Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with software and linux

How do I make a map from GPS data?

Kadin2048 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:38:05 -0800

How do I turn my GPS track logs into a nice-looking trail map? Do I need a GIS package? I'd like to make some high-quality maps of the hiking trails near my house. I have a handheld GPS, and I already have the downloading and conversion to GPX of the track logs worked out. However, that's as far as I've gotten. Starting from this big pile of data, which needs to be cleaned up substantially, how do I get a nice vector map?

I can load the track files into Google Earth right now, but that's not really what I'm looking for. I need some way to edit the tracks, choose how they're represented (some are the actual trails, some represent the boundaries of the park, some are surface roads, etc.), add labels, and generally turn it into something that people can use.

It seems like this is getting into GIS territory, but I admit to knowing next to nothing about GIS packages or really what they do, beyond a vague idea that it has something to do with maps. Do I need a GIS package? If so, which one? I'm willing to spend some money on this (although not the $2500 that ArcGIS apparently costs). Windows, Mac and Linux are all options, although Linux/Mac are preferred.

Some things I've looked at include GRASS, which seems to be raster-based; GeoServer, which seems intriguing but seems like more of a middleware/server component than a desktop editing application; Mapyrus, which seems something like what I'm looking for; and QCAD, which isn't a GIS at all but a CAD program, but maybe that's more what I need?

I've seen surveyors working with GPS units, so I know there must be some way of transforming that data into useful maps — how do I bridge the gap?

Test creation software?

fogovonslack — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:25:36 -0800

Please help me find software for creating tests from a bank of questions, ideally open-source and even more ideally Linux. I teach at a community college, and (most of) the texts I use come with proprietary test creation software and prefab testbanks. The test questions range from mediocre to bloody awful, so I generally delete some questions and rewrite some proportion of the remaining.

I've recently bought a new laptop and think it's about time to get around to developing my own bank of test questions (as I've meant to for years), and I don't want to be yoked to a proprietary software format and at the mercy of book publisher whims.

Is there an independent test creation software package that's any good? Better yet, as I'm running Ubuntu on my new machine, is there a Linux package? When I search for linux/ubuntu test software, all that seems to come up is software to test code, not software to write tests.

Can our MRI machine be converted to Windows XP?

humannaire — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:58:17 -0800

Does anyone have any experience with a Philips Marconi Eclipse 1.5 MRI scanner? Can it be run from a Windows-based machine? Presently, our Philips Marconi Eclipse 1.5 MRI scanner is operated using a workstation running Red Hat Linux, and VIA 2.0 Scan Suite software.

The lack of compatibilty with other essential sofwares has become burdensome. The hoops which must be jumped through have become detrimental to routine work patterns, and have doubled related ordinary workloads.

Understanding the "failings and limitations" [sic] of XP, what we want to do now is switch to a Windows XP system, with which the rest of the 20 machines at our office and ALL of our providers are currently using.

Suggestions? Advisements? Recommendations?

how can i backup a flickr account under linux?

jeffcovey — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:56:30 -0800

how can i backup a flickr account under linux? i'm considering moving all my photos to flickr and downloading them
regularly for backup. what do you recommend for doing this on a linux
system?

preference is given to commandline tools that can run from a cronjob.
i'd like to set it and forget it, and just check the cron email for
errors. if necessary, though, i'll set myself a reminder to run a gui
tool periodically.

the most promising solution i found was mounting through flickrfs and
rsyncing to a local directory. unfortunately, flickrfs seems to be
abandonware, with bugs possibly coming from being so out-of-date. it
mounted well the first time, but now doesn't even create a directory for
my sets when it's run.

thanks for any help you can offer.

sincerely,
jeff

Linux software for an electronic journal

PercussivePaul — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:38:54 -0800

What are some good Linux programs for keeping an electronic research journal? I write a lot when I am thinking about a problem. Writing helps me organize my thoughts. Now that I'm starting a PhD I want to move away from the pen-and-paper method I used in my master's, mainly because organization and information retrieval became very difficult after a year or two.

