Arch User Magazine [Issue 3]

Authors Daniel Griffiths David Crouse Kevin Eldridge

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Issue #3 - June 2009
EDITORS DESK ................................ 2
COMMUNITY NEWS ........................ 3
BETTER FONTS FOR THE WEB ..... 5
THE BLEEDING EDGE ..................... 6
LIVING AT THE COMMAND LINE ..... 7
LESSONS IN VIM: THE BASICS ...... 9
TIPS AND TRICKS ........................... 11
INTERVIEW: JEREMY WHITE ........ 12
SOFTWARE REVIEW ...................... 16
Q&A .................................................. 18
EDITORS DESK
Arch User Magazine Issue 3 Released! ARCH USER STAFF
Daniel Griffiths (Ghost1227) ........... Editor

A
nd another fine release of Arch User Magazine! Some of our readers might David Crouse (Crouse) .......... Contributor
note that this issue of Arch User is a little bit late... well I said that I would Kevin Eldridge (LeoSolaris) ..... Contributor
release it as soon as the official newsletter came out for the month, but due
to circumstances outside of my control I have been forced to release earlier than
expected. On the bright side, our beloved newsletter is back in the capable hands
of Kensai (with a new look by yours truly), so things are looking up.

So what's new this month? Well, we are taking you to the bleeding edge for a look
at the latest and greatest from Mozilla Labs, as well as an interesting approach to
web fonts. David Crouse is back with another installment of his Living at the
Command Line series, this time on history modifiers and Kevin Eldridge brings us
an introduction to VIM editing. Additionally, this month we have something special
for you. Arch User Magazine sat down and had a talk with Jeremy White, founder
of CodeWeavers, for an inside look at his company and his vision.

Yet despite all this goodness, this month is bittersweet. At the moment I can't afford
the server fees for Arch User. The economy is shot, and we all have priorities. WHAT IS ARCH LINUX?
Mine is my four month old son. This means that unless we bring in enough Arch Linux is a lightweight, flexible Linux®
donations to cover the server fees, we may have to shut down the server for a few distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.
weeks. I don't want to do that, you don't want me to do that, so please donate a
dollar or two. Our strong community is diverse and
helpful, and we pride ourselves on the
I hope that you all enjoy this months issue of Arch User Magazine! range of skillsets and uses for Arch that
stem from it. Please check out our forums
Daniel Griffiths (Ghost1227) and mailing lists to get your feet wet. Also
Editor, Arch User Magazine glance through our wiki if you want to
griffithsdj@archuser.org learn more about Arch.

2
NEWS

COMMUNITY NEWS
Open Source Flash? are the video codecs within the SWF years later, the
container format. In order for this transition Palmetto Project
Over the last few years, Adobe has to actually occur, On2 Technologies' VP6 and SC state
become increasingly Linux friendly. The and Sorenson Spark codecs will have to be Superintendent of
Linux versions of Flash Player and AIR open-sourced as well. What is the future of Education Jim Rex
have taken the industry by storm, and now Flash Player? We'll have to wait and see... began working with
it looks like Adobe is preparing to capitalize Negroponte and
on their success. In the third quarter of Source: Noble in an effort to
2009, Adobe is releasing Strobe, an open http://www.adobe.com/products/strobe see their plan
framework for creating SWF server-side through to fruition.
players. Strobe will allow developers to Laptop for a Promise
easily create sites that host their own video On May 12th, OLPC/SC finally became a
and is slated to run not just on Linux, Mac The South Carolina Department of reality when Jim Rex, Phil Noble, and
and Windows, but on phones and Education and non-profit Palmetto Project Palmetto Project Executive Director Steve
televisions as well. have teamed up in an interesting new Skardon presented 500 laptops to the
initiative. The goal of this project, known as students, parents, and teachers of Marion
Featuring dynamic streaming and DVR One Laptop Per Child/South Carolina, is to County. And what do they ask for in return?
functionality as well as the standard Flash provide educational laptops to all A small donation - a dollar or two is
features, Strobe is expected to serve as "a elementary students in the state of South sufficient, and the childs' pledge they they
foundation for the development of third- Carolina. They hope to improve the will 'try to do something great' for their
party plug-ins to provide functionality such childrens' academic skills while inspiring state, families, and themselves.
as CDN support, advertising, reporting, them to do great things in their lives.
social networking, and interactive Source:
experiences." During the November 2005 UN World http://laptopsc.org
Summit on Information Society in Tunisia,
But what does this mean for the ever- Charleston technology entrepreneur Phil Old Dog, New Tricks
popular Flash Player? In an effort to beat Noble met with Dr. Negroponte and the
out Microsoft's Silverlight and the like, MIT team. Together, they began working Although it's been on the market for about
Adobe is considering open-sourcing Flash towards making South Carolina the first a year now, the much-improved Roku
Player! They have already started down state to follow the example set by the MIT- Digital Video Player remains newsworthy to
the open source path, but notably missing backed One Laptop Per Child initiative. Two say the least. Able to stream Netflix and

