Upcoming Events
The year 2010 is set to end with a bang. A host of events lined up for December will ensure you end the year informed and equipped with new skills:
Wezesha
Date: December 3 from 3pm - 6pm
Venue: KICC
Entrance Fee: FREE
Overview:
The Kenya ICT Board will launch 'Wezesha' a laptop initiative for university students on December 3. 'Wezesha' means 'enable' in Kiswahili. Under the Wezesha program university students in participating public and private universities and colleges will be eligible for 15% - 33% rebate on laptops from select retailers.
For more infomration visit:www.ict.go.ke
Microsoft Open Door
Date: December 8 from 8:00am
Venue: Sarit Center
Entrance Fee: FREE
Register online
Overview:
Join the Microsoft team at the Kenya Open Door event where they will present and showcase their latest technology.
You will have the opportunity to get the latest news about recent released Microsoft technologies, tools, platforms and services as well as industry trends first-hand from Microsoft experts and independent specialists.
erevuka kuwa sonko
Date: December 8 - 10
Venue: Nyayo Stadium
Entrance Fee: Ksh 100
Overview:
Erevuka Kuwa Sonko is a multi-faceted forum to empower the youth and integrate them into Kenya's economy building process. This event will feature Career and Talent Testing and an ICT Center to showcase opportunities for youth in the ICT sector. Be a part of this ambitious event.
For more information:
visit website: www.erevukakuwasonko.com
send email: info@kuwasonko.com
Tandaa Symposium
Date: December 10
Venue: Sarit Center (at the Kenya Music Week)
Entrance Fee: FREE
Register online
Overview:
The Tandaa Symposium on Music seeks to examine and reveal various tools the Internet offers for the music industry in Kenya. Sponsored by Google, the Tandaa Symposium will showcase local solutions and global applications that can help Kenyan musicians grow their fan base and distribute their music to a wider audience.
i/o ventures
Date: December 14
Venue: iHub
Entrance Fee: FREE
Overview:
A team from i/o ventures will visit Kenya from December 14 to 15. The team consists of entrepreneurs and founders of some of the most well known Silicon Valley companies. They will be in the country looking to find ICT entrepreneurs to mentor. Mark the date in your calendar - more information on how you can participate will follow soon
Courtesy of ICT Board Kenya
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Some principles on interface design
GUI Design - Best Practices
Software Systems are becoming complex by day; driven by the ever changing business processes. Despite this, their interfaces are expected to become more intuitive, easy and quick to use as well as able to hide all of the systems’ complexity from the user. To understand the concept of a good interface, let us take an example of a television set.
A television set internally consists of Electrical circuits that are drawn on boards using a medium capable of transmitting electrical signals. On the outer, the set consists of plastic casing which has a screen for visual output, volume buttons, program buttons, function buttons and a few others. These buttons are mapped on to the internal circuit boards. The users only see the casing and the buttons which hide the complexity of the internals of the Television set.
In order to come up with a good graphical user interface for any system, the following principles apply;
1. Understanding Targeted System Users
Television viewers enjoy viewing if they are able to set up for optimal results. While some are capable of setting up without much guidance (can use the remote controls to make complex setup), others are not able to understand even the basic setup hence need a one touch button on the casing to set the defaults.
Similarly, for the users to appreciate the system and use it effectively, they need to feel that it is easy to use. Since complexity varies for different users, GUI designers need to identify user segments for the system, understand their perception of a good interface then design the interface with this in mind. This gives a user the perception of being in control of the system.
2. Applying Universal Norms
When a TV viewer wants to increase volume, he looks on the Casing or remote control for a volume Icon. He expects this Icon to be standard for any television set. Thus if he does not find this Icon, he ends up confused.
Users tend to favor designs they are familiar with. Instead of re-inventing the whole wheel, GUI designers need to follow consistently used norms/Icons. Users will feel at ease with the system even if they haven’t interacted with it.
3. Ensuring Consistency
Imagine buying a TV with ‘Program’ button on the casing labeled “Function” and placed as the first button below the screen. One year down the line, you decide to purchase another TV of the same make. This time round the “Function” button has been renamed to “Program” and positioned as the last button above the screen!
