How to Show Japanese Text in Evince

A quick tip that might help others (or me, the next time I forget)… I found that Evince, Ubuntu’s default PDF viewer, doesn’t display Japanese characters, at least on my non-Japanese system. After a quick search it seems the answer is nice and simple – install the poppler-data package. So, either use the Synaptic Package Manager or … Continue reading How to Show Japanese Text in Evince →

Opera Update: “Requires installation of untrusted packages”

On two separate installations of Ubuntu 10.10 I got the following message when trying to update Opera using Ubuntu’s Update Manager:“Requires installation of untrusted packages” Unfortunately, the only option available was to click the Close button with no help to fix the problem. Fortunately, there’s a solution, also on My Opera, that worked for me: my.opera.com/vinhphuc121583/blog/fix-error-requires-installation-of-untrusted-packages … Continue reading Opera Update: “Requires installation of untrusted packages” →

Learning SVG

I thought I’d share the resources that have most helped me learn SVG. It’s an old technology but getting a lot of interest recently so I finally got round to doing some experimenting myself (so far an SVG game and a geolocation demo). I still have a long way to go but already I’ve found myself returning to … Continue reading Learning SVG →

iPad rivals – where are you?

After using the iPad it doesn’t take long to see that there’s definitely a place in the market for this device. Maybe not as a work machine but for surfing on the sofa or even the kitchen, it’s perfect. Apple’s strict 1984-like eco-system, however, is not so appealing so I’m eager to see what its … Continue reading iPad rivals – where are you? →

The HTML5 <ruby> element in words of one syllable or less

Opera colleague Bruce Lawson thought it might be spiffing if the description of the <ruby> element that appears in the HTML5 spec was clarified a bit, so here’s my attempt. I’m using Japanese as an example although it applies to Chinese and possibly other languages as well. Please note my definition of one syllable may differ from yours. Step 1: The Japanese … Continue reading The HTML5 <ruby> element in words of one syllable or less →

How to create Ogg videos in Linux (with GUI)

Following up on my previous post about converting videos to Ogg Theora, there’s also an easy way for those who like a GUI. Although it’s possible to use VLC for Ogg encoding, I had problems with the audio and video being out of sync. Fortunately I found another way – enter OggConvert. Written in Python by Tristan Brindle, … Continue reading How to create Ogg videos in Linux (with GUI) →

How to create Ogg videos in Linux

Ogg Theora is the codec most supported by modern HTML5-capable browsers, so how can you convert your videos to it? Pretty easily, it seems. There’s a cross-platform command-line application called ffmpeg2theora which does a good job of converting videos to Ogg Theora. Usage couldn’t be simpler: ffmpeg2theora input.mpeg If the audio is out of sync with the video, … Continue reading How to create Ogg videos in Linux →

How to watch videos on a Nokia smartphone

My new Nokia N96 (yes, and then they immediately released the N97!) may not be as intuitive as the iPhone but is packed with far more features and is so much more open to exploration that it’s a keeper. Not only that but clever @LonelyBob gave me some help last night to fix a problem … Continue reading How to watch videos on a Nokia smartphone →

Like-minded people + good drink & food = good times!

Currently enjoying a wonderful evening with fellow Tokyo tech-heads. Two things of note: 1. There isn’t a Japanese equivalent to CES or other big conference. Is this because there’s no interest, no-one has tried it or simply because it would be so popular there’s nowhere big enough to hold it? 2. Personal servers are the … Continue reading Like-minded people + good drink & food = good times! →

How to do alphanumeric validation with PHP

Hardly worth a whole blog post but it may help somebody… is_numeric() is the function to use for validating numeric-only user input with PHP but unfortunately there is no is_alphanumeric(). Or so I thought. Meet ctype_alnum() Here’s an example of its usage: if (ctype_alnum($_POST['username'])) { echo "Thanks - that's a good username."; } else { … Continue reading How to do alphanumeric validation with PHP →