Bryan Lunduke's Blog, page 7

The Best iPhone Word Processor: Word 5 for DOS

Have an iPhone (or an iPad)?

Want to do some writing on it in the nerdiest possible way?

What if you could write your documents in Microsoft Word 5.x… for DOS… right on your iPhone?

Seriously. You can. And, you know what? It works stupidly well. To the point where I think you could make a strong case that Word 5.x for DOS is the best word processor available for iOS.

I mean, just check out these bits of gorgeousness. iOS has never looked so good.

Reading and writing in plain text, RTF, or Word doc (older format, not the latest versions). Spelling, Pagination, Tabs, huge numbers of formatting options, Macros… it’s all here. You can even have multiple documents open at the same time, in movable (and resizable) windows.

Plus a truly enjoyable writing environment that is fun to take screenshots of.

Here’s how to install Word 5.x on your iOS device:

Step 1) Install iDOS from the App Store. It’s not free (5 bucks), but it’s the only true computer emulator I’ve ever found for iOS. It’s built on DOSBox and is absolutely fantastic.

Step 2) Download Word 5.5 for DOS directly from Microsoft. Microsoft released it, free of charge, many years back. Put this file somewhere on your iPhone.

Step 3) Launch iDOS and tap on the floppy drive. Select “Folder” and choose the folder where your Word 5.5 .EXE file that you downloaded is located.

Step 4) Run the downloaded .EXE (Wd55_ben.exe) which will extract Word 5.5 for DOS for you.

Step 5) Run WORD.EXE!

What’s cool about this setup, is you can point iDOS (DOSBox) at any folder you like on your iOS device. Which makes it incredibly easy to move .DOC, .RTF, and .TXT files around and work with them in other applications over on the iOS side of things.

Have an external keyboard and mouse (either USB or Bluetooth)? You can connect those to your iPhone and — SHAZAM — you have a full featured DOS computer at your disposal!

Note: Android users can do this too… using any number of DOSBox ports for Android. I recommend Magic DOSBox or DOSBox Turbo. It’s just such a rarity that Apple allows emulators onto their locked down App Store that it seems worth highlighting!

In fact, you can run WORD.EXE in DOSBox on just about any computer or device you own. Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, etc… you can have the same writing environment setup on all of them! Super handy (and nerdily goofy)!

FreeBSD now allows hugs!

Everyone makes mistakes. Every single one of us.

What’s important is not that we never make mistakes, but that we learn from them. That goes for organizations as well as individuals.

It is with this in mind that I would like to give a (long overdue) high-five to the FreeBSD Project. A very sincere, well earned high-five at that.

The FreeBSD project, in the summer of 2020, voted to change their Code of Conduct in a very positive way. (See: June of 2020! A year ago! This high-five is seriously overdue!)

A little background on Hug-Gate

Back in 2018, the FreeBSD leadership instituted a new Code of Conduct. It was… in a word… insane.

Among other things… it specifically outlawed (this is not a joke) “virtual hugs”. Things like posting an animated .GIF of a teddy bear offering a hug… or simply typing “*hugs*”… those things were now punishable by being kicked out of the project entirely.

To say that I had more than a good chuckle at their expense would be an understatement. Other news outlets (like The Register) did as well.

After these news stories ran, some members of the FreeBSD Project became filled with rage. To the point where one of the leaders of the project coordinated an On-Line harassment campaign against me (which included threats of physical violence) for pointing out how silly “banning not-real-hugs” was.

Which was, let’s be honest, just the weirdest possible reaction they could have had.

So, naturally, I did what any red-blooded nerd with a microphone would do in my position…

I kept poking the bear.

Over the year that followed I made a point of bringing up “FreeBSD Hug-Gate” with regularity. When something silly would happen in the Tech News, I would casually slide in statements like, “Well… this may be ridiculous… but not as ridiculous as banning virtual hugs.”

FreeBSD now allows not-real-hugs

Then, in 2020, the FreeBSD Project voted… to get rid of their (absolutely ridiculous and bizarre) “Hug-banning” Code of Conduct… in favor of a new one.

That new Code of Conduct? Doesn’t once mention hugs. In fact… it is a fairly reasonable document by which to organize a community. With such rules as:

Be friendly and patientBe considerateBe respectful

Rules that are… reasonable. Dare I say… good. Well done, FreeBSD!