Thus GUI structure should be consistent throughout the system. Users should be able to predict where to find a certain control on the window. For example SAVE button should be located at a constant position on all windows. Better still would be to place controls common to other widely used applications at the same position on the window.
4. Providing Visual Feedback
Imagine setting volume on the TV and there is no visual feedback that displays whether the volume is increasing or not!
Where possible, GUI designers should provide visual feed back like, highlighting buttons when clicking, projecting controls, changing control color and/or text fonts’ etc. This readily and clearly assures the user that an intended action is being or has been performed.
5. Support Keyboard shortcuts and Mouse Events
Where possible, GUI designers should provide keyboard shortcuts that a user can easily identify for quick accessibility of the system functionality. For example ctrl+v for Paste function. Where applicable, the developer should use universally identified shortcuts.
6. Appealing but Non-exaggerated Look and Feel
Imagine going to buy a television set and finding one shaped like human head! My best guess would be that, you would not be attracted to buy it for obvious reasons. It does not matter how wonderful its internal functionality is.
Users are drawn by what they see. A well designed system attracts users to want to use it. It’s only by using the system that they will appreciate the goodness, effectiveness and the seriousness of the system.
7. Positioning of windows Controls, Tool and menu bars
Picture, at one time finding the buttons on the TV casing below the screen, then next time at the back! Automatically, you tend to search for them at the front and wouldn’t think of them being placed at the back!
System controls should be consistently positioned where the user can easily and predictably find them without much ado. This serves to enhance the users’ perception of the system being easy to use.
8. Minimal Functionality Presentation on Windows
Now, visualize the TVs’ entire functionality mapped together with the buttons on the casing. Which one would you start with? How long would it take you to find the button you need amongst the many buttons? Would all fit on the casing? How messy can it get?
GUI designers should endeavor to present as minimal as possible functionalities on the window; possibly, only the functionalities affecting the processes on that window.
9. Ensuring Ease of Navigation
Picture setting up the TV and in the process you need to first quit setup then fix the aerial, then resume to setup again. After that you try to navigate to where you were before.
User interface should be well designed to allow for easy navigation between different windows and functionality. This adds to the simplicity of the system.
Conclusion
User interface determines how the user perceives the system, which in turn determines how one would use it. If a user believes the system is easy to use and effectively addresses his/her needs, it translates to the number of times he/ she would come back to it thus realizing its full potential. It is upon this solid foundation of carefully planned User Interface that the A1ERP has been built. It boasts of consistency, ease of use, a well managed appealing look and feel, properly planned window layouts and well designed system functionality, amongst others.
Cutesy of AT labs
Software Systems are becoming complex by day; driven by the ever changing business processes. Despite this, their interfaces are expected to become more intuitive, easy and quick to use as well as able to hide all of the systems’ complexity from the user. To understand the concept of a good interface, let us take an example of a television set.
A television set internally consists of Electrical circuits that are drawn on boards using a medium capable of transmitting electrical signals. On the outer, the set consists of plastic casing which has a screen for visual output, volume buttons, program buttons, function buttons and a few others. These buttons are mapped on to the internal circuit boards. The users only see the casing and the buttons which hide the complexity of the internals of the Television set.
In order to come up with a good graphical user interface for any system, the following principles apply;
1. Understanding Targeted System Users
Television viewers enjoy viewing if they are able to set up for optimal results. While some are capable of setting up without much guidance (can use the remote controls to make complex setup), others are not able to understand even the basic setup hence need a one touch button on the casing to set the defaults.
Similarly, for the users to appreciate the system and use it effectively, they need to feel that it is easy to use. Since complexity varies for different users, GUI designers need to identify user segments for the system, understand their perception of a good interface then design the interface with this in mind. This gives a user the perception of being in control of the system.
2. Applying Universal Norms
When a TV viewer wants to increase volume, he looks on the Casing or remote control for a volume Icon. He expects this Icon to be standard for any television set. Thus if he does not find this Icon, he ends up confused.
Users tend to favor designs they are familiar with. Instead of re-inventing the whole wheel, GUI designers need to follow consistently used norms/Icons. Users will feel at ease with the system even if they haven’t interacted with it.
3. Ensuring Consistency
Imagine buying a TV with ‘Program’ button on the casing labeled “Function” and placed as the first button below the screen. One year down the line, you decide to purchase another TV of the same make. This time round the “Function” button has been renamed to “Program” and positioned as the last button above the screen!
