tips
Posted by: rhyder on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - 08:15 AM
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For a bit of fun, I popped a spoof article onto the UK news satire site, The Spoof. I added it to the ``magazine'' section of the site as it's not really a news peice. Click here to read it.
It's not a paying gig, but as well as being a neat writing exercise, it's a chance to get some comedy writing out infront of an audience. The standard of the contributions to that site is very high, but if my article gets a good reception, I might have a go at another one.
I hope that I've not made the mistake of making it too dry for a spoof news site, but that's what satire is, a balance of seriousness with comedy. It's also going to be a hard sell due to its length, but I think it's worth it to properly spoof the genre while giving the ideas full expression.
I hope you enjoy the article.
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Technology article: DOSBox, a multiplatform PC emulator
Posted by: rhyder on Friday, May 23, 2008 - 09:35 AM
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Free Software Magazine have published my DOSBox review. DOSBox is an PC emulator that is optimsed for accurately running vintage games. From the article:
``Let’s be clear: not every old game is worth revisiting. As a general rule, about eighty percent of everything, in all media, is rubbish. If not actually rubbish, entertainment media can be so tied to the time in which it was made that it cannot survive the transition into a later era.
However, there are games that are worth hunting down and re-playing.
An old game might employ a gameplay style that has no modern equivalent, or a much-loved old game might have a nostalgic attachment for a gamer. Sometimes, the gamer wishes to try out a game that they passed over at the time of release. Finally, some old games are simply great games and are worth playing in their own right.''
Click here to go the article on the FSM website.
Read full article: 'DOSBox, a multiplatform PC emulator' (about 20 words)
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Technology article: linux.com: Mother Linux
Posted by: rhyder on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 07:33 PM
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I've finished an article for Linux.com called "Moving my mother over to Linux". I'll link to it on the side menu when it goes live. This is the first article that I have had professionally edited, and it's a weird experience, having someone alter my words. Not to worry, the editor, Lee Schlesinger, seems to know what he's doing ;-)
It's a bit brief at 1,700 words but better concise than flabby.
Read full article: 'linux.com: Mother Linux' (about 30 words)
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Technology article: OS News article: No open source OS/2
Posted by: rhyder on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 03:39 AM
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I've just finished another article for OS News. This one is entitled "I'm glad that IBM declined to release the OS/2 source". I'm just calling things as I see them but I'm going to end up with a reputation as a miserable git with the OS News readership ;-) I'm just the doctor, I didn't make the needle sharp. I'll link to it on the side bar when it's posted.
I should have some more announcements about a couple of other completed writing assignments for Linux.com and Free Software Magazine. I've hit a bit of lull at the moment as I need to wait until some more of my finished assignments are live before I can start pitching again. Not to worry, I've got some other irons in the fire that should soon bear fruit, to mix a metaphor.
I've taken advantage of the extra time to concentrate on progressing the Gender Equivalence book. In addition, I'm toying with the idea of collating and extending some of my old articles into a rather geeky, self-published book. If nothing else, it would serve as a dry run for the proper book.
Read full article: 'OS News article: No open source OS/2' (about 70 words)
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Sitcom: Geek sitcom script complete
Posted by: rhyder on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 11:28 AM
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The pilot episode of my sitcom project, The University Of Life has finally been submitted. People who've been following the project will know that I've been working on it, on and off, since 2005. Since then it's been through a number of revisions. At one point I was going to attempt to produce it myself, podcast style.
I have sent it to the BBC Writers Room, and apparently, I can expect to get a receipt confirmation within a month. Beyond that, if my script is one of the better of the 10,000 (really) other scripts that they receive each year, I may get some commentary back from an experienced script reader. Bear in mind that I'm not hoping for them to develop that particular script idea but I am sending it for criticism and as a calling card for my writing style.
Depending on the type of feedback I receive, I'll make a decision about whether I should rewrite the script or start a completely new script later this year.
Read full article: 'Geek sitcom script complete' (about 640 words)
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Technology article: The Apple iPhone: I don't really want one.
Posted by: rhyder on Sunday, November 04, 2007 - 07:38 PM
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Breezy 1000 word article about the iPhone. I've sent it to OSNews.com and if they want it, I'll add add it here as usual. [published now see sidebar link under Writing heading]
Stylistically, it's a bit of departure for me: short, conversational tone, and not very techy. To keep things streamlined, I forced myself to be brutal at the editing stage. It finished up at just over 1,500 words and I managed to cut it down to about 1,000. The result is closer to the type of writing style that you would see in a newspaper. I'll leave it for the reader to judge whether or not I have gone too far and cut out too much.
In other news, I may have got a lead into some possible paying writing work. I'm going to spend the rest of this year pitching articles as a freelance I'll let you know when something develops.
BTW, I'm afraid that I had to delete the comments to the previous posts as I got spammed. I have now installed a new comments system and you can comment with confidence once more.
Read full article: 'The Apple iPhone: I don't really want one.' (about 200 words)
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Technology article: New tech article: The Return Of The 8 Bits?