What is even more heart warming, are the results of the vote:

Only 4% of the FreeBSD Project members voted to keep the strange, slightly twisted, “Hug-banning” Code of Conduct.

Which means a full 96% of the community saw the ridiculousness for what it was… and has a good head on their shoulders!

Let’s be honest. In any community — no matter how amazing that community is — having 96% of the people agree and be reasonable is not always a forgone conclusion!

So, once again, huge high five to the FreeBSD Project. You learned from a (pretty goofy) mistake and made your whole project better. Well done, my dudes.

Maybe it’s time for me to take another look at FreeBSD!

Also… to everyone in the FreeBSD community…

Apple: “Sideloading is the DEVIL!”

This week, Apple released a “White Paper” (which is code for “propaganda pretending to be research”) entitled “Building a Trusted Ecosystem for Millions of Apps“.

The entire purpose of this “White Paper” is to make the case that “Sideloading” of applications onto an iOS device would bring about the end of life as we know it.

“Allowing sideloading would degrade the security of the iOS platform and expose users to serious security risks not only on third-party app stores, but also on the App Store.”

So… what is “Sideloading”?

Allow me to define it for you:

sideloading (verb) [ sahyd – loh – ding ]

The act of installing software on a real computer.

The term “sideloading” is a pretty new one in this context. Here, Apple uses it to mean “installing software without using Apple’s proprietary, locked down, restrictive, anti-competitive software store”. This is why they use the word “sideloading” and don’t simply call this action what it has always been called… “installing software“.

By giving the normal, expected, reasonable activity of “installing software on the computer you purchased” a new name — “sideloading” — they can begin to demonize the term. To use it to scare you.

“Oh, gosh! Sideloading! That has security problems! People will steal my data! I’ll probably get a virus!”

This is a commonly used strategy when trying to convince people that something (good or benign) which they have always done — or always thought — is actually quite bad. Possibly even — bum bum bum! — evil.

Create a new word (or take an existing one), give it the definition of the thing you are trying to discredit, then begin to demonize the new word.

For example, the following simply sounds ridiculous:

“Installing software on the computer you own is dangerous!”

But this…

“Sideloading is dangerous!”

That, if repeated often enough, is a story that can be sold. People can be convinced.

The key for Apple’s success in convincing the public (and lawmakers) that “installing software outside of Apple’s store is bad”… is for news outlets to consistently use the terminology of “sideloading” when talking about the topic, instead of phrases like “installing software”.

This is key: The more articles, blogs, tweets and videos use the term “sideloading” when talking about whether or not “installing software” is “dangerous”… the more people will begin to equate “sideloading” with “dangerous”.

And the more people that make that mental connection… the more likely it will be that companies (like Apple) will be able to lock down systems ever further. Quickly turning computers into devices that we all have decreasing amounts of freedoms on (freedom to repair, freedom to install).

It is critically important that people be reminded what “sideloading” actually is: The ability to install the software you want, the way you want, on the computer you own.

SUSE CEO buys herself a “Woman in IT Award”

Just two short days ago, SUSE announced that it had, in effect, won an award for “Brother-in-law of the year” from a company that is, essentially, their Brother-in-law.

These sort of pointless awards are not exactly uncommon in the Tech industry. Whenever I see them, I get a little chuckle. For they are oh-so-utterly ridiculous.

Today, just two days after I had a good laugh at their expense, SUSE is back with an award that is… somehow even more ridiculous. Check it out.

This first tweet, talks about a “Women in IT” award that SUSE sponsored.

Read: SUSE paid money to the “Women in IT Awards”. Who is that, you ask? “Women in IT Awards” is a part of Bonhill Group plc. Bonhill Group is “an information, data and events company specialising in the technology, finance and diversity sectors.”

Ok. So we’ve established that SUSE paid “Women in IT Awards” / Bonhill. We know this because SUSE and “Women in IT” proudly tweeted it out.

A few minutes later, they send out this Tweet where they proclaim the CEO of SUSE to be the “Woman of the Year” of the “Women in IT Awards”.

SUSE, the company that made a name for itself with Linux, literally bought an award for their CEO so that she could be “Woman of the Year”.

And, in case you were wondering, the CEO of SUSE (Mel really likes it when folks Tweet out congratulations for the honor.

Note: To all the SUSE employees out there. Now would be a great time to get in good with the boss. I recommend tweeting: “Congratulations @mididonato1 on this honor! You sure do deserve it! The company definitely didn’t buy it for you!”