3
NEWS

COMMUNITY NEWS
Amazon Video-On-Demand, the Roku technology that is most commonly seen in Unfortunately, the Linux-based system
could be a glimpse at the future of digital data centers, the Phoenix BIOS has been currently lacks Linux support (figure that
high-definition media. Even better, it is built redesigned to offer features typically only one out). However, sources at Phoenix say
on open source software! seen in full-blown operating systems. that Linux users should "keep an eye on
their homepage" for updates. While
So how does the Roku work? First off, you Known as HyperSpace, the selling point of HyperSpace isn't free, an annual fee of
can connect it to the Internet through most this tiny operating system is speed. $59.95 for the full version might not be too
broadband providers. As long as you have Without the burdon of excess drivers, steep for users looking for the ability to
at least a 1.2Mbps connection, you should utilities and the like, HyperSpace is easier quickly log on to check their mail.
be able to watch movies instantly with on your processor and memory as well.
decent quality. The Roku also makes TV Phoenix is Source:
hookup a sinch, allowing connection currently http://www.phoenix.com
through HDMI for those of you with a fancy offering two
new HDTV, or the standard component version of Quake Live for Linux?
connection for the rest of us. this small
wonder. The According to Quake Live developer Marty
So at just $99 is it worth the buy? I don't full-featured Stratton, the Mac/Linux ports have 'proved
know, but with glowing reviews ranging version more difficult than expected, but we're
from TIME and WIRED to the New Yorki allows PCs getting close. We expect to also be testing
Times and Boston Globe, I'm definitely and laptops Mac and Linux versions of Quake Live
willing to give it a shot! to hot-swap internally this month and then making
operating those publicly available just as soon as we
Source: systems at feel they are ready.' He goes on to state
http://www.roku.com will between that this all-important development is being
the HyperSpace environment and the host done by a separate programmer in parallel
Retake Your PC system. For those of us who don't have the with ID's other work, and it is a top priority
memory to handle that, a slimmed down for them.
California-based BIOS manufacturer version is also available that allows users
Phoenix Technologies has released a new to boot into one environment or the other, Source:
program intended to allow users to retake but not both. http://www.quakelive.com/forum/showthrea
their computers. Based on the virtualization d.php?t=22698

4
BETTER FONTS FOR THE WEB BY DANIEL GRIFFITHS
Anyone who has ever created a web site application. The renderer is also provided
can probably attest to the lack of decent as JavaScript.
web fonts. Current web standards restrict
the aspiring developer to a very basic set <script src="cufon-yui.js"
of fonts. So what's a designer to do? Until type="text/javascript">
now, you had two realistic options: flash or <script src="myfont.font.js"
graphics. While these options work they type="text/javascript">
are not terribly practical, especially on sites
that require a great deal of dynamic or Once you have included the renderer and
multilingual content. font, you must call the Cufon.replace
function to render specific elements in your
ENTER CUFÓN embeded font. Cufon.replace takes two
arguments: elements and css. The first
In response to the demand for a more argument is a CSS selector such as h1.
dynamic option, a new player has claimed Additionally, you can use jQuery for its
the field. Implemented by Simo Kinnunen, complex element selectors. The second
cufón is a JavaScript solution which allows argument is a collection of CSS attributes
rendering of text dynamically through VML that must include the name of your font.
in Internet Explorer or HTML v5 in other
browsers. TRY IT OUT!