Thus GUI structure should be consistent throughout the system. Users should be able to predict where to find a certain control on the window. For example SAVE button should be located at a constant position on all windows. Better still would be to place controls common to other widely used applications at the same position on the window.
4. Providing Visual Feedback
Imagine setting volume on the TV and there is no visual feedback that displays whether the volume is increasing or not!
Where possible, GUI designers should provide visual feed back like, highlighting buttons when clicking, projecting controls, changing control color and/or text fonts’ etc. This readily and clearly assures the user that an intended action is being or has been performed.
5. Support Keyboard shortcuts and Mouse Events
Where possible, GUI designers should provide keyboard shortcuts that a user can easily identify for quick accessibility of the system functionality. For example ctrl+v for Paste function. Where applicable, the developer should use universally identified shortcuts.
6. Appealing but Non-exaggerated Look and Feel
Imagine going to buy a television set and finding one shaped like human head! My best guess would be that, you would not be attracted to buy it for obvious reasons. It does not matter how wonderful its internal functionality is.
Users are drawn by what they see. A well designed system attracts users to want to use it. It’s only by using the system that they will appreciate the goodness, effectiveness and the seriousness of the system.
7. Positioning of windows Controls, Tool and menu bars
Picture, at one time finding the buttons on the TV casing below the screen, then next time at the back! Automatically, you tend to search for them at the front and wouldn’t think of them being placed at the back!
System controls should be consistently positioned where the user can easily and predictably find them without much ado. This serves to enhance the users’ perception of the system being easy to use.
8. Minimal Functionality Presentation on Windows
Now, visualize the TVs’ entire functionality mapped together with the buttons on the casing. Which one would you start with? How long would it take you to find the button you need amongst the many buttons? Would all fit on the casing? How messy can it get?
GUI designers should endeavor to present as minimal as possible functionalities on the window; possibly, only the functionalities affecting the processes on that window.
9. Ensuring Ease of Navigation
Picture setting up the TV and in the process you need to first quit setup then fix the aerial, then resume to setup again. After that you try to navigate to where you were before.
User interface should be well designed to allow for easy navigation between different windows and functionality. This adds to the simplicity of the system.
Conclusion
User interface determines how the user perceives the system, which in turn determines how one would use it. If a user believes the system is easy to use and effectively addresses his/her needs, it translates to the number of times he/ she would come back to it thus realizing its full potential. It is upon this solid foundation of carefully planned User Interface that the A1ERP has been built. It boasts of consistency, ease of use, a well managed appealing look and feel, properly planned window layouts and well designed system functionality, amongst others.
Cutesy of AT labs
Monday, November 29, 2010
JLUG DOES IT AGAIN
On 27th November 2010, the anti graft chiefs in Africa led by their host PLO Lumumba visited JKUAT.
JLUG got a chance to present to them some of the projects by their members. The projects included College Feed by Kenneth Kimani,Shika Mwizi by Paul Mwaniki,Fuel SMS by Eric Omwadho and M-Akiba by Rasto Chepkwony.
They delegation was extremely happy with the presentation and encouraged us to do keep up the good work.Its through this that Kebati Calvin one of the officials of JLUG got an invitation by Victoria Kattambo to visit KACC so that they discuss more on how they can further engage the students.
JLUG is walking the talk and there is yet more to come.
Watch out for JLUG magazine first edition soon.
JLUG got a chance to present to them some of the projects by their members. The projects included College Feed by Kenneth Kimani,Shika Mwizi by Paul Mwaniki,Fuel SMS by Eric Omwadho and M-Akiba by Rasto Chepkwony.
They delegation was extremely happy with the presentation and encouraged us to do keep up the good work.Its through this that Kebati Calvin one of the officials of JLUG got an invitation by Victoria Kattambo to visit KACC so that they discuss more on how they can further engage the students.
JLUG is walking the talk and there is yet more to come.
Watch out for JLUG magazine first edition soon.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
On the last meeting
JLUG meeting
Thursday November 25th 2010
New kids on the floor:
The final meeting of the academic year saw some new fellows on the floor. Felling a little bit nervous and inconsistent was what seemed to take over but it was soon overcome.
