Odd Lots
- Here’s more evidence that you should never, but never use Adobe Reader, especially on Linux. I haven’t used it for a couple of years, and if a machine comes into my care with that bugfarm on it I uninstall it immediately. I tried the free version of Tracker Software’s PDF XChange, then bought the pro version, and I’ve been using it ever since. Highly recommended.
- No matter what PDF reader you use, make very sure that you disable Javascript in the reader. JS is probably the second most dangerous thing in the software world right now, after unbounded string functions. Fortunately, you can turn JS off a lot easier than you can spot software that still uses unbounded string functions.
- Having hand-made countless hookup wire jumpers for breadboard work in my life (or at least since 1975, when I first got a push-down breadboard together) I was pleased to see a brilliant hack in Make: soak the glue off a block of ordinary desk stapler staples with acetone, and they make perfect (if short) jumpers.
- From the same trip through the Make Blog comes a goofy and rather literal “third hand” for inspection, soldering, etc. If one of those came to, um, hand, I might even try it, though I think I’d stop short of the nail polish.
- I’ve seen a fair number of Wi-Fi ad hoc networks come and go since I got into Wi-Fi in 1999, and all of them were far more trouble than they were worth. Byzantium looks better on a number of counts, and I wonder if any readers have tried it.
- I used to burn these in my wood stove, and now we’re told that the entire global economy rests on them. It probably does. Alas, they’re mostly not made of wood anymore.
- Also from Slate: Kids who passed the marshmallow test not only did better in nearly all aspects of life, but they weigh less at age 45. Their super-power may be simple impulse control, or it may be more than that: I’ve long suspected that some people are simply addicted to wanting. If it isn’t the marshmallows it’ll be something else.
- From Tom Roderick comes word that we’ve finally gotten a maser to work at room temperature.
- There is a new PDF-based magazine devoted to the Raspberry Pi board. Considering that it’s ad-free and they’re not charging for it, I think it’s pretty well done.
Posted in: Odd Lots.
Tagged: electronics · hardware · psychology · science · software
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I’ve got a Raspberry Pi Model B on order, which should show up in early September; I should look at those magazines.
For a guy with your tech chops I think it might seem thin gruel, but it’s nicely done and I learned a few things. Definitely pull one down and see.
Maybe. I do have a book on ARM SoC architecture bookmarked on Amazon to order after next payday, too. Perhaps you should do a companion volume to your x86 assembly programming guide, for ARM…
For PDF readers I like Sumatra (http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/free-pdf-reader.html) better than all alternatives I have seen up to this point. It doesn’t support dynamic content at all as far as I know (so if for some reason you need Javascript / Flash or whatever else Sumatra is not an option because there isn’t a built in way to handle such things). Furthermore, it’s FAST — which I find highly attractive. It’s worth mentioning that you can’t use it to fill out PDF forms.
soak the glue off a block of ordinary desk stapler staples with acetone, and they make perfect (if short) jumpers.
And it only took about 50 years for someone to think of this?
Better late than never!
Evince, the standard pdf viewer on Ubuntu, is also available for Windows. Seems to work well.