So how does it work? Using the Cufón Cufón presents a simple solution for what
Generator, convert the font you wish to has long been a complex problem for web
embed to JSON data. The Generator can designers. While admittedly not perfect,
be used online at the cufón website, or cufón has much potential. Give it a try!
downloaded via GitHub and hosted on your
own server. It is capable of converting any Cufón Generator
Daniel Griffiths (Ghost1227) is the head
TrueType (TTF), OpenType (OTF), Printer http://cufon.shoqolate.com/generate
editor for Arch User Magazine as well as
Font Binary (PFB), or PostScript font that
an Arch Linux Trusted User. He can be
allows embedding. Once the font is Arch User Cufón Demo Page
contacted at ghost1227@archuser.com.
rendered, you must include it in your Web http://archuser.com/cufon

5
THE BLEEDING EDGE BY DANIEL GRIFFITHS
By this point in time most users have at what better way to sport your colors than to UBIQUITY: TALK TO YOUR BROWSER
least heard of Firefox and Thunderbird, but give your favorite browser a new suit?
what about the other offerings coming from Personas is an extension that allows users An experiment in connecting the Web with
the community-backed Mozilla Labs? For to apply lightweight skins to Firefox. With a language, Ubiquity seeks to simplify the
that matter, how many of you even knew focus on easy of use, Personas invite you process of doing common tasks online.
Mozilla Labs existed? In their words, to bring out your inner artist and treat your While far from fulfilling its potential,
Mozilla Labs is 'a virtual lab where people web browser as a canvas. Already Ubiquity is already a remarkable addon
come together to create, experiment, and boasting a large (and quite creative) user sporting a rudimentary system of
play with new Web innovations and base, Personas could be just the thing for structured natural language commands. All
technologies.' But what innovations have you if you want to spruce up your browser a user has to do is bring up the Ubiquity
sprung from the minds of these deviant a bit. interface and begin typing to be shown an
developers? Let's find out... auto-updating list of possible actions. Even
Homepage: better, writing these actions is a breeze!
BESPIN: CODE IN THE CLOUD http://getpersonas.com Even if Ubuiquity isn't yet capable of doing
something you want, the process of writing
Designed to be an experiment in the PRISM: WEB APPS, SIMPLIFIED a script for it should be simple enough for
implementation of an HTML5 web-based even novice coders to pick up. While it's
framework for code editing, Bespin has the A personal favorite of the author, Prism is a not perfect, this is definitely taking a step in
long-term goal of promoting the use of prototype application that allows users to the right direction for human-browser
open standards and increasing productivity. run web apps independently of a browser. interaction.
Although far from complete, a prototype A very simple interface walks you through
has been released and boasts basic the setup of a Prism-enabled application, Homepage:
editing including syntax highlighting, live and places an icon to it on your desktop http://ubiquity.mozilla.com
previews, and project export capabilities. (although moving said icon to wherever
else is easy enough). When run, the site of The few services we have discussed here
Homepage: your choosing is run just like any other are mearly a glimpse at Mozilla Labs
https://bespin.mozilla.com program, even maintaining stability in the offerings. Check out the labs yourself to
case of a catastrophic Firefox failure! find out more!
PERSONAS: DRESS UP YOUR BROWSER
Homepage: Source:
These days, it's all about appearances, and http://prism.mozilla.com http://labs.mozilla.com

6
LMIAVKINIGNUG AT THE COMMAND LINE:
SE OF HISTORY MODIFIERS BY DAVID CROUSE

The 'history' command is an invaluable tool using your history file. These are valuable 'google.com' in the line with 'archlinux.org'.
for me when in a shell environment. Most tools, and make running long commands at
people know that the up arrow key in a the command line quicker. These commands can be string together
shell scrolls up the history and you can use as well. For example, if you want to modify
that to find the command you are looking !3 the line but don't want to execute it until
for. Here are a couple of things I use every you are certain it's right, you could use the
day which you may, or may not, already Replace '3' with whatever line number the following command.
know. command you are looking for resides on in
history. In our example, it executes 'whois !3:p:gs/google.com/archlinux.org
Let's use the following fictional example: google.com' again.
This would print the modified command,
[crouse@Jughead ~]$ history | head -10 !3:p allowing you to use the up arrow key to
1 ps -auxf | grep crouse verify that it is correct. Once you are ready,
2 whois archlinux.org This causes line 3 to just be printed to the simply hitting enter executes the command.
3 whois google.com screen and added to the history, so simply
4 ./info pressing the up arrow key one time brings We can also search for the last command
5 su - it up and it can be edited. This is very and just print it to the command line
6 exit useful for long commands that need to be without using grep.
7 date tweaked before they can be run.
8 man ls !whois:p
9 ssh 192.168.1.1 !3:s/google.com/archlinux.org
10 exit This would find the most recent usage of
This causes line three to have a 'search 'whois' in history and print it to the screen.
There is also what I like to call the 'brute and replace' command run on the line, In our example, it would return 'whois
force method' of searching the history, replacing the first instance of 'google.com' google.com'
probably the one I use the most: with 'archlinux.org'.
The preceding examples are the history
history | grep "<search string>" !3:gs/google.com/archlinux.org commands I use the most. The following is
an exerpt from the history man page
Once you find your command, you can use This command is the same as the previous demonstrating other possible modifiers. I
history's 'modifiers' to make short work of example, but it replaces every instance of leave the experimentation to you.

