Emacs 24.3 release candidate 1 out

In a short while, barring any new bugs, Emacs 24.3 will be out.  Till then, here's the first release candidate.

A Collection of LaTeX Letter Generation Threads

On comp.text.tex, over the last couple of days, there's been some interesting threads on letter templates, signatures and dates.  If you've used the komascript bundle(highly recommended), then it might be worthwhile to browse the threads as the package author Markus Kohm has responded to various letter related questions.  If you're learning komascript, you might find the thread useful. The package is available on  MiKTeX and TeXLive.


And may I once again reiterate that the new google groups interface is stunning in its ability to create UI confusion.  I just don't know where to look, find and generally navigate.  Maybe, it's because I've never been on Facebook?

An Emacs Conference in London!

Finally, someone has done it. A website, a twitter account and a call for participants.  Let's hope this is the start of something beautiful.

  - Web site:
    http://emacsconf.org

  - Mailing list:
    http://lists.hugadev.com/listinfo.cgi/emacs-conf-hugadev.com

  - Twitter account
    @EmacsConf

  - Talks organization document:
    https://github.com/dotemacs/emacsconf-organisation/blob/master/talks.org

Emacs 24.3 second pretest out

The second pretest of what will be Emacs 24.3 is now out.

The new www.ctan.org

Looks like www.ctan.org has refreshed their website with a new look. Christmas seems to have come early for the LaTeX community.  You can read more about the announcement here and the subsequent thread replies might be of interest too.

First Pretest of Emacs 24.3 released

Another quick announcement on the first pretest of what will eventually be Emacs 24.3 is now available.

New builds for MS-Windows

Well, it seems that dropbox is the new way to get the latest weekly or so builds.  On the Windows Emacs mailing list, one of the posters has kindly been hosting the latest build on his dropbox account.  You probably would need to get it from there.

Gnus Tip: Leaving mail on server when using POP3

Apparently, Gnus now supports leaving mail on server when using POP.  This has been committed to the development branch and you should probably use that if you really need it in a hurry.  You need to change your mail source specifiers to use it.  Err...you need to use the development branch to get the code as well as the documentation update to see the configuration changes needed.

Laptops Keyboards: A Rant

Is there no science to the keyboard layout at all for laptops? Wait, drop that, how about a standard layout bereft of any science? How on earth is it possible to change the layout of the keys on laptops a bazillion ways?  How?  More importantly, why?

I had a Lenovo T60 and when it gave up the ghost, I switched to a L420 where the blooming keyboard has the all important keys of  DEL,PgUp/Dn, among other things,  in a different location. Already, I miss the nifty reading light on the screen that I used to have on the T60 and this misaligned keys simply winds me up no end.

I seem to be paging by the screenful because someone has 'helpfully' decided the page up key should be next to the arrow keys.  How nice; how very, very considerate to an average typist like me.  In hindsight, it was worth my time, that I did NOT spend too much time learning to type with gtypist.  What a nightmare!

When I trudge into a Electronics shop and look at the models from other vendors....well, there's no hope there too. Even within the same model line by each maker, the layout changes. So much for HCI classes for the designers.  The laptops look gorgeous, the keys are the new fancy tactile/shactile stuff, plastic/metal/kryptonite crap, yeah I get all that.  You know what?  I would settle for wooden keys, if they simply left the keyboard alone.

Why is the Enter key so huge in one model and is an almost forgotten piece of plastic tucked away in one corner in another model by the SAME maker?  Why are there gaps between the keys in some models and none in another model of the same size?  Why do some keyboards have keys made of eraser material while others have to be hammered by your fingers to see something on the screen?  What, this is supposed to work like a manual typewriter?  Clack, clack,zing.

I dunno what the designers are mixing in their drinking water; whatever it is, they should stop it.  This is pretty annoying and aggravating for trying to get work done.  It really is a good thing, that I know a bit of Emacs. I don't use these keys that much in it; C-d and C-k do come in handy as do C-v and M-v.

A few Emacs related announcements

You'd have to excuse the typos, as I'm doing this in a hurry.

The Emacs 24.2 security bug fix release was done recently but the Windows build was not made available due to large binary file differences from the current to the previous version.  While the issue is still being investigated, the Windows binaries are now available.

You want to know how to edit files on remote servers?  Well, here's the thread on 'How to list, add, edit, save file on a remote server' that should show you how.

BTW, by coincidence there's been a new release of tramp too.