The presentations:
Group proposals:
Elijah a committed member of the club brought about the issue of having groups that will be managed by a group organizer and lead by a leader. The group organizer will have the role of manning projects and presentations forwarded to him by the officials. For fairness,each of the groups will have one of the officials as a member. The advantages that will be derived from this are:
1) Enables everyone to be herd.
2) Enhances healthy competition hence seriousness and devotion.
3) Will create responsibilities.
This idea was seconded by the chair and also the secretary as a brilliant idea to unite the members of the club”The JLUG family”
The open day:
A proposal brought about by Ian Christine and Nelson:
What its all about:
Most people know about Linux but they are reluctant on using it. Reason being its open source,it is an executable application that will crash your system once installed on your Windows machine. On the other hand people just use it for entertainment. Having the mindset of a computer geek,one knows how much Linux has evolved from the command line to the graphical interface,Just as the commandments put it,”Honor your father and mother”So shall all Linux users remember Unix as both their father and mother. IT has changed computing since all other operating systems use our kernel but only change the interface.
Get more of these from the magazine issue #1.
Thursday November 25th 2010
New kids on the floor:
The final meeting of the academic year saw some new fellows on the floor. Felling a little bit nervous and inconsistent was what seemed to take over but it was soon overcome.
The presentations:
Group proposals:
Elijah a committed member of the club brought about the issue of having groups that will be managed by a group organizer and lead by a leader. The group organizer will have the role of manning projects and presentations forwarded to him by the officials. For fairness,each of the groups will have one of the officials as a member. The advantages that will be derived from this are:
1) Enables everyone to be herd.
2) Enhances healthy competition hence seriousness and devotion.
3) Will create responsibilities.
This idea was seconded by the chair and also the secretary as a brilliant idea to unite the members of the club”The JLUG family”
The open day:
A proposal brought about by Ian Christine and Nelson:
What its all about:
Most people know about Linux but they are reluctant on using it. Reason being its open source,it is an executable application that will crash your system once installed on your Windows machine. On the other hand people just use it for entertainment. Having the mindset of a computer geek,one knows how much Linux has evolved from the command line to the graphical interface,Just as the commandments put it,”Honor your father and mother”So shall all Linux users remember Unix as both their father and mother. IT has changed computing since all other operating systems use our kernel but only change the interface.
Get more of these from the magazine issue #1.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The margazine is on
The JLUG editorial team is proud to announce that the progress of the first magazine is taking a forward step in its implementation.A digital magazine that is one of its kind in the campus.Hecho to the club officials and all of those who are taking part in its implementation.The magazine will be out on December 1st this year and each of the registered members will be send a copy of the magazine to their e-mail.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Reflections On The JKUAT Tech Expo2010
“Hardwork, Determination, Persistence and Collaborations are key to achieving success in every endeavor you pursue”
The first JKUAT tech Expo 2010 was organized by JLUG for a period summing up to nine months. The culmination of it was on 13th Oct ,2010 when the results were seen. A success that was was witnessed on that Wednesday. It was graced by the university management led by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga, Deputy Vice Chancellor in Charge of Research, Production and Extension Prof. Esther Kahangi who were very instrumental in seeing our dream come true.
The organizers of the event led by Kebati Calvin were divided into sub commits that played a vital role. They included the media team led by Wendoh Willys, the marketing team led by Sam Ndungu and the general secretariat led by Mike Muriuki. Indeed it was evident that they did a great job from the turn out and high level of display of organization. We appreciate them for the job well done!
The other stakeholders that played a key role in the expo were the exhibitors who believed in us and burnt the midnight oil to put together their projects that really were the main motivations towards JKUAT TECH expo. They did help us prove skeptics wrong who saw the failure part of it that we were serious and success was the minimum we did expect. Indeed its worthy mentioning that ICT Board of Kenya did give our event serious thought, this was manifested by sending Local content manager, Kaburo Kobia to the event who also volunteered to be our judge and spent the whole day with us. Hongera Kaburo for believing in us!
Its an event that displayed just less than 5% of the enormous ideas that are not being displayed our fellow students and usually go unnoticed. The fully packed assembly hall applauded the VC when she did promise to allow the students event on the university calendar, this implied that she was greatly humbled by the projects she did see.