7
LMIAVKINIGNUG AT THE COMMAND LINE:
SE OF HISTORY MODIFIERS BY DAVID CROUSE

EXERPT FROM THE HISTORY MAN PAGE

Modifiers
After the optional word designator, there may appear a sequence of one or more
of the following modifiers, each preceded by a ':'.
h Remove a trailing file name component, leaving only the head.
t Remove all leading file name components, leaving only the tail.
r Remove a trailing suffix of the form .xxx, leaving the basename.
e Remove all but the trailing suffix.
p Print the new command but do not execute it.
q Quote the substituted words, escaping further substitutions.
x Quote the substituted words as with q, but break into words at
blanks and newlines.
s/old/new Substitute new for the first occurrence of old in the event line. Any
delimiter can be used in place of /. The final delimiter is optional if
it is the last character of the event line. The delimiter may be quoted
in old and new with a single backslash. If & appears in new it is
replaced by old. A single backslash will quote the &. If old is null, it
is set to the last old substituted, or, if no previous history substitutions
took place, the last string in a !?string[?] search.
& Repeat the previous substitution.
g Cause changes to be applied over the entire event line. This is used
in conjunction with `:s' (e.g., `:gs/old/new/') or `:&`. If used with `:s',
any delimiter can be used in place of /, and the final delimiter is
optional if it is the last character of the event line. An a may be used
as a synonym for g.
G Apply the following `s' modifier once to each word in the event line.

8
LESSONS IN VIM: THE BASICS BY KEVIN ELDRIDGE
Most every Linux user knows that VIM is a open your favorite terminal emulator,
Undo:
text editor. However, calling VIM merely a maximize it to eliminate distractions, and
text editor is a little misleading. It is a highly type:
tap the ESC key to get to command
idiosyncratic, customizable and adaptable
mode (more on this later)
text editor that is generally useful for vimtutor
programming and script writing. It stands
type 'u'
out in amongst other editors in that it does This will open up a special document that
not add hidden formatting to the files that does not actually save when you close it
alter the way programs and scripts even if you tell it to. This way you will
In GVIM (the GUI version of VIM) you can
operate. vim is based upon, and takes its always be able to go back and redo the
use a mouse, and in any version of Vi/VIM
name from, the popular editor Vi. In fact, lessons. Pretty nice of the Vi/VIM devs,
you can use the arrow keys to move the
the name VIM stands for Vi IMproved. huh?
cursor. I'm sure that you have already
However, the differences in the way the
figured this out if you have ever even tried
two editors operate do not impact this Now to give you a general overview of
the editor. It's normal for a novice to
article. The core basics of Vi (movement, vimtutor so you have an idea what you're
gravitate to visually logical inputs, but it is
general editing commands and the like) getting into before you open it up.
not the most efficient way of doing this for a
have not changed as far as I can tell.
touch typist.
For the last couple of weeks I have been Writer's note: I am using a qwerty Hit ESC just to be sure that you are in
scouring the Internet with my trusty pal keyboard layout. If your layout is command mode again. Fear not, I will get
Google for tutorials on VIM. During my different, please adjust accordingly. around to explaining the modes, I promise.
research I discovered that I did not even
Have some patience, dear reader!
need to connect to the Internet to get a
basic tutorial. While there are a large
Place your hands on the home row of your
number of tutorials available on the First off I need to let you, dear reader,
keyboard. Your index fingers should be on
subject, most of them simply rehash VIM's know that I have a minor disagreement
the 'f' and 'j' keys, respectively. Now shift
own tutorial, vimtutor. If you have VIM, you with the order of lessons provided by
your right hand over one key so that your
have vimtutor. If you don't have VIM, then it vimtutor.
right index finger is on the 'h'. Your right
is just a 'pacman -S vim' away.
hand is now poised to move your blinking
In my mind, the most important lesson of
box of a cursor around your text file, and it
The easy way to get help on VIM is to pop all the tutorials was simply this:
will be much faster to get back to touch