This is right up there with giving your boss a “World’s Best Boss” coffee cup. Except, in this case, the boss paid for it.

And picked out the cup.

… and then Retweeted every employee who congratulated the boss on the amazing and unprecedented honor.

Am I picking on SUSE for being ridiculous here?

Yes.

Yes, I am.

Will Lunduke be using Windows 11?

No.

Google was looking for a Coronavirus with “Pandemic Potential”… in 2018.

Going to keep this short.

Google directly funded several rounds of research and papers relating to Coronavirus in China. Including one “in Guangdong, China, to characterize behaviors and perceptions associated with transmission of pathogens with pandemic potential.”

Here is the Funding section of that study:

This wasn’t the first research that Google paid for relating to SARS / Coronavirus. Specifically in China.

Also worth remembering that Google (including YouTube) has been actively censoring anyone who talks about COVID-19 coming out of research in China.

Again:

Google paid for Coronavirus research in China.Coronavirus pandemic occurs.Google censors content talking about that strain coming out of research in China.

Questions the deserve answers:

What was Google’s interest in Coronavirus research. Specifically “pathogens with pandemic potential”?Why was Google funding this research specifically in China?Considering that Google would have known about this research, why has Google been actively censoring those who speak about COVID-19 originating out of Chinese research?What relationship does this have with ex-CEO Larry Page’s Flu Lab company?

Thanks to The National Pulse for bringing some of this investigative research to the public.

Reddit’s ex-CEO says: “Deplatforming works”, “We don’t need to protect speech”

The former CEO of Reddit, Ellen K. Pao, has made some pretty pro-censorship statements in her time.

And this last week was no exception.

On June 17th, she stated, “Deplatforming hate works. It worked on reddit in 2015, and now it’s working on YouTube.”

The key part there: “Deplatforming … works”.

These words from the former CEO of Reddit appear to closely follow those of the current leadership of Mozilla as well, who are calling for “more than deplatforming” of conservative and “right wing” voices.

Not exactly a big statement advocating for Free Speech. Well, two days later, she put out some clarification on her Free Speech stance by saying, “We don’t need to protect speech that makes you dumber by just looking at it.”

The key part there: “We don’t need to protect speech.”

To be fair, the email she was referencing was — most certainly — not the most brilliant or inspired bit of writing I’ve ever read. Does it make the reader “dumber by just looking at it”? You know what? Possibly.

Was she simply being sarcastic and exaggerating? Normally, I’d say, obviously. Of course she is! She tweeted a snarky retort to a rude email. Something I can certainly appreciate.

But, in Pao’s case, this isn’t exactly the first time she’s come out against Freedom of Speech in one form or another.

Not even the first time this week.

Seeing so many leaders in the Tech world take such extreme stances against Freedom of Speech — and pro-censorship — of specific groups of people (typically grouped by political ideology) is, at the very least, worth noting.

Discuss this article over on the corresponding posts on Lunduke.Locals.com.

SUSE wins HPE’s “brother-in-law” of the year award

Earlier today, SUSE announced that they have won the “HPE Global Technology Partner of the Year” award.

This is one of those “Companies give each other awards so they can have some pretend news about how great they are” things. Companies that work together do these sorts of things all the time… and they really are pretty meaningless. (I should know. I’ve written more than my fair share of articles, blog posts, and press releases about exactly these sorts of pointless “awards”.)

So why am I mentioning this “news” at all? Why not just ignore it completely?

Because there’s something just a bit amusing about this one. It made me giggle.

“HPE Global Technology Partner of the Year” award … to SUSE.

In 2016 SUSE’s parent company (Micro Focus) merged with a portion of HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise).

As a result, SUSE and a big portion of HPE became the same company. They merged. I remembered this… because I was there when it happened.

Flash forward to now, and the rest of HPE just gave SUSE an award for being a good “partner”.

Then the CEO of SUSE took to Twitter to do a little bragging about the honor.

[image error]

This is sort of like if your brother-in-law gives you a “best brother-in-law” coffee cup.

Then you hop on Twitter, posting the picture of your new coffee cup, and proclaiming how amazing your award is. How honored you are to receive such a prestigious coffee cup.

But not in a tongue in cheek, goofy, or ironic way. In a totally serious way.

