Google Desktop for Linux Released

Google Desktop for Linux has been officially released. It's a real-honest-to-god native linux application, and doesn't use Wine like the Linux version of Picasa.

I've just installed it on Ubuntu Feisty Fawn from the Google Linux software repositories, and while it's currently only indexed about 1 % of my files, my initial tests suggest it is pretty slick ... a quick Ctrl-Ctrl, and up pops the search box. Apart from all the things I'd expect, like indexing the content of pdf files, directories like "/usr/man" are included on the default path list, so I presume it also looks inside man pages. One problem I've noticed so far in my very quick testing is that it seems to not follow symlinks to directories and won't let me add them as paths to index. The effect is that my "/home/perry/documents", which is actually a symlink to a larger partition, does not get indexed unless I add it to the path list with it's real path.

While there are already similar offerings for Gnome (eg Beagle) and KDE (eg Kat), my gut feeling is that Google Desktop will be my preferred option for the moment. Maybe one day we will get lucky, and Google will even make it FOSS (not holding my breath though).

SDF Public Access Unix celebrates 20 years

The Super Dimensional Fortress Public Access Unix has now been in operation for 20 years ! SDF is a non-commercial member supported BBS, which offers free accounts with Unix shell access, and a friendly and vibrant community.

I've been a 'lifetime' APRA member for a few years now, and have been using SDF for some lightweight web hosting (CGI in various flavours is supported). It's really handy to have a reliable shell account somewhere out in the aether to check network connectivity from, and my interactions with the community have always been fun. The photos in this post show one of my aging PCs, proudly displaying an SDF sticker.

To get a free account and check it out for yourself, telnet to sdf.lonestar.org and login as new.

Happy Birthday SDF !!


(yeh, I know I labeled this 'linux', and SDF actually runs on NetBSD. Different OS, similar audience).