I'm using Ubuntu Linux (though I could try Windows programs under WINE, I guess). I tried a few programs so far, recently TomBoy, but I wasn't sold on it. I don't like the TomBoy interface where little notes fly up in new windows; I'd prefer something closer to a tabbed text-editor with indexing and timestamps. My style is not so much creating structured information like a database or wiki, but rather dumping bursts of text into the screen every now and then. I don't want to spend a lot of time thinking about organizing information; instead, I want to able to open the program, start typing, and then click somewhere to have it filed away. Any ideas?

Is there a simple (kinda) task manager for Linux?

Koffeeman — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:45:46 -0800

Linux + EEE + Chaotic Projects = ????? Project Manager. What should I try? I have a 700 series 4G Surf Eee that I am using as a PDA plus. I like the thing (very portable, long battery life, easy to get accessories). I t has almost everything I want. But what I need is some kind of easy to use project manager.

My employer responds to RFPs (Request for Proposals) that can vary from really quick and simple to the monstoruosly complex. Most of the time the sales person and I work out the RFP needs and work that plan...Until we talk to the client and start all over as new data comes in. In order to keep to the tight timelines I have, I often try to figure out who I need to call, what needs to be done, and how the sales person needs to present our proposal. That means drafting out at least some tasks for the project. But after revisions, or Q&A sessions, or merely phone calls to the RFP company, most of those plans get rearranged. Therefore I need a better way to keep track these decidedly transient projects, allow me to toss entire trains of thought, and can make sure I don't sit around blowing bubbles when work needs to progress.

I would like the software to work on Xandros or Debian, allow me to keep soemthing like nested todos, allow me to strikethrough entries as well as delete or check off entries, and keep notes on either project or tasks as data changes, and classify projects as either active, passive, or dead. I have tried Baskets (didn't like it), use Evolution now, and would like something that would be locally installed. Ideas? Need more details?

Nit-picky TiddlyWiki alternative

i_am_a_Jedi — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:56:27 -0800

Yet another wiki question. I would like to migrate away from using TiddlyWiki as a personal wiki to one capable of handling a lot more data, but I need one specific function. Here is an example of what I need. What I like about this is that the answer is obscured until I click on the question. I also appreciate the ability to nest a question inside another answer in case the next question would contain information that would allow you to answer the first question (ie. no hint for answering the first question with the second question).

I take a lot of notes in the form of questions while I'm reading. When I review I go back through these notes and answer the questions in my head. If you look at the example above that's exactly how I do it on TiddlyWiki. But, of course, TiddlyWiki has a problem with large file sizes. I have multiple large (ie. slow performance) TiddlyWiki files that, unfortunately, can't interface with one another being in separate files.

My primary note-taking computer is my Asus EEE running Ubuntu. I am open to running it on LAMP or whatever. It does not need to multi-user (but that would be alright). I'm pretty familiar with the existence of most of the wiki software out there, but I haven't had any experience using most of it. I'm looking at Dokuwiki maybe, but i haven't found if I can replicate this behavior in it.
Bonus points for:
- ability to print entries
- ability to export to pdf
- tagging or some other metainformation sorting/hierarchy
- ability to password protect

Superbonus points for being able to import TiddlyWiki data/syntax.

If you have any other suggestions or alternate methods that would still allow me to review my notes in this manner I'd really appreciate hearing those also.

Single-button scanning program?

Orb2069 — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 14:38:42 -0800

Looking for dead simple software to scan via my HP Scanjet 2200c's front button. The ideal candidate would allow me to [Tap hardware button], and scanner scans entire plate at predefined resolution/depth then saves the result in a sequentially named file - Without area selecting, file dialogs, or any other fiddling.

In short, I want it to work like a copier.

GPL or demo period preferred. The scanner is TWAIN compliant.Help! I don't want to be here all night!

Is linux xp desktop compatible with Microsoft Office 2007?

Eiwalker — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:05:06 -0800

Will linux xp desktop (the new linux program that looks like windows xp and lets one intall some windows software) let me install Microsoft Office 2007? What about an organizer program called Bottin? I'm thinking about converting from xp to linux xp, but I don't want to have to give up too much in terms of software.