Well… congratulations to SUSE! You are your brother-in-law’s brother-in-law of the year!

I suppose I really shouldn’t pick on SUSE for this one. Or HPE. It’s not like they’re the only companies out there who engage in this totally un-self-aware ridiculousness. But it made me chuckle when I saw it.

Discuss this article over on the corresponding posts on Lunduke.Locals.com.

New dev, setting up his dev environment…

90% chance it’s just one environment variable that needed to be set.

Vaccine Passport company, “The Linux Foundation”, requires using their Vaccine Passport system for all Open Source events

The Linux Foundation — a trade organization founded in the year 2000 with the purpose of supporting, standardizing, and growing the Linux operating system — is rapidly putting their weight behind their new business venture: their COVID Vaccine Passport system. And sacrificing other portions of their business to do so.

The commitment level to their Vaccine Passport business is so high, that they are requiring 100% of all attendees at future events to not only be vaccinated against COVID-19… but also specifically use the Linux Foundation Vaccine Passport system.

With the rapid series of events, here is a chronological listing of some of what has transpired over just the last two weeks.

June 8, 2021 – The Linux Foundation gets into the Vaccine Passport Business

The “Global COVID Certificate Network” (GCCN) was founded on June 8th, by the Linux Foundation, with support from multiple companies, such as IBM.

The Linux Foundation now employs several staff members dedicated to this project.

“GCCN will establish a global trust registry network that enables interoperable and trustworthy exchanges of COVID certificates”

I discuss my personal opinions on this business change in an episode of The Lunduke Journal podcast.

June 10, 2021 – Linux creator yells at programmer who has COVID Vaccine concerns

Two days later, Linus Torvalds — creator of the Linux kernel project, and employee of The Linux Foundation — wrote the following in response to another programmer that expressed concerns around COVID Vaccines:

“Please keep your insane and technically incorrect anti-vax comments to yourself.”

“you’re spreading idiotic lies. Maybe you do so unwittingly, because of bad education.”

“Get vaccinated. Stop believing the anti-vax lies. And if you insist on believing in the crazy conspiracy theories, at least SHUT THE HELL UP about it on Linux kernel discussion lists.”

While the Linux creator has a long history of speaking in potentially inflammatory ways, the fact that this outburst occurred only two days after his employer announced a new business venture — and was aimed squarely at shutting down any concerns relating to that new business — is noteworthy.

June 15, 2021 – Linux Foundation requires usage of their Vaccine Passport system for all events

Five days after that incident, the Linux Foundation made the following announcement:

“After careful consideration, we have decided that the safest course of action for returning to in-person events this fall is to take a “COVID-19 vaccine required” approach to participating in-person.”

Their Frequently Asked Questions section of the announcement adds this additional detail:

Q: If I’ve already tested positive for COVID-19, do I still need to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to attend in person? 

A: Yes, you will still need to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to attend in-person.

This answer is particularly insightful. Those who can show proof of COVID-19 antibodies should, obviously, be on the same (or better) footing as those who have obtained a vaccination — at least based on all available data.

Which means… these requirements are not about stopping or slowing the spread of COVID-19.

What’s more, The Linux Foundation is actively encouraging people who have antibodies — and thus do not need a vaccination — to obtain an unnecessary medication which has, at the very least, a lower than normal level of testing.

This, in turn, means that The Linux Foundation is directly putting people in harms way… who do not need to be. Regardless of your personal stances on vaccinations in general, or the COVID vaccines in particular, this is reckless and dangerous. And completely destroys any narrative that this requirement is about “safety.”

Side note: This is not the first time The Linux Foundation has banned people from their events based on concerning criteria. Back in 2019, The Linux Foundation banned one attendee after a picture of the attendee wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat was posted on Twitter. I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader if there is any relationship between the two events.

Why is The Linux Foundation doing this?

All of which begs the question… what is the motivation for this latest round of requirements?

From an outsiders perspective, it appears that this is an effort to promote their new Vaccine Passport business — a business that is already being banned in several states across the USA — at the expense of the existing Linux Foundation business.

Perhaps I’m wrong. If so, I encourage The Linux Foundation to reach out to me to clarify their goals and explain their strategy. I would be happy to publish such information or statements in full.

Discuss this article over on the corresponding posts on Lunduke.Locals.com (no politics, just nerdiness) or ConservativeNerds.Locals.com (politics plus nerdiness).