9
LESSONS IN VIM: THE BASICS BY KEVIN ELDRIDGE
typing when you are done moving around. give you some explanation of the modes not have to go into Insert mode just to hit
that I keep talking about, so here we go. the backspace button.
Writer's note: Of course the 'letters'
Insert mode (with the 'i' key) Type ':' to enter EX mode. With this mode
are meant to be typed without the
you can issue commands such as ':wq' to
quotations. These are a convention
This mode is used for text editing. You type write and quit the file. The features and
used to differentiate a command from
it, it puts it in a file. available commands in EX mode are
the surrounding text in the article.
extensive, if you'll pardon the pun. Another
EX (with the ':' key) noteworthy EX command is ':help' which,
Here is the layout: of course, provides help when you are
This mode is for faster editing, saving, editing files and don't want to pop open the
^ Hint: The h key is at the left closing the program, etc. tutor just to get a little help.
k and moves left.
<h l> The l key is at the right and Visual (with the 'v' key) And that is the most basic functioning of
j moves right.. Vim. It is enough to get you editing your
v The j key looks like a down This mode allows you to highlight parts of config files and making notes, but it barely
arrow the text to copy, paste, and other useful scratches the surface of even VIM's basic
things. commands. I strongly encourage you to
This takes some discipline to get used to. I complete the tutorial included with VIM.
suggest putting some tape or cardboard So... tap the 'i' key. Now you can type Additionally our very own Arch wiki has
over the arrow keys so you force yourself freely just like any other text editor. When information on some more advanced uses
to learn. I would also suggest unplugging you are done, all you have to do is hit ESC for VIM. There is a wealth of information to
your mouse whenever you spend a large again and you are back in Command mode. learn about VIM,the fact that its User
amount of time with VIM, at least at first. Manual is 273 pages long should tell you
When in Command mode, you can use something! Start out with the basics, and
Now for the meat of the editing experience: commands like 'dd' to cut an entire line, 'p' learn what you need when you need it.
actually editing text in your documents! to put the line somewhere else, and the Good luck, and enjoy VIM!
aforementioned 'u' to undo changes. One
When you are in command mode (after of the most useful commands provided is Editor's note: The keyboard layout
you have hit the ESC key) you can enter allowing the use of 'x' to delete the diagram is copied from vimtutor with
any of the other three modes. I promised to character under your cursor so that you do minor visual formatting.

10
TIPS & TRICKS
RESETTING YOUR TERMINAL sessions by pressing Control+Alt+F7 and have ever visited a website that you know
Control+Alt+F8. This trick can be used exists, but found yourself staring at an
Ever used cat on the wrong file and ended multiple times (function keys F7-F12 are error page, this tip may just be for you. Visit
up staring at binary? If you are one of the reserved for X sessions. http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com, enter
unlucky ones, this can result in lots of the address of the offending website, and
control codes screwing up your display. hit the button to find out whether the site
Before you know it, an annoying series of ENTERTAINING EMACS really is down, or if it's all in your head!
beeps and weird characters results in your
terminal font being replaced with gibberish. Do you use Emacs? Do you find yourself
Most users will probably end up killing the staring at the screen, needing to take a
terminal and starting a new one. But wait! break? If so, you might be interested in the
The developers included a command for little easter eggs included in your editor.
such situations! If you find yourself here all Press the Esc key followed by X and type Got a useful tip or trick you'd like to share
you have to do is type: doctor to talk to a pathetically underskilled, with the community? How about an idea for
although entertaining psychologist, or play an article or a particularly nifty screenshot?
reset a game by replacing doctor with tetris! Drop us a line!

Gamers Corner
MULTIPLE X SESSIONS BANG HISTORY gamerscorner@archuser.com

I frequently see questions regarding the Here's a quick one for you... Did you know Pimp My Arch
possibility of running multiple X sessions. If that the !! event designator is substituted pimpmyarch@archuser.com
you are tired of continually logging in and with the last command entered? This can
out to switch users, or find yourself testing also be executed as !-2 for the second to Tips & Tricks
new window managers, you might be last command, !-3 for the third, and so on. tipsandtricks@archuser.com
interested in this little tidbit.
General Submissions
startx -- :1 DOWN FOR EVERYONE? submissions@archuser.com

This simple command will start a new X Alright, so this one isn't technically a Linux Corrections
session. You can switch between the two trick, but it very useful just the same. If you corrections@archuser.com