But it's just a little scratch

zachxman — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:11:47 -0800

On my Linux-based laptop and desktop, I've been having trouble reading DVDs that have even the slightest scratches. It seemed that Windows was a bit more tolerant of imperfections--is there any way to modify my [Ubuntu] settings so that it doesn't hang at the first missed bit? Now that half the country has Netflix and their DVDs are spending a lot of time in transit, every disk seems to come with at least one small abrasion. In an effort to smooth the playback (via Totem, VLC, MPlayer, whatever), I have taken to copying and/or transcoding the disk to my harddrive first (dvdrip, handbrake, vobcopy, and DVD Decrypter through wine), but each program hangs at the first unreadable sector. Is there any DVD equivalent to something like Exact Audio Copier to conduct error checking/correction to reclaim these bits? Alternately, are there any settings that I can modify to make my system tolerate a small gap in the data stream?

On ur laptop, making ur still frames into a movie.

Jimbob — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 03:29:28 -0800

What's the quickest, easiest way to turn a directory of sequentially numbered JPG files into a video file? Linux or Windows. I've got a stack of files, generated by POVRAY, named as such:

frame1.jpg
frame2.jpg
...
frame330.jpg

I want to turn then into a video file. MPEG-1 is fine - anything that's reasonably standard will do. I don't really want to have to specify anything apart from the directory the files are in, and the frame rate.

What's the best way to do this? A solution for Linux or Windows would both be okay. Google-disclaimer: The closest I could find was some ancient 16-bit Windows software that produced AVIs from BMPs (not really what I'm after).

Why do my videos always look so shoddy in PowerPoint?

handee — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:05:01 -0800

What video formats work well in presentations? Advice on codecs, presentation software and general tips and tricks sought. Linux and/or WIndows. I always seem to end up writing my presentations at the last minute (yeah, right) and they have to include video. The job of preparing the videos takes ages. I do all my video work in Quicktime, for historical reasons, but getting that into PowerPoint or OpenOffice seems unreasonably difficult. RIght now I've fallen back to outputting a stack of jpegs and turning those into a video with ffmpeg, which looks great when I play it back in mplayer, or when I copy it to the Windows box and play it in VLC viewer, but the result looks terrible in PowerPoint.

Am I using the wrong video format? The wrong presentation software?

Are there any essays or studies naming and analyzing the concept of 'freedom' as developed on the internet?

Lockeownzj00 — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 06:56:34 -0800

Are there any essays or studies naming and analyzing the concept of 'freedom' as developed on the internet? What I mean to say is, there seems to be a strain of ideology that is prevalent amongst serious Internet users: in this highly utopic fashion, it says that things "should" be free. Software "should" be free, operating systems "should" be free, filesharing "should" be free, music "should" be free*. My question is:

What is the source of this? Why are people so easily motivated to become part of it? How does it differ from political ideologies which are so similar and yet so reviled (communism/anarchism)? How has it inoculated itself and separated itself from the bad stigma of aforementioned ideologies?

I know there have been sociological studies on "da internet" before, but I'm looking for something particularly on this topic. If you've any ideas yourself, feel free to contribute.

*not that i disagree with any of this. i'd number myself with them. which is precisely why i want to know why i think this way.

Bowling Alley/Sports Centre online booking software

ReiToei — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 04:17:01 -0800

PinPalsFilter: Looking for a commercial software package that will allow online reservation of bowling lanes in a bowling alley. The package needs to have a web front end that so people can book lanes online, and see availability, time slots etc. This would obviously need to connect to some kind of back end where administrators could view, edit, administer the bookings, run reports/backups etc.

Commercial because I need to have tech support if anything goes wrong.

What would be awesome would be a package that could be expanded to manage not just bowling lanes, but other aspects of a leisure center, ie. squash courts, indoor soccer pitches... that kind of stuff.

OS/platform not important, as long as it gets the job done effectively. Cost mustn't be extortionate, but I do have a decent enough budget.

Anyone know of anything like this? Google is being vague.

Thanks a million, guys.

Lightweight stable Linux distro on aged Dell Latitude

dancestoblue — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:24:32 -0800

Linux on Dell Latitude 400mhz 128m ram - I cannot install (or even load) Ubuntu or SuSe. Tried slower burn, different cd manufacture - no dice. The only thing I've been able to get to run is DSL (Damn Small Linux). Please help me - I wanna be like the cool Linux people, so sexy, achingly hip, and suave, and Dell Latitude 400mhz 128m ram 6gig drive, old (and likely very slow) cdrom attached by some sort of cable, NOT USB. Though this puter is old, it's small and pretty and light and it works fine. I want to use it as my first Linux machine. But - I also want it to be able to run a very stripped Windoze concurrent (under, or in a window) because I'm addicted to FreeCell and MineSweeper, and I've not seen any on Linux that are near as clean as MS FreeCell.