We in future would want to see a fablab developed in JKUAT to facilitate the development of students’ ideas and help us compete favorably with other globally acknowledged institution.
As JLUG we would like top encourage students to be ready to present their ideas discuss them and realize them through partnerships that matter and not people who strive to take pride in other peoples sweat.
Experience flexibility as you share your knowledge with the world and you will definitely achieve much.
The first JKUAT tech Expo 2010 was organized by JLUG for a period summing up to nine months. The culmination of it was on 13th Oct ,2010 when the results were seen. A success that was was witnessed on that Wednesday. It was graced by the university management led by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga, Deputy Vice Chancellor in Charge of Research, Production and Extension Prof. Esther Kahangi who were very instrumental in seeing our dream come true.
The organizers of the event led by Kebati Calvin were divided into sub commits that played a vital role. They included the media team led by Wendoh Willys, the marketing team led by Sam Ndungu and the general secretariat led by Mike Muriuki. Indeed it was evident that they did a great job from the turn out and high level of display of organization. We appreciate them for the job well done!
The other stakeholders that played a key role in the expo were the exhibitors who believed in us and burnt the midnight oil to put together their projects that really were the main motivations towards JKUAT TECH expo. They did help us prove skeptics wrong who saw the failure part of it that we were serious and success was the minimum we did expect. Indeed its worthy mentioning that ICT Board of Kenya did give our event serious thought, this was manifested by sending Local content manager, Kaburo Kobia to the event who also volunteered to be our judge and spent the whole day with us. Hongera Kaburo for believing in us!
Its an event that displayed just less than 5% of the enormous ideas that are not being displayed our fellow students and usually go unnoticed. The fully packed assembly hall applauded the VC when she did promise to allow the students event on the university calendar, this implied that she was greatly humbled by the projects she did see.
We in future would want to see a fablab developed in JKUAT to facilitate the development of students’ ideas and help us compete favorably with other globally acknowledged institution.
As JLUG we would like top encourage students to be ready to present their ideas discuss them and realize them through partnerships that matter and not people who strive to take pride in other peoples sweat.
Experience flexibility as you share your knowledge with the world and you will definitely achieve much.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
DVC-RPE Prof. Easther Murugi Kahangi and the exhibitors in JKUAT Tech Expo It
It was a great honor for Jkuat Linux users Group(JLUG) to be the first ever club to host the DVC-RPE Prof. Easther Murugi Kahangi and the exhibitors in JKUAT Tech Expo
scheduled for October, 2010.
She had the some encouraging message to the exhibitors who were JKUAT student.
She said, “We have to be creative to drive the Kenyan economy and make Kenya a
paradise just like or even better than USA.”
She said she was amazed at the students’ initiative and supported it since it will breed a culture of innovativeness in the University and by extension to the society we live in.
She went ahead to say that in fact the University management was happy and were
considering introducing an innovation academy in JKUAT that will cater for the
students on their innovation and offer all technical support towards success of their
ideas so long as they address a current issue or problem in the society. According to
JLUG that is a step in the right direction.
The exhibitors who were in attendance were extremely happy and felt encouraged by
the DVC-RPE. Some were quoted as saying “We never imagined she(DVC-RPE) could
show up in this meeting and interact with us in that manner. We feel honored.”
From this statement bit show statement we ascertained her attendance did actually
make an impact.
Besides her we had our patron Mr. Harrison Kaguongo who encouraged the exhibitors
to utilize the resources and skills they have to make a change. He even cited the BillGates encounter with White house who rubbished his idea but Gates persisted and
that’s why we use computers today in the world and ironically USA over relies on
them.
Prof. Kahangi and Mr Kaguongo had the same parting shot “Lets change Kenya”
Indeed we can so lets get to work.
scheduled for October, 2010.
She had the some encouraging message to the exhibitors who were JKUAT student.
She said, “We have to be creative to drive the Kenyan economy and make Kenya a
paradise just like or even better than USA.”
She said she was amazed at the students’ initiative and supported it since it will breed a culture of innovativeness in the University and by extension to the society we live in.
She went ahead to say that in fact the University management was happy and were
considering introducing an innovation academy in JKUAT that will cater for the
students on their innovation and offer all technical support towards success of their
ideas so long as they address a current issue or problem in the society. According to
JLUG that is a step in the right direction.