11
INTERVIEW: JEREMY WHITE
Arch User Magazine recently sat down with they would do if they ever won the lottery. I of CrossOver?
Jeremy White, founder of CodeWeavers think winning would actually suck, but it's
and brains behind CrossOver Office. The still a really interesting question. After that, Jeremy:
following is the content of our conversation. my answer became that I would retire and Well, the compatibility database is one of
Enjoy! hack on Wine. our key drivers. We use the votes and
pledges there to figure out our priorities.
AUM: And then (it was the go-go 90's after all), I We try to be completely customer driven.
You've been working with Wine for around read an advice column that said essentially: Sometimes that doesn't happen, but we do
a decade now. After all that time we're sure "You have to seize your dreams!". So I did; our best.
there are few in the Linux community who I repurposed the company to be the
haven't at least heard of CodeWeavers, but primary support organization behind Wine, AUM:
most probably don't know much about your managed to raise a bit of angel investment, We're sure that some of our readers would
beginnings. Can you tell us a little about and went off to the races. like to know a bit about the actual difference
your original intent with CodeWeavers and
how you gained your focus on Wine? That was in 1999 - 10 years ago!

Jeremy: AUM:
I started CodeWeavers in 1996 because I How much of your focus has been on the
wanted to do interesting work, work with actual improvement of Wine as opposed to
people I respected, and have fun. Oh, I working on CrossOver itself?
wanted to get paid too. :)
Jeremy:
In 1997, I went looking for an Atari 2600 It's almost entirely on Wine. I guess I'd say
emulator, because I was horrified that probably 80-90% of our effort is on Wine,
some of the young people I was working and certainly all the hard parts are Wine.
with had never played Combat. Instead, I
found Wine and fell in love. I thought it was AUM:
the coolest, most audacious project I'd ever Just a quick look at the CodeWeavers
seen. compatibility database is evidence that you
have had immense success thus far. How
Coincidentally, I like to ask people what has this success affected the development

12
INTERVIEW: JEREMY WHITE
between CrossOver Office and CrossOver copy of Windows, and are true Windows mostly people don't realize that 'free' things
Games. Why two different products? What emulators. like Internet Explorer actually have very
is different under the hood? long and tangled license agreements. It's
And yes, the competition is quite significant; quite an eye opener, I find, to move from
Jeremy: I'm sure our revenue would be dramatically the Linux environment, where the most
I'm going to completely cheat here, if you higher if we were the only game in town. offensive agreement is the GPL, to an
don't mind. I think this blog post pretty well environment where you're routinely giving
explains the origins, at least: [the reference However, I got into this whole business away your first born child.
and content of his blog are reproduced on because I *hate* monopolies, and I love
the page 15 for your convenience] the free market. So the fact that we have to AUM:
compete is nothing but good. Any company that has grown as much as
Basically, under the hood, they are quite CodeWeavers is bound to have a few
similar. But if we extend the analogy, Now, Wine is not perfect, so sometimes failures chalked up. Can you tell us about
Games is like an engine tuned for gaming that is frustrating for us; it's a bit hard to any projects that flopped?
performance, while regular CrossOver is compete when you're not on rock solid
tuned to work like a stately sedan. ground. But I am deeply proud of everyone Jeremy:
Essentially, it's in the fit and finish that they at CodeWeavers; I'm tickled to compete on Oi. We've flopped in many ways, and I
differ, but the core engine is the same. price, quality of service, customer personally have goofed quite a bit. I
responsiveness, and the elusive quality of predicted that the Linux desktop would
AUM: 'community citizen' we are any time and really start to take off in about 2002.
While CrossOver is probably the best any where. I think we win hands down on Missed that one by a bit...
known product of its type, there are all of those. And I'm humble, too <grin>.
certainly other options on the market. What We also thought that CrossOver Plugin
makes CrossOver better, or at least more AUM: would be a great fit for embedded systems.
successful, than products such as Win4Lin Given that many of the products that you Maybe it was, but we never sold it as such.
and Cedega? Do you see your competition support, officially or unofficially, aren't Nicely, it did lead us into the CrossOver
as a threat to CrossOver? FOSS, do you ever find that there are product itself.
licensing issues?
Jeremy: I was probably a bit slow in realizing that
Well, Win4Lin, VMWare, etc are functionally Jeremy: supporting Microsoft Office would be a
different approaches. They require a full Yes, we hit that now and again. I think powerful thing for us to do. I was reluctant,

