Fri 21st May 2010 @ 00:46 2010: Bastet

http://fph.altervista.org/prog/bastet.html

Have you ever thought that Tetris is evil because it never sends you that straight "I" brick you need to clear four rows? Well, Tetris(R) probably is not so malevolent, but Bastet certainly is. >:->
Bastet stands for "bastard tetris", and is a simple ncurses-based Tetris(R) clone for Linux. Instead of choosing the next block randomly, this fiendish program uses a special algorithm to give you the worst possible brick. Playing Bastet can be a very frustrating experience! *

( *: bonus points for presenting it to your friends as "just another Tetris clone")

Tue 11th May 2010 @ 22:41 2010: Unix / Linux Training Courses in the UK

After a few customers requesting it, my consultancy firm, SGP IT, is planning to run some technical training courses this Summer; in the Manchester area initially, though any location is possible.

Now would be a very good time to get in touch (training@sgpit.com) as things are at a very early stage and very fluid – if you can bring a few people along, we can even run a bespoke course for you, and tailor everything to your need.

Depending on subject, duration, location and so on, it should be possible to run the first few courses for as little as £250 – £300 per person per day – much less than the £400 – £500 or so you’d pay for a corporate course where you all get is a trainer who has no experience of the actual situation you face at work, and who delivers powerpoint slides to you, then doles out the free mousepads and t-shirts at the end of the course.

None of us have been overly impressed by many of the available training courses – we are hoping to redefine how personal IT training can be delivered. Here’s how:

The kind of training session I would envisage us providing, would involve a fairly small class size (certainly fewer than 6 people), allowing us to focus on your current issues, and tailor the course around the needs, interests and skills of the attendees. The courses are likely to be between 2 and 5 days, most being 2-3 day courses.

Of course, there will be no corners cut – we will insist on great location and facilities, free internet access, PCs for all candidates (preinstalled with Linux, Solaris, *BSD, you name it – contact us before the course and we’ll build the PC to suit you), tons of good quality course notes, including certificates and the obligatory full VAT receipts, of course. I’m sure that we can find a few freebies to throw in, too!

If you have specific queries or concerns that you would like to be addressed in the course, let us know up-front, and we can find a way to work it in to the course.

If any of this sounds vaguely interesting, please do get in touch (training@sgpit.com) and we can mold things around your requirements.