epstopdf on linux processes only one file

So I wrote a bash script that takes any number of arguments. Put this in your ~./bashrc file and you can use the eps2pdf command to transform your eps files.

function eps2pdf {

for f in $@;

do

echo "epstopdf $f";

epstopdf $f;

done

}

You can use this like "eps2pdf *.eps" in bash.

Smooth scrolling in Winamp and Netbeans with Microsoft Mice

Microsoft, oh, Microsoft. Why did you break your API?

My new "Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000" does not work right with Winamp and Netbeans. The scrollwheel responds right when I scroll up, but it goes jagged when I scroll down. I couldn't find any information on the Windows site, but the winamp forums posted the culprit:

Posted by dogtato on 09-26-2007 06:06 PM:

This is an old thread, but the problem persists as of the newest version and I couldn't find any mention of it being a bug other than "all vista issues are known". edit: also not mentioned in notes for 5.5 beta

Anyways, it's probably caused by microsoft implementing "smooth scrolling" which makes mice send smaller values to the computer blah blah blah heres an article http://download.microsoft.com/downl...65f5b/Wheel.doc

and here's some excerpts from it which mean winamp has to be fixed since this can't be disabled

Q. Does Control Panel allow users to enable or disable smooth scrolling support?
No. Windows Vista automatically enables smooth scrolling for mouse devices that report this functionality. There are currently no plans to provide a user interface in Control Panel or the registry to allow system-wide or user-specific ways to disable smooth scrolling.

Q. Is it necessary to modify legacy applications to support smooth scrolling?
It should not be necessary to modify Windows applications that handle window messages for vertical scrolling to support smooth scrolling if the application acts on the mouse wheel delta and does not assume a message of 120. For more information, see "Best Practices for Supporting Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Devices" listed in "Resources" at the end of this paper

Too bad the quoted paper is nowhere to be found; the url is dead.

Apparently, I am not the only person with this problem. It is a shame microsoft breaks functionality in programs and then says that the programs that are broken are to blame.

Noisy Dell laptop

My XPS1330 is making some strange noises. It sounds like a high grinding, almost squeaky noise, "electrical crackle". It sounds somewhat like a searching harddisk does, only it is fainter and a little higher. Dell came and replaced my processor. The technician said he couldn't hear the sound, but that was because he's a bit deaf himself. This did not solve my problem, so I called Dell again. Now they say they can't do anything about it and they are going to close the case. They don't give me any other option! They don't want to change any other part or give me another laptop, because the technician said in his report that he couldn't make out the sound. But I DO hear it, and so do other people. If there is background noise, I don't hear it, but when the room around me is silent (the way I like it when I'm programming), the sound really bugs me. Other laptops do not make so much noise. It ain't the harddisk, I checked. It ain't the monitor, I plugged it off. It ain't the fan, it isn't running. BUT WHAT IS IT? I'm going to call the customer service monday, and hope to persuade them to exchange my laptop for another one.

XPS noise

My new XPS 1330 is functioning quite well, except for a few things. I'm running Ubuntu Hardy, and one really annoying thing is that sleep and hibernation are badly broken 'features'. The other really annoying thing is the noise the harddisk makes. It's a sort of high squeaking, grinding noise. It makes the same noise all the time, even when the disk is supposedly idle. I hope Dell will provide me with another disk soon, because it's driving me crazy. I'm looking forward to setting up all my linux desktop settings again. I'm rejoicing, really. [edit] It wasn't the harddisk after all. Even without harddisk and with an ubuntu live cd, the sound persisted. I called the Dell support and they said it could be the processor: some other Core2duo's experienced the same problems. The next workday, a guy is coming to replace the processor with a new one.

New laptop on it's way

Finally, I ordered a new laptop. I should've done that a year ago. My (now 2,5 years old) acer has been crashing frequently since then. The specs of the new one are great. It's a Dell XPS M1330, 2kg: 13,3" screen (1280x800) Core 2 duo T7250 (2ghz, 800mhz fsb) 4gb 667mhz DDR2 SDRAM Geforce 8400M 128mb video card And a crappy 160gb disk, which I'm going to replace with my old 100gb 7200rpm hdd. It cost me €970, which is a bargain. An apple with the same specs would cost 1400 euro orso.

Joel "on Software" Spolky's talk in Amsterdam

Many of you will know Joel Spolksy, author of Joel on Software. He does a "grand world tour", introducing his FogBugz software to interested developers. Today he was at the Radisson hotel in Amsterdam, which is around the corner from my house. So, I went to see his talk. To be honest, I was disappointed. Joel looked tired and he did not tell much beyond what he already states on his blog. Overall, it was a good presentation, but if you already read the blog you won't learn much. It is a good opportunity to ask questions, if you have any.

Hijax = Ajax + Degradability

Wow, I love Jeremy Keith. He made a post about degradable ajax. I so totally agree with his point of view. He worded everything nicely. Go and read, then spread the word! :)