FreeBSD is very much a source-based system. The operating assumption of the architects of FreeBSD is that you will compile most things from the source code. The system is designed to work that way, and does it exceptionally well. The famous "Ports Collection" is rather unique in making a large number of packages available ready to build and seldom requires anything but a few commands in a terminal window. Having tried to build specialized applications on several different versions of Open Source operating systems, I can assure you that compiling on FreeBSD is about as easy as it gets.
On Good Friday, it is traditional to look at the narrative of that day approximately two thousand years ago when Jesus was crucified by the order of Pontius Pilate and then try to make sense of it. Jesus Himself offered an interpretation of His future suffering that appears in both Matthew and Luke; in it, He chooses to interpret His death and resurrection as “the sign of Jonah.” What could this possibly mean?
There are several tasks to which we must attend before actually making use of our freshly installed FreeBSD system. Immediately upon reboot, you will find yourself in the console. While it is possible to setup and use the graphical login managers -- kdm, gdm or others -- it is important to note that this uses extra resources. One of our assumptions is that you might not have all that excess horsepower, so we'll stick with the console login for now.
By now, most people have heard about XM and Sirius's so-called “merger of equals” that would, if successful, eliminate competition in the satellite radio industry. Although satellite radio remains enough of a non-essential item that the post-merger company will still have to “compete” for subscribers, it is hard to imagine that this will be good for consumers. Even a cursory analysis of the good and bad will show that it is in the consumer’s interest for the FCC to stick to its guns and prohibit the merger.
Last year, a number of prominent Evangelicals gathered together to release a statement of concern about global warming, Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action. Some parts of the media, as well as individuals, have been misled to believe this was an “official” Evangelical position on the matter and the confusion has led some of those people to judge Evangelical groups by whether or not they are resisting their “leaders” rather than if they are actually being, well, Evangelical and preaching the Gospel.
It's no secret the thirteenth chapter of Paul's Letter to the Romans has been much abused. Those seeking support for oppressive regimes use it to bludgeon believers into a love affair with the ruling regime. For them, let's be clear the passage says "submit," not "support." The same passage has been read by many as describing the requirement of governments to ensure they are enforcing actual good. Frankly, this is not supported by the grammar. Twisting it around backwards to provide an excuse for active resistance to that same regime won't do. However, while I reject the most common understandings of this passage, I agree it's often taken out of context, at the very least.
Steve Jobs is known for being able to pull a rabbit out of his hat fairly regularly – far more regularly, anyway, than almost any other CEO. Like most Mac users, I find myself anxiously awaiting the likely announcement of the Apple phone tomorrow. Given the hype though, I wonder if Apple can actually win with this upcoming keynote.
One of the scariest, most uncertain times for a church is a transition in leadership. In most Baptist churches, when a pastor is to resign or retire, it is the standard practice for a committee (or six) to be formed and a lengthy search for a new pastor to begin.
So, I have been cleaning my hard drive – a little spring-cleaning one might say. Admittedly, it is a bit early to say spring cleaning, but what else can I say? I could say that I am trying to get a good start to a New Year’s resolution, but that would mean I had actually resolved to clean my hard disk. Ok, so I will just admit it: the drive was growing full and I decided to clean it before the computer simply refused to do anything more. Two hundred and fifty gigabytes goes quickly these days.