Posted by: rhyder on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 05:58 AM
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Another month, another tech article. Actually, I think that I missed last month's. I'll try and run off another quick article in order to maintain the one article per month goal. I'm about to submit this one to OSNews.com and when (if) it's published, I'll link to it in the side menu. [published now]
Here is the teaser paragraph:
In this article, I'm going to explore the idea that the 8 bit home computer not only had a great deal to offer the prehistoric early-humans of 1985 but that it may also have a place in the modern world; perhaps, there is something that we can learn from it. Having identified the laudable, worthwhile elements of this class of machine, I'm going to make some suggestions towards a scheme that would embody these characteristics in the form of a machine that would have a place within the modern world.
Read on for some notes and the now obligatory mind map diagram for the article.
Read full article: 'New tech article: The Return Of The 8 Bits?' (about 170 words)
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Technology article: New tech article: Lyx
Posted by: rhyder on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 03:37 AM
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I've created another tech article. The article is an overview of Lyx, the text processor that I use for my of my writing. Hopefully, the article will be carried by OSNews.com soon and I will be able to add it to the side menu along with the other articles.
The article is about 3,500 words in length. I wrote it in a day and that represents something of a breakthrough for me. It's not the most entertaining article ever written but the subject matter of a review doesn't particularly lend itself to much humour or insight.
Read on for a pretty picture of the mind mapping tool that I used.
Read full article: 'New tech article: Lyx' (about 80 words)
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Darryl Sloan: Chion
Posted by: rhyder on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 12:00 AM
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[post reinstated due to accidental deletion - doh!]
In other news, I need to get payment sent off to Darryl for his new book (sorry Darryl, I'm not very good at getting around to things like that). For anyone who might be interested, Darryl is an indi novel author who has just finished his second book. I'm happy to pay my £4.50 for the novel for two reasons. Firstly, the premise sounds both vaguely post-apocalyptic (my favorite sci-fi sub-genre) and genuinely intriguing and secondly, as I can write it off as a 'research expense' to get hold of a copy a 'print on demand' book to see what I think to the quality.
If this sounds like the sort of thing that you're interested in check out his website.
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Crisis, really.
Posted by: rhyder on Monday, February 06, 2006 - 11:34 AM
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Erk. It would seem that I may have been pipped to the post in my dream to create the first IT orientated sit-com. I haven't seen a copy of The IT Crowd yet so, I don't know how bad this is. If TIC is really similar to my own thingy, I may have to abandon the project entirely.
As ever, for more info on the project and a excerpt from the pilot script, see The University Of Life (Geek Sitcom) under the Writing heading on the side menu.
I'll see what audience reaction to TIC is like and maybe try to get hold a copy before deciding whether to proceed with TUOL. The plan had been to rewrite the pilot to create a second draft. Amongst other changes in the second draft, I planned to make the script more plot orientated. I also came up with the brilliant idea of adding a female character to the main cast; you can perhaps picture me sighing when I saw the pictures and read the first accounts of TIC :-/
Serves me right for thinking 'ah well, you're 30 now (on 31 of Jan) what else can go wrong this week?'
Read full article: 'Crisis, really.' (about 30 words)
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News: More Writing
Posted by: rhyder on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 08:00 PM
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Found a short story which was part of a now-abandoned project. I've made some small corrections, added some introductory text at the beginning, located some music which was related to the project and posted it all to the site. I have placed it under the Writing heading on the side menu (short story: My Arms Are Strong).
If you do take a look at it, go easy on it. It's not that old in chronological terms but I have made some advances as a writer since then.
Read full article: 'More Writing' (about 0 words)
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News: Getting back into it...
Posted by: rhyder on Monday, November 07, 2005 - 12:12 AM
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Anyway...
I've taken most of the summer off from creative things. However, summer
is over and I'm in the process of getting back into the writing/music
etc.
The barriers to resurrecting my creative projects are mainly ones of
reestablishing work patterns and habits and also a few practical
considerations such as clearing out/re arranging my bedroom so that I
can work.
Perhaps this will be the year in which I actually have something
finished to show for my endeavors.
Here is the current status report:
Read full article: 'Getting back into it...' (about 270 words)
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| Links to other sites
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»OS News Daily links to tech stories on the web in addition to original tech articles. I have had some of my own articles published on this site.
»Free Software Magazine A web publication that I have worked with.
»Linux.comA web publication that I have worked with.
»Fantasic things! The Mac and photography related adventures of a RL friend of mine.
»Darryl Sloan Indi self published writer. Current project: Chion
Delusions of Divinity? Blog of Euphrosene Labon, a fellow writer and artist.
»Drobe RISC OS News, Software and Information.
»No Mutants Allowed I don't really agree with their no mutants policy but probably the best Fallout news site.
»LyXThe LyX document creation system. The LaTeX based text editor system that I use for most of my writing.
»Frontier News News hub for all things related to the Elite series of games.
»Gender Equivalence A website for my forthcoming book.
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