The exhibitors who were in attendance were extremely happy and felt encouraged by
the DVC-RPE. Some were quoted as saying “We never imagined she(DVC-RPE) could
show up in this meeting and interact with us in that manner. We feel honored.”
From this statement bit show statement we ascertained her attendance did actually
make an impact.
Besides her we had our patron Mr. Harrison Kaguongo who encouraged the exhibitors
to utilize the resources and skills they have to make a change. He even cited the BillGates encounter with White house who rubbished his idea but Gates persisted and
that’s why we use computers today in the world and ironically USA over relies on
them.
Prof. Kahangi and Mr Kaguongo had the same parting shot “Lets change Kenya”
Indeed we can so lets get to work.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A Tale of four Distros
GENTOO
I was having an interesting discussion with Allan recently about Gentoo Linux and he pointed out its newbie unfriendliness, and I want to reiterate his opinion :), albeit half-heartedly. Well since the beginning of the Gentoo journey as with all other OS's (OSi? :) ) is the installation, I decided against reinventing the wheel by writing an installation guide. So head on over to THIS link and READ. Thing about the gentoo install is its majorly manual, what has been automated in other distros with intelligent scripts some even graphical, you have to do entirely by hand the good ol' UNIX way, with commands (Can you see the size of my grin? :D ). Ok. maybe I'll mention a wee bit about the installation;
Sourced-speed
So like I said gentoo is a compiled linux distro. What this means for you is that every level of your system shall be optimised to run on your hardware, right down to the drivers that run everything. Zoooooom!!! So yeah the first merit of Gentoo is that its a speed demon. :D Interested yet?
waving CFLAGS vs. USE
I won' lie to you, I am by far not gentoo'd enough to make the difference clear here but I'll try my best. Besides, if you're still reading, it probably means this stuff isn't complete Greek to you :). So Gentoo has this giga-nifty feature called USE variables. What these things do is make it easy for you to choose what is and isn't important in your system, and as a consequence you end up with as Allan likes to put it, "A leaner and meaner" system that serves only your needs and scraps out all the manure that clutters up your system. Example: You don't have a printer at home, and you don't desire one either hehe, so why get all that stuff compiled into your system taking up space and using resources since CUPSd is started by default on most linux distros, USE -cups and you'll have none of that, in the event you require CUPS you just compile it into the system and viola! The debian/redhat equivalent is CFLAGS (which by the way you won't have the option of using at install time since everything comes in pre-packaged binary form) , you might have come across them if you compile stuff for yourself, they are WAY more tedious to use, take it from me. Enough about that you must be getting cross with me by now :).
Emerge!
Gentoo has a package manager called portage not unlike apt-get (which I applaud Debian immensely for) but far beyond what debian's apt-get can do. . .you can update your whole bl00dy system with one command!! emerge --update world, now tell me that isn't awesome!! Huh?
Ok. I can go on and on. . . .but the purpose of this post was whet your appetite and get you to find out more about Gentoo on your own as well as experiment with it. So errrr that's the end of my Gentoo rant :).
I started out thinking that I'd do it all in one fell swoop but I'm starting to tire, so I'll do the remaining 3 distros later.
Preview:
. . . . .Puppy Linux: If you've ever watched Major Payne (That Damon Wayans should be locked up :D) you probably remember the part Payne was telling that story of the little engine that could, that was creepy right?With his squeaky voice and all hehe, anyhow Puppy linux is the Little Distro that can, Its all I use. . . .
More next time.
if you have mplayer on your linux distro try this:
$ cd your_music_folder
$ find . -iname '*name of song/musician*' -exec mplayer {} +
:D
Sayanora peeps, till next time.
