Every programmer has their own favourite tool for writing code. Some prefer command line text editing tools like Emacs, or Vi. Some like full Integrated Development Environments (aka IDEs) like Visual Studio, or Eclipse.
Update 1 March 2010: I had to fight with a Trac/Subversion setup to get it running properly. The server in question kept reporting a 403 Forbidden error when a checkout was done from the Repository, but it would allow me to navigate/list the repository contents just fine. The problem turned out to be how Apache handles virtual directories (via the Location directive). Unless otherwise specified, Apache will try to check physical file permissions when requests are made. It does this by tacking the virtual directory onto the end of the DocumentRoot value.
If you have followed the last couple of postings, you'll know how much fun I had trying out new Linux Distros. I can say I settled on Kubuntu. This is the same environment that triggered all my fun. But I went about things differently this time around. Instead of installing Ubuntu and then installing the kubuntu-desktop package, I downloaded and installed Kubuntu directly. I used the "alternate install" CD image instead of the LiveCD image. The only real problem was the text interface for the installer was messed up and flickering.
So now that I have become a little dis-illusioned with Ubuntu, I have been investigating alternative Linux distributions (aka distro's). What fun this is (not!).
There seems to be a constant battle between making something work right and making it look good. I see this in software, vehicles, home furnishings, etc. But there is one simple fact that seems to escape many:
If it doesn't work, it doesn't matter HOW good it looks.
This weekend I decided to upgrade my desktop to the latest version of Ubuntu. I've been happy with Ubuntu for the past few years, but version 9.10 (aka Karmic Koala) left me with rather mixed feelings.
The installation was straight forward. I removed the current hard drive and installed to a new and empty drive. This way I can very quickly recover my previous state - just plug in the original drive and boot up.
Some time ago, I acquired an Axial A10 Scorpion radio controlled truck. The idea from the start was to turn this into a robot to run around on it's own. (We'll ignore the fun of playing with it pre-robot stage for now.. ). Recently I bought myself an ArduPilot which is a small and inexpensive auto-pilot system. So now I'm trying to get everything running.
A flurry of posts tonight it seems. But, I want to get down all the "gotcha's" I've been having fun with in setting up the new desktop and server.
Quick background. I pulled the hard drive from my old desktop computer and installed in my new desktop computer. You can read my previousposts to see what I did with the server.