I've downloaded iso's of SuSE, Ubuntu, and DSL (thus far). DSL is the only one which boots, and I don't really want to use that for my primary OS on the drive.

SuSE - Tries to install, gets kernel loaded, USB and other drivers loaded, then chugs for about five minutes, then prompts me to 'be certain disc one is loaded'. I hit yes, it chugs five minutes, asks again. And again. And again. Very annoying.

Ubuntu - I hit 'install' and it loads kernel, splashes a Ubuntu screen, chugs along, then dies. And I know that this disc is good, at least on another machine, at least run off the disc. Very annoying.

DSL - Yeah, this works but man is it ever barebones. Probably would do mostly what I'd want (internet cruzer, email maybe, light word processing) but I can't imagine it'd run Windoze so as I can play the games I'm addicted to.

Since my problem might be that the old cdrom is too slow or not competent, is there a Linux variant which I can load just a installer of some sort and then complete the install off the internet? Anyone out there loaded a nice Linux onto an old Latitude? Should I toss the Latitude over the railing? (I have really wanted to do so last night and today; I once hurled an annoying desktop out there and it was like a bomb going off, it exploded, almost, shit everywhere, great fun.) I don't need nor want some heavily loaded variant (I went after SuSE because I'd heard it was bombproof; I'd have unloaded most of the apps), I don't need nor want OpenOffice or much else, I just want a lightweight, pretty, barebones OS but has to be heavy enough to manage Windoze for needed games.

Important: I'm not the most talented puter guy; I use them, not remodel them. I know enough to be dangerous, mostly. I need something fairly straightfoward.

So. In the words of John Lennon: Help me if you can I'm feeling down / And I do appreciate you bein' 'round / Help me load some lightweight bombproof Linux distro on this piece of crap before I toss it over the goddamn balcony / Won't you please, please help me?

Linux music software.

Jimbob — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 07:17:30 -0800

So, what's the state of music production software in Linux? What are people using? Music software is about the only thing that seems to be keeping Ubuntu off the default position on my GRUB boot menu - I have, up until now, done all my composition in Windows, using a wide range of software; Audiomulch, Modplug Tracker, Fruityloops, Audition, Orangator, SimSynth, others. What sort of equivalents exist on Linux? I live in hope that there is a great general-purpose sequencer / sampler / synthesizer in the vein of Fruityloops out there in Open Source land, But all I can seem to find are buggy alpha-stage single purpose synthesizers, text-mode software, MIDI sheetmusic composition software, and PD, which while allegedly an amazing piece of software, I've never been able to squeeze a soggy fart out of it. For multi-track mixing, Audacity does the job, but lacks some vital features, including such basics as being able to modify the sample rate for a track.

So, is anyone out there successfully using Linux as a music workstation? What secrets do you have? What software is the most complete, and offers the most creative freedom?

"There's no place like home...."

Afroblanco — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:55:07 -0800

Need a tinker-free Linux/MySql install for Ruby On Rails. Also, seeking advice for getting started in RoR. Ok, I'll start this out by saying that I have little-to-no interest in operating systems. I've run Windows for the past decade or so because (for me, anyway) it's a no-effort solution that requires the least tinkering possible.

HOWEVER, I've recently been teaching myself Ruby On Rails, and it seems that RoR is most comfortable in a Unix/MySql environment. So here are the questions -

1) Am I correct in the assumption that the standard RoR setup is Unix/MySql? Is this what RoR is most comfortable with? Has anyone successfully run RoR on WinXP/SqlServer?
2) What Linux installation requires the least tinkering to get it to work properly?
3) Which Linux installation has the best community support?
4) Is there a way to install linux as a dual-boot on my WinXP system without reformatting, repartitioning, and reinstalling everything? Bonus points for solutions that involve only free tools.
5) What are some good MySql resources? Specifically, I'm looking for guides to dealing with installation and administration. Also, what are the best MySql community sites?
6) What resources would you suggest for someone starting out in RoR? I'm currently reading Why's (poignant) Guide to Ruby as well as Agile Web Development In Rails. Are there any other books or guides that you would suggest? Are there any places where I can get some good sample code to play around with? What are some good community sites? (I should mention that I'm an experienced programmer, so I'm specifically looking for help with Ruby, not programming in general)

Sorry for the ton and a half of questions. If you could answer *any* of the above, your help will be greatly appreciated.

