philwilson.org

If you’ve got a raw Ubuntu box it probably came with gij, the GNU Java runtime interpreter. If you’ve installed Sun’s JDK using sudo apt-get install sun-java5-jdk then you’ll now have Sun’s runtime but gij will still be the default. This is maintained by the alternatives system. You can either go and fix it yourself or you can sudo apt-get install galternatives followed by galternatives to run it (I haven’t noticed it in any menu although of course you can add it yourself).

This gives you a nice GUI onto all of the currently set commands in /etc/alternatives and what they can be set to. If you scroll down the list you’ll need to change the settings for jar and java.

We are reaching a point where the number of inputs we have as individuals is beginning to exceed what we are capable as humans of managing.

I tried to write a comment on Steve’s blog about this but I couldn’t think of anything that didn’t equate to “no, you’re just years behind everyone else”.

LastGraph ‘05 © pip / CC

I’ve just bought my first ever digital-only album. It was “We are the Pipettes” by, erm, The Pipettes.

I actually bought it via last.fm, after listening to their tracks through the embedded last.fm player, who redirect through to 7digital, who, once I’d registered and paid my £7.99, offered to let me download each track in either WMA, AAC or mp3 (Amazon are charging either £4.47 or £11.99 for the physical disk, depending on who you believe).

In order to download the entire album in one go I had to install some software on my local PC (currently Windows-only), but it was a breeze to install and let me download my mp3s in a matter of mere moments. There doesn’t even appear to be any DRM in the files and I’ve been playing them happily on my Ubuntu machine. This is how things are supposed to be.

The album’s great by the way.

summerburn 2006 cover © chthonic / CC

Yikes, time for Summer Burn 2007, and I don’t think I’ve actually listened to any music this year. Any recommendations from my terribly attractive and generous readers?