I was having an interesting discussion with Allan recently about Gentoo Linux and he pointed out its newbie unfriendliness, and I want to reiterate his opinion :), albeit half-heartedly. Well since the beginning of the Gentoo journey as with all other OS's (OSi? :) ) is the installation, I decided against reinventing the wheel by writing an installation guide. So head on over to THIS link and READ. Thing about the gentoo install is its majorly manual, what has been automated in other distros with intelligent scripts some even graphical, you have to do entirely by hand the good ol' UNIX way, with commands (Can you see the size of my grin? :D ). Ok. maybe I'll mention a wee bit about the installation;
After prepping your disk for installation [refer to the aforementioned guide] you'll get to a stage where you shall be required to compile your system (this is the mad cool part). You'll often hear gentoo referred to as a compiled Linux distro as opposed to the Debians and redhats which are a bunch of binaries compiled for a 386 system. You are most likely running on a Pentium class processor so this step right here makes all the difference and sets Gentoo apart from the other distros since you are essentially being allowed to custom make it for your hardware. All produced binaries shall be optimised to run on your hardware. [if that sounded like gibberish to you I advise you to skip the Gentoo section and scroll down to Sabayon :) ]Lemmi rant on a bit about Gentoo's super deliciousness. Indulge me:
Oh and here's a gem I stole from a gentoo enthusiast's site
"Yea, I really don't understand all the complaints about the time to install gentoo. It is like complaining about your Ferrari because the dealership was so far away."
Sourced-speed
So like I said gentoo is a compiled linux distro. What this means for you is that every level of your system shall be optimised to run on your hardware, right down to the drivers that run everything. Zoooooom!!! So yeah the first merit of Gentoo is that its a speed demon. :D Interested yet?
waving CFLAGS vs. USE
I won' lie to you, I am by far not gentoo'd enough to make the difference clear here but I'll try my best. Besides, if you're still reading, it probably means this stuff isn't complete Greek to you :). So Gentoo has this giga-nifty feature called USE variables. What these things do is make it easy for you to choose what is and isn't important in your system, and as a consequence you end up with as Allan likes to put it, "A leaner and meaner" system that serves only your needs and scraps out all the manure that clutters up your system. Example: You don't have a printer at home, and you don't desire one either hehe, so why get all that stuff compiled into your system taking up space and using resources since CUPSd is started by default on most linux distros, USE -cups and you'll have none of that, in the event you require CUPS you just compile it into the system and viola! The debian/redhat equivalent is CFLAGS (which by the way you won't have the option of using at install time since everything comes in pre-packaged binary form) , you might have come across them if you compile stuff for yourself, they are WAY more tedious to use, take it from me. Enough about that you must be getting cross with me by now :).
Watching sh*t scroll by for hours makes me a Linux expert overnight!
Hehehehe!! Yeah, gentoo isn't really your newby friendly distro, but darn it to heck you get to learn a whole load of *NIX gooie while using it. So yeah, I recommend it for anyone hungry to learn their way around the UNIX wilderness. Another thing I'll squeeze in to this point is that Gentoo is extremely developer friendy, comes with all the necessary headers that you need for compiling stuff for yourself and you can for get that "Your headers are out of date" message that you risk running into when using debian's "build essential". Golly I'm falling in love with this thing already!! I know you are too :).Emerge!
Gentoo has a package manager called portage not unlike apt-get (which I applaud Debian immensely for) but far beyond what debian's apt-get can do. . .you can update your whole bl00dy system with one command!! emerge --update world, now tell me that isn't awesome!! Huh?
Ok. I can go on and on. . . .but the purpose of this post was whet your appetite and get you to find out more about Gentoo on your own as well as experiment with it. So errrr that's the end of my Gentoo rant :).
I started out thinking that I'd do it all in one fell swoop but I'm starting to tire, so I'll do the remaining 3 distros later.
Preview:
. . . . .Puppy Linux: If you've ever watched Major Payne (That Damon Wayans should be locked up :D) you probably remember the part Payne was telling that story of the little engine that could, that was creepy right?With his squeaky voice and all hehe, anyhow Puppy linux is the Little Distro that can, Its all I use. . . .
More next time.
if you have mplayer on your linux distro try this:
$ cd your_music_folder
$ find . -iname '*name of song/musician*' -exec mplayer {} +
:D
Sayanora peeps, till next time.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
SCOSIT vote re-run!! at 5pm
Hi guys, as had mentioned earlier, the SCOSIT chairmen who had contested last week ended up in a tie. So, a re-run was set for today and I have just been informed that this will be held at 5pm Today. Please come and vote. All IT, CT and Comp. Science students are eligible for voting so everyone is welcome. Remember, we need a vibrant society and that can only be achieved through a candid leader.
See you at five.
See you at five.