Partitioning without formating

nosophoros — Tue, 09 May 2006 03:10:48 -0800

Is it possible to partition a hard drive without reinstalling windows or formatting the drive? I have a 60 gig HD and would like to partition part of it to install ubuntu linux on. Is special software required to do this? If so, is there any out there for free?

Minimizing Downtime on a Linux Migration

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 23:37:09 -0800

I need help migrating to Linux from an "unlicensed" Windows 2000 Server? I have inherited a problem at work. We host web/email for roughly 10 domains on a Windows 2000 server box that I have discovered is not properly licensed.

Since I have no budget to license any of the software currently running on the server, and I have have a good amount of experience running Debian hosting boxes I would like to migrate.

The key here is that I need to minimize downtime. How do I do this? I have no access to a backup or a temporary server. I will somehow have to install Debian and all of the standard Internet hosting services (apache, mysql, courier, bind, etc.) without skipping a beat.

Is there a way to setup the debian configuration on a virtual machine on my workstation and install the image onto the server hard disk?

Any idea? Suggestions? Tutorials? All are welcome. Thanks.

Best CMS for Review Site?

Fishing Nut — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 12:08:42 -0800

Best open source cms for a digg style review site? For linux based servers. Looking for a community, portal, social networking platform to create a product review site with reviews, photo's, articles, and quality votes from users. I've been looking at the hosted ning, mambo, and some other cms packages. Do you have a few to recommend?

Speech to text without a secretary

Kickstart70 — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 22:07:38 -0800

Is there a free/cheap speech-to-text converter (ie. dictation, verbal notes) that works reasonably well? Best if it accepts wav files. Bonus points for Linux command line, but Windows is acceptable. All I really want is raw text from speech-only audio, and it doesn't have to be perfect. Oh, and I don't want to invest massive time cobbling together my own tools from the half-baked libraries and things that are out there.

What are alternative search programs for a website?

ajbattrick — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 06:00:28 -0800

I am investigating search programs for a website. Which have you installed and/or used? There are about 13000 documents to be indexed on this site, some PDF and .doc but mainly HTML. Currently the site uses htdig, but I want to investigate 'better' alternatives. It has to run on Linux.

I am aware of htdig, phpdig and swish-e, but I would like you to share your experiences of them

Vector drawing program for Linux

Sand — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 09:43:02 -0800

I will soon be acquiring a Linux box as an alternate (and, one hopes, eventual replacement) for my main Windows machine. I have open-source replacements for most of my main software applications -- except for vector-based drawing. I currently use Corel DRAW (and have used Freehand and Canvas in the past), mostly for RPG-related drawings. What /good/ vector programs are there in the Linux world? Does the choice of GNOME/KDE make a difference (I know KDE has a vector program with it, but don't know a thing about it)?

Linux Distributions

KevinSkomsvold — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 19:50:17 -0800

Hope I'm not opening a can of worms here. I'm jumping into the Linux ring for the very first time. There are a ton of distributions and I was wondering if there were any that the community would recommend for a noob like myself. So far, I've downloaded Mandrake and RedHat images but there are a ton of other out there and I wonder if I'm missing something better? I'll be dual booting on a WinXP pro box (Intel) so I'm looking for something that is relatively easy to install in this situation.

I'm getting error messages when trying to create or clear semaphores in perl on linux.

pissfactory — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 06:24:04 -0800

Perl, semaphores, linux, problems [mi] When creating a new semaphore I'm getting: No space left on device.

Also, when trying to create/clear an existing new semaphore I get File exists.

Both result in errors.

This leads me to believe that a file somewhere maintains the semaphore count, but for the life of me I can't find where this files exist in any documentation. Any help?