Blog has moved to surgut.co.uk

This blog has moved to surgut.co.uk.

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All blog posts and comments have been imported into new blog.
I’ve updated Ubuntu Planet feed to point at the new blog.

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local svn:externals with bzr and by-reference trees


$ bzr branch https://mingw-w64.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/mingw-w64/trunk
$ cd trunk/
$ svn proplist -v -R https://mingw-w64.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/mingw-w64/trunk | grep externals -C1
Properties on 'svn-checkout/mingw-w64-headers/ddk/include':
svn:externals
ddk svn://svn.reactos.org/reactos/trunk/reactos/include/ddk

$ bzr branch svn://svn.reactos.org/reactos/trunk/reactos/include/ddk mingw-w64-headers/ddk/include/ddk
$ bzr join mingw-w64-headers/ddk/include/ddk/
$ bzr ci -m "Merging svn:externals"

$ bzr merge :parent
https://mingw-w64.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/mingw-w64/trunk is permanently redirected to https://mingw-w64.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/mingw-w64/trunk/
+N mingw-w64-crt/misc/wcstof.c
+N mingw-w64-headers/direct-x/include/d3dx9shape.h
M mingw-w64-crt/ChangeLog
#snip
M mingw-w64-headers/include/ChangeLog
M mingw-w64-headers/include/dbghelp.h
All changes applied successfully.

$ bzr ci -m "merged from upstream svn"

$ bzr merge svn://svn.reactos.org/reactos/trunk/reactos/include/ddk
M mingw-w64-headers/ddk/include/ddk/hubbusif.h
M mingw-w64-headers/ddk/include/ddk/ntddk.h
M mingw-w64-headers/ddk/include/ddk/ntifs.h
M mingw-w64-headers/ddk/include/ddk/ntimage.h
M mingw-w64-headers/ddk/include/ddk/usbbusif.h
M mingw-w64-headers/ddk/include/ddk/wdm.h
All changes applied successfully.

$ bzr ci -m "Merged updates from ddk svn:externals"


If you really need to commit back. Create pristine bzr-svn import without joined externals. Merge just the revisions you want to commit and merge that into svn.


$ echo "Bzr rocks" >> sure-it-does; bzr add sure-it-does; bzr ci -m "My masive hack"
$ bzr branch :parent ../pristine
$ cd ../pristine
$ bzr merge -r-2..-1 ../trunk
$ bzr ci -m "Bingo"
$ bzr push :parent


But this will invalidate your “joined” clone.

When bzr people talk about NestedTrees we mean by-reference Nested Trees such that joining a tree doesn’t join it’s whole history but instead transperatly, rerucsivly commits to correct child branches. With by-reference nested trees you would then be able to push to correct upstreams of all externals code.

Free & not so free: WebKit2 & iPhone OS 4.0 vs MonoTouch

Steve Jobs announces Webkit2.0 photo from Engadget

Webkit2 looks amazing. Will have to read up about it more =) can I please have it in epiphany – NOW? Please =) this has been covered on LWN as well.

iPhone 4.0 SDK limits programming languages

Well well, I can’t verify this but iPhone 4.0 SDK limits programming languages to Javascript (Webkit), C, C++ & Objective-C. Although this is a large choice, but it makes impossible for C# / MonoTouch apps to enter the App Store with 4.0 API’s =(

What’s next Apple? Forcing to use XCode and not allowing apps with an Emacs or Vi mode-lines in the source-code?

Can’t wait for Lucid =) Must put the count-down banner on my blog

rEFIt Humanity Icons

If you are familiar with the screen above. This post is for you! I couldn’t stand staring at inconsistent icons and despite liking tux a lot I wanted to see ubuntu logo there.

So I’ve made a script, converted Humanity icons into Macintosh icns format and made a mac package to install them. See this screen:

So If you want this boot experience (including gray ubuntu silhouette after you select ubuntu similar to mac’s apple)

Project page: https://edge.launchpad.net/refit-humanity

Download page: https://edge.launchpad.net/refit-humanity/+download

Comments, Code, Bugs and Blueprints are welcome =)

ps. the “screenshots” are actually edited files using themed graphics and same size because rEFIt is not build with screenshot support but it is very close to reality. I don’t believe it will be upstreamable to rEFIt cause it’s BSD licensed and icons are GPL …

Push Google Buzz to Twitter, Identi.ca, Facebook and pretty much anything (updated)

(This blog has moved. See surgut.co.uk for updates)

Until Google Buzz supports pushing updates natively here is a quick guide how to push your buzzes to social networking websites.