Friday, July 2, 2010
VOTING RESULTS
So yesterday, as expected, the voting went on very well. I must admit that it was very peaceful and fairly conducted. The voter turn out was also pleasant, making SCOSIT probably the largest gathering in the name of a club in JKUAT right now. We hope this will be replicated all through it's endeavors.
Apparently, it was a very tightly contested vote which resulted to the two contesting chairmen tying with 80 votes each. This was quite shocking. With this, people have to vote for the second time next week on Tuesday.
There had been a consultation about having to register before voting but I've already been informed by some reliable sources that it will not be there, though it was decided that in the next voting people must produce their school IDs.
All the other posts were grabbed with very smart and promising people who we hope will steer the club into some pleasant fortunes.
We can only wait and see. Meanwhile, the contestants are allowed to do anything in their power to amass as many people as possible. Thanks to all those who came in strongly to vote.
Have an "Open Source Weekend!".
Apparently, it was a very tightly contested vote which resulted to the two contesting chairmen tying with 80 votes each. This was quite shocking. With this, people have to vote for the second time next week on Tuesday.
There had been a consultation about having to register before voting but I've already been informed by some reliable sources that it will not be there, though it was decided that in the next voting people must produce their school IDs.
All the other posts were grabbed with very smart and promising people who we hope will steer the club into some pleasant fortunes.
We can only wait and see. Meanwhile, the contestants are allowed to do anything in their power to amass as many people as possible. Thanks to all those who came in strongly to vote.
Have an "Open Source Weekend!".
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The voting is on tonight.
Finally, the SCOSIT officials are being voted in today at 8pm. All the contestants are ready. We as JLUG members we can only wait and see. Will blog more as the proceedings go by and also after the actual voting.
Lets see who wins.
Lets see who wins.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
UPCOMING STRATHMORE MOBILE BOOTCAMP
Hi guys, the Strathmore annual mobile boot-camp has been lined up and is scheduled for 7th July to 10th July i.e. running from Thursday through to Sunday. This sounds like a great experience for the mobile techies out there.
Basically, Mobile boot-camp is all about mobile application development.
On the 8th of July, there will be speakers from the industry touching on a variety of relevant issues including converting your ideas into business and Grants for local application developers. 9th and 10th of July will see hands-on development sessions in Beginner and Intermediate Java ME, SMS/USSD and Python.
Only 150 spaces are left. You can book online and receive a mail notification or you can also pay through your phone. All details on registrations and payments are here and .
For more information about the event itself go to
any questions and comments about the same are welcome.
See you there.
Basically, Mobile boot-camp is all about mobile application development.
On the 8th of July, there will be speakers from the industry touching on a variety of relevant issues including converting your ideas into business and Grants for local application developers. 9th and 10th of July will see hands-on development sessions in Beginner and Intermediate Java ME, SMS/USSD and Python.
Only 150 spaces are left. You can book online and receive a mail notification or you can also pay through your phone. All details on registrations and payments are here and .
For more information about the event itself go to
any questions and comments about the same are welcome.
See you there.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
IMAGINE CUP COMPETITION- MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Though belated, we are still obliged to post about Imagine Cup Competition that went down three weeks ago. It was a success, at least according to most of JLUG members. Presentations were of good quality and drawn from all over East Africa with a little bias towards Uganda’s’ Makerere University. JKUAT as usual had quite a commanding representation and we were able to present 5 projects and good enough, one was presented an award.
The winner was from Strathmore University and was immediately presented with a ticket to Poland for the world finals. It was really interesting, especially because two teams will be flown to Poland.
To those who missed it, no need to worry, you can always catch up with the next one, at least that is a year's notice so no excuse. For those who would want to line up projects for next year, the registration dates will be posted to you accordingly.
Alongside the free lunch, the general ambiance at the Hotel was gorgeous, the ladies were HEAVEN and in good plenty, probably more than the number of people Jesus fed with "" loaves and "" fish!!!
Now you see exactly why you will not miss the next..
Nothing else. Go Code.
WELCOME TO THE JLUG BLOG!
Hey guys, it's finally up and running. The official blog url is www.jkuatlinux.blogspot.com . This is just to welcome you to the blog. Feel free to share any information in here. Comments and suggestions are highly welcomed.
Thank you.
Editor.
Thank you.
Editor.
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