13
INTERVIEW: JEREMY WHITE
frankly. I mean, that now means that I run I can tell, because more and more, people
Outlook as my email client. *Shudder* write in to tell me that applications I've
never heard of 'just work'. That's a great
But by and large, I think that we've had a change from even a few years ago.
lot of good success. Of course, our clients
and the whole Wine and Linux communities AUM:
have been incredibly supportive; we What are your long-term goals for Cross-
couldn't have accomplished any of this Over and CodeWeavers in general?
without all of the great support we've
gotten. Jeremy:
My hope is that our efforts help to level the
I have pasted on my wall an email comment playing field, if only a little. I'd like to think
from someone that said: "I bought Cross- that we've made it a little easier for
Over, and put it on the shelf. Didn't need it, someone to choose to run an operating
but I wanted to support you guys." system other than Windows. Heck, I'm
happy for them to choose to run Windows -
That meant a lot to me, and it's that sort of I just want it to be a *real* choice, instead
support that has been incredible for us. of a forced one.

AUM: AUM:
What about the future? Is there any one Is there anything else that you want to say
thing you want to add to Wine or Cross- to our readers?
Over?
Jeremy:
Jeremy: Nothing really comes to mind - except
Well, right now, we're in the very difficult perhaps "Cheers!"
transition from 'we run Office great!' to 'we
run everything great!'. That's a huge leap, For more information on Jeremy White,
and obviously quite a struggle, but I feel CodeWeavers, or the CrossOver product
that we're making forward progress. line, visit the CodeWeavers website at
http://www.codeweavers.com.

14
INTERVIEW: JEREMY WHITE
they would do if they ever won the lottery. I
between CrossOver http://www.codeweavers.com/about/people/blogs/jwhite/2008/3/25/how-the-fun-and-games-started
Office and CrossOver of CrossOver?
Games. Why two different products? What think winning would actually suck, but it's
isToday weunder
different shipped theCrossOver
hood? Games. I am very excited by this
still a really change. Iquestion.
interesting have enjoyed computer games
After that, Jeremy:all of my life, and I like the idea that
we can help others enjoy their new computers fully.
my answer became that I would retire and Well, the compatibility database is one of
Jeremy: hack on Wine.
I'm also tickled by the story of how CrossOver Games came to be, and thought I would share it with you our all.
key drivers. We use the votes and
I'm going to completely cheat here, if you pledges there to figure out our priorities.
We have
don't mind.long focused
I think this blog on post
productivity applications.
pretty well And Now,
thenlast
(it year
was wethe did
go-goofficially add all),
90's after support
I for games,
We tryand wecompletely
to be made a fewcustomer
hires so driven.
that we
could more directly support
explains the origins, at least: all of the great work being done in Wine on games. But,
read an advice column that said essentially: truthfully, our core focus has been on productivity
Sometimes that doesn't happen, but we do
applications such as Microsoft Office and Quicken.
"You have to seize your dreams!". So I did; our best.
Jeremy: I repurposed the company to be the
So go back to last fall and early this winter. We're hard at work on the back breaking work of fixing Office 2007, Outlook, and recent Adobe
I started
products. CodeWeavers
We're grinding in 1996
along,because
making Islow progress.primary And support
all thisorganization
time we keepbehind noticingWine, AUM: progress on games. Stefan, along
the most amazine
with the
wanted tovolunteers
do interestingon the Wine
work, workproject,
with is just raging in a cage;
managed a day
to raise hardly
a bit goesinvestment,
of angel by without anotherWe're gamesure running, or theof
that some framerate of awould
our readers
game rising, or a long standing
people I respected, and have fun. Oh, I game defect fixed.and went off to the races. like to know a bit about the actual difference
wanted
And our to Advocates
get paid too. :) to notice; our Office support in our nightly builds isn't all that great, but boy is the game support coming along nicely.
start
That was in 1999 - 10 years ago!
InAnd
1997, I went looking
someone asks me: forwhen
an Atariare2600
you going to ship all of this great work on games?
emulator, because I was horrified that AUM:
Well, I've sworn we won't ship
some of the young people I was working CrossOver 7.0 until Office
How 2007
much ofruns.
your focus has been on the
with
Andhad never
what's played
more, we Combat.
really can't Instead, I
have CrossOver actual improvement
7 be affected by games;of Wine
afterasall,
opposed
we need to plenty of time to test and make sure it is stable
found Wine and fell in love. I thought it was working on CrossOver itself?
and robust. At the pace and speed they are moving, before we finished a first QA run, they'd have a bunch more games fixes ready to ship.
the coolest, most audacious project I'd ever
In fact, Stefan and those game guys are going so Jeremy:
seen. nuts, they really should be on their own release cycle...
It's almost entirely on Wine. I guess I'd say
Doh!
Coincidentally, I like to ask people what probably 80-90% of our effort is on Wine,
So I'm happy to say that CrossOver Games cameand intocertainly
existence allstrictly
the hard parts are
because Wine.
of the brilliant work of a bunch of talented developers. You
could argue that they forced my hand (forced, yes, it was torture for me to test Civ IV, torture, I tell you! :) ).
AUM:
So, thank you to Roderick Colenbrander, ChristianJust Costa, Alexander
a quick look at Dorofeyev,
the CodeWeaversStefan Dösinger, Jason Edmeades, Jason Green, Ivan
Gyurdiev, Maarten Lankhorst, Vitaliy Margolen, Marcus Meissner, Oliver Stieber, Lionel Ulmer, Henri Verbeet and many others.
compatibility database is evidence that you
I am deeply grateful for all of their hard work, and have I hopehadthatimmense
we can helpsuccess
many thus far. How
people to enjoy the fruit of their labors, even if that enjoyment
comes in the form of blowing each other to smithereens... has this success affected the development
Cheers, Jeremy