1. Click buzz
2. Click on your name
3. Click “Google Profile”
4. Click on RSS button in your browser to get the feed (http://buzz.googleapis.com/feeds/NNNNN/public/posted where NNNNN long string of numbers from your Google Profile URL)
5. Go to twitterfeed.com to set up pushing your buzz feed to Twitter, Identi.ca, Facebook or pretty much to any social site using Ping.fm. (Make sure to change advanced setting to “1/2 hour” that will actually push updates live as soon as they are buzzed using PubSubHubBub technology. Twitterfeed people will update “1/2 hour” wording to “live” soon. )

If you still have problems with updates check the feed status. Good status is “feed status:  Feed Checked OK”. If feed is ok then your logins might be wrong or twitterfeed is down =(

Good thing twitterfeed supports OpenId and PubSubHubBub for hassle free and near instantaneous publishing from your feed =)

LinkedIn & Gmail = Spam

Hello all

I’ve just registered with LinkedIn and it offered to invite people from my Gmail address book. I’ve used that feature and now regret it cause invitation email have been send out to all Launchpad bugs, questions, merge proposals, mailing lists and BTS bugs…..

I’m very sorry for all the spam! Please don’t block me =(

Sveiki Planet Ubuntu!

Hello Everyone =)

During the last Developer Membership Board meeting I got approved as Ubuntu Contributing Developer & Ubuntu Member. Thank you everyone!

I support Crosswire related packages in Debian & Ubuntu as part of ~pkgcrosswire team and I do a few things syncs/merges/bug fixes here and there =)

Although I’m now in Hull, UK studying Engineering I made a political decision to put Latvia on the Ubuntu Members map. I grew up in Latvia, my family still lives there and I spend most of my holidays there =)

Adding Latvia to Ubuntu Members' map

My other hobbies include opportunistic scientific python programming and volleyball. I’m national volleyball league referee in UK and I play for a few teams as well. Can’t wait for the London 2012 Olympics cause I might be a Beach Volleyball Line Judge (finger’s crossed).

So please welcome to Ubuntu Planet – Latvia the Country that Sings. Here is an amazing video “Welcome to my Country” about Latvia. The soundtrack is by Brainstorm, probably the most internationally known Latvian Band (Eurovision fans say ooh )

ps. Lithuania is our neighbors ;-) we are a different country in the Baltic States !

pss. Ubuntu Planet readers youtube video did not get embedded =( open the blog to see it

Xiphos on Mac OS

Well I have just finished building Xiphos on Mac OS X using jhbuild from gtk-osx project. Just like gedit on Mac I had to use gconf 2.22 for gtkhtml. And it worked like a charm.

Things are not integrated as nicely yet but hopefully soon there will be a nice bundle to install

Student Politics

This year I’m Athletic Union Treasurer, voting member of the Sports Zone committee and voting member of HUU council.

For the past 2 council meetings we did not meet quorum. Leading to a chicken and egg problem:

1. Loads of things are not ratified and a lot of people are not elected to sit on different committees.
2. Some structural pieces struggled because of this (notably societies).
3. UEC had a proposal to change the quorum pool 50%+1 of the elected council members instead of 50%+1 of the total possible amount of council members.
4. UEC had a hung vote 2 vs 2. And chair of UEC made a deciding vote to pass this SO change such that council will vote on this (ratification vote).
5. At the last minute 2 council members arrive (shortly before the vote).
6. The council then votes 12 (in favour) vs 10 (against) vs 2 (obstension). Prove me wrong, but if not the last minute arrival of 2 people people council voting would have been a hung vote and the chair of council would have to take deciding vote. As far as I’m aware chair of UEC is currently the chair of council, hence there was a possibility that he would have to take deciding vote on the matter twice.
7. When we moved on to first item of the agenda “Election Chair of Council”. VP Education stood up, interrupted the council and said “If 6 people will walk out now we won’t be quorate again”. This leaded to massive walk-out and end of council.

I have voted against the ratification of the quorum change. My reasoning here is that such controversial decisions shall only be pushed by unanimous backing from all VP’s. If four people have a split vote how do expect 24 people not to have a split vote. In these two votes we had a swing of 3 votes that “represented” 21 000 members of HUU.

Last council showed lack of leadership and team effort from exec team. I did not see “All for one and One for All”. Even my beloved HUU president Helen from last year managed to create an image and illusion of united union behind the exec team. And despite the personal differences (and motions of no confidence) IT WORKED.

And VP Education, in my opinion, was not at his behaviour by discouraging people from representing HUU members who voted for us to be in that room. I ran against 2 other candidates to become AU treasurer with 40+ club presidents going through 2 rounds of voting. I’m not going to betray odd 1000 people who join AU each year & run the teams.

After further considerations, I will be running for the chair of council this Monday.

Conversation about ubuntu

I had this conversation with my sibling:

- Why do you have this other one (Ubuntu)?

- Because it has freedom.

- Is that important for you?

- Yes.

- And what do they change it and publish it somehow?

- Yes… and I do too.

- Ok. Cool.