Category Archives: McGill University

Using Email at McGill university: Ongoing suffering of an open-source user, year 9

Posted on October 29, 2020 by

It’s 2020, and the world has changed. Well, yes, there’s that, but I meant that the world of email has changed. For reasons I won’t speculate and rant about here, the problem of spam has not been solved, and email … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Alpine, Alpine, GNU/linux, McGill University, Microsoft, software, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Solving collective action problems is what society does

Posted on January 8, 2015 by

I taught an introductory undergraduate course in environment, society, and sustainability this past term.  We look at big-picture environmental problems from a mostly-social-science perspective. Early on, we started to compile a list of collective action problems of all kinds which … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, McGill University | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ubuntu 13.04 and 13.10 (updated for 14.04 and 14.10) on Lenovo X230/X230-Tablet convertible tablet

Posted on October 24, 2013 by

If you consider yourself a user, not a tinkerer, the number one rule of running GNU/Linux is not even to try it except on hardware that others have already tried with complete success. (Do not buy a laptop, desktop, or server thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in GNU/linux, hardware, Lenovo X230 Tablet, McGill University, software, Ubuntu | 16 Comments

Printing (PDF) to uPrint printers at McGill from GNU/Linux

Posted on October 13, 2013 by

It’s been six months since I notified McGill ICS of an update for their page on using the campus uPrint service from GNU/Linux. They haven’t updated anything, so this is to explain how to do it. This change is relevant … Continue reading →

Posted in GNU/linux, McGill University, software, Ubuntu | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

iClicker under GNU/Linux

Posted on September 4, 2012 by

Electronic “clickers” are personal wireless transceivers carried by every student in a lecture hall and are used for in-class feedback and assessment in teaching. At McGill, we have just switched to a new clicker system that is all about integration with … Continue reading →

Posted in GNU/linux, McGill University, Microsoft, software | 2 Comments

McGill University firmly embedded with Microsoft

Posted on September 5, 2011 by

This is the nearly incredible story of how one of Canada’s great universities has become such a buttress of the Microsoft monopoly that it cannot even provide for a new faculty member the normal ability to send and receive email. … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, McGill University, Microsoft, software | Tagged , | 12 Comments