15
SOFTWARE REVIEW: WEB BROWSERS
KONQUEROR

http://www.konqueror.org

Built for the K Desktop Environment, Konqueror serves as filemanager, universal viewer, and
web browser. The main canvas for all the latest KDE technology, Konqueror is one of the most
customizable KDE applications available. Featureing tabbed browsing support, split windows,
and an extensible search interface, Konqueror can be a powerful tool when used correctly.
Unfortunately, Konqueror also has a few downfalls. The most troubling of these being problems
with Web 2.0 sites.

To install Konqueror, use the `kdebase` metapackage in [extra].

Arora

http://code.google.com/p/arora

Based on the WebKit browser engine, Arora is a simple, but promising, Qt browser. Despite its
small size, Arora supports flash content and tabbed browsing, making it a viable option for your
minimalistic browsing experience. Unfortunately, it is also missing its share of features. Under
heavy development, Arora still has the potential to become a real alternative for Firefox in the
future.

To install Arora, use the `arora` package in [extra].

16
SOFTWARE REVIEW: WEB BROWSERS
MIDORI

http://software.twotoasts.de/index.php?/pages/midori_summary.html

Yet another candidate for your minimalistic browsing pleasure, Midori features tabbed
browsing, an extensible web search, and support for user scripts and styles. Built on
GTK+2 and the WebKit browser engine, Midori is still under heavy development. Like
many WebKit based browsers, Midori suffers its share of bugs, although most are
documented and in the process of being fixed. Despite its shortcomings, Midori is quickly
being updated and is well worth a look.

To install Midori, use the `midori` package in [extra].

NetSurf

http://www.netsurf-browser.org

Unlike the majority of recently-released browsers, NetSurf doesn't rely on the WebKit
browser engine. Instead, it features its own engine built for efficiency. Originally built for
RISC OS, NetSurf has found its way to most UNIX-like systems, including BeOS, Haiku
and AmigaOS. Written in C with portability in mind, NetSurf can be built for most modern
computer platforms out of the box. If you are looking for something completely different
from the norm, this might be the place to start!

To install NetSurf, use the `netsurf` package in [community].

17
Q&A
WHY DOESN'T THIS MONTH
INCLUDE THE GAMERS CORNER
OR PIMP MY ARCH SECTIONS?
The lack of a Gamers Corner article this
month is due to the fact that I am not a
gamer, and the people who were supposed
to be working on that particular article
never submitted it. Pimp My Arch is

THIS SPACE FOR RENT
missing because a lack of submissions and
responses to my attempts to contact
candidates. Fear not, however, both
sections will be returning in the next issue.
No, this space isn't really for rent. However, given the lack of questions (or submissions in general for
I HEARD THAT THE ARCH USER that matter... what did you expect? I had a nice, big space to fill. I figured that at the very least, this would
WEBSITE MIGHT BE DOWN FOR catch your attention and show you just how important your support is to the continuation of Arch User
A WHILE. IS THERE ANY TRUTH Magazine. Please! Contribute!
TO THIS RUMOR?
Unfortunately, this is true. With the way the
economy is I have been unable to find a
job and the money my fiancee gets barely
covers rent and food. Hence, the server
might have to come down for a little while.
Worst case scenario? We are offline for a
few weeks. Best case? I get enough in
donations from the community to keep us
running. Plus, if we get enough in
donations I have a few things in mind
(contests and the like) that will spice up the
magazine...